“Now it was Chanukah, the feast of Dedication, in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Yeshua walked in the Temple, in Solomon’s porch.” — Yochanan 10:22-23
Whether you say or write Hanukkah or Chanukah, this is the Feast of Dedication; and although it is not one of God’s prescribed feasts, it is one that Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah) attended. Each year, therefore, this Messianic household celebrates Hanukkah.
But isn’t Hanukkah a Jewish feast? What does it have to do with Christianity?
Great questions. Read on to find out.
What is Hanukkah?
You have probably heard that the Jewish community celebrates Hanukkah each year and that it falls somewhere close to Christmas. You might also know it as the Festival of Lights. But if you’re like most Christians or non-believers, you have little if any knowledge what this Hanukkah thing is truly all about. So I’m going to tell you. Rather, I’m re-typing an insert from the inside of a velvet box containing a small brass hanukkia that a friend purchased from Baruch HaShem Messianic Synagogue in Dallas, Texas. The label inside the box reads Alef Judaica. So all credits go to the authors of this insert. Any comments of mine will be included in [brackets] and section titles. Below is the content from the insert:
What Caused the Jews to Rebel
Chanukah, which means “dedication” in Hebrew, is an eight-day holiday beginning on the 25th day of the month of Kislev. Chanukah commemorates the victory of the Jews over the Syrians in 167 B.C.E. [BC]. The Syrian king, Antiochus IV, (who called himself Antiochus Epiphanes — “the risen god”) planned to convert the Jews by force to Greek polytheism. To accomplish this, he ordered the Jews to build altars and shrines for idols, and banned observance of all the sacred Jewish practices, including circumcision, Temple sacrifice, Sabbath observance, and the study of Torah. He even went so far as to convert the Temple into a pagan shrine by erecting a huge statue of Zeus, holding orgies in the Temple courts, and even sacrificing a pig on the holy altar! This was too much for the Jews, and they soon rebelled. [Also see Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15, 21; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4; Revelation 13:14]
The Maccabees: God’s Mighty Hammer
The rebellion was led by a priest named Mattathias and his five sons, the most famous of which is Judah. Judah and his followers became known as “Maccabees.” There are two theories as to why this came to be, one being the maccabee is the Hebrew word for “hammer” and Judah was given this name because of his great strength. the other theory, perhaps the one best suited for believers, is that the word “maccabee” is an acrostic for the first letters of the Hebrew words Mi kamocha ba’elim Adonai, which means “Who among the mighty is lie Thee, O G-d?”. It is said by some that “macabee” was the war cry of the Jewish patriots.
The Maccabees triumphed over the Syrians, and exactly three years from the day that the Temple was first desecrated, they re-dedicated it to the only true and living G-d — the G-d of Israel.
The Miracle of the Menorah (Hanukkiah)
The Talmud (Shabbat 21b) explains that when the Temple was captured, the Syrians desecrated all the consecrated oil the Cohen haGadol (High Priest) had prepared for the lighting of the Temple menorah. After much searching, at last one small jug still bearing the unbroken seal of the Cohen haGadol was found. This was enough to burn for only one day in the menorah. However, when the menorah was lit, G-d provided a miracle by keeping the flame burning for eight days until more oil could be consecrated!
To this day, we light candles for eight days on the Chanukiah, or nine-branched menorah. The ninth candle on the Chanukia is set higher than the other eight, and is called the shammes, or servant. This servant candle is removed from its lofty position, and is used to light the other candles. This is interpreted by the Rabbis to symbolize that one can give one’s light to others without losing any of their own radiance. In fact, the more light that the servant gives, the brigher the light becomes! So it is with believers… Yeshua, who is higher than us, made Himself a servant. Through His sacrifice, He has given us His light, and as we serve Him by sharing that Light with others, this dark world becomes brighter. [Emphasis mine]
The Order of Lighting: In Holiness One Increases
An interesting entry in the Talmud discusses whether one candle should be lit the firt night, two the second, etc., as Rabbi Hillel proposed; or whether eight should be lit the first night, seven the second, tec., as Rabbi Shammai directed. Today, we follow the view of Hillel, because it was decided that in matters of holiness one should increase rather than decrease.
The Dreidel
We also commemorate D-d’s Chanukah miracle by playing a game with a four-sided top called a dreidel. Each side of the top has a Hebrew letter:
Nun … נ
Gimmel … ג
Hay [He] … ה
and shin ש
Each letter stands for the first letter in the Hebrew words Nes gadol haya shom, meaning “a great miracle happened there.” In Israel, however, the shin is changed to a pay [pe] פ , for the word po, meaning “here.”
Yeshua, the Light of the World
As believers, we rejoice in Yeshua, the Light of the world, and that we serve the G-d of miracles! During Chanuka we re-dedicate His Temple (ourselves) to His service, and remember that His great Light illumines our path even in the darkest times. Everyone who trusts in Him will never be confounded. May His grace and peace be yours in fullest measure during this festival of lights!
HAG SAMEACH! [Hahg Sham-AY-ahck!]
Awesome. This is more beautiful than any other explanation ever seen or read. May your light shine bright always, my friend. I confess to not checking your blog recently. Prayers for forgiveness.
The author(s) of this information indeed did a beautiful job of sharing the background of Hanukkah, especially from a Messianic point of view! And no forgiveness needed! This has been a very busy season for most of us!