“This is the day HaShem has made; we will rejoice and be glad in Him! O HaShem, please save us! O HaShem, please make us prosper!” Psalms 119:24-25
Hanukkah 2023 is a very interesting time, it is a time of tension. It is a time of chaos and confusion, but most importantly it is a time of war! Israel is currently at war against Esau i.e. Hamas and their supporters the Palestinians in Gaza and with Hezbollah in Lebanon! Israeli citizens are currently being held hostage by Hamas and being used as weapons against Israel, but Israel has one giant advantage over Esau…….Israel has HaShem, Master of the Legions of Heaven, Creator of all things and the Defender of Israel helping out, not just spiritually, but also literally in the physical and here and now to include on the battlefield!
The nation of the world are quickly turning against Israel to include the United States! Pressure, threats, conditions and consequences are all being levied against Israel today to end the war in Gaza and allow Hamas to survive. If Hamas were to survive, they would consider it to be a complete victory over Israel, thus Israel cannot and must not allow Hamas, even one member of Hamas to survive!
With this all said, I thought I would post a quick Op discussing Hanukkah, what it all entails and how it applies to you and I today in 2023! Acknowledging Hanukkah today in 2023 is probably the most important Hanukkah in recent memory simply because of the state of the world and what HaShem is teaching us in this biblical celebration! Keep this in mind!
As always never forget the eternal statements HaShem gives us in His Word in describing His Torah:
- HaShem never changes per Num 23:19/Mal 3:6/Hebrews 13:8/James 1:17
- His Word is firmly established per Psalm 119:89
- He reveals the end out of the beginning per Is 46:10
- He does nothing without first revealing it to His prophets per Amos 3:7
- He says there is nothing new under the sun per Ecclesiastes 1:9
- He says His Torah is the ONLY truth there is per Psalms 119:142
- He says His Torah is a tree of life and eternal per Proverbs 3:18-19 and Psalm 119:160
- He says His Torah is perfect and restores the soul per Psalm 19:7
- He says His Torah makes the simple one wise per Psalm 19:7
- He says His Torah Is freedom and liberty per Psalm 119:45 and James 1:25
- He says His Torah is the only good doctrine there is Proverbs 4:2
- He says His Torah will add length of days and years of life and peace per Proverbs 3:2
- He says all of the ways of His Torah are ways of pleasantness and peace per Proverbs 3:17
- He says His Torah is for our good and well-being per Deuteronomy 6:24
- He says His Torah is health for our lives per Proverbs 3:8
- He says His Torah is life to our soul and a graceful ornament for our neck per Prov 3:22
- He says His Torah is better than pearls and all desires cannot compare to it per Prov 8:11
- He says those who walk with His Torah are praiseworthy per Psalms 119:1
- He says observing His Torah is how we purify our path per Psalms 119:9
- He says His Torah is better than thousands in gold and silver per Psalms 119:72
- He says His Torah brings abundant peace to those who love Him and His Torah per Psalms 119:165
- He says there is one Torah for all per Exodus 12:49/Leviticus 24:22
- He says those who hate His Torah love death per Proverbs 8:36
- He says His Torah is the way of faith per Psalms 119:29-30
- He says His Torah makes us wiser than our enemies per Psalms 119:98
- He says His Torah is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path per Psalms 119:105
- He says one who finds His Torah has found life per Proverbs 8:35
- He says one who finds His Torah has found favor from HaShem per Proverbs 8:35
- He says Messiah Yeshua is the GOAL of His Torah, meaning without His Torah, Messiah cannot be known per Romans 10:4
- He says if we had believed Moshe/Torah, we would have believed Messiah per John 5:46
- He says His salvation is far from the wicked for they sought not His Torah per Psalms 119:155
- He says to hold fast to and guard His Torah, for it is our life per Proverbs 4:13
- He says His Torah is the bread of life per Proverbs 9:5
Traditionally we are told Hanukkah commemorates the miracle of how there was only a one day supply of pure olive oil to burn in the Menorah, and it ended up burning for eight days. Further, we are told Hanukkah commemorates how the Greeks conquered the Jews and began the process to turn them from the Torah of HaShem and how He came to Israel’s defense. In coming to Israel’s defense, He enabled them to overcome the overwhelming and powerful Greek armies, thus bringing about a great victory and ultimately saving Israel!
While these are certainly very important events to remember and to always thank HaShem for, there is also another very important aspect of Hanukkah especially in light of this wretched, miserable and idolatrous world we live in! It is the concept of remaining wholeheartedly committed to HaShem and His Torah despite living in a world which constantly seeks to entice each of us away from HaShem and to forsake His Torah! By lighting the candles of the Menorah on Hanukkah we are in effect declaring our loyalty, devotion, commitment and submission to HaShem and to His Kingship and Authority! Keep this in mind as we explore what the meaning of the menorah and the oil represent!
An excerpt from the Hanukkah book by Artscroll says the following “The Menorah, which would illuminate Jewish minds and hearts with its spiritual glow, by inspiring them to contribute to the riches of the Oral Torah (Mishnah i.e. the right rulings of the Sanhedrin along with the Talmud i.e. the commentary on the Mishnah), was the fulfillment of HaShem’s command that there be light in His universe. It was the first thing He desired for His world, for a world without the light of Torah is mired in darkness.”
“Hanukkah is the festival when oil produced a light that illuminated the true nature of a major slice of Jewish history. The war against the Syrian-Greeks had been won through miracles. But more. The fact that the struggle was climaxed with the miracle of the oil and that HaShem chose to stamp His salvation with a miracle of light was a proof to the leaders of Israel that their struggle was more than a fight for self respect and freedom, they had been waging the war of light against darkness, and bringing about the fulfillment of HaShem’s command ‘Let there be light!'”
Remember how HaShem reveals the end from the beginning per Isaiah 46:10? HaShem reveals there will be four world kingdoms in which Israel will be subject too while in exile: Babylon, Persia/Media, Greece and Rome. Consider this tidbit of info from the very first chapter in the Book of Genesis and how HaShem reveals the end. The following is from the Bereishis (Genesis) Midrash Rabbah 2.4 when discussing Genesis 1:2 “When the earth was astonishingly empty, with darkness upon the surface of the deep, and the Divine Presence hovored over the surface of the water.” “And the earth was desolation, this is an allusion to the Babylonian Empire as revealed by Jeremiah 4:23 ‘And behold, it was desolate’. ‘And emptiness’ this is an allusion to the Median Empire as revealed in the Book of Esther. With darkness, this is an allusion to the Greek Empire, because it darkened the eyes of Israel with their evil decrees, for the Greeks would say to the Jews ‘Write on the horn of an ox that you have no portion in the G-d of Israel!’ Upon the surface of the deep, this is an allusion to the evil empire of Rome/Edom. And the Spirit of HaShem hovered upon the surface of the waters, this alludes to the Spirit of the Messiah, as it is stated regarding the Messiah ‘The Spirit of HaShem will rest upon Him’ per Isaiah 11:2.”
The final kingdom of exile i.e. Rome/Edom (Another name for Esau) is the most powerful, longest and most brutal kingdom Israel will be ruled over by! We are still under the influence of that kingdom today! How do we know? What was the main influence of Rome upon the world? It brought the world Christianity! We are still under the influence of Rome i.e. Christendom today and what is its message? To separate Israel from HaShem and His Torah via Replacement Theology!
It is very interesting the Haftarah readings for the Shabbat during Hanukkah is found in Zechariah 2:14-4:6! Pay close attention to what HaShem is saying and see how they relate to Hanukkah!!!
“Sing and be glad, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I AM COMING AND I WILL DWELL IN YOUR MIDST, the Word of HaShem. Many nations will join themselves to HaShem on that day, and they will become a people unto Me; and I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that HaShem, Master of Legions, has sent me to you. HaShem will take Judah as His heritage, His portion upon the Holy Land, and He will choose Jerusalem again. Be silent, all flesh, before HaShem, for He is aroused from His holy abode!”
“Then He showed me Joshua, the Kohen Gadol, standing before the angel of HaShem, and the Satan was standing on his right to accuse him. The angel of HaShem said to the Satan, ‘May HaShem denounce you, O Satan! May HaShem, Who chooses Jerusalem, denounce you! Indeed, this man is like a firebrand saved from a fire! But Joshua was dressed in filthy garments as he stood before the angel. The angel spoke up and spoke to those standing before him, saying, ‘Remove the filthy garments from upon him!’ Then he said to Joshua, ‘See, I have removed your iniquity from upon you, and dressed you in clean attire.’ Then I said, ‘Let them put a pure turban on his head.’ So they put a pure turban on his head and they dressed him in clean garments, while the angel of HaShem remained standing. The angel of HaShem then warned Joshua saying, ‘Thus said HaShem, Master of Legions: ‘If you go in My ways, and if you will safeguard My watch, and you also administer My Temple, and you will also guard My courtyards, when I will grant you strides among these angels who stand here. Listen, now, O, Joshua, the Kohen Gadol, you and your companions who are sitting before you, for they are men worthy of a miracle, for behold, I am bringing My servant, Zemah (The Branch, another name for Messiah Yeshua). For behold the foundation stone I have placed before Joshua, seven eyes toward one stone; behold, I am engraving its adornment, the Word of HaShem, Master of Legions, and I will remove the iniquity of that land on one day. On that day, the Word of HaShem, Master of Legions, each man will invite his fellow beneath the vine and beneath the fig tree (A term to describe dwelling securely in peace, and enjoying the benefits of the land and its fruit together.)”
“Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and woke me, as a man is awakened from his sleep. He said to me, ‘What do you see?’ I said, ‘I see and behold, there is a menorah made entirely of gold with its bowl on its top; its seven lamps are upon it, and there are seven ducts for each of the lamps on its top. There are two olive trees over it, one at the right of the bowl and one on its left. I spoke up and said to the angel who was speaking to me, saying, ‘What are these, my master?’ The angel who was speaking to me answered and said to me, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ And I said, ‘No, my master!’ He spoke up and said to me saying, ‘This is the word of HaShem to Zerubabbel, saying, ‘Not through army and not through strength, but through My Ruach (Spirit), said HaShem, Master of Legions!'”
One final thought. Did Yeshua keep and celebrate Hanakkuah? It may surprise many but yes He did and it is recorded for us in the Apostolic Writings. Yochanan (John) 10:22-23 says “At that time the Hanukkah came to be in Yerushalyim (Jerusalem), and it was winter. And Yeshua was walking in the Set-apart Place (Temple of HaShem), in the porch of Solomon.” Yeshua came to Jerusalem to celebrate Hanukkah! I find it very interesting, it was during Hanukkah as recorded in this chapter of John, where the people flat out asked if He was Messiah or not i.e. the Light of Hanukkah revealing Messiah Yeshua (The real one). Just something to think about.
This all said, lighting the candles of Hanukkah, is meant to illuminate a very dark, oppressive world which is committed to the destruction of Israel and which delights in separating Israel from HaShem’s Torah. When the lights of Hanukkah are lit, it banishes the darkness of Rome and reminds us HaShem’s promises are true and He WILL redeem His people from exile and bring us all home into His Land i.e. Israel!
The calling of His people back to Israel, is both literal and spiritual! He is awakening His people by the masses and calling them home i.e. to leave the religious systems of Rome i.e. Christendom, and to begin the journey of learning His Torah and discovering Who Yeshua really is! Its a slow process and we learn more and more each day, even if we move only a millimeter, we are still moving forward!
Consider all of this as we begin Hanukkah during a time of war in 2023!
Hanukkah Sameach!!!!
SOURCE MATERIALS:
- The Scriptures by the Institute for Scriptures Research
- The Stone Edition Chumash by Artscroll
- The Rubin Edition The Prophets by Artscroll
- Tehillim by Artscroll
- The Bereishis Midrash Rabbah by Artscroll
- Hanukkah Its History by Artscroll