Chanukkah

This is for those who are wishing to seek the truth like the bereans.

It is the esteem of Alahym to hide a matter, And the esteem of sovereigns to search out a matter. The heavens for height and the earth for depth, But the heart of sovereigns is unsearchable. Take away the dross from silver, And a vessel comes forth for the refiner. Take away the wrong from before the sovereign, And his throne is established in righteousness.

Mashly (Proverbs) 25:2-5

“Speak to the children of Yashar’al, and say to them, ‘The appointed times of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, which you are to proclaim as set-apart gatherings, My appointed times, are these:” Uyqra (Leviticus) 23:2

“Do not add to the Word which I command you, and do not take away from it, so as to guard the commands of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 your Elohai which I am commanding you.” Dabarym (Deuteronomy) 4:2

“Do not add to His Words, Lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar.” Mashly (Proverbs) 30:6

“For I witness to everyone hearing the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to them, Alahym shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, Alahym shall take away his part from the Book of Life, and out of the set-apart city, which are written in this Book.” Chazun (Revelation) 22:18-19

“But He answering, said to them, “Why do you also transgress the command of Elohai because of your tradition?” Matytyahu 15:3

” And in vain do they worship Me, teaching as teachings the commands of men. Forsaking the command of Alahym, you hold fast the tradition of men. And He said to them, “Well do you set aside the command of Alahym, in order to guard your tradition… nullifying the Word of Alahym through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such traditions you do.”” Marqus 7:7-9, 13

And A’Ahrun said to them, “Take off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” And all the people took off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to A’Ahrun. “And he took this from their hand, and he formed it with an engraving tool, and made a moulded calf. And they said, “This is your mighty one, O Yashar’al, that brought you out of the land of Matsrym!” And A’Ahrun saw and built a slaughter-place before it. And A’Ahrun called out and said, “Tomorrow is a festival to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄.” Shamut (Exodus 32:2-5)

We know the rest of this story:
Mashah/Moses intercedes for the evil people.
Mashah pleas with 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄.
He throws the tablets and breaks them at the foot of the mountain.
He throws the calf they made into the fire.
He grinds the golden calf into a powder and scatters it on the face of the water and makes Yashar’al drink it. The sons of Luy/Levi gather together and slay 3000 men that day.

This seems like a pretty serious thing to our Alahym, to worship in the way that we want to, rather than the things He commands us to do. Granted we’re all learning, but it seems they just deemed what they were doing to be better.

There’s another incident in Uyqra (Leviticus) 10 with strange fire. 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 doesn’t take too kindly to unprescribed worship. He authorizes how things are to go.

And Nadab and Abyahua had died before 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 when they brought strange fire before 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 in the Wilderness of Syny. And they had no children. So Alazar and Aytamar acted as priests in the presence of A’Ahrun their father.

Bamdabar (Numbers) 3:4 ; Bamdabar (Numbers) 26:61

A mattter in Scripture is established on 2 or 3 witnesses.

“At the mouth of two or three witnesses shall he that is to die be put to death. He is not put to death by the mouth of one witness.” Dabarym (Deuteronomy) 17:6

“One witness does not rise up against a man concerning any crookedness or any sin that he commits. At the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses a matter is established.” Dabarym (Deuteronomy) 19:15

“But if he does not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word might be established.’” Matytyahu (Matthew) 18:16 (Yuchanan/John 8:17)

This is the third time I am coming to you. “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.” Qurantyym Bĕt (2 Corinthians) 13:1

“Anyone who has disregarded the Turah of Mashah dies without compassion on the witness of two or three witnesses.” Abarym (Hebrews) 10:28

“Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses.” Thymutyus Alap (1 Timothy) 5:19

There is one witness to our Mashych/Messiah being in the vicinity on this occasion. Yuchanan (John) 10

Mashych Yahusha 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤏 declares who He is.
I am the door (10:7,9)
I am the Good Shepherd (10:11,14)

10:22 “At that time the Chanukkah came to be in Yarushalam and it was winter”

He was walking in the porch of Shalamah (Solomon). If you look at historical photos of how the 2nd temple was built, this was OUTSIDE of the temple, the entrance into the court of the gentiles where unclean Jews and Gentiles would be.

“So the Yahudym surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in suspense? If You are the Mashych, say to us plainly.” 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤏 answered them, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s Name, they bear witness concerning Me. “But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” 10:24-27

Again the Yahudym picked up stones to stone Him. 10:31

It doesn’t seem like He’s partaking in their holiday as He flees from them who He says aren’t His sheep.

Saturnalia is also called, ‘The Festival of Lights’, as well as ‘The Feast of Dedication’

There are MANY pagan winter celebrations- Saturnalia, St. Nicholas’ Day, St. Lucia’s Day, Winter Solstice, Samhain, Imbolc, Bealtaine, Lughnasadh, the Festival of Janus, etc. Perhaps Yahuah didn’t want a festival in the winter, the darker portion of the year, for a very good reason! How many times has He instructed us to not do as the pagans do?

Wax figurines called ‘sigillaria’ were made especially for the celebration of Saturnalia, or plain candles. Does it astonish you that both festivals, Chanukah and Saturnalia, have a heavy theme of light and candles burning? Don’t most pagan celebrations? What comes to mind when you see an altar with candles burning on it? Catholicism? We have ONE oil lampstand in Turah, and it has seven branches, not nine wax candles like the chanukiah does.

The story about the oil lasting for eight days is entirely fictional and is not found on the Book of the Maccabees.

The rabbinic blessing for lighting the chanukiah candles goes like this: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the lights of Chanukiah.” Did you know there is no such command in all of Torah to light Chanukah lights/candles?

Chanukah is the most celebrated Jewish holiday in America, far surpassing the holy days listed in Leviticus chapter 23, which are His.

Flavius Josephus in his book called, Antiquities of the Jews says, “They made it a law for their posterity, that they should keep a festival on account of the restoration of their temple worship, for eight days.” Deuteronomy 12:32 “All the things I command you, be careful to do it. You shall not add to it, nor take away from it.” Josephus also said that it’s called a festival of “Lights” and seemed kind of puzzled by the name. He sounds like he’s guessing when he says, “And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights. I suppose the reason was, because this liberty beyond our hopes appeared to us; and that thence was the name given to that festival.[Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 12, Chapter 7, Part 7]

From an American Chabad rabbi:

“The menorah that we light on Chanukah (also known as a chanukiah in Modern Hebrew) commemorates this miracle. The design of this menorah may (but need not) be similar to the original menorah, with some important differences: The menorah in the Holy Temple had seven branches, while the Chanukah menorah has eight (plus one additional “helper” candle, the shamash.) The menorah in the Holy Temple was lit indoors, while the Chanukah menorah is lit outside, at the front door facing the street. (In many communities it has become customarily to light it indoors near a door or window.) The menorah in the Holy Temple was lit during the daytime, while we light the Chanukah menorah after sundown, to burn into the night. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory, explains that there is significance to these differences. The number seven represents the natural order, as reflected in the Seven Days of Creation and the seven days of the week. Eight is a step beyond nature: the supernatural, the transcendent. The Temple was a place of holiness and revealed Godliness, and the seven lights of the menorah were enough to light it up. Nowadays, there is more spiritual darkness in the world, and Godliness is concealed. We need to reach beyond the limitations of nature and tap into a higher level of holiness in order to illuminate the darkness outside. The eight lights of our Chanukah menorahs, burning in the night, transform the world into a Godly, light-filled place.” (Entirely Kabbalah, FYI)

The ‘servant candle’ on the chanukiah is called the ‘shamash’ and supposedly comes from the Hebrew word for servant. This word ‘shamash’ does not appear in Biblical Hebrew anywhere. However there is a VERY common Biblical Hebrew word for servant, and it’s ‘abad’.

Is it coincidence that this made up word for the chanukiah ‘shamash’ is the Hebrew word for sun, as in the city that very close to Jerusalem today called, Beyth Shemesh/House of Sun, (mentioned in Numbers chapter 33) a location that has a circular megalithe likely used in sun worship? This city was originally one of the cities set aside for the cohenim/priests. To this day, the place continues to be associated with sun worship.

Shamash is a pagan god of Babylon and Canaan.

This is a hymn sung in honor of Shamash: “You, Shamash, direct, you are the light of everything … The whole of mankind bows to you … Shamash, the universe longs for your light … It is pleasing to Shamash, and he will prolong his life … You observe, Shamash, prayer, supplication, and benediction … They in their reverence laud the mention of you … And worship your majesty forever … Which are the regions not warmed by the brightness of your light? … Brightener of gloom, illuminator of darkness … Dispeller of darkness, illuminator of the broad earth.” If Mashych Yahusha made the statement that He is the “Light of the World”, what do we make of this? Idolatry?

The Maltese Cross represents Shamash, the god of the sun and justice and is worn by the Catholic pope. This cross was identified with a sun god eight centuries before Messiah and long before it was called the Maltese Cross by the Knights of Malta. It’s also called the ‘Iron Cross’. Roman Catholic Adolf Hitler renewed its use in 1939 and superimposed the swastika in its center. Why would the RCC pope wear the cross of Shamash, and why would Jews choose this specific name to label the middle branch of their chanukiah?

Star of Remphan

“but you took up Sikkuth your sovereign and Kiyyun, your idols, your astral mighty ones, which you made for yourselves!” Amus 5:26

‘And you took up the tent of Moleḵ, and the star of your mighty one Kiyyun, images which you made to bow before them. Therefore I shall remove you beyond Baḇel.’ Maashah (Acts) 7:43

Land of Honey blog
William Moore
Kendra Daniels
Stew Piddasol
Davis Ministry
The Books of the Maccabees, Bar-Kochva, Bezalel. The Seleucid Army: Organization and Tactics in the Great Campaigns. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1976. —. Judas Maccabeus. The Jewish Struggle against the Seleucids. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1989. Farmer, William R. Maccabees, Zealots and Josephus: An Inquiry into Jewish Nationalism in the Greco-Roman Period. New York: Columbia University Press, 1956. Gichon, Mordechai, and Chaim Herzog. Battles of the Bible. 2d ed. London, Greenhill Books, Lionel Leventhal, 1997.