Stand Up: A Hanukkah Message

by Joanie Calem

Like so many people, I love the holiday of Hanukkah. I love the symbolism of the flames that provided light for much more time than was realistically possible. I love the reminder of our responsibility to bring light to dark times, bringing light into the dark winter nights of the Northern Hemisphere yes, but also metaphorically dark times. And I love the image of providing light for those that may struggle to provide light for themselves, as quoted in the Torah in Leviticus 19:14, which states "You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind." To me, making sure that a light is lit is going way beyond just NOT putting a stumbling block in front of someone; instead of a commandment of what NOT to do, Hanukkah provides us with an instruction of what TO do. To bring light.

Hanukkah for me is also about standing up for what you believe in. These days, there are endless arguments about who is right and who is wrong in whatever the conflict of the day is, but our Jewish texts always seem to provide a fascinating new way of looking at whatever is happening in our lives. I have always been enchanted by the simplicity of much of the Ethics of the Fathers, one of these exalted texts, and one phrase has always leapt out at me, and leapt its way right into this Hanukkah song! The phrase "U'b'makom she ein anashim, hishtadel l'hiot ish." וּבְמָקוֹם שֶׁאֵין אֲנָשִׁים, הִשְׁתַּדֵּל לִהְיוֹת אִישׁ, Pirkei Avot 2:5, translates loosely as, "In a place where no one is behaving like a person, try to behave like a person."

As the mom of an adult son with autism and a teacher of numerous students with learning differences, I have long been horrified by the bullying that goes on, as though because someone is different they are less than. So I always teach my students that difference is wonderful, none of us is a carbon copy of another, and our uniqueness is a source of joy and fascination. And: "In a place where no one is behaving like a person, try to behave like a person." And so this song was born.

Stand Up is a "call and response" song, inviting the listener to join the song with their calls to "stand up" following each phrase. Standing up does not need to mean to stand up physically, because not everyone can do that. But everyone can stand up in support of someone else, stand up to bullies, stand up internally by being a person in a place where others are not acting like a person.

So this Hanukkah season I invite all of us to "Stand Up" in support of each other, and be a light for each other. Happy Hanukkah.

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Learn more about musician and educator Joanie Calem’s work here.