The 8th and Final Day of Hannukah and 1st Day of Christmas!

The 8th and Final Day of Hannukah

And, as it works out this year (it doesn't always), 

it is also ChristMass Day!

On the First Day of Christmas

My true love gave to me...

A partridge in a pear tree!
 

Hannukah - Day 7

Day 7 of Hannukah!

And remember, to keep the Han in Hannukah!

OK, that one was just to make you smile!

Day 6 of Chanukah

 Chanukah, Day 6

The Festival of Lights

Hanukkah Day 5

 Day 5 of Hanukkah!

The prayers for the Fifth Night:

Blessing of the Candles:

Baruch ata Adonai, Elohenu melech ha-olam asher kideshanu be-mitzvotav, ve-tzivanu le-hadlik ner shel Hanukkah.

Blessed are you, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us by his commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the lights of Hanukkah.

And the Second Blessing:

Baruch ata Adonai, Elohenu melech ha-olam she-asa nisim la-avotenu ba-yamim ha-hem ba-zeman ha-zeh.

Blessed are you, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, Who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, at this season.

And remember, no Hanukkah, no Christmas!

 

Hannukkah - Day 4

 Day 4 of Hannukkah!

The Blessing of the Candles:

Baruch ata Adonai, Elohenu melech ha-olam asher kideshanu be-mitzvotav, ve-tzivanu le-hadlik ner shel Hanukkah.

Blessed are you, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us by his commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the lights of Hanukkah.

The Second Blessing:

Baruch ata Adonai, Elohenu melech ha-olam she-asa nisim la-avotenu ba-yamim ha-hem ba-zeman ha-zeh.

Blessed are you, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, Who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, at this season.

 

Hannukkah Day 2

 Hannukkah - Day 2

Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, asher kid'shanu b-mitzvotav, v-tzivanu l'hadlik ner shel Hanukkah.  

Blessed are you, Our God, Ruler of the Universe, who makes us holy through Your commandments, and commands us to light the Hanukkah lights.

Hannukah - Day 1

 Today is the First Day of Hannukah!

Without Hannukah, there is no Christmas! Well, sort of. The coming of the Messiah is a promise from God, so Christmas would have happened some other way if Hannukah had not been a reality. Why is Christmas owing to Hannukah? Well, Hannukah, the Miracle of the Lights, is the celebration of not only the recovery of Jerusalem by the Maccabees from the Greco-Syrian oppressors, but also the re-dedication of the Second Temple. The miracle was that the invaders had destroyed all the sacred oil, except for enough to last one day for the sanctuary lamps, and the process to bless new oil took 8 days. They started with the blessing of the oil - and the one lamp which should have only lasted the one day - remained lit for all eight days! 

The victory over the Greco-Syrian oppressors was significant too because their aim was to totally annihilate the Jewish people from the earth - had they succeeded, there would have been no generation from David for the Messiah to come to us, as prophesied. Again, God would have found another way - but this is the way He used.

Eighth Night of Chanukah

 

So why are there eight days/nights of Chanukah? Again, this was due to the fact that after Judas Maccabee drove the Greeks out of Jerusalem, when they got to the temple to restore it they found only one cruse of oil, which is only enough for one day of burning and it takes 8 days for the ritual of blessing new oil. They lit one lamp, and it stayed lit for the entire eight days - hence, the miracle of the lights - which Jesus was celebrating - also known as the Feast of the Dedication (of the Temple) per the Gospel of John (John 10:22).

The eighth night is a night of transcendence. Following the seventh night, while is symbolic of perfection and wholeness, the eighth night transcends beyond, and even the number 8 is a symbol of going beyond the linear and beyond the physical and to remind us to continue our focus upon God (Kaplan-Lester, 2021).

References

Kaplan-Lester, C. (Eight meditations for the eight nights of Chanukah. Chabad.org. https://www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman/article_cdo/aid/1348517/jewish/Eight-Meditations-for-the-Eight-Nights-of-Chanukah.htm

Seventh Night of Chanukah

Seven is the number of perfection and wholeness in Jewish tradition (Stern, 2020). On the seventh night of Chanukah it is remembered that the Jews are to be the light of the world, and not to hide that light under a bushel and the Gentiles will come to that ligtht (see Isaiah 60:1-3). This is what Yeshuah (Jesus) meant in Matthew 5, in bringing the light unto the world (Staley, 2018).

Candles should remain lit for 30 minutes. The blessings are as follows:

First Blessing:

Blessed are you, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us by his commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the lights of Hanukkah.

Second Blessing:

Blessed are you, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, Who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, at this season. (Akhlah, 2021).

References

Akahlah, (2021). Hannukah blessings, Seventh night. Akahlah.com. https://www.akhlah.com/jewish-holidays/hanukkah/hanukkah-blessings/hanukkah-blessings-seventh-night/

Staley, J. (2018). The seventh night of Hannukah - The light of the Gentiles. Staley Family Ministries. https://staleyfamilyministries.com/the-seventh-night-of-hanukkah.html

Stern, E. (2020). Getting to know your candles - A writing workshop with Emily Stern - Night 7 2020. Jewish Journal. https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/blogs/343025/getting-to-know-your-candles-a-hanukkah-writing-workshop-with-emily-stern-night-7-2020/#:~:text=The%20seventh%20night%20of%20Hanukkah%20is%20a%20special,who%20you%20are%20in%20the%20eyes%20of%20G-d.

Sixth Night of Chanukah

 The 6th Night of Chanukah

From tel shemesh:

While it is common to think of there being four seasons, according to Gen. 9:22 the seasons number six. When Noah emerges from the ark, the Creator makes a covenant with Noah and all of creation by means of a rainbow, saying: "As long as the days of the earth endure, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease." We also see the number six in our six pointed star, the six directions in nature (north, south, east, west, up, down), and six visible colors in the rainbow. Six is the balance and beauty of the physical world.  http://telshemesh.org/tevet/ritual_for_the_sixth_night_of_chanukah.html 

Happy Chanukah!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fifth Night of Chanukah

Tonight I wished to describe why there are nine candles for the eight days of Chanukah, and I came across the Jewish Path website which puts forth a brief explanation:

Tonight is the fifth night of Chanukah. We light five candles and say two Blessings after dark. This is Erev Yom Reshon {29-09-5768}. First we light the server candle {The Shamis Candle} in the center to use as a lighter for our fifth, fourth, third, second and first candles.We light the fifth candle (that is the fifth candle from the right, not including the Shamis candle) then we light the fourth, third, second and first candles afterwards.

And the blessings for the fifth night are:

First Blessing over the lighting of the candle...

Blessed are you O L-rd our G-d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us through His commandments and commanded us to kindle the Chanukah lights.

Second Blessing in remerance of the miracles...

Blessed are you O L-rd our G-d, King of the universe, who brought miracles for our ancestors, in those days at this time {of year}.

Reference

http://www.jewishpath.com/holidays/chanukah_5768/chanukah_day_five.html

A Little Fun

Those who have been following the Qui Locutus (formerly CathApol) blog know that I like to campaign for Keeping Christ in Christmas and Keeping Mass in ChristMass, and I could not resist when I saw this for keeping the Han in Hannukah!

And here is one of mine:

Fourth Night of Chanukah

 

Overcoming Despair and Building Faith and Trust

Rabbi Allen writes:

It takes trust and faith to overcome despair. Rebbe Nachman of Bratzlav, who is known to have struggled with depression, teaches us, “Hanukkah is not just some celebration of miracles performed in the past…It is a guiding light for people from all walks of life, from all eras in time, to see through the darkness of their personal lives and to become part of history…It is also the knowledge that G!d is with us, even when we lose the battle.” 

There is faith and trust that G!d is with us, and that G!d will be with us, and that we will never be alone. But there is also something even more fundamental: just plain faith and just plain trust. Not trust or faith in anything, but as a state of being. Living with trust. Living with faith. It is a moment-by-moment experience. It is being in the now with confidence, security, and a sense of well-being. It is setting despair aside and opening our hearts and minds to find new ways of being, new answers, new avenues. Some of us may attribute such feelings to faith and trust in G!d, while others of us may experience it differently. No matter how we describe it or to what we ascribe it, when we feel a sense of trust and faith in our hearts, it feels just right. (Allen, 2021).

Reference

Allen, K. (2021). Diminishing despair and growing trust and faith. Jewish Boston. https://www.jewishboston.com/read/hanukkah-day-4-diminishing-despair-and-growing-trust-and-faith/ 

Third Day of Chanukah

The significance of the "lights" in Chanukah is...

It would be in the second century B.C. that the story of Judas Maccabee and a small force of Jews faced off against the occupying Syrian-Greeks who were attempting to force the people of Israel to accept the Greek culture and gods. The Greeks wanted the Israelis to give up the mitzvah and their belief in the One, True, God (Kahana, 2019).

In the village of Modiin the priest Mattityahu lived, when the Greeks erected an altar and demanded he offer a sacrifice to their gods, Mattityahu refused. When the Greek commander brought up a Hellenist priest, Mattityahu drew his sword and killed the false priest. His sons and friends then rushed the Greeks, chasing them off and killing several more (1 Mac 2:23-25). So began the revolt of the Maccabees (Mindel, 1965). Judas Maccabee, son of Mattityahu, led the revolt – but knowing the Greeks would come back seeking revenge, they hid in the mountains from which they conducted their attacks.

It would take three years for Judas Maccabee and his small force to chase the far superior Greek armies from the Holy Land. To accomplish this, they used guerilla warfare, attacking the Greeks at night and their only weapons were pitchforks and swords (Brewer, 2021). When the Maccabees liberated and cleared the temple of idols and when they went to light the menorah, there was only one cruse of blessed olive oil, sealed by the High Priest, Yochanan – only enough for one day and the process for blessing new oil takes 8 days. They lit the lamp and began the preparation of new oil – and the one lamp stayed lit for the entire eight days! (Mindel, 1965).

The scriptural reference for this account is found in 1 Maccabees 2-3.

The Jewish people were fighting for their very identity, Had the Syrian-Greeks prevailed, Jewish culture would have been obliterated. This renewal of the Jewish faith allows for their culture to prevail and lays the path for Jesus to be born a Jew, live as a Jew, and die as a Jew. In a sense, Christmas owes a debt to Chanukah! Certainly, had the Jews been defeated, God would have used a different means to bring the Messiah into the world – but He did not have to, because God allowed the Maccabees to be victorious some 200 years before Jesus was born.

References

Brewer, D. (2021). Hankukkah, The Festival of Lights. Life in Messiah. https://lifeinmessiah.org/feasts-hanukkah

Kahana, Y. (2019). What is Chanukah? A reminder that light can transform darkness. Jewish National Fund. https://www.jnf.org/blog/education/what-is-chanukah-a-reminder-that-light-can-transform-darkness

Mindel, N. (1965). Complete Story of Chanukah. Chabad.org https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/102978/jewish/The-Story-of-Chanukah.htm

Second Day of Chanukah

 

Chanukah Day 2!

What is the significance of the "lights" in this season?  Answer in Day 3!

First Day of Chanukah

 ... Or is it Hanukkah?

The truth be told - it is neither - or either! From the Chabad.org website:

The first consonant, the ח, is pronounced as /x/ in Ashkenazic tradition. This phoneme, which sounds like someone clearing his throat of phlegm, does not exist in standard English.

Therefore, in English - either works, also on the Chabad website, we are told that "Ashkenazic Jews, however, traditionally favor 'Chanukah'" - similar to the reason this site is "Chabad" and not "Habad."

So, Happy Chanukah - or Happy Hanukkah - on what is also for Christians, the First Day of Advent!