Chanukah is a Festival of Light. It is also a Festival of Olive Oil.

Yehudah the Maccabee and the Jews wanted to dedicate the Temple back to the LORD. Hanukah is the Hebrew word for Dedication. One of the things they need to do was light the Menorah lamp, but they could find only enough olive oil to burn it for one day.

What did they do? They decided to use the little bit of olive oil they found anyway. Better to keep the Mitzvah for just one day than not at all.

A miracle happened. The next day the menorah was still burning. The oil had not run out. It burned all day and all night and was still burning the next day too. For eight days it burned! One day's supply of oil burned eight days until the priests could make new oil.

In the days of the Bible, olive oil was also used for anointing. It was poured over the head of a king to declare him to a king. Remember the story of when Samuel anointed David as king? That means Samuel poured olive oil over David's head. It is called anointing. Someone who is anointed with olive oil is called a "Moshiach." Moshiach is Hebrew for Messiah and Christ. It means Anointed One.

The Master is The Moshiach, the Anointed One. He is the King over Israel.

Olive oil is used to burn in lamps and it is used for anointing, but it is also good for cooking with. It is a healthier cooking oil than most oils

Olives grown on trees. Olive trees grow abundantly in the land of Israel. Olive oil is an important product of Israel. There were many olive trees growing on the Mount of Olives where the Master and his Talmidim stayed.

To make olive oil, the olives are first harvested by shaking them out of the trees and onto sheets that are laid on the ground around the trees. Then the olives are sorted and placed in an olive press. Look at the picture of the olive press above. The olive press is like a giant screw which is turned to squeeze and squish the olives in mush.

When the Master prayed three times on the night he was betrayed, he was praying in the Garden of the Olive Press (Gethsemene). There must have been an olive press nearby. Click here to read the story.

As the olives are squished into mush, liquids squirt out and dribble into the narrow stone gutters that encircle the olive press. The gutters drain the liquid into jars. As the liquids settle, the oil floats to the surface and can be separated as fresh pure olive oil.

At Chanukah we can use olive oil for burning in the menorah. We also use olive oil to fry potato pancakes. Yum! Yum! Potato latkes are a Chanukah treat.

Email Kehilat Sar Shalom
or Beth Yeshua