For eight days of Hanukkah, Jews celebrate triumph and the miracle of light
Sunday marks the beginning of a celebration of triumph and miracles for the Jewish community.
Hanukkah, the eight-day celebration, honors the victory of a small Jewish resistance army over the Greek Seleucid Empire that had occupied Israel prohibiting Judaism and destroying a temple in Jerusalem.
The reclaiming and rededication of the temple only came when the Jewish army found a one-day supply of pure olive oil to light a candelabra, it lasted eight days and gave rise to the holiday also known as the Festival of Lights.
"The miracle of the oil lasting for eight days instead of one is the greatest miracle," said Rabbi Mendy Turen of Chabad of Springfield. "Because of that, we have a lot of traditions associated with oil like lighting the menorah, eating oily foods like latkes, and playing dreidel."
Springfield will celebrate the start of Hanukkah with a menorah lighting Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Old State Capital Plaza, 526 E. Adams St. The observance continues through Dec. 26.
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Turen said members of the Jewish community will recite three prayers before the lighting. In subsequent nights, two prayers will be recited before the lighting followed by songs of praise.
"The uniqueness of the blessing is to show that it's something holy that we’re doing, which in essence is what ancient Greeks wanted us not to do. It's also a time to think about the miracles made for our forefathers," Turen said.
A common misconception for most Jewish holidays is that the theme surrounds enemies wanting to kill Jews, God providing a miracle, and then the community feasting to give thanks, Turen said.
"But this is the one holiday that's not accurate because they didn’t want to kill us, they wanted to take away our Judaism and the godliness of our life," he said.
While there are many lessons to learn from Hanukkah, Turen said the greatest is the call for the Jewish community to be the light to the world in the midst of darkness.
"We have to add light in the physical manner with the candles of Hanukkah and by making the world a better place."
A family celebration and grand menorah lighting for the fifth night of Hanukkah will take place at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at White Oaks Mall, 2501 Wabash Ave. There will be traditional holiday food, a magician, and a variety of activities.
For other events, go to www.chabadspringfield.com/events
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield celebrates start of Hanukkah 2022 with menorah lighting
