"So the King and all the people dedicated the house of God" (2 Chronicles 7:5).
This verse tells us of the dedication of the Temple. That would seem to be a central event of Jewish history. Although it took place on the festival of Sukkot, the holiday does not celebrate that dedication. This verse tells us of the dedication and the context informs us when it happened; nonetheless there is no holiday in the Jewish tradition devoted to remembering the dedication of the Mishkan (portable tabernacle) in the wilderness, or either Temple. Yet we celebrate Hanukkah, when the Temple was restored to its former glory. Why?
Hanukkah is about something more important than dedication -- rededication. In our lives, what we do once is hardly as important as what we do over and over again. The great rabbinic authority Joseph Caro asks, if Hanukkah is about a miracle, and the oil which was only supposed to last one day lasted eight, then why don't we celebrate Hanukkah for seven days? After all, the first day of the oil burning was no miracle!
But of course the greatest miracle was the resolution to rededicate. After persecution and all the trials of life in those days, when the Temple was defiled and the people forbidden to practice Judaism, Jews still clung fast to their faith. On that first day beleaguered Jews still wanted to light the Menorah. God's miracle came later. The miracle of the Jewish people, of faith, came first.
On this festival of lights, we should remember the miraculous renewal of passion, of love, of devotion to God and the Jewish people. "Hanukkah" is rededication. The drive to rededicate that which has fallen into disuse is profoundly important. Can we see sparks of holiness beneath the dust of a neglected prayer book? Does our Hanukkah Menorah glow, however dim and distant the light? Rededication -- that is the miracle. The world is rife with worthy causes we have taken up with enthusiasm and then abandoned. Rededicate yourself to repairing God's anguished world. If we manage that, the oil will burn for countless nights to come.
Rabbi Laura Geller: The Miracle(s) of Hanukkah
Hanukkah - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hanukkah - Chanukah 2010 - Menorah, Dreidels, Latkes, Recipes ...
Rabbi David Wolpe: Dedication and Rededication
Hanukkah a time of 'rededication' | delmarvanow.com | The Daily Times
So often in life I have found myself struck by the importance of a cause, belief, or action and I've vowed to change myself in an effort to also help change the world around me. Sometimes I succeed easily, other times I encounter only massive failure. But the times that have changed me the most deeply and profoundly are the causes which I run into again and again, time after time in my attempts to help solve them. The moments in which I realize I've allowed myself to drop the ball, or that I have made only half-hearted or superficial efforts to better the world and lives around me. So I rededicate myself to that cause, I refocus my time and attentions and try to do better this next time around. Only by continuously evaluation the parts of our lives and world which hold meaning can we make a difference, and that has nothing to do with faith but everything to do with humanity. Instead of being bogged down by the valueless minutiae, be inspired by the common threads to both do and to be better.
Fanned and fav'd.
Hanukka is a very important thing that happened.
Without Hanukka, there would be no Christmas.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-lurio/the-spirit-of-chanukah_b_150902.html
Never forget Antiochus the Nutcase and what he wanted to do.