THE JEWISH NEWS
DECEMBER 11, 1987
A Toast
To Jewish Living
Chanukah: The Victory Of Light Over Darkness
Rabbi M. Robert Syme is the
spiritual leader of Temple Israel and
is the author of this month's
L'Chayim theme — Chanukah. For
each edition of L'Chayim, a rabbi, a
Jewish educator or other notable
from the community will present an
overview.
Primitive man, up to recent
times, was usually depicted as
completely unafraid, striding through
the forest as "the noble savage."
Today we know that quite the
reverse was true! Primitive man was
a frightened, cringing creature,
terrified by all sorts of demons and
devils. Especially at this time of the
year — during the month of
December — his fear greatly
increased.
For what happens during the
month of December? The days
become shorter, and the nights
become longer. To primitive man it
meant only one thing: the god of
darkness was conquering over light.
That victory of darkness over light,
was a disaster that had to be
avoided at all costs!
The reason why is obvious. It
was believed that the rays of the
sun god, entered Mother Earth, and
the crops were the offspring, the
children of the union. Therefore, if
the god of light were vanquished by
the god of darkness, then Mother
Earth would become a widow, and
there would be no harvest. There
was only one way to avert this
tragedy. Man on earth, had to assist
the sun god in heaven, in his battle
against the god of darkness.
Thus, primitive man would go
into the forest, and light huge
bonfires to give light to the "dying
sun." Lo and behold, by the time
the month of March was ushered in,
it was evident that the days were
getting longer, the nights were
getting shorter, and the god of light
was in the process of achieving
Continued on Page L-2
Chanukiyah
Menorah's Cousin
By KAREN A. KATZ
While the nine-branched
candelabra we use each Chanukah
is commonly referred to as a
menorah, it is actually a
chanukiyah. The menorah, with its
seven branches, is a symbol of the
State of Israel.
The Torah states: "You shall
make a menorah of pure gold . .
Six branches shall issue from its
sides: three branches from one side
. . . three branches from the other
side . . . Make it seven lamps." (Ex.
25:31).
The Torah also tells us that God
told Moses to use clear olive oil to
keep the lamps of the menorah
burning regularly in the Ohel Moed
(Tabernacle) outside the curtain of
the Ark, from evening to morning.
(Lev. 24:1-4, and Ex. 27:20-21) At the
time of the First Temple, the Bible
tells us that Solomon made all the
furnishings that were in the House
of the Lord of solid gold, including
the ten menorot, flanking the
original menorah. (I Kings 7:48-49)
When the Babylonian army
came to Jerusalem it burned the
royal palace and all the tall
buildings in the city and destroyed
the First Temple, driving the Jews
out of the country. They took the
menorah and all the Temple
utensils. "The chief officers took
whatever was of gold . . ." (Jer.
52:19) After 70 years exile in
Babylonia the Jews returned to
Jerusalem and built the Second
Temple. Again, as in the Ohel
Moed, there was only one menorah,
near the Ark. But this one burned
both day and night.
Now, we all knOw the story of
Chanukah. Antiochus, the Greek
king, put his idol in the Temple and
commanded the Jews to bow down
to the idol or die. He desecrated the
Temple, making the menorah and
Temple utensils impure. Judah and
the Maccabees fought against the
king and were victorious. When they
purified the Temple they made a
new seven-branched menorah out of
iron because there was not enough
money to make one of gold or even
silver.
We recall the miracle of the
lone small flask of pure olive oil,
enough to burn only one day, which
instead burned for eight, and since
that time Jews celebrate the holiday
of Chanukah — which means
dedication. A special candelabra,
with nine branches was created.
One branch holds the shamash, or
servant, candle. The other eight
represent the eight day miracle, and
each night we light an additional
candle.