The Festival of Lights

Michele Marr

Nes Gadol Hayah Sham. A great miracle happened here.

That miracle gave birth to Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. Hanukkah

is celebrated each year from the 25th day of the Hebrew month Kislev

through the 2nd day of Tevet. This year the festival began at sundown on

Dec. 9 and will conclude on Dec. 17.

“It is not a biblical holiday,” said Rabbi Aron David Berkowitz of

Chabad Congregation Adat Israel in Huntington Beach.

It is not an observance commanded in the Torah.

“It is a reminder of an event in Jewish history with eternal meaning,”

he explained.

The eight-day festival remembers the successful revolt of Judas

Maccabbaeus and his army against the Syrian-Greek government that

dominated Israel nearly 2200 years ago.

In the time of the Second Temple, the Syrian king Antiochus IV tried

to impose Hellenistic culture, philosophy and religious practices on the

Jews. The Temple in Jerusalem was invaded, desecrated and robbed.

Antiochus placed a statue of Zeus on the altar and required Jews to

bow before it or face the penalty of death. He forbade the observance of

the Sabbath and other Jewish religious traditions.

Maccabbaeus, the son of a Jewish priest and patriarch, gathered

together a small army to overthrow Antiochus and his oppressive

government. His army of 6,000 men defeated the Syrian king’s heavily

armed forces of more than 40,000 men.

Maccabbaeus liberated Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple. But only

enough sacred oil to burn for one day remained to rekindle the menorah.

It burned, miraculously, for eight days.

Each year Hanukkah commemorates the victory of faith over religious

persecution and the miracle of the holy oil. Congregation Adat Israel

began the festival on Dec. 9 with a Hanukkah party.

The first of eight menorah lights was kindled. Traditional foods, many

cooked in oil to recall the miracle of the sacred oil, such as latkes and

jelly doughnuts were shared. The children played dreidel games.

Each side of the dreidel, a four-sided top, is marked with a Hebrew

letter -- Nun, Gimel, Hay and Shin -- to represent each of the four

words, Nes Gadol Hayah Sham. The children spin the top to win small

prizes.

Each day, families will light the menorah in their homes, in front of

a window or by the door. This is one of Hanukkah’s mitzvot, or good

deeds. Charity to those in need is also given during the festival.

Members of Adat Israel will visit retirement and convalescent homes to

light the menorah and pray with those who otherwise can not celebrate the

holiday.

This year, on the heels of the violence of Sept. 11 and an upsurge in

violence in Israel, the Festival of Lights, which is typically one of the

most joyous celebrations on the Jewish calendar, has renewed

significance, Berkowitz said.

“The message is that light overcomes darkness, truth overcomes

oppression, good overcomes evil,” he said. “The kindling of the menorah

during Hanukkah symbolizes that message.”On Tuesday, Dec. 11, three

months after the terrorist attacks, Adat Israel held a public lighting of

the Hanukkah menorah at the Westminster Mall.

“Recent events remind Jews of the importance of being free and secure

in their own land, and, in a more general way, the battle of good over

evil brings home to all of us a very important message about the battle

of terrorism against civilization -- good will be victorious,” Berkowitz

said.