"Recognizing heroes; building hope"

     During Hanukkah we tell a story of heroism. During difficult times such stories and, of course, heroes themselves inspire us with hope that we can persist. When the hero wins the day and the cause of goodness triumphs, we feel renewed and invigorated. We root for the underdog and feel gratified at his or her success. When the underdog wins, we know that we can win too.

     One way to understand a people or culture is to reflect on its choice of heroes. The heroes we venerate (and compensate) tell us about the values of our society and our future. It seems that American culture adores entertainment figures above all else. We pay excessive amounts of money to sports figures and media stars who often behave abhorrently (there are notable exceptions), while we struggle to attract young people in the professions that serve our society in fundamental ways, such as teaching, child care, social work and nursing. Think about the awesome responsibility for building our nation’s future that we place in the hands of teachers, and the disparity becomes evident. Our teachers are the purveyors of civic values in addition to knowledge and learning. The same could be said of the responsibility we entrust to those working in other service and helping

professions.

       Our Hanukkah story centers about a priestly family, a group of people dedicated to serving God and the people, the Maccabees. This band of Jews faithfully clung to the hope of freedom and succeeded. The Maccabees drew strength from our faith in God and our faith in one another. Today we celebrate the miracle of their achievement.

     Members of our community have acted no less courageously and with no less hope than the Maccabees of old. We know people who rebuilt their lives after the horrors of the Holocaust.We have neighbors who faced loss and tragedy that could have paralyzed them to abandon hope to deep despair. They found the hope to persevere. Perhaps they discovered that perseverance was their hope. We know people who give of themselves, dedicated to doing good deeds that benefit others on a daily basis. These people inspire us to do no less; they are our contemporary Maccabees. We inspire one another with courage and strength and hope.

     Let us be brightened this Hanukkah by the examples of Maccabees long gone from this earth and Maccabees who lead our way today. As we use the shamash, the candle that serves others by sharing its flame, to light our festival candles, we are reminded that hope grows more hope. It spreads like fire until we enjoy the exuberance of nine candles dispelling the darkness. This year, no matter what holiday you celebrate with the lighting of lights, may your candles glow for all to see the hope, born of our ancient tradition, reflected brightly in your eyes.