Chanukah

Tonight is the first night of Chanukah, the festival of lights. We celebrated it by lighting the first candle of the Chanukiah (Chanukah menorah, which has nine branches instead of the traditional seven,) then our thanks in prayer for the miracles in our lives, and finally read the story of the Maccabee victory in Jerusalem and the miracle of the oil in the temple. We're learning and enjoying the history and the spirit of the holiday. As we've studied the Old Testament in Sunday School this year, I've become more aware and appreciative of the heritage of Abraham that we share with most of the world, and the privilege of Israel that we share with the Jewish nation. While Chanukah is actually one of the less important Jewish holidays, it's one of the easiest for our kids to understand, so we plan to learn and enjoy for eight nights. Tomorrow I hope we learn to play games with the dreidels. We might even wager a little gelt.