Hanukkah
Feast of Dedication; Feast of Light
Theme
Commemorating the God given miracle that allowed the repossession of the temple of God from the Greeks, its purification and rededication, and the miracle of the lasting light in the temple’s Menorah. Hanukkah means dedication and menorah means lamp.
Background
The two books of Maccabees record the fierce struggle of Judaism to resist absorption into the Hellenistic world from 167 to 151 BC. Elsewhere this attempt to impose a Greek-style religion and culture was universally successful, and Judaism might well have perished with other local religions and cultures. But furious opposition from all those faithful to the Jewish Law was backed by the Almighty God. The opposition was led by ‘Matityaho the Jew’ (Mattathias), who was of a priestly family, succeeded by his son ‘Yehuda the Maccabee’. “Maccabee” is the acronym of “Who is like unto thee O LORD among the gods (???"?: ?? ???? ????? ?' - Exo 15:11). Yehuda (Judas Maccabeus) was the first of five sons that followed the zealous revolt against the Greeks, all becoming martyrs while liberating the Jews from Hellenistic conversion. They set about their task with a reckless courage and faith in the unfailing help of the one and only, true God.
The martyrdom of the seven brothers (these were not the Maccabees)
… after witnessing the torture and death of his six older brothers that were captured by the enemy, the turn came for the seventh one to be offered the option: abandon your God, bow down to our gods, be rich and inherit the privileges of the Greek empire, or be tortured to death like your brothers; the young man said:
“I too, like my brothers, surrender my body and life for the laws of my ancestors, begging God quickly to take pity on our nation, and by trials and afflictions to bring you to confess that he alone is God, so that with my brothers and myself there may be an end to the wrath of the Almighty, rightly let loose on our whole nation. The king fell into a rage and treated this one more cruelly than the others, for he was himself smarting from the young man's scorn. And so the last brother met his end undefiled and with perfect trust in the Lord. The mother was the last to die, after her sons. But let this be sufficient account of the ritual meals and monstrous tortures.” (2nd Maccabees 7: 37-42)
The purification of the Temple
“Maccabaeus and his companions, under the Lord's guidance, restored the Temple and the city, and pulled down the altars erected by the foreigners in the market place, as well as the shrines. They purified the sanctuary and built another altar; then, striking fire from flints and using this fire, they offered the first sacrifice for two years, burning incense, lighting the lamps and setting out the loaves.” (2nd Maccabees 10: 1-3)
The miraculous preservation of the sacred fire
“As we shall be celebrating the purification of the Temple on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, we consider it proper to notify you, so that you too may celebrate it, as you do the feast of Shelters and the fire that appeared when Nehemiah, the builder of the Temple and the altar, offered sacrifice.” (2nd Maccabees 1: 18)
Observance and Tradition
Blessed are You Lord our God The King of the universe who sanctified us with his commandments and consecrated us to light the Hanukkah candle.
Blessed are You Lord our God The King of the universe who brought miracles upon our forefathers in those days in this time.
Blessed are You Lord our God The King of the universe who breathed life into us, brought us, and sustained us to this day.
Hanukkah is a jolly holiday in Israel. Two weeks off school, travel, gift exchange, and more. Due to its occurrence during the month of December, in the United States Hanukkah competes with the commercial aspects of Christmas. The Hanukkiah is lit for eight days in remembrance of the miracle at the Temple. On day one, the first candle is lit together with the ‘Shamash’ (the ushering candle), and one candle is added each day, such that in day eight, the whole Hanukkiah is lit (eight candles plus the Shamash). Hanukkah is a time to remember the religious persecution, trials, faith, and endurance of our forefathers, and God’s deliverance of the faithful along the ages.
© copyright 2019 Taste of the Land