Two festivals of freedom

The Jewish calendar contains two festivals of freedom, Passover and Chanukah. But the kind of freedom each celebrates differs.

The great British Jewish philosopher Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997) is particularly celebrated for his essay “Two Concepts of Liberty” (1958). In it, he describes “negative freedom” — freedom from coercion — and “positive freedom” — freedom to do things.

Passover is primarily about negative freedom. It celebrates liberation from the coercion of slavery. That to a large extent is what makes Passover probably the most universalistic of the Jewish holidays, one that resonates with people all over the world who struggle against oppression of some type.

On the other hand, Chanukah, which begins the evening of Dec. 20, primarily is about positive freedom. Yes, the events of the story began with resistance to attempted coercion, a fight against Seleucid King Antiochus IV’s effort to destroy Judaism.

But ultimately, the holiday, whose name means “dedication,” is more about freedom to do, specifically to do Judaism. It celebrates how Judah Maccabee and his followers recaptured the Second Temple, cleansed it of the statues of and sacrifices to the Greek gods that Seleucid Empire officials had put there, and rededicated it to Jewish worship.

Moreover, after those events, their struggle continued and their goals changed. They fought to become independent of the Seleucid and any other empire, to create a Jewish state that, among other things, would make sure Jews could practice Judaism without fear of persecution.

Today, the vast majority of the world’s Jews live with both kinds of freedom. No major Jewish population suffers under an oppressive regime that tries to coerce its members to abandon Judaism. All major Jewish populations have the freedom to live as Jews to whatever extent their members wish to do so.

This is not to say we do not face potential threats and problems, from within our community and from outside it. Being free does not guarantee achievement of utopia. (As Berlin himself wrote, “Liberty is liberty, not equality or fairness or justice or culture or human happiness or a quiet conscience.”) Jews worry about how some Jews use their freedom to abandon Judaism or Jewish involvement. We still have external enemies, particularly many members of the Arab/Muslim world who to this day cannot stand the thought of Jews and Judaism living free from coerced subordination to Muslims and Islam.

But who can doubt that those of our ancestors who fought the war against the Seleucid Empire would marvel at what the Jewish world has become if they could somehow see it today — and especially if they could see the third Jewish state in the land of Israel. Even our community’s struggles and disagreements display our exhilarating freedom to think and create and care — freedom we didn’t have for much of our history.

We may kindle the Chanukah lights “to remember the miracles” of how Judah Maccabee and his followers recaptured and rededicated the Temple; but perhaps the true miracles are to live in freedom and to know that we do.

As Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav is supposed to have said, “Freedom is the world of joy.” Chag Chanukah sameach, and enjoy freedom.