וְאַחַר כֵּן בָּאוּ בָנֶיךָ לִדְבִיר בֵּיתֶךָ וּפִנּוּ אֶת הֵיכָלֶךָ וְטִהֲרוּ אֶת מִקְדָּשֶׁךָ וְהִדְלִיק נֵרוֹת בְּחַצְרוֹת קָדְשֶׁךָ וְקָבְעוּ שְׁמוֹנַת יְמֵי חֲנֻכָּה אֵלּוּ לְהוֹדוֹת וּלְהַלֵל לְשִׁמְךָ הַגָּדוֹל
And afterward, Your children came to the Holy of Holies in Your House, and they cleansed Your Palace and purified Your Temple and they kindled lights in the courtyard of Your Sanctuary and they established these eight days of Hanukkah to give thanks and to praise Your great name.
from Al haNissim - the prayer added to the liturgy during Chanukah
When the Maccabees finally drove off the Syrian Greeks, the first thing that they wanted to do was to get back to regular worship in the Temple in Jerusalem. They had missed the holiday of sukkot that year, and wanted to make sure that they gave thanks for their harvest and prayed for the rainy season to begin. So, more than a month late, they celebrated seven days of sukkot and one day of shemini atzeret. As the Maccabees became the ruling dynasty known as the Hasmoneans, they made this extra sukkot a regular holiday, known as chanukah.
The Maccabees had an exact date that they could go back to regular worship, once they had purified and rededicated the Temple. Following our COVID banishment from our Temple, we have kind of dribbled back, gradually doing more or less in person, depending on the COVID transmission rate. On the one hand, we never closed - we held Shabbat services, celebrated holidays, marked students becoming Bar/Bat Mitzvah and Confirmation. On the other hand, we never really re-opened, as we are, even now, not yet back to what we used to do back before Purim in 2020. Perhaps, if we had been able to re-open completely, and declare a victory over the plague, we could have had a celebration of our own - one so big that we might want to recreate it year after year.
We should not allow the descendants of the Maccabees to be denied our celebration. We are making it through. Some of those students who led services from their homes to celebrate Bat or Bar Mitzvah are beginning to have receptions and parties. We had High HolyDay services both in person and on-line this year - truly a victory only enabled by many dedicated volunteers, staff, and participants. Eventually, we will all be able to be back in our building, to hug each other (if appropriate and wanted), and to share food. That day will be joyous indeed.
However, it is ok to take the shine off of that eventual celebration by also celebrating what we are doing now - by coming by for a Shabbat service, joining in an outside oneg, or any one of the other safely distanced activities that we are and have been doing. Our Temple Sukkah - about 20 years old - was put up by our Men’s Club and Sholom Again was one of the groups who had a celebration inside. We have a wonderful fire pit, where we are planning a havdalah for the congregation - with s’mores and hot cider. We have brought back our monthly take-out dinners, and that line has been a little parade of its own.
We will have a chance to all celebrate together again - but do not wait for that day. Take the opportunities to come back to Temple now - in person or on-line - and celebrate the community that we have. Rededicate yourself to our sanctuary - Temple Sholom.
