I think the word incongruous succinctly and poignantly defines many of our daily foibles. Very often, we may do/say something which might have been appropriate if it was said/done in isolation, but it becomes inappropriate because of its incongruity.
For example, I remember that on one occasion I was learning the laws of kaddish. I was reading the law which states that it is forbidden to learn during kaddish when I realized that I was haphazardly saying “Amen, yehay shmay rabbah.” In other words, I was learning while the chazzan was reciting kaddish. It took a moment before the incongruity of my actions sunk in: It was inappropriate to learn the laws of what’s forbidden during kaddish… during kaddish! (If you happen to be reading these words during kaddish or chazaras hashatz, you are “being incongruous” as well…)
Perhaps there is no greater time of “Jewish incongruity” than during the holiday of Chanukah. The holiday itself resulted because of the selfless sacrifice of a group of righteous individuals who were ready to die for the sake of Torah and mitzvos. They called themselves the “Maccabees” as an acronym for the Hebrew words, “Who is like You among the mighty ones, G-d.” They were untrained, inexperienced, and incompetent for any level of combat, how much more so against the mighty Syrian-Greek forces. Their victories were glaringly supernatural. Yet, in our day the “Maacabee” is depicted in a vastly different manner. The Maccabees have become a symbol similar to that of a Spartan warrior, mighty and undaunted. Maccabee is also the name of Israeli sports teams that compete in the Olympics-like sports, which the original Maccabees fought to eradicate from the Holy Land.
But even more tragic is the symbolism and meaning attributed to the holiday itself. Chanukah has become a universal holiday, celebrated by Jews of all affiliations and backgrounds. But alas, the Chanukah that is observed is not a celebration of the victory of authentic Torah values and the pristine teachings of our Sages. Rather, contemporary Chanukah has metamorphosed into a Revolutionary War-like victory. The Maccabees are hailed for being assertive in their quest for equality and for fighting the forces of tyranny and injustice. Just as the early American colonists would not tolerate taxation without representation, the Maccabees would not allow Judea to be turned into a vassal state at the discretion of a nefarious dictator named Antiochus.
What a tragic distortion! In truth, if there had “only” been physical oppression, the righteous Maccabees would have never revolted. It was only the spiritual holocaust, and the fact that they were being denied the ability to practice Torah and mitzvos, which galvanized the Maccabees to launch their insurgency.
To many of our brethren Chanukah has lost its meaning. In that painfully tragic sense, the light of Chanukah has been rendered impure by the descendants of the very culture which the Maccabees sought to abolish! Is there any more glaring example of incongruity than a menorah lit by a senior Cardinal near the Vatican!
But let our hearts not be troubled. The miracle of Chanukah celebrates the victory of the few over the many, the weak over the strong, and the pure over the impure. We, the few among the many, who continue to hold the banner of authentic Sinai-Torah aloft, can be confident that ultimately the light of our Chanukah candles will prevail. The tragic truth is that throughout history every sect of Jews who were unfaithful to the unadulterated “Torah of Moshe” has not withstood the test of time. Their candles have become extinguished and lost in the darkness. An “incongruous candle” is ineffective against the bleakness of the obscurity of exile.
The consistent pure candle, however, is able to draw its fuel from its source without impediment. Its light is luminous and radiant and therefore can trump all forces of evil and darkness. That is the light that shines from the menorah of those who cling to the truth and that is the light which will ultimately prevail.