There is so much to learn from A CHRISTMAS CAROL

There is so much to learn from A CHRISTMAS CAROL - Charles Dickens’s Tale of Tzedahkah, Gimilut Hasadim, and Rachmonus Here we are, the middle of December, smack in the middle of the pre-Christmas frenzy, or, as one of my good Catholic friends calls the run-up to Christmas, “THE GENTILE MADNESS.”

‘Tis the season of shopping, parties, endless and merciless Christmas carols (secular and religious) in the malls and stores, a Salvation bell ringer in front of every supermarket, and TONS of charity solicitations by mail, and, if your are lucky, a work bonus or that holiday turkey or ham from the boss.

Christmas wasn’t always celebrated as it is today. Back in 1645 the Puritan Parliament declared it a working day and Christmas was banned! Even making Christmas pies could lead to arrest as an example to others! Holiday customs began to fade away, since anyone found celebrating could get into trouble. No caroling in the streets and both public and private feasting and decorating stopped.

So where did the Christmas we’ve all grown to know COME FROM? We have one person to thank, and that would be CHARLES DICKENS and his novella “A Christmas Carol.” Dickens had suffered a horrible loveless childhood of want, loneliness and despair.  His parents were sent to debtors prison and he was farmed out and put to work at an early age. Around him he saw the suffering of those displaced and driven into poverty by the Industrial Revolution. He witnessed and experienced the hunger, cold, dismal, hopeless lives of the downtrodden in London. He knew what it was to work long hours in a cold cubical heated by just one lump of coal, like his character Bob Cratchet. With “A Christmas Carol” Dickens sets out to create a festival of love, and generosity of spirit and wealth. He published the novel in December of 1843. By the spring of 1844 there was a sudden burst of charitable giving in Britain, which was attributed to Dickens’s novella. His tale of warning created a spirit of compassion, giving, and an obligation to take care of the poor in a more humane way. Employers began to give Christmas day off to employees, and some began to give out Turkeys and Hams to emulate Scrooges’ giving. For decades, the Queen of Sweden sent donations to the crippled children of London in remembrance of Tiny Tim!

In short, it is a tale of one man’s redemption, for if even old Scrooge has the possibility to mend his ways and have a second chance at life, so can the rest of us! You may ask, “ How Jewish is this story?” I’d say EXTREMELY! It encompasses the fundamental Jewish values we strive to impart to our children and to live by ourselves.  Each year at Rosh Hashanna and Yom Kippur we seek to be written in the book of life for another year. We are made aware of all our shortcomings in regard to our fellow man. We are offered a path away from the horrible decree. Tzedahkah – Charitable Giving, Teshuva – Returning to what we know is good and right. We are also encouraged to do– Gimelut Hassadim –literally, “the giving of loving-kindness.” These would include clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and burying the dead. 

There is one more Jewish value in the story, Rachmonus – Compassion.  When approached for a charitable donation for the poor, Scrooge demands of the two gentlemen soliciting, “Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?” He sits in judgment of the poor rather than helping them. With regard to Tiny Tim, compassion wells up as he is shown a vision of the future in which Tiny Tim dies. He is so moved that after the revelation and redemption, Scrooge becomes a ‘second father’ to Tiny Tim and the boy survives.

So this holiday season, don’t change the station. Watch “A Christmas Carol”… any one of the hundreds of versions lurking around this time of year (A Muppet Christmas Carol is good for the Little Ones.) Discuss the values in the film, and that both Christians and Jews share. I know that I will be reading “A Christmas Carol” with friends this year, and we will once again share the message of redemption through change. Shabbat Shalom, “and God bless us, everyone”

Rabbi Rose Lyn Jacob