Dedicate , Illuminate , Educate , Duplicate
BENJAMIN JUSTER
The holidays of this season , Chanukah and Christmas , both reveal a powerful and incomprehensibly loving God . This year , Chanukah begins on the 25th of Kislev , a date that falls unusually late on the Gregorian calendar , creating a rare overlap with Christmas .
Chanukah is not a story found in the Bible but comes from the apocryphal books of 1 and 2 Maccabees , which are not included in the authoritative Scriptures . Nevertheless , these texts offer valuable lessons and have profoundly influenced Jewish tradition for centuries .
The narrative takes place during the time when Judea became part of the Seleucid Empire of Syria , several hundred years before the birth of Yeshua ( Jesus ). Under the rule of Antiochus III , the Judeans enjoyed relative freedom of worship and customs .