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| Title: | BAGELS and other things of Jewish interest |
| Notice: | 1.0 policy, 280.0 directory, 32.0 registration |
| Moderator: | SMURF::FENSTER |
|
| Created: | Mon Feb 03 1986 |
| Last Modified: | Thu Jun 05 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 1524 |
| Total number of notes: | 18709 |
53.0. "Chanukkah" by CADZOO::MAHLER () Fri Dec 06 1985 08:57
Historically, the holiday of Chanukah commemorates two events: 1) The
military victory, in 165 B.C.E., of a small Jewish army, the Maccabees, against
the vast array of forces of the Syrian-Macedonian empire. The ruling Syrian-
Greeks attempted to suppress Judaism and the study and practice of the Torah.
They defiled the Temple and promoted the worship of the Hellenistic deities.
The Maccabean victory restored the free practice of Judaism and regained a
measure of political independence for the Jews. 2) A symbolic ritual miracle
accompanied the military miracle. Eager to resume the Temple service, the
Maccabees wished to rekindle the lamps of the Temple Menorah (candelabra). A
search of the Temple revealed only one intact flask of ritually pure oil,
enough to keep the Menorah lit for only one day. However, the oil miraculously
burned for eight days, until new pure oil could be prepared.
In remembrance of these events, we light Menorahs each of the eight
nights of Chanukah, lighting one candle the first night and adding an
additional candle each successive night.
To be sure, these miracles were both highly significant during the
period in which they occurred. But what is their relevance to us?
Perhaps some questions about the Chanukah story itself can be of help.
What is the connection between these two apparently very different miracles?
And why were the Maccabees particularly preoccupied with the lighting of the
Menorah? Many types of ceremonial services were done in the Temple and had
been stopped when the Temple was defiled? If a miracle was to occur in
connection with the Temple, why did the miracle have to take place with the
lighting of the Menorah?
Unlike the Jews of many other eras, the Jews in the time of Chanukah
were not physically threatened. Chanukah was unique in that the threat was one
of spiritual and moral extinction. The Syrian-Greeks, and their Hellenized
Jewish cohorts, wanted the Jews to abandon their religion and assimilate into
the mainstream of Greek civilization. While Greek culture, in its science,
art, and philosophy, demonstrated much of the physical and intellectual beauty
of nature and the world, it viewed nature and the world as ends unto them-
selves. Rather than looking at man as being created in the image of G-d, it
worshipped anthropomorphic deities that were only reflections of man himself.
A picture of a world operating solely in accord with mechanistic laws was
offended by the entire concept of a Torah given by G-d. The idea that man and
his world must be in harmony with a higher set of morals and values was one
that the Hellenists would not tolerate.
After emerging from battle victorious, the Maccabees were eager to
light the Menorah. Light in general is a universal symbol of knowledge and
understanding. By lighting the Temple Menorah, the Maccabees wished to reaffirm
the centrality of G-d's word, as expressed by the Torah, to all human
endeavors. Quite central to the Hellenistic argument was a denial of the
possibility of a miracle, with its implication of a non-material G-d revealing
Himself by intervening in nature. It was therefore appropriate that a miracle
occur in the lighting of the Menorah, the expression of the need for G-dly
illumination of our actions.
The two miracles therefore form complementary parts of one whole. One
could look at the military victory as an ostensibly natural event, much like
many other military "upsets" throughout history. One could attribute the
victory to clever strategy on one side, miscalculations on the other side, with
a hefty dose of "luck" mixed into the middle, and deny any supernatural
component in it. But the clearly miraculous burning of the oil reveals G-d's
guiding presence even in the supposedly "natural" occurrences that we see.
Miracle and nature are not two contradictory concepts, they are merely
different manifestations of the same principle. G-d's hand, so often hidden
in the daily wonders we call nature simply because we are so used to seeing
them, is the same hand that produces miracles-both of a material sort and
those in which man plays a key part.
The answer to our original question is clear. Chanukah is extremely
relevant to us. It emphasizes G-d's presence in our normal, everyday world,
that "nature, too, is miraculous". Rather than being the secularizing forces
they are traditionally considered, the sciences, mathematics, and the arts can,
to the properly trained eye, provide man with as spectacularly breathtaking
a view, and as intimate an encounter with G-d, as all the razzle dazzle and
fire and brimstonethat one could imagine, if not more. Chanukah stresses the
overriding importance of the laws and values of the Torah to everything we can
hope to accomplish in our civilization. The word Chanukah means a dedication.
On Chanukah, the Maccabees rededicated themselves to the study and practice of
the values of the Torah and its commandments. So can we.
| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 53.1 | | ALPHA::BLOOMBERG | | Fri Dec 06 1985 12:42 | 10 |
| re -1
I am familiar with the story of the Maccabees, but one question that
has always puzzled me was: Where did the Eight days come from.
I've read 2 Maccabees story about the rebuilding of the temple and
could not find any mention that the flask of oil burned for 8 days.
Thanks
Neil
|
| 53.2 | | TAV02::CHAIM | | Sun Dec 08 1985 04:41 | 31 |
| Re: .0
Your question as to why such significance was given to lighting the Menorah
in the Mikdash is very good. In fact almost all the commentaries are bothered
by the same question. amongst the many answers posed one that I particularly
like is as follows:
According to the Talmud the Menorah had a very unique quality in that it not
only lit up the Mikdash, but it gave light to the whole of Jerusalem. As you
mentioned the Greeks had no intention of physically annihilating the Jewish
people, but rather of stripping them of their religious values. When the
Maccabee's defeated the Greeks they looked for some way of 1 - personifying this
fact and 2 - letting the people know that indeed they were victorious. By
lighting the Menorah the light to Jerusalem was returned and both aims were
accomplished. In fact it is to be noted that the Menorah was lit in the
courtyard as opposed to inside where it was usually lit. This intensified the
light.
Re: .1
The main sources of information regarding the miracle of the Oil are:
1 - Tractate Shabbat of the Babylonian Talmud (page 22-24)
2 - Sefer Hachashmonaim (The Book of the Chashmonaim)
3 - Megilat Setarim (The book of the Mystical).
Cb.
|
| 53.3 | | GRAMPS::LISS | | Mon Dec 09 1985 12:39 | 31 |
| Last night our shul celebrated the second day of Chanuka
publicly in Newton Sq. (Worcester). The high point of the
ceremony was when our Rabbi lit two of the torches on our
communities new menorah. He was raised in a bucket supplied by
the Worcester Fire Department. Afterward, we danced around the
square to guitar and fiddle music. This was followed by a
dinner and celebration back at the shul.
Just some odds and ends I picked up last night. As a child I
always received Chanuka geldt. Now, as an adult I always give
it to my children. For the first time I heard the tradition
behind it. With the many pogroms over the centuries the people
of the nations have always tried to confiscate or possessions
and keep us from practicing our religion. The coins represent
our spiritual as well as material heritage and shows that we
will always have a legacy to pass on to our children.
The message from the Luboviche Rebbe this Chanuka is that on
the first night of Chanuka one light is required. On the
second night two lights are required and so on up to the last
night when eight lights are required. This is symbolic of the
mitzvot that we, as Jews, grow spiritually. But, as we grow
more is required of us.
re .1
The reference to the the two books of machabees is
inappropriate. These books are not as part of the Torah and
have no bearing on Jewish thought.
|
| 53.4 | | DEREP::GOLDSTEIN | | Mon Dec 09 1985 13:28 | 8 |
| Re .1, While this may seem revisionist (i.e., I got it from a Reform rabbi,
so some of the Orthodoxy may object), the 8 days of Hanuka may come
from the fact that other seasonal festivals (Pesach, Succot) are eight
days long, so why shouldn't Hanuka be 8 days long? Holidays come in two
sizes, one and eight day.
It's more complicated than that, I'm sure, but the point is that you
don't find 6-day or 11-day holidays either.
|
| 53.5 | | ALPHA::BLOOMBERG | | Mon Dec 09 1985 15:08 | 11 |
| re .-1
It may be true to some expent that some holidays come in either one
or eight days. But don't forget that a lot of events happen with
the number 7 and multiples of 7. ie you rest on the seventh day,
At the 7th year you rest the land and do not plant. I think the number
7 occurs more time than 8 or 1 in the Torah. Well so much for tangents.
A number 7 fan.
Neil
|
| 53.6 | | TAV02::CHAIM | | Tue Dec 10 1985 01:19 | 14 |
| Re: -1
According to many many commentaries the numbers 7 and 8 each have special
meaning. The number 7 generally signifies things that are within the realm
of the natural, while the number 8 usualli signifies things that are in the
realm of the super-natural.
Of course what is natural and what is super-natural is not a trivial matter
and each area requires individual analysis.
Anyone really interested can look in the writings of the Maharl Me'Prague
or Rav Yitchak Hutner (Pahad Yitchak) for a more in depth discussion of this.
Cb.
|
| 53.7 | | GRAMPS::LISS | | Tue Dec 10 1985 15:51 | 17 |
| re -.1
Speaking of numbers in the Torah...
To do something three times is to do it enough times. Some
bruchos or phrases of bruchos are repeated three times. To do
something 3X3 or 9 times is to do it more than enough or an
infinite number times. 40 years is considered a lifetime.
There are certain bodies of knowledge that one may not study
until they are over 40. To live for 40X3 or 120 years is to
live long enough. Have you ever heard the saying "May you live
to be 120"? I can not find any references to 40X9. Is there
some significance to those in bareshis who lived longer than
360 years.
Fred
|
| 53.8 | | BENSON::MAHLER | | Wed Dec 11 1985 10:20 | 5 |
| In addition, it is said that a person does not become your
enemy until you are mad at him for more than three days.
Michael
|
| 53.9 | | VAXUUM::DYER | | Tue Dec 17 1985 14:06 | 8 |
| Gee, this note has 8 replies!
. . . Oops! Oh well . . .
.-----.
/ o o \
\ \___/ /
`-----'
<_Jym_>
|
| 53.10 | 8 days a week.... | SEARS::WOLF | | Tue Sep 30 1986 11:29 | 11 |
| One other factor that might lead us to believe that most of these
holidays are ACTUALLY 7 and not eight is that most holidays have
an extra day tacked on in all places in the world EXCEPT Isreal.
As I understand it because of the international date line this allows
the US among others to celebrate a holiday on the same PHYSICAL
day as Isreal and then celebrate a holiday on the same CALENDER
day as Isreal (something like virtual/physical memory). I know this
goes for Rosh Hashana and Passover sedars......
/jeff
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