-Thanksgiving / Hanukkah 2013! – November Newsletter
November 2013
“O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.” (Ps. 30:12)
Dear Mishpocha,
Thanksgiving / Hanukkah 2013!
Something very unusual will occur this year as Jews in America celebrate Thanksgiving. Their mashed potatoes will be replaced by potato latkes (pancakes), a traditional Hanukkah treat. Why? For the first time ever, the first day of Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication, falls on Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 2013!
Thanksgiving Day is always the fourth Thursday in November. The latest it can be is 11/28. The earliest Hanukkah can be is 11/28. According to the Jewish calendar, the last time the two holidays coincided was 1861. However, Thanksgiving was not formally established until 1863 (by President Lincoln). Thanksgiving and Hanukkah will never coincide again because the Jewish (lunar) calendar is very slowly getting out of sync with the solar calendar, so that eventually the earliest Hanukkah can be is 11/29. The last time Hanukkah falls on 11/28 is 2146, which happens to be a Monday. (The two holidays will converge again in the year 79,811.) So…This is a special year! Some are even calling the event “Thanksgivukkah.”
Hanukkah History
We were sure that God had a message for His children in all of this. He is Lord of the calendar; times and seasons are in His hands. We researched Hanukkah extensively, sensing that this holiday held the key. It does. But first,we want to give some background about the holiday.
Most people are unaware that Hanukkah is an ever-evolving holiday in Judaism. It is not found in the Torah. There is no haggadah to direct its celebration. It is not an obvious mitzvah or commandment from God, and it made heroes of a dynasty that eventually produced some of Israel’s cruelest kings. Therefore, the rabbinic sages who wrote the Talmud in Babylonia (300-400 years after the Maccabees) and who created the Judaism we know today, debated among themselves about the true meaning of Hanukkah.
The rabbi’s solution was to center the celebration on the “miracle of oil,” focusing on God’s intervention in keeping the eternal light of the Temple burning. Unfortunately, there is no historical basis for this, but it is a lovely tradition. We follow it, but add an absolute truth to it – that Yeshua, our Messiah, is the Divine Servant, the Light of the world, who lights up our lives. The only staples of a traditional Hanukkah celebration are an eight branched menorah with a ninth servant (shammash) candle, a couple of blessings, songs and short prayers.
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