{"id":14412,"date":"2025-12-02T18:38:28","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T18:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/?p=14412"},"modified":"2025-12-26T15:55:51","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T15:55:51","slug":"what-is-chanukah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.torahmates.org\/jewish-resources\/what-is-chanukah\/","title":{"rendered":"Chanukah Part 1: What is Chanukah?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chanukah is a joyful eight-day holiday celebrated in early winter, usually in December. It commemorates events that took place nearly 2,200 years ago! Back then, the Beit Hamikdash <\/em>(Holy Temple) stood in Jerusalem, and most Jews lived in Israel, which was under the control of the Greek Empire. The Greeks tried to ruin the Beit Hamikdash <\/em>and force the Jews to abandon the Torah and their Jewish way of life. The proud Jews resisted with great courage, relying on their tefillot <\/em>(prayers) and their battle swords. With Hashem\u2019s (God’s) miraculous help, they defeated the Greeks, cleaned and restored the Beit Hamikdash<\/em>, and relit the menorah, bringing Hashem and the light of Torah back into the center Jewish life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pure Oil!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The most famous miracle on Chanukah had to do with the menorah! After the discovery of one single, small jar of clean oil, the Kohanim<\/em> (priests) lit the menorah for the first time in many years, expecting the oil to last for one night. To their surprise and delight, the flames burned for 7 more days and nights, until new pure bottle of oil was brought. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To Remember The Miracle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every year we celebrate Chanukah and for 8 nights we light a menorah by a window or a doorway that faces a street to show ourselves and the whole world that even almost 2,200 years later, we are still living a Torah way of life. The Midrash1<\/sup> mentions that the Jews are compared to the olive and its primary by-product, olive oil. Other liquids mix together easily, but oil always stays separate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Our life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some people think that they need to be like all of the non-Jewish people around them, that they need to blend in with their neighbors. On Chanukah, we mimic the Maccabi heroes from our
past and use the Chanukah flames to shout loud and clear that we are proud to be true to our Torah and our Jewish way of life<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Closer Look<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chanukah is so much more than an amazing story about the miracles Hashem performed for the Jews in ancient Israel. It\u2019s a holiday with a deeper meaning that has impacted the Jewish nation for more than 2,000 years. The Greeks were a unique culture. They came from Yafet, one of Noach\u2019s sons.2<\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was blessed with a special talent for creating beauty, and that\u2019s why the Greeks focused so much on outward beauty; strong muscles, art, music, literature, fancy buildings, and stylish clothing. Their intelligence and philosophy were also admired. But there was a big problem: all this beauty and knowledge had no real purpose. It was just for show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Greeks conquered a country<\/a>, they didn\u2019t just take over the land and demand taxes. They wanted everyone to live like them. They built libraries in big cities for people to learn Greek ideas and opened gymnasiums to exercise and socialize. These gyms had statues of Greek gods to promote idol worship. The Greeks tried to replace the culture of the people they conquered with their own, known as assimilation, when people adopt the dominant culture around them.3<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’re Not Like Them!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most nations didn\u2019t mind this. After all, who wouldn\u2019t want to be like the most powerful empire? But the Jews didn\u2019t agree. When Israel became part of the Greek empire, they weren\u2019t interested in Greek libraries, gods, or philosophies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jews already had beautiful buildings, delicious food, and special clothing. The difference was that everything they had was used to serve Hashem. For example, they sang zemirot<\/em> (songs), used their best dishes, and wore special clothing to make Shabbat beautiful. They built an architecturally gorgeous building in which to serve Hashem, the Beit Hamikdash<\/em>. They exercised and rested to be healthy and strong enough to do mitzvot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jews were proud of their way of life<\/a> and knew it was perfect just as Hashem designed it! This pride made the Greeks angry. They couldn\u2019t stand the idea that another culture might be better than theirs, so they worked harder to make the Jews assimilate.4<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some Fell For It<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, some Jews were tempted by the Greeks\u2019 way of life. They thought Greek clothing, names, and ideas were more exciting than their own. These Jews, called Mityavnim, were embarrassed by Jewish traditions and acted as Greek as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Worse, they pressured Torah true friends to follow them. The Greeks, along with the Mityavnim<\/a>, made life hard for Jews who were loyal to the Torah. But these Jews didn\u2019t give up. With Hashem\u2019s help, the Maccabees – a tiny army of Torah-true Jews fought back and miraculously pushed the Greeks out of Israel. They helped the Jewish people rediscover their roots and connection to Torah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We Keep Our Jewish Pride<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every year on Chanukah, we take pride in the foundational differences between the values of the Greeks and the values in Judaism.5<\/sup> Greek values stemmed from an obsession with external beauty.6<\/sup> As Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi (author of The Kuzari) warned, \u201cBeware the wisdom of Greece, for it has no fruit, only flowers.\u201d Fruit provides nutrition and sustenance, while a flower, though very pretty, eventually withers and dies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greek society valued the external and superficial, believing that only physical experiences, what they could taste, touch, or understand were real. This is completely opposite of the Torah, which teaches that everything in the physical world has a spiritual meaning and a purpose and can be used to serve Hashem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When We Were Captured<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Originally, the Greeks were excited with the Jews and were delighted to discover an intellectually advanced nation like them. The Jewish people valued intellect and so did the Greeks who saw it smart brains as evidence of humanity\u2019s greatness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the Greeks were surprised and frustrated to find that the Jews were also proud of their unique culture and uninterested in sharing their sacred knowledge. They were also apposed to adopting Greek ideas. By the time King Antiochus came to power, he was angry that the proud Jews continued to reject Greek culture, despite its emphasis on physical beauty and intellectual achievements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Forbidden Mitzvot<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When Jews said, \u201cNo, thanks! We\u2019re good!\u201d to Greek ideals, Antiochus targeted these specific mitzvot that epitomized Jewish values and forbade the Jews to carry them out:7<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n