Tonight is the first night of Chanuka. For those of you who follow the Gregorian calendar, you would say the holiday is arriving early. It won’t fall this ‘early’ again for some 80,000+ years. (Chanuka always falls on the 25th day of Kislev, though, in our calendar.)
For those of you who celebrate Christmas, you might recognize that number- 25. That date wasn’t chosen by accident by the first Christians. (It also explains why this is one of the few- the very few- holidays Christians celebrate on the “eve”- because it derives from the Jewish rule that a day is one evening and one morning….)
The holiday of Chanuka is NOT the same as Christmas. It is a minor Jewish holiday. There is no requirements to refrain from work, no do we say the “full Hallel”, either. (Hallel- ‘Praise’- are stated and sung to praise the Supreme Being on each holiday.)
Chanuka is the celebration of the revolt of the Maccabees against the Greeks- in particular, against a boorish king called Antiochus. And, the Great Temple was taken back in the actions started by Matisyahu, a Kohen (priest). Yehuda, his eldest son, was the warrior/leader who led the battles and adopted the name “Makabi”, which means “The Hammer”….
The name- ‘Cha-nu’ ‘KH’- means ‘dedication on the 25th’ or ‘dedication here’. That’s the way folks want to remember the event. Once the Great Temple was freed from the Greeks, it was cleaned, purified, and rededicated to the uses of the Supreme Being.
The story is that during their purification, they found only one cruse of oil; it took a week to prepare more pure oil. But, that didn’t matter to the Makabi- they would act now and see what happened… And, the menora (the ritual SEVEN branched candelabra) remained lit for eight days, until the new oil was ready. The lesson we draw from this is action is important- and there is no time like the present.
What is not normally discussed is that this holiday really celebrates not just the singular battle against the Greeks, but against the assimilators. Anyone who would not return to the fold was fair game. Not much different than the Tea Party trying to purge competing conservatives from the Republican party- except this purging involved swords and death…
But, nowadays, the Chanuka holiday serves to celebrate our religious freedom- our freedom to worship as we want. By lighting candles or oil lamps each night for eight nights. And, just like the Jews did when they were being released from Egypt (they put the blood of the animal [which was a god of the Egyptians, to boot] on their doorpost, making it clear to all within sight that they believed in the Supreme Being), our chanukiyas (with eight equal lights and one extra with which we light the others) are kept so the world outside can see the light. It’s another way we bring light to the world.
Our celebration includes giving small gifts to our children (and, nowadays, extended to our relatives) and lighting the candles, as listed above. Besides the ritual prayers for lighting the candles (three blessings are sung the first night, two the rest of the nights), there are two other prayers: Haneirot Halalu- ‘these precious lights’- and Maoz Tzur- ‘Rock of Ages’ (which, contrary to popular belief, has many stanzas!). I recall with fondness one of the other songs (He Struck the Traitor to the Earth- or “Matisyahu”) I learned as a child- and taught my children.
Feel free to NOT listen!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFFz8GEZ6Ws
Happy Chanuka to one and all- and Thanksgiving, to boot!
Chanukah Sameach! Thank you for being a constant light burning in a dark world, Roy! Love the singing 😉 I’ll be putting up a youtube soon as well…be grateful it won’t include singing my voice isn’t nearly as nice as yours!
lisa recently posted..Leeky Turtle by Lisa Brandel
To you, as well, Lisa…
May the energy from the lights invigorate your spirit- for more than 8 days…
I played your song for mum too…she loved it and appreciated it as well <3
Obviously, you and your mom have low standards for the aural arts. It’s a good thing they are elevated for the visual arts, or you’d be in deep financial trouble 🙂
This is a great explanation of Chanuka, Roy, thank you. I was trying to explain it to little Mack yesterday and wasn’t very clear about it . . . now I think I can do a better job. And I liked your solo.
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It’s not a great explanation- just one that fits 500 words or so, Amy :-)…
Glad to help you explain it. Just like our “revolutionaries” got a little zealous during Independence, and the French in 1787, India and Pakistan in 1948, and Egypt— oh, wait, almost all new countries. this phenomenon of “ethnic cleansing” is one that we need to find a way to cure…
Thanks for the comment- and for sitting through the solo..
Always educational, Roy. I am thankful for your enlightening posts.
Happy Chanuka & Thanksgiving!
P.S. I DID listen 🙂 Bravo!
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I’m thrilled you enjoyed the written section, Cathy! I’m especially honored at your choice of “enlightening” posts- was that meant as a pun?
And, a best holiday season to you, too.
Oh, and thanks for enjoying my “performance”
Fascinating! I did not know the details of Chanuka, so I’ve learned a bit today (I’ve also learned to set my speakers to medium!) 😉
Happy Chanuka!
Cheers, Gordon
The Great Gordino recently posted..Gettysburg – Addressing Your Personal Development!
It’s not that important a holiday, Gordon!
And, I burst out laughing reading your comment… It wasn’t that loud on my computers (which are set to max)- and I tested it on YouTube, as well.
(I did say to FEEL FREE to NOT listen 🙂 )
Thanks for the advice. I don’t normally post sound. I’ll be more diligent in the future.