Here’s a heartwarming holiday story from Springfield, Massachusetts, where city councilor Bud Williams said at a Chabad Lubavitch-sponsored Chanukah menorah lighting ceremony, “Jesus is the reason for the season.”
Williams pointed the finger at the Chabad rabbis for his blunder:
The city councilor said he referenced Jesus Christ, whose birth is celebrated every Dec. 25 by Christians worldwide but not by Jews, after participants in the ceremony mentioned “the bright light” of 2,000 years ago – an allusion to Christ, according to Williams.
“They said it,” Williams said.
Sure, Jesus was born about 2,000 years ago, but some rough math, and a little Jewish history, would tell you pretty quickly that the “bright light” of 2,000 years ago is the event that Jews celebrate at Chanukah, the miracle of the oil that kept the menorah lit for eight days and eight nights. The current Jewish year is 5775. The Maccabees, it is thought, experienced their miracle in the year 3622, or 2,153 years ago. Two thousand years ago, approximately.
Williams, though, didn’t seem to get it, according to the local paper:
The councilor said his remark wasn’t meant as an expression of religious superiority or “dominance,” but rather as a simple reminder about the “reason for the season.”
“Jesus was Jewish,” Williams said. “To me, Jesus is the messiah … I thought I was being very positive.”
Williams said some people thanked him for his remarks. “A couple of the rabbis walked up to me and said, ‘Great comments, Mr. Williams.’ ”
Rabbi Noach Kosofsky, who attended the ceremony, was asked Tuesday night for his reaction to Williams’ statement. “I’ll get back to you,” he said.
