Hanukkah  means dedication.  The holiday is a celebration of the miracles leading to and including the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem.  There were numerous miracles, starting with a very common theme - which is miraculous in and of itself - of the courage of the few standing up for what they believe in and accomplishing their goals for the greater good.  By doing so, their inner light shone through and left an indelible example of the importance of fighting for the rights of their society.  Judah Maccabee, along with the small force - in comparison to the multitude of the Syrian army - essentially fought for (where my purpose is concerned here) freedom of religion.  While it is true they were specifically fighting for the freedom of the Jewish religion, their goal was not the imposition of Judaism on the rest of the world, nor on the non-Jews they were fighting against.  Since they were fighting for their own rights, and those of the Jewish people to keep their own religion, Temple, and property, and not to take what wasn’t theirs, one may say the general theme of freedom of religion is deduced from this story.

    The U.S.A. also fought for freedom of religion, amongst other things, in our war of independence from England.  I say this because I come from both a long Jewish history of fighting for justice, freedom, and the protection of people’s rights, and America’s history of the same.

    These ideals were and always will be worth fighting for.  And there always have been and always will be people willing to stand up to society for justice and their rights, along with the rights of those they represent, despite the very real danger to themselves and their families for doing so.   The light of Adonai shines from these people due to the unselfishness of their cause.

        Unfortunately, and very sadly, it is also true that after all of the fighting is done, and if freedom and justice for all wins, society in general then starts on a slow decline when the majority of citizens act either complacently, or selfishly and immorally; as a result, the few citizens who are of high moral and ethical character then have to again work to help society back to moral high ground, and the cycle repeats itself.  Just look at history.

    From the metro Atlanta area, I applaud Dr. Mitzi Shepps* for shining her own light once again for the betterment of society.  Further, I thank Laura Armstrong for shining more light upon a system gone terribly wrong.  I know Mitzi and Ed Shepps personally, and would like to take a moment to inform those who don’t that I have felt, since I have known them, Mitzi and Ed are the kind of people the world needs more of as admirable individuals.  Their lives are a model of integrity, honesty, altruism, kindness, generosity of spirit, helpfulness above and beyond others’ expectations, and thankfully, intelligence too!  I always appreciate all of these characteristics, and Judaism teaches us to act and be the kind of people they represent.  The kind of people whose accomplishments for the good of society go largely unnoticed, though I am certainly not alone in taking notice of their beautiful light, but as they are humble too (referencing Moses here, whose humbleness has been lauded) they don’t “toot their own horns,” figuratively speaking.  Rather, they no sooner finish helping others in some way, then they are right back out there finding another way to be of service.  While obviously I like and admire them greatly, I want to be clear that by no means does this mean that they are - as some would say - saints.  No one is perfect.  However, I can’t recall a cause they have rallied for where I personally thought they were wrong.  There might have been an occasion or so, I just don’t recall one at the moment.  I do know this:  if I disagreed with their point of view, based upon their obvious motivation and intention to do good for others, I would have given their position a lot of thought.  Why?  Because right or wrong, which rarely is as simple as black and white, knowing from their characters and upright natures, they are people truly deserving of respect and consideration, and their ideas always have merit and come from a pure place of G-dliness and love.  By the way, if you follow the links I have to Mitzi’s name, as well as Laura Armstrong’s, I do believe Mitzi’s opinion and actions are absolutely on target and support her cause as I hope others do too.  It is my sincere hope that the Cobb County School Board’s policies of complacency, evasiveness, and downright ignorance, which encompasses everything they have reign over, should be exposed and changed.  That is to say, the Cobb County School Board in general, as there are some intelligent and good people serving on it.

    I didn’t go into details about the above issue, since for the purpose of this blog, and the spirit of Hanukkah, the candles we light each night and the light they represent is not just about a moment in history.  The spirit of courage, justice, and the betterment of society is alive and well, I am proud to report!