What is Hanukkah? Simply put, Hanukkah is the Jewish Festival of Lights. It remembers the rededication of the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem. Check out this Hanukkah link for a full description and history. The short version is that this Holy Temple had been desecrated by a king of Syria who followed the pagan god Zeus and called himself Antiochus Epiphanus (which means “Antiochus the visible god”). Many Jews were killed for their faith. A Jewish priest named Mattathias refused to make an offering to Zeus and began a rebellion against these oppressors. His son Judah, nicknamed Maccabee (meaning hammer) led the Jewish troops against the Syrians and won their freedom. They returned to Jerusalem, cleaned the temple, took down the statue of Zeus, rebuilt the altar, and rededicated the temple to God (Yahweh the one true living God). The legend goes that during the rededication of the temple they only had enough oil for one night, but miraculously it lasted for eight nights until more oil arrived. This is what the eight nights of Hanukkah are all about. Jewish families celebrate it by lighting candles on a special Hanukkah menorah, eating special foods cooked in oils, playing games and giving gifts.
Am I Jewish? No. I am Christian. However, I believe in and worship the same God, Elohim our Creator.
Why am I celebrating Hanukkah for the first time this year?
#1… Let’s keep it real— anything that doesn’t focus on Covid or politics sounds fun!
#2… I’m inspired by this story and want to experience it myself.
#3… To practice these things:
REMEMBERING and being thankful
DEDICATING and setting intentions
WELCOMING the light in
REPLACING the false with the true
CELEBRATING togetherness
How am I celebrating? I ordered a Hanukkah menorah and I looked up recipes on Pinterest. I have 8 night planned with gifts recipes special prayers and of course the candle lighting.
Tonight, Thursday, December 10, 2020 was the first night of Hanukkah. I read the traditional prayer for the first night that goes like this, “May You be blessed, Hashem, our God, King of the entire universe, Who has given us life and sustained us and enabled us to reach this day. We lit the first candle. I prepared pan fried salmon with sweet potato latkes and steamed broccoli for dinner. I also read a prayer written by my husband’s grandfather that is below. Tonight we dedicated our minds to the truth and welcomed the light into our thoughts.
Happy Hanukkah!
God of ceaseless toil, who neither slumbers nor sleeps, whose winds pick up earth’s impurities, whose waves daily build earth’s shoreline, whose stars produce the tides, whose redeemed pray unceasingly for our welfare; we thank You for the privilege of work. Your Son worked and made the very best yokes, yokes that helped to make the burden light. Challenge us this day, and always to bring Your Son our costliest treasures the worship of minds eager to learn, the sorrow of contrite hearts, the quest for justice, the defiance of tyranny, the pursuit of brotherhood, the search for joy. Grant us your craftsmanship, O God, and build through us and with us a world that shall endure. In Jesus’ Spirit, Amen.
-Rev. Kenneth E. Hoover
