Looking back at our Chanukah tweeting over the years is a little telling, as we’ve been much more focused on “sharing the lights” than on meaningful messages as we’ve done for tweets for many of the other holidays. But Chanukah has so much meaning, symbolism and relevance, especially for our times!
Here’s a little collection of some of our Chanukah tweets that have more of a meaningful or explanatory focus.
#Chanukah celebrates freedom of religion, and freedom from religious persecution – and the courage to stand up for those rights – which makes this Jewish holiday as American as apple pie.
Both miracles of #Chanukah: the little cruise of oil that lasted for 8 days & the small band of Maccabees that defeated a much larger & mightier aggressor tell us how a little can go a long way, how powerful small can be, how tiny should never be dismissed or underestimated.
3 telling distinctions between biblical Temple Menorah vs. Menorah/Chanukiah we light on #Chanukah: 7 branches vs 8, lit within the Temple vs. outside or outer-facing, & whether it was lit during the daytime vs. after dark. #Rebbe links all these as a #Chanukah uniqueness.
While Chabad is eager to share & publicize all Mitzvot, #Chanukah is the one mitzvah with built-in Talmudic requirement to do so. It is a holiday (& especially the Menorah observance is) meant to #Sharethelights, spread the warmth, illuminate the darkness.
But as #Chanukah share & spreads, its important not to dilute its message. Remember the story & struggle behind it! And how they insisted on only the purest oil for the #Menorah & would not compromise for compromised oil, or settle for anything less than their ideals.
#Chanukah is actually a celebration of contrasts, not sameness. A little light against the backdrop of darkness, hot sizzling Latkes on a cold winter night (yes, I know its summertime for those in the southern hemisphere) but wherever it is about contrast, its OK to be different!
Lots of symbolism in OIL of the #Chanukah miracle (& its Latkes & Doughnuts): oil is extracted by squeezing & pressuring the olive, its the olive’s essence, it’s a saturating, permeating, penetrating & energizing liquid that doesn’t mix & blend in with other liquids.
“#Chanukah lights is an extremely beloved mitzvah!” says #Rambam, in one of those rare departures from his factual style in #MishnehTorah. Indeed, to this day, #Menorah is very widely observed & cherished, this statement is still very apt! #1ChapterRambam
And some Less-Known for a very widely known holiday:
less known re #Chanukah: holiday’s #Hebrew name is closely related to words like #dedication and #education.
less known re #Chanukah: short daily #Torah reading in #Shacharit morning prayer service.
less known re #Chanukah: #dairy (thanks to Yehudit’s heroism) is earlier food tradition for this holiday than either #latkes or #doughnuts.
less known re #Chanukah: only weekday holiday when full #Hallel is recited each day.
Check back soon, we’ll try to add more to this page over the course of the holiday!