6th night of Chanukah with daughter in background, painting acrylic on canvas by jeffrey dach md

Happy Chanukah !!

A Short History of Chanukah - the Military Victory

In 175 BCE,  the Greek empire was dominant in the region, the Temple in Jerusalem was looted, Jews were massacred, and Judaism was effectively outlawed.  In 167 BCE , an altar to the Hellenic religious deity, Zeus, was erected in the Jewish Temple along with the customary ritual of sacrificing pigs on the altar to Zeus.  This provoked a large-scale revolt led by Judah the Maccabee, and by  165 BCE the Jewish Temple was liberated and rededicated.   Although this was a military victory which liberated the region from foreign oppression, it was also a spiritual victory over Hellenistic materialism, and allowed the people to resume practicing the religion of the ancient Hebrews.

A Word of Gratitude 

Thank you to all the OS bloggers and writers for the enjoyable experience of  participating in the OS blog.  And may you all have a joyous, happy, cheerful, healthy and fulfilling holiday season.   May all of the wishes of your heart be granted.   May your spirits soar like the great winged creatures of the sky.   And may you grant blessings to all of your friends family and loved ones.    Finally, may you all make the Front Cover.

jeffrey dach  md