A Golden Apple for Chanukah: Finding Depth in the Holiday Season
By Michael Karlin
President
Mythic Imagination Institute

Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, Elisha Ben Abuya, and Rabbi Akiva, four prominent sages of the Talmud, entered into the Garden of the Mystical Realms, to seek an encounter with the Divine Presence. Rabbi Akiva warned the others that when they arrived at the Holy palace not to mistake the beautiful slabs of marble for water and scream out "Water, water!," for it is said, "He who speaks falsehood will not be established before My eyes." You must approach with a pure and true heart. The Talmud recounts that upon entering the Garden, Ben Azzai looked upon the Divine Presence and died, Ben Zoma went mad, and Alisha Ben Abuya lost his faith and became an apostate, forever to be known as Acher, "Other." Only Rabbi Akiva entered and left the Garden in peace.

This story, like all stories, is deeply metaphorical, and must be unpacked to understand it's deeper meanings. According to the Jewish sages, there are four levels to understanding every line in the Torah: the literal, symbolic, metaphorical, and mystical. To fully grasp the profundity and deep spiritual wisdom of the stories and laws, they must be first understood in their literal sense. But it goes far deeper. Next you must dig into the symbolic meanings, the representations, numerologies and other hints written into the text and between the lines. Further still, are the stories and metaphors that fill in the gaps in the written text. There is a lot of narrative and metaphor left out of these stories, and to gain an understanding of the whole picture, there are stories, or Midrash, that must be explored to get the flavor and context within which the written text takes place. Last, there are the secret, mystical understandings of the text that illuminate the numinous qualities of the written words and oral traditions. While the surface, literal reading is of value, it is but one level, and the most superficial.

Maimonides, the brilliant medieval philosopher, Torah scholar and physician, put it beautifully in his book The Guide for the Perplexed when he described the proper use of a good metaphor. Quoting King Solomon he states, "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in vessels of silver."

"It shows that in every word which has a double sense, a literal one and a figurative one, the plain meaning must be as valuable as silver, and the hidden meaning still more precious: so that the figurative meaning bears the same relation to the literal one as gold to silver. It is further necessary that the plain sense of the phrase shall give to those who consider it some notion of that which the figure represents. Just as a golden apple overlaid with a network of silver, when seen at a distance, or looked at superficially, is mistaken for a silver apple, but when a keen-sighted person looks at the object well, he will find what is within, and see that the apple is gold."

We must seek the gold. And what of our Garden? The Hebrew word for Garden used in this story is Pardes. In Hebrew the four levels of Torah interpretation are P'shat (literal), Remmez (symbolic), Drash (metaphorical), and Sod (mystical). The acronym formed by the first letter of each of these words is PRDS, which in Hebrew is Pardes (remember, there are no letters for vowels in Hebrew). The Garden that these men wandered into was the Garden of studying the texts at their deepest levels, exploring every facet, and uncovering its deepest truths.

Holidays are enactments of myths, and as such these same four layers of meaning can be reflected in how we celebrate and understand our holidays, and not just Jewish holidays.

LayerTranslation	Significance to a Holiday
P'shat Literal	The plain context or story that legitimizes the holiday
Remmez Symbolic	The specific rituals associated with the holiday
Drash Metaphorical	The archetypal messages and lessons being taught
Sod Mystical	The personal manifestation of these archetypes in my life

Unfortunately, in our culture, we are very good at P'shat and Remmez, but that is where we stop. We all know the general historical story of our holidays, whether it is Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or any other major holidays. We are also quite adept at practicing the rituals associated with the holidays, whether it is lighting candles, going to religious services, giving charity, feasting, or passing out presents. Yet, that is where our holidays end. Long ago we lost touch with the deeper, more metaphorical and personal nature of our holidays. These holidays are recurring punctuations in an annual spiritual cycle meant to connect us with deeper truths and our own spiritual journey. We must unpack every holiday further and take it beyond a time of joy and celebration and into its deeper significance.

Take the holiday of Chanukah for example. Virtually all of the people who celebrate Chanukah know the historical story that is told to transmit the context of the holiday. Further, they all know to light the menorah (candelabrum) each night for eight days, and to recite certain prayers. Then, in most houses, presents are exchanged, and in some, potato latkes or fried jelly donuts are eaten, songs are sung, and some traditional dreydel (spinning top) games are played, and that is the end of the celebration. It is a wonderful time with family and friends, but there is no spiritual growth. It is the silver apple. Once we have experienced the joyousness and celebration of the holiday, perhaps we can go even deeper and find the gold.

What would that look like? Let's begin with the story:

In short, in about the year 167 B.C.E. the Hellenized Assyrian King Antiochus, who ruled over Syria and Israel, wanted to Hellenize his kingdom, and outlawed any religious practice other than Greek Paganism. The Assyrians began worshipping Greek gods and offered pagan sacrifices in the Jewish Holy Temple. They prohibited any form of Jewish worship or study.

Fed up with this religious intolerance and oppression, Mattathias, a priest from the Jewish Hasmonean dynasty, and his five sons, started a guerrilla war, and against all odds, were able to drive out the Assyrians form Jerusalem. The Maccabees', as the rebels had come to be known, first and most important task after the war was to clean and rededicate the Holy Temple. After scrubbing the Temple clean and ridding it of the Greek idols, they were ready to light the Temple Menorah (candelabrum) and rededicate the Temple. Unfortunately, they were only able to find one flask of oil (enough for one day) still sealed and signed by the High Priest. It would take eight days to press and purify any new oil. Undeterred, the Maccabees lit the Menorah, and through a miracle, the one flask of oil lasted the full eight days. The Temple was rededicated and became a place of spiritual worship again.

We know the history; we know the ritual. How about the Drash, the metaphor? How does this story impact my life? This story is rich with metaphor, guidance, and relevance. Jewish sages have explored many different themes. I will only name a couple that I find meaningful to me. The interpretations are manifold, and I invite you to explore the many metaphors.

The Maccabees fought a battle against religious oppression. The light of the menorah is a lasting symbol of a victory over religious intolerance and oppression. As we light menorahs this year, let us remind ourselves that religious intolerance and oppression are still in our midst and are the norm in many places in the world, and we must continue to bring the light of hope and human rights to these places in our world. What steps will I take this year to help fight religious intolerance? What steps will I take to practice the religious freedom that I take for granted?

The Maccabees needed a minimum of eight days of oil in order to have enough time to press and purify new oil for the Temple Menorah, yet they lit the Menorah anyway. Why? It defies all logic. They chose to act irrationally, because they knew the sacredness of their task. They knew that anything holy is worth taking risks for, and requires faith in miracles. So too today in our own lives. What sacred tasks am I procrastinating because I think they are impossible to accomplish? What relationships am I neglecting because I feel like they will never change? What practices can I put in place in order to achieve more meaning in my life? In this season of light, can I find the courage and faith to bring this light into the difficult and dark places in my life?

As Rabbi Akiva said, in order to enter the Garden and survive, you need to enter with a pure and true heart. If you cannot be honest with yourself as you explore these inner layers, you will not make it out in peace. We can certainly continue to celebrate our holidays and live our lives at the superficial level, but the stories and holidays are inviting us to go deeper; to peer into and through the silver to see the shining golden apple below. It is there for all of us every day. May the light of this apple bring light and meaning into your life, and may you experience many miracles. Happy Holidays!

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