Hanukkah, which means “dedication,” commemorates the miracle of light that occurred when Judah rededicated the Temple to the Hebrew god. According to the Talmud (one of Judaism’s holy texts), the Seleucids left only one intact vial of oil, just enough to light the Temple’s candelabrum for one day.
What is the miracle in the Hanukkah story?
The Oil that Fueled the Hanukkah Miracle Sunday evening marks the beginning of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. Jews celebrate their victory over a tyrant king and the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem. As the story goes, a small quantity of oil to light the Temple’s menorah miraculously lasted eight days.
What is the miracle of the menorah?
It goes like this: During a celebration of taking back the Jewish temple, oil that was supposed to last just one night ended up lasting eight . Therefore, it was a miracle and to celebrate, we light a menorah for eight nights and eat foods cooked in oil, like latkes and doughnuts.
What did Jesus do during Hanukkah?
The word “Hanukkah” means dedication and is celebrated each year as the Feast of Dedication or the Festival of Lights. Jesus made sure he was in Jerusalem during Hanukkah, The Feast of Dedication, in John chapter 10. He did not ignore it, or any of the prescribed feasts.
Why is there a 9 branch Menorah?
The ninth lamp is called a shamash, a “servator,” and it symbolically differentiates the eight holy flames from other, mundane light sources . It is usually used to light the other eight.
What does the 7 candles in a menorah stand for?
After leaving slavery in Egypt for the Promised Land, as they trekked through the wilderness (Exodus: Chapter 25), God commanded the Israelites to make the original Menorah (seven-branched candelabrum). One interpretation of the meaning of the seven branches is that they represent the seven days of creation .
What do the 8 nights of Hanukkah mean?
The eight-day Jewish celebration known as Hanukkah or Chanukah commemorates the rededication during the second century B.C. of the Second Temple in Jerusalem , where according to legend Jews had risen up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt.
What do the 8 days of Hanukkah stand for?
Hanukkah means “dedication” in Hebrew . The eight-day holiday celebrates the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem after it was retaken by the Maccabees, a group of Jewish warriors, from the Greeks in the 2nd century BCE, as explained by Tablet magazine.
Where is the story of Hanukkah in the Bible?
The story of Hanukkah is preserved in the books of the First and Second Maccabees , which describe in detail the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem and the lighting of the menorah.
What is Hanukkah called in the Bible?
Hanukkah, (Hebrew: “Dedication ”) also spelled Ḥanukka, Chanukah, or Chanukkah, also called Feast of Dedication, Festival of Lights, or Feast of the Maccabees, Jewish festival that begins on Kislev 25 (usually in December, according to the Gregorian calendar) and is celebrated for eight days.
What is the golden menorah?
The menorah (/məˈnɔːrə/; Hebrew: מְנוֹרָה Hebrew pronunciation: [menoˈʁa]) is described in the Bible as the seven-lamp (six branches) ancient Hebrew lampstand made of pure gold and used in the tabernacle set up by Moses in the wilderness and later in the Temple in Jerusalem.
What day is Jesus’s birthday?
By the fourth century, however, we find references to two dates that were widely recognized — and now also celebrated — as Jesus’ birthday: December 25 in the western Roman Empire and January 6 in the East (especially in Egypt and Asia Minor).
What does the Star of David symbolize?
The star was almost universally adopted by Jews in the 19th-century as a striking and simple emblem of Judaism in imitation of the cross of Christianity. The yellow badge that Jews were forced to wear in Nazi-occupied Europe invested the Star of David with a symbolism indicating martyrdom and heroism .
Does menorah have to be in straight line?
Construction. To be kosher, the shamash must be offset on a higher or lower plane than the main eight candles or oil lamps, but there are differing opinions as to whether all the lights must be arranged in a straight line, or if the chanukiah can be arranged in a curve.
What is the center candle of a menorah called?
Step 3: Light the Shamash The candle that is raised or in the center of the menorah is the shamash (helper candle).
What does the menorah stand for?
In Hebrew, the word menorah means “lamp .” The ancient menorah had seven branches—one for each day of Creation—and it burned in the Temple in what was then Judea, a small area caught in the middle of conflict between the Egyptian empire and the Greek-Assyrian empire.
