Allah’s Hanukah “Nūr”/Nair

Rabbi Allen S. Maller

When I will kindle the wicks of oil or candles and say the special Hebrew blessings celebrating the strength of God’s vessel of holy light (in Hebrew Nair in Arabic Nur) of goodness to overcome the dark depths of evil on this eight day celebration of Hanukah [which this year begins on the evening of December 25, 2024 to January 2, 2025]; I will also think of the ayah, “He is the One Who sends to His servant manifest signs that He may lead you from the depths of Darkness into Light; and verily Allah is to you most Kind and Merciful.” (Qur’an 57:9)

Hanukah (Hebrew for Dedication) refers both to: The rededication of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem after it was profaned in 168 BCE by an idol installed in it by the Syrian Greek king Antiochus IV; and the dedication and valor of the Maccabees and all those who joined them in their resistance to the attempt by the ruling powers to force the Jews to abandon their God given religion, and conform to Greek forms of worship and culture. Abandoning circumcision was one example.

Those who resisted, and their 25 year long dedication to the struggle, eventually led to religious freedom and national independence for the Jews living in the Land of Israel.

The oppression of Judaism by Antiochus IV, the Syrian Greek king, was the first known attempt at suppressing a minority religion, but unfortunately not the last. Other well known attempts were the three century long Roman persecution of Christianity, and the persecution of Prophet  Muhammad and his followers by the majority of the pagan Arabs in Makka.

All three religions emerged from their varying periods of persecution stronger than ever, and this is the ongoing spiritual lesson of the Hanukah lights. A lamp, once it is lit by faithful believers, filled with hope and trust in God, can last longer than all the realists and negativists thought was possible.

First the history: In 200 BCE, King Antiochus III of Syria defeated Egypt and made the Land of Israel a part of the Seleucid Empire. King Antiochus III wanting to conciliate his new Jewish subjects guaranteed their right to "live according to their ancestral customs" and to continue to practice their religion in the Temple of Jerusalem.

However in 175 BCE, his son Antiochus IV invaded Judea to put in power a pro Syrian high Priest. As the ancient first century Jewish historian Josephus relates: "The king came upon the Jews with a great army, took their city by force, slew a great multitude of those that favored Egypt, and sent out his soldiers to plunder them without mercy. He also spoiled the temple (erecting an idol in it that looked like himself, and thus) put a stop to the daily offerings (to the one and only God) for three years and six months."

When the Temple in Jerusalem was looted and services stopped, Judaism was outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus IV (who named himself 'Manifest God') ordered an altar to Zeus be erected in the Temple. He banned circumcision and ordered pigs to be sacrificed at the altar of the Temple.

This provoked a large-scale revolt. Mattityahu, a small town Jewish priest, and his five sons led a rebellion against Antiochus. They became known as HaMakabim (the Hammers).

In 166 BCE Mattathias died, and Judah Makabee took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was largely successful. The Jerusalem Temple was liberated and (Hanukah) rededicated. The eight day festival of Hanukkah was instituted to celebrate this event.

“Judah the Maccabee and his men, under the Lord’s leadership, recaptured the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. … After purifying the Temple, they built a new altar; made a new fire; … offered sacrifices and incense … and lit the lamps. … On the anniversary of the very same day on which the Temple had been defiled, the 25th of Kislev, they purified the Temple.

“They celebrated joyfully for eight days, just as on Hajj Sukkot, knowing that (only two months before) on Hajj Sukkot they had spent the festival (hiding) like wild animals in the mountains and caves. That is why they now came carrying palm fronds and fruit, and singing hymns of praise to God, who had given them the victory that brought about the purification of His Temple. By a vote of the community they decreed that the whole Jewish nation should celebrate these festival days every year” (Second Maccabees 10:1-8).

Next the rabbis’ narrative of the oil: Judah Makkabee ordered the Temple to be purified, and a new altar to be built in place of the one polluted with pig's blood by the Syrian Greeks. According to the Torah (Exodus 27:20 & Leviticus 24:2), pure olive oil was needed for the special lamp required to illuminate the ark (Sakina) in the Jerusalem Temple day and night throughout the year.  The Arabic word most often used for light in the Quran is “nūr” (in Hebrew Nair).

However, there was only enough pure oil found to burn for one day, and it would take a week to prepare a fresh supply of pure oil for the menorah. Some said delay the Hanukah of the Temple for a week. Others said kindle the Temple Menorah and pray for it to last until new pure oil could be made. The menorah was lit; and it did not go out prior to the arrival of the new pure oil.

Finally the lesson: People who are oppressed by political powers and governments today, as Jews and Muslims were by the Inquisition in Spain, who were forced to go underground, need to remind themselves of the lessons of Hanukah and to trust that the greater spiritual Jihad is more important than the lesser Jihad of political power.

And in today's world of fanaticism and extremism, may Allah’s Hanukah “Nūr”/Nair lights enable us to see the wisdom of Al-Ghazali, a 12th century Muslim theologian, who wrote: “Declare your jihad on thirteen enemies you cannot see - Egoism, Arrogance, Conceit, Selfishness, Greed, Lust, Intolerance, Anger, Lying, Cheating, Gossiping and Slandering. If you can master and destroy them, then you will be ready to fight the enemy you can see.”