Setting the Hanukkah Question

To what degree should we assimilate non Jewish thought and culture into our intellectual, emotional, and spiritual lives? And to what degree does that question affect the way that we celebrate Chanukah?

Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch expressed this tension directly when he wrote the following words:

Chanukah represents the clash of two doctrines, two views, two civilizations, capable of molding opinions, training and educating those who until this very day compete for the mastery of the world. Hellenism and Judaism: These are the two forces whose effect upon the nations mark the historical development of mankind, and which surfaced in Judea for the first time in the days of Mattathias. Hellenism and Judaism: when examined in depth they are the two leading forces which today again are struggling for mastery in the Jewish world.

Today I'm honored to host two talmidei chachamim who identify as Hirschians: Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein and Rabbi Raphael Zarum - and despite their shared reverence for the thought of Rav Hirsch, they approach this question, and their understanding of Chanukah, in very different ways.

Rabbi Adlerstein leans into Chanukah as a celebration of Jewish individuality, the need for contrast and clarity. Only when we have a crystal clear awareness of the differences between Torah culture and Hellenic culture can we safely draw from the outside without losing ourselves. Chanukah, he says, is an expression of Jewish difference.

Rabbi Zarum, in contrast, sees Chanukah quite differently. He believes that Chanukah highlights overlap as well as contrast. He points to the fact that we light candles at twilight right outside our homes - on the boundary between day and night, between our homes and the outside world - as emblematic of the challenge of going close to another culture without losing our own sense of self. He captures it by saying that we should assimilate it and not be assimilated by it.

And then we move this discussion into a direction especially relevant to 2025, because engagement with culture today often refers to something very different from the best of Western thought. It is less Milton and more Netflix, which raises the stakes of this entire debate. So even if we agree that engaging with Western culture is a net positive, how much should we allow ourselves to be enriched by the low culture of movie ns and popular music rather than by the high culture of philosophy and classic literature?

While they bring very different perspectives, what makes this conversation such a pleasure is the tone. It is warm, lively, and respectful, even when the disagreement is sharp.

Make sure to listen to the new Chanukah episode of the Tehillim Unveiled Podcast with Ari Levisohn and Rav Jeremy Tibbetts by clicking here.

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