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As believers in Messiah Yeshuah and followers of the Torah, whenever we come across a tradition, festival or custom not mandated in the Torah our first and only source of reference is Yeshuah. What did he do?

Hanukkah, as the Jewish people celebrate it, is a festival rich in customs, traditions and folklore. However, it is also rich in history, victory and prophecy. If celebrated with these later things in mind, a Believer will most definitely finish this eight days of dedication closer to the One and Only Way, Truth and Life, Yeshuah Ha Mashiach.

To start, let's tear down myths and rabbinic takanot (things added to the Torah); stripping away what Hanukkah is NOT. Many are familiar with the story of the miracle of the oil. It is taught that after Judas Maccabees took back the Temple and constructed a new altar, that when they filled the Menorah to begin the 8 day time of dedication, that they only had enough oil prepared to last one day. Talmudic legend teaches that YHVH miraculously kept this oil burning for 8 days. THIS IS NOT THE MIRACLE OF HANUKKAH! THIS IS A MYTH--- JUST LIKE SANTA CLAUS. There is no 2nd witness or historical account of this happening. It was made up by the rabbis and put in the Talmud in order to give some significance to the holiday. This day did not need any made up significance...it is full of significance. However, as we will discuss later, a great miracle did indeed happen there!

The hanukkiah is a tradition as well. It is a nine branch candelabra. It does not represent the lamp stand in the Temple that the mythical 8 day long lasting oil was poured into. The menorah has always and will always have only 7 branches representing the 7 spirits of YHVH outlined in Isaiah 11. However, the hanukkiah, with its 9 branches, one always taller or separate from the others, represents eight days of growing closer to the true Shamash or Servant, the true Light of the World-Messiah Yeshuah. There are no rules or commandments in the Torah or the book of the Maccabees as to how to celebrate Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights or Feast of Dedication. It is usually celebrated with lots of candles, oil burning lamps and the eating of very rich foods cooked in oil. It is not the festival of low cholesterol! There are NO RULES - You don't even have to celebrate it. The book of Maccabees, which was once part of the Canon of the Bible, tells us the story, teaches the history and the story finishes with ordaining the 25th day of the 9th month (Kislev) as the festival of Hanukkah to be kept as a remembrance.

"Then Judas and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel determined that every year at that season, the days of dedication of the altar should be observed with gladness and joy for 8 days beginning with the 25th day of the month of Kislev." -1 Maccabees 5:59

So, what is Hanukkah? History tells us and it is recorded in 1st and 2nd Maccabees, and Josephus confirms, of a great victory by a rag tag band of Zealots known as the Maccabees. This story is an intermediate fulfillment of Daniel 7-9.

At the time of the death of Alexander the Great, Alexander's kingdom was divided amongst his four generals, one of which was Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus Epiphanes began to oppress the Jews in Israel. He forbade the reading and practice of the Torah, the celebration of the holy festivals, and the circumcision of children. Anyone caught possessing any part of a Torah Scroll was immediately put to death along with their family. Many Jews submitted to these new laws and practiced paganism and idolatry. They were called Hellenistic Jews. Antiochus Epiphanes even erected a statue of Zeus in the Temple and sacrificed a pig on the Holy Altar on Zeus' birthday, December 25th (Daniel 9:27), which just happened to coincide that year with the 25th of Kislev. The emissaries of King Antiochus began to go into the outlying towns of Jerusalem to enforce this Hellenism. When they reached the town of Modim, they tried to persuade a Levite named Mattathias to make a sacrifice to Zeus. Mattathias refused. Another local priest came forward to offer the sacrifice. When Mattathias saw this, he demonstrated his zeal for the Torah and killed not only the young priest, but also the servants of the king. He then shouted, "All who are zealous for YHVH and for the Torah, follow me!" He and his children and followers then fled to the mountains of Judea and assembled and army to fight against the Greeks.