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Festival notes God's miracles
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To the Packet:
Today marks the beginning of the eight-day Festival of Lights called Hanukkah.
The holiday's Hebrew name means "rededication" because in 165 BC the Jews defeated the Syrian-Greeks and cleansed their temple, which had been turned into a pagan place of idolatry.
The story is told of the miracle of the Jews finding just enough oil to last one day to relight the Menorah, but it lasted for eight days.
Yet the Rabbis in Yavneh, Judea, after the destruction of this very temple by the Romans in 70 AD, decided not to include the four books of the Maccabees (the leaders of the successful revolt) into the Jewish Biblical canon and even debated whether this holiday should be celebrated at all. The four texts speak of military and political victories but do not mention the miracles of God.
The rabbis did not want Hanukkah to be remembered as a military battle, but as a spiritual one. If the holiday was to be celebrated, a portion of the Book of Zechariah was to be read on Hanukkah's Sabbath, "not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit," as a reminder of who truly redeemed the Jews. A prayer was added to the daily Amidah liturgy, called Al Ha Nisim (For the Miracles).
The holiday is a time for Jews to rededicate themselves to God. As Jews light the candles, adding one each night, they will see their spirituality increase as a fully lit Hanukkah.
Arthur Segal
Hilton Head Island
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