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The word "Hanukkah" (also spelled "Chanukah") actually means dedication, and refers to the rededication of the temple on 25 Kislev 165 BC, after it had been desecrated by the Syrian King Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus attempted to force his own Greek culture and pagan religion on the people of Judea, going as far as to erect an altar of Zeus in the Holy Temple, and even sacrificing a pig on the altar. Of course, the Jewish people were outraged, and staged a successful rebellion led by Judah Maccabee. (You can read about this in the book of Maccabees. Although Jews and Protestant Christians do not consider this book a part of the Bible, it is a useful historical source). As soon as the war was over, the Maccabees returned to Jerusalem and cleansed the Temple. Afterward, they held a service of dedication -- the first Hanukkah!
According to the Talmud, when the temple was being restored, there was only enough oil found to last for one day, and yet, by some miraculous provision of God, the oil lasted for eight days -- long enough for a new batch to be prepared.
The most visible aspect of the observance of Hanukkah is lighting of the special Hanukkah Menorah , also called a Hanukkiah. As opposed to the seven candlesticks of the Temple Menorah, the Hanukkiah has nine candles (or sometimes oil lamps), one of which always stands out from the others, usually higher, or off to one side. (Other than this there are no restrictions on the shape of a Hanukkiah, so Jewish artists can exercise a great deal of creativity in designing them. You can find Hanukkiot made of practically every material and in every shape and style you can imagine!) The lamp which stands out is called the Shamash in Hebrew, or Shamus in Yiddish. The shamash is lit first and used to light the remaining lamps, one for each day that the temple menorah miraculously stayed lit. The light is supposed to be displayed prominently -- in a window or on the stoop -- where all who pass by will see it and be reminded of the Miracle. It is worthwhile, if you ever find yourself in Jerusalem over the holiday, to take an evening stroll through the religious neighborhood of Mea Shearim, where you will find such lights beckoning from every home.
It is from this practice that the Feast of Hanukkah derives it second name -- the Festival of Lights!
Another symbol of Hanukkah is the dreidl. A dreidl is a four-sided top with one of the Hebrew letters Nun, Gimel, Heh, and Shin on each side. The letters stand for the phrase Nes Gadol Hayah Sham-- "A great miracle happened there." But they also stand for the instructions to a game which is played with the top, and so (or so they say), the dreidl was used as a teaching tool in disguise, because in times and places where the Jewish people were forbidden to teach their religion, the dreidl could be passed off as an innocent toy. (In Israel the letters are Nun, Gimmel, Heh and Peh, for "Nes Gadol Hayah Poh!" -- "A great miracle happened here"!) (Click here to learn how to play.)
Children get "Hanukkah-Gelt" (Hanukkah Money) and/or Hanukkah presents at this time of year. It is a school holiday. Among the Ashkenazim (Jews of East European extraction), it is traditional to eat latkes (potato pancakes) and applesauce. In Israel, sufganiyot> -- a kind of doughnut without the hole, covered in powdered sugar -- are also traditional at Hanukkah.
Hanukkah is actually a relatively minor holiday on the Jewish calendar, and yet it is probably the best known among American non-Jews, perhaps because the date often happens to coincide more-or-less with the Christmas season.
Unlike Passover and Yom Kippur, which were Biblical holidays which God gave to Moses at Sinai, Hanukkah is a relatively new holiday, dating back only to 165 BC. It is not even mentioned in the Jewish Bible, as it commemorates an event which took place during the time between the closing of the Tanakh (what Christians call the "Old Testament") and the writing of the New Covenant Scriptures about Yeshua and his followers.
It does appear however in the New Testament. By the time of Yeshua, Hanukkah had become a regular holiday, as is mentioned in the Gospel of John:
"John 10:22 And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication (i.e., Hanukkah), and it was winter."
Although Hanukkah is not recorded in the Jewish Bible as history, the principal historic events were foretold by the prophet Daniel. In the eighth chapter of the Book of Daniel, this wise man of God relates a dream he had in the year 551 BC, in the Days of Belshazzar king of Babylon. He said he saw a shaggy goat with a conspicuous horn rising up out of the West and flying across the earth to fight with a ram who had figured earlier in the dream. The goat won this battle and "became very great" but the large horn was broken off at the height of his power, and replaced by four smaller horns. Out of one of these horns came another horn, which grew and advanced toward "the Beautiful Land" (i.e., the Land of Israel).
"It vaunted itself against the very chief of the host [army]; on its account the regular offering was suspended, and His holy place was abandoned" "How long will the regular offering be forsaken because of the transgression? . . . For twenty three hundred evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed." -- Daniel 8: 9-14
In verse 20, the angel Gabriel explains that the ram was the Medo-Persian empire, and the shaggy goat was the king of Greece, and the large horn the first King. The four horns were the four lesser kings who would succeed him. The angel does not provide the names of these kings, who had not yet been born when all of this was written, yet it is easy to see in retrospect that the "First King" of Greece refers to Alexander the Great, who conquered the known world of his day, overthrowing the Medo-Persian empire (the Ram). History tells us that Alexander died young ("was broken off at the height of his power") and his empire was divided into four separate Kingdoms, called the Seleucid Kingdoms. One of these was the Kingdom of Syria, our of which Antiochus Epiphanes arose and advanced against "the beautiful land" and vaunted himself against God, causing the sacrifice to be forsaken. Three years later (2,300 evening and morning sacrifices later), the sanctuary was cleansed and rededicated -- the first Hanukkah.
The New Testament, though written after the time of Antiochus and the Maccabees, makes allusions to the book of Daniel that show similar events would occur again. Yeshua himself warned about "the abomination that causes desolation spoken of through the prophet Daniel" as something yet to take place. (Matt 24:16) Indeed, in 70 AD the Romans again desecrated the Temple, first by placing pagan images there, and then by completely destroying the building. The New Testament book of Revelation refers to images of "the beast" (Antichrist, or the ultimate false Messiah) which will be erected. (Rev. 13:14)
Some Messianic and other Christian Bible scholars see in the Jewish Holiday calendar a parallel to God's plan for human history. Passover, of course, is closely related to the offering of Yeshua as the Ultimate "Pesach," and Shavuot corresponds to the giving of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of the New Covenant, just as before Messiah, Shavuot had stood for the giving of the Torah and the beginning of the Old Covenant. These connections are clear from the New Covenant Scriptures, but some thinkers have extended the parallel between the Jewish Holidays and such milestones of history on into the future. Rosh Hashana (the Feast of Trumpets) is thus paired with the coming rapture, and Sukkoth with the coming Kingdom of Messiah. Hanukkah is sometimes associated with Eternity in the "New Heaven" to be created after the end of Messianic Kingdom (Rev. 20:7 ff.) which could be thought of as the cleansing and "rededication" of the entire Universe as the new Temple of God.
Who will be there in eternity with God? Let's look back at what Yeshua said in the temple one Hanukkah in his own day:
The Jews gathered around him saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.":
Yeshua answered, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. " -- John 10:27-29
Yeshua clearly believed that he was more than "a good teacher," but the very key to eternal life. It is also interesting that the book of John, the only New Testament book to mention Hanukkah, is also full of references to "light." Yeshua himself is identified as the "Light of the World." (John 8:12, John 9:5) His story would be fascinating reading for the Festival of Lights!
For a full presentation of what it means to believe in Yeshua, see:
L'Chaim!
Other Related articles:
- Messiah in ProphecyWhat did the ancient prophets say about Messiah?
- Who Is Yeshua/Jesus? Why it isn't easy to explain this man away.
- Messiah in the Passover How Messiah is seen in Passover Customs
The Descent of the Messiah Where should the Messiah come from?
We've Found the Messiah! Personal testimonies of Jewish men and women who have found their light in Yeshua Ha-Mashiach!
Hanukkah Recipes: Latkes, Sufganiyot.
