(11.) The Hanukkah Menorah: Celebrating the Dedication with Lights

(11.) The Hanukkah Menorah: Celebrating the Dedication with Lights. 

“The most important thing about Chanukkah (Hanukkah) is the spiritual thing, not the military and political thing… Judaism and its culture of hope survived, and the Hanukkah lights are the symbol of that survival, of Judaism’s refusal to jettison its values for the glamour and prestige of a secular culture, then or now. A candle of hope may seem a small thing, but on it the very survival of a civilization may depend.”  (Rabbi Jonathon Sacks).

Hanukkah-At-A-Glance. This Hebrew word means dedication or consecration, and the Hanukkah holiday is a celebration of the miraculous triumph of a small group of Israelite rebels led by one faithful family, the Maccabees, over the most powerful military in the known world at that time. The Jewish freedom fighters in second century BC defeated the mighty Greco-Syrian forces, led by a power-crazed general by the name of Antiochus, who were attempting to force Greek culture and religion upon the vulnerable citizens in Jerusalem. For three long years, the Jews had no choice but to endure the most horrific persecution imaginable. But these Jewish Wars for religious freedom ended with the defeat of the enemy and the rededication of the holy Temple after the worst forms of desecration. Hanukkah has been called the Festival of Lights for two centuries as it celebrates this moral victory over evil, as well as light over darkness, freedom over oppression, faith over idolatry, and hope over despair. Through Hanukkah’s eight days of celebration, the Jews are again reminded of how, with God on their side, courage is able to triumph over cowardice.

“The Maccabees chased away the forces of darkness with swords, we do it with light.” (rabbinic saying).

Celebrate! Hanukkah is a happy holiday in Judaism lasting eight days and often called the Festival of Lights. In fact, this Hanukkah happiness is mandated, with fasting and mourning forbidden till the days of the holiday are completed. It is held every December by devout and faithful Jews who choose to joyfully remember that famous rededication of the Temple in 164 BC after a profound desecration. The Hanukkah story is historically grounded in the books of 1st and 2nd Maccabees. It’s interesting that these two books are not considered inspired in Judaism, but are nonetheless completely accepted as authoritative historical documents. Jewish families and worshippers celebrate those eight days of Hanukkah by the nightly lighting of the Menorah, giving gifts to friends and family, eating foods like doughnuts that are fried in oil, donating to charity, and offering many prayers and blessings. Also a major part of the celebration is singing songs of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, remembering the powerful words of faith shouted by Judah Maccabee in 1 Maccabees 3:18-22…  “As his faithful men with him saw the Syrian army coming to meet them, they said to Judah, ‘How will we, being few, be able to fight against such a powerful number? We who have come out today are weak from lack of food.’ Then Judah said, ‘It is easy to hem in many at the hands of the few, and it makes no difference before heaven to save with many or with few. For victory in battle does not come from the size of the army, but from the might of heaven. These come against us in the abundance of insolence and lawlessness, to seize us and our women and children, and to take spoils from us; but we are fighting for our lives and laws. God Himself will crush them from before our face; but as for you, do not fear because of them.” 

Lighting the Menorah for Hanukkah. Unlike the seven-branched menorah of the wilderness Tabernacle, the Hanukkah menorah has nine branches which serve as candleholders. Eight of those candles are in a row, while the ninth candleholder holds the crucial “servant candle.” This “helper” candle is placed at a different height on the menorah than the others to make it distinctive, and it is lit first and then used to light all the other candles in the menorah. Other aspects important to the ritual lighting of the menorah include:

1. The menorah is to be placed in full view of the public, whether in the home, synagogue, or outside in a public space. At home, the menorah needs to be in the doorway or in the window that is most visible to the public;
2. The menorah candles are progressively lit each night… the 1st candle on the first night, the 1st and 2nd candle on the 2nd night, and then add the 3rd candle the next night, etc. On the eighth night of Hanukkah, all eight candles are lit, all of them by the servant candle;
3. The menorah candles may be lit at sundown at the earliest, or at any time in the night until 30 minutes before dawn;
4. A lit candle must be allowed to burn for at least thirty minutes;
5. The servant candle is to remain lit throughout the menorah lighting ceremony, so that it can be used to relight a candle that has gone out;
6. While the candles are burning in the menorah, there is to be no “business as usual.” The protocol is that there is nothing “practical” done during the lighting, such as household duties, phone calls, entertainment, or computer use, that might trivialize the historical significance or distract from the spiritual experience.
7. Anyone and everyone is allowed to take part in the lighting of the menorah, whether children, women or men;
8. Once the menorah has a lighted candle, it is not to be moved or even touched unless necessary.

Hanukkah Prayers and Blessings. Prayers are said while lighting the candles in order to sanctify the moment and the action of bringing light into the house/synagogue/public space. On the 1st night, recite all three blessings; on every night following, recite the first two blessings. At any time during Hanukkah recite the fourth prayer below, the “V’al Hanism, which means “And we thank You for the miracles“:

1. “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the Hanukkah lights;”
2. “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who performed miracles for our forefathers in those days, as at this time;” 
3. “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this occasion.”
4. “And [we thank You] for the miracles, for the redemption, for the mighty deeds, for the saving acts, and for the wonders which You have wrought for our ancestors in those days, at this time… In the days of Matityahu, the son of Yochanan the High Priest, the Hasmonean and his sons, when the wicked Hellenic government rose up against Your people Israel to make them forget Your Torah and violate the decrees of Your will. But You, in Your abounding mercies, stood by them in the time of their distress. You waged their battles, defended their rights, and avenged the wrong done to them. You delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and the wanton sinners into the hands of those who occupy themselves with Your Torah. You made a great and holy name for Yourself in Your world, and effected a great deliverance and redemption for Your people Israel to this very day. Then Your children entered the shrine of Your House, cleansed Your Temple, purified Your Sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courtyards, and instituted these eight days of Chanukah to give thanks and praise to Your great Name.”

Why 8? Why are there eight days of Hanukkah and eight candles to remain lit on the menorah? There appear to be many good reasons why Hanukkah settled on the number eight in its celebration:

1. There were eight days of oil from a one-day supply miraculously provided by God when the Maccabees rededicated the Temple and lit the menorah for the first time after the Temple’s desecration;
2. The number eight in Judaism represents one step beyond completion, one step beyond the seven days of creation, one step above the natural order. So the number eight symbolizes the miraculous, the supernatural, the transcendent, and therefore something that can’t be explained with human reason or experience.
3. It took the Maccabees exactly eight days to rebuild the holy altar when they purified the Temple;
4. When anything was to be dedicated to the Lord in Judaism, the object was to be set aside (sanctified) for seven days, and then on the eighth day it was officially declared to be holy to the Lord. Examples are newborn boys to be circumcised; first-born animals to be consecrated; furniture and utensils for Temple use; the purifying of the Temple.
5. The eighth day after the close of a seven-day Feast is called “the Last Good Day” and is intended to be a  sabbath in order to reflect on what was done the previous seven days.

Words of Wisdom from Rabbi Jonathon Sacks on the Contemporary Importance of Hanukkah. “Why did Judaism, alone among the civilizations of the ancient world, survive? Because it valued the home more than the battlefield, marriage more than military grandeur, and children more than generals. Peace in the home mattered to our ancestors more than the greatest military victory. So as we celebrate Chanukah, spare a thought for the real victory, which was not military but spiritual. Jews were the people who valued marriage, the home, and peace between husband and wife, above the highest glory on the battlefield. In Judaism, the light of peace takes precedence over the light of war… Far too little has been said about a contemporary clash within the West itself. Essentially it is the same clash as the one Chanukah recalls more than two millennia ago. Our secular culture, with its abortion and ever louder demands for euthanasia, its cult of the body, its deification of science and skepticism about religion, even its quasi-religious worship of sport, is deeply Hellenistic. Hebraic values such as the sanctity of life, the consecration of marriage, fidelity, modesty, inner worth as opposed to outward displays of wealth and power: all these are in eclipse. Ancient Greece and its culture of tragedy died. Judaism and its culture of hope survived. The Chanukah lights are the symbol of that survival, of Judaism’s refusal to jettison its values for the glamour and prestige of Hellenism or what today we call secularization. A candle of hope may seem a small thing, but on it the very survival of a civilization may depend.” (Rabbi Sacks, Candles in Memory of a Clash of Civilizations).