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Feast of Dedication - Chanukah
Chanukah
Biblical Month: Kislev
Secular Month: November/December
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!
Biblical Month: Kislev
Secular Month: November/December
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!
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The Heroines of Chanukah
Heroines of Chanukah
Rabbi Yehudah ben Shomeyr
Most people know about the Maccabeean victory over the Greco-Syrians and the miracle of the oil and the Menorah in the Temple. We all seem to know about the Heroes of Chanukah; but many people do not know about the Heroines of Chanukah found in the four books of the Maccabees and the Apocryphal book of Judith. The story of two women named Hannah and one named Judith. Ironically Judith is the feminine name for Judah, which is the name of the Hero of Chanukah “Judah Maccabee” AKA: the Hammer!
Let us begin with the first Hannah whom we shall call Hannah the Mother. Antiochus Epiphanies attempted to force this woman to renounce her Jewish faith and her God by enduring being an eye witness of each of her seven sons being tortured and killed. Each dying a brutally painful death with the utmost dignity and bravery, refusing to renounce their faith in Judaism and the God of Israel. The account of martyrdom rivals that of the modern day Foxes book of martyrs and such fortitude in the face of certain death gave the Jewish people the strength to fight and die as martyrs if necessary during the tyranny of the evil Antiochus Epiphanies.
The second Hannah, whom we will call, 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 your 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.
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 she and her handmaid was permitted to stay in the enemy camp and to come and go as please 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.
Rabbi Yehudah ben Shomeyr
Most people know about the Maccabeean victory over the Greco-Syrians and the miracle of the oil and the Menorah in the Temple. We all seem to know about the Heroes of Chanukah; but many people do not know about the Heroines of Chanukah found in the four books of the Maccabees and the Apocryphal book of Judith. The story of two women named Hannah and one named Judith. Ironically Judith is the feminine name for Judah, which is the name of the Hero of Chanukah “Judah Maccabee” AKA: the Hammer!
Let us begin with the first Hannah whom we shall call Hannah the Mother. Antiochus Epiphanies attempted to force this woman to renounce her Jewish faith and her God by enduring being an eye witness of each of her seven sons being tortured and killed. Each dying a brutally painful death with the utmost dignity and bravery, refusing to renounce their faith in Judaism and the God of Israel. The account of martyrdom rivals that of the modern day Foxes book of martyrs and such fortitude in the face of certain death gave the Jewish people the strength to fight and die as martyrs if necessary during the tyranny of the evil Antiochus Epiphanies.
The second Hannah, whom we will call, 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 your 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.
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 she and her handmaid was permitted to stay in the enemy camp and to come and go as please 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.