December 20th marks the beginning of the observance of Hanukkah this year.  It is my privilege to know a Rabbi and his wife in our area.  His explanation of Hanukkah presented here, is not only beautiful, but informative.  It’s timeless message never grows old.

The principles of Leadership Education…

are based in the fact…

that people choose…

to educate themselves.

One of the major benefits…

is the encouragement…

that you will strive to understand others…

and where they are coming from…

so that together…

you can change the world.

The following…

is an explanation of Hanukkah..

by Rabbi Yonason Denebeim…

that was presented…

in the Palm Springs area…

for a group of Leadership Education children…

and their families.

Rabbi Denebeim…

and his wife Sussie…

live in Palm Springs.

They are the parents…

of 14 children…

eight daughters…

and six sons.

He is a Rabbi of Chabad…

which is a form…

of Orthodox Judaism.

They have grown children…

on every continent of the world…

with the exception of Antarctica.

They are an exceptional family…

and I have had the distinct privilege…

of being a guest in their home…

when their grown children…

and their families…

have been present.

Their children and grandchildren…

are fluent in several languages.

In fact…

some of their grandchildren…

don’t speak English.

I consider myself blessed…

to call them my friends.

One of my greatest…

Face to Face With Greatness memories…

was when I was a part…

of a book colloquium…

that Sussie Denebeim…

also attended…

on “The Chosen.”

Having her perspective…

was life changing…

and very illuminating…

where that particular book…

and the history of the Jews…

is concerned.

Gaylene Hatch…

our Face to Face moderator…

and I…

thought her insights…

were worth the entire seminar!

This explanation…

is lengthy.

It is also rich…

in information…

insight…

and knowledge.

Because of this…

I will use…

a traditional format….

for the remainder…

of this post.

It is well worth reading.

At the end…

I will share with you…

a simple way…

to help your family…

understand Hanukkah better.

May Hanukkah…

be a wonderful…

festival of light…

for all of my…

Jewish readers…

and friends!

My sincerest thanks…

to Rabbi Denebeim…

for being…

a bridge building…

human being.

May God richly bless you.

“The purpose of  Hanukkah, is to remind us that we are to drive the darkness that is in the world away, with light.  My explanation is based in the history of the Jewish people and the traditional and historical significance of Hanukkah to us as a nation.  You see, it really isn’t about the American version of Hanukkah, which involves giving gifts for eight nights.

Judaism believes that the most important reason for being on this earth isn’t to get to heaven.  We believe in heaven….after all, where do you think everyone gets this idea and belief from…if it isn’t the Jews?  But what we believe is that it is our responsibility to bring heaven down to earth.  It’s about making your soul control the world around you, making the world a beautiful and Godly place.

Life and culture, at the time that the miracle we call Hanukkah took place; involved ideas and thoughts that life is all about making yourself as beautiful as possible.  This is a great thought indeed, except that the people thinking these thoughts were doing this without any acknowledgment of God; so they became beautiful specimens on the outside only.

The most important structure in Jewish history to illustrate these ideas, is the temple in Jerusalem.  It was destroyed 2,000 years ago by the Romans, but there was a temple before that called a tabernacle.  It was a special house with special furniture inside.  One of those pieces of furniture was a menorah, that had seven branches.  These branches represented the seven days of the week and the seven emotional attributes that every human possesses.  This house and furniture represented the bringing together of Godliness and the physical world.  This was not about two separate worlds, but rather to show the fact that the Creator and His physical world are one.

At this juncture of history, this obviously was a belief and thought process that were counter to the culture of the time.  At first, the fight became an intellectual one, and the Jews refused to back down.  The struggle continued, becoming more and more powerful.  Antiochus was the king at the time, and people went to him regarding the refusal on the part of the Jews to acknowledge the cultural norms.  The Jews wouldn’t bow down to the idols of the day, nor would they forsake the thought processes of their faith.  Because of this, Antiochus became very angry and sent armies and non-kosher animals into the temple and dirtied the entire place.

A high priest named Matisyahu ( yes, the kids wanted to know if it was the same name as the singer…and it is!) had seven sons.  Each of these sons had been raised with the values and principles of their father.  They were strong, and they were not afraid.  They decided that they were going to fight this king and his armies in order to protect the values which are so important to us, the Jews.  They united, along with many others against these armies and they won!

They went back into the temple and wanted to light the menorah in order to drive out the darkness.  However, they had a challenge.  Any oil used in the temple must be kosher.  What should they do?  Should they light the menorah and have it burn for a very short time, or should they wait until they could consecrate more oil and had enough to keep it burning?  The Rabbis at the time, decided it is better to do what you can now with what you have to drive the darkness away, rather than to wait.

The first miracle then, was the defeat of the powerful armies.

The second miracle was, once they lit the oil, it burned for eight days.

Perhaps you wonder why we use olive oil.

Olives are a fruit and they are totally sealed.  They aren’t like olives in the store that have been pitted.

This oil not only burns well, but it represents the potential that is in each and every human being.

Olives must be crushed in order to get the oil out; and only the first drop was ever used in the menorah in the temple.  The rest was used for other purposes.

The true wisdom and potential that you possess, must be pressed out and ignited in order to illuminate the world around you.  Another great thing, is that when you use your light to light another candle;  you don’t lose anything from your own soul.

Just like fire has the potential to bring light to weld and mend, it can also destroy.  Our responsibility is to use that energy to illuminate the world and to make the world a brighter place.

Our custom to this very day, is that we do not use candles for our menorah.  We use olive oil.

As evening falls, and darkness comes, you have the greatest ability to see light. In the temple, the menorah was lit in the morning, and it burned all day and all night.

We light one light on the first night and one each evening thereafter for eight nights.  We add another light each night.

We start from the right and move towards the left because the book of Isaiah says that God created the world with His right hand first, so we give deference to the right.  It actually means the stronger hand.  If you are left handed, that is your “right” hand.

In order for a menorah to be kosher, all eight lights have to be in a straight line on the same level.  This comes from The Torah in the book of Exodus.

There also must be enough space within the well, so that the light will burn for 45 minutes following nightfall.

We do not use wicks.  Instead, we roll pure cotton into a wick that we then place into the olive oil well.

We believe that light can also be used for the wrong reasons, and that the menorah is holy.  This is why we must not benefit from the light of the menorah itself.

In order to respect this, we have a Shamash, or helper candle.  It is pure beeswax with no paraffin.

If we were to accidentally benefit from the light, we believe that it is the Shamash or helper that we are indeed benefitting from.

As we add to the light each evening, we contemplate that whatever you do today, should be added to tomorrow; bringing more and more light and goodness into the world around you.  We are to remember to do this until we can be recharged next year.

Right inside the door of a Jewish home, on the right hand side is a box for a mezuzah.  It is a scroll that is on the doorpost at an angle, that faces into the house.

The concept here, is that I am to control what comes into and goes out of my own house.  I can dedicate my house to make sure that everything inside of it is holy, moral and ethical.  I can’t control what goes on in the street.

However, I am not to forget the street, and have a responsibility to share the light.  With this idea in mind, and obeying Talmudic Law, we place the menorah opposite the mezuzah in the doorway, so that its light can be shared.

Jews don’t try to convert others to our faith.  We believe that every person was created with a holy purpose.  This is why we also have public lightings of the menorah.  We want to share good thoughts and ideas with others.

When we light the menorah, the whole family assembles together.    We then recite three blessings while lighting the candle.

The first blessing is to thank God for making us realize our responsibility in lighting the lights of Hanukkah.  In the second blessing, we thank God for creating miracles for our forefathers both in the past and today.  We believe that time is concurrent, and in reciting this blessing, we are connecting with the energy that was present over 2,000 years ago. Our third blessing thanks God for keeping us alive and sustaining us.

It is customary for each male to light their own menorah.  Nowadays, we Skype our children and do this on each continent together.  Those physically present in each place, join hands sing and dance.

In the Old City of Jerusalem and in the alleyways, there are niches cut out in the stone with glass plates over them.  These protect the lights from the wind.  It is the most amazing sight to see thousands and thousands of menorahs all lit together throughout the city.

We also observe the giving of Hanukkah gelt.  We give money to our children, so that they may practice Sadaka; or spiritual offering.

Charity says that I will bestow goodness and kindness to others through what I have that is extra.  Sadaka practices justice and doesn’t involve extra; but is rather something that you take from yourself in order to share a part of you.  It is an obligation of Jewish law, and is a box that is attached in our synagogues, and on the walls of our home.  You give to these every day in order to practice justice towards others.

We can all practice driving the darkness away with light.”

This is so much information!

Younger children can equally benefit from it by perhaps receiving it in small increments.  What better way to do that, than to observe the nights of Hanukkah.

For those of you with Core and LOL children, the idea of fire  in this case, really MAY be dangerous!

Here is an idea for a flameless menorah.

Cover a small box, leaving one end capable of being opened.

Paint nine old-fashioned clothespins, and cut gold pipe cleaners into equal lengths, one for each clothes pin.

On each night of Hanukkah, add a “candle” to your “menorah”, lighting it with a gold pipe cleaner.

Each evening, a portion of Rabbi Denebeim’s presentation could be presented.

I know in my house it certainly will be!

I would love to know what you think…

so leave a comment, will you?