The meaning of Chanukah

[Guest guest]

I hope nobody minds my sharing about *my* holiday. My husband and I have a

tradition

that encompasses both Christmas and Chanukah. I was raised in a Christian home.

I

converted to Judaism about 10 years ago. Today, my husband and I incorporate

both.

Most of all, Christmas and Chanukah represents a time to reflect, renew faith,

and pause

to appreciate family and community. With all the commercialism about us, it is

easy to

get caught up in 'things' and stressed out about cleaning the house, preparing

elaborate

meals and buying gifts. This is part of the tradition, I suppose. But over the

years, my

husband and I have decided to slow down a little. The holiday time to us

represents giving

-- not giving of things, but giving of our love.

To us, the menorah represents light - the spiritual light in our lives that

gives us hope and

promotes peace. I don't think this is far different from the symbolism of

Christmas.

It is a time for remembering that we as human beings are family. We ARE

resonsible for

our brothers (and sisters).

Here is a short version of the history (or legend) of Chanukah. As you can

see, we don't

celebrate the 'literal' explanation of Chanukah, but a more symbolic

representation.

Chanukah commemorates the rededication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem after the

Jews'

165 B.C.E. victory over the Hellenist Syrians. Antiochus, the Greek King of

Syria, outlawed

Jewish rituals and ordered the Jews to worship Greek gods.

In 168 B.C.E. the Jews' holy Temple was seized and dedicated to the worship of

Zeus.

Some Jews were afraid of the Greek soldiers and obeyed them, but most were angry

and

decided to fight back.

The fighting began in Modiin, a village not far from Jerusalem. A Greek officer

and soldiers

assembled the villagers, asking them to bow to an idol and eat the flesh of a

pig, activities

forbidden to Jews. The officer asked Mattathias, a Jewish High Priest, to take

part in the

ceremony. He refused, and another villager stepped forward and offered to do it

instead.

Mattathias became outraged, took out his sword and killed the man, then killed

the officer.

His five sons and the other villagers then attacked and killed the soldiers.

Mattathias'

family went into hiding in the nearby mountains, where many other Jews who

wanted to

fight the Greeks joined them. They attacked the Greek soldiers whenever

possible.

About a year after the rebellion started, Mattathias died. Before his death, he

put his brave

son Judah Maccabee in charge of the growing army. After three years of fighting,

the Jews

defeated the Greek army, despite having fewer men and weapons.

Judah Maccabee and his soldiers went to the holy Temple, and were saddened that

many

things were missing or broken, including the golden menorah. They cleaned and

repaired

the Temple, and when they were finished, they decided to have a big dedication

ceremony.

For the celebration, the Maccabees wanted to light the menorah. They looked

everywhere

for oil, and found a small flask that contained only enough oil to light the

menorah for one

day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days. This gave them enough time to

obtain new

oil to keep the menorah lit. Today Jews celebrate Hanukkah for eight days by

lighting

candles in a menorah every night, thus commemorating the eight-day miracle.