Jewish Holidays

The Chanuka holiday is known as one of cheer, gifts, light, oily food, and family get-togethers. But there is actually more to it than many are aware of. The Chanuka holiday is one of celebration of G-d’s salvation of the Jewish people via war. Yes – war. Chanukah is the miracle of what seems like a small minority of the Jewish people who stood up to the Greek Empire and to the Hellenists among the Jews who submitted to the demands of the Greek Empire. This took place more than 2,000 years ago.

The Greek Empire was known for it’s philosophers, it’s wisdom, and modernity. But it was also an Empire that imposed it’s will in a most nefarious way on the masses that it’s Empire swallowed up. It was a most powerful Empire, but it didn’t last that long. The Roman Empire would swallow it up and the Greek Empire would disappear forever.

But it was during the reign of the Greek Empire that the story of Chanuka took place. A small family of Priests, headed by Matityahu, led a rebellion of a few hundred Maccabees against the entire Greek Empire. The Greeks had been persecuting the Jewish people mercilessly. The demands of the Greek Empire were so terrible that every single young bride needed to first sleep with the ruler of the area in the Land of Israel. Jewish Holidays were abolished and made illegal. The consequence for anyone who observed Jewish Holidays or performed a circumcision was death. 

The brave few hundred people succeeded in their attempts to outsmart the Greek leaders on the battlefield in the first few battles. The victories were nothing less than miraculous. But it would be a short-lived streak of victories. When the Greek Empire sent in tens of thousands to defeat the Maccabees, the Maccabees still prevailed. But then the tide began to turn. Several leaders of the Maccabees were killed in battle, and even Judah Maccabee, the main leader was killed in one of the battles. But, it was Judah, following one of the battles who swept down to Jerusalem to clean up the defiled Temple and purify the Holiest Site of the Jewish People – the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem. It was seemingly a minor detail in the midst of all of the wars. But actually, it was a most important aspect that revealed the true nature of what was transpiring. 

War did not end for a few hundred years, and the Maccabees barely held on for many of the years. But for more than 200 years, the Jewish people attained a fragile national Independence in the Land of Israel and were able to serve the Lord in the Temple. The miraculous nature of the war was symbolized by the miracle of the small flask of oil that G-d continued to keep lit in the Temple for eight full days despite the oil being sufficient for just one day. The miracle was seen as a sign from G-d that the wars were guided by the hand of G-d. That is where the custom of lighting candles and renewing our dedication to the Jewish people and the Lord stems from.