Hanukkah Reflections by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
During the darkest time of the year, when the days are short and the nights long, we celebrate Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights. It commemorates events that occurred during a dark period for the nation of Israel; yet God brought about salvation for His people and a miracle of light. In the 2nd century BCE, the Greeks controlled the nation of Israel and had oppressed the Jews. They sought to destroy the Jewish people by outlawing the most essential Jewish practices and encouraging complete assimilation. The Greeks believed that they were the enlightened ones, and maintained that the Jews who followed the Bible were stuck in irrelevant rituals of the past. The Greeks won over many Jews known as Hellenists some of whom then became the worst enemies of Jews who adhered to their faith and the Bible. It was a small faction of this group who resisted the Greeks and ultimately rebelled. The rebellion began when the Greeks demanded that the Jews sacrifice a pig to Greek gods. Instead, the High Priest slaughtered a Greek governor. A family of priests, led by their father Mattityahu, headed to the hills of Judea where they launched a guerilla warfare campaign against the Greek army. This tiny group of pious Jews, who called themselves the Maccabees, managed to defeat the mighty Greek army. After several years of fighting, they succeeded in liberating the Temple in Jerusalem and driving the enemy from their midst. But when the fighters arrived at the Temple, they were devastated to find it completely desecrated. Undaunted, they cleaned it up, removed the idols, and rededicated the Temple on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev. Hanukkah means dedication and recalls both the rededication of the Temple and the devoted dedication of the Jewish fighters. The miracle of Hanukkah came when it was time to light the Temple lamp stand, called the menorah. The Jews could only find one jar of pure olive oil required for lighting the lamp only enough to last one day. The Jews decided to light the menorah anyway, and miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days, long enough for more olive oil to arrive. Today, we commemorate this miracle by lighting our own menorahs for eight nights. While this miracle of Hanukkah is directly connected to light, the celebration of light goes beyond remembering these events of the past. Light and darkness are symbolic of the entire Hanukkah story and serve as the basis for the eternal lessons that can be learned from this rich holiday. The battle between the Jews and the Greeks was more than a physical battle; it was a battle of ideals and values. The Greeks believed that beauty was holy. The Jews maintained that holiness was beautiful. The Greeks worshiped the physical body. The Jews cherished the soul. The ideals of the Greeks encouraged immorality, idolatry, and selfishness. The Jews stood for goodness, godliness, and kindness. This was a battle between good and evil, darkness and light. While the Greeks tried to extinguish the light of the Torah, a great miracle happened and the small group of loyal Jews were able to vanquish the darkness. God fought the battles for the Jews who fought with their faith. Hanukkah is a holiday of hope, one that teaches us that there is no limit to what we can accomplish when we let God be our guiding light and do our best to shine our own. I pray that these devotions will encourage us all to shine God s light in the darkest places of our lives and in our world. With prayers for shalom, peace, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Psalm 119:105
Day 1 The Light of Hope The main focus of Hanukkah is the miracle that occurred when oil only enough to light the Temple menorah for only one night instead lasted for eight nights. However, if that s the case, then we should celebrate Hanukkah for only seven nights. It was natural for the oil to last the first night; there was nothing miraculous about that. Only the seven following nights went beyond nature. The Jewish sages explain that the miracle of the first night of Hanukkah was that they found the oil at all. When the Jews retook the Temple and entered it for the first time, it was a heartwrenching sight. The beloved House of God was completely in ruins; the holy site was defiled. The Jews searched for oil to light the menorah, to bring some light to the darkness. But every jar that they found was torn open, rendering it impure and unfit for lighting the holy lampstand. Finally, one tiny jar was found with the seal of the High Priest still intact, indicating that the oil was pure. It would take eight days to produce more pure oil, but on that night, the Jews rejoiced at the miracle that they could at least have light for one day and night. That was the miracle of the first night. Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1 As we know, that one night turned into eight nights. By the time the flames went out, new oil was ready and new flames were lit. From the moment that small jar of oil was found, the Jews never had to go a day without light again. Hanukkah is the only Jewish holiday that centers on night the time of darkness. We are only permitted to light our menorahs once it is dark outside. In addition, Hanukkah is celebrated at the darkest time of year when the days are shortest and the nights the longest. This is because the story of Hanukkah is about times of darkness times of challenges and difficulties. In that darkness, we light our candles and bring light. We bring a message of hope and encouragement. No matter how dark things may be, we can still find the light. No matter how impossible things may seem, God can make miracles. As the psalmist reminds us, The LORD is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear? This Hanukkah, light a candle with us. The flame is small but the light is big. Just one candle can light up an entire room of darkness. So, too, just the smallest amount of faith can bring about a miracle. Our God is a God Who delights in bringing about miracles and shedding light never give up hope!
Day 2 Dare to Shine When we talk about the miracle of Hanukkah in our prayers, we mention that God gave the many into the hands of the few. It s important to understand that this isn t just a reference to the Greeks who were more powerful and numerous than the Jews who were fighting them. Being Jewish during the time of the Hanukkah story wasn t just unpopular among the Greeks; it was also unpopular within the Jewish nation. When the Greeks brought their culture to Jerusalem, many Jews embraced it. These Jews were called Hellenists, or mityavim, from the Hebrew word yavan which means Greece. These Jews sought to convince the other Jews to abandon the Bible and their way of life in favor of the Greek way of living. They were so passionate about this change in values that they even went so far as to murder the High Priest who was faithful to the Lord and to make trouble for those Jews who chose to remain loyal to God. So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, Whoever is for the LORD, come to me. And all the Levites rallied to him. Exodus 32:26 When we say that it was difficult to live openly as a Jew while the Hanukkah events evolved, we aren t just speaking about outside pressure to conform, but also the same kind of pressure from within the Jewish community. The revolt against the Greeks began in earnest when Mattityahu, the leader of the rebellion, decided to take a stand. He borrowed words from Moses that were originally uttered after the people sinned when they constructed the golden calf. Moses was looking for anyone still loyal to God in spite of the nation s sin, and so he pleaded: Whoever is for the LORD, come to me. Thousands of years later, Mattityahu issued the same call, and the small group of Jews who stepped forward were the ones who launched the revolt that changed history. They called themselves the Maccabees. This idea of going against the crowd for the sake of what is right is one of the most important themes of Hanukkah. Every year we are reminded that what is right isn t always popular and that what s popular isn t always right. We are encouraged by the Maccabees who had the inner strength to stand up for what was right and were ultimately successful. As we light one candle on the first night of Hanukkah, it seems that the flame stands in defiance to the darkness. It dares to banish the darkness. But as the days pass, other candles are added and other homes light candles, too. What started as one brave candle turns into many lights that brighten the night. We also need to be like those candles, shining in the darkness and standing up for what s right, no matter how unpopular it might be. Ultimately, the truth will shine brightly. It only takes one person to kindle that first light. Maybe that person is you!
Day 3 Be a Maccabee The story of Hanukkah recalls the victory of a small group of Jewish fighters called the Maccabees over the mighty Greek army. The term Maccabee is from the Hebrew word for hammer. The Maccabees were Jewish warriors who hammered the enemy. However, don t go thinking that these men were like the strong, welltrained warriors you see in the movies. The truth is that these men were a bunch of weaklings, more accustomed to sitting and studying God s Word all day. Their strength came not from their own accord. Maccabee has another meaning, as well. It is also a Hebrew acronym for the phrase: Who among the gods is like you, LORD? (Exodus 15:11). The strength of the Maccabees was from the Lord. It s interesting how God does this over and over. He sets us up in impossible situations so that we can see that our strength comes from Him. Had the Maccabees been a well-trained army like Israel has today, we may not have noticed God s hand as much. The Jewish heroes of that day were frail, outnumbered, and outgunned. And yet, they were triumphant. They defeated the greatest army in the world at that time. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. Psalm 91:5 7 According to tradition, the Maccabees would recite Psalm 91 on their way to battle and in battle. Can t you imagine them looking heavenward and saying, A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. I can! These words remind us that while we may be surrounded by terrible danger, sure to be defeated by all natural accounts, God can still protect us. God can surround us like a shield that no one not even the great Greek army can penetrate. I can imagine how the Maccabees felt the first time they saw the Greeks approach the battlefield on massive, towering elephants the ancient world s equivalent to modern-day tanks. These Jews had never seen such a thing before. But they turned to those elephant-tanks and proclaimed: He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust (v. 2). During the night, the Maccabees recalled: You will not fear the terror of night... During the day, they remembered that they would not fear... the arrow that flies by day... This was how the war was won. The Maccabees placed their trust in God, and He brought about a miraculous salvation. Throughout this season of light for Christians and Jews, let us remember that the victory doesn t always go to the mighty and powerful. God can make us triumphant no matter what our circumstances as we place our trust fully in God. If He could bring a small, weak group of Jews to defeat the mighty Greeks, surely He can bring victory to us, too.
Day 4 Rededication As Jews around the world prepare to celebrate Hanukkah this year, let s take a moment to understand what the word actually means and what it tells us about this holiday. When we divide the word Hanukkah in half, we get two Hebrew words: Hanu, which means they rested, and kah, which is composed of the Hebrew letters that correspond to the number 25. The meaning of the word becomes, They rested on the 25th. Indeed, the war against the Greeks ceased on the 25th day of the Hebrew month Kislev. It was on that day that a major battle was won, and the people finally rested. It was also on the 25th that the Jews joyfully marched to the recaptured Temple, ready to begin the Temple service again. We can only imagine their disappointment as they opened the Temple doors and saw that the House of God was in shambles. The place of utmost purity was utterly defiled. They realized that the Temple needed more than cleaning; it needed a complete renewal a rededication. On the 25th of Kislev, the Jewish people decided to rise up from the ruins and renew all that had been destroyed. They vowed to recommit to their ideals and realign themselves with God. The literal meaning of the word Hanukkah is dedication; however, the Temple had already been dedicated once. On this day, the word Hanukkah meant rededication. It signified a complete renewal. A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David. I will exalt you, LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. Psalm 30:1 Psalm 30, which we read on Hanukkah, begins, A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David. The word used in the verse for dedication is Hanukkah. However, the Jewish sages note that David never dedicated a Temple. It was his son Solomon who built and dedicated the Temple. They explain that perhaps David wrote this psalm for future Temple dedications. However, it could also be that David meant this psalm for himself. David had just healed from an acute illness when he penned this psalm, so the temple of the psalm could be referring to David s body, the home of his godly soul. In this psalm, David was actually rededicating his body after a devastating illness and recommitting to living a godly life. He was renewing his dedication to serving God. David s rededication can serve as a model for us all. This Hanukkah let s recommit ourselves to our ideals and values. No matter what may have happened in our lives, we can start anew today. We can rededicate ourselves to serving God, even amid the ruins of our lives. We can give ourselves to Him anew, and through God become renewed.
Day 5 Take Time to See the Light Maybe you ve had this experience: You are driving somewhere and before you know it, you arrive only you don t remember getting there! While you were driving, your mind was elsewhere making the grocery list, thinking about an argument that you had with your spouse last night, or planning a meeting coming up later in the day. Your body was physically present in the car, but your mind wasn t. This phenomenon can creep up in all areas of our lives. We may look like we are driving, cooking, working, or reading a story to our child, but really, we are living in the past, or the future, or in the next room. Sadly, when we do this, we miss out on life that is happening right before us. And consequently, we could also be missing out on great opportunities. Consider that just before Moses encountered God in the burning bush, Scripture tells us that the LORD saw that he had gone over to look. The Jewish sages teach us that Moses was not the only one to pass by the burning bush; however, he was the first one to really notice it. He also was the first one to take the time to look at it and investigate. When God saw that Moses went over to look at the bush, that s when He appeared to Moses. Had Moses passed right by, lost in his thoughts, Moses may have never become Moses! When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, Moses! Moses! And Moses said, Here I am. Exodus 3:4 The message here is that we have to be present if we are going to get all that we can out of our lives. We have to notice what s going on right here, right now. It s only when we take the time to really see what s going on around us that we can encounter God. When we live distracted and fragmented lives, we will have a hard time even catching a glimpse. According to Jewish law, once the Hanukkah lights are kindled, these candles aren t allowed to be used for anything; they are exclusively so we may look at them. For example, we can t use them for a reading light, and we can t use them for lighting other candles. We are supposed to sit next to the candles for a half-hour and just look at them nothing else. In Psalm 46:10 we read: Be still, and know that I am God. It is a good reminder for all of us, particularly in this very busy holiday season for both Christians and Jews. Let us find the time to be still and appreciate the light that s all around us. Let s be fully present in the glorious moment that is now. Let s take the time to really see each other and maybe, we just may catch a glimpse of God.
Day 6 Be the Light Eleanor Roosevelt once said, It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. Once the Jewish sages decided to establish Hanukkah as a holiday for the ages, there was a dispute about how exactly the ritual of lighting the Hanukkah menorah should go. Just to recap, we are celebrating the fact that when the Jewish people recaptured the Temple from the Greeks some 2,000 years ago, they could only find one small jar of pure olive oil in order to light the Temple menorah, the lampstand. Miraculously, that oil, which should have lasted only one day and night, lasted for eight days and nights. Today, we recall the miracle by lighting our menorahs for eight nights. This is where the sages had a dispute. One sage, Hillel, determined that on every night, another candle should be added and lit. Thus, the first night would only have one candle, and by the eighth night, there would be eight candles burning. Another sage, Shammai, recommended the opposite. He believed that on the first night, we should light all eight candles, and deduct one candle each night until we are left with only one candle on the eighth night. This dispute was about much more than eight candles and the order in which they would be lit. Underlying each argument was a belief system and a suggestion for perfecting God s world. he says: It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. Isaiah 49:6 According to Shammai, the sage who advocated deducting a candle each night, the way to make the world a better place is to destroy evil. According to Shammai, the fire of the candles was a symbol of destruction. Shammai believed that we need to burn away the evil in the world. At first, we need a lot of fire. But as we eradicate more evil, less fire is needed until no fire is needed at all. Hillel, on the other hand, felt that the way to fight darkness is by adding more light. Hillel believed that the complete destruction of evil was an unrealistic and costly venture. Instead, he advocated that we add more goodness and more godliness to the world until evil has no place in it. This is why we light one candle on the first night we add a little light. We add more and more light until on the eighth night, the whole room shines. Ultimately, we follow Hillel s opinion. We light our candles by adding another candle each night. However, we need to follow Hillel s advice all year long as well. As God commanded, we need to be light and add light to the world. We do this as we extend warmth and compassion to others; as we shine with kindness and love. In this way, our light will banish all the darkness and create a much better world.
Day 7 Seeing Light in the Darkness In preparing for Passover, the Bible instructs us to get rid of any leavened bread and any products containing yeast from our homes. So on the night before Passover, Jews perform a ritual where we search for those forbidden products. We turn off the lights in our homes and go through our houses with the light of a single candle. Ironically, with all the lights on, it would be easy to miss the small crumbs. But in the darkness, with that one candle serving as a spotlight, we see so much better. Why are we talking about Passover on Hanukkah? It s because we learn from that Passover ritual how sometimes we see better when darkness accompanies the light. The verse in Micah reads: Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. Another version reads: when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me (ESV). When in the darkness, that s when we more readily see God as our light. Think about it. When the lights are all on, we miss seeing so many things. Who takes the time to really notice the color of our food, the expressions on the faces around us, the beauty all around us? But sit by candlelight and everything takes on a certain radiance. We see things in a different way. Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. Micah 7:8 In the same way, when everything is sunny in our lives when things are going well we don t always see the miracles that God performs for us every single day. The right person showing up at the right time. The car accident that we unknowingly avoided. God performs miracles for us all the time, but we don t see them. However, in the dark times when the odds are stacked against us that s when we see God s providence shining through. On Hanukkah, we light our candles in darkness. And with those small lights, we are able to see with greater vision than in the brightest of rooms. In fact, tradition teaches that looking at the Hanukkah lights fixes our vision. We remember, there in the darkness, how God runs the world and creates miracles in our lives. We recall the miracles of the Jewish defeat over the Greek army and the little flask of oil burning for eight nights. Our vision is restored and we see what we often miss in our day-to-day lives. Tonight, shine a light on the miracles in your life. Not just the major ones that occurred once, but the ones that occur every single day, the ones that we take for granted. Let s never lose sight of the message of those tiny lights amid the darkness. God is everywhere, if only we would see.
Day 8 An Eternal Flame Hanukkah is the only Jewish holiday that isn t commanded in Scriptures, and while we do have the Book of Maccabees, it was never made part of the Bible. So it makes sense that generations later the Jewish sages asked, Why Hanukkah? What is the reason for this holiday? Now, they could have answered that it was in order to remember the miraculous military victory of the Jews over the Greeks. But instead they cite the miracle of the oil. When the victorious Maccabees redeemed the Temple, they were lucky enough to find one jar of oil which was enough to light the lampstand for one night. Miraculously, it lasted for eight nights giving the Jews enough time to make new pure olive oil without any interruption in the burning of the light. Why did the sages choose the miracle of oil over the military battle for the main focus of the holiday? While the military victory was great and miraculous, it was not full or permanent. It would be another two decades before the Jews fully succeeded in ousting the Greeks from Israel. And even that liberty would be temporary; a few centuries later, Jerusalem fell to Rome. The miracle of the oil, on the other hand, was a victory that would last forever because it was not a physical victory, but a spiritual one. Outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps before the LORD from evening till morning, continually. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. Leviticus 24:3 When God first commanded Aaron and his descendants to light the menorah, the lampstand, in the Tabernacle and then the Temple, Scripture says that it is an eternal commandment. However, the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, so how could this commandment possibly be for all generations? The sages explain that when the Maccabees, a family of priests, lit the Temple menorah leading to the Hanukkah miracle, they made the lighting eternal. We fulfill the lighting of the Temple menorah by lighting our Hanukkah menorahs each year. This is why the holiday was included in the Jewish yearly cycle. In Judaism, the menorah symbolizes the light of God and the light of the Torah. When we light the menorah on Hanukkah, we fulfill a biblical mandate after all. We bring the light that God desires into every generation. We rekindle our passion for His Word and share its light with others. Hanukkah celebrates an eternal triumph of God s light over all darkness. This spiritual light is an everlasting one. Goodness will always overcome evil, and light will ultimately outshine the darkness forever.
A Season of Miracles This is a season of miracles and celebrations. My Christian friends celebrate the miracle of a birth at Christmas, and my Jewish brothers and sisters celebrate the miracle of a spiritual and military victory during the celebration of Hanukkah. And at the center of both these celebrations is our God of miracles. As the psalm writer noted, What god is as great as our God? It s certainly a theme echoed throughout the Scriptures. After the miraculous escape from Egypt and the daring dash across the Red Sea, Moses and the people of Israel erupted in song and praised God: Who among the gods is like you, LORD? Who is like you majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? You stretch out your right hand, and the earth swallows your enemies (Exodus 15:11 12). In Psalm 86:8, David writes Among the gods there is none like you, LORD; no deeds can compare with yours. Christmas and Hanukkah are a time to remember that we worship and serve a God Who is totally unique. He alone is able to perform mighty deeds for those who love Him. He alone is powerful and worthy of our love and adoration. God alone is able to intervene in human history and work miracles on behalf of His people. Remembering God s miracles and faithfulness sustained the people of Israel through their many difficulties and enabled them to act when all avenues seemed closed to them. Hanukkah reminds us of the importance of bitachon, or trust in God. It was the Jews trust in a loving and caring God that prompted them, the few and weak, to rise up against the many and mighty. It was their faith in the God of miracles to light the Temple menorah with the last remaining flask of pure oil. They acted because they knew that God was capable and trustworthy. Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. Psalm 77:13 14 When we are faced with obstacles and overwhelming difficulties, we need to remember how God has acted on our behalf in the past and how good He has been to us. Then, we can step out and act in faith, knowing He will care for us. During this season, in addition to our traditional greetings of Merry Christmas, or Happy Hanukkah, we should add this greeting as well: May the God of Miracles bless you and keep you this season and throughout the year. Cover image: istock/carlyhennigan. Unless otherwise noted, all quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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