Chanukah

By Rabbi Joshua Chasan

"Shine little candles, burning bright, Chanukah is here, eight little candles in a row, with a flame so clear."

The light of Chanukah is as delicate as the freedom Chanukah celebrates. Historians believe that originally Chanukah was the celebration of the Maccabees' political victory over their enemies, back in the middle of the second century B.C.E. (before the common era).

After the fall of the Hasmonean dynasty of the Maccabees, when our sages began to shape an understanding of Chanukah, it is likely that the political victory of the Maccabees was overlaid with the story of the miracle of the lights -- one day's worth of oil burning for eight days. We light the Chanukiah (menorah) to make known the miracles of Chanukah: both the miracle of the lights and the miracle of the persistence of freedom.

Our children and grandchildren, growing up in this age of advanced electronics and sophisticated science fiction, are much more open to ideas of the supernatural than older members of our families. We can learn from them -- and Chanukah is a good time to do a bit of learning about the spiritual dimension of our tradition..

We light the Chanukiah so that we may make known the miracle (pirsum hanays). On the dreidle are the letters nun, gimel, hay, shin; the first letters of the words "nays gadol hayah sham" - a great miracle happened there.

The overlaying of the story of political victory with the story of the miracle of the oil not only may reflect what actually happened a couple thousand years ago. It also gives for us a way of understanding what is happening in our own time. We may begin to look at the narrative of current events -- the everyday stories we read in the newspaper and see on television -- and begin to invest these events with a spiritual understanding.

The Haftarah (prophetic reading) in synagogue on the first Shabbat of Chanukah consists of words of the prophet Zechariah, one of the exiles who returned from Babylonia in the early 6th century B.C.E. The people were discouraged in their efforts to rebuild the Temple. God spoke to them through the prophet, saying: "Not by might, not by power, but by My spirit" will the House of God be rebuilt.

Here is the essential teaching at the core of the notion of religious freedom, and of freedom in general. Human power, by definition, cannot make for freedom. The ends cannot justify the means. Ultimately, it is by the spirit of God, by the force of God, that the House of God is rebuilt.

Three Themes of Chanukah: · joy · miracle · historic Jewish commitment to justice and freedom.

Chanukah and Christmas

Chanukah begins on the 25th day of the month of Kislev, and that's the end of its resemblance to Christmas. Chanukah is a minor holiday in the cycle of Jewish holy days. It is not one of the major festivals, such as Sukkot, Pesach, or Shavu'ot. We do not want to compete with Christmas,
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The fact is that many of our families include members who do celebrate Christmas. It is a mistake to equate Christmas and Chanukah. Doing so does an injustice to both celebrations and puts pressure on some Jews to come up with explanations of Chanukah as a larger celebration than it really is.

This paragraph is said each night, after the lights have been kindled: