[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 196 (Monday, December 19, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2312]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           A CHANUKA MESSAGE

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                          HON. E. SCOTT RIGELL

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 19, 2011

  Mr. RIGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to enter a statement into the 
Record on behalf of my constituent, Dr. Israel Zoberman. Dr. Zoberman 
is the Founding Rabbi of Congregation Beth Chaverim in Virginia Beach, 
Virginia. He is also the president of the Hampton Roads Board of Rabbis 
and Cantors. Dr. Zoberman asked me to enter the following remarks into 
the Record regarding Chanuka. Dr. Zoberman's statement follows.

       Chanuka's origins in the drama of a small people standing 
     up to the might of the Hellenistic empire of antiquity is a 
     poignant symbol and a timeless reminder of Israel's unique 
     and timely legacy. The Maccabees' successful revolt in 167 
     B.C.E. against the dictates of King Antiochus IV that sought 
     to deprive the Jews of practicing their faith, was truly a 
     stance of a proud conscience. Our refusal to submit to a 
     superior physical power when our spiritual inheritance was at 
     stake, is a clear indication of how deep a bond we held with 
     our religious convictions, ready to sacrifice the sacred gift 
     of life for the sake of an ancestral covenant with the God of 
     Freedom and Responsibility.
       The word Chanuka and its very meaning represent the spirit 
     of dedication to noble ideals and ideas through the cleansing 
     of Jerusalem's temple of old from pagan defilement. The 
     Talmud's insisting focus on the miracle of the cruse of oil 
     lasting eight days reflects the Rabbis' aversion to the 
     bloodshed and the Hasmoneans' intra-political strife, 
     associated with the war and beyond. Consequently, the Book of 
     the Maccabees was not included in our own Biblical canon but 
     was fortunately preserved through the Catholic one. In truth, 
     the conflict was not only against the enemy from without, but 
     also in response to the experienced assimilation from within. 
     The encounter with the dominant, flourishing and tempting 
     Greek culture led, however, to a fruitful engagement 
     influencing Rabbinic thought and logic.
       The flickering lights of Chanuka have come to represent 
     through centuries of trying suffering the miracle of Jewish 
     survival in spite of great odds, while endowing the human 
     family with an enduring, undying hope for a world transformed 
     and redeemed. Let us continue to pray and labor that the 
     ancient promise of prophetic Shalom from the hills of Judea, 
     the first such inspiring and courageous message of universal 
     embrace, will yet be realized for all of God's children 
     including the offspring of Isaac and Ishmael whose familial 
     bond cannot be denied. How frustrating that there are 
     Palestinian leaders attempting to re-write history by 
     removing the incontrovertible Jewish connection with the 
     Temple Mount, seeking to extinguish Chanuka's authenticity.
       As our American nation, the State of Israel and the entire 
     free world fight the blight of contemporary terrorism with 
     Iran begrudging the Maccabeean victory leading the way, much 
     can be learned from the Maccabees' old and new saga and 
     spirit. The terrorists negate the life-enlightening, 
     pluralistic and inclusive principles of Chanuka's bright 
     Menorah daring to challenge the darkness. All humans have now 
     become like vulnerable Jews yet empowered with our people's 
     indomitable faith and heroic example to face an oppressive 
     foe--physically, spiritually, and psychologically--and 
     prevail.

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