Chanukah became a different kind of celebration

“Chanukah became a different kind of celebration, not of military power but of spiritual strength. It stood for the truth of which the prophet Zechariah spoke when he said, “Not by force nor by might, but by My spirit, says the Lord.” The menorah came to represent the Jewish spirit which, like the cruse of oil, kept burning as if by a miracle. Jewish faith survived, even after the destruction of the Temple and some of the harshest trials ever faced by a people…”

“Had the Maccabees not resisted the power of Greece, not only would there be no Judaism today. There would be no Christianity either. For it was in the aftermath of the confrontation with Greece and Rome that two dreams were born. Jews believed, against all probability, that though they faced defeat and dispersion they would stay loyal to their faith. One day they would return to Zion and see Jerusalem rebuilt…”

“Civilisations built on power never last. Those built on care for the powerless never die. What matters in the long run is not political, military or economic strength, but how we light the flame of the human spirit. That, for me, is the Chanukah message to a new millennium.”

The Miracle of Chanukah, published article in The Times, December 1999