The next ruler is Simon’s son, Yochanan Hyrcanus, a powerful and ambitious ruler. In response he had the whole crowd - according to Josephus, over 6,000 men - put to death. The shocked crowd pelted him with etrogim. … During one Sukkot holiday, as he was officiating the libation of water as a part of his duties as high priest, Alexander poured water on his feet instead of on the altar as tradition dictated. One, a close confidant of his, remained free, but eventually Aristobulus grew suspicious of him too and had him killed. *Oh things like: “… had his mother starved to death and to further cement his rule, he threw three of his brothers in prison. Gotta love us some winter solstice celebrations! The historical part of it was a war that was fought, not so much against tyranny (as the Hasmoneans/Macabbees were pretty damn nasty tyrants themselves*, and their incompetent rule was what destroyed the Hebrew kingdom for good) but for the ability to maintain an identity in the face of an overwhelming “other.” Obviously the way to honor it is to elevate into a gift giving bonanza so that Jewish kids can better fit in!Įnjoy the connection to your family history, light the family mementos, eat some fried food! You gotta have some latkes (which beat out Hamentoshen every time). Of course realize that Chanukah is in fact a very minor holiday. Does it not matter, since I’m not Jewish and if choose to light candles without the Jewish ceremony it doesn’t count either way?Īnother vote for no problem with non-Jews lighting with or without prayers.Would our Jewish members prefer I keep the menorahs as mementos of deceased relatives and not light them?.
Would adding the prescribed prayers make this more or less OK?.How do Jews feel about gentiles lighting menorahs?.Every year around Chanukah I think about getting candles and doing the lighting, however, I prefer not to do things others would find offensive when it involves religious symbols and rituals. I also see non-Jewish politicians participating in public menorah lighting to one degree or another, although it does seem a Jewish person does the actual lighting.Īnyhoo, I’ve inherited a number of menorahs from various deceased family members. This was done complete with the prescribed prayers in Hebrew which, oddly enough, were usually done by my formerly Catholic mother (then again, how good a Jew was dad if he married out of the faith, right? Then there was his addiction to ham and swiss sandwiches, apparently extending back to his early teens when he’d sneak away from home for that forbidden taste at the local diner) In my home growing up, given that dad’s half of the family were Jewish, we usually had a menorah during Chanukah because my parents wanted us to have some experience and familiarity with our heritage (for similar reasons we also celebrated Catholic holidays to some degree). OK, that’s the short and simple bit, you can stop reading here if you don’t care for continued rambling. Jewish people (of all sorts), what is view of gentiles lighting menorahs?
On the other hand, it might be more a matter of opinion and/or debatable, in which case maybe it will wind up in IMHO. This may be covered under some sort of Jewish law or tradition, hence it is here, because I’d like a factual answer.
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