Chanukah in Jerusalem

While Chanukah has always been an important part of my Jewish life, it was never a focal point. It isn't a major holiday in Judaism and is rabbinic in nature. What does that mean? Well, many of the holidays we celebrate within Judaism are written about in the Torah. They are handed down by G-d to be observed in a certain way. There are only two holidays that are 'man made' as it were. Those are Chanukah and Purim.Ask any American Jewish school kid or adult and they will most likely tell you that Chanukah celebrates the great miracle that happened when the Jews went to the Temple and only found enough oil to light the Menorah for one day and it lasted for eight days. Whether this story is true or not, we are not sure, however, we do know that this was not why the rabbis decided to celebrate Chanukah.The true miracle of Chanukah was the defeat of the Hellenistic Greeks for our religious freedom. You see, they didn't mind us as long as we played by their rules. They actually weren't out to murder us, just to have us stop practicing Judaism and live like them. Well, we weren't so thrilled about that idea. So some people went along with the Greeks because they didn't feel like fighting but some kept their Jewishness in secret. They still learned and taught Torah but did it in a way so the Greeks couldn't catch them. This is the origin of the dreidel. It looks like an innocent game but it can be used as a decoy for a look out or a way to learn Judaism without looking like it. When the Greeks started beating people up and forcing Judaism out of their lives, there was a group of guys who weren't happy with the idea. These are the Maccabees. It was a family and they fought back, rallying Jews to fight with them. There weren't that many in comparison to the Greeks but they fought anyway.The Maccabees used stealthy techniques. They fought at night when the Greeks were off their guard and other ways to utilize their small force. In the end, they defeated the Greeks and won their religious freedom back. However, the Greeks didn't just try to break our spirit by hurting us physically, they destroyed the things we treasured most. Like the Holy Temple. They let pigs run wild in the Temple and it was a filthy mess when the Jews finally came to it. So instead of celebrating like most winning armies would, they put themselves to the task of cleaning up the Temple and that is what the word Chanukah means. Rededication. It was the time when we rededicated the Holy Temple, the Beit Hamikdash, once we cleaned it up and restored it.We use the lights of the Chanukkiah to publicize the miracle. Now, that is an important distinction. The Menorah sat in the Temple year round. It had seven lights. The Chanukkiah was a new invention with nine lights (eight days + the shamash, the helper candle). Today we light our Chanukkiot in our window or doorway to let everyone know of our miracle of religious freedom but that is not all. There were many dark times in Jewish history. Many times when we, as a people, were again persecuted for our religious beliefs. Times when it was not safe to be a Jew at all, much less be a Jew openly. At those times, we lit our Chanukkiahs safely inside our homes. Fortunately, we do not live in those times and we can proudly show our miracle to the world. This is why it is doubly important to light so our neighbors can see.Being in Jerusalem for this holiday, it was incredible. I am used to being the only chanukkiah on the block. In a mass of windows displaying Christmas trees and Christmas lights, my apartment window is the only one with blue and white lights and a chanukkiah. But that is not the case here. So many windows have them. So many windows share the light. Public chanukkiot all over town... so beautiful.It's odd to feel that the holiday season is over and Christmas hasn't even happened yet but that is the reality here in Jerusalem. Post Chanukah and the lights are down, the decorations are down, the sufganiot (jelly donuts) are gone. Its a different world.