|
_ Feast of Lights/Rededication _ Chanukah,
while not being a feast given by God in Scripture, is mentioned in the B’rit Hadashah (New Testament): Then came Chanukah in Yerushalayim/Jerusalem. It was winter, and Yeshua was walking around inside the
Temple area, in Shlomo’s (Solomon's)
Colonnade. Yochanan/John
10:22-23 This Feast of
Lights/Rededication is historically a time to rededicate oneself to God and
His purposes. Many Messianic Jews
and Gentiles see this feast time, rather than the modern day of Christmas, as
a unique factual Bible time event of miraculous deliverance to be a more
fitting time to remember the birth of the Messiah, the Light which came into
the world. In him was life, and the life was the
light of mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not
suppressed it. Yochanan/John 1:4–5 THE STORY Under Syrian rule.
It was in the
time of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, nearly twenty two centuries ago (165 b.c.e./c.e.),
that the events took place which we commemorate each year at Chanukah
time. The Jewish people had
returned to the land of Israel from the Babylonian Exile, and had rebuilt the
Holy Temple. But they remained
subject to the domination of imperial powers, first, the Persian Empire, then
later, the conquering armies of Alexander the Great. Upon the death of Alexander, his vast
kingdom was divided among his generals.
After a power struggle which engulfed all the nations of the Middle
East, Israel found itself under the sway of the Seleucid Dynasty, Greek kings
who reigned from Syria. The 'Madman' Though at first, the
rule of the Seleucids was rather mild and uneventful in Israel, there soon
arose a new king, Antiochus IV, who was to wage a bloody war upon the Jews, a
war which would threaten not just their physical lives, but their very
spiritual existence. Over the
years of Greek domination, many Jews had begun to accept the Greek culture
and its self-serving pleasure oriented, pagan/false god way of life. These Jewish Hellenists became willing
pawns in Antiochus' scheme to obliterate every trace of the Jewish religion. The
Holy Temple was invaded, desecrated, and robbed of all its treasures. Vast numbers of innocent people were
massacred and the survivors were heavily taxed. Antiochus placed an idol of Zeus on
the holy altar and forced the Jews to bow before it under penalty of
death. And he forbid
the Jewish people to observe their most sacred traditions, such as the
Sabbath and the rite of circumcision. Antiochus went so far as to
proclaim himself a god, taking the name 'Antiochus Epiphanes'
--the Divine. But even his own
followers mocked him as 'Antiochus Epimanes' --the
madman. The Turning Point In every city and town, altars were
erected with statues of the Greek gods and goddesses. Soldiers rounded up the Jews and
forcibly compelled them to make offerings and engage in other immoral acts
customary to the Greeks. As
Antiochus' troops tightened their grip on the nation, the Jews seemed
incapable of resistance. It was
in the small village of Modi'in, a few miles west
of Jerusalem, that a single act of heroism turned
the tide of Israel's struggle and altered her destiny for all time. Mattityahu (Matthew), patriarch of the
priestly Hasmonean clan, stepped forward to challenge the Greek soldiers and
those who complied passively to their demands. Backed by his five sons, he attacked
the troops, slew the idolaters, and destroyed the idol. With a cry of 'All who are with God, follow
me!' he and a courageous circle of partisans retreated to the hills, where
they gathered forces to overthrow the oppression of Antiochus and those
working with him (even many Jews). Guerrilla Warfare The
army of Mattityahu, now under the command of his son Yehuda
(Judah) Maccabee, grew daily in numbers and in strength. With the Biblical slogan, Who is like unto You,
0 God, emblazoned on their shields, they would swoop down upon
the Syrian troops under cover of darkness and scatter the oppressors, then
return to their encampments in the hills. Only six thousand strong, they
defeated a heavily armed battalion of forty-seven thousand Syrians. Enraged, Antiochus sent an even larger
army against them, and in the miraculous, decisive battle at Bet Tzur, the Jewish forces emerged victorious. From there, they proceeded on to
Jerusalem, where they liberated the city and reclaimed the Holy Temple. They cleared the Sanctuary of the
idols, rebuilt the altar, and prepared to resume the Divine Service. A central part of the daily service in
the Temple was the kindling of the brilliant lights of the Menorah. Now, as Jewish legend has it, with the
Temple about to be rededicated; only one small cruse of the pure, sacred
olive oil was found. It was only
one day's supply and they knew it would take more than a week for the special
process required to prepare more oil.
Undaunted, in joy and with thanksgiving, the Maccabees lit the lamps
of the Menorah with the small amount of oil, and dedicated the Holy Temple
anew. And miraculously, as if in
confirmation of the power of their faith, the oil did not burn out —and
the flames shone brightly for eight full days. The following year, Jewish Sages
officially proclaimed the festival of Chanukah as a celebration lasting eight
days, in perpetual commemoration of this victory over religious persecution. Chanukah Traditional Kindling Blessings * This 9 post ‘Chanukiah’ is not the biblical 7 post Menorah, Sh’mot/Exodus 25:31-37 1
Bah-rookh Ah-tah Adonai Eh-loh-hay-noo Meh-lehkh Hah-ohlahm Ah-shehr Keh-deh-shah-noo Beh-mehtzoo-tahv Veh-tzeh-vah-noo Leh-had-leehk Nehr Shehl
Khah-noo-kah. Blessed are You Adonai our God, King of the
universe, who has sanctified us by His commandments, and allowed us to kindle
the lights of Khanukah. 2 Bah-rookh Ah-tah Adonai Eh-loh-hay-noo Meh-lehkh
Hah-ohlahm Sheh-ah-sah Neh-seem Lah-ah-voh-tay-noo. Bah-yah-meem Hah-hah-eem Bahzeh-mahn Hah-zeh. Blessed are you Adonai our God, King of the
universe, who did miracles for our fathers in days of old, at this season. The following blessing
is said traditionally only on the first evening: 3
Bah-rookh Ah-tah Adonai Eh-loh-hay-noo Meh-lehkh Hah-ohlahm Sheh-heh-kheh-yah-noo Veh-keh-yeh-mah-noo Veh-heh-gee-ahnu Lehz-mahn Hah-zeh. Blessed are You Adonai our God King of the
universe, who has kept us alive, and has preserved us, and enabled us to
reach this season. After kindling the
lights recite: We kindle these lights to commemorate the saving
acts, miracles and wonders which You have performed for our forefathers, in
those days at this time, through Your holy Cohanim/Priests. Throughout the eight days of Chanukah,
Chanukah
Festivities - Foods, Games, Fellowship THE KHANUKAH DREIDEL The Origin of the Dreidel The Syrians decreed that the teaching
or studying of Torah was a crime punishable by death or imprisonment. But the children defiantly studied in
secret; and when Syrian patrols were spotted, Playing Dreidel The dreidel is a four-sided spinning
top, also called a svivon in Hebrew. On each side is a Hebrew letter: 'Nun' 'Gimel'
'Hay' and 'Shin'. The
letters stand for the phrase "Nes Gadol Hayah Sham" --a
great miracle happened there.
It is traditionally used to play a lively Chanukah game. Each player places some raisins,
candies, or nuts into a kitty, and the players take turns spinning the
dreidel. Nun means nothing
--you win nothing, you lose nothing.
Gimel means you take all. Hay means you win half of what is
in the kitty. Shin means
you lose, and must put more into the kitty. Thank
God for sending Yeshua/Jesus .... but when the appointed time
arrived, God sent forth his Son. He was born from a woman, born into a culture in which legalistic perversion of the Torah was the norm, so that he might redeem…
Galatians 4:4, 5a How about you? Have you received your Redeemer, the
Stone whom the builders rejected? In Him is life, light and joy and in
His sacrifice is forgiveness of sin. He, the Messiah is the way to
Eternal Shabbath, Yom Shekulo Shabbat!
Eternal
Paradise/Heaven, of the world to come. Is that of one long extended,
unending eternal Sabbath Day. For More Information:
Return
to L'Chaim - To Life! Page. Return
to Biblical Feasts Page. To
return to MENORAH'S
HOME PAGE |
