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Religion News Blog Archives
Religion News Blog posts insightful comments on the latest international news that render us taken-aback in the domain of the religion facet of life. Religion-News Blog: Jewish-Religion News Jewish religion celebrates holiday of ‘rededication’: December 8, 2007 by Vershal Hogan
NATCHEZ — Whether they are following the western tradition of eating latkes — potato pancakes — or the eastern tradition of fruit-filled doughnuts, those of the Jewish faith everywhere are celebrating Hanukkah. The festival began at sundown Tuesday. The name Hanukkah means either “rededication” or “consecration,” and the festival’s origins come from the rededication of the second temple in Jerusalem at the end of the Maccabe revolt. During the revolt, a band of Jewish rebels led by Judah Maccabe successfully ousted a foreign king who had desecrated the temple with an altar to a pagan god. “Hanukkah is a holiday with a theme of independence,” student Rabbi Joshua Leighton with Temple B’Nai Israel said. “It’s a message of hope that we can celebrate our freedom and joy. The holiday actually played a lot into Zionism and the founding of the state of Israel.” Religion News Blog: Jewish Religion News (Continued) The Hanukkah celebrations last eight nights because — according to tradition — at the time of the rededication of the temple there was only enough oil to light the temple’s lamp for one night, but the oil miraculously lasted for eight nights, the time it took to press and cure more oil. One of Hanukkah’s traditions includes lighting candles every night of the festival to remind those who see the light of the holiday’s miraculous origins. There may have been another reason for the festival to last eight nights at its inception, though, Leighton said. “This is approximately the time that the Maccabees were victorious, and while they were hiding they could not celebrate an eight-day pilgrimage festival known as Succot, which begins soon after Yom Kippur (Jewish New Year),” Leighton said. “One theory is that they observed Succot late.” And though Hanukkah is not a “high” holiday, the celebration of the independence the holiday represents is carried on throughout the year, Leighton said. “The term Maccabe has been incorporated into a lot of Jewish sports and sports teams in Israel,” he said. “That theme of competition is really a modern rendition of a Maccabe.” Religion News Blog Comment:
Judaism, as the jewish religion is called, is one of the oldest monotheistic religions and was founded over 3500 years ago in the Middle East. Jews believe that God appointed the Jews to be his chosen people in order to set an example of holiness and ethical behaviour to the world. The Torah is the primary sacred document of Judaism. Torah, which means "teaching", is God's revealed instructions to the Jewish People. Torah includes both Written and Oral parts. The Written Torah, called the Tanakh, is sometimes called the Hebrew Bible, Jewish Bible, or Old Testament. The Oral Torah, explanations of the Written Torah, was originally passed down verbally from generation to generation and later codified into the Talmud. According to Jewish tradition, the history of Judaism begins with the Covenant between God and Abraham (ca. 2000 BCE), the patriarch and progenitor of the Jewish people. Judaism is among the oldest religious traditions still in practice today. Jewish history and doctrines have influenced other religions such as Christianity, Islam and the Bahá'í Faith. I invite you to subscribe to my E-zine titled Life Coach, free of charge. This E-zine publishes insightful comments on the latest international news that render us taken-aback in the domains of various facets of life. A not-to-be-missed opportunity! Subscribe to it here: I also invite you to subscribe to my Life Blog - no need to provide your e-mail address here. This RSS feed keeps you informed about new developments taking place on this site. It also harbors 25 journal bloglets posting insightful comments on the latest international news that render us taken-aback in the domains of various facets of life. In order to subscribe to the blog, right-click on the orange RSS button (see buttons up to the left) and then paste the URL into your RSS reader. Or click on add to My Yahoo! button or My MSN or Add To Google button if you keep a personalized home page there. If you are not sure what RSS or blogging is all about, click on What's an RSS Feed? here:
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