THE LIGHTS OF HANUKKAH ARE THE LIGHTS OF TOV TOO!

I always loved Hanukkah, of course as a child, but also as an adult as well. There are warm memories of the sights, smells and feelings which return each year lighting the candles and giving the little gifts to family and friends. 

Growing up, we heard the story of the "miracle" of the cruise of oil that lasted for eight days. Later, it was interesting to study and learn about the real history behind the Hanukkah story, beginning with learning that the Oil story was created by the Rabbinic Sages a few hundred years after the events. Traditions are important, but the facts of the story in historical context teach some impressive lessons.

First, the true "miracle" was that a small band of guerrilla fighters with no military training and even less weapons defeated a Syrian Greek standing army and forced them to abandon Jerusalem. They then “re-dedicated” the Temple to Yahweh. The name “Hanukkah” comes from the Hebrew word that means “to dedicate.” Tradition tells us that the first Temple (Solomon's Temple) was dedicated on the festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles) which is eight days long. The Jews could not celebrate that festival at the correct time because the Greeks controlled the Temple.

Second, Hanukkah was the first war in history fought over religious freedom. What started as a civil conflict between Jews who wanted to assimilate completely into Greek culture and Jews who wanted to remain with their traditions, spilled over into international politics. The traditional Jews had the upper hand and the losing side invited the Syrian Greek King Antiochus in on their side. He outlawed the practice of Judaism, which in return led to the rebellion.

Third, many cultures and traditions light lights in ceremonies at this time of year. Why? The Darkness and cold of winter. There is a saying, "It's better to light one candle than to curse the darkness."

Today, there is a lot of darkness in our world -- terrible violence, hatred, bigotry and intolerance. These types of darkness seem so strong, that we seem to have lost our way. This year, help us provide a new reality and a new option to bring people, who may disagree about everything, together in TOV! The first thing to be declared TOV by the Creator was Light! Learning to live by the Creator’s TOV Standard and creating TOV Values-Based Relationships brings people together to CO-Create the solutions to the problems we face. This is what helps dispel the terrible darkness that surrounds so many and leads to Light and Life for the GOOD of all. So, don't curse the darkness, Co-Create the Light that adds to Life!

Doing TOV is Choosing Life and making it your Highest Value & Top Priority.

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Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor