Coincidence or Convergence?

"Happy Thanksgivukah!" as the media's greeting goes today. Chanukah and Thanksgiving, holidays of two entirely different origins and time tables, are both taking place today for the first time in many years, and the last time in eons.

The Coincidence

For those unfamiliar with the Hebrew calendar, here's how the Jewish people get to Chanukah: The Hebrew calendar is a compromise between north and south. The southern, drier regions of the Land of Israel were populated primarily by shepherds. Water was in short supply, so few crops were grown. Shepherds tended their flocks all year long in the mild climate, and were often itinerant (as we see today among the Bedouins). The ability to see at night was far more significant to them, making the position of the sun less relevant than the phases of the moon.

Conversely, the northern lands of Israel are on the Fertile Crescent, the most fertile lands in the Mideast. Water flows from nearby mountains down toward the Jordan River. Winters are chilly and rainy, providing ample water for growing in good years. While it was nice to have the moon light up the land at harvest time, the solar calendar held the greatest sway.

As one travels toward the equator, it seems that the indigenous peoples reckon by a lunar calendar. The further one travels toward the poles, the more likely the indigenous peoples reckon by a solar calendar. The Georgian calendar by which we live in America, inherited as it was from northern Europe, is almost entirely solar. While the year is divided into "months," the nod to the moon is very half-hearted.

The first commandment which the Jews received as they were preparing to leave the slavery of Egypt is the basis of compromise calendar: "This month (the month of spring) shall be for you the first of months (Exodus 12:2)." On that day, preparations began for the exodus from Egypt, which came to be celebrated as the Passover. It was clear that the Passover would always fall in the spring, and that subsequent months of the year would be counted from the month in which Passover fell. In order to accomplish this, the Jewish calendar would have to have periodic leap years, with an extra month tagged on at the end, to bring solar and lunar back into alignment.

The holiday of Chanukah came much later, after the Temple in Jerusalem was built, destroyed and eventually restored. The destruction of the temple--and subsequent Babylonian captivity--was the culmination of a long series of events in which the Greek empire of the time pushed Jews to give up their religion. The commemoration of the miraculous events that led to the restoration of the temple would be celebrated every year thereafter, beginning on the 25th day of the ninth month. Because the lunar cycle shifts relative to the solar cycle, the 25th of the month of Kislev can fall any time between the end of November and the end of December.

The first Thanksgiving was a celebration of the fall harvest. Because it was observed by pilgrims who had fled religious persecution, it also came to be celebrated as a thanks to God for the ability to worship as one chose. The holiday has always fallen in November, although the week in which it is celebrated has varied from time to time. Currently, Americans celebrate it on the 4th Thursday of November. Because of its current importance as the launch of the Christmas shopping season, that day is unlikely to change any time soon.

The Convergence

The common theme of both holidays is, of course, religious freedom. The pilgrims were in many ways like the Jews reclaiming their temple: at last able to express themselves religiously after centuries of repression. On this very special day, it behooves American Jews to give thanks to God that we, once again, are free to practice our traditions and rituals as we see fit. It behooves us to remember that true religious freedom is a rare commodity indeed in many places in the world, even today.

Finally, it behooves us to guard this freedom exceedingly carefully, and to understand that free exercise of one religion stops at the line where it interferes with someone else exercising theirs. When religious groups start using persuasion and deception to convert others, beware: when their goals can't be achieved with "soft" tactics, hard ones are sure to follow. Unfortunately, it's a history that keeps on repeating itself.