Message of Chanukah

There is an underlying idea about Chanukah that is often not emphasized. We always speak about the victory of the few over the many, and the miracle of the cruse of oil that lasted eight days. However, there is another message worth mentioning.

Before the confrontation between the Maccabees and the Greeks, a transition was taking place among the Jewish people. It all began with the meeting between Alexander the Great and the Kohein Hagadol, Shimon Hatzaddik, many years earlier.

Although Alexander was impressed with the High Priest to the extent that he promised that he would not harm the Jews, he did bring Greek culture into Israel. Over time, many Jews became Hellenists and abandoned their Jewish values. Therefore, the real message of Chanukah was that we needed to stand firm in our faith and not give in to the temptations of other cultures. חנוכה שמח