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fand capricious • and - full; of -hatred,- es- . pecially against the Jews and their Law. Tie was a\ Hellenist run to seed," and he wished .that all -his. 1 subjects should be Hellenists, jj His wicked, cruel nature soon ihowed itself. attacked Jerusalem, slaughtered young .and old,- forced - his way into the temple, blasphemed God and removed all the fjolden, vessels and the treasures of the sanctuary which Mena laus pointed out , to" him. : : . - {> Later, instigated by the same treacher ous apostate, Antiochus resolved to sweep away the religion- •.. of Moses*"&nd the prophets . and ¦ to compel the Jews to ••¦.adopt "the faith 'of the Greeks. The King's decree' was. sent to all the towns of . five" Crave sons, Johanan, Simon, Eleazar,- Jonathan and, the ' bravest of them all. Judas Maccabaeus. One of the officers of the King reached Modln, erected an altar in the market place and ordered the people in the name of j the King 1 to j abandon . their faith and to perform acts of idolatry. Matta thius and his sons rushed upon the officer and his troops '-and killed them and de molished the altar of Jupiter. The stan dard of open rebellion was raised. Mat tathias cried out, "Whosoever Is zealous for the Law, and whosoever wishes to support the Covenant, let him come forth after me." Many followed him to the mountains, whence he successfully " (For School Children). BT RABBI ISIDORE MYERS. With fervor and Joy we srive thanks ts THE EIGHT CHANUKA LIGHTS. A Rabbinical legend relates that when Judas Maccabeus entered the temple in. Jerusalem ." he searched and found one small flask of holy oil, bearing tha seal of the genuine High Priest, 1 proving that the oil was fit to . be used for tho per petual lamp in the temple. The flask contained sufficient oil only for one day's, light, but by a miracle the oil lasted for eight days. " The miracle has not ceased yet The light that was rekindled by th* pious and brave 'Maccabees has been burning for over two thousand years, and with God's help, it will continue to born brightly as long 'as there are noble 1 souls left In the world to champion the cause of God, morality and humanity. erty of all mankind. Whilst the pious Jew, rejoicing durta* the festival of Chanuka because of the preservation of Judaism, is stimulated by its observance to remain loyal to the •ac red traditions of 'his race; and whilst th** modern Zionists seek inspiration from th* Chanuka celebrations to strengthen their national consciousness. '. every good maa and true may participate la Israel's Joy' at the preservation of the world's best spiritual forces that work for righteous ness. THE SUNDAY- C AIiTj. The people were'' cowed with terror, even the bravest lost Meart. . WTien* the dreadful ', persecution t reached its great est; height deliverance came. In a little town called .Modin, about three miles from' Jerusalem, there .lived a : noble, priestly family , ! . the ' Hasmoneans, consist- Ing of an aged father, Mattathias, and Officers were appointed to , see that the King's commands were strictly , obeyed, and to put j to j death ¦ every . one found to offer the least resistance. Thus. a sys tematic persecution was organized.'-. The opportunity war offered for the first ; time to the ? Jews to manifest the strength of their loyalty to their God and his '. Law. And .. they passed through the ordeal gloriously. The blood of many martyrs, testified that Israel held ¦ con science dearer, than life. The resistance offered by? so many Jews ; maddened the King, and; ho gave : orders that the se verest : cruelty* be "• exercised in ¦ the .-¦ pun ishment of the disobedient.- • ' • - • ¦ _" v - ¦ '¦ • ' " " Judea, oonunandlngth*, lews to renounce the God of Israel and to worship in his place the gods of the Greeks. Any one - found - practicing any . Jewish rite was to be put to" death. Altars and idols were erected everywhere. The Temple in Jerusalem was desecrated, the scrolls of. the Law were burnt, unclean animals . were sacrificed upon . the altar, and the Jews. were forced to eat the meat. The statue of 'Jupiter, called in the Book of Daniel "the abomination of destruction," -.was 'placed upon the • altar, and to him sacrifices were for the future to be . offered.' ¦ ; . : \ • The festival of Chanuka has ever been dear to the Jewish heart, and is to-day, after an Interval of 2067 years, as popular as ever. During, the protracted tragedy of eighteen centuries, In tho midst of the direst sufferings and the most cruel per secutions^ the Chanuka lights Infused new hope and courage into th* Jewish breasts, and the ; memory of the earlier martyrs stimulated thousands to offer themselves as holocausts for. the sak* of God and conscience. Chanuka. stands as a glorious monu ment commemorating the triumph of re ligious liberty, and recording for ever the victory of a pure monotheism, with Its holy ideals, over a corrupt paganism, with its degrading habits. The whole civilized world ls"*bound to^ honor the name of the brave Maccabees' who, under God's will and providence, achieved this victory. Had the; plan of Antiochus and of the treacherous Jews succeeded, Juda ism would have died, - and Christianity and Islam would never have been born. Thank God, who willed It otherwise. The genius of Israel was destined to im press Itself on humanity, and the prin ciples of Justice, morality ;' and lovewhich follow from ; a pure conception of the Deity had "to be preserved in Israel in order that they might become the prop- ' He was now determined upon a plan of wholesale destruction. The whole cursed race, including the Hellenists, must be swept off the face of the earth. But God was on the side of the weak, and Judas vanquished the numerous powerful le gions of the ' enemy. ., After several deci sive battles had been fought, Macca baeus and his 5 followers marched Into Jerusalem. Deeply affected by the sight of the desolate city and the desecrated temple. ; Judas proceeded hastily with the work of purifying the sanctuary. He re moved all th© symbols of idolatry from its precincts. A new altar was built and new vessels were Introduced. On the morning of the 25th day of Kls lev, three and a half-years after Its pol lution, the temple was reconsecrated with sacrificial offerings and expressions of praise and thanksgiving to the . God of Israel, the people chanting the words of the psalm, probably written for the oc casion, "Give thanks to the Lord, for he Is. good; -for his loving kindness endureth forever." The festival lasted for eight days. Lamps were lit In the city to sig nify the triumph of religion. Judas, with the approval ¦ of the Great Council, re solved that the house of Israel should every year celebrate those eight days. of dedication by kindling the lights and by offering praise. to God for having "deliv ered the strong Into the hands of the weak, the .many into the hands of. the few, the Impure Into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous and the arrogant Into the hands of those that occupied themselves with the law." He was dally Joined by many who took heart to fight in the, defense: of liberty and religion. Before his death Matta ttiiaV exhorted his . 6ons to give their lives for their God and their country, and he appointed hia. son Judas as the leader. Judas Maccabaeus, as* brave and noble" a figure as ever appeared in Israel, com bined piety and heroism, prudence and wisdom, "ion-hearted courage with dove like gentleness. He infused a new spirit into his follow ers' and with undaunted courage and mar velous strategical skill he led his little band of heroic adherents from victory to victory. When the news of hia first de cisive, victorv feached Antiochus, this "madman" abandoned his plan to Hellen ize the Jews. They were not worthy of the ¦ honor of becoming Greeks, since they could not appreciate . the favor he da sired to 'bestow on them. . waged a petty warfare against t£e enemy.- 1':' ' May the eight days of Chanuka strength • ; en our mind To continue to labor for God and man-' kind. Till the day shall arrive when all men will unite To serve the one Ood and to walk In his light. . When the seventh day comes, by Ood hal lowed and blest. We should Joyfully welcome th* day etf * sweet rest. For our lives are, made happy and ren dered more bright By the joys of the Sabbath. 1U peao* and Its light Six days we must labor .and do all our work, And woe unto him who his duties doth shirk. Though the battle of life Is a hard on* to fight. . With heaven's asslstanc* our task Is mad* •• light. The five Hasmoneans, whose memory dear. The sons of our people will ever revere. With the courage of heroes did fight fo? y. the right. And God's temple they cleansed and re kindled its light. Four parts of the world, the north, south, west and east. See the Israelites keeping the Chanuka feast, •' Who, just like ourselves, are performing the rite Of piously irtwdHrti; each Chanuka light. Our fathers most nobly have striven to be) As true to their God as th* patriarchs three. Whose faith was a star which was shin* ing so bright .*.' That the gloom of the world was Illumed by its light. The commandments God gave to our na tion . alone, "Whose words were engraved on two tab lets of stono; And our people were chosen with seal and with might To spread through th* world the great " heavenly light. '» And glory and prats* to us nama wo a*> cord; "While we greet with great gladness tfcia glorious night And piously kindle each Chanuka Ujfht. To Ood who la one, and whose name Is but one, Well ever feel grateful for what he hath done*; When all for our race was as dark as the night. Said the guardian of Israel. "Let there, b* light." The Story of Chanuka. During the early part of the second of the Christian era the. Jews of Palestine were brought under the influ ence of the Greeks. Their brethren In Alexandria had, during a whole century, imbibed Greek ideas aud were ; to a cer tain extent Kellenized. Their example was followed in Palestine. But in Judea the rich upstarts lost their heads and FOB. over 2000 yean, throughout all their wanderings, the Jews have lovingly kept allv* the memory of the stirring events which gave rise to the Institution of Chanuka, or the Festival of Dedication. Every year, eight days, beginning with the 2Sth day of the Hebrew month, of Klolev, usually In December, are celebrated as "days of consecration" and are observed as half holidays. Special prayers are added to the regular service in the synagogue, the K allel, or "The Praise," consisting of six Psalms. 113-US, are recited, and during the week the seventh chapter of the Book of Numbers is read through, containing an account of the dedication of the taber nacle in the wilderness by Moses. In the home as well as in the synagogue one light is kindled on the eve of the first day, and this number is Increased by one each night until eight lights are kindled en the eighth night Light to the Jew is a symbol of religion as well as of joy. If you will enter the house of a pious Jew any evening during the Chanuka week soon after nightfall you will see a special Chanuka lamp •landing In a conspicuous place, gener ally near a window, the lamp containing eight receptacles, either for oil or for candles, and one extra receptacle for the w^r™!™*** or "beadle"— that Is, the candle with which the others are lit AH the members of the household. Including the Jewish servants, are gathered to gether. The master of the house lights the shammesh, holds It in his hands and chants aloud the "blessings"— "Blessed art thoa, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who hast sanctified us by thy fff)xr\rr)^nATne:Titm and commanded us to kindle the light of Chanuka." "Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who wroughtest miracles for «ur fathers in days of old at this season.** A third benediction, said on the first night only, expresses praise to God, "who hast kept us in life and hast preserved us and enabled us to reach this season." The candles are then lit, preferably by young children if present, and during the per formance of the rite Hebrew verses are chanted, of which the following is a translation: "We kindle these lights on account of the miracles, the deliverances and the wonders which thou didst work for our fathers by means of thy holy priests. During all the eight days of Chanuka these lights are sacred; neither is it permitted us to make any profane use of them; but we are only to look at them, in order that we may give thanks unto thy name for thy miracles, thy de- U\-erances and thy wonders." The thirtieth Psalm, which is chanted in the synagogue, is omitted at home, but a hymn forming an acrostic of the name of the author, Mordecal, is chanted by all the family to a popular tune, the hymn recording in brief the successive deliverances of Israel from the Egyp tians, from the Babylonians, from Hainan and from the Greeks "In the days of the Hasznoneans." "The Israelite must not make any pro fane use of the lights, but he is only to look at them." But as he gazes at the burning: ca.ndles he sees by their light a most important period of the wonderful history of his people reproduced before liim. He sees how hia religion was miraculously caved from abolition and fcis race from annihilation, as shown in their Jewish heart*. Tner WtottT **- mired and aplshly Imitated th* trtToto** Greeks. Jewish simple living gave plao* to extravagant pleasures and shamel*** dissipations. No check was put on their greed for money nor restraint on the appetite. If the Law of Moses was sternly opposed to a profligate life, then the yoke of that Law must be removed from the neck of the people. The greatest ambition of those Hellenist Jews was to be regarded by their neighbors as Greeks. They trained their children according to tho Greek model. They longed to tear them selves away from the past " and to "go with, the times." They must be like the Greeks in every respect and at any cost. Their watchword was "assimilation." Those faithful Jews who saw with pain the shameful attune** *f "th* HeTlenlsts to pun down th* tempi* «f pur* religion formed themselves Into a party, under the name of Haaidim, or the "community of the pious.** They clung, to the 'Law -all the more sealously, and most scrupulously observed ail the customs of their. fathers. The ' bulk of the people,- however, tools a middle course,' avoiding the excesses -of the Hellenists as well'as-'the" severity of the Hasidlm; anxious to remain true" to the pastand.to shun all dangerous In novation*. Amidst these divisions tho leaders of the Hellenists sowed '•.thejseeds of discord.' Tho legitimate high priest was removed from his ; office, iand his brother, Jesus or Jason, through bribery, had himself appointed, to the position. Jason went systematically to work to Hellenlie j the people, : introducing' Greek gymnasia into Jesusalem and training the young men to nt to take part in the Olympian games in a state of nudity. But Jason was not j Hellenist \ enough for his party \ ¦ he vu still too partial to Ju daism,' ¦ ¦ . ".";. -'' ¦ ' - - A successor was found in the person of Oniaa Menelaus. . This , miserable fellow, by 'offering j a larger bribe . to the Syrian King, . was raised to the holy dignity of high . priest, although he did not even be long to the^prfestly tribe. To the. Internal disorders that disturbed the Jewish na tion MenelausaddedJ troubles from with out. " Hated as he felt he 'was by the better class this miscreant, calumniated the whole race and maligned the Jewish religion before the King. ' • Antiochus" Epipharies," the reigning monarch, was a monster; ' cruel, cunning 11 Chanuka The Feast of Lights In to-day's issue of Th* Sunday Call appear the con- cluding chapters of "Tho Gos- pel of Judas Iscariot," by Aaron Dwight Baldwin.— a' novel that is proving tha sen- sation of two continents. This book is published com- plete in tha three issues of The Sunday Call's Magazine Section — December 14, 21 and 28. BE SURE TO READ IT. . IT. IS THE NOVEL 07 THE HOTJR. Our next novel will b« "When Knighthood "Was in Flower," by Charles Major, illustrated by photograph3 of scenes in Julia Marlo-we'a play of the same name.; Read the short story on page 6, and see our announce- ment of special short fiction on page 14. BRflj