Singing from Advent to Epiphany

Hanukkah Songs

1 Maccabees, Oh, Hanukkah
John 9:1-7, 39-41; John 10:19-24, Ma'oz Tsur


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1 Maccabees, Oh, Hanukkah (12/14/2009)

To hear the song sung by one of the cutest boy choirs you ever saw, go to Oh-Chanukah-Oh-Chanukah

If you've never done so, you ought to read 1 Maccabees, which is interesting and exciting. In lieu of that, however, if your Bible doesn't include the Apocrypha, go to Hanukkah for a summary description of the holiday.

Happy Hanukkah to all! Hanukkah started at sundown last Friday, and it lasts for 8 days. Today we will have a whirlwind tour of origin of this relatively minor Jewish holiday, and tomorrow we'll see that Jesus celebrated the Festival of Lights in his own unique way.

Did you ever wonder what happened between the time of the Old Testament and the New Testament? This 400-year period was chock-full of history. Recall that the Jews returned to Judea from the Exile in Babylon about 538, under Cyrus the Persian. They rebuilt the Temple (537+) and the walls of Jerusalem (480+), but Judea remained a vassal state, getting transferred back and forth between various foreign but Middle-Eastern occupational forces who were at war with each other. Then from 336 to 323, Alexander the Great, a Greek, took over everything as far as the eye could see. At his death, his empire was divided among his generals; the two that concern us were Ptolemy, who got Egypt and Judea, and Seleucus, who got Syria. In 198, the Seleucid king defeated the Ptolemaic king and took, among other things, Judea.

Now, from the time of Alexander on, there was an effort to Hellenize everybody everywhere, i.e., make them into Greeks, but for the most part, the Jews resisted. When the fourth Seleucid, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, came along, he started Hellenizing the Jews with a vengeance. Partly because all Greeks tended to be Hellenizers, and partly because he suspected the Jews of supporting his enemies the Ptolemies, and partly because he was crazy man, Antiochus IV's method of Hellenizing was to sacrifice unclean animals to a pagan god erected in the Temple; to force Jews to sacrifice to pagan gods; and to kill any Jewish man, woman, or child who continued to practice Judaism.

One Godly old priest, Mattathias, had five vigorous grown sons, among whom was Judas Maccabaeus, "The Hammer." When the Seleucid army showed up in Modin to enforce the unholy sacrifices, Mattathias said, "Not in my town, you don't!" and the revolt was on in 168. The Jews, led by Judas, retook Jerusalem in 165. They needed to rededicate the Temple, which had been profaned by the idols and unclean sacrifices; "Hanukkah" means "dedication." To do so, they needed to burn purified oil, but they only had enough oil for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for 8 days, the time needed to restock pure oil. The Jews remained independent until the arrival of the Romans in 63.

The main traditions associated with this holiday are

• lighting the Menorah;
  
• eating latkes (potato pancakes) or other foods fried in oil;
  
• and playing a game with a dreidel, a four-sided clay top with letters symbolizing "A great miracle happened there." If any oppressors are looking, the letters are used as numbers in a betting game.

So! Hanukkah celebrates freedom from oppression, the rededication of the Temple, and the miracle of the burning of the oil for 8 days. Hence 8 primary candles, plus one for lighting, on the Menorah for Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights.

Chanukah, oh Chanukah, come light the Menorah
Chanukah, oh Chanukah, come light the Menorah
Gather around the table and let's have a treat
Happy songs we'll sing and latkes we'll eat
And while we are singing
The candles are burning bright
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
And remind us of days long ago.

Fellow-Reader Comment on "Oh Hanukkah." Last year was my first year teaching at the Solomon Schechter Day School. I taught this song in English, because I was really afraid of trying it in Hebrew. Turns out most people sing it in English or Yiddish anyway! This year, I taught S'vivon, Sov, Sov, Sov (Dreidel, Turn, Turn, Turn) in Hebrew. We had so much fun with it. One of the Kindergarten kids told me "I want to sing this for my grandmother, but she is Christian. Could you teach me a song I could sing to her?" I asked him, "Why can't you sing this one?" "Well, because she is Christian. How do you know she would listen?" was the response. I replied, "Well, I am Christian. I like this song and I taught it to you." The look on his face told me he was thinking really hard about that one. A week later he came back and shouted, "Morah Pauleta! You were right! She loved hearing me sing the song!" It was so sweet. The kids wish me both Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas in the same breath. Oh, if we could all be so accepting.

John 9:1-7, 39-41; John 10:19-24, Ma'oz Tsur (12/15/2009)

To hear the song, go to Ma'oz Tsur

We all know that Jewish Passover and Christian Easter come at about the same time every year (the difference is due solely to calendar complications), and that Jewish Pentecost and Christian Pentecost follow 50 days later. This is not a coincidence, because the early Christians were all Jews. The Last Supper was Jesus' last Passover supper with his disciples; the Holy Spirit came upon the Church during their gathering for Pentecost.

It is a coincidence that Hanukkah and Christmas come at about the same time. Hanukkah is celebrated during the same week that the Temple was rededicated and the miracle of the oil happened. Christmas is celebrated on a date chosen to confuse as many pagans as possible. However, the Church could have decided to celebrate Hanukkah, because Jesus himself did. Of course, he put his own stamp on the Festival of Lights: he gave sight to a man blind from birth, and explained, "I am the light of the world."

Rock of Ages let our song,
Praise thy saving power;
Thou amidst the raging foes,
Wast our shelt'rng tower.
Furious they assailed us,
But Thine arm availed us,
And Thy word broke their sword,
When our own strength failed us.
And Thy word broke their sword,
When our own strength failed us.

More Songs for Advent through Epiphany
Advent Psalms
Christmas Carols - Part 1
Christmas Carols - Part 2
Christmas Carols - Part 3
Epiphany Hymns

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