Over 2,000 years ago, Alexander the Great conquered many lands including the Middle East. Although the Greek army never conquered the world, Greek culture did. The Greeks set forth many of the basic concepts of science, mathematics, and philosophy. Alexander's conquests spread the Greek language and way of life throughout the ancient world.

Alexander's success was no new news to the Israelites. Daniel of the First Testament prophesied about Alexander's rise and fall roughly 300 years before it ever happened. Also, according to Josephus, a Jewish historian, Alexander planned to march on Jerusalem just like he did all the other surrounding countries. However, upon his arrival outside Jerusalem, some priests went out to greet him all dressed in white. The priests simply showed him the scriptures in the book of Daniel that referred to him.

The verses read, "…three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece. Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will." (Dan. 11:2-3)

Alexander was so impressed by the passage that he peacefully departed from the Jews and their blessed Jerusalem that they had worked so hard to restore. I wonder, however, if the priests explained "the rest of the story." In the next verse of Daniel it says, "and when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity nor according to this dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these."

After the unexpected death of Alexander, his generals fought over his succession resulting in his empire being split into numerous parts. They obviously did not know they were fulfilling scripture! The area of Israel became subject to two of the competing parts, the Syrian Greek kingdom (Seleucids) and the Egyptian Greek kingdom (Ptolemies).

It was during the reign of the Seleucids that the Maccabean Revolt occurred. Antiochus Epiphanes was the eighth ruler of the Seleucid dynasty, a descendant of one of the original four generals that split Alexander's kingdom. He had no respect for the beliefs of the Jewish people and wanted them to relinquish their beliefs and adopt the Greek way of life. He desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem by placing idols in it, sacrificing pigs on altars and attempted to abolish Jewish law.

Many Jews did assimilate into the Greek way of life. However, a few refused…a righteous remnant, if you will. One Jewish family in particular, the Maccabees, led a rebellion against Antiochus after the father (a priest), Mattathias, refused to sacrifice a pig to a pagan god. The family fled to the hills and the father died shortly after, leaving his son Judah to lead the rebellion. Although Judah had far fewer men and weapons, they had the Lord on their side and for three years they engaged in guerilla warfare.

Finally, in 165 BC Judah Maccabee regained control of the Temple. The Jewish people immediately began cleanup and restoration efforts. Later a famous story was attached to this effort. During the temple rededication, the Jews found only one small bottle of undefiled oil left in which to light the holy lamps. It would take eight days to get more oil. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days, long enough to complete their time of worship and dedication of the Temple. That is why Jews today light the eight candle menorah on Chanukah, representing the miracle of the oil. The holiday begins on the 25th day of Kislev in the Jewish calendar, the day the Temple was liberated, which corresponds to December in our calendars. This year the 1st day of Chanukah is Wednesday, December 8, although the 1st night of Chanukah will be celebrated on the evening of Tuesday, December 7.

Interestingly, we know Yeshua celebrated Chanukah because John 10 reports Yeshua came to Jerusalem for this Feast and discussed the issue of miracles (a Chanukah theme) with the people. In fact, according to Jewish tradition, the eight candle menorah actually contains a ninth candle, set apart or higher than the others. This is called the shamash or servant candle. This candle is always lit first and then is used to light the other candles. We understand that Yeshua is the light of the world, who then calls us to be lights to the world by first lighting our lives.

The paper has a community calendar displaying dates of several Jewish organizational & club meetings, Jewish classes, JCC events and fun outings. There are yummy recipes, a “Tell Zel” column and many other interesting articles.

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