THANKSGIVUKKAH???

BACK TO BLOGGING!

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,  25^th of Kislev, we can give Him  double Praise and Thanks!!!