Chanukah
Zechariah: A Thoroughly Modern Prophet
On the first Shabbat of Chanukah, we
reading the haftarah about the vision of a new
menorah created for the restored Second Temple in Yerushalyaim.
What is new about it?
Zechariah: a thoroughly modern
prophet, prophesied in Babylonia, after it had come under Persian rule (520 -
518 BCE).
Zechariah encouraged Jews to return
to Jerusalem to become part of the restoration effort. He promised them that
the new Temple would not be like their grandparents' temple. Interfaith and
international effort would rebuild the Temple, and people from all around the
world would come there to worship.
Zechariah's oracles are like a
postmodern collage. He cuts from one image to the next, with a dreamlike
effect. Travel with me, he says, my symbols are open to multiple
interpretations. One could even say Zechariah invites each person to use his
symbols as stimuli to create a new national religious identify.
While Zechariah promotes the
emerging Jewish political leaders of his time, he also promotes a global change
of spiritual consciousness. Change will come, God says, "Not by might, not
by power, but by My spirit." Zechariah's vision
of the new menorah supports this teaching. The seven branches of the menorah,
he says, represent seven facets of God. The olive trees by its side are the
political leaders standing watch on God's behalf.
May we each find a facet of spirit
that connects us with a heightened consciousness. May
we bring that consciousness to light through wise ethical and political decisions. Happy Chanukah!
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