In the spirit of Hanukkah, which is drawing to a close, I feel that it’s necessary to explain what Hanukkah is actually about.
For those of you who don’t know; Hanukkah is not “Jewish Christmas.” Hanukkah is a celebration of a miracle and the overcoming of Greek oppression.
Essentially, as it was told to me in Hebrew school, Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabean Revolt. In Hebrew, Hanukkah means dedication, and is commonly referred to as “The Festival of Lights.” According to My Jewish Learning:
[Antiochus] marched into Jerusalem, vandalized the Temple, erected an idol on the altar, and desecrated its holiness with the blood of swine. Decreeing that studying Torah, observing the Sabbath, and circumcising Jewish boys were punishable by death, he sent Syrian overseers and soldiers to villages throughout Judea to enforce the edicts and force Jews to engage in idol worship.
The small jar of oil, found in the wreckage of the temple, lasted eight full days as a miracle from G-d in the newly sanctified temple. We all have heard about the miracle of the oil. . . Hanukkah and oil are synonymous in the eyes of Jews everywhere not only because of the story of Hanukkah, but the connotations of food and family that it holds.
Each year, Jewish families come together to celebrate Hanukkah. They make potato latkes and eat doughnuts that symbolize the oil, they play dreidel, and they light the hanukkiah (Not the menorah. Every Hanukkiah is a menorah, but not every menorah is a hanukkiah).
Hanukkah is that special time of year that reminds me that I can overcome anything with the help of G-d (or whatever higher power, or lack thereof you choose to follow) and my own personal army of friends and family. It also reminds me of how bad fried food is for your skin, but c'est la vie!
At the very center of it, the story of Hanukkah should remind you of one thing: “Nes gadol haya sham” or “ A great miracle happened there.”