Chanuka's Biblical Roots
Is it simply by chance that Chanuka falls out on the 25th of
Kislev? Most students would answer a definite "Yes." After all,
isn't the reason for the date of Chanuka based on the popular
acronym - chanu b'chaf heh - they rested [from battle] on the
25th (of Kislev)? Hence, had the battle ended (and/or had the
miracle of the Menorah taken place) on a different day,
Chanuka would have been celebrated on that day instead. Correct?
Not really! A closer examination of various traditional
sources relating to Chanuka indicates quite the opposite:
The book of Macabees informs us that the decision to rededicate
the Temple on the 25th of Kislev was intentional!
Furthermore, the date of the 25th of Kislev had already
carried prophetic significance from the time of the prophets
Chagai and Zecharya, some two hundred years earlier! (See Timeline.)
So why do we celebrate Chanuka on "Chanuka?"
In the following shiur, we attempt to explain why.