Hanukkah is the celebration of literally the victory of light over darkness. It commemorates first the defeat in 160 BCE of Seleucid armies by Jewish forces led by Judah Maccabee, which was a huge win for Jews (not so much for Antiochus IV, tho). The light part comes from the fact that, after cleansing Jerusalem of the Syrians and Hellenized Jews (don’t ask about the “cleansing” part), there was only enough consecrated oil left in the Great Temple to light the Menorah for one day. But—somehow—the oil lasted for eight days, until another supply could be brought in.
I really like this—first, it’s always good to whup your enemies’
asses and send their occupying armies packing. (It turns out that this is a particularly
good trait to have in your national gene pool if you live in a country that’s
basically the Poland of the Middle East and you’re always in danger of being
overrun by one neighboring power or another.) But I am always here for driving
back the darkness, and I consider what it must have meant to the Maccabees, in
a Palestinian winter, to light the Temple lamp as an act of faith and thanks to
God for their triumph over their enemies.
“There’s only enough oil for a day; do we light the Menorah now or
wait?”
“We light it now; gratitude is gratitude.”
And so is this—I’m grateful for Advent, that it overlaps with
Hanukkah and that I can celebrate it all.
Hanukkah started last night, but yesterday was Advent I, and I had
to set the stage. Besides—there are eight days of Hanukkah, so I’m within
tolerance.
I’m giving you Barenaked Ladies singing “Hanukkah Blessings”. It’s not what you’d call traditional, but I’m a fourth-generation Californian. Also, the beat makes me think of “The Sloop John B.” and I can’t get that out of my head.
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