Understanding Hanukkah 2024
Hanukkah Sameach (Happy Hanukkah). Wellspring Israel
On the 25th day of December many families will be celebrating their Christmas eve traditions around the table and exchanging gifts. Many will be attending Christmas Eve Services at their local churches and parishes. A much fewer families will be celebrating Hanukkah on the 25th day of the Biblical month Kislev with their Christmas traditions. Why is it important for us to learn the significance of Hanukkah? Is it something we have to do? No, it is not something you have to do. I have found for our family it is something we choose to do because Jesus is the Light of the World and He celebrated this New Testament Festival.
"Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” John 10:22-24.
Hannukah is the only Feast that is mentioned in the New Testament and not the Old Testament. You will find it referred to in John's Gospel. It is known as the Festival of Lights or the Dedication of the Temple. To Jewish children it means receiving a gift every night for 8 nights but to the Jew, it means a similar Holiday with all its’ commercialism like Christmas. To the Christian it is the celebration of the birth of Yeshua. Even though it has been historically and scientifically proven Jesus was not born at Hanukkah but conceived at Hanukkah, we know that He was actually born at the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall of the year.
The word "Hanukkah is found in the following Bible verses: Proverbs 22:6, "to train", in Nehemiah 12:27 it appears as the word, "dedication." In 2 Chronicles 7:9 and Ezra 6:16 it is best known as the "altar of rededication" mentioned in 1 and 2 Maccabee's from the Apocrypha. An interesting fact about Hanukkah is that it took place between the Old and New Testament during those 400 years that were silent. Hanukkah always occurs on the Biblical Calendar on Kislev 25 or in December of each year.
Instructions for Lighting the Hanukkah Menorah
The menorah ("lamp" in modern Hebrew) is the nine-branched candelabra used during the celebration of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. The menorah has eight branches with candle holders in a long line to represent the Hanukkah miracle, when the oil that was supposed to last only one day burned for eight days. The ninth candle holder, which is set apart from the rest of the candles, holds the shamash ("Christ our "servant")—the light used to light the other branches. On each night of Hanukkah, the shamash is lit first, and then the other candles are lit one by one.
Hanukkah menorahs come in all shapes and sizes, with some using candles, others using oil, and yet others using electricity. All have nine branches: eight to represent the eight-day miracle of Hanukkah, and one to hold the shamash or "helper" candle.
Lighting the Candles
Each night you will light the shamash and one additional candle after saying the prescribed blessings. You will start with a candle in the holder farthest to the left, and add one candle each night moving toward the left until, on the last night, all the candles are lit.
The candles should be lit 30 minutes before nightfall; the website Chabat.org offers an interactive calculator to tell you exactly when to light the candles in your location. Candles should be lit from left to right each night; you'll replace the candles for all prior nights and add a new candle every evening.
1. Fill the unlit oil or place the unlit candles in the chanukiyah as you face it from right to left.
2. Light the shamash(Christ candle) and, while holding this candle, say the blessings (see below).
3. Finally, after the blessings, light the candle or oil, from left to right, and replace the shamash(Christ candle) in its designated spot.
Saying the Blessings
Say the blessings in Hebrew as transliterated. The translations, below, are not said aloud. First, say,
Blessed are You, O Lord Our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with Your commandments and commanded us to kindle the lights of Hanukkah.
Then say,
Blessed are You, O Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who made miracles for our forefathers in those days at this time.
On the first night only, you'll also say the Shehecheyanu blessing:
Blessed are You, O Lord Our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season.
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