Dating back to the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, people came to America to seek freedom from religious persecution. No strangers to religiously oppressive regimes, the Jewish people also sought religious freedom in America, first arriving as early as the mid-1600s. Throughout its history, America has served as a beacon of opportunity and religious freedom for Jews from all over the world. And perhaps the most widely recognized symbol, by Jews and non-Jews alike, of God’s miraculous favor in the midst of persecution is the Hanukkah menorah.
Like many other religious symbols, the public display of the Hanukkah menorah has been the subject of litigation and attack over the years. But recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings have paved the way for people of faith to proudly display religious symbols in the public square. And for many Jewish Americans, publicly displaying the Hanukkah menorah reminds them of their rich heritage and a miraculous victory for religious freedom that took place over 2,000 years ago.
In 168 B.C., the Syrians seized Jerusalem, desecrated the Temple and outlawed Jewish religious practices. Jews either had to comply with Greek religious custom and worship their gods or face punishment by death. But a small Jewish resistance emerged, eventually winning two major battles against the Syrians and reclaiming their beloved Temple. As they went to relight the ner tamid, which was supposed to burn continuously in the Temple, they discovered they only had one day’s worth of oil. But while they waited to secure more oil, that one day’s worth of oil miraculously burned for eight days. Thus, Hanukkah was born.
As the Jewish people scattered across the globe and continued to experience religious hostility, America eventually became a safe harbor for Jews seeking religious freedom. But they wanted to maintain their distinct identity in a predominantly Christian country. Over time, American Jews developed new Hanukkah traditions to distinguish the holiday from Christmas. The holiday took on new significance after World War II as a way to celebrate Jewish heritage and survival in the face of religious persecution. In 1974, a Lubavitch rabbi began a nationwide campaign to erect menorahs in the public square, and one was even built on the White House lawn in 1979. The National Menorah, as President Ronald Reagan designated it, has been displayed on the White House lawn every year since then.
But the ability to display this religious symbol of Jewish resilience did not come without a fight. In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the case of County of Allegheny v. ACLU, which was a challenge to two public displays in downtown Pittsburgh — a menorah and a nativity scene. Relying on its prior decision in Lemon v. Kurtzman, the Supreme Court decided that the menorah display could remain but denied the county’s ability to display the nativity scene. The Court reasoned that the menorah did not violate the Establishment Clause, unlike the nativity scene, because it was next to a Christmas tree and was sufficiently secular.
But even as the Court recognized, the Hanukkah menorah is a religious symbol. And the public display of the menorah should not rely on some purported secular purpose in order to be constitutionally permissible.
Enter the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, where the Court struck down the limiting rules of Lemon it had previously relied upon. Now, courts must instead consider the history and tradition of public religious displays when reviewing potential violations of the Establishment Clause. And Jewish Americans have a long history and tradition of displaying the Hanukkah menorah as a sign of resilience in the face of religious persecution. Thus, the ability to display the menorah in the public square in celebration of Hanukkah has never been stronger.
The significance of Hanukkah echoes the same essential truths upon which America was founded — people should be free from religious oppression, as they have the natural right to practice their religion in accordance with their own consciences. America has a long history and tradition of serving as a bastion of religious freedom for the Jewish people, and it must remain so. This Hanukkah, let’s bring back the public menorah lightings as a reminder to all that, in America, religious freedom rings.