Friday, December 22, 1944
JEWISH WESTERN BULLETIN
The M A Lesson in Courage
By HTMAN C3HANOVEB
This year, Chanukah steps out of the calendar into a happier and more hopeful atmosphere than hes prevailed at any time during the past decade.
The reason is quite evident. During tiiB past year, in a manner suggestive of the order in which the Chanukah candles are lit, the lights have been going on one by one in
EjuFOpc; xvUSSia, Polaiiu, FfsuiCe, xvU-
mania, Belgimn, Greece, and Bulgaria are now eternally rid of the Nazi menace.
Our cup of happiness has not run over, however, for the past year had a goodly measure of uneasy, if not frightening, moments. There were times when the enemy appeared to show signs of his early invincibility —when our invasion forces met with stiff enemy resistance in the West, at Caen and Metz, and when the civilian population of England was bonibed out of its brief period of ease by the new, terrifying rocket bombs burled from the continent. The lights that have been going on have also revealed unbelievably horrible scenes of mass murder in the Nazi extermination camps for Jews.
The enemy's end, however, despite bis last minute measures of desperation, is now as certain as that of the Syrian Antiochus whose ringing defeat Jews celebrate this week.
It is a mther striking fact that the climate of courage and bravery in which the world now lives forms a perfect backdrop for the celebration of Chanukah. For, Chanukah has always been equated with Maccabee, and Maccabee has merely been another way of spelling courage.
Is there a Jewish child, I wonder, whose eyes have not betrayed a sense of awe and pride at the very mention of the word Maccabee?
But the heroes of Chanukah have not been worshipped by youngsters alone. The dauntless heroism of the handful against the mighty horde has fired the imagination, of the Jew throughout history, prevented him
fused new hope and faith into his oppressed soul.
The story of the Maccabees is indeed a story of supreme heroism and courage. It goes beyond the mere Sunday school lesson in courage, however. It is a lesson in the proper motivation, use, and applica ;ion of courage.
Courage is a phenomenon that er:/ braces a number of things. As a 'people for instance, we have display -ed an enormous quantity of it. Ou " historical acts of heroism were evei' hnked with the spirit of Chanukah— with a menorah and lights, or with enlightenment and ideals. They were always the handmaiden of the highest and noblest spiritual and ethical ideals in life.
The phenomenon of courage has other components. It can never be the outgrowth of self-centeredness to be true courage. It must rather emanate from a deep-seated willingness to assume other people's troubles. If the little band of Maccabees had not made Israel's tragedy their own, there would never have been a Chanukah.
The historic similarity between the courage being displayed on the battlefields of the current war and the
Maccabean struggle for liberation is now obvious. Today the democratic forces are motivated and dedicated to the high ideal of eradicating the evil fromi our midst; there is an unparalleled amount of self-forgetful-ness and self-sacrifice in the world;, and projection of the national self into the trouble of others; and finally, disciplinary measures necessary to prosecute the war are accepted without much whimpering. This is indeed Maccabean courage, true courage.
This is, however, one aspect of the Maccabean uprising which leaders and educators have neglected and which lends the story more significance than ever this year.
We are always so excited about the great military upset of second Temple days that we forget the very real, courageous work of the Maccabean family, the work which began after the initial defea.t of the Syrians. We thus unconsciously disregard the period in which the heroes of Israel displayed their greatest amount of courage.
How much renewed idealism, self-sacrifice, and discipline were necessary to estahlish a new order in Palestine. The foes of the Maccabees were not merely the external enemies who still continued to apply pressure on the little country, but the more sinister internal enemies—the Jewish Hellenists—who obstructed the Hash-monean plans and tried to bankrupt the Jewish will for independence. Then, too, the confidence of the people in the new political and social structure had to be gained, and the Jewish religion, which had been dealt a severe blow by the Syrian Hellen-
iKeoRPORAreo sv? may lero.
TO OUR MANY JEWISH FRIENDS
We extend Sincere Greetings and Best Wishes for a Happy
NEW YEAR
E. F, MANDELOORN
JEWISH C
PACIFIC GOMMAND
H/Capt. Ephraim F. Mandelcom, recently appointed Jewish Chaplain to the Pacific Command, arrived at the West Coast a short time ago to take up his duties here.
H/Capt. Mandelcom, bom in Montreal, is a graduate of the Strath-cona Academy of Montreal and of the Yeshivah College of New York. He was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and served the Conservative Temple Beth El of Buffalo, N.Y., and the Temple Beth Israel of Philadelphia, before entering the Canadian Chaplain service.
His parents, Rev. and Mrs. MyerM. Mandelcom, reside at 1303 Ducharme Ave., Montreal.
Rabbi Mandelcom succeeds K/ Capt. H. Gevantman, now posted to Montreal and H/Capt. I. B. Rose, at present serving with the Canadian Forces in the Mediterranean area.
A DEPOSIT IN THE
(Bed Cross)
BLOOD BANK
izers, had to be restored to a position of respect. To accomplish all their aims therefore called for unprecedented courage on the part of the Maccabees.
In this phase of their activity these Jewish heroes offer a great challenge to our own civilization today. We are meeting the problems of the war successfully and enduring its trials with fortitude. All this has required courage, extraordinary courage we never thought we had in us. Can we, too, like the Maccabees of old meet the difiicult and trying problems of the peace with similar courage and resolve, with the same inventiveness, zeal, and discipline, and the same spirit of self-forgetfulness that we brought to the prosecution of the war?
We today, on a broader scale, have our own brand of Hellenists. There are elements in our society, both here and abroad, who have long identified themselves with the basic tenets of fascism, and willy willy with its practices. These men, when the smoke of battle will have passed, will remain behind to snipe at the efforts to reset the world along new, democratic lines.
The desire to compromise with these sinister forces will be strong, for the most natural tendency after the war will be to relax, to rip away the fetters that have kept us under terrible strain and tension these five years. We will be tempted to take the path of least resistance.
If it wishes to avoid costly blunders and terrible pitfalls in the postwar period and eliminate the horrifying possibility of a third world war in the not-too-distant future, our generation would do well to take a lesson from the Maccabees. One thing we can learn, that to establish a lasting peace, we must approach the problems of the peace with as much courage—with as much discipline, sacrifice, and dedication—as we channeled into the successful conduct of the war.
What our civilization still has to learn, and can yet learn before the hour is too late, is that to survive, it must part with ,the old masters who drew lines of demarcation between war and peace, and who regarded peace as merely a state of non-existence of war.
By this time we should have recognized the truth that peace, like war, must be planned, must be prepared for, with unusual zeal, energy, and,-above all, courage.
We are told that when the Maccabees entered the Temple they found only one vial of pure, untainted oiL This was sufficient for only one day. They did not put it aside and wait for more to be pressed. On the contrary, they took their chances on the one vial. Miraculously, legend relates, it lasted for eight.
What the world really needs is the faith and courage to make a start, to experiment in a liberated Europe with a pure and untainted democratic order. The miracle of a remodeled world will then come about.
With indomitable hope, we Jews who have absorbed the lesson of the Maccabees, look forward to the purification of the Temple of humanity and the kindling of new lights of joy for men everywhere.
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Hxtend Holiday Ljreetings
and bring you Holiday Skoivs
CiiriToi
"SOMETHING FOR THE BOYS"
CABMEN nUBANDA MICHAEL O'SHEA Twentieth Century Fox's New Technicoloi Musical
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DONIH
WILLIAM POWELL MTBNA LOT
and ASTA
"The HON MAN COMES HOME"
Wonderful Christmas Show for the Whole Family!
JOHN WAYNE
"TALL IN THE SADDLE"
and
''Heniy Aldrich's Uttle Secret"
By Popular Demand! BOB HOPE BING CROSBY
DOROTHY LAMOUB
U
ft
ROAD TO SINGAPORE
Plus
BRIAN DONLEVY in
"THE GREAT McGINTY"
New Year's Eve Midnight Shows at all Dowiitown Famous Players Theatres
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DAVE NEMETZ
55 W. Hastings MA. 6471
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