Hanukkah by I.M. Spadecaller (2017)

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Description Hanukkah, which means dedication, is the festival that commemorates the purification and rededication of the Temple following the defilement caused by the Greeks during their occupation of that holy place in the second century B.C. In the year 168 B.C.E., the Syrian tyrant Antiochus Epiphanes sent his soldiers to Jerusalem. The Syrians desecrated the Temple, the holiest place for Jews at that time. Antiochus outlawed circumcision and the observance of the Sabbath. Altars and idols were set up for the worship of Greek gods and he offered Jews two options: conversion or death. Today, the holiday reminds Jews to rededicate themselves to stand against forces that would destroy Judaism and to keep alive the flame of Jewish religion, culture, and peoplehood so that it may be passed on to the next generation. According to the legend, when the Maccabees entered the Temple and began to reclaim it from the Greeks, they immediately relit the ner tamid (eternal light), which burned constantly in the Temple, as it does in synagogues throughout the world today. In the Temple, they found only a single jar of oil, enough oil for one day of light. The messenger who was sent to secure additional oil took eight days to complete his mission, and miraculously, the single jar of oil continued to burn until his return. The light from oil lamp protected the Jews from attack, as their enemies watched for a sign that their supplies had run out. The rabbis of the Talmud attributed the eight days of Hanukkah to the miracle of this single jar of oil. Happy Hanukkah!

I.M. Spadecaller
Member Since December 1969
Artist Statement