From Civil Disobedience in Israel to living simply on holidays such as Chaunkah and Tu B'shevat. The connection between Transcendentalism and Judaism is real and present in day to day life and from thousands of years in the past. The word of the Torah never changes, these holidays never change and transcendentalism never changes.

“How vain is it to sit down and write when you have not yet stood up to live” (Thoreau). In the Torah it exclaims that it isn't just flat written words to be read by the Jewish people, it's an action plan. Thoreau believed in action in his “research and experiments''(Thoreau). In Thoreau's two-year living experience he describes wanting to live deliberately and how he wants to live “deeply and suck the marrow out of life.”(Thoreau) The goal of writing about his living experience is to push and inspire us to do the same as similar to the Torah, it comes to us as opportunity and a chance to actually proceed with the action of living like people that have influenced you to live a life that won't make you feel like a husk of a once being. In Deuteronomy 30:11 when the Israelites receive the Final message from Moshie (Moses) he says “For this commandment which I command you this day, is not concealed from you, nor is it far away. It is not in heaven that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and fetch it?’ Rather, this thing is very close to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can fulfill it. See – I have placed before you today the life and the good, and the death and the evilI have placed before you blessing and curse; and you shall choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:11). These two writings have many similarities, the main message though is to live life to its fullest and not to get distracted from the main point of living your life.

Chanukah isn't just about lighting the candles, singing, chocolate coins and presents, the stories behind the holiday are rooted from values of transcendentalism and just moral values the Torah tells us to live by in general. The story of Chanukah goes like so: back in the age of the 2nd temple referring to 150 BCE - 70 CE. The Holy land was ruled over by Greeks who stole the possessions of the Jewish people and had built/set up idols inside of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The Greeks had made the studying of the Torah illegal partnering with outlawing Mitzvot (The Commandments) such as Shabbat which is the day of rest, Rosh Chodesh which is a minor holiday in the beginning of Hebrew months, Brit Milah which is the circumcision of male born babies at 8 days old and the holiness of Jewish marriage. The Maccabees were a Jewish army that fought against this to keep the Torah as one and still be able to prosper no matter what the Greeks had to say and risked their lives and they had won. After defeating the Greek army the Jewish people had received the gift of oil, unfortunately the Greeks before their defeat had made all the oil inside of the temple impure, thankfully there was one jar of oil that had been overlooked and remained pure. The oil would only last for one day but Hashem gave the flame live for 8 whole days. The temple in the end had been whole once again and they could continue to serve Adonai. This story connects to Civil disobedience and standing up for what you believe in. Since we stood up in what we believed in, Our Lord granted us with the gift of light so we can continue to serve Him. “Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?” (Thoreau).

The Values of Chaunkah are, but aren't limited to, tikkun olam, tzedakah, chesed, the infinite worth of life and equality. Tikkun Olam is the Hebrew word for repairing the world, which has become a strong phrase in social justice. This belief really stems from Human responsibility. We have to take on responsibility for what's going on into action and pondering, and just asking God to do what you want and not working towards your goal. Tzedakah means Justice for righteousness. This value is about just doing what's right just because it's the right thing to do.This is similar Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience where he states that we shouldn't just fall laws blindingly and if we believe in something to stand up for that cause even if it is against the law. Chesed in English meaning “Kindness' ', this value is more of an action than anything else. With chesed it's more than just giving materialistic items to be kind and just leaving at that. It's actually being there for the person, caring for them and being a support for them. The next value is heading more toward Emerson. The infinite worth of each human life comes from that we are cut from the same cloth as G-d, meaning that G-d created us in his own image and we have a piece of Hashem inside all of us. One who destroys another person's life doesn't just destroy that one person's life, they destroy a whole world of opportunity. Each life is full of potential as the next person, full of the same love that Adonai fills us with. “Man is conscious of a universal soul within or behind his individual life, wherein, as in a firmament, the natures of Justice, Truth, Love, Freedom, arise and shine'' (Emerson). Equality is a key value in Judaism. Ancient Rabbis had understood that all Human Life had descended from Adam. Taking that into note that means that we are all equal since we all come from the same man.

In the Torah civil disobedience is shown all through it. Especially in Exodus and the holiday Passover, the midwives Shirah and Puah are prime examples of Civil disobedience. The Pharaoh Ramesses ii had ordered them to kill every Hebrew boy that was born; they refused too. When Moses was born his mother hid him for 3 months till she couldnt no longer. She had sent him afloat down the Nile river with help from his sister Miriam. The daughter of the Pharaoh had found the boy and had adopted the boy even though she knew he was hebrew. These women in the Torah made it possible for the Jewish people to be freed from the egyptians as slaves as the ultimate showcase of civil disobedience and gave the Jewish people the 10 commandments. Civil Disobedience and Passover have the same themes of freedom and liberation. The holiday Passover which is usually in April, marks the celebration of freedom of the jewish people no longer being slaves by the Egyptians.

Rabbi Abraham Jousha Hescel was a part of the civil rights movement. He was an American-Polish Jewish man born in 1907 on January 11th. He died of a Heart attack in December 1976. He worked with Martin Luther King Jr and was considered “one of the truly great men” by him. He emphasized how African Americans and Jewish Americans had a responsibility for each other. He worked as a Professor of Jewish ethics and mysticism for most of his adult life. Heschel believed that when one understands the sparks of the divine (referring to G-d) that exists in each person that he or she cant harbor hatred for fellow human beings. His first conference was on January 14th 1963 in Chicago, MLK was also a featured speaker and Rabbi Hescel spoke about long before the civil rights movement, he spoke about Moshie and Pharaoh Rameeses ii who held the very first conference. Moses tells him that Adonai wants him to let his people free to go back to Israel but the Pharaoh refuses. A quote from Rabbi Abraham from this conference follows “The exodus began, but is far from being completed. In fact, it was easier for the children of Israel to cross the Red Sea than for a (Black person) to cross certain university campuses” (Heschel).Even though the book of Exodus was written so long ago it was left unfinished. This conference on race and religion between Moses and Pharaoh found in the Exodus, Rabbi Heschel’s 1963 speech in Chicago, the impact of the anti-racist movement in 2020, and even now with Gaza, Palestine and Israeli citizens being carpet bombed in there own homes are all reminders that our exodus is still unfinished .

Judaism and Transcendentalism relate to each other in so many different ways. From the holidays to even the people of the community. With all the hardships of the Macbees in the 2nd temple era , values of Chanukah and overall beliefs of the Jewish people.

Work Cited

Bornstien, Joseph. "Torah and Thoreau." Aish, aish.com/torah-and-thoreau. Accessed 31 May 2024.

8 Nights, 8 Jewish Values: Reflections for Chanukah on the Jewish Obligation to Build a Better World. 15 Dec. 2019, ajws.org/blog/8-nights-8-jewish-values-reflections-for-chanukah-on-the-jewish-obligation-to-build-a-better-world/. Accessed 31 May 2024.

King Institute Stanford. "Heschel, Abraham Joshua." The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute, kinginstitute.stanford.edu/heschel-abraham-joshua. Accessed 30 May 2024.