Wishing a "Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate!" the Tweet's accompanying image shows Roman soldiers carrying the spoils of the war, from the destroyed Temple of Jerusalem.

Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the Temple in the second century B.C. Read more

Dear brothers and sisters in the Jewish community in Aotearoa New Zealand,

On behalf of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Committee for Interfaith Relations, I send you warm greetings as you celebrate Hanukkah from 7 to 14 December 2015.

The solemn celebration of Hanukkah (Hebrew word for dedication), celebrates the defeat of Assyrian Greeks who had captured Jerusalem and desecrated the temple, and the rededication of the Temple with new altar and purification of the sanctuary.

Today, this festival is also known as the Festival of Lights. Light and flame have always served as signs of God's presence. In the Book of Exodus, Moses first encountered the nearness of God in the burning bush and received instructions to make the Menorah which would light up the Holy of Holies, for the dedication of Israel's sanctuary.

As you, our Jewish brothers and sisters, celebrate Hanukkah, we would like to join in affirming that God himself is Light that is everlasting. The celebration of Light is always a time of hope. Today, in the midst of violence, war and human displacements, the world urgently needs the celebration of hope. The festival of Hanukkah and celebration of Light remind us that even if evil has defiled the good, evil will be defeated and the Eternal Light of God will never be extinguished.

Last September, Rabi Fred Morgan visited New Zealand to deliver a series of lectures on a Jewish perspective on Nostra Aetate (Vatican II's declaration on the Catholic Church's relations to non-Christian religions). He underscored how the document opened the door to new possibilities for Jewish/Catholic relations. It is our profound hope that we, the Jewish and Catholic communities in New Zealand will continue to be strengthened in our efforts to ensure that all people regardless of their creed are respected and could freely exercise their faith.

Yours sincerely,

Carlo David
Member
NZ Catholic Bishops Committee for Interfaith Relations

On behalf of members:
Sr Catherine Jones SMSM (Chair), Sharron Cole (Deputy Chair), Father Kevin Toomey OP, Sr Bertha Hurley SMSM, Adele Churchman, Nick Borthwick, Mary Eastham, Colin Macleod, Teresa Fernandez, Matthew Gardner

The convergence of these two holidays won't happen again for another 77,798 years, according to some calculations.

Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, is celebrated for eight days beginning at sundown on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013. On the Hebrew calendar, the dates are 25 Kislev to 2 Tevet in the year 5774.

An eight-day celebration, Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the second century B.C.E. during the Maccabean revolt against oppressive Greek rulers.

It is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays and is celebrated by lighting a nine-branch candelabrum, commonly called a menorah.

(Technically, the candelabrum for Hanukkah is called a hanukkiah to distinguish itself from the seven-branch menorah used in the Temple and described in Exodus 25.)

The story of Hanukkah is one of revolution and miracles: Greek influence over the Jews in the Land of Israel had become an affront to Jewish culture and ritual.

Antiochus, the Greek ruler, forbade Jewish religious practice, so a small group of Jews, the Maccabees, revolted. These Jews eventually prevailed and, as a first order of business, restored the Holy Temple, which had been desecrated.

The menorah in the Temple needed to be re-lit because, according to tradition, it should burn continuously. The Temple liberators found one vial of olive oil, enough for one day of light.

Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days. Continue reading.

Source: Huffington Post

Image: npr.org