Page 11 - Issue 9

The following was written by J.J., a boger of HDUK, for a Chanukah choveret for his kvutsah:

So Channuka, Hannuka, hannukah, chanuka is here and the Judaism tzevet thought it might be a little
exciting to have something to read, on, lets face it, one of our more capitalist festivals. So here we go. A
real plethora of ideas, attitudes and values to this super serial festival.

I was listening to one of the movement workers the other day talk of the Maccabees. Now I have
always liked the idea of the maccabees. I like their style, their dress sense (very svelte) and even their
music. I especially like Judah who I was lucky enough to play in a nursery rendition of the ‘mini
maccabees’. it was a stunning production until josh Stolberg started eating his bogies.

But lets think about the message of the Maccabees. Although some claim that
they were ineffective, overly hostile and didn’t really change the general feel of
Canaan at the time, they have some very relevant, personal messages to us as
Habonim Dror. Lets think about it for a second. The Maccabees stood up for what
they believed in in the face of adversity. They rebelled when no one else would. Even
though the odds were stacked against them, they fought the mighty Greek army and
won.

This message is inherent in Habonim ideology, primarily exemplified by the Dror movement itself.
They were modern day Maccabees (without the elephants). Even though they were ultimately
unsuccessful in their own fight against the Nazis they portrayed and held the same messages. We are all
individuals. We can see what is right and what is wrong. We must stand up for what we believe in, and
although , I feel, it should always be a last resort, we must come together and fight for what we believe in.

Today in our comfortable lives we may feel there is no need to think about such extreme things. We
don’t need to fight anyone. Things aren’t that bad etc. But there are real things to still be fighting for, and
I’m not talking physically now. There are still so many injustices in the world. There are peoples and
places who have too little and places and peoples who have too much. There is a severe economic
imbalance in Israel and England. There is hatred, anti-Semitism, Islamaphobia, xenophobia, racism,
genocide.

I feel that it is necessary for us to take on the example of the Maccabee. We can
only do this by coming together and working as a unit. And if we do this, we will have
an effect. We have been doing so much recently but we can do more. Madatz is up and
running and will improve with time and effort. In every one of our respective university
cities there is a Darfuri community that needs help. A few hours during the week is
nothing and we all know it. Lets keep on doing what we’re doing but never get
complacent. There is so much to do.

We may not be defeating an army, or combating direct anti-Semitism, but we are staying true to the
foundations of our youth movement and our religion. We are staying true to what we know is right.

May Machaneh Choref be a time where we discuss what we can do, what we will do. The Maccabees
were in our history. We are the future. Lets not shy away. Chag sameach and as ever good yom tov. Much
love to all of azut and the movement workers. Lets do it. xxx

Questions:

1. How do we in Habonim Dror understand Chanukah?
2. What gives us the right to do this?
3. What are we hoping to achieve through this understanding?