Today is the first day of an eight-day holiday, which the Jews call Hanukkah (sometimes spelled Chanukah)...
It is also known as the "Feast of Dedication." This festival commemorates the recapturing of the Temple in Jerusalem in 165 B.C. which had been taken over by Syrian Greeks who then filled the Jew's most sacred house of worship with pagan practices and idols. And according to legend, the Jews happened to find a cruse of the holy consecration oil that was used for their worship and purification rituals. But there was only enough oil left in the cruse to keep the "Eternal Light of God" burning for one day; the light was required to burn continuously to represent the eternal presence of God. Yet, through a miracle, the oil lasted for eight days until a fresh supply could be obtained. Much more about this period of Jewish history can be found in the Talmud.*
Today, however, to celebrate this miracle, many Jews have a Menorah in their homes. This is an 8-branched candleholder, and one candle is lit at sundown for each successive night along with the main candle which is used to light the others. Hanukkah also symbolizes the strong faith of the Jewish people, especially during the times of oppression.
And because I grew up in a Jewish home, I feel a much stronger bond with this holiday as opposed to that of Christmas. For even though I write more about Christmas than Hanukkah, it is because I am presently serving the Lord in a primarily Gentile congregation where only myself and one other man are Jews who believe in Jesus. So, Hanukkah is where my roots are. It's full of good memories of family, love, warmth, and plenty of chocolate treats.
Every Hanukkah, my mother would say a prayer at sundown just before she'd light the candles of her Menorah. Our family's Menorah was silver in color (although later on my father got us an electric one) and about eighteen inches long and twelve inches high. It was heavy, too. My little Menorah, however, was made of cheap brass and was about six inches long and four inches high; it was simple and inexpensive, but I liked it.
Since my dad owned a hardware store, before the start of each Hanukkah, he would bring home boxes of candles. My mom, for her Menorah, got the big white ones that were about 6 or 8 inches tall, and thick. But I'd get a box of the smaller candles, which consisted of an assortment of colors. To the best of my recollection there were red, yellow, and green, light blue, pink and orange candles, all uniformly made with about a quarter inch of thickness. And because the ones I used were thin they'd melt in about thirty minutes, while the candles my mom used seemed to burn well into the night.
So at sunset during each of the eight days of Hanukkah, I would absent-mindedly recite a quick prayer, light the required number of candles, then sit by myself in the darkness of my bedroom and watch the candles until they burned themselves out.
Unfortunately, Hanukkah had no historical significance for me when I was a kid. I knew what the holiday stood for, but I was not religious. For me, lighting the Menorah was only a tradition to carry out. Yet today, because I now have a relationship with God, I can better appreciate what Hanukkah means to Jews everywhere.
D.B.
*Talmud is a collection of ancient Rabbinic writings which constitute the basis of religious authority and tradition for Judaism.
Today, however, to celebrate this miracle, many Jews have a Menorah in their homes. This is an 8-branched candleholder, and one candle is lit at sundown for each successive night along with the main candle which is used to light the others. Hanukkah also symbolizes the strong faith of the Jewish people, especially during the times of oppression.
And because I grew up in a Jewish home, I feel a much stronger bond with this holiday as opposed to that of Christmas. For even though I write more about Christmas than Hanukkah, it is because I am presently serving the Lord in a primarily Gentile congregation where only myself and one other man are Jews who believe in Jesus. So, Hanukkah is where my roots are. It's full of good memories of family, love, warmth, and plenty of chocolate treats.
Every Hanukkah, my mother would say a prayer at sundown just before she'd light the candles of her Menorah. Our family's Menorah was silver in color (although later on my father got us an electric one) and about eighteen inches long and twelve inches high. It was heavy, too. My little Menorah, however, was made of cheap brass and was about six inches long and four inches high; it was simple and inexpensive, but I liked it.
Since my dad owned a hardware store, before the start of each Hanukkah, he would bring home boxes of candles. My mom, for her Menorah, got the big white ones that were about 6 or 8 inches tall, and thick. But I'd get a box of the smaller candles, which consisted of an assortment of colors. To the best of my recollection there were red, yellow, and green, light blue, pink and orange candles, all uniformly made with about a quarter inch of thickness. And because the ones I used were thin they'd melt in about thirty minutes, while the candles my mom used seemed to burn well into the night.
So at sunset during each of the eight days of Hanukkah, I would absent-mindedly recite a quick prayer, light the required number of candles, then sit by myself in the darkness of my bedroom and watch the candles until they burned themselves out.
Unfortunately, Hanukkah had no historical significance for me when I was a kid. I knew what the holiday stood for, but I was not religious. For me, lighting the Menorah was only a tradition to carry out. Yet today, because I now have a relationship with God, I can better appreciate what Hanukkah means to Jews everywhere.
D.B.
*Talmud is a collection of ancient Rabbinic writings which constitute the basis of religious authority and tradition for Judaism.
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