Postal Service)Įven so, a statement released by the Postal Service with the issue of the new stamp renewed my concerns when it reminded me that “at times in history when it was not safe for Jewish families to make a public declaration of faith, the menorah was set instead in a prominent place inside the home.” Though the statement went on to say that “today in the U.S., many families have renewed the tradition of displaying the menorah in windows during the holiday,” I still wondered if “today” was one of those “not safe” times in history. The new Hanukkah stamp provided an unexpected source of inspiration for a writer. But there it was, a government-issued reminder that in the window, where your neighbors can see it, is the place from which your menorah should send out its glow. The design - a traditional, branched menorah shown burning in a window against a background of falling snow - seemed innocuous enough, even unseasonably fanciful if you live in California, like me.
Helping to banish my second thoughts, however, was that new stamp.
Was this a wise time to let our light shine? Why was I worried now? Since the previous Hanukkah, nothing had changed in our multi-ethnic and multi-denominational neighborhood, a place where non-Jewish neighbors have wished me “Happy Hanukkah” and at Passover “gut yontif.” But in the uncertain light of political change in our country, I was worried about what was emerging from the shadows: anti-Semitic iconography online, attacks on Jewish journalists, the re-emergence of Jewish conspiracy stories, Jewish college students being confronted with swastikas. In fact, it wasn’t really Hanukkah for me until I walked outside and, looking at the lit menorah emanating from my own window, affirmed that we had arrived to this time once again. Saying the blessings and lighting the candles is a mitzvah, according to the Talmud, and by doing so, we were also recognizing the blessing of our freedom of religion and expressing our Jewish identity. We’ve proudly placed our menorahs - whether lit by candle or by bulb - in our front windows, publicizing the miracle of the holiday both to our neighbors and ourselves. Hanukkah postage stamp depicting a lit menorah in a window was an unexpected source of inspiration.įor 17 years we’ve lived on a block where there are no other Jewish families. Though Hanukkah represents a victory of light over darkness - by the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, which resulted in the rededication of the Second Temple - recent events were causing me to rethink our window menorah lighting, turning me toward sharing our menorah kindling with only family and friends.īut, surprisingly, like finding an extra Hanukkah candle in the box, a new U.S. As I pictured our menorahs burning in their usual place - the front windows of our home - a warning light began to blink. LOS ANGELES ( JTA) - In the weeks before Hanukkah, with anticipation of the holiday brightly filling my mind, the darkening news of rising anti-Semitism in the U.S.
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