F5: Chanukah

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Technology vs. Nature

One fascinating by-product of Western civilisation is technology. All the advances have been made to aid us but at the same time they have a negative effect on us too. Robert Pirsig explains...

You go through a heavy industrial area of a large city and there it all is, the technology. In front of it are high barbed wire fences, locked gates, signs saying NO TRESPASSING, and beyond, through sooty air, you see ugly strange shapes of metal and brick whose purpose is unknown... What it's for you don't know, and why it's there, there's no one to tell, and so all you feel is alienated, estranged, as though you didn't belong there... All this technology has somehow made you a stranger in your own land. Its very shape and appearance and mysteriousness say, "Get out." You know there's an explanation for all this somewhere and what it's doing undoubtedly serves mankind in some indirect way but that isn't what you see... so the final feeling is hostile...

This is another aspect of Chanukah in action. Technology can make us lose touch with our world, while Judaism is supposed to make us more aware of our world. The Jewish laws of Kashrut, agriculture, business and relationships etc. testify to this. Knowledge of Jewish Law can lead to a real caring for nature and how to relate to it.

The Chanukah lights are a good example. We should use wicks in oil or wax to make the Chanukah lights. We don't use electricity. The lights should last at least 30 minutes so we must understand and be sensitive to the burning process and either have enough oil or suitably big candles. Watching the lights burn allows us to see natural and very real processes in action. Children are fascinated by fire and love to play with it. Technology must not let us lose the wonder we experience when we are in direct contact with the natural world.

Chanukah Bushes!

It is interesting that of all festivals, it is Chanukah that has been twisted by Western culture. Though Christmas is a Christian festival, many of its customs have pagan origins which are now just Western traditions. The Christmas Tree with its lights and presents is an example. Since Chanukah and Christmas often occur near each other, there are many assimilated American Jews who have "Chanukah bushes" on Christmas. In a Jewish newsgroup on the internet, there is even a long running discussion going on about the validity of this activity. "Christmas lights" and "Chanukah bushes" testify to the ease by which different world views can be mixed up and how hard it is to be a Jew in a different culture.

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