Machar: the Washington Congregation for Secular Humanistic Judaism

The oil miracle is what kids learn. We use this story knowing that it is a story that originated centuries after the time of the Maccabees. So in the telling, we look for rational explanations, acknowledge the story as mythology, and find some modern applications. These are reflected in our candle-lighting dedications.

The lesson for us is: how something that is not enough can be enough when there is great human determination. A modern example could be the Warsaw ghetto uprising. We look at the history of the time of the Maccabees somewhat differently from other streams of Judaism. We believe that the Jewish people have evolved and changed over the centuries. We also know that our definition of freedom today is not what it was in those long ago days, but the story teaches us lessons about the use and misuse of power, religious liberty, and maintaining both group and individual rights.

As Hanukkah is a winter holiday, with ancient connections to ceremonies marking the winter solstice with the use of fire to warm the dark winter nights, we accept it as a time for celebration. We celebrate the enduring survival of the Jewish people as well as the turn of the calendar toward longer days. At our community party we enjoy the warm glow of the candles, dreidl and other games, much singing, and our potato latkes competition!

In the attached article are links to three downloadable files containing our humanistic candle lighting dedications. Hag Sameah - Gut Yontev - Happy Holiday!