163 Ahuza Street, Raanana, 43301 ISRAEL - Telephone/Fax: (972)-9-7717080
HANUKKAH
First, just to set things straight, the drawing above is NOT a Menorah. Since it has a total of nine candles (8 candles and a shamash), it is a Hanukkiya -- which is what it is called in Israel to this very day.
There are several ways of spelling Hanukkah in English (Chanuka, Chanukah, Hanukah, and so on). The only really correct way to spell it is in Hebrew.
In modern Israel, Hanukkah symbolizes the victory of the few over the many. Every year during Hanukkah, there is a torch relay race which sets out from Modiin where the Maccabean revolt broke out and where the Hasmoneans (Maccabees) are buried. All over Israel, giant Hanukkah lamps are visable for great distances and are lit during the holiday atop public buildings, such as the Knesset building in Jerusalem.
The First Book of Maccabees states that Judah Maccabee defeated the Greek army commander-in-chief, Lysias, and then entered Jerusalem and purified the Temple. The 25th day of Kislev was set as the day of the rededication of the Temple. This day coincides with the third anniversaray of the proclamation of the restrictive edicts of Antiochus Epiphanes in which he had decreed that pagan sacrifices should be offered on a platform erected on the Temple alter.
In those ancient days, Greece was at the height of its military power. When you come to think of it, it is rather amazing that a small Israelite army soundly trounced and defeated the mighty Greek army.
Throughout the centuries, history has come full cycle. In 1977, near Hanukkah time, the Maccabee-Tel Aviv basketball team defeated the Greek National basketball team to win the European basketball championship. Today, Greece is militarily aligned with Syria, Israel's enemy. Israel has close military ties with Turkey, Greece's enemy. Israel and the Jews will never forget Hanukkah -- and neither will the Greeks.
In 1999, Hanukkah eve falls on December 3rd. This is when we light the first Hanukkah candle.
The Second Book of Maccabees notes that the 8-day dedication ceremony was performed as an analogy with King Solomon's consecration of the Temple. The book relates how fire had descended from the heavens (a meteor shower?), in the days of Judah Maccabee. The historian Josephus writes: 'From that time onward until this day we celebrate the festival, calling it the Festival of Lights.'
Tradition states that on entering the Temple, the Hasmoneans discovered that the Greeks had defiled all the oil, except for one small container which had enough oil to keep the candelabrum burning for only one day. A miracle happened, and the oil burned for 8 days, which is supposed to be the reason Hanukkah is celebrated for 8 days. -- Sorry kids, but the authenticity of the 8-day oil story was already questioned by Jewish scholars in the Middle Ages.
E-Mail us at: [email protected]
Table of Contents
Prices
Order Form
