Hannukah and Human Rights

Hannukah (also spelled "Hanukkah" or "Chanukah") means "rededication" in Hebrew.  It is also known as "The Festival of Lights".  Hannukah commemorates the Jewish Maccabee rebels re-capturing a temple that once served as a Jewish temple, then was captured by the Greeks to worship Zeus.

The Maccabees did not care so much about what gods or goddesses the Greeks worshipped, but it seemed that the Greeks used this specific temple--a formerly Jewish temple--to practice rituals that would purposely insult the Jews living in Greek-occupied Jerusalem.  Those Greeks slaughtered pigs in the temple, and this was a purposeful display of disrespect and dishonor toward the Jews.  By fighting a battle with the Greeks to reclaim their temple, the Jewish Maccabees made a statement--that regardless of what culture, science, technology, and religion the Greeks brought to Jerusalem, the Jews would not allow their culture and religion to be ridiculed or destroyed.  In effect, the Jewish Maccabees told the Greeks that while they may be citizens of the Greek Empire, they would never stop being Jewish.

Hannukah lasts for eight nights; each night a candle is lit on the menorah to commemorate the lighting of candles in the reclaimed temple.  Many Jewish people place their menorah in a window or a public place. This is as much a display of pride in one's Jewish identity as the commemoration of an ancient battle to save a symbol of Jewish identity.

There is a Jewish population in Saint Cloud.  While the date of first Jewish settlement in Saint Cloud is unknown at this time, Jewish people have lived here long enough to raise children and grandchildren.  In many American cities, even ones which are not known for their Jewish communities, a menorah is placed next to the Christmas tree or nativity scene in public places to recognize that Christians and Jews are equal.  To this day, a menorah has not made an appearance next to any Christmas trees or Nativity scenes in public spaces in Saint Cloud, which implies to an outsider that a Jewish community does not exist, or is not to be seen or heard.