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The Festival Of Lights Chanukah, also known as the Festival of Lights or Festival of Rededication, is an eight day
25th day of Kislev, which may be in December, late November, or, while very rare in occasion, early January (as was the case for the Hannukkah of 2005–2006). The festival is observed in Jewish homes by the kindling of lights on each of the festival’s eight nights, one on the first night, two on the second night and so on. In Hebrew script, the word Chanukah is written . or . . It is most commonly transliterated to English as Chanukah or Chanukah. Commemoration The holiday was called Chanukah meaning “dedication” because it marks the re-dedication of the Temple after its desecration under Antiochus IV. Spiritually, Chanukah commemorates the Miracle of the Oil. According to the Talmud, at the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem following the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, there was only enough consecrated olive oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days - which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate new oil.
2 Maccabees says, “The Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the feast of Booths.” Another interpretation for the 8 day ceremony is that it commemorates the story of Hannah and her 7 sons. The story depicted in the Talmud and in the Book of Maccabees accounts how Hannah’s 7 sons were tortured and executed according to Antiochus’ policy when they refused to bow to a statue and to taste pork. Hannah herself committed suicide after the death of her sons.
* The triumph of Judaism’s spiritual values as embodied in its Torah (symbolized by the Menorah, since the Torah is compared to light) over Hellenistic civilization (considered darkness) which under Antiochus IV, had attempted to culturally assimilate the Jews away from practicing Judaism’s commandments, by forcefully installing Greek religious symbols in the Second Temple. * The victory of the Jews over the armies of Antiochus IV. The rebellion was begun by Mattathias Maccabee and continued by Judah Maccabee and his other sons. They defeated overwhelming forces, and re-dedicated the Second Temple. The spiritual side of Judaism shies away from commemorating military victories, the Hasmoneans later became corrupt, and civil war between Jews is considered deplorable, so Chanukah does not formally commemorate either of these historical events. Instead, the festival commemorates the Miracle of the Oil and the positive spiritual aspects about the Temple’s re-dedication. In doing so, the oil becomes metaphor for the miraculous survival of the Jewish people through millennia of trials and tribulations. In the Talmud The miracle of Chanukah is described in the Talmud. The Gemara, in tractate Shabbat 21b,[1] says that after the occupiers had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was still sealed by the High Priest, with enough oil to keep the Menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, and miraculously, that oil burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready). The Talmud presents three customs: 1. Lighting one light each night per household, 2. One light each night for each member of the household, or, 3. The most pious method, where the number of candles changed each night. There was a dispute over how the last option was to be performed: either display eight lamps on the first night of the festival, and reduce the number on each successive night; or begin with one lamp the first night, increasing the number till the eighth night. The followers of Shammai favored the former custom; the followers of Hillel advocated the latter. As is the case in most such disputes, Jews today follow Hillel. Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one’s door or in the window closest to the street. Josephus Could not believe that the lights were symbolic of the liberty obtained by the Jews on the day that Chanukah commemorates. Rashi, in a note to Shabbat 21b, says their purpose is to publicize the miracle. Chanukah is also mentioned in the (older) Mishnah (TB Megillah 30b). The story of Chanukah is preserved in the books of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees. A story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 et seq., according to which the relighting of the altar-fire by Nehemiah was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabeus. The Books of Maccabees (Sifrei HaMakaviyim) are not part of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), but are part of deuterocanonical historical and religious material preserved in the Septuagint. The Tanakh ends with the consequences following the events of Purim, and had already been codified many centuries earlier by the Men of the Great Assembly (Anshei Knesset HaGedolah). Another source is the Megillat Antiokhos — a text ascribed to the Maccabees themselves by Saadia Gaon, but according to some scholars, perhaps written around the first or second century AD. Indeed, Saadia Gaon’s theory is highly unlikely, as Megillat Antiokhos gives the timeframe for the story in relation to the destruction of the second Temple, which occurred over 200 years later, and could not possibly have been known to the Maccabees... The holiday is mentioned in the Christian Bible in the book of John 10:22-23. Hasmonean Around 200 BCE Jews lived as an autonomous people in the land of Israel, also referred to as Judea, which at that time was controlled by the Seleucid king of Syria. The Jewish people paid taxes to Syria and accepted its legal authority, and by and large were free to follow their own faith, maintain their own jobs, and engage in trade. By 175 BCE Antiochus IV Epiphanes ascended to the Seleucid throne. At first little changed, but under his reign Jews were gradually forced to violate the precepts of their faith. Jews rebelled at having to do this. Under the reign of Antiochus IV, the Temple in Jerusalem was looted, Jews were massacred, and Judaism was effectively outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to Zeus erected in the Temple. Mattathias, a Jewish priest, and his five sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah led a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became known as Judah Maccabee (“Judah the Hammer”). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated. The festival of Chanukah was instituted by Judah Maccabee and his brothers to celebrate this event. After recovering Jerusalem and the Temple, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was supposed to burn throughout the night every night. But there was only enough oil to burn for one day, yet miraculously, it burned for eight days, the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of oil for the menorah. An eight-day festival was declared to commemorate this miracle. The version of the story in 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, states that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was proclaimed upon rededication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of the oil. A number of historians believe that the reason for the eight-day celebration was that the first Chanukah was in effect a belated celebration of the festival of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate Sukkot properly. The theory is based on the belief that Sukkot also lasts for eight days, and was a holiday in which the lighting of lamps played a prominent part during the Second Temple period (Suk.v. 2-4). However, Sukkot is in fact a seven-day holiday, the eighth day being a separate festival known as Shemini Atzeret (“the Eighth Day of the Assembly”; see Lev. 23:33-36, Num. 29:12; Deut. 16:13- 15). The historian Josephus[5] mentions the eight-day festival and its customs, but does not tell us the origin of the eight day lighting custom. Given that his audience was Hellenized Romans, perhaps his silence on the origin of the eight-day custom is due to its miraculous nature. In any event, he does report that lights were kindled in the household and the popular name of the festival was, therefore the “Festival of Lights” (“And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights”). It has been noted that Jewish festivals are connected to the harvesting of the Biblical seven fruits which Israel was famed for. Pesach is a celebration of the barley harvest, Shavuot of the wheat, Sukkot of the figs, dates, pomegranates and grapes, and Chanukah of the olives. The olive harvest is in November and olive oil would be ready in time for Chanukah in December. It has also been noted that the number eight has special significance in Jewish theology, as representing transcendence and the Jewish People’s special role in human history. Seven is the number of days of creation, that is, of completion of the material cosmos. Eight, being one step beyond seven, represents the Infinite (as an eight turned on its side). Hence, the Eighth Day of the Assembly festival, mentioned above, is according to Jewish Law a festival for Jews only (unlike Sukkoth, when all peoples were welcome in Jerusalem). Similarly, the rite of circumcision, which brings a Jewish male into God’s Covenant, is performed on the eighth day. Hence, Chanukah’s eight days (in celebration of monotheistic morality’s victory over Hellenistic humanism) have great symbolic importance for practicing Jews. Chanukah rituals Chanukah has relatively simple religious rituals that are performed during the eight nights and days of the holiday. Some aspects are practiced at home by the family, other aspects are communal. There are additions to the regular daily prayer services in the Siddur, the Jewish prayer book. Jewish law does not require one to refrain from activities on Chanukah that would fit the Jewish definition of “work.”[6] Thus people are allowed to go to school and work. Employees are not given the holiday off and children are generally only given two or three days off from school. Kindling the Chanukah Lights The primary ritual, according to Jewish law and custom, is to light a single light each night for eight nights. As a universally-practiced “beautification” of the mitzvah, the number of lights lit is increased by one each night.[7] An extra light called a shamash, meaning guard or servant is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Chanukah lights for anything other than publicizing - and meditating on - the Chanukah story. (This differs from Sabbath candles which are meant to be used for illumination). Hence, if one were to need extra illumination on Chanukah, the shamash candle would be available and one would avoid using the prohibited lights. Some light the shamash candle first and then use it to light the others.[8] So all together, including the shamash, two lights are lit on the first night, three on the second and so on, ending with nine on the last night, for a total of 44. The lights can be candles or oil lamps.[9] Electric lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room. Most Jewish homes have a special candelabra or oil lamp holder for Chanukah, which holds eight lights plus the additional shamash light. In the State of Israel, it is usually called a “chanukkiyah”. Ashenazic Jews (central and east European Jews) mostly call it a “Chanukah menorah,” though chanukkiyah has become more common. Some Sephardic Jews (west European, Mediterranean and Latin American Jews) simply call it “a chanukah”. By contrast, the Temple menorah, described in Exodus 25:31 ff, which is often used to symbolize Judaism, has six branches plus a central shaft, for a total of seven lamps. The reason for the Chanukah lights is not for the “lighting of the house within”, but rather for the “illumination of the house without”, so that passersby should see it and be reminded of the holiday’s miracle. Accordingly lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street. It is customary amongst some Ashkenazim to have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), whereas most Sephardim light one chanukkiyah for the whole household. Only when there was danger of antisemitic persecution were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the case in Persia under the rule of the fire-worshipers, or in parts of Europe before and during World War II. However, some groups, e.g. Chabad- Lubavitch, light lamps near an inside doorway, not in public view. When to light the lights Chanukah lights should burn for at least one half hour after it gets dark. The standard candles sold for Chanukah burn for half an hour, so on most days this requirement can be met by lighting the candles when it is dark out. Friday night presents a problem, however. Candles must be lit before the start of Shabbat and inexpensive Chanukah candles do not burn long enough to meet the requirement. A simple solution is to use “tea lights” or Shabbat candles, arranging them in a straight line and setting the shammus candle apart and above the rest. Blessings over the candles Typically three blessings (Brachot singular Brachah) are recited during this eight-day festival. On the first night of Chanukah, Jews recite all three blessings, on all subsequent nights, they recite only the first two.[10] The blessings are said before or after the candles are lit depending on tradition. On the first night of Chanukah one light (candle, lamp, or electric) is lit on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first and is lit first proceeding from left to right, and so on each night. Research souce: Wkikpedia |
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