The Miracle of Chanukah.

Yehuda and his men, with the help of Hashem, were about to complete a great victory, a triumph that lives on as the miracle of Chanukah….

After the death of Alexander the Great, conqueror of the world and

friend of the Jewish people, his Empire was divided among his

generals. Eretz Yisroel (the land of Israel), - the Kingdom of Judea - was added to the Empire of Antiochus III.

The year was 165 BCE…

He was not content to accept the taxes and loyalty of the Jews. He wanted the Jews to lay aside their

Torah and, in their place, substitute the Hellenistic Greek

culture and Grecian idols.

When Antiochus became King of the Syrian-Greeks

He was joined by his sons and other Jews.

They gathered weapons and fled for the mountains.

There they kept Shabbos and all of the Mitzvos.

They even managed to play dreidel secretly.

Matisyahu!

They had gone to the Beis Hamikdosh and placed a pig onto the Mizbaich as a Korbon. Then they overturned tables and Mizbachos and knocked down the golden Menorah. The Beis Hamikdosh was destroyed.

Meanwhile the Greeks had taken over Israel.

At that time there was a holy Tzadik called Matisyahu who used to be a Kohen Gadol, he with his five sons

fought against the Yevanim.

“Mi La’Hashem Ayli (Whoever is for Hashem, let him come to me),"

Maccabbees!

• They were led by Matisyahu's oldest son Yehudah.

• These Jews got the name Maccabbees, which means "hammers," in

• Hebrew because they fought with the power of hammers. Antiochus sent a massive army of 40,000 men to fight the Jews.

On the 25th day of Kislev

• They marched into the Holy City and immediately made their way to the Beis Hamikdash where they saw a sight that left them shocked and angered. Idols, and impurity were everywhere. They rummaged through the ruins seeking at least one flask of pure olive oil with which to light the makeshift Menorah they hastily put together.

Flask after flask they found• Every one of them defiled. Finally -

another miracle! One small jug, sufficient for only one day, remained with the seal of the Kohain Gadol intact! Quickly, with trembling hands, they poured it into the Menorah and lit it. It would be eight days before they could manufacture more oil for the next lighting, but meanwhile, they lit what they had.

For eight days they burned. Those eight miraculous days were chosen as the eternal symbol to commemorate the ness of Chanukah - the eight day long Festival of Lights, where we light the Menorah each evening, publicizing the miracle Hashem performed.

The flames of the Menorah burned and burned …..