Chanukah - חנוכה

CHANUKAH – FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS

This eight day celebration begins on the evening of 25 Kislev.  Chanukah celebrates two things: the victory of the Jewish people in overcoming those who tried to wipe out Judaism in the second century BCE, thereby freeing the Jews to worship as a community once again, and a miracle in which one day’s worth of oil burned for eight days.*

Alexander the Great, whose Greek empire, which under his rule included the current day Middle-East, respected the Jewish way of life.  However, when he died and Antiochus became ruler, he tried to rid, by force, upon penalty of death, local religions, including Judaism.  Many Jews who were used to Greek customs obeyed the rule of Antiochus, but many chose not to.  For example, we remember the story of Chana and her seven sons, who were given the choice of eating meat from a pig or death.  One by one, each son refused to eat the meat and each son was killed.  Chana who had seen all this, thanked G-d for allowing her to see her sons honouring their religion rather than forsaking it, before she herself was killed.

Mattathias, father of Judah Maccabee, killed a Jew who sacrificed a pig on an altar in the village square, in keeping with the rules of Antiochus.  Mattathias, along with his five sons and some other brave rebels, fled to the hills.  Antiochus’ large army and the small group of Maccabbees fought for Jerusalem and the Maccabees won.  This unbelievable military victory is one of the miracles of Chanukah.

It took exactly three years from the day that it was defiled by Antiochus, for the Holy Temple to be repaired and prepared for Jewish use.  This date was 25 Kislev – the on which the festival of Chanukah begins and the day on which Judah rededicated the Holy temple by lighting the Everlasting Flame.  Unfortunately, Judah could only find enough oil for the Everlasting Flame to last for one day.  The problem was that it would take eight days to get more oil.  The second miracle of Chanukah happened at this time, when the oil actually lasted for eight days, until more was available to keep the Everlasting Flame alight.

*The Talmud tells us that we should celebrate the oil miracle more than the military victory, by stating “Not by might, nor by power but My Spirit, says the Eternal One ….’