The Power of Telling the Truth in a Hellenistic Society.

By: Shely Esses- Strom, LMFT

(picture from SimaG Etsy https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SimaG?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=166777010)

The Syrian Greeks were notorious for introducing the world to a truly external life experience. The Syrian Greeks revolutionized Sparta (sports) and the Olympics. This caused the external aspects like the physical appearance of one’s body and face to become a measurement of worth. A beautiful form, great abs, and strong muscles as the currency for vain popularity. How do the internal values of one's inner greatness fit into this lucrative system? It doesn't, because it is a threat to the whole illusion of what is meaningful in this life. The goal of the Syrian Greeks was to obliterate spiritual godly values from the Jewish people. Spirituality and a relationship with Hashem were causing people to shine from the inside, and out, and it was undeniable and thus had to be eliminated.

The success of the Maccabees shows us the power of internal strength. The Maccabees were a much smaller and externally appearing weaker army than the Greeks, and they won. After so many years of persecution, the Jewish people continue to rise from the ashes. I have heard people use the term "energizer bunny" when referring to the Jewish people and their survival. I like to think that this phenomenon as the power of knowing when to trust the inner power of self and bitachon in Hashem.

The world today is ripe with Greek-Hellenistic self-absorbed pursuits. Hellenistic philosophy comes from the ancient Greeks, and it is purely external and strives to survive on intellectual content alone. There is an ancient effect that is playing out in today's society. The contest for power and vain popularity is like a great wind blowing people's inner lights out.

The comfortability with inner stillness is what allows for real individuality within the collective community. This is a threat to the external hierarchy of standards that are judged by the human eye. The older I get the more I realize how affected we all are. According to the Hellenistic perspective, there is something extra threatening about people who use their inner stillness to influence their external reality. In Judaism, the inner and outer work are intimately connected. When the Maccabees got their temple back they could have easily got the external parts of the temple going, like the outer Mizbeach (alter) in the courtyard. However, that is not what they did. It was decided that first and foremost they needed to get the menorah lit, which was located in the inner section of the temple. This speaks volumes about the power of the inner light radiating outwards. This makes me believe that many people operate on a reflex to keep themselves safe from true inner work as a survival mechanism from Hellenistic dominance.

The other day I was reading the news and I came across something that deeply disturbed me. It wasn’t necessarily unique or shocking, It felt personal because it was happening in my hometown. Kuper, an associate professor in the department of Medicine at the University of Toronto, recently published her findings from a year spent investigating antisemitism experienced by the students and faculty. Kuper identified documented instances at the University of Toronto in which Jewish students were required to define their beliefs about Israel and Zionism before being permitted participation in campus activities. She also noted that people who stand up for the Jews are accused of being “bought by the Jews.” This is gross behavior, and I am appalled but what gets me is how much it reminds me of the story of Channukah.

When it comes to the Jewish people and their ancestral homeland of Israel, things tend to get crazy. So let’s play. I have watched many of my Jewish friends hide away who they are or, give up who they are. The powers at large are furious with a tiny people who are using their inner strength and nerve to dominate in global advancements. The reflex against trusting one's inner world is causing people to hold Israel and her people to impossible standards. The Jewish people have been through this before so we also have access to resilience, maturity, and courage.

I’ve noticed something recently that bothers me about classic Jewish education. There isn’t enough truth-telling about our modern-day history. Jewish people who went through basic Jewish day school do not have resources or adequate information about the last 100 years of world Jewish history. The lack of knowledge on Middle East and North African Jews is embarrassing. There is also a lack of information on life in Palestine under the British Mandate.

There are also parts of our own history that need to be addressed. I want the same level of honesty when talking about Simeon and Levi massacring the men of the city of Shechem. The Torah is so special because it talks about failures, mistakes, and wrongdoings that humans are very prone to making. We don’t cover it up, instead, we talk about punishments, refining and rectifying our wrongdoings. Jewish people are built for honesty because we have the tools for Tikkun Olam and Tikkun hanfesh in our DNA.

I think the worst thing for this generation of Jewish people is being blind-sighted by some of the darker histories of the re-establishment of modern-day Israel. I think the only way forward is to start telling the truth. This is what the inner light is meant to do. The level of healing, mending, and tending to is embedded in the inner work of self-reflection. Our tiny nation continues to thrive in many areas like medicine, agriculture, science, technology, First-Aid Rescue and of course Torah. Imagine if we took all that creativity and innovation and applied it to telling the truth & owning our story. There is something so precious about connecting to our human limitations. The truth will set us free from living by external rules that pretend we’re all perfect. The internal systems of our human design help us pause and act accordingly.

Spiritual godly values are available through connecting to one's most inner space. The most organic and settling moments in my life have come after learning Torah and sitting with myself and absorbing it. The beauty happens when I unleash my inner light and let it spread outwards. Those moments are what led me to be connected to my purpose in this world. The world needs Emet (truth) to balance. Without out it we are all just chronically trying to catch our balance from the Sheker (lies) of the Hellenistic & External lifestyle.

May the lights of Channukah open your awareness of the Ohr Haganuz (Eternal light). May this awareness remind you of your hidden jug of pure olive oil that radiates truth.