Opinion
Members of Turkey’s Jewish community and visitors gather around a Hanukkah menorah during a celebration of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah at Neve Shalom Synagogue in Istanbul, Turkey, Dec. 19, 2017. Photo: Reuters / Murad Sezer.
Last week, my firstborn, five-year-old son declared in a rather ominous tone, “Santa isn’t real.” Normally this would inspire dread in a mother’s heart, but since we’re Jewish and therefore don’t celebrate Christmas, I simply replied, “Okay. Did someone tell you that or did you reach that conclusion on your own?”
“I decided,” he humphed and walked away. It was the humph that concerned me the most. Reaching the conclusion that Santa is a fiction was not a matter of concern. The fact that he seemed to reach it unwillingly worried me.
A Brief History of Hope
Even those with 20/20 vision could not have foreseen the dramas and traumas of this calendar year, these pandemic times.
As we enter the year-ending religious holiday season, the season of hope, are we becoming hopeful about soon-arriving vaccines and a potential “roaring 20s” relief rally in our lives, or will we remain quite sober and even somewhat hopeless about the suffering in our nation and our world?
Before answering, let’s ponder some deeper understandings of this thing called hope, including its religious and philosophical considerations as well as its role in contemporary debates about our political and personal lives. Unwrapping the many meanings of hope may provide a precious gift of inspiration this year.
Vayeshev: The power of praise; Hanukkah: Ceremony and Celebration for the family - Judaism israelnationalnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from israelnationalnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.