Chanukah was always a special, magical time.  Where I grew up, snow would faithfully be on the ground in time to form a glistening night-time backdrop for the dancing flames on the candles that were perched securely on their chanukia (menorah or candelabra) in our window sill.  Religiously, at sun-down, my sister and I would recite the b’rachot (blessings) as my mother would light the candles.  Faithfully, sequentially, mother would light the Shammas (the servant candle), then light the same number of candles as was the number of the day that we were into the observance, until, on the eighth day, all the entire chanukia was aglow.  

At least one day during the festival, we would get together with our cousins.  We would sing songs, play with the dredle (a traditional top) , eat latkes (potato pancakes) open presents and recall the victory of the Macabees over the evil Antiochus Epiphanies (king of the Seleucids).

To a child, the story of the Macabees was a magical event that took place in a far away place.  In a sense, it could have easily been mistaken for one of Aesop’s fables or ancient mythology.

In cheder (religious school), however, I learned of the selfless heroism of our people as they fought to overthrow the Seleucid occupation in the land of Israel.  One account that stuck in my mind was that of a Eliezar (surnamed Savaran) who ran underneath a Seleucid elephant and stabbed it in the belly to prevent it from charging.  Nothing could have been more horrible to a young mind than the thought of a man being crushed by an elephant collapsing on top of him!  

It soon dawned on me that the events leading up to Chanukah were real!  The suffering that our people had endured under Antiochus was horrific.  

This never should have happened!  According to Torah (the five books of Moses), Moses reminded us that if we were obedient and served and loved the God of our fathers, then God would bless us with peace, contentment and abundance in the land of Israel.   On the other hand, if we were disobedient to God, we would be expelled from the land and we would endure a history of tsuris (trouble, to put it mildly).  (Deuteronomy 31-33).

It’s human nature to only want to hear the good things about oneself or one’s people.  However, holidays like Chanukah, Purim (the account of events in the Book of Esther in the Bible) and Yom HaShoa (the recollection of the Holocaust) bare testimony to the prediction of Moses… that our rebellion and disobedience would lead to the tsuris that these holidays really represent.

In spite of our rebellion, however, God loves the Jewish people.  He is faithful.  He promised that He would return us to the land and He has.  He promised that as long as the world exists, the Jewish people will exist (Jer. 31), and to date, He‘s kept that promise.  Eventually, He will bless the entire world through the land of Israel (Ezek. 14).  

But God’s faithfulness is independent of our faithfulness.  In fact, scripture tells us that there is absolutely no way by which we can be faithful.  In fact, there is nothing that can recommend us before the Holy God of Israel (Isa. 64:6).

We are still in rebellion today which is why, even though Israel is in the land, we still have tsuris and the world is still in chaos.  This rebellion is manifested in the reality that as a whole, we have rejected the reign of His Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) in our lives.  

This is a well kept secret… but whether you know it or not, you can still believe in Yeshua and be a Jew.  In fact, He’s the reason why there are Jews.  Furthermore, if you’re a Gentile, you too can receive the Love that Yeshua has for you which He demonstrated through His death and subsequent resurrection.