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Chanukah the festival of Lights ๐
It was during the time if the second temple, Beis HaMikdash, that the Holy Land was ruled by very cruel Greeks. They robbed the Jews of everything they owned and after they conquered the Holy Temple they put up Idols on the Holy altar. No one managed to stand up up to the mighty foe, till the priest Mattityahu and his five sons came up with a stragety and drove the Greeks away from Israel. It was a miracle that the five boys of Mattityahu defeated the mighty Greek army.
The Greeks accepted the Torah as a book of great wisdom, but not as something Holy that connected the Jews to HaShem, at some point later in time they made reading the Torah illegal and prohibit to worship HaShem, to observe the Mitzvos,no more Shabbos, Brit Milah, kosher laws and the holliness of Jewish marriage.
To keep the Torah alive, the Maccabees risks their lives, their stragety to defeat the Greek army was a miracle, but wat was even a greater miracle, was the oil and how they didn't have any oil left as the Greeks had made all of the oil in Beis HaMikdash impure, but luck was on their side as they found a jar of oil which had been overlooked, and with great Love for HaShem they lit the oil, but it was just enough for one day, and then another miracle happend, HaShem made the oil burn for eight days. Everyone could see the that Shechinah dwelt with the Jews.
With such joy they cleansed Beis HaMikdash and began to serve HaShem once again. We still feel the happiness and joy when we celebrate Chanukah, with parties, dreidels, latkes, sufganiyot and gelt.
When we are filled with joy which has so much power and will overcome negativity and evil decree!! Every day we add another candle, till all eight candles of the Menorah, and we are charging ourselves up with the Light, which also will be adding the Torah and the Mitzvos.
And with this light, which will continue for the whole year, as Chanukah candles are as Holy as the oil of the Lights in Beis HaMikdash, meaning they cannot be used for any other purpose, and remember its a Mitzvah to look into the the candles, and listen to the Chanukah story and how the Maccabees brought us to victory.
The miracle of Chanukah was during very dark times, with such a evil decree against us, The Maccabees had a lot of courage, trust and Love for HaShem, it was their Mesiras Nefesh that turned darkness into Light.
We could do the same as the Maccabees has done, by self- sacrifice and with trust and love for HaShem. With this we can light up the world and bring in the Moshiach!
