[Jewish] A Hanukkah Human Rights Message

[Steven Nathan]

Dear Hampshire Community,

The following message was originally written by Rabbi Bruce Bromberg 
Seltzer of
Amherst and Smith colleges. It also includes a special prayer for human 
rights written
Rabbi Edward Feld, that I hope we all will use each night prior to candle
lighting. Please pass this prayer - and this information - on to family 
and friends everywhere.

Let us bring the lights of freedom into a world where there is far too
much darkness.

Chag Urim Same'akh - a Happy Festival of Lights,

Steven
-------------------
 From Rabbi Bruce:

The joyous Festival of Lights is one in which we proclaim that might
only wins out in the short term. In the long term, spirit trumps might.
I would like to recommend two actions sponsored by Rabbis for Human
Rights-North America that remind us of the role of the spirit.

This year International Human Rights Day, December 10, falls during
Hanukkah. The Day celebrates the passage of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights by the United Nations on December 10, 1948. There is no
doubt that the Declaration was adopted in response to the Holocaust and
the horrors the world experienced during World War II; indeed, the
preamble to the Declaration states as much. In celebrating Hanukkah we
reflect on our struggle for freedom and human dignity and the
conjunction of the two festivals should inspire us to commit ourselves
to fighting for human rights at home and abroad.

To commemorate this confluence of festivals and to highlight the role
of spirit over might, I urge each of us to add the following small
prayer (written by my predecessor Rabbi Eddie Feld) to our candle
lighting: A reading for lighting candles in the home:

*I light this flame of Hanukkah remembering the time when my people were
oppressed because of their faith. Greeks persecuted us, martyred our
people, tortured and killed us. Many of my people stood firm, and I am
their descendant. As I celebrate the light of freedom today, I pray that
I and my fellow citizens shall not be the source of suffering in others,
never persecute others because of their faith, never torture others,
never be the instrument of hate. May we all be sources of light in the
world, not of darkness. *

Additionally, Rabbis for Human Rights North America invites all Jews
interested in human rights to affirm the image of God in every person by
joining K'vod Habriot: A Jewish Human Rights Network, launching now in
honor of Hanukkah and International Human Rights Day.
K'vod Habriot is a dynamic network of rabbis, communities and
individuals dedicated to the human rights of all. Synagogues and
individuals who join pledge to advocate on behalf of human rights,
educate themselves on the core values and links between Judaism and
human rights, celebrate International Human Rights Day as a critical
date for the Jewish community, and Integrate human rights concerns into
Jewish rituals and holidays. To find out more about K'vod Habriot, join

http://www.rhr-na.org/kvod_habriot/launched .
-


-
Steve Nathan
 

Steven P. Nathan
Campus Rabbi and
Interim LGBTQ Advisor
Hampshire College 
                                                           
Office of Spiritual Life -- Box SA
Amherst, MA 01002
Phone: (413) 559-6234
Fax: (413) 559-5663
snathan at hampshire.edu <mailto:snathan at hampshire.edu>

 
"The more deeply immersed I became in the thinking of the prophets, the 
more powerfully it became clear to me what the lives of the prophets 
sought to convey: that morally speaking there is no limit to the concern 
one must feel for the suffering of human beings. It also became clear to 
me that in regard to cruelties committed in the name of a free society, 
some are guilty, all are responsible."
-Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
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