Today's blog is dedicated to our Jewish friends. I sometimes have wondered if the Temple Rededication and the Maccabean Miracle had not occurred, would the World Stage have been properly aligned for the Teacher known as Christ to have been born into place?
from Judaism 101:
On the 25th of Kislev are the days of Chanukkah, which are eight... these were appointed a Festival with Hallel [prayers of praise] and thanksgiving --- Shabbat 21b, Babylonian Talmud.
Chanukkah, the Jewish festival of rededication, also known as the festival of lights, is an eight day festival beginning on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev.
[Kislev is simply the 9th month of the Jewish year, occurring in November/December]
According to tradition as recorded in the Talmud, at the time of the rededication, there was very little oil left that had not been defiled by the Greeks. Oil was needed (for the menorah candelabrum) in the Temple, which was supposed to burn throughout the night every night. There was only enough oil to burn for one day, yet miraculously, it burned for eight days, the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of oil for the menorah. An eight day festival was declared to commemorate this miracle. Note that the holiday commemorates the miracle of the oil, not the military victory...
Our rabbis taught the rule of Chanukkah: ... on the first day one [candle] is lit and thereafter they are progressively increased ... [because] we increase in sanctity but do not reduce ---Sabbat 21b, Babylonian Talmud.
[According to the Judaism 101 website, Chanukkah is not the most important - or even a very important - religious Holiday. According to sources found, the only truly religious aspect of the "Holiday" celebration is the lighting of the menorah candles, commemorating the Miracle of the Oil. And from my own understanding ... that is actually 'rededication' of the Temple.]
Dreidel Game and Symbolism:
One of the best known symbols of Chanukah is the Dreidel. A dreidel is a four-sided top with a Hebrew letter on each side.
The four letters are:
SHIN, HEY, GIMEL, NUN
These letters mean "A Great Miracle Happened There."In Israel the dreidel is a bit different in that their letters mean " A Miracle Happened HERE!"
The Israeli Connection
The Ancient Connection:
Some people maintain that the dreidel game goes back to the time of the Greek-Syrians, and thus is integrally connected to the Hanukkah holiday. Since the Greek-Syrians prohibited the Jews from studying Torah, the Jews needed a way to hide their Torah learning. They used the dreidel as a decoy. When they saw the Greek-Syrians coming, the Jews would hide their books, take out their dreidels, and trick the Syrians into thinking they were just playing a game.
With the birth of Israel and the revival of the Hebrew language, Israelis called the dreidel a sivivon. Sivivon comes from the Hebrew word sovev which means "to turn." Furthermore, Israelis changed the letter shin on the dreidel to the letter pay. Thus, the letters nun, gimel, hay and pay would stand for the phrase Nes Gadol Haya Po, which means "a great miracle happened here."
The Dreidel Song
I have a little dreidel, I made it out of clay.
And when it's dry and ready, Dreidel I will play.
Oh, dreidel dreidel dreidel, I made it out of clay.
When it's dry and ready, Dreidel I will play!
[tomorrow .... tune in for the History of Festivus. While most of us may remember this Holiday as a birthing from The Jerry Seinfeld Show, there is a literal ancient Holiday that was known as Festivus. I'm liking the idea of such more and more ...]
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