The holiday of Hanukkah, more than 2,000 years old, still shines as brightly today as it did in 165 B.C.
Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the holy temple in Jerusalem to the Jewish people.
“It?s a celebration because it assured religious freedom in that period,” said Mark Loeb, senior rabbi at the Beth El Congregation of Baltimore.
In 175 B.C., Antiochus IV ascended to the Seleucid throne of Syria and the Jewish people were forced to abandon their faith.
“Essentially [Antiochus IV] forbade the practice of Judaism and the holy temple was defiled; idolatry was brought in,” said Rabbi Amos Levi, of the Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore. “A revolt ensued, led by Mattathias, who was the son of Yochanan, the high priest in the temple at the time.”
Mattathias and his sons, the most well-known being Judah the Maccabee, led the battle that defeated the Greek armies. Once the holy temple was regained by the Jews, they discovered they only had enough holy oil to light their menorah for one day.
“They found one small cruise of oil. It was only enough to burn for one day, but miraculously burned for eight days, which was enough time to produce more holy oil,” Levi said. “Since then, [ Jews] have been lighting menorahs for the eight days of the festival.”
“[The major tradition] is the lighting of the candles in a public place to make the miracle of Hanukkah known,” Loeb said. The menorah, which holds nine candles today, includes an extra candle called the shamash, which assures the candle-lighting is only used for publicizing the miracle of Hanukkah.
There are some misconceptions about the holiday, including the meaning of the word “Hanukkah.”
“The word Hanukkah means ?dedication,? not ?festival of lights,? like most think,” Levi said.
Gift-giving for Hanukkah is not a traditional part of the holiday, but has become more accepted. However, observant and Orthodox Jews normally frown upon the change.
“It used to be, you get maybe a little gelt, or money, for children,” Loeb said. “But now it?s become more of a gift-giving thing.”
“We are a product of the environment that we live in,” Levi said. “America is predominantly Christian. We are a tiny minority within the country. When all around you, children are receiving lots of gifts, many people kind of join the bandwagon.”
