Chanukah Hints From The Torah

Even though the holiday of Chanukah is from the Rabbis, the Sefer Hatoda’ah brings a few hints to this holiday from the Torah.

The first hint comes from counting the words from the beginning of the Torah. The twenty-fifth word from Bereishit, is אור, meaning “light.” The Festival of Lights is celebrated on the twenty-fifth day of Kislev.

A second reference to Chanukah is that the twenty-fifth place where the Jewish people camped in the desert was called חשמונה. The heroes of the Chanukah story were the Chashmonaim.

In Parshat Emor, the rules of the festivals are listed. After Succot is discussed with the command to have a “Ner Tamid,” permanent light in the Temple. This command was given after Succot and before Pesach. Some see this as a hint to Chanukah.

The final reference comes from the command to light the Menorah in the Temple. This is preceded by the offerings of the twelve tribes during the days of the dedication of the Mishkan.

When Aharon noticed that the tribe of Levi was left out. He was told that his portion was greater, for not only was he commanded to light the Menorah, but his descendants in the future would lead a rebellion that will end with a rededicating of the Temple. It will be a holiday known as “Chanukah” where everyone lights the Menorah.

These were four hints in the Torah, related to Chanukah.