Chanukkah

[stefen]

To the Jewish people, Chanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight day holiday celebrating the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem after it was defiled by the Seleucid Greeks. In fact, Chanukkah, is a lesser traditional holiday.

Gift-giving, typically, is not a traditional part of the holiday, however, it has been added in communities where Jews have contact with Christians, as a way of dealing with our children's jealousy of their Christian friends. In addition, it is unusual for Jews to give Chanukkah gifts to other than their own children or grandchildren. A traditional gift of the holiday is "gelt," small amounts of money.

There is no such thing as a Chanukkah Tree or holiday decorations similar to those of Christians. There are no lights. No bewiskered old men in red suits or little people crafting toys for little girls and boys. There are no Reindeers in the sky or shouting over rooftops.

Chanukkah, like Christmas, is not just the time of year to express best wishes. peace and goodwill towards our neighbors, this is something that should be practiced each day.

Lechiem. To life.

 

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[SomeGuy]

Is the story of Chanukkah told in the Bible?

 

[stefen]

Here is a synopsis:

The Story of Chanukkah


The story of Chanukkah begins in the reign of Alexander the Great. Alexander conquered Syria, Egypt and Palestine, but allowed the lands under his control to continue observing their own religions and retain a certain degree of autonomy. Under this relatively benevolent rule, many Jews assimilated much of Hellenistic culture, adopting the language, the customs and the dress of the Greeks, in much the same way that Jews in America today blend into the secular American society.

More than a century later, a successor of Alexander, Antiochus IV was in control of the region. He began to oppress the Jews severely, placing a Hellenistic priest in the Temple, massacring Jews, prohibiting the practice of the Jewish religion, and desecrating the Temple by requiring the sacrifice of pigs (a non-kosher animal) on the altar. Two groups opposed Antiochus: a basically nationalistic group led by Mattathias the Hasmonean and his son Judah Maccabee, and a religious traditionalist group known as the Chasidim, the forerunners of the Pharisees (no direct connection to the modern movement known as Chasidism). They joined forces in a revolt against both the assimilation of the Hellenistic Jews and oppression by the Selucid Greek government. The revolution succeeded and the Temple was rededicated.

According to tradition as recorded in the Talmud, at the time of the rededication, there was very little oil left that had not been defiled by the Greeks. Oil was needed for the menorah (candelabrum) in the Temple, which was supposed to burn throughout the night every night. There was only enough oil to burn for one day, yet miraculously, it burned for eight days, the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of oil for the menorah. An eight day festival was declared to commemorate this miracle. Note that the holiday commemorates the miracle of the oil, not the military victory: Jews do not glorify war.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

In the BIBLE? PROBABLY is in the JEWISH BIBLE... ever seen one? In Hebrew! So.. if it is NOT in the BIBLE... CARS! COMPUTERS! ELECRICITY! TV! RADIO! ETC.! ETC.!