Hanukkah Part 4

Hanukkah will end when the sun goes down tomorrow. Gifts are indeed given during Hanukkah, but usually these are to children, and may often be gifts of money or Hanukkah “gelt.” The gelt giving also usually extends to the needy. Because it is the miracle of the oil that the celebration recognizes, it is customary to have foods fried in oil. Some eat latkes, or fried potato pancakes, while others eat deep-fried doughnuts. The toy and game most associated with Hanukkah is the dreidel, a top with 4 sides. Each side has a letter of the Hebrew alphabet; together the letters form an acronym. There are two different forms of the top, with only the fourth letter varying. In Israel, the dreidel represents Nes gadol haya po, “A great miracle happened here.” Outside of Israel it is Nes gadol hayah sham, “A great miracle happened there.” Well, Hanukkah is almost over. It does have a significance to Christians. I like to think of it as a reminder that the Jews are God’s chosen people and while, in a spiritual sense, Christians become His chosen people (see 1 Peter 2:9), God still loves and has a plan for Israel. The Bible tells us there is coming a time when “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26). And that is how we should pray. Happy Hanukkah.

Hanukkah Part 3

Hanukkah is an 8-day celebration but this year it falls between Dec. 16 and 24. Isn’t that 9 days? No. Jewish days begin at sunset. So their first day was the evening of Dec. 16 and throughout the daylight hours of Dec. 24. Today, the 20th, is the 4th day, which started last night. The final day begins the night of the 23rd and ends on the 24th at sundown. The ceremony revolves around the menorah. On each evening of Hanukkah the number of candles corresponding to the number of the day are lit. One on the first day, 2 on the second and so forth, until the 8th day. Then 8 candles are lit as well as the central candle, the shamash (“servant” candle). Hanukkah evenings that fall on Friday have a slight change. Since it is the beginning of the Sabbath, and no fire is to be lit on the Sabbath, the candles are lit slightly before sundown. Tomorrow's final entry includes a few miscellaneous facts.

Hanukkah Part 2

Hanukkah celebrates the victory of a far outnumbered group of Jews known as the Maccabees over the powerful Greek occupiers of the Holy Land in the second century B.C. It is called the Festival of Lights because of the miracle that took place when they rededicated the Second Temple after it had been defiled by the Greek leader Antiochus Epiphanes, who desecrated the Temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar. A small but fervent army was raised beginning in the small village of Modin and led by a priest, Mattathias, and his sons, who refused the edict to worship Greek gods. The outmanned group, also called Hasmoneans, spearheaded a victory over their persecutors and recaptured the Holy City of Jerusalem. Now the desecrated place of worship needed to be cleansed and rededicated. But the Jews could not find a supply of oil undefiled by the Greeks sufficient to keep the menorah (9-branched candelabrum) burning for more the one night. Miraculously, that small supply of oil burned for eight days. By then a fresh supply of oil for the menorah had been prepared. The festival commemorates this with daily candle lightings, thus it is called the Festival of Lights. Next: How Hanukkah is celebrated.

Hanukkah Part 1

Happy Hanukkah! Have you heard this and not really known what it means? Hanukkah (also spelled Chanukah) is an 8-day celebration that falls around Christmas time. The reason the date is movable is that it is based on the Hebrew calendar, beginning on the 25th of Kislev. The Hebrew calendar is lunar (related to the moon) and thus Hanukkah can fall anywhere between November 28th and December 26th. This year it falls between December 16 and 24. That means it is already in full swing. It is not a major holiday in the Jewish culture but it does have quite an elaborate set of traditions associated with it, and it does have a significant origin. While its origin is not biblical like most Jewish holidays, it is indeed mentioned in the Bible. The event it commemorates fell between the Old and New Testaments, thus the surprising fact that this strictly Jewish celebration is found only in the New Testament. The word Hanukkah means “dedication” and it is mentioned in a key passage in the gospel of John, one in which Jesus makes a clear claim to deity. John 10:22-31 (NIV): “Then came the Feast of Dedication [Chanukah] at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. The Jews gathered around him, saying, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.’ “Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him ….” Jesus’ mention of miracles fits with the Hanukkah theme. In the next post we’ll look at the meaning of the celebration — what it commemorates — and learn why it is also called the festival of lights.