Staff Writer
Though the season of peace on Earth and good will toward man is considered a creation of the Christian faith, Judaism has been celebrating the season over 160 years before the birth of Jesus. Whereas many will be tearing through presents tomorrow morning, members of the Jewish faith will be uttering a small prayer as they light Hanukkah candles on their Menorah and remember a story of incredible odds.
“There was this supreme ruler, Antiochus, who decided one day that no one’s going to worship any other religion than his,” explained artist, educator, and member of the Aroostook Hebrew Community Center, Raphael Gribetz, “And this little religion called Judaism was trying to survive these tremendous odds; the revolt started by just a family, the Maccabees, deciding that they wouldn’t be oppressed, and they won. There is a war-like center to the story, but the real story is bigger than that; it’s a sense that you can do your own thing amidst terrible controversy,” Gribetz added.
On the first day of Hanukkah, Dec. 22, the Shamash, the candle used for lighting all eight Hanukkah candles, was used to light the first candle.
“Each light has it’s own pocket of validity, and each one moves us away from where we were,” Gribetz explained, “you can’t light the eight candles off of each other.”
For every day of Hanukkah, an additional candle is lit until all eight candles are aglow on Hanukkah’s final day.
The history of why they have eight candles and another candle exclusively to light the other eight stems from the miracle of Hanukkah.
“Though the Maccabees had taken the temple back from Antiochus in Jerusalem, the temple had been desecrated,” told Gribetz, “So they cleaned the temple and found the Menorah, but they only had one vial of blessed oil to burn. The vial should have lasted one day, so they figured that they would light the Menorah and stop fighting for one day; the Menorah burned for eight days. They couldn’t figure out how it had lasted.”
Though the story of Hanukkah is beautiful, so is it’s meaning.
“Each lighting of the candles is a step closer toward enlightenment, towards a better life,” said Gribetz, “Though the Maccabees won, it was violent and it was tough; they needed a gap, a minute to grow away from the violence. The concept is to grow away from things that pull us to darkness and move toward the light,” he added.
Aroostook County used to have a large Jewish community, but over time, the number has decreased.
“Whereas Judaism is alive and well in the bigger cities, this is a smaller area,” Gribetz said, “There used to be a big Jewish community here, partly because of the second World War; there were a lot of Jewish members of the Air Force. When they first built the Synagogue in Presque Isle, there was only standing room during Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah; it was packed. This past September, we probably had only seven or eight people come out for Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah,” Gribetz added.
Though there may not be as many individuals celebrating Hanukkah in Aroostook County anymore, the holiday has not lost its meaning.
“Generally, we’ll call a Jewish friend or a friend who wants to be involved and we’ll have latkes, light the candles together, and play dreidel,” Gribetz said, “that’s the real story of Hanukkah; if you’re in a relatively isolated place like this and you celebrate, there is that sense of ‘I can survive.’ The candles still light, and they’re still beautiful,” he added.
Gribetz was born and raised Orthodox Judaism; his faith has influenced some of his artwork.
Gribetz’s work is currently being showcased at a gallery in South Portland called The Old Crow. Gribetz is one of 19 artists who have contributed work for The Old Crow’s holiday show; Gribetz’s work will be showcased again in March.
A few of Gribetz’s pieces that are currently being displayed in Portland include a few Menorahs and a dreidel that he made.
Though Christmas and Hanukkah are celebrated very differently, they are connected in their own way.
“The story of Hanukkah, though it’s not related to Christmas as a whole, is related to the Christian faith because, God forbid, had Antiochus been successful and destroyed the enclave of Judaism in Jerusalem, Jesus might not have been born Jewish or not have been born to a Jewish family,” Gribetz said, “the success of the Maccabees ensured that Jesus live the life of a Jew. Jesus was born and died Jewish, and he celebrated Hanukkah,” Gribetz added.
Contributed Photo
This Menorah, created by Raphael Gribetz in his Presque Isle studio, is currently part of a holiday show down in Portland.
Aroostook Republican Photo/ Natalie Bazinet
Many works of art created by Raphael Gribetz contain Judaic influences. His work is currently on display at The Old Crow in Southern Portland.
