Shabbat and Halloween 2008… Worlds Colliding!
Tonight is one of those nights when worlds seem to collide in an incredible explosion that links millennia old traditions with the incredibly powerful force of modern pop culture. It is not often that Halloween happens on Shabbat. I can’t recall many times in past years when this has been the case; what I do know is that when it happens, people seem to be able to choose without a problem. One would think that Jewish Traditions, especially a Mitzvah such as Shabbat, would be at the top of people’s list to observe! However, time and time again we convince ourselves that if we want to live in a world as equals and if we want our children to be good citizens of the world, we must participate and enjoy with our neighbors in an American Pop culture phenomenon such as Halloween! I know, it’s a lot of fun! How can it not be, lots of candy, costumes, laughs and scares!
I always believe in being intellectually and spiritually honest, so in the interest of full disclosure I must say that I have never been a fan of Halloween. Maybe it is because I was born in a country where All Saints Day is really taken seriously by the local population.
While growing up year after year, I saw all around me the reminders of what paganism really is! So, Halloween doesn’t really scare me but I am not fully comfortable with it either. Maybe, understanding the true pagan roots of this holiday and knowing how horribly incompatible it is with Judaism is what makes me so uncomfortable. Yes, my children dress up and go around the neighborhood! I fought it for many, many years but I just gave up two or three years ago.
Tonight is different! I believe that especially on Shabbat, on a Friday night we have to make an effort to remind our children of whom they truly are! So if trick or treat they must, then please bring them to the Synagogue afterwards. Give your children a chance to be reminded that our traditions are more important than the pop culture that surrounds us. If you don’t often prepare a Shabbat meal or regularly attend services, then this is a very good time to do it. I have learned not because I am a Rabbi, but because I am a father that both worlds can co-exist without colliding.
I must confess that it feels pretty awkward to plead for understanding. I must however remind you, now is the time to impress upon our children the importance of their identity, not 10 or 15 years later when there is little we can do, when we have wasted a lifetime of Jewish opportunities. There is no reason for us to think about “The Hanukkah Dilemma,” or about “Halloween when it falls on Shabbat.” If our Jewish identity is strong, then we will stand the test of time and the test of assimilation. If our identity is not strong, then messages like the one I have just written will mean absolutely nothing to future generations.
When I speak about external influences, the overwhelming embrace of the culture around us or things that are so pagan and unusual in nature, let us make sure that for our children, the understanding and observance of Shabbat doesn’t become one of those those weird, foreign and unusual pagan practices! I know, this sounds funny and obviously sarcastic but It’s not a joke; it is simply a reflection of a reality that we many times try hard not to notice.
© Rabbi Felipe Goodman