A Different Light: The Big Book of Hanukkah

by Zion, Noam Sachs; Spectre, Barbara; Zion, Noam

• ISBN13: 9781930143340
• ISBN10: 1930143346
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-11-01
• Publisher: Pitspopany Pr

Summary

Hanukkah thoughts and perspectives by such contemporary Jewish thinkers as David Hartman, Irving Greenberg, Chaim Potok, Daniel Gordis, and the Lubavitcher Rebbe. These pluralistic perspectives help explain how different communities and denominations find their particular identity symbolized in the light of the Menorah.

Includes:
-- The Historians' Hanukkah which brings the dynamic interpretations of the causes and results of the Maccabee revolt as seen by two leading professors of Jewish History, Victor Tcherikover and Elias Bickerman.
-- The Philosophers Hanukkah which is devoted to understanding western civilization as the ongoing conversation and confrontation of Jewish and Greek traditions.

The Rabbi's Hanukkah which sheds light on the Rabbinic reflections of the Warrior, Zealot, Martyr, Peacemaker, and Believer in Miracles.

Plus modern Jewish profiles in courage such as Janusz Korczak. The King of Children in Warsaw; Chana Szenes; Blessed is the Match; and Yoni Netanyahu, the Philosopher-Soldier and the Rescuer of Hostages.

Table of Contents

Multiple Jewish Identities, Multiple Versions of Hanukkah
A Pluralism of Interpretations by Varied Jewish Communities
American Jewish Renewal: A Psycho-Spiritual Holiday	5	(5)
Arthur Waskow
Joel Ziff
Israeli Politics of Hanukkah: Secular, Religious, Ultra-Orthodox	10	(16)
Elizer Don-Yehiya
Ehud Luz
American Reconstructionist: Ethical Evolution	26	(5)
Leo Trepp
American Reform: The Anti-War Celebration	31	(3)
Harry Gersh
Hasidic Hanukkah: Inward and Outward Light	34	(8)
Menachem Mendel Schneersohn
Lubavitcher Rebbe
Yehuda Leib Alter
Gerer Rebbe
The Christian Cult of the Maccabees	42	(5)
Barbara Tuchman
Gallery: A Children's Festival of Light	47	(10)
The Historians' Hanukkah
Recalling the Worst Jewish Civil War
Alexander the Great (334-323 BCE) and his Jewish Admirers (174-167 BCE)	57	(10)
King Antiochus versus Hannah and her Seven Sons	67	(6)
Mattathias the Rebel Priest: Zealot or Reformer? (166 BCE)	73	(2)
Judah: Guerilla Warrior for Religious Freedom (166-162 BCE)	75	(6)
The Maccabean Brothers (163-140 BCE)	81	(5)
Reading the Revolt from a Different Angle: Professor Victor Tcherikover challenges Professor Elias Bickerman	86	(11)
Afterthoughts: The Hasmonean Legacy for Today	97	(10)
Gallery: Elephants at War with the Jews	107	(10)
The Philosophers' Hanukkah
Where Hellenism and Judaism Differ
Judaism and Hellenism	117	(6)
Milton Steinberg
Greek Intellect and Jewish Body	123	(4)
David Hartman
Balanced Personality and Passionate Risk-Taker	127	(2)
Mordechai Gafni
The Word and the Light, the Ear and the Eye	129	(4)
David Chidester
The Philosopher and the Rabbi	133	(2)
Elias Bickerman
Gallery: Warrior Menorahs	135	(9)
The Rabbis' Hanukkah
Reflections on the Warrior, the Zealot, the Martyr, the Peacemaker, and the Believer in Miracles
The Family Peacemaker: Preferring Shabbat Candles	144	(7)
Noam Zion
Mattathias the Zealot: Freedom Fighter or Fanatic?	151	(13)
Noam Zion
How Hanukkah became a Home Holiday	164	(4)
Noam Zion
Warrior or Martyr? War and Self-Defense on Shabbat	168	(8)
David Dishon
The Martyr's Conviction: A Sociological Analysis	176	(9)
Eugene Wiener
Al HaNissim: Do I Really Believe in Miracles?	185	(9)
Noam Zion
Scientists' and Kabbalists' Thoughts on Light and Lamps
Physical Light, the Light of Creation, and the Menorah
Light and Language: Proverbs and Parables	194	(5)
The Scientific Miracle of Light and its Jewish Analogies	199	(16)
Sherman Rosenfeld
Noam Zion
Designing a Menorah: Historical and Halachic Guidelines	215	(3)
Noam Zion
In Search of an Appropriate National Symbol: The Menorah of Judah the Maccabee or the Star of David?	218	(9)
Noam Zion
Gallery: Menorahs at the Temple, at the Knesset, and at Home	227	(11)
Profiles in Modern Jewish Courage
Cultures of Heroism: Jewish, Greek, Psychological	238	(17)
In the Cause of Human Rights: Acts of Civil Courage
Jack Rothschild and the Temple Bombing (Atlanta, 1958)	255	(8)
Saul Alinsky, Community Organizer (Chicago, 1960s)	263	(9)
Marshall Meyer and Argentina's Reign of Terror (1976-1983)	272	(8)
In the Service of Human Needs: Tzedakah Heroes
Malky & Kalman Samuels' Special Needs Children (Jerusalem, 1999)	280	(5)
Jay Feinberg, The Hero with Bad Blood (USA, 1980s)	285	(2)
Dawn Krieger and the Elderly (USA, 1990s)	287	(4)
In Defiance of the Nazis: Spiritual and Military Resistance
Father Andre: The Bed of a Righteous Priest (Belgium, 1940-1945)	291	(3)
Janusz Korczak, The King of Children (Warsaw, 1942)	294	(10)
Leo Baeck's Spiritual Resistance (Berlin to Terezin, 1933-1945)	304	(3)
Chana Szenes, Paratrooper and Poet (Hungary, 1944)	307	(12)
In the Cause of Israel's Survival: A Physical and an Ethical Struggle
Herbert Friedman, The Rabbinic Art of Smuggling (1945-1948)	319	(4)
Yoni Netanyahu, Philosopher-Soldier and Hostage Rescuer (1976)	323