A Miracle during the Feast of Dedication

Asher Chee |

Today, religious Jews observe the Feast of Dedication to remember the victory of the Ancient Jews over the Seleucid Kingdom. Over time, some legendary stories began to form around the story of the Feast of Dedication. One story is found in the Babylonian Talmud:

When the Greeks entered the Temple, they defiled all the oil which was in the Temple. But when the kingdom of the house of the Hasmonean prevailed and defeated them, they searched and found only one flask of oil which was left in the seal of the high priest. There was only enough oil to keep burning [the lamps of the lampstand] for one day. A miracle was done in it, and [the lamps of the lampstand] was kept burning from it for eight days.

— Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 21b.

In the Bible, God commanded the Israelites to make a golden seven-branched lampstand (Exod. 25:31–39). The lamps of this lampstand were intended to shed light unceasingly, and so the Israelites had to keep feeding oil to the lamps in order to keep the fire burning continually (Exod. 27:20–21; Lev. 24:1–4).

The story reports that when the Jews recaptured the Temple, they could only find one flask of undefiled oil. The rest of the oil had been defiled by the Seleucids (“the Greeks”). However, that one flask contained only enough oil to keep the lampstand’s fire burning for one day. Yet, by some miracle, that one-day supply of oil kept the lampstand’s fire burning for eight days—enough time for the Jews to make more oil for the lampstand.

A Modern Jewish hanukkiah.

Today, Jews celebrate this miracle by lighting a nine-branched lampstand during the Feast of Dedication. This lampstand is known as a hanukkiah. The middle branch holds the main candle.

On the first evening of the Feast of Dedication, only one candle will be placed in the lampstand and lighted in addition to the main candle. The candles will be left to burn out. For each evening after that, one candle will be added to the lampstand. Eventually, on the eighth and last evening, all nine branches of the lampstand will have lighted candles.