Hanukkah Hallelujah

Written By Jonathan Krogh

Greetings Light Bearers: 

Hanukkah (or Chanukah) has begun, and Christmas isn’t very far away. Even Chicago’s weather has helped these past few days as we have experienced a very bleak midwinter, a carol that mentions snow no fewer than five times in the first verse. (For those who think modern praise music is too repetitious, consider that the word “Hallelujah” is sung 16 times in Handel’s Chorus, not counting contrapuntal hallelujahs throughout all four parts.)

The world has hushed this year with a terrorist attack against Australian Jews celebrating the first night of Hanukkah with a trip to the beach. The absurdity of violence has shaken the Australian public, as this is their first mass shooting since the Port Arthur violent attack in 1996. For us Americans it merely disappears into our barrage of rapid-fire tragedies, as we have experienced approximately 414 mass-casualty firearm events over the same period. I say approximately because there is some debate as to how much carnage is required to categorize a shooting as a mass-casualty event, a fact that I also find tragically absurd.

The word Hanukkah means dedication, to commemorate the rededication of the Second Temple after it was retaken by the Maccabees from the Seleucid (Syrian Greek) Empire in the 2nd century BCE. Tradition holds that Nehemiah rekindled the temple fire and lit the lamps with only enough oil for a single day. Yet when he lit the candles for the second day, the oil miraculously replenished, a cycle of restoration that lasted eight consecutive evenings until soldiers could break through the lines and restore the lamp oil supply. These nights of Hanukkah are celebrated with the nine-candle Menorah, a host candle representing the temple fire and eight candles commemorating the restorative light of rededication.

It is customary to sing or recite Psalm 30 in the season of lights, a Psalm of David to celebrate the dedication of the land where the Temple built by his son Solomon would later stand. The Psalm refers to victory over enemies and resilience over tribulations, containing the wonderful verse, “For [the Lord’s] anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning (vs. 5).” For those striving with darkness this season, the imagery of dawning light and joy is a powerful refrain. So too are verses 11-12, where the Psalm concludes, “You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.”

For anyone wrestling with senseless suffering, the antidote is a defiant and inexplicable joy—an intensity of praise that rekindles light over darkness, hope over despair, dancing against the mourning. Or as John wrote in his Gospel, “The light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1.5, KJV).  It is a spirit of rededication that responds to inexplicable evil and violence with the even more absurd shout of “Hallelujah”. 

Or perhaps into our darkness we may wish to intone the music of modern Psalmist Leonard Cohen, who wrote: “And even though it all went wrong / I'll stand before the Lord of Song / With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah.” Who then repeats that word, yes, 16 times.

Not trying to comprehend it, just choosing Joy this season, “again I say, rejoice” (Philippians 4.4). I remain,

With Love,
Jonathan Krogh
Your Pastor

 

Jonathan Krogh
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