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The Story of Hanukkah
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The Story of Hanukkah |
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A reference to it does appear in the Apostolic Writings (New Testament). By the time of Y'shua, Hanukkah had become a regular holiday, as is mentioned in the Gospel of John "And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication (i.e., Hanukkah), and it was winter." John 10:22. Apparently Y'shua was there, at the Temple, in recognition of this annual remembrance. It is also described prophetically in the writings of the Prophets. In the eighth chapter of the Book of Daniel, the prophet describes an incredible dream that he had in the year 551 BC, in the Days of Belshazzar, king of Babylon. This dream prophesied the coming of Alexander the Great, and the desecration of the Temple by Antiochus. Read through this passage, and witness the incredible accuracy of the Prophet's words. Daniel 8
The historical record reveals that the Persian kingdom pushed westward into what is now the Land of Israel, northward into Syria, and southward into Egypt. Then came Alexander the Great, the Greeks' first king, who defeated the Persians and destroyed their power in the east. "And the he-goat magnified himself exceedingly: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven." (Verse 8) Four
kingdoms shall stand out of the nation, but not in his power (Verse 22)
You
can also order Michael Rood's Hanukkah teaching (2-cassette album). "It [Antiochus] vaunted itself against the very chief of the host [army]; on its account the regular offering was suspended [in the Temple], and His holy place [the Temple] was abandoned" How long will the regular offering be forsaken and the Temple desecrated because of the transgression? "2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed." -- Daniel 8: 9-14. Another astonishing fact is revealed . . . that it was exactly 2,300 evenings and mornings later, after the defeat of Antiochus that the Temple was cleansed and rededicated. This commemorates the first Hanukkah. This prophecy reveals three separate prophetic events. (1) The onslaught of Antiochus in 170 BCE, (2) the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, and (3) the remaining prophetic events of the soon coming Anti-Messiah. Antiochus Epiphanes and the Jews Epiphanes'
name means 'God made manifest.' What were his goals? Following are the
major areas of restriction and observance that were particularly targeted
and emphasized:
In addition, Antiochus Epiphanes dared to occupy Jerusalem, enter the Holy of Holies, desecrate the sanctuary by offering unclean animals (swine) upon the alter of burnt-offerings, pollute the entire building by sprinkling it with water in which flesh had been boiled, dedicated the Temple itself to Jupiter Olympius, and erected the statue of that deity in the Temple and plundered the Temple treasures. The Anti-Messiah- Hanukkah and the Last Days The Apostolic Writings (New Testament), though written after the time of Antiochus and the Maccabees, makes allusions to the book of Daniel that show similar events would occur again. Y'shua himself warned about "the abomination that causes desolation spoken of through the prophet Daniel" as something yet to take place. (Matt 24:16) Indeed, in 70 AD the Romans again desecrated the Temple, first by placing pagan images there, and then by completely destroying the building. The New Testament book of Revelation refers to images of "the beast" (Anti-Messiah, or the ultimate false Messiah) that will be erected. (Rev. 13:14). On the surface, the celebration of Hanukkah recalls the struggle for religious freedom, practice and conviction. Hanukkah commemorates the victory of the Jews over the Hellenistic Syrians in the year 165 BCE. For the believer, it also symbolizes two powerful adversarial concepts, one political, the other spiritual. The political aspect is represented by the persecution and harassment received by those who desire to live a Torah based life. The spiritual aspect is represented by the assimilation of one's heart to seek a return to Egypt.[1] This concept may arise out of the Hebrew meaning of the term Chanukka, or dedication. The Greek concordance uses the word consecration, a synonym to sanctification. Certainly the meaning of sanctification and dedication goes much further than a political oppression by the Greeks over the Hebrew nation and peoples. An investigation of the history and the context reveals that the real conflict was that of the consecration of the soul of mankind to the submission to Torah, as opposed to the soul's Hellenization. This battle rages in the souls of men today . . . do we walk in the ways of Torah, as revealed by our Messiah Y'shua, or do we walk in the pleasures that life affords us? The battle that remains is that of a Torah based Hebraic worldview as set against the Hellenistic view of God, life, living, and eternity. To explore this concept further, we must start with the definitions. Hellenism is an interest in, devotion to, and imitation of the culture and ideals of ancient Greece, especially as developed in Athens in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, and followed by the expansion of "Jewish Hellenism" into Alexandria Egypt from the 3rd to 1st centuries BCE. Hellenism implies an unrestricted love of life, and the development of a religious system in full support of a pleasure-seeking lifestyle. An illustration of the distinction between "Hellenized" civilization and the 1st century Followers of Messiah and Torah would be that the Hellenized culture molds its religious system to fit what the population and/or ruler desires. This concept is most often referred to as a model of linear thinking. One's needs are to be met in or through religious compartmentalization. This worldview separates things. It puts "religion" in one box, family in another box, vacations in another box, and careers in yet another box. Everything is compartmentalized. Among this perspective's various components are: a rational approach to life, use of reason rather than authority, appreciation for a humanistic value system, the search for 'ideal' in every field, and a communal mind expressed as perfect harmony between individual and state. In the earliest congregation, however, it was impossible to view life and living in this manner. The Believers had a mindset that was totally Hebraic. There were prescribed and commanded "paths to walk" (halacha), and one would never mold their religion to fit their own desires. For the earliest Believers, this was their nature…it was part of their culture, a part of who they were. To the earliest Believers, God, family, work, and life itself was all one concept, intermingled together, centered on the Torah and the life that it promises those who possess the faith to walk it out. This concept is most often called "circular" thinking, meaning that everything in life revolves around the concept that God and His Torah and Messiah Y'shua are at the center of all aspects of reality. That Creation was begun, and is now sustained by the Mighty One of Abraham, Yitzhak, Ya'akov, and Messiah Yeshua, and that all things created find their meaning, purpose, and existence in Him and His plans. Man's greatness is in participating in Creation as a partner with God. His greatness is in viewing himself in terms of a higher moral authority, something greater than the dictates of his own moral conscience. For the true Believer, man is created in the image of God. For the Greek, God is created in the likeness of man. Their gods are supermen who can eat, drink and indulge in every physical excess. THE HISTORY OF ASSIMILATION The story of Hanukkah starts in 319 BCE when the Greek dominance of the world began. When King Solomon ruled Israel, most of Europe was uninhabited. By the time of the Second Temple, people from the East had migrated to and settled Europe, and, as chronicled in "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" of Homer, the Greeks were valiant warriors. The Greeks are credited with amazing advances in the areas of science and politics (they introduced democracy), as well as beauty, art, architecture and philosophy. However, the people continued to believe in the existence of gods who behaved like humans, and the Greeks lacked the Hebraic beliefs in justice and charity as taught in Torah. When Alexander the Great of Macedonia conquered the world, he was at first friendly toward the people of Israel and respected their religion. After his death at the age of 33, his kingdom was divided into three parts, controlled by Egypt, Greece and Syria. The Ptolemies of Egypt ruled over Israel for about 100 years, and then the Syrians (beginning with Antiochus III). However, the predominant culture during all this time was Greek Hellenism. Hellenism was unique in that it stood for a set of ideals as well as an historical culture. Hellenism was spread throughout the Mediterranean as a result of Alexander the Great's conquests from 334-325 BCE. The term is also applied to the ideals of later writers and thinkers who draw their inspiration from ancient Greece. Frequently it is contrasted with Hebraism-Hellenism, meaning pagan joy, freedom, and love of life as contrasted with the austere morality and monotheism of the Hebrew TaNaKh. The root of the Maccabean uprising was this: Greek cities were built throughout Syria, Egypt and Israel, and they included pagan temples and sports arenas, which were outrages to the Jews. Nevertheless, many Jews assimilated . . . some going so far as to have cosmetic surgery in order to remove the mark of circumcision. These Hellenistic Jews joined forces with their rulers and betrayed their own people. The foreign rulers of Israel had no intention of exterminating the Jewish people, but they were bent on forcing the Jewish people to accept their culture and refute their faith, God and the Torah. At the beginning of the Syrian rule, loyal Jews maintained control of the Temple. About 100 years later, Antiochus IV (he added the second name of Epiphanies, meaning "God manifest" . . . In other words, Antiochus didn't just think he was Gods gift, he in fact thought he was God himself) succeeded to the throne. Soon thereafter, a Hellenized Jew who called himself Jason bribed the king for control of the Temple, and was installed as the Priest over Israel. Various political conspiracies took place after this, culminating on the 15th of Kislev, 168 BCE, when an idol was erected in the Temple. On the 25th of that month, hogs were offered on the Altar to a pagan idol. In spite of the "legal rule", a large number of Jews continued to practice the religion of their fathers. Babies were secretly circumcised and families who were caught were executed. A most notable incident of persecution occurred at this time. It is the story of Channa and her seven sons. Each son was commanded to bow down to the king. They were told that refusal to obey would result in instant death. Rather than commit this desecration, each young man preferred to die. One by one they refused to bow down and were killed on the spot. Finally the King and the executioner came to the youngest son. Even the king was moved to compassion. He removed his ring and tossed it to the floor. "Don't bow down to me," intoned the monarch, "merely pick up my ring and hand it to me and I will consider it as if you had bowed down." The young boy looked up at the king and told him, "It is better that you slay me as you have slain my brothers rather than I even give the impression that I fear you more than the Living God of Israel." And with that he joined his martyred brothers in death. THE HASMONEAN WAR Mattityahu the Hasmonean was of a priestly family, and, refusing to yield to the Greeks, he fled from Jerusalem, after slaying a fellow Jew who had submitted to Jason, the Hellenized Priest, and offered the swine to YHVH. He took his sons and other loyal Jews with him, but the king's forces pursued them. Mattityahu decided to fight back, together with his five sons, Shimon, Yehudah the Maccabee ("Maccabee" is an acronym from the first initials of the Hebrew words "Who is like You among the heavenly powers, God"), Eleazar, Yochanan and Yonatan. These men believed that they could not free Israel from foreign rulers, but they were willing to risk their lives so that the Jewish people could enjoy spiritual freedom and control of their Temple. Mattityahu died, but the sons continued to fight under the leadership of Yehudah the Maccabee. The Maccabees, with four battalions of 1,000 men each, defeated an army of 40,000 soldiers and 7,000 cavalry. Then in 165 BCE, Yehudah gathered a force of 10,000 Jews and defeated an army of 60,000 soldiers and 5,000 cavalry. The Greek-Syrians, who had to deal with problems in other parts of their Empire, gave up control of the Temple and returned to their capital, Antioch in what is now Turkey. When the Maccabees and their followers returned to the Temple, they saw it was desolate and defiled. They had to clean the Temple and replace the Altar and all of the utensils. A new Menorah was built, but the olive oil necessary to light it was contaminated. Jewish tradition holds that a search was made and, surprisingly, a flask of pure oil was found, sealed by the High Priest. This was amazing because the High Priest was not in the habit of sealing, or even handling, the oil. On the 25th of Kislev, 165 BCE, the Menorah was lit and the daily offerings were resumed. There was only enough oil, however, for one day, and it would take another week to procure more oil. It was not clear that a military miracle had occurred. However, when the single flask of oil lasted for eight days, enough time for the Jews to replenish their supply of pure oil, everyone knew that God had participated in this victory. One year later, the miracle of Hanukkah was proclaimed a holiday. How do we celebrate or recognize Hanukkah? The traditional rehearsal calls for a Hanukkiah (an 8 branched menorah) and a box of Hanukkah candles. Also, most libraries or bookstores have a good selection of illustrated books telling the story of Hanukkah for children. Many followers of Y'shua who observe this occasion have festive meals for eight days, say silent prayer three times a day and each night while lighting the menorah, talk to their children about Y'shua being the light of the world, and that without him, we would still be walking in darkness, enslaved by the wicked kings of this world. A Look Inside the Traditional Blessings for Lighting the Candles The first blessing thanks God for the commandment to "kindle the Hanukkah lights." We therefore recite the blessing before lighting the candles, and then proceed to carry out the commandment. The second blessing praises God for the miracle the candles publicize, and is therefore said as the candles are being lit. Hold the lit shamash (the 9th candle, the "servant." Usually the center candle, or the highest one-and recall the Messiah, the servant who brings light into the darkness) in your right hand and say: 1. Ba-ruch a-ta A-do-nai, E-lo-hei-nu me-lech ha-olam, a-sher kid-sha-nu be-mitz-vo-tav ve-tzi-va-nu le-had-lik ner shel cha-nu-kah. Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with his commandments and enables us to kindle the lights of Hanukkah. 2. Ba-ruch a-ta A-do-nai, E-lo-hei-nu me-lech ha-olam, she-a-sa ni-sim la- avo-tei-nu ba-ya-mim ha-hem ba-zman ha-zeh. Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who performed miracles for our ancestors, at this season, in days past. 3. On the first night of Hanukkah we add the following "shehechiyanu" blessing, signifying that it is the first time that we have lit the Hanukkah lights this season: Ba-ruch
a-ta A-do-nai, E-lo-hei-nu me-lech ha-olam, she-he-chi-yanu ve-kiy'manu
ve-higi-anu la'zman ha'zeh After Kindling the Lights the Hallalu is Recited. The
Hallalu: "We kindle these lights (to commemorate) the saving acts,
miracles and wonders which You have performed for our forefathers, in
those days at this time. Try to spend a few minutes in silence, in the darkness, looking intensely at the light of the candles, meditating on the Great God we serve, His Torah of life, and the salvation that we have through our Messiah. Lighting the Menorah (Hannukiah) On the first night of Hanukkah, a single candle (or oil wick) is lit, on the far right side of the menorah. On each successive night an additional candle is added, from right to left (two candles lit on the second night, three on the third...) until finally, on the eighth night, all eight candles are lit. It is customary to light from left to right, with the newest candle lit first. Also, allow the candles to burn themselves out. The candles are lit by a "shamash" or service candle, which after being used to light the other candles, takes its own special place on the menorah - usually in a place slightly set apart from the rest. When The candles are lit starting at nightfall, and should burn themselves out. On Friday afternoon, the candles are traditionally lit before sunset, to avoid lighting on the Sabbath. By putting longer candles in the menorah (or thick Shabbat candles on tin foil), the lights will still be burning after it grows dark. Where We are advertising the miracles of God. The traditional home places the Hanukkiah in a window where all can see the light of this season, glowing in this, the darkest time of the year. What are the customary foods served on Hanukkah? The underground growth of the potatoes and onions reminds us of the plight that is so often a part of the human condition: so far down we are looking up to the earthworms, made from the dirt and soon to return there. Yet in our deepest distress, God's Spirit (represented by the olive oil) is still right there for us. We can safely trust Him to bring us through our darkest, coldest night into His magnificent Light. By the power of the Holy Spirit, He took our darkness upon Himself, and died and was buried for us in the ground. But He came back to life for us to enjoy, by following Him, God's Light and Life, and the fulfillment of all His promises. POTATO LATKES - Yield: 4 servings 2-1/2
pound Idaho or Russet potatoes (don't bother to peel) SUFGANIYOT (Jelly Donuts) 1 tablespoon
dry yeast (1 pkg) What is the history of the dreidel game and how do you play it? The "dreidel" is a spin-top that children use on Hanukkah to play a game of betting and winning pieces of chocolate called "gelt" or candy. It is said that since no work should be performed during the time that the candles are lit, this game helps to pass the time, and so even the adults joined in this family activity. During the siege of Jerusalem by Antiochus, the Jews were forbidden to study Torah. Often, however, some would study the Torah together as a group, and when soldiers came to crack down on their activity, they would pull out the dreidel top and pretend to be playing a game. Some say that Torah challenge games were developed based on the dreidel, with players striving to invent phrases following the Hebrew letters. The game consists of spinning the metal or wooden top, on the four sides of which the Hebrew letters Nun, Gimel, Heh and Shin are engraved, and forming the initials of the words "Nes Gadol Hiyah Sham" a great miracle happened THERE. The same letters however, form another word found in Bereshit (Genesis) 46:28, which is read on Shabbat Hanukkah and whose numerical value (358) is the same as that of "Mashiach." But, once the State of Israel was reestablished, the "Shin" on the dreidel was changed to a "Peh," changing the meaning to "a great miracle happened HERE." To
play, everyone contributes to a central "pot" an equal bet of
chocolate pieces. The spinner (each participant in turn) then spins the
top, and the letter that appears on top when the dreidel falls over determines
his/her winnings or losses. See
the A ROOD AWAKENING! TV Programs
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