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Is Hanukkah a Religiously Significant Holiday? Empty Is Hanukkah a Religiously Significant Holiday?

Post  Admin Tue 17 Dec 2019, 9:03 pm

Is Hanukkah a Religiously Significant Holiday? Hanukk10
Is Hanukkah a Religiously Significant Holiday?
Dec 15, 2019  |  by Emuna Braverman
Is Hanukkah a Religiously Significant Holiday?
https://www.aish.com/h/c/t/Is-Hanukkah-a-Religiously-Significant-Holiday.html?s=mm
Hanukkah is far more than the Jewish Christmas. It is the holiday of the spiritual survival of the Jewish people.


Mark Oppenheimer is perfectly happy to be wished a Merry Christmas (hence the title of his recent Wall Street Journal article, “I’m Jewish. Please wish Me a Merry Christmas”). In his essay Oppenheimer throws out an aside – quite literally, it was in parentheses – that gets him into trouble. After acknowledging that Hanukkah is his “seasonal holiday”, he writes: “(albeit one of relatively little religious import).”


I wanted to write a letter to the editor, but I have more confidence about my article getting published here!


His casual aside just made me really sad. Because it is obvious that Mr. Oppenheimer has no idea what a rich, deep and spiritually important holiday Hanukkah actually is. And he’s not alone. Having the misfortune to occur around the same time as the flashier Christmas celebration, the meaning of this holiday has unfortunately gotten lost in the shuffle.


It is not just our “seasonal holiday”. And it most certainly is not of “relatively little religious import.” In fact, the opposite is true. If it weren’t for the Maccabees, none of us would be here today. Hanukkah is the holiday that celebrates the survival of the Jewish people – and most particularly not our physical survival but our spiritual one.


Unlike many other times in Jewish history, the goal of the Greeks was not the genocide of the Jewish people. They did not want to wipe Jews off the map. They were not looking to create a country that was Judenrein. What they wanted to destroy was Judaism. What they wanted to eliminate was the relationship between God and the Jewish people.


To that end, they forbade learning Torah and the celebration of Shabbos, circumcision and the sanctifying of the new moon, particularly those commandments that spoke to the partnership between God and the Jewish people.


For a nation that wanted to exalt and celebrate the body, the intellect and beauty, that thought that man was the be-all and end-all, the Jewish people, a nation that insisted on a Heavenly creator, on the existence of the soul with demands that countered the material, was a real buzz-kill. Those ideas had to go.


But not the people themselves. They could be easily integrated into the broader Greek culture. And so began a very successful program of assimilation with many Jews being seduced by the thoughts, ideas and practices of the Greeks. So powerful was the pull that it was not unheard of for Jews to undergo reverse circumcision procedures so they could participate comfortably alongside their neighbors in the Olympic games – which were played in the nude.


It was Yehudah Maccabee and his family who had the foresight to see where this was heading, who knew that if they didn’t fight now, then the battle was lost. They recognized that if someone didn’t fight for a relationship with God and Torah, for the preservation of Jewish values, there would soon be nothing left to save.


When I ask my students to describe the Maccabees to me, everyone imagines strong, athletic young men. “Have you ever seen an orthodox Yeshiva bachur?” I ask them, someone who spends all his time indoors pouring over the books of the Talmud, someone with long side curls and no muscles to speak of? Those were the Maccabees. All Jews alive today owe their very existence to them.


The Jewish people exist thanks to their determination to stand up for what’s right, their willingness to take on the whole Greek army despite the daunting odds, their understanding that without a relationship with God we have nothing left. Hanukkah is the holiday where we take a stand against assimilation, against blending in, against accepting the world’s often negative view of us and we stand up for our values, our nation, our land and most of all our relationship with the Creator of the world.


The war lasted many long years. The original Maccabees did not survive the fighting. But we are their descendants. We are the inheritors of their determination, their willingness to fight, their recognition that the Jewish people had something worth fighting for.


No, Mr. Oppenheimer, Hanukkah is not a holiday of relatively little religious import. On the contrary, it is a holiday of great religious import. It is the holiday of the spiritual survival of the Jewish people.


It is a shame that what the Maccabees fought so long and hard for, literally gave their lives to, is getting lost in the openness of the melting pot of America today. Perhaps we need some modern Maccabees.
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Is Hanukkah a Religiously Significant Holiday? Empty Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and Hanukkah came together for a tribute

Post  Admin Fri 27 Dec 2019, 6:45 pm

Is Hanukkah a Religiously Significant Holiday? Happy-10


Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and Hanukkah came together for a tribute
By Leah Rosenberg - December 3, 2018 15901 0
Six13 have done it once again, bringing the Hanukkah light to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. When a band can take an absolute classic and turn it into something this good you know it’s worth watching!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=12&v=9P30ckBf1wk&feature=emb_logo

Boost this video to reach up to 1000 people

Today we are celebrating the 1st day of Hanukkah. The Jewish festival that celebrates the wonderous victory of the Maccabeats over the Greeks and the restoration of the holy of Temple. There were many miracles that happened during the time of Hanukkah but let’s focus on one.

Turning the Physical into Spiritual
When we look back at the time of the Greeks, we can see their were a society that focused on the physical, much like the majority of todays society. They thought they were strongest people. They wanted to take away the spiritual aspect of the holy Temple and turn into something purely physical. But the Jews knew otherwise. They knew that the physical was there to merely serve the spiritual. The holy temple wasn’t just a building. It was a building that housed the holy spirit of G-d, the holiest place of worship for the Jews.

Timeless Lessons of Hanukkah
Judaism teaches that the lessons of each holiday aren’t just history lessons. We don’t just focus on the historical aspect of the holiday. Rather we look at what happened and apply it to our lives today.
Today in the 21st century the world is all about the physical. About money, the latest gadgets, having it all. This is not a Jewish concept. Instead we see the physical here to help us on our spiritual journey. We have to take advantage of the amazing physical things at our finger tips and use them for the good. That is one of the Hanukkah challenges today.

Happy Hanukkah!
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Is Hanukkah a Religiously Significant Holiday? Empty Re: Is Hanukkah a Religiously Significant Holiday?

Post  Admin Sat 28 Dec 2019, 3:50 pm

https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/142240/the-woman-who-inspired-maccabeean-revolt-that-no-talks-about/?fbclid=IwAR2zogQwdqyJQmX8pnNwvI744GB1_LqtSVmGnwmmhI8VwPBYrmZUBmNK1XY
The Woman Who Sparked the Maccabeean Revolt that No One Talks About
By Dr. Rivkah Lambert Adler December 26, 2019 , 11:10 am
“Grace is deceptive, Beauty is illusory; It is for her fear of Hashem That a woman is to be praised.” Proverbs 31:30 (The Israel Bible™)

woman of ancient times (courtesy: Shutterstock)
If you know anything about the Chanukah story at all, you have certainly heard of the Maccabees, the Jewish warriors who fought back the Syrian-Greek oppressors. 

What you might not have heard though is that there are Jewish traditions about how women contributed to the history of Chanukah.

Chana The Heroine

One such story is about the daughter of Matityahu, father of the Maccabees. One of the cruel edicts of the Syrian-Greeks was that every Jewish woman was raped by the local Syrian-Greek official on her wedding night, before she could be with her husband. This doctrine is known as jus primae noctis, which means “the right of the first night”.

Jews combatted this evil decree by abstaining from marriage and also by holding weddings in secret. However, Matityahu was the Kohen Gadol – the High Priest. His daughter’s marriage was too high profile to hide.

As the story is told, at the feast following her wedding ceremony, the daughter of Matityahu, known in some traditions as Chana, stood before her wedding guests and tore open her dress. Her brothers were horrified by her immodest act and intended to punish her for it. 

In response, she challenged them for their willingness to turn her over to the Syrian-Greek official, as was required. Calling on a Biblical model, she urged them to be like Shimon and Levi when they defended their sister Dina.

Yaakov‘s sons answeredShechem and his father Hamor—speaking with guile because he had defiled their sister Dina and said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised, for that is a disgrace among us. Genesis 34:13-14

She reminded them that Shimon and Levi were just two brothers but they were five altogether.

Her speech and her righteous indignation inspired her brothers to begin their war against the evil Syrian-Greek rulers over the Land of Israel. Her brave act and fiery speech was the catalyst for the Maccabean revolt.

That same evening, the Maccabees brought their sister, elegantly dressed, to the Syrian-Greek official, as if they were turning her over to be raped. Instead they killed him and his attending soldiers, thus inaugurating the battle between the cruel Syrian-Greeks and the Jews who desired to maintain loyalty to God and the Torah.

Yehudit (Judith) the Heroine


Another traditional story was originally recorded in Hebrew, in the Book of Yehudit which is not part of Hebrew Scriptures. Sadly, the Hebrew version was lost, and all that remains is a Greek translation.

During the war between the Maccabees and the Syrian-Greeks, Yehudit, a beautiful young Jewish widow, took a lesson from Yael and there are some striking parallels between the two stories.



Then Yael wife of Chever took a tent pin and grasped the mallet. When he was fast asleep from exhaustion, she approached him stealthily and drove the pin through his temple till it went down to the ground. Thus he died. Judges 4:21

 

Some say that Yehudit was the daughter of Yochanan (Jonathan) the High Priest and sister to Matityahu, father of the Maccabees. Her town of Bethulia was under siege and the locals, badly outnumbered, were considering surrendering.

With a strong faith in God, Yehudit took it upon herself to enter the enemy camp and speak to Holofernes, the general who was leading the battle against her Judean town.

As with Chana, she dressed herself in finery and entered the enemy camp. Despite the fact that she was a Jew, her beauty and elegant clothing were disarming to the guards and they allowed her entry. Her beauty ultimately allowed her access to the tent of Holofernes.

Her plan was to convince Holofernes that she would give him useful military intelligence against her town if he would have mercy on the people. She traveled to and from the enemy camp several times over the next few days, ostensibly to pass on secret information. Her presence in the enemy camp ceased to raise suspicion. 

When Yehudit suggested that the following day would be the best time to mount a successful attack, Holofernes declared that they should celebrate. Yehudit brought specially prepared cheese and wine. As she fed him the salty cheese, his thirst was quenched by the strong wine she had also brought.

Soon, he was passed out on the ground, drunk, as had been her plan.

First she prayed these words to strengthen herself, “Answer me, O L‑rd, as You answered Yael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, when you delivered the wicked general Sisera into her hands. Strengthen me this once, that I may bring Your deliverance to my people whom this cruel man vowed to destroy, and let the nations know that You have not forsaken us . . .”

And then she beheaded him with his own sword. When the enemy camp learned that their leader had been killed, chaos reigned and they fled in multiple directions.

This story is the source for the well-known custom to eat cheese over Chanukah.

Eid al-Banat

On one of the last nights of Chanukah, there is a tradition, largely among Arabic-speaking Jewish communities, to celebrate the roles of women in the Chanukah story. This tradition is called Eid al-Banat in Arabic or Chag Habanot (the daughters’ holiday) in Hebrew. Although it is not well-known, there are modest efforts to revive the traditional celebration in Israel today. Among the customs of the Eid al-Banat are to eat dairy foods and drink wine, in remembrance of the menu Yehudit employed to bring down a fierce enemy of the Jewish people.
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Post  Admin Thu 15 Dec 2022, 4:11 pm

Is Hanukkah a Religiously Significant Holiday? Hanukk10
Originally published at Activist Post - reposted with permission.https://aish.com/five-hidden-messages-of-the-hanukkah-lights/
Five Hidden Messages of the Hanukkah Lights
Meditate on these 5 short insights as you gaze at your menorah’s lights.

1. Never be afraid to stand up for truth
Judah the Maccabee and his band of brothers bravely fought those who tried to extinguish all that the Jewish people stood for. The Syrian-Greeks tried to force the Jews to accept Greek culture instead of living a life committed to Jewish values. Though outnumbered, the Maccabees did not allow the daunting odds to douse their spirit. They fought this cultural battle – and triumphed.

2. A little light pushes away the darkness
We kindle the menorah during the darkest time of the year, as dusk is falling. The sky is turning black. Yet we have the power to light up the night. There are times in life that we feel as if we are immersed in challenges that take our breath away. It is easy to fall into despair. The Hanukkah lights call out to us. See how just a bit of light can push away the darkness! Never despair. Never lose hope. Hold onto to your faith.

3. The definition of darkness is to forget
Antisemitism is the oldest hatred on earth. The Kanye Wests of the world praise those who stuffed our people into cattle cars and burned them in ovens. Antisemites have also tried to destroy our souls.

What should be our response?

Our weekly email is chockful of interesting and relevant insights into Jewish history, food, philosophy, current events, holidays and more...

The Hebrew word for darkness is ‘choshech’. The same letters can also spell the Hebrew word ‘shachach’-which means to forget. Darkness comes when we abandon our Jewish identity and forget who we are.

We are living in a time where demonizing the Jews has become culturally acceptable. We hear that Jews own the banks and control the media. Kyrie Irving insisted that the Black Israelites are the ‘Real Jews.’ On college campuses around the world those who stand for Israel are vilified.  Across the internet thousands post that the Holocaust never happened.

We are witnessing the rewriting of our history, our culture, our heritage, and our nationhood. Our rich legacy is being stolen in front of our very eyes. Forgetting where we’ve come from means we become ignorant about the roots of our people and lose an essential part of ourselves. We have no way of combatting the lies because we simply are unaware of the truth.

This is the tragedy of forgetfulness, the ultimate darkness. Light breaks through when we remember who we are.

4. The search itself is a miracle
We celebrate Hanukkah for eight days because of the miracle of the menorah. There was sufficient pure oil found to light the menorah in the Temple for just one day, and the menorah continued to burn for seven more days. Why count the first day as a miracle?

Because even searching for the oil in the Temple was a miracle. The Temple had been desecrated by the Greeks. The Jews could have easily given up seeking oil that remained pure with the seal of the High Priest.

But instead of giving in to despair, the Hashmonaim took action and refused to surrender to hopelessness.

In life, we can easily raise our hands up and say, “This is impossible. Why even try?” The search for oil was a triumph of the spirit. Every search for light and your life-force despite that which brings you down is a miracle.

5. Be proud to be a Jew
We place our menorahs by the window so that all can see the mystical magic of our Hanukkah lights and publicize the miracle. In a world that has tried to snuff out our light, denigrate the Jew, and malign our identity, we are given the key to our survival. Be proud! Be proud to be a Jew, to kindle your lights, and plug into your spiritual identity.

As we enter these eight days of meaning, let us capture the light that awaits us. It is a light that burns within the soul of each of us. No matter how far we have traveled, how dark the journey, know that a spark is flickering, hoping, and anticipating the great fire of Hanukkah.
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Post  Admin Thu 15 Dec 2022, 8:53 pm

Is Hanukkah a Religiously Significant Holiday? J_cand10
By the Grace of G‑d

Dear Friend,

Can you feel it? The world is about to become much brighter! The beautiful celebration of Chanukah starts this Sunday evening, December 18.

The Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, often taught: 

“We must listen carefully to what the candles are saying.”

In that spirit, here are five Chanukah messages, culled and adapted from the Rebbe’s teachings:

Never be afraid to stand up for what’s right. Judah Maccabee and his band faced incalculable odds to uphold the Torah, but that didn’t stop them. With a prayer on their lips and faith in their heart, they entered the battle of their lives—and won. In the face of our own difficulties to adhere to the divine mitzvos, we can certainly follow their example—and see our challenges disappear!

Always increase in matters of goodness and Torah-observance. Sure, a single flame was good enough for yesterday, but today needs to be even better.

A little light goes a long way. The Chanukah candles are lit when dusk is falling. Perched in the doorway, they serve as a beacon for the darkening streets. No matter how dark it is outside, a candle of divine goodness can transform the thickest darkness into light.

Take it to the streets. Chanukah is unique insofar as its primary observance is to spread light to the outside, to the world. It’s not enough to be a Jew at heart, or even at home. Chanukah urges us to shine outward and illuminate our environment with the G‑dly glow of mitzvahs. Here is a letter from the Rebbe illustrating this point.

Don't be ashamed to perform G-d’s mitzvahs, even if you will feel different. Rather, be like a menorah, and proudly proclaim your radiant uniqueness for all to see. (And those from whom you fear embarrassment will admire your inner strength…!) 

* * * * *
Since we get asked this question hundreds of times each year, here’s a refresher: We place the first candle on the far right side of the menorah, and then progressively add one each night leftward from there. 

With blessings from all of us at Chabad.org, I wish you and yours a very Happy and Illuminating Chanukah!

Sincerely,

Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin
Executive Director

P.S. I’d like to invite you to join one of our live Chanukah celebrations broadcast from Menorah celebrations across the globe, including Jerusalem, Paris, New York, Florida, and Canada.
https://www.chabad.org/multimedia/video_cdo/aid/5730691/jewish/5783-2022-Live-Chanukah-Celebrations.htm#utm_medium=email&utm_source=29_chabad.org_en&utm_campaign=en&utm_content=content
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