Chanukah חנוכה
Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.
- Anne Frank
Festival of Lights
Chanukah, an eight day Festival, always falls in the Hebrew month of Kislev. The word Chanukah means 'dedication' and refers to the rededication of the Ancient Temple in Jerusalem when a small group of Jews, led by Judah Maccabee and his brothers, were victorious over the Syrian Greek armies in 165 BCE. The Syrian Greeks had sought to destroy the Holy Temple and Jewish practice but the small Jewish army managed to overcome them. The story of Chanukah is not mentioned at all in the Torah, or Hebrew bible, but is found in a group of later Hebrew writings called Macabees I and II. Chanukah is associated with miracles not just that of the military victory of the Macabees. The other key miracle associated with Chanukah is the more popular story which became tradition at a later date: the miracle associated with a single day's supply of oil lasting for eight days.
