Tikkun Global
Jerusalem, Israel
Christmas and Chanukah have a similar theme of a light shining in darkness. The prophet Isaiah said, (ch. 9, v. 2): The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who dwell in the land of the shadow of death, a light has shone upon them.
הָעָם֙ הַהֹלְכִ֣ים בַּחֹ֔שֶׁךְ רָא֖וּ א֣וֹר גָּד֑וֹל יֹשְׁבֵי֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ צַלְמָ֔וֶת א֖וֹר נָגַ֥הּ עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃
And what is that light? Actually, it is not a what, but a who?
Isaiah 9:6 – For unto us a Child is born, a Son is given to us, and the government will be upon his shoulder; and his name will be called, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
כִּי־יֶ֣לֶד יֻלַּד־לָ֗נוּ בֵּ֚ן נִתַּן־לָ֔נוּ וַתְּהִ֥י הַמִּשְׂרָ֖ה עַל־שִׁכְמ֑וֹ וַיִּקְרָ֨א שְׁמ֜וֹ פֶּ֠לֶא יוֹעֵץ֙ אֵ֣ל גִּבּ֔וֹר אֲבִיעַ֖ד שַׂר־שָׁלֽוֹם
The world is in darkness. Then a divine child, the messianic king, is to be born among us. He is the promised light. The light is the child. The child is the light.
Both Chanukah and Christmas occur during the season when the number of hours of night are the longest (in the northern hemisphere and the Middle East). Symbolically that is the time when the light shines.
The light of that Child first shone into the world when the Spirit of God came upon Miriam (Mary) after the angel Gabriel appeared to her (Luke ch. 1). The birth of Yeshua was rather natural; it was the conception that was miraculous. That was the spark of the light coming into the world.
Both Chanukah and the Lampstand of the Temple show us that the light of God through the Messiah was then to light all men and women who would receive him. They would not only receive the light, they would become light that would shine into the world.
The prophet Isaiah continued (ch. 60, v. 1-3): Arise, shine for your light has come; and the glory of YHVH has shone upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth, and a thick fog the peoples ; but upon you YHVH will shine, and his glory will be seen over you. And nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your shining.
ק֥וּמִי א֖וֹרִי כִּ֣י בָ֣א אוֹרֵ֑ךְ וּכְב֥וֹד יְהוָ֖ה עָלַ֥יִךְ זָרָֽח׃ 2כִּֽי־הִנֵּ֤ה הַחֹ֨שֶׁךְ֙ יְכַסֶּה־אֶ֔רֶץ וַעֲרָפֶ֖ל לְאֻמִּ֑ים וְעָלַ֨יִךְ֙ יִזְרַ֣ח יְהוָ֔ה וּכְבוֹד֖וֹ עָלַ֥יִךְ יֵרָאֶֽה׃ 3 וְהָלְכ֥וּ גוֹיִ֖ם לְאוֹרֵ֑ךְ וּמְלָכִ֖ים לְנֹ֥גַהּ זַרְחֵֽךְ
In the time of great darkness, the light will shine upon the people of Israel and upon all those who follow after her king, Yeshua the Messiah.
Yeshua (Jesus) is the light of the world (John 8:12). That light shines in the darkness (John 1:5). It lights all men (John 1:9). The word in Hebrew for the candle that lights the Chanukah menorah is shamash; the word for sun is shemesh. (same root: שמש) Yeshua is both the shamash and the shemesh.
Let's arise in this time of darkness; and let the light of God's love shine through us. Let us remember to pray for Israel to walk in righteousness as a nation, and for all the Christian communities throughout the Middle East to be protected from harm. May the light of God's love shine through us all.
An interesting footnote: there was a recent art display of a nativity scene at the Vatican, showing baby Yeshua wrapped in a Palestinian caphiyeh. Israel's minister of Diaspora affairs, Amichai Shikli, condemned the appropriation of the nativity into a Palestinian propaganda narrative, saying: “It is a well-known fact that Jesus was born to a Jewish mother, lived as a Jew, and died as a Jew."
While Shikli is certainly not a follower of Yeshua, the recognition of Yeshua as a Jew by an Israeli cabinet member is correct historically and represents a positive trend in Israeli awareness of who Yeshua is.
