So, How About Hanukkah?

What are we commemorating?

When it comes to gathering for the holidays, I don’t need a reason. But, I’ll take it. Hanukkah is just sitting there waiting to be celebrated! I mean jelly donuts, chocolate candy, fried potato pancakes, what’s not to like?! But food isn’t the main reason for celebrating Hanukkah. There is a huge reason to celebrate! It has to do with freedom, survival and overcoming evil with good. Now that’s a reason to celebrate.

I love the Memorial Day barbecue that kicks off the summer season. I love the hot dogs, parades and fireworks on the 4th of July. Pass the turkey and the pumpkin pie. I’m grateful for surviving another year. I look forward to Christmas dinner, but the winter feast of Hanukkah is like wrapping up Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, VE Day and VJ Day and the September 11 Memorial all in one. The food just puts this it over the top.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

The Declaration of Independence – 1776

Where Did it Begin?

Attempting to annihilate the Jews didn’t start with WWII and Hitler. They have been on the enemy’s hit list for millennia. Defeating the armies that have marched against them hasn’t been easy. But that miracle keeps happening over and over. The Jewish people continue. The mad-men behind the attacks get dealt with one way or another. It’s a miracle worth celebrating.

Living on the north side of Chicago, I met a number of people who somehow survived the concentration camps established in WWII. What happened at the command of Hitler was a horrific atrocity. History isn’t always pretty. We don’t want to remember. But we need to. Like 9/11, there are horrible acts of violence that should never be forgotten. It’s one reason I choose to celebrate Hanukkah.

A Miracle Changes the Outcome

I didn’t learn about WWII from a history class in school. I learned about it from people who told and retold their personal stories. When someone survives the horror of war, it’s the last thing they want to talk about it. But it is vital that they do. We need to hear the stories, their stories. We need to know there is hope. Hope and faith are often the product of hearing the stories of triumph out of great adversity.

The cruelties instituted by Hitler during WWII, was not unlike the long line of atrocities brought against the Jews by deranged dictators hell bent on enslaving and annihilating them. Haman, the infamous antagonist in the story of Esther, circa 485 – 465 B.C.E. is one. The miracle of that story came through a Hebrew orphan girl who somehow became Queen. [see the book of Ester] The miracle of the survival of the Jewish people was initiated by the intervention of Esther and her uncle. It changed the course of history and ensured the survival of the Jewish people. The celebration of Purim commemorates that event. They fought for their right to exist! They won! Purim is a joyous celebration.

The Hanukkah story comes from a similar event which took place in Judea in the second century B.C.E. It is the retelling of the events surrounding another mad-man hell-bent on enslaving the Jews, Antiochus Epiphanes IV. But hang on, we’ll get to that in a minute. First, let me bring this closer to home.

Stories from Grandpa

I heard my grandfather’s recollections of why, at the age of 30, although married with a child, he enlisted to fight in WWII. “He was a mad man, bent on enslaving the world. He had to be stopped. It wouldn’t have ended with the Jews. That was just the beginning. He wanted to enslave the world.” That is the way Grandpa described Hitler and his Natzis.

Grandpa told his miracle story about how God watched over him throughout his days on the battlefield in France during the war. There were similar miraculous accounts told by others soldiers. God’s intervention. God’s miraculous involvement in the affairs of man. It still gives me chills and instills hope just to think about it.

Hollywood romanticized the war. War was so awful that the world wanted to wipe away the horror of it. I get it. In order to heal from the trauma we need to get back to celebrating life. Otherwise the madman wins. At the same time, we need to remember. In our remembrance, we need to recall what God did in the midst of it. We need to recount the miracles and why they were needed.

My mom’s influence

Deuteronomy 6.7 ~ You shall teach them diligently to your children [impressing God’s precepts on their minds and penetrating their hearts with His truths] and shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up.

I heard the stories my whole life, anytime mom and grandpa would start talking they would shift into remembering. All it took was a cup of coffee and something to dunk. But what does this have to do with Hanukkah? More than you might imagine.

Mom was born in 1940. She lived with her grandmother while her father went off to war in 1944. She was old enough to have memories that she shared. She heard the horror stories first hand. She knew how the war had impacted the lives of everyone around her. That impact didn’t end in 1945. The impact of the war left a life long imprint on my mom. She honored veterans. She had a love for the Jewish people. She would say, “You can’t say you love God and not love the Jewish people.”

1 John 4.20 ~ If someone says, “I love God,” and yet he hates his brother or sister, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

My mom is the real reason I purposefully celebrate Hanukkah. Hanukkah and Purim are similar to why we observe Memorial Day and Veterans Day. For those who fought for our freedom, for those who gave their lives, for those who continue to fight on behalf of our country. To me Hanukkah is celebrating the miracle that ended a horrible war and honoring those who fought with dedication to overcome evil with good.

Grandpa and his companions celebrated with drinking and dancing for years after the war was won. The country celebrated with parades. Hollywood celebrated by making films. Some families celebrated by honoring their dead and dedicating themselves to a life of service to their country.

My American Heritage

My family first came to Virginia around 1750. Ever since our arrival on these shores, we have had family members who served in the armed forces. We had ancestors who fought during both the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War. My Dad’s father and my mother’s grandfathers fought in WWI. My grandfather and my dad’s older brothers served in WWII. My dad served during the Koren War. My husband served in Vietnam. My brother served during post war peace time in the 1970’s. I have cousins who served.

I am proud of my family’s service. We didn’t emerge unscathed. I hurt for the ones that were traumatized as a result of their service. My late husband suffered his whole adult life, from PTSD with flashbacks and nightmares after he was drafted and sent to Vietnam at the age of 19. My cousin’s son stepped in front of a moving train, after years of struggling with PTSD, after serving two tours in Iraq. My family is familiar with both the trauma and the miracles. Their service, their sacrifice, their lives contribute to why celebrating Hanukkah is important to me.

War has casualties. I am not minimizing that. I am not suggesting that we play games to ease the pain. We mourn our losses. We honor our dead by remembering what they fought for, the freedom they believed in.

Freedom for all, is how I choose to live. I love being an American because of our stand for freedom. We fight for the sake of freedom, for the right to live life, for the right to enjoy and celebrate it.

Celebrating Hanukkah reminds me that these wars were not only fought and won for the sake of one people group, but for the right to worship, for the right to be free. Hanukkah commemorates a war for freedom. Hanukkah celebrates the winning of a war and a return to life beyond the trauma – a life free of servitude.

Think for a minute on what life would be like in our nation, if the Allied forces lost World War II. Let the thought sink in, if the attack on Pearl Harbor was just the beginning of an invasion of our nation, by a world power intent on enslaving our people and changing our culture, our very way of life. We would no longer be a free nation. But we are! That’s a miracle! That is something to celebrate!

That same kind of tyranny is what the Jewish people were threatened with when Antiochus Epiphanes IV came to power. Hanukkah relays a story of a war against a fierce world power intent on enslaving the world attempting to create a one world order. As a nation we have a history of standing with others against such enslavement.

Celebrating something that wasn’t fun and games with fun and games!

How do I celebrate?

Mom passed away in 2013. In more ways than one, she left her mark on our family. One indelible mark she left wasn’t just her love for the story about Hanukkah, but her childlike excitement in recounting the tale. Mom did her best to make every holiday fun. She came up with all sorts of creative and entertaining ways to convey a message. She loved using the jelly bean game to share the story of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection.

She made homemade sufganiyot, that’s the Jewish version of a jelly donut. Mom’s jelly donuts were awesome. Almost as good as the empty tomb buns she made for Passover. The memory of which brings me back to the look on her face as she talked about the Seleucid Army and the triumph of the tiny rebel forces led by the Maccabees. It’s kind of like the glow my sister gets when she recounts when she and I went to see the premier of Star Wars IV in May of 1977.

I love games. I love to enjoy it. I don’t play to win. I play to play. So, I make sure I have Hamantaschen for Purim and jelly donuts and chocolate candy for Hanukkah. Hamantaschen are cookies similar to Polish Kolachkes or an Austrian Linzer. They are cookies with jelly in the middle.

This year we have invited some friends and family to join us for dinner and dreidel on Sunday evening. It also happens to be my sister’s birthday. (another reason for a party). We aren’t using chocolate coins though. My son, has requested we use golden wrapped Ferrero Rocher instead. I am eager to comply.

I’m not sure if jelly donuts will be on the menu, but I am trying to come up with some kind of golden oil looking beverage. We may have to settle for ginger ale or creme soda. I’m still thinking on that one. We may also opt for butterscotch syrup on vanilla ice cream. The menu is a work in process.

But one thing we will do, at some point, is read the story of Hanukkah, from a children’s book. We will have a few in attendance who aren’t familiar with the Bible, much less the apocryphal books. Besides, I like the pictures. In a household of adults it is easy to get serious about life. Reading the story from a children’s book is fun. It reminds us to hold onto a childlike faith. Something else I got from Grandpa.

His fierce dedication to family and life, he spent his life looking for ways to have fun. It almost always included cookies, ice cream and singing. He played the harmonica and would gather all the kids in the family for a sing along. He didn’t need a holiday. He just needed someone to join in. That was usually the kids. It was always loud. Everyone was laughing. Laughing is good medicine. Kids remind us of our own youth. They remind us of our reason for fighting for freedom.

So, What is Hanukkah?

Hanukkah (Chanukah) is the Jewish eight-day, Festival of Lights. It is celebrated by lighting a nine candled menorah (hanukkiyah). Typically, after the lighting of one additional candle each night, the evening events include special prayers and fried foods and playing the dreidel.

Greek king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who ruled the Seleucid Empire, enacted a number of laws which outlawed Jewish practices. The Greek-Syrian armies under his command, brutally enforced these laws. This forced the Jews to take their Torah reading underground. Dreidels, at the time were used for gambling, much like rolling dice. About to be discovered by the soldiers, they would pull out their dreidels and pretend to be “shooting craps”, in a sense.

At some point the dreidel was turned into a fun game played during the eight day festival. Each side of the dreidel has a different Hebrew letter: nun, gimel, hei and shin. Together, these four letters form the acronym for “Nes Gadol Hayah Sham,” which means “a great miracle happened there,” Depending on which letter the dreidel lands, it tells the player how many chocolate coins to put in, or take out, of the pot.

The Miracle

The Hebrew word Hanukkah means “dedication,” and is thus named because it celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple.

In the second century BCE, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who tried to force the people of Israel to accept Greek culture and beliefs instead of being Torah observance and believing in One God. Like Gideon’s army, a small band of poorly armed Jews defeated one of the mightiest armies in the world at that time. Led by Judah the Maccabee (the Hammer) the Seleucids were defeated, but not before the Holy Temple had been desecrated by slaughtering a pig on the altar.

After a series of battles the war was won and the Maccabees returned to Jerusalem to emancipate it. Upon entering the Temple they disposed of the idols placed there by the Syrians. Judah and his followers built a new Temple altar. This new altar was dedicated on the twenty-fifth of the month of Kislev, in the Hebraic year 3622 (139 B.C.E.).

When the priest looked for oil to light the Menorah (a seven-branched candelabra), they found only one single cruse of olive oil that hadn’t been desecrated by the Greeks. According to the Talmud, miraculously, the one-day supply of oil lasted for eight days, the time it would take to consecrate new oil fit for use in the Holy Temple.

Hanukkah is celebrated with lighting a menorah one candle for each of the eight nights the miracle oil burned.

Whether we believe in the story of the miracle oil or not Hanukkah celebrates the miraculous victory of the tiny Jewish army against one of the strongest world forces on the earth. For all practical reason, they never should have one. But they did. It is a historic event that actually took place. They believed they had the right to live and worship as they saw fit. They fought for that right. They fought to worship! They fought to live according to their beliefs! In my mind, that’s worthy cause.

Gal. 5.1 Christ has freed us so that we may enjoy the benefits of freedom. Therefore, be firm [in this freedom], and don’t become slaves again.

MANY BLESSINGS AND HAPPY HANUKKAH

Learn more about the Story of Hanuakkah on the Hasidiq site Chabad.org

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