LL-L "Holidays" 2008.12.22 (02) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L - 22 December 2008 - Volume 02
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From: "wim" <wkv at home.nl>
Subject: Happy HANNUKAH..

 From wim verdoold

wkv at home.nl

netherlands

Hanukkah

Kislev 24th until Tevet 2nd.
This year Hanukkah begins the night of December 21st.

The Feast of Dedication" or Hanukkah, -- you will not find this Holiday in
Lev. 23 with the seven Feasts of the Lord. But we find it in John 10:22 and
other places as well. I think it may be necessary to do a little history
here before going on; this will not be a history lesson, just a little
background.

The time was around 167 BC or, if you're Jewish--BCE.  Prior to this date a
young ruler named Alexander the Great, ruled the entire ancient world.  This
period of time is referred to as "the Hellenistic period" (Greeks).  His
untimely death caused a power struggle and four of his generals split up the
kingdom.  The one that ended up with Israel was Antiochus IV.  This new
Ruler of Israel commanded everyone to convert to Hellenism (Greek Metrology)
and the Greek values that he held. Many did, even many of the Jews of the
land because they found it to be a very civilized way of life.

But, there were those Jews who held close to the Torah and God's way of
worship and refused to embrace Hellenism. In fact, Antiochus gave the Jews
an ultimatum, to either give up their distinctive customs, such
as worshipping on the Sabbath (Saturday), Circumcision, and Kosher Laws, or
die.

One of the first things Antiochus did was to desecrate the Holy Temple.  He
ordered the utensils, such as the Menorah, Altar, and Table to be defiled
and torn down.  Then to be certain that he had accomplished his job, he
ordered a pig to be sacrificed on the holy altar. After doing all of that,
he order that a Greek god Zeus be worshiped in the Temple.

When Antiochus heard that the people were murmuring and talking about revolt
against him, he marched his troops to a town in the foothills called
Modi'in.  His plan was to erect a false god in the city and force the people
to worship it.  Modi'in was the home of a priest named Mattathias who had
five sons.  He and his sons revolted and killed the soldiers and began the
revolt against this evil ruler.  One of Mattathias's sons was Judah, and he
became the new leader and was quickly nicknamed "Maccabee" (the Hammer in
Hebrew).  To bring this piece of history to a close we will just report that
Maccabee and his men defeated the Greek armies and got rid of Antiochus.

The Maccabees now faced the task of restoring the Temple for Jewish worship
to their Holy God.  They cleansed the Temple and restored the furnishings.
There was special attention given to the Menorah, for it symbolized the
Light of God.  They restored it and when they went to light it, they found
there was a problem.  This Menorah could only be used with special oil, and
it took eight days to prepare such oil.  They found enough of this special
oil to burn only one day.  To celebrate the victory of the battle fought for
their religious liberty, they decided to light the Menorah anyway and allow
the light of God to shine forth with its glory, even if but for a day.  But
God gave them a miracle, and the oil lasted eight days, until the new oil
was made ready.  So today we have the eight days of the Feast of Dedication
"Hanukkah."  It is also why you will see a nine branch Menorah instead of
seven in most Jewish homes.  It represents the miracle of the eight days the
oil burned; the ninth branch (in the center) is the Shamash (Servant Lamp),
which represents the Messiah.

There are many customs and traditions that brings one closer to God and
understanding of His greatness associated with this holiday, but I want to
keep this as short as possible.  Each night for eight nights a candle is
lighted. The Shamash (the center) is always lit first, for it is from the
Messiah that all light flows.  It is then used to light each candle for the
eight nights.  Blessing is said and songs about Hanukkah sung. Gifts are
given to the children each of the eight nights.  During the lighting of the
Shamash and the other candles are lit with the Shamash, the following
blessings are said. I will try to write the Hebrew in English letters for
you, I hope I do it correctly.

A little advice in lighting the candles, you place them in the Menorah from
right to left, but you light them with the Shamash  from left to right.

BARUCH ATAH ADONAI ELOHENU MELECKH HA-OLAM, ASHER KIDSHANU B'MITZVOHTAV
L'HADLEEK NER, SHEL CHANUKKAH.

Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has set us apart
by your commandments and commanded us to kindle the light of Hanukkah.

So after lichting the candles and singing the Hanukkah songs, you set down
for a festive meal, each night for eight nights.

So I will conclude with one Jewish recipe for "Latkes" or to put it more
simply "Potato Pancakes."

Ingredients:
2      Eggs
3      Cups grated, drained potatoes
4      Tbls. Grated onion
¼ tsp. Pepper
2      Tbls. Cracker or matzah meal
½ cup oil or butter

Directions:

Beat the eggs and add the potatoes, onions, salt (to taste), pepper, and
meal. Heat half the oil or butter in a frying pan and drop the potato
mixture into it by tablespoon.  Fry until browned on both sides. Keep
pancakes hot until all are fried and add more oil or butter as required.
Serve with Applesauce or sour cream. Serves 8.

Shalom, and Hag Same'ach, (Happy Holiday) Jerry Golden

Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never
suffer the righteous to be moved.
Psalms 55:22 KJV
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