I recently, the past 6 months, began tweeting (so
birdish) for a movement that’s begun in DC. I like tweeting because you can get
your message across with some impact in two sentences. Of course, the depth and
desire of all you want to say may not be there, but you can get people
thinking. I constantly hear my High School teachers reminding us that we need
to be “less wordy”. They were 30 years ahead of the times!
I was reading an article today about “Thanksgivukkah”
and got really inspired to visit “WhatAboutIsrael” again. For those of you who
are part of this blog family but live in a country that does not traditionally
celebrate Thanksgiving or Hanukkah, let me explain.
This year, for Americans,
The first day of Hanukkah will be on Thanksgiving. According to the article I read, the last
time this happened was in 1888! And….it won’t happen again until 2070, then
2165, then, according to calculations by Jonathan Mizrahi a quantum physicist
at the Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico, it won’t happen again until
76,695 ! Don’t even try to picture it!
So, is there any
significance here? Let’s first examine the two holidays. First, there’s
Hanukkah. Around 167-176 B.C.E. under
the reign of Antiochus IV, an intense campaign was waged to defile the Jewish
Temple in Jerusalem. A statue of the Greek God Zeus was erected inside the
Temple, and there was the slaughter of pigs on the altar. All Jewish forms of
worship were eliminated. The situation for the Jewish people was grim. The people were afraid to fight back for fear
of reprisals. Observance of any Jewish worship was punishable by death.
A Greek officer ordered
Mattathias, a priest, to bow to the idol and eat pig meat. Mattathias refused. As the tension increased, Mattathias and his
5 sons ended up killing all the Greek soldiers.
He and his followers became zealous for God’s restoration against
impossible odds. He gathered his 5 sons and others in the area to lead a 3 year
campaign against the Syrian occupation of Jerusalem and the Temple.
They were miraculously able
to regain control of the Temple in Jerusalem, and they were determined to
purify it from all the pagan worship
that had been done in it. It took eight days to make the anointing oil for the
lampstand in the Temple, but the Jews were only able to find enough oil for one
day. To their amazement, that small
amount of oil lasted for eight day until the new oil was made.
Hanukkah is a part of
history that reminds us that God is able to turn the most difficult situations
around, that He will always fulfill His promises and that persecution does not
have victory over the Spirit of G-d.
The celebration of
Thanksgiving in America is similar in content. The Pilgrims left secure lives to pursue
worshipping the God of the Bible in spirit and truth. They set sail against
difficult conditions in September 1620 and braved harsh weather for two months.
When they arrived at Plymouth Rock they were unprepared for the harsh New
England winter. Many of the Pilgrims died that winter. Things seemed bleak.
When the spring arrived, a native American named Samoset greeted them in
English that he had learned from traders and fishermen. Samoset returned to the
Pilgrims a week later with Squanto, another native American who chose to live
with the Pilgrims and accepted the Christian faith. Squanto was a miracle from
G-d. He helped teach the Pilgrims how to live in their new environment and was
instrumental in a long-lasting peace treaty between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoags.
Through much prayer and
teamwork, an abundant harvest came at the end of the summer. The Pilgrims
sought for a pattern in the Bible to celebrate their gratitude to God. Succot, Feast of Tabernacles was a perfect
fit. They decided on three days of feasting and thanksgiving that they would
celebrate together with Samoset and his people. 90 Wampanoags and 50 Pilgrims participated in
feasting, playing and prayer. This was a
miraculous ending to a perilous, difficult journey that also resulted in God's victory.
So we see that both these
celebrations are about freedom to worship G-d and to reject the pressures of
the culture that dictate lifestyles contrary to the Bible. The center of
worship in both situations is a huge heart of thanksgiving to G-d. G-d honored
the hearts of the people who were in pursuit of Him, and He showed His love and
power on their behalf.
Hanukkah is known as The
Feast of dedication. The historical event was not recorded in scriptures
because it happened after the writing of the Tenach. However, it does show up
in the Christian Bible in the Book of
John, chapter 10, verse 22.
So the Christian Pilgrims
followed a feast in the Torah and the Jewish Hanukkah celebration is only
mentioned in the Christian Bible! Maybe there is a link! Whatever the case, it
is a good thing to thank G-d for His love and power, to honor His righteousness
and holiness and His kindness to men, and to take this historic opportunity to
rededicate our lives to G-d Almighty! This November 18, 25th of Kislev, we can give
Him double Praise and Thanks!!!
