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Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Hanukkah starts at sundown today

The Jewish festival of Hanukkah begins this evening at sundown.
According to Jewish history a small group of faithful Jews defeated the Greek army and drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of God.
When the small band of Jews sought to light the Jerusalem Temple's menorah, the Jews found only a single cruse of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks; miraculously, the one-day supply burned for eight days, until new oil could be prepared under conditions of ritual purity.
To commemorate and publicize these miracles, the sages instituted the festival of Hanukkah. At the heart of the festival is the nightly menorah lighting: a single flame on the first night, two on the second evening, and so on till the eighth night of Hanukkah, when all eight lights are kindled.

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