Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday of light and joy, victory over the enemy, and hope for a better future. And those are exactly the things we’ve all been missing so much this year, aren’t they? So, we definitely should celebrate Hanukkah!
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By understanding the key events in the history of Hanukkah, we can easily grasp the holiday as a whole and its rituals. The situation was extremely tragic for the Jews living in Israel in the second century B.C. The Greek king, Antiochus Epiphanes IV, decided to unify his vast empire—which stretched nearly 5,000 kilometers from Turkey to India—by forcing everyone to adopt Greek culture exclusively. Jewish rituals, holidays, and belief in one God were a thorn in Epiphanes’ side. To force the Jews to renounce their faith, the malicious king ordered them to be severely punished—even to the point of execution—for observing the Sabbath, circumcising boys, studying the Torah, and other practices of Jewish life. The turning point in this horrific violence occurred in 167 B.C., when the Greeks slaughtered a pig as a sacrifice to their gods on the altar of the Jerusalem Temple. We simply had nothing left to lose!
Matityahu, an elderly Jewish priest, refused to bow down to the Greek idols and led a rebellion against the Greeks alongside his five sons, who were soon joined by other brave and righteous Jews. A year after Matityahu’s death, his son Yehuda, nicknamed Maccabee (Hammer), took over leadership of the revolt, and, to the great astonishment of all involved in the conflict, ultimately defeated the vastly superior Greek army in 165 BCE.
The first thing the victors did was purify the Temple in Jerusalem and rededicate it to Adonai. The Hebrew word «Hanukkah» actually means «rededication»! Since the victory over the Greeks and the rededication of the Temple took place only in December, the Jews were unable to celebrate the great autumn festival of Sukkot—the eight-day festival of God’s presence and blessing prescribed in the Torah. So they decided to simply celebrate Sukkot in December, which explains why Hanukkah lasts exactly eight days. This is exactly how the primary sources recount the event (especially 2 Maccabees 1:9). Read more here!
A more widely accepted traditional explanation states that during the purification of the Temple—where the menorah (seven-branched candelabrum) was required to burn continuously—only one undamaged vessel containing pure olive oil for lighting it was found. And it took eight days to produce new oil. But instead of postponing the rededication of the Temple for another eight days, the Jews decided to light the remaining oil and hope for a miracle. And that is exactly what happened: the menorah, with only a one-day supply of oil, burned for all eight days until new, pure oil was produced.
In any case, in honor of this great victory and the light of hope that shone on our forefathers, we have been celebrating this joyous eight-day holiday ever since!
So, in honor of the eight days of Hanukkah, eight candles are lit—one for each day of the holiday. That is, on the first day, one candle is lit, and on the eighth day, eight. There are a few rules to follow here:
- The candles are inserted into the Chanukiah from right to left.
- The «shammash» pilot candle is always lit first. But it doesn't count—it's just used to light the other candles.
- Using the «Shamash» candle, light the candles from left to right so that the candle for the day (for example, on the third day—the third candle) is lit first.
Messianic Jewish blessing over Hanukkah candles:
| «Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with Your commandments, commanded us to be a light to the nations, and given us Yeshua, our Messiah, the Light of the world.» | Baruch Ata Adonai Eloeinu Melech aolam asher kidshanu bemitzvotav vezivanu lihyot or lagoyim veenatan lanu et Yehoshua mashihaynu or aolam. | בּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵנוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לְהִיוֹת אוֹר לַגּוֹיִם וְנָתַן-לָנוּ אֶת יֵשׁוּעַ מְשִׁיחֵנוּ אוֹר הָעוְָֹם |
She asa nishim:
| «Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, King of the universe, Who did wonders to our fathers in those days at this time.» | Baruch Ata Adonai Eloaynu Melech aolam sheasa nisim la-avoteinu bayamim aem bazman azeh. | בּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵנוּ מֶלֶךְ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁעָשָׂה נִסִּים לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם בַּזְּמַן נַזֶה. |
She-eheyanu (only on the first night of Hanukkah):
| «Blessed are You, Lord, our God, Ruler of the universe, who has granted us life, sustained it within us, and enabled us to live to see this day!» | Baruch Ata Adonai Eloaynu Eloaynu Melech aolam she-eheyanu vekimanu veigiyanu lasman azeh. | בּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵנוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְמָנוּ וְהִגִיעָנוּ לָזּמַן הַזֶּה |
Since oil was needed to light the menorah during the dedication of the Temple, and the traditional explanation states that the oil meant to last one day burned for eight, various Jewish dishes prepared with oil are eaten on Hanukkah. Potato pancakes and jam-filled pastries are especially popular. Other ideas for Hanukkah dishes can be found here.
Here are a number of traditional Hanukkah activities:
- Sing or listen to Hanukkah songs (here)
- Play dreidle (explanation of the rules of the game here)
- The books of the Macabees are available for reading (here) or listening (here), and how Hanukkah was celebrated by himself Messiah Yeshua can be found here: Johanan 10:22-42
- Everyone loves to receive gifts, but it is especially customary for children to give Hanukkah geld (Hanukkah money) on Hanukkah.
Have a nice and bright holiday!
If you'd like to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah with our community online, please call or send us a message.
