~ HANUKKAH/CHANUKAH ~

~ May You Be Inscribed/Sealed/Blessed (Baruch) ~

"Hear (Shema), O Israel (Yisrael): The LORD (Elohim Aleph-Tav) our [YHWH], The LORD [Elohim Aleph-Tav] is one (echad); and you shall love the LORD [Elohim Aleph-Tav] your [YHWH] with all your heart (lev), with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength." (Deut. 6:4-5, Mark 12:29)

About Chanukah/Hanukkah:

This is really being posted late and after the time to celebrate "Hanukkah" but I wanted to provide some info as promised, so that "TTOY" readers can have it available at a later date for reference.

History of Hannukkah:

The events that inspired the "Hanukkah" holiday took place during a particularly turbulent phase of Jewish history. Around 200 B.C., Judea—also known as the Land of Israel—came under the control of Antiochus III, the Seleucid king of Syria, who allowed the Jews who lived there to continue practicing their religion. His son, "Antiochus IV Epiphanes", proved less benevolent: Ancient sources recount that he outlawed the Jewish religion and ordered the Jews to worship Greek gods. In 168 B.C., his soldiers descended upon Jerusalem, massacring thousands of people and desecrating the city’s holy Second Temple by erecting an altar to Zeus and sacrificing pigs within its sacred walls. Led by the Jewish priest Mattathias and his five sons, a large-scale rebellion broke out against "Antiochus" and the Seleucid monarchy. When "Matthathias" died in 166 B.C., his son Judah, known as Judah Maccabee ("the Hammer"), took the helm; within two years the Jews had successfully driven the Syrians out of Jerusalem, relying largely on guerilla warfare tactics. Judah called on his followers to cleanse the Second Temple, rebuild its altar and light its menorah—the gold candelabrum whose seven branches represented knowledge and creation and were meant to be kept burning every night.

The Hanukkah "Miracle":

According to the Talmud, one of Judaism’s most central texts, "Judah Maccabee" and the other Jews who took part in the "Re-Dedication"of the Second Temple witnessed what they believed to be a miracle. Even though there was only enough untainted olive oil to keep the menorah’s candles burning for a single day, the flames continued flickering for eight nights, leaving them time to find a fresh supply. This wondrous event inspired the Jewish sages to proclaim a yearly eight-day festival. (The first Book of the Maccabees tells another version of the story, describing an eight-day celebration that followed the "Re-Dedication" but making no reference to the miracle of the oil.)  (John 10:22)                                                

Note: Next Post - "TTOY" will share with you another personal testimony of me "Amiriyah Mizrah Yisrael". Until then - ~ "SPREAD SOME SHALOM"~.

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