Hanukkah is a unique holiday, because unlike Sukkot, Passover and Shavuot, it does not appear in the Torah, but is derived from a historical event that took place more than two thousand years ago. Hanukkah is a remembrance of a miracle that took place during the Hasmonean revolt, about 150 years BCE, after the Temple Hall was breached and its oils defiled by the Greeks. The Hasmoneans reconquered Jerusalem and resumed the work of the Temple, when in search of pure oil to use to light the Temple Menorah, they found a jug of oil sealed with the seal of a High Priest, but the amount of oil in it was only enough for one day. Following the miracle, the oil in the small jug lasted eight days, and so today we light candles for eight days – a reminder of that miracle.
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The Sages teach us to look at the holidays from a broad perspective, with reference to deep contexts and layers. Although there was a divine miracle worth celebrating, in fact, if we look at the war that took place at that time, we will discover that Hanukkah was a defining moment in which the true and deep identity of the Jewish people was revealed.
It is not for nothing that the Greeks defiled the oils of the temple. In contrast to Haman's decrees on Purim, where he sought to physically destroy the Jewish people, here the Greeks' goal was to defile mainly the souls of the Jewish people. They aimed at the spirit and soul of the Jews and sought to defile them through idolatry and worship of the material and material of the world.
The Maccabees-Hasmoneans were men of physical heroism, as well as a high spiritual stature. Even years after the miracle of Chanukah, they fought fiercely against the conquest of the Roman Titus, who plotted for Jerusalem and the Temple, but at the same time, they were devoted to shaping the stature and saving Jewish spirituality in those days.
A time to remember the spirit of the Jewish people. Lighting Hanukkah candles at Israel Hayom's "Fair of Light", photo: Coco
In other words, the Hasmonean revolt two thousand years ago was the war of light against the Sons of Darkness. The Jewish people stood up for their soul and the spiritual stature that had accompanied them since the dawn of history. A slight leaf through the books of ancient history is enough to reveal how many peoples and empires collapsed and became extinct from the world, while the Jewish people, not measured in large numbers, preserve themselves and carry on their glorious traditions and heritage from generation to generation.
In times like these, we can look back and see how in every generation there are attempts to harm the Jewish people by those who seek our evil. Both physically and in terms of the desire to subdue the living spirit within us. We must understand and remember our identity and guard against it. This is the guarantee that the eternity of Israel will not lie, that we are the eternal people, and in any case we are not afraid of a long road.
We all pray that when we all turn by the light of the holiday candles, we will remember how the Jews acted in those days and how great salvation came to them from the shameful situation in which they were present. So at this time, too, we will merit that the doors will be opened, and our abductees will return to the bosom of their families and to the bosom of our united people, and we will all merit a new and special light that will shine upon us, Amen.
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