Zelensky the Maccabee

As a rule, I tend to frown on making direct comparisons between our current political realities and great events from our Jewish heritage. Obviously, there are often parallels between moments in history and our ancient sources. We know that the leaders of the American civil rights movement drew inspiration and courage from the story of the exodus from Egypt. We know that the Puritans saw themselves as a latter-day version of the ancient Israelites, setting out on a dangerous journey to settle a new promised land. Indeed, the various ways that Chanukah have been explained and even understood by the American Jewish community has transformed an ancient revolt against foreign rule into a ringing affirmation of American values of freedom, liberty and independence.

Yet sometimes such comparisons are warranted.  We are living through one of those moments right now.

Since last February I have devoted several Shabbat messages and sermons to Russia's illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine, and the challenge it poses to world peace.  I have written about the challenges that the conflict poses to Israel as well as the heroism and courage of the Ukrainian people. But it wasn't until yesterday when Volodymyr Zelensky, the leader of Ukraine visited Washington and spoke to President Biden and a joint session of Congress that a certain truth became clear to me.  We are witnessing a modern-day version of the Maccabean revolt in Ukraine.  The Maccabees attempt to throw off the yoke of Syrian Greek oppression and the struggle of the Ukrainian people to choose their own destiny are one and the same.

Given the gravity of this moment, every American, and for that matter every Jew, must pick a side. Will we stand with those who seek freedom, liberty and self-determination? Or will we stand with those who would impose their nefarious will against a nation that clearly does not wish to be subjugated by its more powerful and influential neighbor.

This is a particularly important question for us to ponder as we observe Chanukah this year. As many of you know, my undergraduate degree was in political science, and though I chose a career in Jewish communal service, I have remained keenly interested in that discipline. Scholars have written that the past 20 years have been termed a time of “democratic recession.” As many experts have noted, there has been a decline in the number of democracies throughout the world during this period. Anti-democratic political parties and leaders have gained power and influence throughout Europe, the United States and even, in our beloved State of Israel where even those who love Israel can't help but be shocked and embarrassed by some of the members of the new ruling government announced by Prime Minister Netanyahu early Thursday morning. Young people, especially college aged students, routinely display a lack of knowledge about the great democratic institutions in our country.  For years, this democratic recession prevented the free world from coming together to stand against the type of fascism and totalitarianism demonstrated by China, Iran and Russia. The invasion of Ukraine was more than a Russian land grab. It is a test of the free world’s resolve. So as I write this Shabbat message, Ukraine may be doing the heavy lifting, but we too are threatened.

In the face of the threat, as David Frum recently wrote, a surge of sympathy for Ukraine rapidly translated into “the greatest joint military assistance effort since 1945.” In President Zelensky's speech to congress last night, there were echoes of Winston Churchill's similar speech before that body in 1941, reminding Americans that they could not stand aside while the Nazis threatened Europe. Zelensky may not have been as polished or eloquent as Churchill, but his message was the same. As he said last night, "the deep commitment of both money, weapons and political support on the part of the Biden administration and congress to Ukraine is not charity, but an investment. It’s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.”  I can't help but add that it's also a message, not just to Russia to hopefully curb their imperial designs, but to China, who has made no secret of its own imperial designs on Taiwan, and throughout the Western Pacific.  

Zelensky’s message was reminiscent of the words that Churchill spoke on May 13, 1940, in his first speech to the House of Commons as prime minister, or for that matter, the words used by Mattityahu, the father of Judah and the first leader of the Maccabees:

You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.

As I said, I don't like to draw parallels between our ancient traditions and modern challenges. But the connection between Chanukah and Ukraine cannot be ignored.

Vladimir Putin represents Antiochus Epiphanes, the Syrian Greek king who sought to restrict the ability of Jews to choose their own religious and national allegiances.

The Russian backed Ukrainian separatists represent the Hellenized Jews who worked with the Syrian Greeks against those Jews who remained faithful to their traditional religious heritage and national aspirations.

President Zelensky represents the Maccabees, who with their courage, strength, and charisma, rallied the faithful, the oppressed, and all who simply wanted to live the life of their own choosing instead of the foreign ways of the invaders. Though few in number relative to the strength of the Syrian Greeks, among the most powerful militaries of their time, they emerged victorious. So must we.

2200 years later, we celebrate that miraculous victory each year at Chanukah. And that is its most important message. In every age, we must fight to either earn our freedom, or to maintain it. And in that struggle, everyone must choose a side. You either stand with those who are seeking freedom, or those who are opposed to it. Mr. Zelensky, thank you for being like the Maccabees of old, reminding us that victory and miracles, (to paraphrase the Chanukah blessing) "were achieved in days of old, and in our time as well."

Happy Chanukah to all.