Chanuka on the most basic level was the fight to live freely in our country as Jews, but on a deeper level it was a struggle between two radically different philosophies. The Greek concepts of physical beauty, nature and art for art's sake and our belief in an inner internal beauty, of the physical world being only a stepping stone to reaching higher spirituality.
It is not by chance that Chanuka is 8 days. In mystical terms the number 7 represents the physical world, 7 days of the week, 7 colors in the rainbow, 7 notes in a musical scale. The number 8 represents that concept that there is something beyond this physical world. The Hebrew word for 8, Sh'moneh, has the same Hebrew letters as the word Neshama - the soul!
The weak flickering flame, that tiny spark, also represents our soul. A flame hardly exists in this world, you can put your hand through it, and yet, bring a candle into a pitch black room and the whole room will be illuminated. We have to let that spark inside us shine brightly and then it will illuminate our whole being!
So this Chanuka, remember! It's not just about lights, fights, donuts and dreidles! It's about connecting to that deep part of us that is searching for real meaning and that aspect of the world that you would not see at first glance!
A Modern Day Maccabee
by Seth Hirsch
A modern day maccabee
living in a society
in which I've fought to be
what I gotta be
what I'm taught to be
guerilla warfare
against Antiochus' army
pulling Jews from Judaism
banned Torah studies and Shabbos
destroyed the Holy Temple
menorahs and Torah
defiled it
found only one
kosher jar of oil used to light the wicks
The candles burned for 8 days
that's miraculous
7's the number of the physical world
8 is transcendence
8 days of opportunity
look within and beyond ourselves
there's far more to existence than the natural realm
And there's far more to existence
than what we're being told
on the television
so I switch it off and grab the scroll
And read what the ancestors read
behind closed doors under candlelight
coz the Greeks oppressed
but we know every cause has an effect
with oppression of religion
resistance inevitably is met
Freedom to worship
and the freedom to practice
to find how this applies in modern society
one won't need an atlas
coz Herzl was a macabee
tell them to meet the backlash
pogroms like Antiochus attacks
now we got the sabras
children of the nation
founded for us
all to lay back and daven in harmony
light candles all 8 days pass
Hanukkah represents non-assimilation
but modernization
shows us how open minded Jews are in the nations
of America or Britian
somewhere where what's big is christmas so we got
really flashy lights and give our kids gifts
in Jewish law
it's forbidden to get a benefit from lights of the menorah
even if it's used to count your assets
we give our children gelt
because of what it represents
potential
you turn your money into whatever you wish
Jacob went back across the river
to get some jars
a thousand years later
the macabees used that oil for some sparks
Give information that includes history
what it means to us nowadays
some of the laws involved and why 8 days
if only I could sum it up in less than a phrase
and give it out to anyone listening what would
I say
Hanukkah means education
and dedication
and also beginning
so I guess it's the beginning of all 3
the beginning of dedication
and education follows that
a chain reaction of how risky life gets
we celebrate the spiritual connection to a G-d
and to all whom you share love with
and what history taught
commemorate the fight to not live idolizing man
and learn there's Higher Truths
Higher Power
Higher Plans
coz I'm merely a Jew
adhering to 8 days of reception
to the spiritual truth
hearing the youth
also teaching the youth
all these lessons
that I am talking 'bout
have a great Hanukkah Hanukkah Ha
start it now
.................................
for more videos of 'shevet' :
http://www.youtube.com/user/YJandFZYShevet
Happy Hanukkah
December 2011
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Seth Hirsch - CENTER STAGEby skateboardhootnanny1,170 views
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