December 2009

Dear Friends:

The other day, I received a SPAM email from a company selling cell phones. Typically, I delete such emails immediately upon noticing them. This time, accidentally, I opened the email. What stared me in the face, glistening beautifully on my computer screen, was a brand new HTC HERO cell phone. It was truly exquisite. Though I have absolutely no need for a new cell phone, I found myself clicking on the various images of the phone, taking in the colorful display and a range of functionality that could lead one to believe that it might even be able to fly. Finally, I looked at the name of the phone, yet again. The HERO.

Many of us have long lamented our society's coronation of sports icons as "heroes." True, children have always had imaginary heroes and, for boys in particular, they have often been famous and gifted athletes. However, for several decades now, many have retained childhood identifications with the sports heroes that were created for us by the media and in our own minds. Gone are the days of presidential heroes (thank you, Richard Nixon), or military heroes (thank you, Vietnam - however one chooses to see this war), or historical heroes (thank you, unqualified Deconstructionism). Beleaguered by the moral and ethical failures of the heroes we were accustomed to and the arenas in which we were used to finding them, we turned to the sports-arena to find them or keep them.

Well, friends, we may now truly be entering the post-Michael Jordan era; the age of the technological HERO! Our athletic heroes revealed for the steroid-relapses, criminal convictions, spousal abuses, and drug addictions, we’ve needed to find someone, or something, to look up to, to respect, and to reflect back to us the best of who we are while challenging us all to be the best that we can be. Welcome to the age of the HTC HERO!

The sad absurdity of it all is that, because we have been disappointed by betrayals of the public trust, we, the public, have elected simply to disappoint and betray ourselves by turning to sources of darkness rather than light - to the point of branding objects rather than people - as our heroes. Instead of fixing the problem, we've compounded it.

And yet, annually, thankfully, we Jews are reminded of the unique opportunity we have to remember what a hero really is and who our heroes really are. The Festival of Hanukkah reminds us that real heroes do exist and that we mustn't ever forget who they are and what makes them who they are, lest we cease to dream of the difference for the better that we can make - with their inspiration, example, assistance, or leadership. Real heroes champion and even fight for causes that benefit people beyond themselves. Real heroes learn from their mistakes and improve themselves; they aren't perfect, they are flawed, but they try their best to be as good as they can be. Real heroes aren't for every moment; what matters is that they show up when their moment arrives. Real heroes bring light unto darkness, they inspire others to do so alongside them, and their inspiration toward the better lasts as long as their lights continue to be lit by those who remember them and the good that they stood for.

May your Hanukkah lights burn as brightly as those of the Maccabees and may the light we bring together to our world glisten timelessly, far beyond our computer screens and cell phones, pointing us to the brightest future we might ever imagine together.

B'Shalom - With Blessings of Peace and Wholeness,

Rabbi Isaac Jeret
Spiritual Leader