Tonight is Erev Channukah. Ask anyone knowledgeable and they will tell you that Channukah is about the miracle of the oil when the Temple was rededicated by the Maccabees. During this holiday we light candles, make latkes and sufaganiot (sort of like donuts) because they are made with oil and talk about the miracle. But have you ever noticed that the song we sing, Maoz Tzur, while lighting the channukah menorah says nothing about this? It begins “O mighty stronghold of my salvation, to praise You is a delight. Restore my House of Prayer and there we will bring a thanksgiving offering. When You will have prepared the slaughter for the blaspheming foe,” But then in the last line we sing “ Az Eg-mor B’shir Miz-mor Cha-nu-kat Ha-miz-bay-ach”, “Then I shall complete with a song of hymn the dedication of the Altar.” This song is about the altar, the mizbayach, not the menorah! Additionally, during the week of Channukah the daily readings are all about the dedication of the Mishkan (tabernacle) and the altar by Moshe and the leaders of the tribes. So what is going on?
The book of the Maccabees tells us the story of Channukah; how the Syrian king Antiochus IV sought to eradicate Judaism. It says that on the 15th of the month of Kislev he setup up an idol in the Temple, but he waited until the 25th of Kislev to make his pagan sacrifices and defile the altar. The Maccabbes also waited until the 25th of Kislev to rededicate the altar. It says
…they took uncut stones, according to the law, and built a new altar like the former one. They also repaired the sanctuary and the interior of the temple and consecrated the courts. They made new sacred vessels and brought the lampstand, the altar of incense, and the table into the temple. Then they burned incense on the altar and lighted the lamps on the lampstand, and these illuminated the temple. They also put loaves on the table and hung up the curtains. Thus they finished all the work they had undertaken. They rose early on the morning of the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, that is, the month of Kislev, in the year one hundred and forty-eight, and offered sacrifice according to the law on the new altar for burnt offerings that they had made.
Why wait until the 25th? One could see that they wanted to rededicate the altar on the anniversary of its defilement in order to reverse it. But then why did Antiochus select that specific date?
There is indeed a reason. The book of Leviticus tells us that they dedicated the Mishkan during an eight-day commemoration. The book of Chronicles tells us that King Solomon did likewise with the First Temple and that is was also in conjunction with the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles). Rabbi Channina, a prominent rabbi in the Talmud said that the Mishkan was completed on the 25th of Kislev. Additionally, we read in the book of Haggai that he announced on the 24th of Kislev that the sacrifices were about to recommence. It is clear that the 25th of Kislev was well known and that Antiochus sought this specific date as a way of increasing the severity of his defilement. It was as if he was saying, “This is my temple now. ”
The Book of Maccabees also tells us that they could not celebrate the feast of Sukkot during the war so they rededicated the Temple for eight days and also celebrated Sukkot just like King Solomon did. In a letter to another Jewish community, it says
“Since we shall be celebrating the purification of the temple on the twenty-fifth day of the month Kislev, we thought it right to inform you, that you too may celebrate the feast of Booths and of the fire that appeared when Nehemiah, the rebuilder of the temple and the altar, offered sacrifices.”
Notice here that the connection to Sukkot is explicitly mentioned. But what is this about the fire and Nehemiah? Remember that the fire was kept lit continuously on the altar. The text tells us that there was a tradition that some of the priests hid fire from the altar in a cistern before the Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians, so that the fire could be restored someday. When Nehemiah led the rebuilding of the Temple, he asked the descendants of the priests where the fire was hidden. They did not know what he was talking about; knowledge had been lost during the exile. So they went looking for it and found the cistern. But the fire was out and the only thing left was a thick oily residue (like naptha). Nehemiah put this oily residue on the sacrifice and when the sun came out the altar burst into flames. Thus the continuity of the fire on the altar was maintained.
(Another significant thing to recall is that the Menorah in the Temple was not lit with candles but with oil, hence the legend of the miracle of the oil.)
One theory as to why they moved the emphasis away from the altar and to the menorah is this exact connection. The Maccabbes wanted people to celebrate Channukah in their homes and sacrifices can only be performed in the Temple, so they moved it to the lighting of lights. According to this theory, then, these lights point to the altar not the menorah! Our Channukah menorahs point to the oil placed on the altar!
This approach is significant for us as Messianic Jews. Tonight is not only Erev Channukah, but also the beginning of the celebration of Yeshua’s birth by our brothers and sisters in the churches. When we light the menorah, we often talk about us being a light to the world and of how Yeshua is the Light of Torah. He himself said in John 10 that he was the light of the world while attending the festivities of Channukah. But he is also the sacrifice upon the altar! Just as Antiochus tried to destroy the Temple, the Adversary tried to destroy Yeshua, but ultimately failed through the resurrection power of the Ruach Hakodesh. His incarnation, celebrated at Christmas, is indelibly linked to his death. Someone recently asked me why the church that we rent from has a cross and a manger on the stage. I told them that I think it is to express this idea. Yeshua’s life of total Channukah, dedication to his Father, leads to his death and resurrection.
As we light our menorahs this coming week we are connecting not only to the Maccabees, but also to Nehemiah, Solomon, and to the original dedication of the Tabernacle by Moses. We also can think about how we are tasked to bring the light of Torah to the world in our daily lives. We can think of Yeshua being that light. But now we can also reflect upon this connection to his death! The lighting of our menorahs links to and commemorates his sacrifice on the “altar” of the cross.
May we ponder these things in the coming week.
May we give thanks to the One who continues to save us in myriads of ways; especially through the Great Salvation He wrought through His son.
May we rededicate ourselves to His Torah and seek to be not only a light to the world, but also, as Rav Shaul said, be living sacrifices on our own altars.
Shabbat Shalom, Chag Channukah Semeach, and Chag Molad Semeach!
