- This week Jews celebrate the festival of Chanukah, to
commemorate the miracles G-d made for them in ancient times. During the
time of the Second Temple, the Jews overcame their enemies, who tried to
force them to abandon the study of Torah and the practice of its commandments.
(The Zionists of today have made similar attempts.) With G-d's help, the
Jews won out, and were able to continue keeping the commandments.
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- Afterwards, when the Kohanim (priests) entered the Temple
to light the menorah, they found that all the oil had been defiled by their
enemies. They found only one small jar of oil closed with the seal of the
High Priest, enough for only one day. A miracle happened, and they lit
with that oil for eight days, until they were able to make new oil.
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- When the Jewish Sages of that time established Chanukah,
they enacted the lighting of the menorah, which reminds us of the second
miracle. A mention of the miraculous wars was inserted into the prayers,
but it seems that the Sages were concerned mainly with remembering the
miracle of the oil.
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- The reason for this is explained in the holy books. The
Sages foresaw that the Temple would eventually be destroyed and the Jews
would go into exile. During the exile, Jews are forbidden to wage wars;
they are adjured to wait peacefully until G-d brings the exile to a miraculous
end. The Sages feared that if too much stress were put on the wars, Jews
in exile might be led to consider the idea of war as a means to redeem
themselves. Therefore they established the practice of lighting a menorah
in every Jewish home, to stress the miracle of the menorah in the Temple.
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- Furthermore, the Sages intended the menorah itself as
a reminder that the redemption from exile will come in a miraculous way,
not through human effort. The source for this symbolism is in the book
of the prophet Zechariah (4:6). Zechariah was shown a prophetic vision
of a menorah. He asked an angel what the vision meant, and the angel replied,
"This is the word of the L-rd to Zerubabel, saying: Not by might,
and not by power, but by My spirit, said the L-rd of Hosts."
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- How bitterly ironic is it, then, that the Zionists have
ignored the spirit of the candles, turning Chanukah into a celebration
of the victories of the Maccabbees, and have taken as one of their national
symbols a menorah, of all things ? the very menorah that symbolizes the
opposite of their ideals!
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- Russell Waxman
- Assistant Editor
- True Torah Jews/Jews Against Zionism
- www.jewsagainstzionism.com
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