It's very clear that the story of Chanukah is a military one. Most renditions of the tale indicate the the holiday is a celebration of a military victory. It's relatively clear to me that the rabbis of the Talmud weren't super-comfortable with a holiday that celebrated military might, especially while they were living in Babylonia (and therefore subject to a foreign power), and so they reworked the story to focus on the miracle of the oil instead.
But all of this does allow me the link from the military victory of Chanukah to the present-day Israeli soldiers, many of whom serve at checkpoints, bases, and other various military installations. Standing Together is an organization that was founded to send pizza to soldiers and has expanded to sending coffee, donuts, and other treats and comforts that helps soldiers feel appreciated and cared for. More than anything, the soldiers of Israel are her children, and Standing Together helps remind us of that.
So....in honor of one wonderful and very lucky commenter, I will provide Chanukah donuts for four soldiers! Comment away on this post. How do you find comfort when you're away from home?
And, if you so desire, click over to Standing Together and make your own donation. Five bucks goes a long way, and if you're in Israel, contact them to arrange to deliver the pizza, coffee and donuts.
P.S. The awesome Leora has posted a great edition of Kosher Cooking Carnival. Go check it out!
3 comments:
You are so sweet! :)
What a lovely thing to do.
As my waistline can attest, I'm a comfort eater, so that would definitely be my method of choice.
(Now that I'm off medical restrictions for my feet I'm heading back to the gym on 1/1!)
Good post. One of these days I have to pull out my Hashmonaim as our version of the Taliban post.
Maybe I'll do it later. Anyway, I appreciate the tzedakah angle. I should do that sometime.
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