Chanukah | nazareneisrael2house

Chanukah.

The subject of what Nazarene Israelites should be doing for the coming‘holiday’ season can be very controversial. On the one hand, Nazarene Israelites should not celebrate Xmas because it is pagan, not scriptural and was created to be a replacement for the Feast Days of HaShem given in Leviticus 23. However, should we celebrate Chanukah, or the Feast of Dedication? It could berisky for us to celebrate Chanukah, as there is the danger that it could become a replacement for Xmas (especially in the minds of young children).Let’sconsider the origins of Chanukah and whatMessiah Ben Yosepha Jew who came to bring the lost sheep of the house of Israel back to the covenant they made with HaShem, together with the house of Judah at Mount Sinai and to show us how to obey HaShem fully, did on this day.

When the house of Judah returned from their Babylonian exile to the Land of Israel, most of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, known as Ephraimhad been dispersed into the ancient world.The Jewish state of Israel was a vassal state of the Persian Empire and later became engulfed in Alexander's empire to become a province of Syria. Greek culture was slowly influencing the Jews, with many abandoning the Torah and its commandments in favor of Greek customs and philosophies. It became increasingly more difficult for the Jews to maintain a Torah-obedient lifestyle with the policies of the Syrian Greeks. Things got out of control when Antiochus IV of the Seleucid dynasty came to power. He was called Epiphanes or "G-d manifest." Antiochus made it illegal for the Jews to practice the Torah, perform circumcision, follow the kosher laws and worship in the Temple. He moved his troops into Jerusalem and desecrated the Temple by sacrificing a pig and erecting a statue to the god Zeus in it. This is recorded in the Apocrypha in 1 Maccabees 1: 44 – 52, as follows:"And the king sent letters by messengers to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah; he directed them to follow customs strange to the land, to forbid burnt offerings and sacrifices and drink offerings in the sanctuary, to profane Sabbaths and feasts, to defile the sanctuary and the priests, to build altars and sacred precincts and shrines for idols, to sacrifice swine and unclean animals, and to leave their sons uncircumcised. They were to make themselves abominable by everything unclean and profane, so that they should forget the law and change all the ordinances. And whoever does not obey the command of the king shall die"

Many historians are generally agreed that Antiochus was an ambitious man and was trying to illustrate that he was more powerful than the Polemic Greeks of Egypt. 1 Maccabees 1:16-18 indicates that after defeating Ptolemy, he sought to subdue the Land of Israel and Jerusalem, solidifying his rule: "When Antiochus saw that his kingdom was established, he determined to become king of the land of Egypt, that he might reign over both kingdoms. So he invaded Egypt with a strong force, with chariots and elephants and cavalry and with a large fleet. He engaged Ptolemy king of Egypt in battle, and Ptolemy turned and fled before him, and many were wounded and fell. And they captured the fortified cities in the land of Egypt, and he plundered the land of Egypt. After subduing Egypt, Antiochus returned in the one hundred and forty-third year. He went up against Israel and came to Jerusalem with a strong force" The actions of Antiochus were not well received by the majority population of the Land of Israel. Lead by the retired priest Mattathias, many Jews opposed the oppression of the Syrian Greek invaders and sought to see them pushed out of the Land of Israel. Many of the Jews, fearing for their lives, succumbed to not following Torah and would not follow the rite of circumcision or eat kosher. Many of them adopted the Greek religion and wanted to "blend in." When Antiochus' army entered into the town of Modin, where Mattathias and his five sons were living, they tried to persuade them to forsake the Law of Moses and sacrifice to the Greek gods. Mattathias refused to give into their demands and proclaimed his loyalty to the G-d of Israel and to His instructions as per 1 Maccabees 2: 19 – 22, in this way:"But Mattathias answered and said in a loud voice: 'Even if all the nations that live under the rule of the king obey him, and have chosen to do his commandments, departing each one from the religion of his fathers, yet I and my sons and my brothers will live by the covenant of our fathers. Far be it from us to desert the law and the ordinances. We will not obey the king's words by turning aside from our religion to the right hand or to the left" Mattathias then declared that any Jew succumbing to these demands was a traitor to the covenants and to the G-d ofIsrael, and he called all to join him in a revoltand killing those who opposed him. However, Mattathias would not live through his campaign to see the final victory over the Syrian Greek oppressors. The mantle would pass onto his son, Judas Maccabeus, who would lead the Jews in a revolt against the Seleucids which would take around three years. He was nicknamed Maccabee - which means “hammer.” During this time, guerilla-type warfare was carried out against the Syrian Greeks, while the Jews sought allies in the Egyptian Greeks or Ptolemies, the Spartans and the Romans. Their military challenges and triumphs are recorded in the Apocryphal books of Maccabees.

The Prophet Daniel prophesied about the rise of Antiochus Epiphanes and the Maccabean Era, after speaking about the division of Alexander's kingdom into four regions. Daniel rightly prophesied that Antiochus would arise to rule and that his own kingdom, would come against the faithful ones, but would not die in battlesaying in Daniel 8: 23-25:"In the latter period of their rule, when the transgressors have run their course, a king will arise insolent and skilled in intrigue. His power will be mighty, but not by his own power, and he will destroy to an extraordinary degree and prosper and perform his will: he will destroy mighty men and the holy people. And through his shrewdness he will cause deceit to succeed by his influence; and he will magnify himselfin his heart, and he will destroy many while they are at ease. He will even oppose the Prince of princes, but he will be broken without human agency" Antiochus was unable to stand against the Jews, many of whom faithfully resisted any attempt to Hellenize them. Antiochus believed that he was a god, however, later he wasted away and died from a flesh-eating disease as recorded in 2 Maccabees 9: 5-9: "But the all-seeing Lord, the G-d of Israel struck him with an incurable and unseen blow. As soon as he ceased speaking he was seized with a pain in his bowels for which there was no relief and with sharp internal tortures; and that very justly, for he had tortured the bowels of others with many and strange inflictions. Yet he did not in any way stop his insolence, but was even more filled with arrogance, breathing fire in his rage against the Jews, and giving orders to hasten the journey. And so it came about that he fell out of his chariot as it was rushing along, and the fall was so hard as to torture every limb of his body. Thus he who had just been thinking that he could command the waves of the sea, in his superhuman arrogance, and imagining that he could weigh the high mountains in a balance, was brought down to earth and carried in a litter, making the power of G-d manifest to all. And so the ungodly man's body swarmed with worms, and while he was still living in anguish and pain, his flesh rotted away, and because of his stench the whole army felt revulsion at his decay”

The Maccabees drove the Seleucids out of the Land of Israel in Kislev 165 B.C.E., which is in about the month of December. They had the task of cleaning up the mess that the Seleucids had left, notably in the city ofJerusalem and in the Temple complex. Antiochus' forces had completely ransacked the Temple and made it into a haven of idolatry. The Temple needed to be cleansed of its defilement and restored to its previous position so proper sacrifices could once again be performed. Of all of the items of Temple furniture that had to be cleansed and rededicated, one of the most important was the great lamp stand or menorah.The menorah required special consecrated oil in order to be lit. As many of you are no doubt aware, modern observance of Chanukah is commemorated by the lighting of a chanukia,or a special nine-branched menorah. This is different from the menorah that was in the Temple that had seven branches. It is used because when the Temple was rededicated there was only enough oil to be lit for one day. However, the oil remained lit for eight days, allowing time for newly consecrated oil to be produced. Today a ninth candle or servant candle is used to light the eight candles of the chanukiato commemorate the eight days the menorah was lit. Chanukah, meaning "dedication," became the nation's commemoration of this miracle.

The miracle of the eight days of oil is spoken of in the Talmud: ''What is the reason of Hanukkah? For our Rabbis taught: On the twenty-fifth of Kislev [commence] the days of Chanukah, which are eight on which a lamentation for the dead and fasting are forbidden. For when the Greeks entered the Temple, they defiled all the oils therein, and when the Hasmonean kingdom prevailed against and defeated them, they made search and found only one cruse of oil which lay with the seal of the High Priest but which contained sufficient for one day's lighting only; yet a miracle was wrought therein and they lit [the lamp] therewith for eight days. The following year these [days] were appointed a Festival with [the recital of] Hallel and thanksgiving" (b.Shabbath21b)? What would have happened if the Maccabees had not stood up to Antiochus and his armies? Not only would they have succeeded in wiping out the Jewish people, either through military defeat or cultural assimilation, but Israelin any form, would not have existed to give rise to Y’shua the Nazarene.Returnees from the house of Israel have ample reasons to celebrate Chanukah as Believers in Y’shua today, the foremost of which being that if the miracle of Chanukahhad not taken place, there would not have been the NazareneY’shua.

As Chanukahwas established as a celebration in the mid-second Century B.C.E. we see recorded in the KetuvimHaNasarim that Messiah Ben Yosephthe Nazarene and Redeemer of the lost ten tribes celebrated it, as recorded in John 10:22 & 23 as follows:"At that time the Feast of Dedication took place in Jerusalem; it was winter, and Y’shua was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon.” The festival of dedication is also known as the Feast of Lights or Chanukah and starts on the 25th of Kislev, lasting for 8 days, to commemorate the purification of the temple by Judas Maccabaeus on that date in 165 B.C. The question is what was Messiah Ben Yosephdoing in Jerusalem during this time? We find the answer in John 10. This is also the time during which Messiah Ben Yoseph identified Himself as the good shepherd (in John 10: 11) and also said in John 10: 30, “I and the Father are one.” That was when the Jews took up stones to stone Him (John 10 verse 32), since they accused Him of blaspheming and stone Him in accordance what Torah instructs.Y’shua was present in Jerusalem during Chanukah and we may safely assume that He was celebrating Chanukah at that time – after all He was a Jew. Celebrating Chanukahand understanding that Messiah Ben Yosephwas in Jerusalem at this time is very important. It is especially important when we understand what He was doing and the questions that He was asked regarding His mission.

By the time Messiah Ben Yoseph started preaching in the land of Israel, the House of Israel was already scattered amongst the nations. The events surrounding the Maccabees and the rededication of the Temple in the Second Century B.C.E. primarily pertain to the house of Judah.There were no Northern Kingdom Israelites involved with the Maccabean revolt or any of these events - Or were there? The reason that there are no Northern Kingdom Israelites specifically mentioned in the account of the Maccabees has many non-Jewish Believers in the Two-House community wondering if the celebration of Chanukah is justified. This is because, believing themselves to possibly be of scattered Israel, they feel left out, and that the focus on Chanukah is so much on the Jewish people that they believe that Ephraim is unimportant. The Jewish people have been the only faithful torchbearer of being recognizable as Israel since the captivity of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722-721 BCE by Assyria. Judah has experienced several dispersions, persecutions, excommunications, forced relocations, pogroms and a Holocaust.Yet, because of the tenacity of the Maccabees and many other figures in Jewish history, Judah has remained faithful to the Torah and to the oracles of G-d. Non-Jewish Believers in Nazarene Israel today should be very thankful to rejoice in these Jewish triumphs-because they are all our triumphs. In addition, consider the fact that in the Scriptural record, it is attested by the Jewish religious leaders that there were scattered Israelites among the Greeks, as per John 7: 35:"The Jews therefore said to one another, ‘Where does this man intend to go that we will not find Him? He is not intending to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks, is He?’" Certainly, as we know that the seed of scattered Ephraim would be "a multitude of nations" (Genesis 48:19), we cannot limit these nations to an exclusive nationality.

They were to become engulfed among the Gentiles and be indistinguishable from the Gentiles. However, the Greeks are pointed out by name as being one of those nationalities. It is only to be expected, as when the Northern Kingdom was under siege, many of those Israelites no doubt left the Land of Israel to avoid capture. One of the first places they could have escaped to would have been to the territory immediately to the north, i.e., AsiaMinor and Greece. If it is indeed true that there were members of the scattered tribes of the Northern Kingdom present in the Greek areas, then Ephraimiteswere indeed involved in the events of the Maccabees. Sadly, many of them would have been involved in the suppression of the Jews and the defilement of the Temple. Consider the fact that one of the reasons that Jews have a great disdain of pork is because of what happened to the Temple.The prophet Hosea wrote about it in Hosea 9: 3, saying:“They will not remain in (HaShem)’s land, but Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat unclean food.” This is one of the major flaws of Ephraim as theyhave a tendency to idol worship and crave unclean things. We should understand that Chanukah is the Festival of Dedication. It should not only be a time for us to rededicate ourselves to HaShem, to confess our sins and to ask HaShemto cleanse us of unrighteousness, but also a time to reconcile with brother Judah and realize that if it had not been for the steadfastness of Mattathais and his sons, there would not have been a temple operating during the time of Messiah Ben Yoseph.

In conclusion, it is important for us today, to rejoice in the triumph of Judah over evil and pledge ourselves to stand by the side of our Jewish brothers and sisters. As we focus on Chanukah, we should not forget the ‘Light of the World’, Messiah Ben Yoseph and should also not forget the hardships and trials that the Jewish people have had to endure. We should be inspired by the dedication of the Maccabees to stand, fight, and even die for the truth. We should not succumb to the temptations of popular culture, but stand for what we know is right and just. We should join our Jewish brothers at this time of the year, rededicating the temple – which is our bodies,in service to HaShem. We should celebrate our coming out of Babylon and be glad that many Ephraimites are joining us in believing in:the Sabbath; the annual Set-apart Days of HaShem; the circumcision of our sons; and eating kosher foods, as commanded in Torah. Let us light the Chanukah candles, rededicating our lives to keeping the Torah of HaShem and our faith in Y’shua.

Herewith the recommended reading for returnees from the house of Israel, before the Chanukah candles are lit during the eight days of Chanukah:Night 1:Isaiah 60: 19; Night 2:Psalm 119: 105, 130 & Proverbs 6: 23;Night 3:Matthew 5: 16 & Luke 11: 33; Night 4:Luke 11: 34 & Acts 26: 18;Night 5:John 1: 4 & 5, 8: 12, 12: 35 & 36;Night 6:Acts 26: 12 – 18;Night 7:Ephesians 5: 8 -15, 1 Thessalonians 5: 4 -6 & 1 Peter 2: 9;Night 8:1 John 1: 5 -9 & Phil. 2: 14 – 16.

The Chanukah Guide – How to Light the Menorah duringthe Eight Days of Chanukah

The Chanukah Lights are lit in the evenings preceding each of the eight days of Chanukah beginning onerev 25th of Kislev. What follows is a brief, step-by-step guide to Chanukah observance; please see the section 'Special Shabbat' for special instructions regarding lighting the candles before Shabbat.

Both men and women are obligated to light the Chanukah menorah, or to participate in the menorah lighting by the head of the household. Children should be encouraged to light their own menorahs. Students and singles that live in dormitories or their own apartments should kindle menorahs in their own rooms.Many have the custom to place the menorah in a doorway opposite the mezuzah so that the two mitzvot of mezuzah and Chanukah surround the person. Others place it on a window sill facing a public through-fare. (If placed on the window sill, it should be no higher than 20 cubits - about 29 feet - above street level).

The Chanukah lights should consist of lamps or candles - i.e., a flammable fuel that feeds a visible flame via a wick. The most preferable way to fulfill the mitzvah is with cotton wicks in olive oil or beeswax candles; paraffin candles or other types of candles or lamps are also acceptable, but not gas lights or electric lights (if circumstances do not allow the use of an open flame, a proper rabbinical authority should be consulted).The lamps or candles must contain enough fuel, at the time of the lighting, to burn until half an hour after nightfall ("nightfall" is the point at which it grows dark enough for three average-sized stars to be visible - about 20-30 minutes after sunset, depending on the location).The lamps or candles should be arranged in a straight row and should be of equal height. The Shamash - the "servant" candle that kindles the other lights - should be placed apart from the rest (higher, outside the row, etc.).

On the first night of Chanukah one light is kindled on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night add a second light to the left of the first and kindle the new light first proceeding from left to right, and so on each night.The Chanukah lights are kindled in the evening proceeding each of the eight days of Chanukah. The custom of many communities is to light the menorah shortly after sunset; other communities light it at nightfall (about 20-30 minutes after sunset). In either case, the menorah must contain enough fuel at the time of the lighting to burn until 30 minutes after nightfall.If one did not kindle the Chanukah lights early in the evening, they can be kindled later, as long as there are people in the streets (or others awake in the house).

IMPORTANT: It is forbidden to light a fire on Shabbat, which extends from sunset on Friday evening until nightfall on Saturday night. Therefore, on Friday evening, the Chanukah Lights should be kindled early, before the Shabbat Lights, which are lit 18 minutes before sundown. Additional oil or larger candles should be used for the Chanukah Lights to make sure they will last a full half hour after nightfall.From the time the Shabbat candles are lit (Friday evening) until Shabbat ends (after nightfall Saturday night) separating Shabbat from the weekday) the Chanukah menorah should not be re-lit, moved or prepared.Chanukah lights for Saturday night are kindled only AFTER Shabbat ends after nightfall.

On the first night of Chanukah, recite all 3 blessings, on all subsequent nights, recite blessings number 1 and 2:

1. Blessed are You HaShem our G-d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to kindle the Chanukah light. (Transliterated in Hebrew as: Ba-ruch A-tahHaShem E-lo-he-nu Me-lech Ha-olam A-sher Ki-de-sha-nu Be-mitz-vo-tavVe-tzi-va-nu Le-had-likNer Cha-nu-kah.)

2. Blessed are You HaShem our G-d, King of the universe, who performed miracles for our forefathers in those days, at this time. (Transliterated as: Ba-ruchA-tahHaShem E-lo-hei-nu Me-lech Ha-olam She-a-sa Ni-sim La-avo-te-nu Ba-ya-mim Ha-hem Bi-z'man Ha-zeh.)

3. Blessed are You, HaShem our G-d, King of the universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this occasion. (Transliterated as: Ba-ruch A-tahHaShem E-lo-he-nu Me-lech Ha-olam She-heche-ya-nu Ve-ki-yi-ma-nu Ve-higi-a-nu Liz-man Ha-zeh.

One is not to benefit from the light of the candles, only from the Shamash and other sources of light. During the time the candles are burning, it is customary to sit by the candles, and tell stories relating to the holiday.Work should not be done in the proximity of the burning candles. Some women have a custom to refrain from household work during the half hour that the lights are burning, to honor the brave Jewish women who played a significant role in the Chanukah story.

It is customary to increase one's daily giving to charity. On Fridays we give double the amount, to account for Shabbat.
It is traditional to give all children Chanukah gelt (money).
Of course, this beautiful custom adds to the children's happiness and festive spirit. In addition, it gives adults an opportunity to give the children positive reinforcement for exemplary behavior, such as diligence in their studies, and acts of charity.
Chanukah Gelt is given to children after lighting the menorah. The children should be encouraged to give charity from a portion of their money.
Because of the great significance of oil in the story of the Chanukah miracle, it is traditional to serve foods cooked in oil. Among the most popular Chanukah dishes are potato latkes (pancakes) and sufganiot (doughnuts).
It is also customary to eat cheesy foods on Chanukah, in commemoration of the bravery of the Maccabean Jews.