Midrash, aggadah, and mysticism add a deeper dimension to the understanding of Torah and the holidays. Here are some of my favorite thoughts about Hanukkah:
1. The menorah [the hannukiyah was fashioned on the menorah in the Temple] is mentioned 27 times in the Torah. Precise details of its construction are given when Moses is alone, on the mountaintop, listening to God and seeing the Architect’s vision [Ex: 25: 31-40]. The menorah becomes a symbol of this listening and holding of the Light. The mystics say the light of the menorah is drawn from the or ganuz, the hidden residual of the original light of creation. Torah is that light filtered, condensed, and formed into creation, and encoded in letters dancing with energy, filtered through you, the words of Torah, and each new way you discover how to live that manifests as holiness. (from Rabbi Goldie Milgram, ReclaimingJudaism.org)
2. Hanukkah is on the 25th day of Kislev, and "ohr/light" is the 25th word in the Torah: "In the beginning, G-d created the Heavens and the earth... and G-d said, 'Let there be light...'." Light--ohr--is the 25th word in the Torah. The re-dedication of the Holy Temple and the re-lighting of the Menorah took place on the 25th of the month of Kislev. When the Jews traveled through the Sinai desert, they stopped 42 times. The 25th place where they encamped was Hasmona. Mattityahu, the head of the Hasmonai family, led the revolt against the Greeks. The Sanctuary in the desert was completed on the 25th of Kislev, eight months after the Exodus from Egypt. But it was not dedicated until three months later. Jewish teachings explain that the 25th of Kislev was set aside for the future re-dedication of the Holy Temple by the Maccabees. (Taken from Chabad in Cyberspace, Rabbi Yosef Schusterman, Chabad of Northern Beverly Hills)
3. From where did the cruse of oil used to relight the menorah and rededicate the Temple come? When the dove returned to the ark for the second time, it had an olive branch in its beak. Noah took the olives, beat them into pure oil, sealed the oil in a container, and saved it for the generations. Noah gave the oil to his son Shem, who gave it to his great-grandson Eiver, who passed it down through the generations to Abraham. (Midrash says that Abraham learned in the School of Shem and Eiver.) Abraham gave it to Isaac, who gave it to Jacob, and it was passed down through the generations to the High Priest Aaron. Aaron gave it to his sons, and it was saved through the line of the priests until the Temple was built. Then it was stored in the Temple until the time it was needed. (I don't know the source of this story, but I really like it because it has the set-up for the Hanukkah miracle passed through the generations. I like the idea that something is protected and kept through the generations until it is needed. Also, I like the echo in this story that when the Maccabees were cleaning and rededicating the Temple, they were also rededicating the Temple and the religion to peace.)
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Date: 2005-12-10 11:43 pm (UTC)1. The menorah [the hannukiyah was fashioned on the menorah in the Temple] is mentioned 27 times in the Torah. Precise details of its construction are given when Moses is alone, on the mountaintop, listening to God and seeing the Architect’s vision [Ex: 25: 31-40]. The menorah becomes a symbol of this listening and holding of the Light. The mystics say the light of the menorah is drawn from the or ganuz, the hidden residual of the original light of creation. Torah is that light filtered, condensed, and formed into creation, and encoded in letters dancing with energy, filtered through you, the words of Torah, and each new way you discover how to live that manifests as holiness. (from Rabbi Goldie Milgram, ReclaimingJudaism.org)
2. Hanukkah is on the 25th day of Kislev, and "ohr/light" is the 25th word in the Torah: "In the beginning, G-d created the Heavens and the earth... and G-d said, 'Let there be light...'." Light--ohr--is the 25th word in the Torah. The re-dedication of the Holy Temple and the re-lighting of the Menorah took place on the 25th of the month of Kislev. When the Jews traveled through the Sinai desert, they stopped 42 times. The 25th place where they encamped was Hasmona. Mattityahu, the head of the Hasmonai family, led the revolt against the Greeks. The Sanctuary in the desert was completed on the 25th of Kislev, eight months after the Exodus from Egypt. But it was not dedicated until three months later. Jewish teachings explain that the 25th of Kislev was set aside for the future re-dedication of the Holy Temple by the Maccabees. (Taken from Chabad in Cyberspace, Rabbi Yosef Schusterman, Chabad of Northern Beverly Hills)
3. From where did the cruse of oil used to relight the menorah and rededicate the Temple come? When the dove returned to the ark for the second time, it had an olive branch in its beak. Noah took the olives, beat them into pure oil, sealed the oil in a container, and saved it for the generations. Noah gave the oil to his son Shem, who gave it to his great-grandson Eiver, who passed it down through the generations to Abraham. (Midrash says that Abraham learned in the School of Shem and Eiver.) Abraham gave it to Isaac, who gave it to Jacob, and it was passed down through the generations to the High Priest Aaron. Aaron gave it to his sons, and it was saved through the line of the priests until the Temple was built. Then it was stored in the Temple until the time it was needed. (I don't know the source of this story, but I really like it because it has the set-up for the Hanukkah miracle passed through the generations. I like the idea that something is protected and kept through the generations until it is needed. Also, I like the echo in this story that when the Maccabees were cleaning and rededicating the Temple, they were also rededicating the Temple and the religion to peace.)