The festival of Chanukah
(When we write the transliteration for Chanukah, it can be written as "Channukah, Chanukkah, Chanuka, Hannukah, Hanukah")
This year, Chanukah will correspond on the Gregorian 2015 calendar with the sunset of 6 of December untill the sunset of 14 December. All the candles will thus be lit on the sunset of 13th December 2015
Unlike a Chanukiyah (8/9 branched candelabrum) the 7-branched "Menorah" is described in the Torah. The Menorah was a prominent feature in the Set apart Place of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness as also of the Jerusalem Temple. It became the primary symbol of ancient Israel. It also is described in Rev 1.
On the left hand side at the back of this photo above, is a 7 branched Menorah of which all seven branches are busy burning. The rest of them are all Chanukiyahs and not Menorahs. All 8/9 branches of a Chanukiyah will burn on the 8th and last day of Chanukah.
Today the Menorah (seven branched) is sometimes confused with the Channukiyah which is not a 7 branched but an 8 branched candelabrum with a ninth one called the servant branch which is used only during and specifically for the festival of Chanukah. The Jewish tradition for the lighting of the candles are that on each night of the 8 nights during Chanukah, an extra candle gets lit by the "servant candle" called the "chamash" in Hebrew, which is normally in the middle of a chanukiyah or at the one side of the chanukiyah (placed lower, higher or backwards on the chanukiyah). The lighting procedure: on the first night the "servant candle" will be put to light and with it you light one candle (for the first night) on the far right side. Then the servant candle will be put into its place and burn with the first candle (both will burn). The 2nd night the servant candle will be used to light the 2 candles that were placed on the far right side of the chanukiyah. All 3 will burn. (2 for the second night plus the servant candle). The tradition is that the lighting takes place now every night from left to right. (The newest one gets lit first) but the candles are placed each night from right to left. The third night the middle one (servant candle) plus the far right 3 candles (3 for the third night) will burn and so it goes on untill the last night when all of the 8 candles (plus the servant candle) will burn on the 8th and last day of Chanukah. Every night the "chamash"/ “servant candle” will be used to light the rest of the candles from left to right. (The candles get placed from right to left though) and all the candles that are lit for that specific night will burn untill finished. This is all done according to the ancient tradition and it must be noticed that it is NOT a Torah commandment. It is a tradition.
This tradition of the 8/9 branched Chanukiyah was brought in for the specific purpose of celebrating Chanukah.
Chanukah/Feast of Dedication begins on the 25th of Kislev (The Ninth Scriptural month) on the Scriptural (Biblical) calendar and lasts for eight days. It usually falls in December or late November. (Take note that it is 25th of Kislev, the Ninth Scriptural month, and not 25th December which is the 12th Gregorian month.
Chanukah is a Hebrew word that means "dedication." This Feast is celebrated in memory of the rededication of the Temple unto YHVH (Yahveh/Yahweh,Yahuveh, Yahuah), after the miraculous victory of the small Maccabee army over the mighty forces of the Greek ruler Antiochus Epiphanes.
Chanukah is not one of the Torah-commanded Feasts of YHVH, but it is a Feast that is mentioned in the Scriptures and kept since the victory of the Maccabees and the rededication of the Temple by the Yuhadim/Jews and we have confirmation that even Yahshua was during this Feast of Dedication (Chanukah) found in the Temple, in Solomon’s porch: “It was the Feast of Chanukah (most English translations would have translated "Chanukah" with "Dedication") at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Yahshua was walking in the temple, in Solomon’s porch.” Yochanan/ John 10:22-23.
In Scriptural terms, Chanukah (Purim too) would be classified as a Yom Simchah, a day of joy (days if joy in Chanukah’s case).
Bemidbar/Numbers chapter 10 verse 10 talks about blowing the silver trumpets "on your days of joy, on your appointed times, and on your new moons". In modern times, the Jewish People observe a number of days of joy such as Jerusalem Day in commemoration of the liberation of Jerusalem in 1967 and Independence Day in memory of Israel surviving an invasion by several Arab armies in 1948-1949.
The implications of an anti-messiah-type is referred to in a number of places in both the Tenach (what was known to us as OT) as well as the Apostolic Writings (what was known to us as NT) and this Feast of Dedication (Chanukah) has a lot of Prophetic end time significance for Israel and thus also for us who are the “wild-olive-grafted-in ones” that Rom 11 speaks of; The ex-Gentile believers who are now citizens of the commonwealth of Yisrael.
Eph 2:11 Therefore remember that you, once gentiles[1] in the flesh, who are called ‘the uncircumcision’ by what is called ‘the circumcision’ made in the flesh by hands, Footnote: 11 Cor. 12:2.
Eph 2:12 that at that time you were without Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Yisra’ĕl and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no expectation and without Elohim in the world.Eph 2:13 But now in Messiah יהושע you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah
