From: Uri Marcus
To:      heb_roots_chr@geocities.com
Subject: Chanukah (Feast of Renewal or Dedication)


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

Hag Chanukah Samay'ach (Holiday Greetings) to all...

---------------
LIGHT THE LIGHT
---------------

With christmas** just around the corner, and it
being a holiday day with dubious pagan origins and which falsely
impersonates itself as the day which Yeshua HaMashiach was born, we
though you might be encouraged if we brought you some teaching which
will assist you in reconnecting to your roots, the Torah, and to the
Land and People of Israel, instead.

Each holiday that the Jewish People approach is like a way-station
along the turnpike of history. The largest distance on that highway is
between Succot and Pesach, between which there is no holiday to stop
off and refuel. In the darkness of exile, G-d in His wisdom provided
us with two more fueling stations, Chanukah and Purim. Through
tradition, we celebrate Chanukah, which reminds us about what makes us
His People. Namely, it is through the wisdom of G-d, the purity and
continuance of the Torah, the strength and genius He provided to the
Maccabim to be victorious over the ancient Syrian/Greek forces, and
our steadfast committment to serve the G-d of our forefathers.

Differnt traditions of Beit Hillel vs. that of Beit Shammai*** will
determine if Jewish households will light the Chanukah candels in an
ascending fashion, or in a decending fashion. In anycase, the last of
the lightings this year will occur on the evening of the 20th of
December.

------
NOTES:

* Maccabim -- the heros of the Chanukah 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 either case, one will not find any Talmudic reference to the
   Maccabees or the Hashmona'im (Hasmonean Dynasty) 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 Hashmona'im were not
   members of this tribe, nor were they Levim or Cohanim (Levites or
   Priests). The result of their political mischief became fully
   manifest during the days of Yeshua, when the positions of Kingship
   and the Priesthood became totally corrupt and were driven by
   political manipulations for greed and power, rather than by Torah
   commands.

*** 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 Chanukah 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, or our
belief in the gradual progress of spiritual growth. Thus, it can also
be understood that the Torah observant people of G-d the world over,
mark the slow but steady victory over the violent storms which have
raged against us 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 for us, "Not
my might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts,"
whose words are read in the Haftarah portion (reading from the
Prophets) for Shabbat Chanukah (Zechariah 2:14-4:7).

   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 Chanukah (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.


--------------
UP FOR RENEWAL
--------------

Chanukah is one of the Jewish people's ancient holidays whose
non-biblical origin was instituted about 2,200 years ago by our Rabbis
and Sages. It is in commemoration of the miracle that occurred during
the war of liberation against the Syrian-Greeks in the year 165 BCE.
Yehuda HaMaccabee and his four brothers, all members of the
Hashmona'im family, triumphed over their enemy who had invaded Israel
and eventually conquered Jerusalem as part of their overall efforts to
subjugate the world to Greek hegemony.

The first thing the Greeks did after gaining control of Jerusalem was
to corrupt the Temple service and prohibite Rosh Chodesh (the New Moon
celebration), a move intended to humiliate the Jewish population and
assert the superiority of Greek culture over Jewish culture. But,
since the Jewish calendar is based upon the re-appearance of the moon,
yet is regulated by the sun, unless the new months can be proclaimed,
there is no calendar, and without a calendar there can be no
festivals. Thus, if the Syrian-Greeks had succeeded in eradicating the
observance of Rosh Chodesh, they would have succeeded in eliminating
large numbers of other Torah commandments which relate to the Temple
service.

Rosh Chodesh symbolizes renewal, the ability the G-d provided for His
people to rise up from oblivion and restore themselves. In the same
way that the moon does not contain the light within itself, but
reflects the light it receives from a greater source, so are the
people of G-d, who have not the light within themseles, but receive it
from Mashiach, the Living Torah. Just as the moon disappears at the
end of each month, but returns and grows to fullness, so the nation of
Israel may suffer exile and decline, but they always renew themselves
-- until the coming of Messiah, when the promise of the Exodus and the
Revelation at Sinai will be fulfilled, never to be dimmed again.

Having this as our hope in the interim, when our Torah was threatened,
the Jewish people rose up in defense of it and the Temple service, and
their triumph is commemorated through Chanukah, the festival of
renewal. The commemoration of this great military victory over the
Syrian-Greeks serves to not only to focus our attention on G-d's
miracles, wonders and deliverances of His people during the days of
the Maccabees, but throughout the ages as well.

This is why the first thing the Hashmona'im liberators of Jerusalem
did was to restore the Temple service to its original state. To do
this it was necessary to light the great Menorah of the Temple with
ritually pure olive oil.

The eternal light of the Temple Menorah had always represented the
everlasting relationship between the Eternal One and His people. Thus,
any effort to change or corrupt the nature of the Menorah, was as an
attempt to undermine this relationship and negate the identity of the
chosen nation. The Greeks knew this, as they sought to impose the
paganism of the Hellenistic world of their day, upon the Jews, and so
outlawed, under penalty of death, the teaching or study of Torah.

The scenerio is a familiar one in our own day, as Greek mythology,
paganism, and idolatry so prevalent in the church, seek to influence
and overtake the minds and hearts of G-d's people in the Body of the
Messiah, the world over. This hellenization of the Gospel is the most
successful time-tested strategy that HaSatan uses to lure the saints
away from their roots, and it will endure until the end of days, when
the True Judge, the Mashiach will arrive to replace the man-centered
abstract rule of knowledge and experience, with the G-d centered
concrete rule of the fear of the Almighty and His revelation.

After the Hashmona'im liberated Jerusalem they searched all of the
storage areas of the Temple to find pure olive oil to re-light the
Menorah. At the end of their search they found only one small bottle,
which would have provided enough oil for only one day's worth of
burning. They knew that the process of obtaining new oil would take
seven days. They were faced with a dilemma. Should they rekindle the
Menorah immediately, only to have its light go out once again at the
end of the day, or should they wait until new oil was available, and
thus delay this important assertion of national allegiance to the
Torah?

In the end they decided that it was better to rekindle the Menorah, if
only for one day, than to delay the ritual. Then the Guardian of
Israel "who neither sleeps nor slumbers" performed a miracle and the
oil burned eight days. This gave them the necessary time for new oil
to be prepared and brought to the Temple.

When the news of the miracle reached the general population, its
effect was dramatic. A great sense of national pride was ignited and
renewed effort was made to drive out the foreign invaders. Those Jews
who still lived under Greek persecution especially needed the news. It
gave them the strength to resist and the motivation to fight. The
following year, our Sages instituted the Mitzvah (commandment) of
kindling lights to commemorate the seven-day miracle of Chanukah.

Then why "EIGHT" days for Chanukah? Shouldn't we only light the lights
for seven days, because on that first day the Menorah burned
completely naturally -- after all, there was enough oil for the one
day, in which there was no miracle at all.

Not true! It is taught that the eighth candle is to remind us of the
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.

We are reminded of this when we daily recite the "Amidah" or "standing
prayer" during Chanukah, 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
        Chanukah to express thanks and praise to Your great
        Name."


------------------------
EIGHT, THE FINAL RENEWAL
------------------------

What is the significance of the number eight? Why does it appear in
connection with some of our holidays? What does it teach us?

The number seven defines the natural world: There are seven days in
the week; seven notes in the diatonic scale. Eight is that which
reveals the supernatural in the natural. Brit mila, the mitzvah
(commandment) of circumcision, for example, is performed on the eighth
day after birth. Brit mila reveals the spiritual in the physical.

It accomplishes this by removing the covering of nature. It takes off
the mask of the natural world to reveal that Man's body has a holy
purpose. It teaches us that the real purpose of the world, which is
spiritual -- we allow the spiritual core to break through to the
physical world. We accord spirituality its appropriate place at the
pinnacle of Creation and we relegate the physical to its subjugated
role as a backdrop to holiness. In other words, the physical becomes
the canvas upon which the spiritual world is painted.

When the days of Mashiach will arrive, this world view will be the
rule, and not the exception, as it is today. In an instant, the
covering will be removed from nature. Suddenly everything became
transcendently clear.

When the world hears just three words - "I am HaShem" - all the
paradoxes and mysteries will be revealed to be no more than an
overture to the final crescendo of world history.

Then HaShem will reveal the faithfulness of His covenant, His Brit,
with the People of Israel and the covering will be removed from the
natural world once and forever.


------------------
RENEWING OUR FOCUS
------------------

The Holy Temple was the place where G-d's Presence was manifest among
the Jewish People in ancient Israel. In the Holy Temple itself, the
Divine Presence was most manifest in the western part. The ark
containing the "two tablets" was in the west, and the western lamp of
the Menorah (candelabra) burned miraculously for centuries before the
Greeks snuffed it out.

Even though the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, the Western Wall
remains until this day. This was foretold by the midrash (Jewish
literature) which states "the Western Wall will never be destroyed,
because the Divine Presence is manifest in the west."

But the history of this site goes back much further than the Temple.
Our Sages state that this was the place where Avraham offered his son
Yitzchak, and it was here that Ya'akov envisioned the ladder with
angels upon it decending and ascending into G-d's heaven. If ever
there were a portal connecting the earth to the Throne of Glory, it is
here, upon the Temple Mount. It was from this place that G-d took the
earth from which He fashioned Adam, and it is the center of the
universe, the point from which the universe was created and from which
it expanded (called "Even Shatia" or The Foundation Stone).

This is why the Western Wall and its environs has a powerful spiritual
and emotional pull on all humanity. People from all over the world are
drawn here to interface with their souls' deepest yearnings.

------------------------
TRUTH AND BEAUTY RENEWED
------------------------

We live in a world that is replacing substance with form, reality with
appearance. This is the result of the hellenistic model when it is
manifest to its fullest extent upon the world's stage. Its sells us
the idea that man is at the center of all things. Education is the
cure for all evil and leads us into all truth. Knowledge comes through
discipline rather than through the fear of the Lord and beauty
substitutes revelation. The Torah and the Holy One of Israel are not
even in view.

Truth and Beauty are redefined. These two values represent a historic
and perpetual confrontation between The People of the Book and The
"Beautiful People", between Jerusalem and Athens.

Greece gave the world the idea that Beauty is, in itself, a supreme
ideal. The Torah says this ideal can become an idol. If Beauty doesn't
dwell in the tents of Truth, then 'Beauty' may become the 'Beast' -- a
pretext for hedonism and immorality.

But don't think that there is no place for Beauty in Torah's
world-view, for it states categorically that aesthetics have a value.
But, its value is to the extent that it serves Truth, and uplifts the
soul. In other words, Truth is Beauty, but what is beautiful may not
necessarily be true. When you gaze into the light of the Chanukah
candles, remember that their light shines out with the radiance of the
love for Truth the Torah brings, through-out all the ages.


--------------
HIDDEN RENEWAL
--------------

Of all Ya'akov sons, the one most closely associated with the study of
Torah Yissaschar. Yissaschar was born on Shavu'ot, the festival of the
Torah's giving. His conception, however, was on Chanukah.

Thus, Yissaschar himself, his very entrance into this world, connects
Chanukah to Shavu'ot. Just as the conception of life is hidden from
us, manifest only after the fact, so too Chanukah symbolizes the
hidden light of the Torah.

Birth represents the ultimate revelation of that which is hidden.
Shavu'ot too, is the ultimate revelation - the Torah revealed in light
and sound on Mount Sinai.

Chanukah falls in the Hebrew month of Kislev. Kislev's sign is the Bow
(the Hebrew word for Bow is "Keshet" in Hebrew). For it was at the
beginning of Kislev that the first rainbow was seen after the Flood.
The rainbow symbolizes the pact that G-d made with Noach never again
to destroy the world with water. The bow also echoes the military
victory of Chanukah - the bow of the purity of Jerusalem vanquishing
the bow of impurity of Athens.

In addition, the hidden colors in the rainbow are like the revelation
of the hidden light which comes from Jerusalem.

A rainbow reveals the anatomy of white light. White light seems
indivisible. No detail can be discerned in its pure whiteness. The
rainbow reveals the secret of the white light. It shows us how the
white light is really composed of all the colors.

Rabbi Shimon once remarked "Do not expect the coming of Mashiach until
you see the self-illuminated rainbow."

Just as the coming of Mashiach is compared to the revelation of the
hidden light, so too Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, is a symbol of
the revelation of the hidden light, the hidden Torah.


------------------------------------
COVENANT RENEWAL (HaBrit HaChadasha)
------------------------------------

One might ask concerning Chanukah, NOT being a Biblically mandated
Holiday, or an "Appointed Season" of G-d... "Do we find any reference
of it in the New Testament?"

The answer is "Yes," we find Yeshua in Jerusalem during the Chanukah
in John 10:18-30.

"Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and
Yeshua was in the temple area walking in Shlomo's Colonnade. The Jews
gathered round him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If
you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." Yeshua 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."

Without going to go into a great exposition here of the above passage,
it should serve to encourage you to ponder the import of Yeshua's
words as you connect them to the ideas presented above. Just ask
yourself, "Knowing the traditions and minhagim (customs) of Chanukah,
what did Yeshua's audience think when they heard him answer the
age-old question, 'Are you the Messiah?' especially in relation to the
miracles G-d performed and Light of the Torah (Menorah) which was
renewed?"

In addition, by all calculations and clues given us in the NT, the
occurance of two events can be pinpointed during the week of Chanukah.

The first is that since Yeshua was born at Succot, and conceived about
six months after Yochanan HaMatbil (John the Baptist), the approximate
time of conception would have fallen sometime in late November to late
December. This is exactly the period of time of the Festival of
Chanukah.

Second, in studying the birth narrative, and carefully noting the
passage of time, it is highly likely that the Magi arrived in Beit
Lechem with gifts for the new King of the Jews about 15 months after
His birth, again, at Chanukah.

Instead of getting into elaborate proofs on the above two ascertions
in this article, I will instead invite you to read my Brother's book,
"Signs in the Heavens" which amply developes these themes in a very
convincing way. "Signs in the Heavens" can be ordered by calling in
the US, 1-800-880-2656.

--------------------
LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE
--------------------

Chanukah took place in Israel during the Hellenistic oppression called
"Galut Yavan." This third exile lasted 180 years, and was dubbed "the
exile of darkness." "Exile," because the Greeks made every effort to
take away the light of Torah and force Jews see and understand the
world in a way that was alien to the Torah. "Darkness," because
nothing is as dark as the enslavement of the human mind, which the
Greeks held on a level equal with the gods.

Darkness is the absence of light. Things that are negative we often
associate with darkness. They are the opposite of good. Evil is
darkness. But you can combat evil in the world in two ways:

   1. You can attack it by fighting whatever is wrong in the world
   or...

   2. You can create such a tremendous light where you are that the
   darkness just fades away.

Chanukah expresses the victory of light over darkness. But the
question remains, "Which strategy is most successful; to burn away and
destroy evil; or, to create a greater light so that the darkness just
vanishes?"

Look closely at the nature of a flame. It also has two very distinct
properties: it can burn, and it can illuminate. In combating evil in
the world, our two strategies remain.

When Mashiach comes, all the Nations of the world are going to realize
that whatever they did to enrich themselves, i.e. build a world
military-power, make scientific discoveries, become an economic-power,
whatever... they are going to see that the point of it all had to do
with what impact it had on the revealing the Creator to the world,
because the light of Mashiach will then judge and destroy whatever did
NOT meet this criteria.

Our Sages tell us that at this world trial, G-d will ask the 70
Nations: "what did you do to promote Torah on the earth?" And the
Talmud says that all the Nations will come forward with their new
understanding of world history, and they will try to take credit for
having enabled Jews to learn Torah by providing them with such
necessities as marketplaces, roads, bridges, and bathhouses. But G-d
will reject their claim telling them: "Although your achievements did
actually benefit the people of the Torah, it was only because My
Divine Plan of World History put you in a position to do so. But, in
fact, your motivations were purely selfish ones; either for economic
exploitation or physical gratification."

This is why in the meantime, we are supposed to be "A Light Unto The
Nations." That is our particular G-d given role in this world. That is
what light is all about. When we perform as light, i.e. when we do
something about bringing the light of Torah into the world, that's
when there is light! And when we are not a light, i.e. when we are not
performing the good works of the Torah, for which we were made (Eph
2:10), then we end up assimilating, and in essence forgetting who we
are. Whenever this has happened in the history of Israel, like a
reactor that has gone into critical mass, G-d saw fit to remind us of
who we are and that we were His people by sending us the Babylonians,
the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the crusaders and the
pogromists, enlightenment and emancipation, and the Western World, and
all the other threats that happened throughout history. They are sent
to stimulate us, to wake us up, and to arouse us back to our original
purpose and calling.

Hence, for Jews who light the Chanukiah this year, or for those who
can learn from our customs, we should keep in mind that in our
encounter with "darkness", we don't want to use the flame to burn and
destroy the world, but rather, we want to use it to illuminate the
whole world with Torah. We want to light the way for all the Nations
so that they can prosper materially and spiritually. Even though they
will never fully respond to this before the coming of Mashiach, we
must still give them this prescription. It is the same as it was in
the time of the Hellenistic oppression: by increasing our light, the
darkness fades and the bright Morningstar arises.

Hag Samay'ach (Happy Holiday) and may this entire season be to you and
your house a time of strength for good and for blessing, through
Yeshua the Messiah.

Uri Marcus
Jerusalem

-------------------------------------------------------------
Portions of above material were adapted from the Ohr Somayach
archives, Shorashim's JERUSALEM INSIGHTS and other sources.
-------------------------------------------------------------

**********************************************************************