Happy Hanukkah: This First Day of Hanukkah 2009, Let Your Light Shine

This day, I say to my Jewish sisters and brothers, in particular, Happy Hanukkah! I hope in my brief telling of the history of the holiday, that I do not do a disservice to those who hold this day sacred. I do, however, hope that I can add a little something to what we can know about this celebration.

Hanukkah (Hebrew: , Tiberian: nukh, nowadays usually spelled pronounced [anuka] in Modern Hebrew, also Romanized as Chanukah ), also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, and may occur from late November to late December on the Gregorian calendar. The first day of Hanukkah this year is December 12th, however, according to custom the first light is to be lit tonight. The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a special candelabrum, the nine-branched Menorah Hanukiah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a shamash (Hebrew: "guard" or "servant") is also lit each night for the purpose of lighting the others, and is given a distinct location, usually above or below the rest. The "shamash" symbolically supplies light that may be used for some secular purpose.

In the United States, Hanukkah is considered as one of several primary holidays within the Christmas and holiday season.

From the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", Hanukkah marks the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by the forces of Antiochus IV and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil". According to the Talmud, at the re-dedication following the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, there was only enough consecrated olive oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the deuterocanonical books of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the altar. Then Judah and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication... should be observed... every year... for eight days. (1 Mac. 4:5659)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the feast of Booths."

Note (in regard to the Festival of Booths): Sukkot (Hebrew: or , sukkt, also known as Sukkos, Feast of Booths, Feast of Tabernacles) is a Jewish holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei (late September to late October). It is one of the three biblical pilgrim festivals, when it was traditional for Jews to visit the Temple in Jerusalem.

The holiday lasts seven days, including Chol Hamoed and is immediately followed by another festive day known as Shemini Atzeret. The word Sukkot is the plural of the Hebrew word sukkah, meaning booth or hut. The sukkah is reminiscent of the type of fragile dwellings in which the ancient Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. Throughout the holiday the sukkah becomes the living area of the house, and all meals are eaten in it. On each day of the holiday, members of the household recite a blessing over the lulav and etrog, or Four species (lulav, Hadass, Aravah and Etrog).

There are very elaborate and long-standing Jewish practices and customs that go with Hanukkah --- the kindling of the Hanukkah lights; the reciting of prayers and the games for children (such as the spinning of the dreidel).

Although I'm not Jewish, there is something wonderful and profound, in my opinion, about Hanukkah. The word itself meaning dedication and with it also being referred to as the Festival of Lights, causes me to ponder a wondrous truth: We all should be dedicated to letting our light shine.

This holiday may have more significance and history for our Jewish brothers and sisters; and my take may seem culturally presumptuous in the eyes of some, but I believe that these occasions should cause us all to reflect a little bit more about our place in the world and how we can in our speech, motives and deeds help light up the dark places in our lives and in the lives of others.