Ever since I was a child mummies and skeletons have always fascinated me. Well, what little boy doesn’t like bones and mummies!? Though I am a Rabbi and not a Mortician or Medical Examiner, I am still fascinated with human remains. It’s the first place I look for at museums. There is something awe-inspiring to gaze upon the remains of a real person who lived hundreds or thousands of years before you and they are still here.
 
Possibly one of the most famous Jewish mummies, besides Jacob who was mummified by the Egyptians (Gen. 50), was Joseph.
 
The following is the account of Joseph’s bones according to Scriptural and extra-Scriptural texts:
 
Gen. 50:24-26 (KJV)And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
Jasher 59:21-28 And when the days of Joseph drew nigh that he should die, he sent and called for his brethren and all his father's household, and they all came together and sat before him.  And Joseph said unto his brethren and unto the whole of his father's household, Behold I die, and God will surely visit you and bring you up from this land to the land which he swore to your fathers to give unto them.  And it shall be when God shall visit you to bring you up from here to the land of your fathers, then bring up my bones with you from here.  And Joseph made the sons of Israel to swear for their seed after them, saying, God will surely visit you and you shall bring up my bones with you from here.  And it came to pass after this that Joseph died in that year, the seventy-first year of the Israelites going down to Egypt.  And Joseph was one hundred and ten years old when he died in the land of Egypt, and all his brethren and all his servants rose up and they embalmed Joseph, as was their custom, and his brethren and all Egypt mourned over him for seventy days.  And they put Joseph in a coffin filled with spices and all sorts of perfume, and they buried him by the side of the river, that is Sihor, and his sons and all his brethren, and the whole of his father's household made a seven day's mourning for him.  And it came to pass after the death of Joseph, all the Egyptians began in those days to rule over the children of Israel, and Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who reigned in his father's stead, took all the laws of Egypt and conducted the whole government of Egypt under his counsel, and he reigned securely over his people.
 
Exodus 13:19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.
 
Jasher 80:62-63 And Moses hastened and rose up and went to the river of Egypt, and brought up from thence the coffin of Joseph and took it with him.  The children of Israel also brought up, each man his father's coffin with him, and each man the coffins of his tribe.
 
Testament of Joseph 2:80-84 But ye shall carry up my bones with you; for when my bones are being taken up thither, the Lord shall be with you in light, and Beliar shall be in darkness with the Egyptians. And carry ye up Asenath your mother to the Hippodrome, and near Rachel your mother bury her. And when he had said these things he stretched out his feet, and died at a good old age. And all Israel mourned for him, and all Egypt, with a great mourning. And when the children of Israel went out of Egypt, they took with them the bones of Joseph, and they buried him in Hebron with his fathers, and the years of his life were one hundred and ten years.
Hebrews 11:22 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
 
Now here is what the Torah says in regards to the effect of human remains:
 
 
Numbers 19:16-19 And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel: And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave: And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.
Leviticus 21:1-3 And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people: But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother. And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.
 
“Become a dreamer like me. Come here to gather up my bones. Carry them like compass of vision through the long years in the desert.” – Judith Schmidt, “Joseph’s Bones”
 
 
The Talmud Tractate Sotah says that when Moses came to retrieve Joseph’s Bones and Moses declared unto them that it was time to journey to the Promised Land, that the coffin Joseph lay in shook!
 
 
Like a divining rod pointing to water, Joseph, the last vestige and direct link to the Patriarchs and the Patriarchal promise ADONAI gave to them, being the possession of the Promised Land. Joseph’s bones are portrayed in the modern Midrash mentioned above by Judith Schmidt. Joseph’s bones is like a compass, an ancient GPS navigational tool that always pointed the way to the Promised Land that the Children of Israel was destine to possess.
 
 
It says Moses took the bones, meaning most likely that his house, his kin, his clan, the Kohathites of the Tribe of Levi, whose responsibility it was to care for and bear the most holy sacred Ark of the Covenant along with the other holy pieces of furniture, also carried Joseph’s bones.
 
 
Numbers 19:16-19 And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel: And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave: And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.
 
Little is known about those who carried Joseph’s bones because little information is presented in the Biblical narrative and so we must extrapolate such conclusions by other information available to us, such as the extra-biblical and rabbinical texts as well as taking into consideration various laws, customs and traditions of the Jewish people.
 
 
Seeing as those who most likely carried the Ark were the Levitical Kohathites, such a responsibility would be seen as a blessing and a burden. A blessing in that it must have been considered such a privilege to carry the bones of the beloved Patriarch, but a burden in that it puts one in s state of ritual uncleanness which required particular days of sacrifices and washings to return one to a ritually pure state so as to be able to participate in the task imbued to the priests of the Tabernacle. This likely being the case, we can safely deduce that just as there was an established rotation of priestly service (Luke 1) that there too was likely a rotation among the Kohathites on who carried the Ark, Menorah, the Altars and finally Joseph’s bones so that all had the privilege to experience carrying the Patriarchs bones and becoming unclean for a most holy and noble reason. In Judaism it is considered a great mitzvah to care for the dead because it is a good deed in which the recipient cannot repay. Matter of fact, there are Jewish Burial Societies (Chevra Kadisha) dedicated to this holy task.
 
 
Leviticus 21:1-3 And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people: But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother. And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.
 
Legends of the Bible compiled by Louis Ginzberg says regarding the caretaking of Joseph’s bones:
 
 
“During the 40 years of wandering through the desert, the coffin was in the midst of Israel, as a reward for Joseph’s promise to his brethren, “I will nourish you and take care of you.” God had said, “As thou livest, for 40 years they will take care of thy bones.”
 
All this time in the desert Israel carried two shrines with them, the one the coffin containing the bones of the dead man Joseph, the other the Ark containing the Covenant of the Living God. The wayfarers who saw the two receptacles wondered and they would ask, “How doth the Ark of the dead come next to the Ark of the Ever-Living?” The answer was, “The dead man enshrined in the one fulfilled the commandments enshrined in the other.””
 
 
In the Talmud Tractate Sotah Joseph’s bones was like a protection against Ishmael and Esau’s kin who desired to fight Israel.
 
 
“They all came to wage war; but when they saw Joseph’s crown hanging upon Jacob’s coffin they all took their crowns and hung them upon Jacob’s coffin… 63 crowns were hung upon Jacob’s coffin.”
 
 
Upon further mussing one may wonder where was Joseph’s casket put when Israel stopped to set up camp? Legends of the Bible says it was put in the “midst” of Israel. What was in the midst of the camp? The Tabernacle. Could it be that within the center of camp surrounded by the Levitical clans they erected a special tent in which to rest Joseph’s bones?
 
 
Joseph’s bones were like an ancient seed with an ancient promise locked inside and when Israel finally made it to the Promised Land they buried him and then all Israel (Land and People) sprung to life.
 
 
Jill Hammer in her book, “The Jewish Book of Days” said:
 
 
“The story of Joseph bones… the descent into the grave and the rising to new life. Isaiah (66:14) states: “Your bones will flower like new grass.” Surely this verse must refer to Joseph.”
 
 
The journey of Joseph’s bones ends with Joshua.
 
Joshua 24:31-32 And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel. And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
 
What is recognized today as Joseph’s Tomb is located in Palestinian occupied West Bank city of Nablus.
 
 
“Some archeologists believe that the site is only a few centuries old and may contain the remains of a Muslim sheikh named Yossef….
 
When violent clashes between Israelis and Palestinians began in the West Bank in October 2000, six Palestinians and one Israeli were killed in fighting around the tomb. The Israeli army subsequently agreed to withdraw on October 7 and turn over control of the site to the Palestinian police, who were supposed to guard it. Instead, the Palestinian Police stood by as a mob ransacked the site, burned books and destroyed reading stands; the mob also burned down the army outpost. On that same day, an American-born rabbi, who taught at the seminary, was found slain outside Nablus.
The Mayor of Nablus, Ghassan Shakaa, said that the site would be repaired. Workers were seen fixing the damage, however, they were also painting the top of the dome green - the color of Islam. Workers say that they want to return the shrine to its former appearance before 1967, but news reports indicated the Palestinians were planning to build a mosque on the spot.
For Israelis, the destruction of a Jewish shrine raised serious doubts as to whether the Palestinian Authority would protect religious sites belonging to Jews and Christians and guarantee access to them. Israel guarantees access to all holy places under their control according to 1967 Law for the protection of the holy places.” -- http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/joetomb.html
 
The future of Joseph’s bones:
 
 
Hebrews 11:22 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.
 
 
According to the Psudopigraphal book, The Testament of Joseph, he prophecies of Israel’s enslavement and Exodus and has faith that his bones would one day rest in the Promised Land
 
 
I Thess. 4:16-18 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
I Cor. 15:20-22 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
 
One day upon Messiah ben Joseph’s return, Joseph’s coffin will shake again and those bones will rattle, connect and be robed in resurrected incorruptible flesh as in Ezekiel 37. They will be raised up to life forever more! So too is the future of all who die in the Torah obedient faith Messiah walked and taught.
 
In museums I gaze at mummies and bones of those who lived so long ago and wonder if I will see them alive again in the World to Come. I may not have seen Joseph’s bones, but I will see Joseph one day when Messiah returns!
 
“Chazak, Chazak V’nitchazek!”
“Be Strong! Be Strong! And let us be strengthened!”
Shabbat Shalom and Shavuah Tov!
-- Yehudah ben Shomeyr 

The Chanukah’s Throughout History
Yehudah ben Shomeyr (Kristopher Shoemaker)
 
And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. – John 10:22-23 (KJV)
 
Then came Hanukkah; it was winter in Jerusalem. Yeshua was walking in the Temple around Solomon’s Colonnade. – John 10:22-23 (TLV)
 
First off, I’ll tell you what Chanukah is not. IT IS NOT THE JEWISH CHRISTMAS. It has nothing to do with Christmas.
 
Chanukah is the Feast of Dedication commemorating the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem. The date for its observance has moved throughout the years.
 
SOLOMON’S CHANUKAH: MONTH OF CHESVAN (BUL)
 
I Kings 8, II Chron. 7 Documents the Dedication of the Temple Solomon built.
 
When King Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and burned up the sacrifices that had been offered, and the dazzling light of the Lord's presence filled the Temple. Because the Temple was full of the dazzling light, the priests could not enter it. When the people of Israel saw the fire fall from heaven and the light fill the Temple, they fell face downward on the pavement, worshiping God and praising him for his goodness and his eternal love. Then Solomon and all the people offered sacrifices to the Lord. He sacrificed 22,000 head of cattle and 120,000 sheep as fellowship offerings. And so he and all the people dedicated the Temple. The priests stood in the places that were assigned to them, and facing them stood the Levites, praising the Lord with the musical instruments that King David had provided and singing the hymn, “His Love Is Eternal!” as they had been commissioned by David. The priests blew trumpets while all the people stood. Solomon consecrated the central part of the courtyard, the area in front of the Temple, and then offered there the sacrifices burned whole, the grain offerings, and the fat from the fellowship offerings. He did this because the bronze altar which he had made was too small for all these offerings. Solomon and all the people of Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters for seven days. There was a huge crowd of people from as far away as Hamath Pass in the north and the Egyptian border in the south. They had spent seven days for the dedication of the altar and then seven more days for the festival. On the last day they had a closing celebration, and on the following day, the twenty-third day of the seventh month, Solomon sent the people home. They were happy about all the blessings that the Lord had given to his people Israel, to David, and to Solomon. – II Chron. 7:1-10 (GNT)
 
Chanukah is based on the Feast of the LORD called, the Feast of Tabernacles, or in the Hebrew, Sukkot.
 
 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein… Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. – Lev. 23:34-36, 39-43 (KJV)
 
The Book of Maccabees makes this connection clear.
 
 We are also told how the wise King Solomon offered a sacrifice of dedication at the completion of the Temple, and that when he prayed, fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifices, just as it had done earlier when Moses prayed. Moses had explained that the sin offering was consumed by fire because it was not eaten. Solomon celebrated the festival for eight days. – II Mac. 2:9-12 (GNT)
 
…celebrate in the month of Kislev a festival similar to the Festival of Shelters… On the twenty-fifth day of the month of Kislev we will celebrate the Festival of Rededication just as we celebrate the Festival of Shelters. We thought it important to remind you of this, so that you too may celebrate this festival. In this way you will remember how fire appeared when Nehemiah offered sacrifices after he had rebuilt the Temple and the altar.  – II Mac. 1:9,18 (GNT)
 
EZRA AND NEHEMIAH’S CHANUKAH: MONTH OF ADAR (3RD)
 
Ezra and Nehemiah were contemporaries of each other and spoke of the same events. Ezra and Nehemiah lead the people back from Babylonian Captivity and rebuilt the Wall of Jerusalem and its Temple and rededicated it during the celebration of Sukkot; Feast of Tabernacles (Neh. 8:13-18, Ezra 3:1-6, I Esdras 5:47-53, Ezra 6:13-18, I Esdras 7:1-9).
 
And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication (Chanukah) of this house of God with joy. – Ezra 6:16
 
 THE MACCABEAN CHANUKAH: THE MONTH OF KISLEV (25TH)
 
Maccabee means, “The Hammer.” They were the Hammer of God to punish the Greco-Syrian’s who had gone too far in subjugating God’s People.
 
You see, in the time of the Maccabees, The Greco-Syrians invaded and took over Israel and determined to wipe out the Faith of the Jewish people and make the Jews assimilate into pagan Greek culture.
 
The wicked ruler Antiochus Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus the Third of Syria, was a descendant of one of Alexander's generals. Antiochus Epiphanes had been a hostage in Rome before he became king of Syria in the year 137. At that time there appeared in the land of Israel a group of traitorous Jews who had no regard for the Law and who had a bad influence on many of our people. They said, Let's come to terms with the Gentiles, for our refusal to associate with them has brought us nothing but trouble. 12 This proposal appealed to many people, and some of them became so enthusiastic about it that they went to the king and received from him permission to follow Gentile customs. They built in Jerusalem a stadium like those in the Greek cities. They had surgery performed to hide their circumcision, abandoned the holy covenant, started associating with Gentiles, and did all sorts of other evil things. – I Macc. 1:10-14 (GNT)
 
This “surgery” was a painful process of stretching out the circumcised foreskin, so as to appear Greek, uncircumcised, because the sports in the stadium built was always preformed in the nude.
 
Antiochus Epiphanes (Epiphanes, meaning; God in the flesh) took over the Temple and attempted to force the High Priest Mattathias Maccabee to sacrifice a pig on the Temple Altar. He refused and He and his sons left the Temple and became a guerrilla terrorist group that lived out in the wilderness and caves; attacking the Greco-Syrian forces whenever they could.
 
Antiochus eventually erected a statue of Zeus with his face on it in the Temple. The Faithful Jews called it The Abomination of Desolation (Dan. 11:31, 12:11) Antiochus was the Anti-Christ of his time!
 
Antiochus outlawed Judaism and began persecuting and killing Jews who were caught practicing their faith.
 
Antiochus now issued a decree that all nations in his empire should abandon their own customs and become one people. All the Gentiles and even many of the Israelites submitted to this decree. They adopted the official pagan religion, offered sacrifices to idols, and no longer observed the Sabbath. The king also sent messengers with a decree to Jerusalem and all the towns of Judea, ordering the people to follow customs that were foreign to the country. He ordered them not to offer burnt offerings, grain offerings, or wine offerings in the Temple, and commanded them to treat Sabbaths and festivals as ordinary work days. They were even ordered to defile the Temple and the holy things in it. They were commanded to build pagan altars, temples, and shrines, and to sacrifice pigs and other unclean animals there. They were forbidden to circumcise their sons and were required to make themselves ritually unclean in every way they could, so that they would forget the Law which the Lord had given through Moses and would disobey all its commands. The penalty for disobeying the king's decree was death. The king not only issued the same decree throughout his whole empire, but he also appointed officials to supervise the people and commanded each town in Judea to offer pagan sacrifices. Many of the Jews were ready to forsake the Law and to obey these officials. They defiled the land with their evil, and their conduct forced all true Israelites to hide wherever they could. On the fifteenth day of the month of Kislev in the year 145, King Antiochus set up The Awful Horror (Abomination of Desolation) on the altar of the Temple, and pagan altars were built in the towns throughout Judea. Pagan sacrifices were offered in front of houses and in the streets. Any books of the Law which were found were torn up and burned, and anyone who was caught with a copy of the sacred books or who obeyed the Law was put to death by order of the king. Month after month these wicked people used their power against the Israelites caught in the towns. On the twenty-fifth of the month, these same evil people offered sacrifices on the pagan altar erected on top of the altar in the Temple. Mothers who had allowed their babies to be circumcised were put to death in accordance with the king's decree. Their babies were hung around their necks, and their families and those who had circumcised them were put to death. But many people in Israel firmly resisted the king's decree and refused to eat food that was ritually unclean. They preferred to die rather than break the holy covenant and eat unclean food—and many did die. In his anger God made Israel suffer terribly. – I Macc. 1:41-64 (GNT)
 
Eventually the rag-tag band of Levitical Warriors defeated Antiochus and his army and retook the Temple.
 
Then Judah, his brothers, and the entire community of Israel decreed that the rededication of the altar should be celebrated with a festival of joy and gladness at the same time each year, beginning on the twenty-fifth of the month of Kislev and lasting for eight days. -  I Mac. 4:59 (GNT)
 
Everyone agreed that the entire Jewish nation should celebrate this festival each year. – II Mac. 10:8 (GNT)
 
I Maccabees 4:52-59 and II Maccabees 10:1-8 it recounts the reason we celebrate Chanukah today.  After Judah (Mattathias’ son) Maccabee recaptures the 2nd Temple and began to cleanse it and restore the service of it, they were about to light the Holy Menorah when they discovered they only had enough oil for it to stay lit for one day.  It took 8 days to produce more, but they lit it anyway and a miracle occurred, the Menorah stayed lit a whole 8 days until more was made!
 
“When the Greeks entered the Temple, they defiled the oil there. When the Hasmonean (Maccabee) clan defeated the Greeks, they searched and found only one cruse of oil that still retained the seal of the High Priest. There was only enough oil for one day’s lighting. A miracle happened, and they kindled the lamps for eight days from that cruse of oil. The next year, they declared those days festival days to be celebrated with praise and thanksgiving.” – Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 21b
 
THE HERONINES OF CHANUKAH
 
There are some Heroines of Chanukah too. Two women named Hannah; Mother Hannah and Hannah the Bride, and a beautiful woman named Judith.
 
MOTHER HANNAH
 
Mother Hannah had seven sons. Hannah and her sons were arrested by Antiochus and were forced renounce their Jewish Faith and to eat swine’s flesh. Each one bravely refused and was slowly and brutally tortured and killed before Hannah’s eyes. She encouraged each of her sons to die bravely, knowing they would be together in the next life and their bodies restored in the resurrection (2 Macc. 7).
 
HANNAH THE BRIDE
 
Hannah the Bride was a woman of shock and awe. She was to marry Elazar, which was Judah Maccabees brother and wore nothing but her birthday suit to the wedding; obviously offending and shocking everyone! The shocked and blushing Jewish community said, “What are you doing!?” Hannah replied, “I’m making a point! If you’re shocked and offended to see me naked, you should be shocked even more by Antiochus and his antics to decimate our people! Do I embarrass you by my nudity? You should be more embarrassed by Antiochus’ attempt to strip our people bare of their faith and traditions!” Hannah’s point was made and taken and it inspired Israel to take up arms against Antiochus and his army. As a result they won their first encounter and engagement against the Greco-Syrians (Based on a Jewish Legend).
 
 
JUDITH THE WIDOW
 
Judith on the other hand was a widow. A gorgeous widow! Like the Hadassah (Esther) of her day. One day she and her handmaid went to Holophernes, Nebuchadnezzar’s general who cut off the city of Bethulia’s water supply, and acted like they defected to the enemy’s side stating that they believed God was going to give Israel over into their hands because of Israel’s gross sin and disobedience against the Torah. Her good looks and smooth talk won Holophernes over and her and her handmaid was permitted to stay in the enemy’s camp and to come and go as they pleased in order to pray and to obtain kosher food for themselves.
 
Holophernes was smitten with Judith’s beauty and impressed by her wisdom that he invited her to his tent for dinner. This was Judith’s chance to make her move. She fed Holophernes salty cheese which made him thirsty and so Judith got Holophernes drunk on wine until he passed out. Once she knew he was out like a light, she cut off his head with his own sword and carried it out in the bag that she normally carried her kosher food in so as not to raise suspicions. By the time the enemy army discovered the body of their headless general Judith and her handmaid was presenting the head of General Holophernes to the elders of Bethulia. The enemy army retreated and Bethulia was saved. Judith’s bravery and cunning renewed the fighting spirit of the Jewish People to continue their conflict against the evil and assimilation (The Book of Judith).
 
WHAT CHANUKAH IS ALL ABOUT
 
Chanukah, meaning “Dedication,” makes the entire holiday about on a literal level about the Dedication of the Jerusalem Temple in Israel to God. But on a Spiritual level is about Dedicating oneself to God; for are we not the Temple of God?
 
Yeshua Himself declared His Body to a Temple in John 2:21. If we are to be like Messiah, then we too are Temples as Rav Shaul (the Apostle Paul) said.
 
Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Ruach ha-Kodesh (Holy Spirit) who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body. – I Cor. 6:19-20 (TLV)
 
Chanukah is a time to rededicate oneself to God, His Word and His Messiah! It is time to cease assimilating into the pagan culture around us, repent and return and rededicate ourselves to Him.
 
I urge you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy, acceptable to God—which is your spiritual service. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (rededication of your mind), so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. – Rom. 12:1-2 (TLV)
 
Chanukah is also called the Festival of Lights. We are to be like the Chanukah Menorah, called the Chanukiah, and be a Light to the World.
 
 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on a lampstand so it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men so they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” – Matt. 5:14-16 (TLV)
 
Then came Hanukkah; it was winter in Jerusalem. Yeshua was walking in the Temple around Solomon’s Colonnade. – John 10:22-23 (TLV)
 
So if it wasn’t for the Maccabees and Chanukah, we would not have this verse in our Bibles!
 
Yeshua Celebrated Chanukah and if you are His follower, you are more than welcome to do so too!

​The Biblical Basis for Celebrating Chanukah
By Yehudah ben Shomeyr
 
Chanukah, to the misconception of almost everyone, like the Feasts of the LORD in Leviticus 23, Chanukah is for every Believer in Yeshua the Messiah.
 
Chanukah has a long history, longer than many people may think.  The majority of the people believe Chanukah was established and instituted between the 400 year gap of the writing of the Tanak (O.T.) and the Renewed Covenant (N.T.), during the time of the Levitical family of the Maccabees, when they took back the Temple from the Greco-Syrian invaders and rededicated it and got it back up and running again.  People think that since it has no connection to canonical Scripture, it has no relevance or place in their lives.  They think it’s purely a “Jewish thing,” when in reality King Solomon instituted it, the Maccabees re-instituted it  and made it what it is today, and Yeshua the Messiah celebrated it, and will re-institute it again when the 3rd Temple is built! 
 
Chanukah is NOT the “Jewish Christmas;” it has NOTHING to do with Tammuz, Santa Clause, or the birth of Jesus.  The only commonalities between Christmas and Chanukah is that we exchange and give gifts, which is more of a modern institution in reactions to Christmas, and it steamed from the fact that Jews gave (Tzedekah) charity on Biblical and Jewish holidays.  Sometimes greenery is hung, not because of the reasons people do it for Christmas, but because the Maccabees used Chanukah to celebrate a late Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) which is a type of harvest festival in which greenery was hung as decoration.
 
In I Kings 8 and II Chronicles 7, it speaks of King Solomon fulfilling the life long dream of his father David and himself, of having built the Holy Temple of ADONAI.  It says the he “Chanukah-ed” it, dedicated it, and had a 7 day festival and ended it on the 8th day, hence 8 days of Chanukah, just as we have today.
 
In Ezra 6:16-17 it tells of the Babylonian exiles who have returned to Jerusalem and have built and “Chanukah-ed” the 2nd Temple.  Verse 16 says that “The children of the captivity kept the “Chanukah” of this house of GOD with joy.”
 
In I Maccabees 4:52-59 and II Maccabees 10:1-8 it recounts the reason we celebrate Chanukah today.  After Yehudah (Judah) Maccabee recaptures the 2nd Temple and began to cleanse it and restore the service of it, they were about to light the Holy Menorah when they discovered they only had enough oil for it to stay lit for one day.  It took 7 days to produce more, but they lit it anyway and a miracle occurred, the Menorah stayed lit a whole 7 days until more was made!
 
Apparently the dates for celebrating Chanukah have changed through out the ages.  A new date for each time the Temple was built and dedicated, or cleansed and rededicated.  But to this day we keep the days set forth by the Maccabees in I Maccabees 4:59 and II Maccabees 10:8 because that was the last rededication until the Messiah returns to build the 3rd Holy Temple.  Chanukah today commemorates the rededication of the Temple, the defeat of the Greco-Syrian invaders, affirms our Jewishness, and commemorates the miracle of the oil. 
 
Because of II Maccabees 10:8 commanding the Jewish people to keep the 25th day of the month of Kislev and the 7 days that follow, we see Yeshua in John 10:22-23 keeping Chanukah!  If Messiah celebrated Chanukah, that’s good enough for me!  I want to do it to, I want to be as much like my Messiah as I possibly can, I want to do what He did, and experience what He experienced.
 
So what does Chanukah mean for Believers in Messiah Yeshua?
 
As mentioned before, the Temple is important to the Messiah, and He kept the Festival of Chanukah there.  But on a Spiritual level WE are the Temples of GOD (I Cor. 3:16; 6:15-20; II Cor. 6:15-18; Eph. 2:18-22) and ever so often the invaders of Self and Sin desecrate that sacred place and we need to wage all out war, kick out the invaders, cleanse and rededicate ourselves back to GOD and His Torah.  This is exactly what we do at Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:26-32), so I like to think of Chanukah as Yom Kippur part two!
 
Jews!  Stand up and be counted.  Rededicate your self to GOD and His Torah.
 
Christians!  Toss out that Christmas tree (Jer. 10:3-4), and grab a Menorah!  The only “birthday” the Messiah celebrated at this time of the year wasn’t His own, but the Temples!  How could we not do likewise!?
 
 
Happy Chanukah!