The first thing I did upon learning about this "Christmas War" (what a tragic phrase) was call my friend, Rabbi Steven Moskowitz, who is the rabbi of the flourishing Jewish Congregation in Brookville, NY. He and I spoke for a few minutes about what it feels like to be a Jew in the midst a commercialized Christmas season. But mostly, we talked about assimilation. Rabbi Moskowitz reminded me of the Maccabees. A few generations before Jesus arrived on the scene, the Israelites were being assimilated by the Hellenistic culture and were losing their religion, so to speak. The Maccabees fought against such corruption and helped restore the Temple into a faithful practicing community, instead of what it had become under Hellenistic influence.

What can the Maccabees teach us about Christmas in 2005? Think about what you are fighting for when you demand a department store to display a sign which reads Merry Christmas. This is not your church sanctuary. This is a department store. It is "hellenism", Capitalism, economic infrastructures. Is that really where you want to fight for Christmas? I say: Tear down the signs in all the department stores. Bring Christmas back where it belongs, in our hearts, our churches, our family get-togethers, our prayers, our remembrance of the birth of our Savior. It never belonged in the department store in the first place. (READ MORE)