OPPRESSION BREEDS RELIGIOUS REVOLUTION.

Byline: MICHAEL GOTLIEB local view

HANUKKAH is popularized by a rabbinic myth, one that embodies a story told of a container of oil lasting seven days beyond its expected usage. But the primary lesson of Hanukkah has nothing to do with oil at all.

If anything, the eight-day festival serves to remind Jew and non-Jew alike that religious identity is assured only when religion develops out of an environment based on love and celebration, intelligent debate and conviction.

During the brief rule of Alexander the Great (336-323 BCE), countless Jews adopted Greek culture and thought. Within the Jewish community living in Israel, the Greek ruler became so popular, newborn babies were often named after him. To express their allegiance to Greek ways of life, scores of Jewish men went so far as to undergo painful operations to diminish and remove the indelible mark of circumcision.

What endeared Alexander the Great to the Jewish community was his lack of religious oppression. His theological openness and acceptance gave rise to the first translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek. His attitude embodied 18th-century Enlightenment thinking thousands of years before its time. Ironically, had Alexander's policy of noncoercive religious acceptance continued, the Jews and Judaism might have simply assimilated away, never again to exist.

Some 150 years after Alexander's death, the Greek Syrian ruler Antiochus IV, Epiphanies -- ``god incarnate,'' as he referred to himself -- instituted policies that were completely opposite of Alexander's. Under Antiochus, Jewish practice was outlawed, and the religious nerve center for the Jews, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, was ransacked and rendered invalid for priestly ritual use.

So oppressive was Antiochus IV, a Jewish civil war erupted. Using guerrilla tactics, a group called the Maccabees waged battle against his strong-armed methods and the Greek-Syrians. But the Maccabees didn't stop there. They also fought against fellow Jews who openly adopted Greek culture and thought.

The Maccabees fought for religious tolerance, so long as it complied with their religious understanding. Like the Greek-Syrians, the Maccabees failed to embrace the open, noncoercive atmosphere created by Alexander the Great.

Theologically, Hanukkah is insignificant; yet its historical lesson is of great importance to all. When more deeply understood, the eight-day holiday challenges all of us who take religion seriously to continually provide open forums where level-headed discussion and theological diversity is encouraged.

I know, as a Jew and as a rabbi, if we cannot provide sufficient reasons for Jews to maintain their religious identity, then it is we who are at fault -- not the countervailing ideas and popular trends, be they religious or secular.

For all spiritual seekers, the threat of assimilation is scary and challenging precisely because it makes them scrutinize their own religious practices. It is far easier to live cloistered away, removed from the temptation of secular life and the challenges that come from meaningful religious interaction and questioning.

Hanukkah teaches religious seekers not to surrender to the darkness found in the world. Healthy religion can bring much-needed light to an otherwise sterile universe, but only when presented in a manner that is open to diverse opinion and debate, much like that which was fostered during the reign of Alexander the Great some 2,300 years ago.