From:    heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com
To:      "Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup"<heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>
Date:    Tue, 23 Dec 1997 03:07:44 +0000
Subject: All about Hanukkah

 

From: Uri Marcus
To:      heb_roots_chr@geocities.com
Subject:  Hanukkah


Shalom again from the Eretz Israel, Land of the Maccabim*:

Hanukkah is just around the corner, as many of you know, this year
coinsiding with christmas, a feast day with dubious pagan origins and
which often falsely impersonates itself as the day Yeshua HaMashiach
was born.

The first candle of Hanukkah (if you hold to the traditions of school
of Hillel, as opposed to that of Beit Shammai**) should be lit on the
evening of the 23rd of December, (25 Kislev on the Hebrew Calendar),
and last of the eight candles lit on the evening of the 30th of
December.


Notes:

* Maccabim -- the heros of the Hanukkah story according to Jewish
History. The term "Maccabee" is most likely an acrostic created by
combining the first letter of the Hebrew words "Mi Kamocha Ba'Elim
Adonai," which means, "Who is like you, O Lord, from amongst the gods?"

   The second theory is that "Maccabee" is the Hebrew word for
   "Hammer," derived from the root "Makav." Yehudah, the leader of the
   revolt against the Syrians, was given the name "Maccabee" because of
   his great strength.

   In any case, one will not find any Talmudic reference to the
   Maccabees or the Hashmona'im because, by purposeful ommission, the
   Rabbis expressed dissatifaction over the action of the Hashmona'im,
   who re-established the monarchy after their victory over the
   Syrian-Greeks. Jewish tradition maintained that the right to be
   royalty belonged only to the House of David, descendants of the
   tribe of Yehudah, the the Hashmona'im were not members of this
   tribe.


** There is a dispute in the Talmud between Beit (school of...) Shammai
and Beit Hillel whether to increase the number of candles each day from
one to eight, or to start with eight and remove a candle each day for
eight days. Beit Hillel argues that we should add a candle each day
since Hanukkah celebrates the return of holiness to the Temple after
its contamination by the Greeks. Hence, we also move upward in matters
of "kedusha" (holiness) and therefore should light in ascending order
to illustrate this increase in kedusha.

   Beit Shammai's rationale is for going downward, and diminishing the
   number of candles lit each night by one, since the world is in a
   state of decline, which will lead to the arrival of the Mashiach,
   who will restore all things. Thus, lighting the Hanukkiah (candle
   holder) in descending order would symbolize the decreasing effect
   that entropy has on the world and the decreasing influence that the
   Nations have on the Jewish people in accordance with prophecy,
   eventually bringing the Mashiach.


THE GOAL
--------

As we explore the various concepts and history lessons connected with
Hanukkah, the most important thing that we should keep in mind is our
goal of restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel so that it can be
recognized as such by our people. If a Jew cannot recognize the Gospel
as something Jewish, then there is not much hope that this person will
listen or even relate to it. What we need to do is use the information
we receive to help ourselves relate to every aspect of Messianic faith,
so that when given the opportunity to share with a Jew, we will make
him jealous, instead of threatening to replace his identity as a Jew.

So, lets start with a few questions:


1. Why is Hanukkah celebrated?
------------------------------

On the evening of the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev (which
usually falls in early December), Hanukkah is celebrated which recalls
the victory of Yehuda HaMaccabee and his four brothers, all members of
the Hashmona'im family, over the Syrian-Greeks in the year 165 BCE. At
that time, under the oppressive rule of King Antiochus IV, Jews living
in Israel were forbidden to perform our most basic religious customs.
The reason for this was because the Greeks sought to impose the
paganism of the Hellenistic world of their day, upon the Jews. The
scenerio is a familiar one in our own day, as Greek mythology,
paganism, and idolatry seek to influence and overtake the minds and
hearts of G-d's people in the Body of the Messiah.

But Yehuda HaMaccabee and his brothers, recognizing the danger of this
oppression to the Jewish people, rebelled against the Syrians, which
only made them more determined to destroy Jewish identity. The climatic
act of insult that could not be tolerated without direct confrontation
was when the Syrians took control of the Temple and coverted it into a
pagan shrine. The result was a launched Maccabeean offensive which
defeated the Syrian army in 165 BCE. Once the Temple Mount and Temple
were back into the hands of the Jewish people, there was need to
cleanse and rededicate the Temple. Hanukkah means "dedication." Three
additional dedications took place in Jewish History. They were:

  1. When Moshe dedicated the Mishkan or the Tent of Meeting.

  2. When the dedication of the First Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple) was
  carried out.

  3. When the Second Beit HaMikdash was inaugurated along with the
  Menorah at the time of Yehoshua, the Kohen HaGadol, and the nation's
  leader, Zerubavel, who is referred to in Ma'oz Tzur - the traditional
  Hanukkah song.

In addition to the rededication of the Temple, the commemoration of
this great military victory over the Syrian-Greeks was assigned a place
in Jewish liturgy and this serves to focus our attention on G-d's
miracles, wonders and deliverances of our people not only during the
days of the Maccabees, but throughout the ages. However, little fuss
was made over this liturgy until only recently when, to counteract the
strong influence of "christmas" and its festivities on the lives of
Jewish children, who might otherwise feel left out, Jewish parents
began to celebtate Hanukkah more elaborately through gift giving on
each of the nights of Hanukkah. It would seem, in retrospect, that
Greek influence staged a counter-offensive, only this time, it won.


2. Why is Hanukkah observed for eight days?
-------------------------------------------

There are a couple of theories here:

   1. According to the Mishna (Megillat Ta'anit 9), the task of
   rebuilding the altar after the Temple was recaptured from the
   Syrian-Greens took eight days to complete, hence we observe Hanukkah
   for 8 days.

   2. The Talmud (Shabbat 21b) explains that when the Syrian-Greens
   captured the Temple, they desecrated all the jugs of oil that the
   Hight Priest used to lighting the Menora in the Temple. After much
   searching only one small undefiled jug still bearing the unbroken
   seal of the High Priest could be found. This cruse contained only
   enough oil to burn in the Menorah for one day. Nevertheless, a
   miracle happened: the Menorah flame continue to burn for eight days,
   and from that time forward, the holiday would be observed annually
   for eight days by kindling lights to commemorate the event.

But if you think about it - really we should only light the lights for
seven days, because on that first day the lights burned completely
naturally - after all, there was enough oil for the one day, in which
there was no miracle at all.

However, it is taught that the eighth candle is to remind us of a
miracle that is constantly with us. The problem is that a lot of the
time we don't see it as a miracle at all. We don't call it a miracle.
We call it "Nature." However, we have to open our eyes to see from
where that support is coming. And that's the reason we light the eighth
candle - to celebrate the miraculous in the mundane. To remind
ourselves that Mother Nature has a Father. (adapted from the Beiy Yosef
and the Artscroll/Stone Chumash)

   3. The Midrash also separtately explains that after the sons of
   Mattathias (Maccabim) defeated the Syrian-Greeks and entered the
   Temple, they found eight iron spears. They pushed these spears into
   the earth and kindled a light on each one, and so this presumabley
   added to the reason to commemorate Hanukkah for eight days.

   All of the stories above make sense, and all can be incorporated
   into the Hanukkah event. The most important miracle though is that
   the G-d allowed His Temple to be rededicated after its defilement by
   pagan worship of Greek gods. We are reminded of this when we daily
   recite the "Amidah" or "standing prayer" during Hanukkah, in which
   we give thanks to G-d and add,

"And for the miracles, and for the salvation, and for the mighty deeds,
and for the victories, and for the battles which You performed for our
forefathers in those days, at this time. You in your great mercy stood
up for them in the time of their distress. You took up their grievance,
judged their claim, and avenged their wrong. You delivered the strong
into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few, the
impure into the hands of the pure... and the arrogant into the hands of
those who were faithful to thy Torah... Your children came to the Holy
of Holies of Your House, cleansed Your Temple... kindled lights in the
Courtyards of Your Sanctuary; and they established these eight days of
Chanuka to express thanks and praise to Your great Name."

Finally, during Chanuka, by kindling one additional light each night in
our homes, it is said that this symbolizes our belief in the gradual
progress of spiritual growth. In addition, starting with one light on
the first evening of Chanuka, and increasing the number by one each
evening, our people the world over mark the slow but steady victory
over the violent storms which have raged against the Jewish people
across the centuries, and will eventually culminate in our salvation,
bringing about "life from the dead" through Y'shua HaMashiach.
Zechariyahu best sums it up when he records fo