Hanukkah, an important eight-day Jewish holiday, is celebrated this year from December 25th to January 2nd. The holiday commemorates the victory of Jewish fighters and the rededication of a Jewish temple around 164 BCE.
During the second century BCE, Jewish people lived under the rule of Greek emperor Antiochus. He implemented laws prohibiting the practice of Judaism, forbidding the observance of the Sabbath, the reading of the Torah, and circumcision, punishable by death.
Around 164 BCE, Jewish rebels overthrew Antiochus and reclaimed a desecrated temple. According to the Talmud, a collection of rabbinic teachings, the rebels found a single cruse of oil, enough to light the temple menorah for only one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted eight days.
This miracle is the reason for the Hanukkah menorah lighting tradition. Many Jews light one candle each night on a nine-branched menorah called a hanukkiah (eight branches plus a “servant” candle used to light the others).
Hanukkah is widely celebrated as a testament to Jewish resilience and the enduring freedom to practice Judaism. As Rabbi Menachem Block, executive director of Chabad of Plano, stated, “Hanukkah is about this eternal survival of the Jewish people.” Rabbi David Stern, senior rabbi of Dallas’ Temple Emanu-El, echoed this sentiment, calling it “a holiday about the freedom to be Jewish and the light of Jewish identity and commitment.”