(נא) ויהי ביום החמישי ועשרים לחדש התשיעי הוא כסלו, בשנת שמונה וארבעים ומאה, וישכימו בבוקר ויעלו עולות על המזבח החדש כמשפט.
(נב) ויחנכו את המזבח בעצם היום אשר טמאו אותו הגויים, ויהללו לה' בשירים ובכינורות בחלילים ובמצלצלים.
(נג) ויפלו על פניהם וישתחוו לה' על אשר נתן להם עוז ותשועה.
(נד) ויחוגו את חנוכת המזבח שמונת ימים, ויעלו עולות ותודות בשמחת לבבם.
(נה) ויפארו את פני ההיכל בעטרות ובמגיני זהב ויחטאו את השערים ואת לשכות הכוהנים, וישימו את הדלתות.
(נו) ותהי שמחה גדולה בכל העם, כי גלל ה' את חרפת הגויים מעליהם.
(נז) ויצווה יהודה ואחיו וכל קהל ישראל לחוג את חנוכת המזבח ביום החמישה ועשרים לחדש כסלו שמונת ימים מדי שנה בשנה בהלל ובתודה לה'.
(51) Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, which is the month of Kislev, in the one hundred forty-eighth year, they rose and offered sacrifice, as the law directs, on the new altar of the burnt offering that they had built.
(52) At the very season and on the very day that the Gentiles had profaned it, it was dedicated with songs and harps and lutes and cymbals...
(53) Then all the people fell upon their faces, worshipping and praising the God of heaven, who had given them good success.
(54) So they celebrated the dedication of the altar for eight days, and joyfully offered burnt offerings...
(55) They also decked the facade of the temple with crowns of gold, and with shields; and the gates and the chambers they renewed, and hanged doors upon them.
(56) Thus the people were extremely glad because the heathens had been put away.
(57) Then Judah and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel determined that every year at that season the days of dedication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness for eight days, beginning with the twenty-fifth day of the month of Kislev.
(ח) ומאת ה' הייתה זאת לחטא את הבית בעצם היום ההוא אשר טימאו אתו הגויים, והוא יום העשרים וחמשה לירח כסלו.
(ט) ויחוגו חג לה' שמונת ימים כימי חג הסוכות, ויזכרו את הימים מקדם בחגגם את חג הסוכות בהרים ובמערות, ויתעו בישימון כבהמות שדה.
(י) ויקחו ערבי נחל וכפות תמרים וישירו שיר שבח והודיה לה', אשר נתן להם עוז ותשועה לטהר את בית מקדשו.
(יא) ויעבירו קול בכל ערי יהודה לחוג את החג הזה מדי שנה בשנה.
(8) It happened that on the same day on which the sanctuary had been profaned by the foreigners, the purification of the sanctuary took place, that is, on the twenty-fifth day of the same month, which was Kislev.
(9) They celebrated it for eight days with rejoicing, in the manner of the festival of booths, remembering how not long before, during the festival of booths, they had been wandering in the mountains and caves like wild animals.
(10) Therefore, carrying ivy-wreathed wands and beautiful branches and also fronds of palm, they offered hymns of thanksgiving to him who had given success to the purifying of his own holy place.
(11) They decreed by public edict, ratified by vote, that the whole nation of the Jews should observe these days every year.”
Not as tightly knit in paradigm, theme, and practice as the other holidays, Hanukkah lends itself to being a type of holy day Rorschach test. Every community and generation has interpreted Hanukkah in its own image, speaking to its own needs.
When the Rabbis asked, "What is Hanukkah?" their answer focused on the purification of the Temple and the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days. As a new spiritual leadership dealing with the religious challenge of Jewry's survival after the loss of sovereignty and power, the Rabbis stressed the divine miracle to the exclusion of military and diplomatic acts and the sovereignty exercised by the Maccabees. Similarly, medieval Jews focused on the divine miraculous activity in Hanukkah, projecting their own sense of helplessness and their longing for the messianic redeemer to do it all for them.
For Early Rabbis/Medieval Rabbis - what was Hanukkah?
By contrast, modern Zionists saw in Hanukkah a reflection of their agenda; they celebrated the Maccabee military prowess and political achievement. An early secular Zionist song proclaimed that "a miracle did not happen to us, we found no cruse of oil." To these Zionists, the Maccabee state building was eternal message of the holiday.
What is Hanukkah for the Zionists?
For modern liberal Jews, Hanukkah became the holiday of religious freedom. The Maccabee fight was presented as the uprising of a religious community against suppression; the Festival of Lights was a victory for, and a living model of, the religious tolerance that Jews taught the modern world. To uphold this view, liberals had to filter out the fact that while Hasmoneans fought for the right to practice their own religion, they were hardly pluralist. In fact, the Maccabees, fought Hellenising Jews to the death and suppressed them as soon as they achieved power.
What is Hanukkah for the Modern Jew?
This year, the miracle that resonates with me is not the oil lasting for 8 days. Instead, I am thinking about the Jews who stood in the destroyed Temple in Jerusalem, looking at the desecration of their holy place. Upon finding only a small amount of oil, they could have easily given up and decided not to light the lamp at all. Instead, they decided to take one step out of the darkness and light the menorah, even though they didn’t know what would happen or where it would go. It was an act of great bravery and incredible faith. It was what enabled the miracle of the oil to occur.
This is what I am feeling deeply at this moment. The world feels dark and it would be easier to just sit in the darkness. But we can make space for a miracle with one small step, one small light. We can light the menorah and remind ourselves and our world that we are still here, that we are brave, that we have pride, and faith. And for those who feel too much darkness to look for miracles right now, we will light for you and we will carry your light until you are ready for it. (Rabbi Rebecca Rosenthal)
What is Hanukkah for you?
What victory can we celebrate?
What Miracle resognates?