December 8, 1999

By: Mandell I. Ganchrow, M.D.
President of the Orthodox Union

Chanukah is early this year. By the time the last dreidel is spun, the last latke eaten and the light of the menorah's last candle extinguished, we will have only to pick up a newspaper, turn on the television or step out our front door to be reminded that there are still 15 shopping days before Christmas.

Year-round, we are bombarded with tempting images of "must-have" items and "must-see" movies and television shows that are available to all of us regardless of our religious beliefs. But throughout the December "holiday season," our culture is saturated with symbols of religious observances that clearly do not apply to those of us who are not of the Christian faith. So it is at this time of year - especially - that many Jews (and, perhaps, members of other religions as well) often find themselves asking: "Are we part of the national culture?" and, perhaps more importantly, "Is the national culture our culture?"

The inherent struggle is a familiar one to virtually all of us who were reared on baseball and apple pie: Do we have to choose Jewish values over American values? Or, in essence, "How different does a Jew have to be?"

At issue is the Biblical injunction to resist assimilating into the prevailing culture of the country in which we live and our Torah’s repeated urgings for us to be vigilant in the preservation of our own religious identity.

For Jews historically, remaining apart from the cultures in which we settled was quite simple - especially in those countries that did not welcome its Jewish citizens, confining our people to ghettos where there were no opportunities to integrate into society-at-large. But as Jews living in America – and, indeed, in most countries around the world – we enjoy complete freedom to integrate into the prevailing society and economy. However, it is precisely the liberties we so cherish that must give us pause and compel us to devote serious thought to the Bible’s injunction, which lies at the heart of many of our daily decisions, whether we are conscious of it or not.

As Jews, halacha (centuries of rabbinic scholarship on Jewish law) guides our lives. And halacha is all about distinctions. It is about erecting walls around us to keep us close to our tradition. On the one hand we create these walls to help us differentiate from aspects of the national culture. Yet, on the other hand, we seek to integrate into many elements of society. And therein lies the challenge: To be able to distinguish when to make a distinction – knowing when we need to differentiate ourselves from the melting pot.

In choosing when to integrate and when to remain apart, we must take care not to adopt a practice simply because non-Jews are doing it. Yet, at the same time, we need to recognize that everything secular is not – by its very nature – off limits to us as Jews. After all, are designer garments designed for Jews, for Christians or for all individuals? What about the latest best selling books - for whom are they written? Don't Jews celebrate Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July and Mother's Day? Weren't these holidays created with all Americans in mind? And though we may not celebrate the new calendar year as the rest of the nation does, starting next month won’t we too date our documents with a "2000?"

The key is determining how to integrate into our national culture without losing our unique status as a religious culture. And only through the diligent study of our tradition’s classic (and more modern) texts can we receive guidance on how to make the appropriate distinctions.

This Chanukah, the menorah recalls the miraculous battle for religious freedom its candles represent. Yet, we must be ever mindful of all that freedom entails. For each of us, the liberty to practice our religion as we see fit comes with a commensurate responsibility to remain true to our tradition as well as to decide how best to achieve the delicate balance between our culture and our faith.

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