Happy Hanukah!

Blessing the candles



Baruch ata Adonai, Elohenu melech ha-olam
asher kideshanu be-mitzvotav, ve-tzivanu le-hadlik
ner shel Hanukah.

Blessed are you, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us by his commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the lights of Hanukah.



Baruch ata Adonai, Elohenu melech ha-olam
she-asa nisim la-avotenu ba-yamim ha-hem
ba-zeman ha-zeh.

Blessed are you, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe,
Who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, at this season.


Additional Blessing





Baruch ata Adonai, Elohenu melech ha-olam
she-hecheyanu, ve-kiyemanu, ve-higiyanu la-zeman ha-zeh.

Blessed are you, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe,
Who has kept us alive, and has preserved us,
and enabled us to reach this season.

What blessing is recited over the Hanukah candle? We thank God for having sanctified us with His commandments and for having commanded us to kindle the Hanukah lights. But where has He so commanded us? Rabbi Nehemiah said: This precept is implied in the verse, "Ask your father and he will declare it to you, your elders and they will tell you"(Sabbath, 23a)

The essence of the miracle of Hanukah is that the Jewish masses were not deceived by the false glitter of Greek culture, which Antiochus sought to foist upon them. As we see in the Jewish history at that time, the Greek overlords of Judea were not so much after political and economic domination as they were intert upon sundering the Jews from their faith. They felt intuitively that, if the Jews adhered to their Torah, they would never be conquered. In their program the Greeks were aided by their Jewish assimilationists, who had been blinded by the surface glitter of Greek philosophy and wanted to Hellenize Judaism.

These assimilationists, these willful reformers, were mostly of the wealthy class, who did profitable business with Greeks and who thought that if the Jews Hellenized themselves completely, they would become part of the mighty Greek Empire and thus live in political and economic security. And so frequently happens, these plutocrats gained the leadership of the Jewish community and became the policy makers in Jewish communal life. They appointed their own (High Priests," who were no better than they, and openly urged assimilation with the Greeks. Seeing that the masses were apathetic and allowed them full control of communal affairs, they became bolder and dared to speak in the name of the entire Jewish people. The Greek rulers really thought they were the leaders of the Jews and took their views seriously.

Under the leadership of the assimilationists, the "High Priesthood" became a political job that could be bought. First Menelaus, then Lysimachus paid King Antiochus large bribes ti be appointed High Priests. Under their leadership Greek practices were introduced into the sacred service in the Holy Temple. Instead of institutions of Jewish learning, they built sports arenas for the Jewish youth, and Torah study was neglected completely. But they erred in thinking they had popular support. To be sure, the faithful Jews at first apathetically accepted their leadership, but they never supported or followed it. This was the essence of the miracle of Jewish existence then, and still is today. To the question, - What is Hanukah? On what miracle is this festival based? - Our Sages reply that, when the Hellenists backed by the Greek power, entered the Temple, they defiled all the consecrated oil used in kindling the Temple lights. Only one cruse of oil was found intact, with the seal of the former legitimate High Priest. Though this cruse contained but a little oil, enough to burn one day, a miracle occurred it burned fully eight days.

In this explanation of the Talmud, we believe, is implied the mystical force latent within the Jewish people that guards it against decline. Deep in the holy of holies of every Jewish heart is a small cruse of consecrated oil that is never used up. At times it will lie dormant for a long while - under the seal of the High Priests of yore, its flame casting but a dim light that shows only once a year, on Yom Kippur, or at the anniversary of the death of deceased parents. If anyone seeks to extinguish it completely, however it rises to a tall flame and shines again in all its glory.

After the lighting of the candles it is customary to recite the last verses of Psalm 90 and all of Psalm 91. This prayer begins - and let the graciousness of God be upon us; establish Thou also upon us the work of our hands yea, the work of our hands establish. Rabbi Isaac Jacob Reines, of blessed memory, explains why this prayer was chosen for recitation at this time. Said he: "upon all other historical events in which miracles are involved, such as Passover and Purim, the miracle was of God's own doing, without any effort on the part of the Jews. The miracle of Hanukah, however came to pass partly through their own effort, through the heroic deeds of the Hasmoneans and the spirit of self-sacrifice of the Hasideans, the faithful zealots who participated in the struggle against the Greeks. Therefore we recite"..the work of our hands establish," to show that this time we did not rely entirely on miracles, but also performed outstanding deeds.

Links to eternity: Jewish holidays and festivals; homiletical essays by Harris L Selig (pp 192-194)