Hanukkah (19/12)

Hanukkah — is a Jewish holiday of candles that are lit in honor of the miracle that occurred at the consecration of the Temple after the victory of the army of Yehuda Maccabee over the troops of King Antiochus in 164 BC. This holiday begins on the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev and lasts eight days.

In 332 BC. Judea voluntarily came under the rule of Alexander the Great, who adhered to a policy of non-interference in the religious life of Jews. After Alexander's death in 323 BC. and the many wars waged between his heirs, the Egyptian Ptolemaic dynasty came to power, and the next century passed in a state of relative stability.

In 198 BC. The Ptolemies were defeated by the Seleucids (Assyrian Greeks), into whose hands Judea also fell. At first, the overall situation seemed unchanged and even partially improved. Jews received written guarantees confirming their right to live « according to the laws of their fathers», and the tax burden was somewhat reduced. But then the Seleucids began to make attempts to Hellenize the Jews. Greek philosophy and culture gradually began to penetrate the Jewish environment.

In 175 BC. Antiochus Epiphanes came to power, under him the Hellenization of the non-Greek population took on particularly harsh forms. The Torah became a forbidden book, compliance with Jewish laws — was a serious crime, and idols were installed everywhere. Antiochus gave his name to Jerusalem, the temple treasures were confiscated, and the Temple itself was looted.

In response, an uprising led by the Maccabean family began in Judea. Compared to Antiochus' army, the rebel army was small in number, poorly armed and prepared. Maccabee, who led Yehuda's army, realizing this, avoided open battles, not giving the enemy the opportunity to take advantage of their numerical advantage. Attacking individual detachments of Greeks, the rebel army won one victory after another. In three years, she drove the conquerors out of the country and liberated Jerusalem, thereby proving that high purpose and fortitude are sometimes decisive.

Tradition says that having climbed the Temple Mount, the Jews found lamp oil in the Temple, sufficient to maintain fire for only one day. However, miraculously, the fire in the golden menorah burned for eight whole days, during which new supplies of oil were prepared. Thus the Temple was re-consecrated. In memory of this event, candles are lit every evening on the holiday: one — on the first day of the holiday, two — on the second, three — on the third, and so on, up to eight, using, as a rule, a special candlestick — hanukkiah. Jewish wisdom says: «A little light is enough to dispel the great darkness».

Children have vacations in Hanukkah; it is customary to give them toys and give them money. The game of Hanukkah top is also reminiscent of long-standing events, on each of the four faces of which the first letter of the words of the phrase «The great miracle was here» (if it happens in Israel) or « The great miracle was there» (in the diaspora).

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