Chanukah - The Festival of Dedication

Chag Chanukah —
The Festival of Dedication

Countdown to Chanukah
December 12, 2009

(Days : Hours : Minutes : Seconds)

1 Maccabees 1:7-10
⁷And after Alexander had reigned twelve years, he died.⁸Then his officers began to rule, each in his own place. ⁹They all put on crowns after his death, and so did their descendants after them for many years; and they caused many evils on the earth. ¹⁰From them came forth a sinful root, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus; he had been a hostage in Rome. He began to reign in the one hundred thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.

Chanukah Beginnings

Nobody's really sure, but odds are good that the current custom with the Chanukah and the candles did not develop for a couple of hundred years after the Maccabee incident— I know we'd all like to think of Yeshua lighting Chanukah candles, but unfortunately, that's probably not the case. Chanukah is basically the celebration of the victory over Antiochus Epiphanes, and the rededication of the Temple. The Book of 1 Maccabees makes it plain that the conquering was allowed by Adonai because the people were assimilating to Gentile customs, and not keeping the Torah.

1 Macabees 1:11-15
¹¹In those days certain renegades came out from Israel and misled many, saying, “Let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles around us, for since we separated from them many disasters have come upon us.” ¹²This proposal pleased them, ¹³and some of the people eagerly went to the king, who authorized them to observe the ordinances of the Gentiles. ¹⁴So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, according to Gentile custom, ¹⁵and removed the marks of circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant. They joined with the Gentiles and sold themselves to do evil.

Well, Antiochus (the type of the False messiah— if you wish to know what the False messiah will do, study Antiochus) decided he was going to conquer Egypt.

1 Macabees 1:16-19
¹⁶When Antiochus saw that his kingdom was established, he determined to become king of the land of Egypt, in order that he might reign over both kingdoms. ¹⁷So he invaded Egypt with a strong force, with chariots and elephants and cavalry and with a large fleet. ¹⁸He engaged King Ptolemy of Egypt in battle, and Ptolemy turned and fled before him, and many were wounded and fell. ¹⁹They captured the fortified cities in the land of Egypt, and he plundered the land of Egypt.

Now when the kingdom was established before Antiochus, he thought to reign over Egypt that he might have the dominion of two realms. Wherefore he entered into Egypt with a great multitude, with chariots, and elephants, and horsemen, and a great navy, And made war against Ptolemy king of Egypt: but Ptolemy was afraid of him, and fled; and many were wounded to death. Thus they got the strong cities in the land of Egypt and he took the spoils thereof.

Once he'd gotten what he'd wanted, he turned with thoughts of Israel (Why is it historically that kingship or ruling of Egypt causes one to immediately desire war with Israel?).

1 Macabees 1:20-24
²⁰After subduing Egypt, Antiochus returned in the one hundred forty-third year.He went up against Israel and came to Jerusalem with a strong force. ²¹He arrogantly entered the sanctuary and took the golden altar, the lampstand for the light, and all its utensils. ²²He took also the table for the bread of the Presence, the cups for drink offerings, the bowls, the golden censers, the curtain, the crowns, and the gold decoration on the front of the temple; he stripped it all off. ²³He took the silver and the gold, and the costly vessels; he took also the hidden treasures that he found. ²⁴Taking them all, he went into his own land. He shed much blood, and spoke with great arrogance.

Before anyone asks, no, Antiochus did not steal the Ark of the Covenant — it was already missing apparently during the days of Yirme’yahu, about 300 years earlier. But Antiochus was more than determined to take Israel — everyone else that had conquered had left the people Jews. Antiochus, a sort of Adolph in practice, was determined to wipe out Judaism once and for all by treachery, outlawing it, and by killing the observant.

1 Macabees 1:29-32
²⁹Two years later the king sent to the cities of Judah a chief collector of tribute, and he came to Jerusalem with a large force. ³⁰Deceitfully he spoke peaceable words to them, and they believed him; but he suddenly fell upon the city, dealt it a severe blow, and destroyed many people of Israel. ³¹He plundered the city, burned it with fire, and tore down its houses and its surrounding walls. ³²They took captive the women and children, and seized the livestock.
1 Macabees 1:41-50
⁴¹Then the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people, ⁴²and that all should give up their particular customs. ⁴³All the Gentiles accepted the command of the king. Many even from Israel gladly adopted his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the Sabbath. ⁴⁴And the king sent letters by messengers to Jerusalem and the towns of Judah; he directed them to follow customs strange to the land, ⁴⁵to forbid Olah-Offerings and sacrifices and drink offerings in the sanctuary, to profane Sabbaths and festivals, ⁴⁶to defile the sanctuary and the priests, ⁴⁷to build altars and sacred precincts and shrines for idols, to sacrifice swine and other unclean animals, ⁴⁸and to leave their sons uncircumcised. They were to make themselves abominable by everything unclean and profane, ⁴⁹so that they would forget the law and change all the ordinances. ⁵⁰He added, “And whoever does not obey the command of the king shall die.”

Enter the heroes -

1 Maccabees 2:1-5
¹In those days Mattathias son of Yochanan son of Simeon, a priest of the family of Joarib, moved from Jerusalem and settled in Modein. ²He had five sons, Yochanan surnamed Gaddi, ³Simon called Thassi, ⁴Judas called Maccabeus, ⁵Eleazar called Avaran, and Jonathan called Apphus.

To make a long story short, we know that Judah Maccabee spearheaded the revolution against Antiochus, and overcame all odds. After they beat Antiochus,

1 Macabees 6:8-16
⁸When the king heard this news, he was astounded and badly shaken. He took to his bed and became sick from disappointment, because things had not turned out for him as he had planned. ⁹He lay there for many days, because deep disappointment continually gripped him, and he realized that he was dying. ¹⁰So he called all his Friends and said to them, “Sleep has departed from my eyes and I am downhearted with worry. ¹¹I said to myself, ‘To what distress I have come! And into what a great flood I now am plunged! For I was kind and beloved in my power.’ ¹²But now I remember the wrong I did in Jerusalem. I seized all its vessels of silver and gold, and I sent to destroy the inhabitants of Judah without good reason. ¹³I know that it is because of this that these misfortunes have come upon me; here I am, perishing of bitter disappointment in a strange land.”
14Then he called for Philip, one of his Friends, and made him ruler over all his kingdom. ¹⁵He gave him the crown and his robe and the signet, so that he might guide his son Antiochus and bring him up to be king. ¹⁶Thus King Antiochus died there in the one hundred forty-ninth year.

So, to make a very long story short, the story is that when Judah Maccabee and the others went to the Temple to re-light the Menorah, they could only find one cask of ceremonially undefiled oil for it. It would take 8 days to create more, which would leave the Temple without light for a week. But they went ahead and lit it, and hoped for the best as they began to make more oil. Well, the oil lasted 8 days instead of one. To us in the Eloheim worship business, this really comes as no surprise. It seems as if the Chanukah miracle is repeated constantly in our own lives. How many of us have driven a failing car that lasted until its destination? Or found more money than expected in your wallet, just as a bill comes due?

So anyway, from the 25th of Kislev we celebrate Chanukah for 8 days. We start by lighting the Shamash (center candle or highest one), which represents the Messiah (“I am the light of the world...”). Use the Shamash to light the candle to your right on the first night.

Chanukah in the B'rit Chadashah

What is Chanukah, you might ask? It is also known as Chag Ha'or, the Festival of Lights. In first century Israel, it was known as the Feast of Dedication.

Yochanan 10:22-30
²²Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. ²³And Yeshua walked in the temple, in Sh'lomo's porch. ²⁴Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
²⁵Yeshua answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me. ²⁶But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep. ²⁷My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. ³⁰I and My Father are one.”

Nobody is really sure, but odds are good that the current custom of Chanukah and the candles did not develop until a couple of hundred years after the Maccabees' rededication of the Temple . I know we'd all like to think of Yeshua lighting Chanukah candles, but unfortunately, that probably not the case.

Something in which we can rejoice is the fact that it was on Chanukah that the Light of the World came into the world. Do the math. If Yeshua was born on Chag Sukkot, 280 days earlier would have been the Tevet 1— the seventh day Chanukah.

Chanukah Blessings

L'hadlik Ner Blessing
A general prayer over the candles

Barukh ata Adonai, Elohaynu Melech ha-Olam, asher kidshanu B'mitsvotav, l'hadlik ner shel Chanukah

Blessed are you HASHEM, our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with your commandments and commanded us to light the Chanukah lights.

She'asah Nisim
A prayer thanking God for performing miracles for our ancestors at this time

Barukh ata Adonai, Elohaynu Melech ha-Olam, she’asah nisim la’avoteinu bayamim haheim baziman hazeh

Blessed are you HASHEM, our God, King of the Universe, Who performed miracles for our ancestors in former days, at this season.

She-hekianu
A general prayer thanking God for allowing us to reach this time of year.
First Night of Chanukah Only

Barukh ata Adonai, Elohaynu Melech ha-Olam, She-hekianu V’kimani, v’higianu la’azman ha’zeh.

Blessed are you HASHEM our God, who has kept us alive, and has preserved us and sustained us so that we may celebrate this festive day.

Chanukah Candles

We start our celebration by lighting the Shamash (center or highest candle), which represents the Messiah ("I am the light of the world..."). We use the Shamash to light the candle to the right on the first night. Each night, another candle is added from right to left. Candles are lit from left to right (because you pay honor to the newer thing first). On the eighth night, all nine candles (the eight Chanukah candles and the Shamash) are lit.

Chanukah Resources

There are plenty of resources available for Chanukah that teach all the songs (Like Passover, Chanukah has some really great songs) like Sevivon, Oy Chanukah, Maoz Tsur, and of course, Draydle (Added note: There was a TV show called The Critic, which featured Arnold Schwarzenegger singing Draydle, and uttering "Hava Nagila...Bay-by." If anybody has a .wav of these great TV moments, please send them to me! That and the Lion King parody where they mixed Ma Nishtana from Passover, and sang Shalom Aleychem to the Lion King music. Unfortunately, the show was usually as filthy and double minded as TV gets nowadays, but these two episodes really stand out in my mind). Find your local party store, like a Party City if you have one, and look for Chanukah supplies.

Chanukah Food— Of Course

As far as food stuffs go, Chanukah is Cholesterol City. You eat Latkes and donuts, because they're fried in oil. You can have French Fries as well, but only if the restaurant does not serve pork sausage or seafood. Why? Did you know standard practice in most restaurants is to cook their sausage in a fryolator? And if you've ever seen breaded shrimp cooked in a clean fryolator, you'll see an oily residue and bread crumbs floating on top of the oil until you throw away the oil and boil out the fryolator). Yes, McDonalds is usually safe...the pork sausage patties are cooked on the same press grill your hamburgers are cooked on, sometimes without a complete grill cleaning between (scream!!!).

Manischewitz Latkes are really easy to make, and great to eat.

Potato blintzes are another favorite, and a great alternative to the usual sorry cream cheese/baker's cheese/sour cream concoction that restaurants try to push on you.

These and other fattening unhealthy favorites are yours to indulge in at this time of year. Chag Sameach!

Closing Service of Chanukah
Laws of Chanukah

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