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Hog Wash Miracles, lies, and brainwashing

Posted by Maggie (Guest) - Wednesday, January 4 2006, 2:01:19 (CET)
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The Right Minority and the Wrong Majority
by Yedidya Atlas
Jan 01, '06 / 1 Tevet 5766

One should never feel that one is wrong simply because the majority disagrees with one's position. A brief review of Jewish history, replete with such cases, illustrates the rule that the minority is invariably correct and all too often has to save the majority from itself.

Among the many examples: the Judge Gideon, with only 300 steadfast men, defeated the Midianites and saved the Children of Israel from domination in spite of itself; and Ezra the Scribe who returned from the Babylonian Exile to rebuild the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Ezra, our sources tell us, was only able to convince a small fraction of the exiled Jews to return to Israel (est. 5%). The rest were comfortable in their Babylonian suburbs and apparently told Ezra they'll send checks.

And the most prominent example is the story of Chanukah, which we are now celebrating. The Hellenist Jews, the left-wingers of their day, worshiped a culture not their own and were a minority in the nation, but held the main positions of power, which they maintained through corruption (mostly among the wealthy and influential - remind anyone of anything?). This corruption ultimately led the Assyrian Greeks to be able to forcibly spread their idolatrous culture throughout Israel. The High Priest in Jerusalem was a Hellenist and the Holy Temple was defiled.

The majority of Israel were G-d fearing Jews, but did not have the courage of their beliefs to fight back. It took a minor country priest in Modi'in by the name of Matithias (Matityahu), the son of Yochanan, the former High Priest, together with his seven sons, to lead a revolt that subsequently saved the nation of Israel from the Assyrian Greeks.

But it should be noted that the revolt that began in Modi'in was a guerrilla war fought by a mere 600 committed Jewish soldiers under the Maccabee banner. Their war lasted for three and a half years before they succeeded in entering Jerusalem and liberating the Holy Temple, including the now celebrated miracle of the oil, for which we light the Chanukah menorah today. During that three and half year period, they fought alone, without popular support from the non-Hellenist Jewish majority. Only after the liberation of the Temple did the majority join the valiant minority and continue the war of liberation against the domination of the Assyrian Greeks - physically and culturally - for another twenty seven years, until final victory.

The classic Jewish victory of Chanukah, which every one of us celebrates, was a victory of G-d delivering the mighty into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few, as we say in the traditional Al HaNissim prayer. The minority was right, the majority was wrong and, once again, the minority saved the majority. This is a lesson that has repeated itself again and again throughout history. It behooves us today, when we light the Chanukah candles, to remember this important lesson.

Do not be shaken from one's convictions merely because a majority of the people lack the will to stand up for what's right. If one feels that we are a minority, so let it be; ultimately, as so many times before in Jewish history, truth will prevail and the minority, with G-d's help, will save the majority.

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