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WWW.WOODBURYGAZETTE.COM December 22, 2011Faith11Festival of Lights Commemorates Rededication of the Holy TempleCelebrating Hanukkah this Week in WoodburyWhat is Hanukkah?By Chaim CoffmanBasic Concepts And LawsThe Talmud tells us that beginning with the 25th of Kislev,eight days of Hanukkah are observed, during which noeulogies are delivered, nor is fasting permitted. For whenthe Greeks entered the Sanctuary, they defiled all the oils,and when the Hasmoneans (the Maccabees) defeatedthem, they searched and found only one remaining jar ofoil with the seal of the Kohen Gadol (the High Priest). Althoughit contained only enough oil to burn for one day,a miracle occurred, and the oil burned eight days. A yearlater the Rabbis designated these days as Yomim Tovim(Holidays) on which praise and thanksgiving were to besaid. (Tractate Shabbat 21)The Greek’s Harsh Decrees: During the SecondTemple period, the Greek kings outlawed the Jewish religion,forbade them to engage in the study of Torah andthe practice of mitzvot, and ravaged and defiled all thathad been ritually pure. The Hasmoneans were finally ableto subdue the enemy, whereby they designated a king torule over Israel which lasted for more than 200 years. TheSages of that generation therefore decreed, that the eightdays beginning with the 25th of Kislev should be days ofrejoicing; that Hallel (praise) be recited and that lights belit in the entrance to their homes each of the eight nights,in order to publicize the miracle. These days were calledHanukkah, that is to say Chanu Kaf-Hay (they rested onthe 25th), for on the 25th, they rested from their enemies.The above expression of the Talmud: “They made it aYom Tov for praise and thanksgiving” refers to the literalrecitation of Hallel (praise) and therefore, the completeHallel is said during schararit (morning prayers) all eightdays of Hanukkah. The term “thanksgiving” refers to alhanisim, which is included in each shmoneh esreh (silentmeditation, amidah) during these days as well, as well asin birkat hamazon (grace after meals).What may one use to light the Hanukkahcandles? The preferred way to perform the mitzvahis to light the Hanukkah menorah with pure oliveoil and cotton wicks, since their light is pure andit causes us to remember the light of the Menorahwhich was lit with olive oil. All other oils and wicksare permissible if their light is pure and does notflicker. One may also use candles made of wax. Onemust be careful and make sure the lights stay lit forabout a half an hour or as long as people cominghome from the marketplace would be able to seethem. If one is using wax candles specifically, it isa good idea to put them in the freezer before usesince it lengthens their burning time. The menorahitself should be pretty and can be made of metal orglass. An earthenware holder is permissible but mayonly be used once while it is still new. After one usageit becomes unclean and may not be used for thenext night. A wick which was used one night maybe used on succeeding nights as well. The same istrue of the remaining oil or of the remainder of waxcandles. If one is lighting with oil, one way to saveon the mess and expense of using many cotton wicksis to pull the part of the wick that is black up fromthe holder and continue to use the rest of the wickand continue this for many succeeding nights untilthe wick becomes very small.One must also be careful with the menorah that onechooses. There are many menorah’s on the market that althoughaesthetically beautiful, are not permitted to be used.For example, the eight candles of the menorah must be in astraight line with the shamash a little bit above them. Anymenorah which is fancily shaped in a circle or square...is not permitted to be used since the candles must be in astraight line and none may be higher or lower than the others.There must also be enough space between one candleand another so that the flames of each are not intermingled.How does one light the lights? On the first night ofHanukkah, one light is lit and on each successive nightanother light is added until the eighth night when all thelights are lit. When one lights on the first night, one lightsthe one on the extreme right. The following night he addsthe one immediately to the left and kindles it first. He thenturns to the right and kindles the light of the previous night.He follows the same procedure each night always addingfrom right to left but always lighting from left to right. Thereason for this procedure is that the additional light recallsthe greatness and growth of the miracle.On the first night of Hanukkah, three blessings are recitedbefore the lights are kindled:(1) “Baruch ata Hashem,Elokenu melech ha’olam, asher kidshanu b’mitzvotavv’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel Hanukkah.” (Blessed are You,L-rd our G-d, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified uswith His commandments and has commanded us to lightthe Hanukkah lights.) (2) “Baruch ata Hashem, Elokenumelech ha’olam, she’asah nisim la’avotenu, bayamimhahem bazeman hazeh.” (Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d,King of the Universe, Who has doen miracles for our fathersin days gone by, at this time.) (3) “Baruch ata Hashem,Elokenu melech ha’olam, shehecheyanu, vekiyemanuvehigi’anu lazeman hazeh.” (Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, King of the Universe, Who has given us life, and has sustainedus, and has brought us to this time.) After one makesthese three blessings, he kindles the light. On the remainingnights, one only recites the first two blessings and doesnot say “shecheyanu.” If one was prevented from lightingthe candles on the first night or forgot to say shecheyanu,he may say it the next time he kindles the lights.There is also a custom of using an extra candle, theshamash to light the other candles. The shamash mayonly be used for lighting the other candles and one mayderive benefit from its light. The Hanukkah lights themselves,however, may not be used for any other purposewhile they are burning for the purpose of the mitzvah.One should preferably have other lights on in the house inorder that one does not run into this problem.After the first light is kindled, “hanerot halalu” is saidand the rest of the lights can now be lit. After the lightshave been kindled, Hanukkah songs are sung and foodscontaining oil, such as jelly donuts are eaten. Every customaccording to the place in which one lives!Source: www.chanuka.comBuilt by Solomon, King David’s sonTemple in JerusalemCenter of conflictThe Bible reports that the First Templewas built in 957 BCE by King Solomon(reigned c.970-c.930 BCE). Asthe sole place of Jewish sacrifice, theTemple replaced the portable sanctuaryconstructed in the Sinai Desertunder the auspices of Moses, as wellas local sanctuaries, and altars in thehills. This temple was however sackeda few decades later by Sheshonk I,Pharaoh of Egypt. Although effortswere made at partial reconstruction, itwas only in 835 BCE when Jehoash,King of Judah in the second year ofhis reign invested considerable sumsin reconstruction, only to have itstripped again for Sennacherib, Kingof Assyria in c700 BCE. The FirstTemple was totally destroyed by theBabylonians in 586 BCE when theysacked the city.According to the Book of Ezra,construction of the Second Templewas authorized by Cyrus the Greatand began in 538 BCE, after the fallof the Babylonian Empire the yearbefore. It was completed 23 yearslater, on the third day of Adar, in thesixth year of the reign of Darius theGreat (12 March 515 BCE), dedicatedby the Jewish governor Zerubbabel.Despite the fact that the new templewasn’t as extravagant or imposing asits predecessor, it still dominated theJerusalem skyline and remained animportant structure throughout thetime of Persian suzerainty. The templenarrowly avoided being destroyedagain in 332 BCE when the Jews refusedto acknowledge the deificationof Alexander the Great of Macedonia.Alexander was allegedly “turnedfrom his anger” at the last minute byastute diplomacy and flattery. Afterthe death of Alexander on 13 June323 BCE, and the dismembering ofhis empire, the Ptolemies came to ruleover Judea and the Temple. Under thePtolemies, the Jews were given manycivil liberties and lived content undertheir rule. However, when the Ptolemaicarmy was defeated at Paniumby Antiochus III of the Seleucids in198 BCE, this policy changed. Antiochuswanted to Hellenize the Jews,attempting to introduce the Greekpantheon into the temple. A rebellionensued and was brutally crushed, butno further action by Antiochus wastaken. When Antiochus died in 187BCE at Luristan, his son SeleucusIV Philopator succeeded him. However,his policies never took effect inJudea, since he was assassinated theyear after his ascension.Antiochus IV Epiphanes succeededhis older brother to the Seleucid throneand immediately adopted his father’sprevious policy of universal Hellenisation.The Jews rebelled again and Antiochus,in a rage, retaliated in force.Considering the previous episodes ofdiscontent, the Jews became incensedwhen the religious observance of theSabbath and Circumcision were officiallyoutlawed. When Antiochuserected a statue of Zeus in their templeand began sacrificing pigs their angerbegan to spiral. When a Greek officialasked a Jewish priest to perform a pagansacrifice, the priest (Mattathias),killed him. Predictably, Antiochus resortedto the same bloody reprisals. In167 BCE the Jews rose up en massebehind Mattathias and his five sons tofight and win their freedom from Seleucidtyranny. Mattathias’s son JudasMaccabeus, now called “The Hammer”,re-dedicated the temple in 165BCE and the Jews celebrate this eventto this day as a major part of the festivalof Hanukkah.After the Muslim conquest of Jerusalemin the 7th century, UmayyadCaliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan orderedthe construction of an Islamicshrine, the Dome of the Rock on thesite of the Temple. The shrine hasstood on the mount since 691 CE;the al-Aqsa Mosque, from roughlythe same period, also stands in theTemple courtyard. The mount bearssignificance in Islam as it acted as asanctuary for many Hebrew prophets.Islamic tradition says that a templewas first built on the Temple Mountby Jacob and later renovated by Solomon,son of David.Source: Wikipedia