Chanukah is all over the place. Article after article, from newspapers to scholarly journals; weigh in, in some form on our eight special days. One of the columns attracting attention this year is the Op-Ed piece in the NY Times written by David Brooks. Brooks makes many claims; however, one claim in particular was that "the bad guys did good things." In that he means to say that the Hellenists / Greeks were making the world a better place through the advancement of culture and modernity. The inference being that religious Jewry (i.e. The Maccabees) was resistant to productive change.

Here is my Op-Ed: Culture, Art, Beauty, Music are not antithetical to religious Judaism. Achievement in areas beyond Torah study has usually been encouraged in religious communities. Up until R. Moshe Sofer's 19th Century play on words חדש אסור מן התורה- newness is forbidden in the Torah, no such similar sentiments have been expressed in our literature. (Let is also be stated that R. Moshe Sofer was a very worldly scholar who used this line to draw a clear line between the Orthodox camp and Reformers.) So what then is the point of departure between religious Judaism and Hellenist championed culture? The distinction can be pointed to in one line: does culture decide societal norms or does the Torah decide cultural and societal norms? Torah is the center flame that illuminates the candles of wisdom flanking it on both sides. It dictates our standards of morality and beauty.
As we are oft to say אור חדש על ציון תאיר- A New Light Shall Shine on Zion. May the Chanukah candles fill our homes with new and fresh lights, ablaze with the ever original Torah that we treasure.