The Hanukkah celebration began this week. Since I'm fairly certain I have Jewish ancestry on my Great Grandmother Muzzy's side, I thought it might add a fun and spiritual dimension to my celebrations this year. So I went to the craft store, and in lieu of finding an actual Menorah, I bought some candles, and arranged them in a menorah-like arrangement.
If you're not familiar with the story, it's starts with a revolt by the Jews, led by the Maccabees, against their Greek rulers. The Greeks had enacted laws that outlawed the practice of the Hebrew religion, and had also desecrated the temple in Jerusalem. The Maccabees eventually drove the Greeks out of Jerusalem, and cleansed the temple, rededicating it. Most of the holy anointed oil was gone, but they found one vial with enough oil left in it to light the temple lamps for one night. Miraculously, the oil lasted for the entire 8 days of dedication. And in celebration of the miracle of the oil, the Festival of Hanukkah was born.
I love the idea of celebrating miracles, and light. As part of the celebration, candles are lit 8 nights in succession, and various prayers are recited.
I hope my Jewish friends will bear with me here, but I see a lot of Christian and LDS application in these blessings. Thanking God for our blessings, and his commandments, for the miracles in our lives, and in our ancestors lives. It reminds me of a scripture from the Book of Mormon, where the Prophet Moroni reminds us that God is a God of Miracles:
"...Behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.
"Behold, he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man.
"And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death.
"And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and then cometh the time that he that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous shall be righteous still; he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still.
"And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles.
"Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes? Yea, and who can comprehend the marvelous works of God?
"Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word man was created of the dust of the earth; and by the power of his word have miracles been wrought?
"And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many mighty miracles? And there were many mighty miracles wrought by the hands of the apostles.
"And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.
"And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust.
"Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth." (Mormon Chapter 9:11-21)
So this year, I choose to celebrate Hanukkah, and remember the goodness of God, and the miracles in my life, by the lighting of the candles. Happy Hanukkah!
If you're not familiar with the story, it's starts with a revolt by the Jews, led by the Maccabees, against their Greek rulers. The Greeks had enacted laws that outlawed the practice of the Hebrew religion, and had also desecrated the temple in Jerusalem. The Maccabees eventually drove the Greeks out of Jerusalem, and cleansed the temple, rededicating it. Most of the holy anointed oil was gone, but they found one vial with enough oil left in it to light the temple lamps for one night. Miraculously, the oil lasted for the entire 8 days of dedication. And in celebration of the miracle of the oil, the Festival of Hanukkah was born.
I love the idea of celebrating miracles, and light. As part of the celebration, candles are lit 8 nights in succession, and various prayers are recited.
First Night only - "Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universe, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season. (Amen)"
Blessing over Candles - "Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to light the lights of Hanukkah. (Amen)"
Blessing for Hanukkah - "Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universe, Who performed miracles for our ancestors in those days at this time."
I hope my Jewish friends will bear with me here, but I see a lot of Christian and LDS application in these blessings. Thanking God for our blessings, and his commandments, for the miracles in our lives, and in our ancestors lives. It reminds me of a scripture from the Book of Mormon, where the Prophet Moroni reminds us that God is a God of Miracles:
"...Behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.
"Behold, he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man.
"And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death.
"And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and then cometh the time that he that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous shall be righteous still; he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still.
"And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles.
"Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes? Yea, and who can comprehend the marvelous works of God?
"Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word man was created of the dust of the earth; and by the power of his word have miracles been wrought?
"And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many mighty miracles? And there were many mighty miracles wrought by the hands of the apostles.
"And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.
"And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust.
"Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth." (Mormon Chapter 9:11-21)
So this year, I choose to celebrate Hanukkah, and remember the goodness of God, and the miracles in my life, by the lighting of the candles. Happy Hanukkah!
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