Chase away the darkness
banu Hoshech L’garesh – we have come to chase away the darkness. every Israeli kindergartener sings this song with the enthusiasm that comes with that age. as parents, we smile as if we’re hearing it for the first time, even though we aren’t. What we miss, though, is the truly deep psychological and evolutionary meaning behind the words. I am not only talking about the darkness of the many who oppressed the few – though it is crucial to eradicate that darkness as well. I am talking about real physical darkness – the darkness we rarely experience in our overly lit-up Western society. darkness that is truly frightening because we feel alone in an expanse that seems to be infinite in all directions. however, people lived this way just 140 years ago, before the invention of the electric light bulb in 1879.
and this is how the rabbis of mishnaic and talmudic times lived, as did their parallels in the emerging christian society. darkness that you could touch. Hoshech Mitzraim – the darkness as it was in egypt. as did all of humanity for the tens of thousands of years prior to 1879. It was terrifying to be alone in the dark. a human was easy prey for nocturnal predators. so they banded together in order to survive. along with that survived the fear.
It should not be surprising, then, that the highest concentration of holidays in the northern hemisphere is between october and February, many if not most of them have “lights” as a theme. It is clear from mishnaic times and into the first generations of the talmudic rabbis: our sages knew of pagan holidays surrounding the winter solstice. the mishna and talmud in avodah Zara teach that the celebrations of the non-jews were eight days long after and before “tekufat tevet” i.e. the winter solstice. there are similar indigenous holidays in the southern hemisphere between june and august.
the rabbis were well aware of the general human fear of the dark. I suppose they experienced it as well. they relate a midrash about adam that when he saw darkness falling on the first day, he felt terrified fearing that it was because of his own fallings that the world was going to return to chaos. the next day – with sunrise – adam realized that this is the way of the world and offered a sacrifice. this midrash is then expanded and adapted to the fear of the shortening days and lengthening nights. adam, in this version, fears that because of his sins the days are growing shorter and the nights longer. then, after the solstice, he noted the opposite and brought offerings to God. the rabbis, ignoring the anachronism then say that the next year we created a holiday for our God and they – the non-jews, for their own gods.
cultures from then on, continue to celebrate with lights at this time of year. the christmas tree, the Kwanzaa celebration and humanlight festival come to mind. to be sure, the christmas tree became a symbol only on the 15th or 16th century, but there were symbols connected to stars and lights from the outset. though I never liked when my hometown decorated the streets with public funds, I did enjoy viewing my neighbors’ extravagant displays of light. Kwanzaa, the holiday of the african diaspora, also revolves around light ritual. even the secular humanists chose this time of year, december 23, to have a light-themed celebration.
are these the same holidays as calendra and satrulina from ages ago? It does not matter. In my view, all these holidays draw their strength from the same evolutionary point. darkness, first physical but also spiritual, is frightening. and religious and communal leaders have chosen to create rituals that chase away the darkness.
Rabbi Dr. Paul Shrell-Fox is a lecturer in family and community studies. His research interests include Judaism in evolutionary perspective, the evolution of altruism and the interface between science and religion.