History gives one explanation behind the eight branches of the Hanukkah Menorah – Kabbalah gives another.
In Kabbalah, the number seven represents perfection.
That is because we see this number a lot in nature:
G-D Created the world in seven days, the Menorah in the Holy Temple had seven branches, there are seven seas, seven colors in the rainbow, seven notes in a music scale, etc. etc.
So while seven is indeed a very Holy number, eight is symbolic of the aspect of Divinity which is one step beyond nature; that which defies reason or logic and we cannot fully comprehend as human beings.
Jewish baby boys are circumcised when they are eight days old. That this tradition seems to have no logical justification, except for the Divine commandment, the number eight explains the missing puzzle piece.
Miraculously after Judah and the Maccabbees defeated the Greeks, there was just enough olive oil found in the Temple to burn for one night, instead it lasted eight! EIGHT, the miracle number! When the greatly outnumbered Jews chose to rebel against their Hellenist foes, it was irrational, almost silly – the miracle is that they were victorious.
This is why on Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, the Menorah has eight branches! Have a great holiday and don’t forget MostOriginal.com for Hanukkah Gifts.
0 responses so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.
Leave a Comment