Hanukah: The Miracle of the Lights

Posted by Michael Hattin on December 2, 2018
Topics: Pardes from Jerusalem, Holidays & Special Readings, Chanukah, Special Series

For many of us, the festival of Hanukah is about the kindling of the hanukiah and the miracle of the oil that lasted for eight days.  But from a historical perspective, Hanukah was actually about the military defeat of the Syrian-Greeks and the cleansing and re-dedication of the Temple after their ejection.  Why did Jewish tradition choose to focus our attention on the former rather than the latter?

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About Michael Hattin

Michael teaches Bible and Halakha at Pardes. He holds a professional degree in Architecture from the University of Toronto and rabbinic ordination from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. He teaches Chumash and Prophets as well as Halakha at the Pardes Institute. You can find books written by Michael by clicking here For many years Michael authored the weekly online publications Introduction to Parasha and Lessons on Prophets for the Virtual Beit Midrash of Yeshivat Har Etzion, reaching a combined readership of several thousand. Click here to read more.

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