The Menorah Tree: Dangerous Religious Syncretism or Amazing Religious Creativity?

[rug]

Posted: 11/14/2013 10:07 am
Brad Hirschfield

With Hanukkah fast approaching, consider this image. What do you think?



Dangerous religious syncretism, you say? Pandering to a perverse need to mimic gentile customs, perhaps? A perversion of Hanukkah's message of Jewish pride, as many will surely cry? Those are certainly possible reactions to the new-to-market "Menorah Tree", but I am not at all sure that they are the smartest or healthiest reactions.

Let's start with the claim of syncretism. What religious custom isn't at least somewhat syncretistic? Every sacred tradition belonging to every religion I know was once an innovation, and most of them have their roots in, or were borrowed from, some other community. And that is especially so for Hanukkah.

While not everybody needs to like this new experiment in Hanukkah celebration, those quickest to decry it, might want to breathe deeply and remember a bit of history. Hanukkah celebrates, among other things, a group's willingness to break the inherited rules of the Sabbath in order to fight like their enemies, tell the story of that fight not in Hebrew but in Greek, and then a few centuries later, popularize a candle-lighting practice remarkably related to the use of sacred fire by the Zoroastrians among whom they lived.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-brad-hirschfield/the-menorah-tree-dangerou_b_4274053.html

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Well, Christmas trees aren't actually Christian, they're pagan.

So there's that.

[dlwickham]

2. I've seen worse

[dimbear]

3. Christianity has had a remarkable influence on the Jewish Bible, for instance. The Jews adopted

the Christian method of numbering verses (supposedly to make it easier to hold arguments. ) That's just being practical. Physically synagogues (in the more liberal denominations) look much like churches. It's just natural, evolutionary change.

[IrishAyes]

4. I've got no problem with it. Besides, Jewish customs are for them to decide.

I just remember and sorely miss an elderly Jewish lady I once nursed who always referred to Jesus as "that nice Jewish boy". She always loved to talk about our common beliefs and goals. A truly saintly woman. She would give me a small Hannukah gift and I would give her a little Christmas gift, as both of us agreed the gift should match the season of the giver, not the recipient. I miss her very much.

[Behind the Aegis]

5. This seems like nothing more than pre-"concern" and looking for problems.

While the Christmas tree was originally pagan, the fact remains, it is more of a Christian tradition now. So is this "grafting" one celebration onto another? Personally, I don't care! I like Christmas trees. Last year, I almost bought a "Channukah bush (my own creation)"! I simply couldn't find a bush I liked. I have had that issue before ( ).

[xchrom]

6. my partner and i always put up a Chanukah bush

he loved christmas - in a gay, jewish non-religious way -

we always flocked it white and hung blue ornaments on it.

and from there the gay inspired kitsch would explode in an inspirational frenzy.