The year 2012 ended off with the celebration of Hanukkah – the Festival of Lights. Although there is no Biblical mandate to celebrate it, ETW Ekklesia celebrates it as part of our remembrance of how the nation of Israel was delivered through God’s help. It is a reminder NOT to give in to evil but to actively take a stand for good, totally relying on God’s help. We saw how the Maccabees fought for the freedom to worship their God His way and because they pleased God, He granted them many victories until they finally managed to conquer the Syrian army and take back the temple mount some three years later. They tore down the desecrated altar and rebuilt a new one and then consecrated it so that they could continue to worship Yahweh their God with the appropriate sacrifices.
Jewish custom says that one light is to be lit on the first day with the Shamash candle, the servant candle. The Shamash is a reminder of Christ, our Servant Leader, who also is the Light of the world. Then two lights are lit on the second night and so on until all eight lights are lit on the eighth day of Hanukkah. Since we are Gentiles who are more concerned with the meaning rather than the Jewishness of Hanukkah, we had Mabel light all eight lights during the feast. Later on, all the members of the congregation (called “the light of the world” by our Lord [Matt 5:14]) lit their own candles as a symbol of their determination to keep the light shining and so glorify God by their good deeds (Matt 5:16). This was done after they learnt the historical and spiritual significance of the festival.
And of course, what celebration is complete without songs? We also enjoyed some hilarious music videos performed by the Jews themselves. We learnt some traditional Hanukkah songs and also about the reason why Hanukkah is celebrated by burning eight candles for eight nights. Some say it was to commemorate the miracle of the oil which burned for eight days instead of one. Others say otherwise.
Hanukkah is also a time of playing games and one of which was the dreidel, a four-sided spinning top that the children (and adults) play with on Hanukkah. Each side is imprinted with a Hebrew letter. These letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words, Nes Gadol Haya Sham, (“A great miracle happened there”), referring to the miracle of the oil. This time we did not have the physical dreidel to play with although we did so last time with chocolate coins given to each participant.
Later on, we all partook in a feast which included ‘latkes’, potato pancakes, a traditional food for Hanukkah. As usual, ETW Ekklesia never lacks the talent when it comes to whipping up a sumptuous communal meal. Thanks, in particular, goes to Esther, Jerri, Georgette and their helpers, Angela and Jan!
Blessed Hanukkah!
