Today at sunset (December 16) starts the eight-day festival known as Chanukah (Hanukkah).
The Hebrew word Chanukah (Hanukkah) means "dedication." In the 2nd century BCE (approximately 164 BCE), during the time of the Second Holy Temple, the Syrian-Greek regime of Antiochus Epiphanes sought to pull the nation of Yisrael away from the Torah to the Hellenization of the Greek culture. Antiochus outlawed the following observances: circumcision, Shabbat, and Torah study under penalty of death.
When the Greeks challenged the nation of Yisrael to sacrifice a pig to a Greek god, a few courageous Yahudim took to the hills of Judea in open revolt against this threat to Jewish life. Led by Matitiyahu, and later his son Judah the Maccabee, this small band led guerrilla warfare against the Syrian-Greek army.
Antiochus sent thousands of well-armed troops to crush the rebellion, but after three years the Maccabees beat incredible odds and miraculously succeeded in driving the foreigners from their land. The victory was on the scale of today's Israel defeating the combined super-powers of today.
The Yahudim fighters entered Jerusalem and found the Holy Temple in shambles and desecrated with idols. The Maccabees cleansed the Temple and re-dedicated it on the 25th of Kislev (third month of the Jewish calendar). When it came time to re-light the Menorah, they searched the entire Temple, but found only one jar of pure oil bearing the seal of the High Priest. The group of Yahudim lit the Menorah anyway and were rewarded with a miracle. That small jar of oil burned for eight days, until a new supply of oil could be brought.
Chanukah (Hanukkah) is observed as a holiday for eight days, in honor of this historic victory and the miracle of the oil. This festival is mentioned in John 10:22, which our Messiah (Yahusha) observed.
The Hebrew word Chanukah (Hanukkah) means "dedication." In the 2nd century BCE (approximately 164 BCE), during the time of the Second Holy Temple, the Syrian-Greek regime of Antiochus Epiphanes sought to pull the nation of Yisrael away from the Torah to the Hellenization of the Greek culture. Antiochus outlawed the following observances: circumcision, Shabbat, and Torah study under penalty of death.
When the Greeks challenged the nation of Yisrael to sacrifice a pig to a Greek god, a few courageous Yahudim took to the hills of Judea in open revolt against this threat to Jewish life. Led by Matitiyahu, and later his son Judah the Maccabee, this small band led guerrilla warfare against the Syrian-Greek army.
Antiochus sent thousands of well-armed troops to crush the rebellion, but after three years the Maccabees beat incredible odds and miraculously succeeded in driving the foreigners from their land. The victory was on the scale of today's Israel defeating the combined super-powers of today.
The Yahudim fighters entered Jerusalem and found the Holy Temple in shambles and desecrated with idols. The Maccabees cleansed the Temple and re-dedicated it on the 25th of Kislev (third month of the Jewish calendar). When it came time to re-light the Menorah, they searched the entire Temple, but found only one jar of pure oil bearing the seal of the High Priest. The group of Yahudim lit the Menorah anyway and were rewarded with a miracle. That small jar of oil burned for eight days, until a new supply of oil could be brought.
Chanukah (Hanukkah) is observed as a holiday for eight days, in honor of this historic victory and the miracle of the oil. This festival is mentioned in John 10:22, which our Messiah (Yahusha) observed.
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