Hanukkah – what it’s all about…
The story of the Maccabees inspires us to have confidence in ourselves and to never lose hope.
A long, long time ago (almost 2,200 years), a wicked Greek-Syrian king named Antiochus became ruler over the Jews. Jerusalem, with its holy Temple, was part of his domain.
Antiochus was very cruel to the Jews. He filled the Temple with pagan idols and ordered the Jews to bow down to them. He declared that the Jews could not follow their own customs, or pray to God. Anyone caught breaking Antiochus’ rules would immediately be put to death.
A brave young man named Judah rallied the Jews to fight back. He and his brothers led a small band of Jewish fighters against the might of Antiochus’s army. The Jewish rebels hid in caves in the mountains and attacked the Syrian army at every possible opportunity. The fighters became known as the Maccabees from the Hebrew word for hammer, because of the way that they hammered at their enemies.
Although the Maccabees were greatly outnumbered by Antiochus’s army, they fought bravely, recapturing Jerusalem and reclaiming the Temple. Their victory over the Syrians was truly a triumph of will and courage.
When the Maccabees entered the holy Temple, they destroyed Antiochus’s pagan idols. They scrubbed and cleaned, until every last trace of the Greek-Syrian ruler was gone. Then it was time to light the Temple’s seven-branched menorah that was kept burning day and night with holy oil. But when the Maccabees searched for oil to light the flames, all that could be found was one tiny jar – enough to burn for only a day. Miraculously, however, that small jar lasted for eight days, giving the Jews enough time to make more.
The holiday of Hanukkah celebrates two miracles, the extraordinary victory of the Maccabees over the cruel and mighty king, and the miracle of the small jar of oil that burned for eight days and nights. For each of the eight days of Hanukkah, Jews light a candle in a special eight branched menorah. Other Hanukkah traditions include eating delicious foods fried in oil like potato latkes (pancakes) and jelly donuts, and playing the game of dreidl with its four Hebrew letters that stand for Nes Gadol Hayah Sham and mean “A Great Miracle Happened There”.
Sunday, October 4th, 2009