Known as the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah commemorates a miracle that occurred in the second century BCE during the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, according to Jewish tradition. It was then that the Maccabees (a group of Jewish rebels), led by a man named Judah, drove their oppressors out of Jerusalem, and lit a candelabrum within the temple that burned for eight nights — even though there was only enough oil to last for one.
Today, Jewish households commemorate this historic event by lighting candles on a menorah, reciting prayers, and eating foods fried in oil such as potato pancakes (latkes) and jelly-filled doughnuts (sufganiyot). Though Hanukkah is celebrated worldwide, it has become a commercial phenomenon akin to Christmas throughout the United States, where activities such as gift-giving have more recently become a major part of the holiday.
As we gather to light our menorahs for eight consecutive nights, keep in mind these illuminating words about the spirit of Hanukkah. Whether observant or not, people of all faiths can appreciate the positive and optimistic message associated with this Jewish tradition.
Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.Anne Frank
Hanukkah is about the freedom to be true to what we believe without denying the freedom of those who believe otherwise.Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
May the light illuminate your hearts and shine in your life every day of the year.Eileen Anglin, voice actor
The proper response, as Hanukkah teaches, is not to curse the darkness but to light a candle.Rabbi Irving Greenberg
The miracle, of course, was not that the oil for the sacred light — in a little cruse — lasted as long as they say, but that the courage of the Maccabees lasted to this day. Let that nourish my flickering spirit.Charles Reznikoff, poet
We light candles in testament that faith makes miracles possible.Rabbi Nachum Braverman
The spirit of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, is shared by all people who love freedom.Norma Simon, author
On Chanukah when we use one flame to light another, the glow is not halved — the light is multiplied.Micaela Ezra, illustrator
At this time of year, when the sun is most hidden, the holiday of Hanukkah celebrates the rays of hope and light.Rabbi Rafael Goldstein
Just as Hanukkah candles are lighted one by one from a single flame, so the tale of the miracle is passed from one man to another, from one house to another, and to the whole House of Israel throughout the generations.Rabbi Judah Leon Magnes
This is what Hanukkah is about: trying to survive the darkness on the far-fetched hope there’s still some life and light left in the universe.Rabbi Lawrence Kushner
The lights of the Hanukkah menorah that we kindle in our homes are a reminder both of the Menorah in the Temple in Jerusalem and the light that shines brightly within each one of us.Libi Astaire, author
Photo credit: Sima_ha/ iStock
