Hanukkah in the Tanach (Chanukah): Oil, Light, and the Dedication of the Temple

Hanukkah in the Tanach (Chanukah): Oil, Light, and the Dedication of the Temple

Chanukah is not written in the Tanach, yet every candle points back to it. Over eight nights, read the texts behind the festival: the olive oil and the menorah of Exodus, Aaron lighting the lamps and the Ramban's record that the Hasmonean lights never cease, the dedication of the altar in Numbers 7, read each day of Chanukah, Zechariah's menorah vision from the Shabbat Chanukah haftarah, the Temple dedicated by Solomon and by the returnees from Babylon, Daniel's vision of the kingdom of Greece, and the full Hallel of all eight days. The one cruse of oil (Shabbat 21b) runs through it all.

8 days

1. Day 1Pure Oil for the LightThe Menorah of Pure Gold
2. Day 2Lamps That Never Go OutThe Lamp Continually
3. Day 3The Dedication of the AltarTwelve Princes, One Altar
4. Day 4Not by Might, Nor by PowerSing and Rejoice, Daughter of Zion
5. Day 5Solomon Dedicates the HouseThe Vessels of the House
6. Day 6The Second HouseThe Twenty-Fourth of KislevThe Returnees Dedicate the House
7. Day 7The Kingdom of GreeceThe Wise Among the People
8. Day 8Hallel and ThanksgivingHallel: Psalms 113-115Hallel: Psalms 116-118