1
Chanukah – Festival of Many Meanings
Which of the different messages of Chanukah
below speaks most to you? Why?
When you have chosen the message that has the most meaning for
you, be ready to feed back to the group summarising your discussion, ideas and responses.
1. A story of G-d’s Miracles
 The Maccabees’ victory against the Greeks: the few against the many. Modern Day
military miracles: The war of Independence and the Six Day War in Israel (1967)
 The miracle of the oil lasting for 8 days.
Appreciating the miracles of Chanukah can help us appreciate miracles in our own time.
From one-off miracles such as Israel’s military victory in the War of Independence, to
everyday miracles such as a beautiful sunset. Theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel calls
cultivating an appreciation of miracles ‘Radical Amazement’. Is cultivating Radical
Amazement even more important in today’s cynical society?
2. A story of Faith in G-d and in Human Action
 The Maccabees’ faith that G-d would help them prevail in the military battle
against the Greeks.
 The Maccabees’ faith that G-d would keep the oil burning until the
messengers returned with consecrated oil.
 The determination to ‘go for it anyway’ even though the odds were against
them succeeding.
Having faith means taking a stand in today’s secular society. There are so many
terrible things happening in the world – war, poverty, global warming, to name just a
few – that it is easy to fall victim to despair. Faith in people and God can give us the
strength to carry on and believe that each of us as individuals can make a difference.
‘If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.’
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
3. Women as Role Models of Heroism
2
The Shulhan Arukh, the Code of Jewish Law, specifies that while the Hanukkah
lights are burning, no one is to engage in work, especially women. Why women?
There are two famous stories of Hanukkah that have brought special merit to the
valorous role of women in the holiday

The martyrdom of Hannah and her 7 sons (Second Book of Maccabees 7:1-41),
who gave up their lives rather than commit idolatry in public.
It seems that Antiochus meets Hannah and her sons, who refuse to eat pig in public. As
each son refuses, he is tortured and put to death in front of Hannah. Finally, before the last
child is to be killed, Antiochus appeals to Hannah to direct him to eat the meat and be saved.
Hannah asks her son what he wishes to do. He replies that he is only sorry that he had to
wait so long to show his love of Torah. Hannah praises him and he is then martyred. Hannah
dies, too. In different versions, Hannah is killed by Antiochus, throws herself from the city
walls, or dies of grief over her beloved sons.
 Judith and Holofernes
The Apocrypha is a collection of books from the biblical period which were not chosen to
be part of the Jewish Bible (but were accepted in the Catholic collection). In addition to
the First and Second Books of Maccabees, the Apocrypha contains the Book of Judith, a
book preserved in the Greek but not in the Hebrew Bible. It tells the story of a beautiful
Jewish woman by the name of Judith, who single-handedly saved the Jewish town of
Bethulia….
An evil general, Holofernes, lays siege to the town. All seems lost until Judith tells the
elders of the town that she has a plan to defeat the enemy. They dismiss her offer as
foolish and prepare to surrender to Holofernes. Judith tries once more to convince the
elders that she can save them, and this time they reluctantly agree to allow her to leave
the camp for one day.
Judith prepares herself for her bold scheme. She dresses provocatively and prepares a
sack containing food and wine. She approaches the enemy camp and is immediately
captured and brought to Holofernes. He is very impressed with her beauty and her
prediction that he will capture Bethulia. She suggests they go to his tent alone and
celebrate.
Once in Holofernes' tent, Judith feeds him the salty
cheese she has brought with her. Holofernes becomes
thirsty and drinks large quantities of wine until he falls
asleep, drunk. Judith takes Holofernes' sword and cuts
off his head. She covers the body with a blanket, puts
the head in a sack, and returns through the sleeping
camp to Bethulia.
The elders cannot believe that Judith has returned
safely. She reveals the severed head of Holofernes and the elders place it on the walls
of the city. Meanwhile, the enemy soldiers awake and discover the decapitated body of
their leader. In the distance, they see Holofernes' head hanging from the walls of
Bethulia. They decide that if a Jewish woman could be so ruthless, they do not want to
fight Jewish men in battle, and so the army retreats and the city of Bethulia is saved.
3
4. Jewish Identity: Striking the Balance between Jewish and Secular
Culture
 At the time of the Maccabees the Jewish community was divided between
those who admired Greek culture and those who saw it as a threat to
Judaism; between those who felt that Jewish survival depended on separating
off from Greek society and developing a totally Jewish way of life, and those
who felt the interface with Greek culture would strengthen Judaism and renew
it. How is this debate alive today? Which side of the debate are you on?
In the time of the Maccabees there was an internal Jewish debate taking place addressing
the question of cultural influence. How much influence should the Jewish community
accept from the surrounding Hellenistic (Greek) culture? Should the Jews practice as the
Hellenists do; think as they do (adopting Greek philosophy and ideas); even change their
appearance (wear Greek clothes) and hide the mark of circumcision in order to appear as
they do? (Some Jews concealed their circumcision in order to take part in Greek sports,
which were traditionally performed naked.) Certainly there were positive aspects to
Hellenistic culture, but how much should these aspects have redefined Jewish identity?
These age-old questions concerning the maintenance of Jewish identity within a larger nonJewish culture continue to resonate in our modern world.
The second question of identity was more clearly defined. An oppressive governing authority
had outlawed Judaism. The only two choices available to the Jews were to maintain in
secret--and constantly threatened by discovery-- their religion and identity or to openly fight
the oppressive authorities in the hope of liberation. The Maccabees chose to fight.
And yet Jewish tradition recognizes that, although we can achieve a clear internal Jewish
identity, the struggle to live in a society that accepts the expression of this identity varies
throughout time. Ideally, Jewish tradition says, Jews should light the Hanukkah candles in a
window or doorway, where they can be visible to anyone outside. This would certainly
parallel the situation of victory in the time of the Maccabees, when open religious expression
was salvaged. However, when there is a concern for safety, the Hanukkah candles are lit
and displayed inside the house with no clear external statement. (My Jewish Learning)
How do you feel about giant Chanukiahs and Chanukah lighting ceremonies in
Trafalgar Square and Golders Green? Proud or embarrassed? Would you place your
Chanukiah outside your front door, or do you place it on your window sill on public
display. What about wearing a kippa in public?
4
5. Spiritual Light
It is no coincidence that Chanukah falls at more or less the same time of year as Christmas,
the Hindu festival of Diwali and other Festivals of Light. As we approach the darkest time of
the year in the Northern hemisphere, the primal existential fear of the dark expresses an
ancient fear of the physical death of the sun and nature, as well as our deepest spiritual
desolation. Filling the dark of the shortest days of winter with lights represents our yearning
for the physical return of the sun (source of light, warmth and sustenance) as well as a
spiritual return to hope and joy. Jung discusses this fear of dark and yearning for light as a
human archetype, hard-wired into the psyche of human beings. The lights of Chanukah
represent:
 Light in the midst of darkness – maintaining hope at times of desolation and despair.
 Recalling the original Light of Creation.
Chanukah falls on 25 Kislev. Or (“light” in Hebrew) is the twenty-fifth word of the
Torah. The original light of Creation, which G-d first called into existence on the day
when the universe began, is the light that is concentrated in this number 25. This light was
hidden away by God and is known as Or haGanuz – the Hidden Light. We get a taste of
this light on Shabbat, and when we touch the radiance of our own souls or glimpse it in
the souls of others. The mystics assert that this is the reason why our people’s most
important declaration of faith, the Shema Israel, is composed of 25 letters.
6. Rededication
‫חֲ נוכָה‬
‫חנכ‬
The root of the word Chanukah
is
meaning ‘education’ or
‘rededication’. Chanukah is a festival for recommitment to Jewish learning and
Jewish life in all its many paths.