Tonight is the first night of Chanukah, a minor Jewish holiday that's become a major one over the years. The first candle will be kindled, leaving seven to go, one for each night of the eight-day festival. There'll be latkes to be eaten, songs to be sung . . . .

But just what does Chanukah celebrate?

Answer: A successful Jewish revolt against a Syrian empire ruled by the Seleucid dynasty of Greek kings some 2,200 years ago.

Well, not exactly. The revolt was not so much against the Syrian emperor, Antiochus Epiphanes, as against his attempt to impose Hellenistic culture on ancient Judaea.

Well, not exactly. It's not noised about, but this now celebrated revolt supposedly against the Syrians was really something of a civil war between those Jews who proposed to adopt more of the fashionable Greek culture and those who rebelled against it. They viewed its games and gods as a desecration, and fought for the old ways, the hallowed practices and beliefs. It may not be noised about in some politically enlightened circles, but this festival commemorates a military victory - of tradition over assimilation, of fundamentalism over modernism.

Well, not exactly. The military aspects of the struggle are scarcely mentioned in today's celebration of Chanukah. The focus has shifted over the centuries. The very name Chanukah, or Dedication, now refers to the cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem after it was defiled by pagan rites.

After all, the holiday isn't named after any particular battle or campaign or hero. It isn't the Feast of the Maccabees, who led the revolt. Therefore the real theme of Chanukah is the rededication of the Temple.

Well, not exactly. The essential ritual of the holiday has become the blessing over the Chanukah lights, one for each night of the eight-day festival. The festivities now center about a Talmudic tale relating how the liberators of the Temple found only enough pure oil to burn for one day, but it lasted for eight - enough time to prepare a new supply. We're really celebrating the miracle of the lights.

But what's all this about light and candles? What about the heroes who are remembered during Chanukah - Judah Maccabee and his father Mattathias? Are not their deeds the thread that runs through all of Chanukah?

Yes, but not exactly. Their exploits are referred to in prayers and rituals only by indirection. Heroic feats are transmuted in the glow of the candles; they become acts of divine intervention.

The blessing over the candles recited each night of the holiday goes: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old."

Miracles, not victories. As in the Exodus from Egypt, it is He who delivered us. Freedom is a gift from God, not men.

Chanukah isn't mentioned in the Old Testament. The swashbuckling stories of battles and victories have been relegated to the Apocrypha. A mere military victory rates only a secondary place in the canon. The victory is to be celebrated not for its own sake but for what it reveals. Continued...