Mob scenes

In the story of Chanuka, Matityahu, the father Maccabee and High Priest, faced with the possible defeat of the Jews, invoked the rallying cry of Moses,
“Whoever is for God, Come with me!”

It was not easy to incite a revolt against the Assyrians. Matityahu and his sons had to inspire the Jews with the conviction that they could battle an army so large and powerful we still call them “mighty and numerous” (from the “al hanisim” prayer we say on Chanuka). Matityahu knew that he had to give the people a cause to fight for. He chose to remind the people of the Golden Calf and the destruction that comes to the Jewish people when they allow worship other than to God. Moses had used this rallying cry to bring the people who still believed in the oneness of God to his side where they, the few, outlived the many who had sinned with the calf. Moses used these words to quell the mob. Matityahu used the same statement to inspire the mob and send the few out to war against the many.

When we lead, sometimes we will need to quell a growing mob. And sometimes we will need to orchestrate a little “mob mentality” of our own.

For a modern, fun spin -- Check out this “flash mob” scene from Israel’s Ben Yehuda: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULtglogZbR8

Happy Chanuka Everyone!