Happy Chanukah!

Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, is observed for eight days, beginning on the evening of the twenty fifth day of the month of Kislev This year, (2005), Chanukah starts at sundown, Sunday, December 25th, and lasts for eight days thru Monday, January 2nd, 2006. Please see special instructions below for Friday and Saturday Menorah candle lightings.
Chanukah is a wonderful holiday of renewed dedication, faith, hope and spiritual light. It's a holiday that says: "Never lose hope."

Chanukah commemorates the victory, thru the miracles of Hashem, of a small band of Maccabees over the pagan Syrian-Greeks who ruled over Eretz Yisroel (Israel).

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WHAT DOES “CHANUKAH” MEAN?

Chanukah has two meanings. First, and foremost, it means “dedication” because it was on Chanukah that the Beit Hamikdash (Holy Temple) was purified and rededicated to the service of Hashem, in 165 BCE, after many years of pagan defilement. For more about Chanukah and "dedications" click here.

The other meaning gives us an easy way to remember the Hebrew date of the holiday: “Chanu” means “they rested”, and “Kah” (composed of the Hebrew letters for 25 - “Chof and Hay”) means “on the twenty fifth” (day of Kislev).

Chanukah is also called "The Festival of Lights" referring to the flames kindled on each night. It is also called "The Festival of Light" as Chanukah is the victory of the forces of "light" - which include faith and loyalty to Hashem and the Jewish tradition and the will to fight for these beliefs - over the forces of "darkness," represented by the hedonistic lifestyle of the ancient Syrian-Greeks



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THE MIRACLE(S) OF CHANUKAH

The year was about 165 BCE. A large group of men led by Judah the Maccabee climbed to the top of a mountain overlooking Yerushalayim (Jerusalem). It was the same mountain from which, many centuries later, the Crusaders would launch their attack against the Moslems and from which, the Jordanian artillery would shell Yerushalayim in 1967. In 165 BCE, however, Judah and his men, with the help of Hashem, were about to complete a great victory, a triumph that lives on as the miracle of Chanukah.

After the death of Alexander the Great, conqueror of the world and friend of the Jewish people, his Empire was divided among his generals. Eretz Yisroel (the land of Israel), - the Kingdom of Judea - was added to the Empire of Antiochus III. When Antiochus Epiphanes became king of the Syrian-Greeks, he was not content to accept the taxes and loyalty of the Jews as his predecessors had done. He wanted the Jews to lay aside their Torah and ancient religion, and, in their place, substitute the Hellenistic Greek culture and Grecian idols.

King Antiochus bore down on his Jewish subjects with a measure of ruthlessness, stubbornness and cruelty that earned him the nickname Antiochus the Madman. (For a related story of bravery and courage about Chana & her Seven Sons, click here). He defiled the Beit Hamikdash - by filling it with pagan idols and sacrifices of pigs. He forbade the Jews to observe the commandments of Brit Milah (circumcision), Rosh Chodesh (the New Moon), and the Shabbat. Jewish women were systematically mistreated.

Jews who dared to remain loyal to their faith were brutally tortured and murdered. If a woman had her infant circumcised, she was murdered, the baby publicly hanged, and all who participated in the Brit ceremony were executed and their property confiscated. Against this backdrop, Jewish resistance began to ebb and it seemed inevitable that the last remnants of resistance would soon be wiped out.

Then, one courageous old man turned the tide. His name was Mattisyahu and he was a Kohain - head of the Hasmonean family, from the Judean town of Modi'in near Lod. The Syrian-Greek governor of Mattisyahu's region set up an idol in Modi'in, rounded up the townspeople, and introduced an "enlightened" Jew who would sacrifice a pig on the idol in recognition of the decree of Antiochus. Old Mattisyahu stepped forward and slew the traitor.

With the rallying cry of, “Mi La’Hashem Ay-li (Whoever is for Hashem, let him come to me)," he called the people to rebellion. A pitifully small number responded at first - the people were numb with fear and hopelessness - but Mattisyahu's five sons led the way. They fought the Syrian-Greeks, retreated to the mountains, and began a guerrilla war against the Syrian-Greeks and their Jewish allies. Mattisyahu had not long to live, but on his death bed he charged his sons to carry on the struggle. The glorious brothers heeded his command. He passed on the leadership to his second son, Judah the Maccabee, who was a mighty warrior and a charismatic leader.

Many miracles happened. Outnumbered a hundred to one, Judah and his men won many battles. Jews came to join him. In a few years, he had defeated the mightiest armies of Syria. Victory belonged to the Jew, the pure, the righteous, the loyal defender of the Torah. Following the rebellion, the kingdom of Israel was restored for 200 years, until the destruction of the Second Beit Hamikdash.

So it was that Judah and his men climbed the mountain above Yerushalayim and saw that there was no resistance. On the twenty fifth day of Kislev, they marched into the Holy City and immediately made their way to the Beit Hamikdash where they saw a sight that left them shocked and angered. Idols, filth, impurity were everywhere. They rummaged through the ruins seeking at least one flask of pure olive oil with which to light the makeshift menorah they hastily put together.

Flask after flask they found - every one of them defiled. Finally - another miracle! One small jug, sufficient for only one day, remained with the seal of the Kohain Gadol intact! Quickly, with trembling hands, they poured it into the menorah and lit it. It would be eight days before they could manufacture more oil for the next lighting, but meanwhile, they lit what they had.

The flames of the menorah burned and burned and burned and burned and burned and burned and burned and burned. For eight days they burned. (I bet you counted). Those eight miraculous days were chosen as the eternal symbol to commemorate the miracle of Chanukah - the eight day long Festival of Lights, where we light the Menorah each evening, publicizing the miracle Hashem performed some 2000 years ago.

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WHY EIGHT DAYS?

The question then arises, since the oil was adequate for one night, only seven days were miraculous. Why, then, wasn't Chanukah made a seven day festival? Many answers have been given over the years. Here are a few:

One extra day of celebration was proclaimed to commemorate the miracle of the military victory.

The Syrian-Greeks did such a thorough job of defiling the Beit Hamikdash, that it was a miracle to find even that one jug of oil. So the first night's lighting, too, was miraculous.

Knowing that it would take eight days to secure new oil, the Maccabees decided to ration the oil they found. They used only one eighth each night - yet that little bit of oil burned until dawn every single night.

After pouring the oil into the cups of the menorah, the Maccabees saw to their amazement that the oil jug was still full. A miracle - even on the first day!

After burning all night, the cups of the menorah were still full the next morning.

On each night, the Maccabees made very thin wicks in order to conserve oil. Nevertheless, the menorah burned with bright and hearty flames just as if the wicks had been of normal size.