Most everyone has heard of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, but many who celebrate Christmas know little more than that Jews get eight nights of gifts instead of just one. How many Christians actually know what miracle Hanukkah commemorates or how important it is to the way their own spirituality has evolved?
It was 164BC, and the Jews had been conquered yet again by an oppressive enemy. In an attempt to assimilate conquered nations into a controllable society, the Greek empire prohibited any other religion. Jews were forced to abandon their faith and ordered to worship Greek gods. By decree, the Temple of Jerusalem was turned into a Greek shrine, and Jews were forbidden to study the Torah, celebrate their holidays, or practice Jewish customs. Many Jews disobeyed - and died for their spiritual commitment. After 3 years of Greek domination, the Maccabees, a priestly family of Jews who organized a rebellion against the ruler Antiochus IV, were successful in overturning Greek rule, and the Temple was restored to Jewish ownership. Tragically, it had been totally desecrated by the Greeks, so as part of their reclamation and rededication ceremony, the Maccabees began an eight-day purification rite. They could find only enough oil to keep the Temple menorah - a candelabrum with eight branches – lit for one day. The miracle of Hanukkah was that despite the shortage of oil, the sacred menorah burned continuously for all 8 day!
Many who celebrate Christmas believe that Hanukkah is a festival that has relevance only for those who practice Judaism. But we who believe that all peaceful spiritual paths are sacred know the truth of what Rabbi Harold Kushner points out in his book To Life: a Celebration of Jewish Being and Thinking; "If it weren’t for Hanukkah, we wouldn’t be celebrating Christmas." If the Maccabees had not bravely rebelled against the Greeks, the Jewish faith most likely would have faded into Greek culture, never to be heard of again. There would have been no Jewish community for Jesus to be born into a century and half later. There would have been none of the messianic promises he claimed to fulfill. "Without Hanukkah", says Rabbi Kushner, "there would have been no Christmas.”
Those who follow the teachings of Jesus, if they truly search for their spiritual roots, will find that by faith, they belong to the House of David. Jesus lived his entire life as an observant Jew. He celebrated Hanukkah as a child, and the last supper was a Passover Seder. All the apostles and most of those who became his early followers were Jewish. The crowds who came to hear Jesus speak called him Rabbi, the Hebrew word for teacher. It would seem that historically and traditionally, Christmas and Hanukkah are inseparably and undeniably linked!
Sacred oil in a temple – a magical star shining over a stable. Miracles are of one spirit, not of one faith. Miracles are for anyone who believes. That is the heart of Hanukkah and the soul of Christmas. The more we allow ourselves to recognize the wisdom and truth of other spiritual paths, the closer to Wholeness and true Unity we become.
