The San Francisco call. [volume], December 28, 1902, Image 11

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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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