On this first night of the holiday, I am wishing my Jewish friends a Happy Chanukah! (And treating myself to a doughnut in celebration! Not quite proper sufganiyot, but aligned in spirit.)
May the miracle of light through the dark that first manifested itself after a time of war, during the beginning of a period of restoration and stability and rededication, may that miracle of light spread in the form of understanding, empathy, compassion, and peace, unto all the Jewish people, and their neighbors, the world over.
These last two months have been just so distressing. The terrorist attacks by Hamas, then the bombardment by Israel that has wrought such utter and total destruction on Gaza, killing so many innocents and razing civilian infrastructure. And the extreme arguments and tensions on both sides - friends on one side or the other not seeing, unstable people across the country committing anti-Semitic or anti-Islamic assaults and murders. One wonders whether any celebrations are appropriate, let alone truly possible.
I am far from alone in feeling that. As an attempted antidote, one of my classmates put out a call for good things. And, so, what also happened this first night of Chanukah was that Sissy and I almost forgot that it is one of our grandmothers' death anniversaries (Mama Hen texted yesterday reminding us) - so we hadn't gone shopping for food offerings. But, but! - with the Christmas season in full swing, my workplace has been highlighting small businesses of underrepresented owners, including a women/minority owned rum cake baker who set up shop earlier this week outside the cafeteria - and (after sampling four flavors) I had bought one the other day and set it aside, saving it to share with the family this weekend. And, and! - with tonight being the first night of Chanukah, I picked up doughnuts for me and Sissy, and was disciplined enough not to have eaten THOSE yet. So I actually already HAD in my possession suitable offerings after all! (Ok, not the traditional fruit - I had already started eating the citrus fruits Sissy shared with me - or prepared dishes like what Mama Hen surely made for her altar offering.)
How often is it that being a casual observer/osmosis secular celebrant of other, majority religious rituals (yes, here in New York City I would say Jews have parity with Christians) that are not your own actually saves you and helps you to fulfill your own minority Confucian Buddhist religious observances?! (Interestingly, scrolling back through Instagram, I realized one of my past posts around this anniversary also appears to have a doughnut offering in the background, and alludes to a confluence of faith traditions - so maybe the Chinese and Jewish lunar calendars line up and this Bà Ngoại's giỗ oftentimes falls on the first night of Chanukah?!! I don't know if she ever had a doughnut in life, but she may be getting them regularly post-death, if that's the case, for a giỗ and yahrzeit seem to have lots of overlap - I welcome aid from any corner to help me fulfill my filial duties.)
Reframe. Find the light. Move toward tolerance, find the good and universal, while staying true to yourself. May we all.
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