Hold Onto Hope This Hanukkah

Why do you think that, during the darkest time of the year, the Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah,the Festival of Lights?

It’s not a coincidence. We celebrate light during this dark time of year because only against that backdrop of darkness can we truly appreciate light.

In this special Hanukkah episode, host Yael Eckstein will explore this season during which Jews remember the miracles that happened in their history and the miracles that are still happening today! As we’ll learn in this powerful episode, Hanukkah reminds us that no matter how dark things may be, we can still find the light.

No matter how impossible things may seem, God can make miracles happen. Listen now!

Learn more about Hanukkah in our Learning Center.

And listen to more of Yael’s teachings on her daily podcast, The Chosen People.

Episode Notes:

In this episode, Yael explores the deeper meaning surrounding the special season of Hanukkah, which lasts for eight days and eight nights. During this time, Jews remember one of the darkest times in their history—when the Greeks had control of their Holy Temple in Jerusalem around the year 165 BCE. But Hanukkah also recalls the light and miracles that occurred—when the outnumbered and weaker Maccabees miraculously defeated the mighty Greeks and regained control of the Holy Temple.

Yael turns to the Bible to find hope, even amid the darkness: “Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light” (Micah 7:8).

This verse—which tells us, “the LORD will be my light”—is exactly what Hanukkah is all about. With their trust in God, the Maccabees won the war, but when they entered the Temple, they saw how badly the Greeks had desecrated this holiest of places… and they were brokenhearted.

All they could find was one flask of pure oil—only enough to light the menorah for one day. It would take another week to produce more pure olive oil to keep the menorah burning as commanded in the Bible (Exodus 27:20-21).

But the miracle of the first night was that the Maccabees lit the menorah anyway. The Maccabees dared to hope that something miraculous might happen—and it did. God allowed the menorah to stay lit all eight days of Hanukkah!

In this episode, we’ll learn how to apply the lesson of Hanukkah to our own lives: When we look to God, there is always light in the darkness, there is always hope, and there are always miracles!