Jewish people prepare to celebrate Hanukkah

Stacy J. Willis

Monday, Dec. 18, 2000 | 12:15 p.m.

Many of the more than 75,000 members of the Southern Nevada Jewish community will celebrate Hanukkah beginning Thursday night.

"While Hanukkah may be a minor holiday, its message is a major one of which Jews can be very proud," Rabbi Sanford Akselrad of Congregation Ner Tamid said.

"It commemorates a fight for religious freedom and the importance of maintaining faith and religious identity even in the face of persecution, and especially in the face of mounting pressures of assimilation."

Hanukkah celebrates the Maccabees' victory over Antiochus of Syria about 2,300 years ago. The Maccabees were fighting for religious freedom and were willing to die to regain control of their temple.

After they captured their temple, they needed to cleanse and rededicate it by lighting a menorah candle -- but they had only enough oil left to burn for one day.

The oil, however, burned for eight days -- a miracle that families today commemorate by lighting a menorah in their homes or synagogues, praying, playing games, sharing in holiday meals and giving gifts to the children.

"The real miracle of Hanukkah is that despite having the knowledge that the menorah would stay lit for only one day, the Maccabees had faith to go ahead and light it anyway," Akselrad said.

"It was a miracle of faith."

The Hebrew word "Chanuka" shares the same root as the word "chinuch," which means education. Sharing the story of Hanukkah with children is considered a key part of the holiday tradition.

Many synagogues will host special services and dinners beginning Thursday night and continuing for the week ahead.

"It is a cherished time for us," Akselrad said.