MJ Only Chanukah and Oral Torah

How does your position on Oral Torah effect your observance of Chanukah?

  • I am Bible only, and I do not celebrate Chanukah

    Votes: 2 50.0%
  • I am Bible only, and celebrate Chanukah although it is not in Scripture

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I am Bible only, but celebrate Chanukah because Yeshua did

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I accept Oral Torah, so I celebrate Chanukah

    Votes: 2 50.0%

  • Total voters
    4

Open Heart

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First of all, Happy Chanukah everyone! Hope you are enjoying your latkes and jelly donuts! Yum. :)

Chanukah, like Purim, is not a designated Holy Day of the Torah. Unlike Purim, it is not even mentioned in the Tanakh. It is strictly a Holy Day designated by the Sanhedrin.

I know that most of you celebrate Chanukah, although a few of you don't.

And some of you observe Oral Torah, though most of you do not.

I'm curious how your stance on Oral Torah effects your observance of Chanukah. I'm MOST interested in those of you who are sola scriptura (Bible only) who still celebrate Chanukah and how you justify it. Please be sure to take the poll.

As for me, I'm sure you all know I give credence to Oral Torah, so Chanukah is an in for me.

I look forward to your answers.
 

HARK!

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There was not correct poll option for me.

I'm not Bible only. There are books that weren't canonized that believe maybe should have been.

The Oral Torah?

When the Hebrews were taken into Babylonian captivity; they completely forgot about YHWH's written word, through Moshe, the Torah. One day a guy, hundreds of years later, stumbles onto a dusty old copy of the Torah and reads it. He says Hey! This is about us! We could be in BIG trouble! Maybe we should start listening to this YHWH again. Now, Moshe wrote down the Written Law; and the Hebrews forgot completely about it; but the Oral Law.....Now that was preserved faithfully, handed down faithfully, from mouth to ear, from generation to generation, without error, even as those generations were influenced by Pagan society, unchanged, as from the mouth of Moshe himself..... REALLY!?!


It's commentary. It has some value but it needs to be treated for what it is, the words of men.

The miracle oil? It's not in the book of Maccabees. Why not? If this miracle happened, it would seem quite notable. It is first recorded, hundreds of years after 1 Maccabees, in the Oral Torah.

I'll focus my time and energy on keeping YHWH's Moedim.
 
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tampasteve

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I accept Oral Torah, but I do not outright accept the Deuterocanonicals as scripture, but rather as possible help when reading scripture - more akin to Midrash. If they agree with scripture then great, it can help clarify that. For me, the problem with fully accepting Deuterocanonicals as scripture is where does it end? That said, I would be more willing to accept Deuterocanonicals accepted by the Catholic or Orthodox church as close to scripture, but I am not willing to accept others such as Enoch, Raziel, etc. Then there are the books that are not scripture, but also not outside of it by teachings, such as the Shepherd of Hermas which I do not consider scripture, but as good additions.
 
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Open Heart

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I accept Oral Torah, but I do not outright accept the Deuterocanonicals as scripture, but rather as possible help when reading scripture - more akin to Midrash. If they agree with scripture then great, it can help clarify that. For me, the problem with fully accepting Deuterocanonicals as scripture is where does it end? That said, I would be more willing to accept Deuterocanonicals accepted by the Catholic or Orthodox church as close to scripture, but I am not willing to accept others such as Enoch, Raziel, etc. Then there are the books that are not scripture, but also not outside of it by teachings, such as the Shepherd of Hermas which I do not consider scripture, but as good additions.
Nice to find a kindred spirit.
 
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ContraMundum

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Funny, I don't really see Chanukah as part of the Oral Torah, but part of tradition nonetheless. I think (for me) it's easier to equate the Oral Torah as that which teaches us about the Torah or helps us live by it. Chanukah for me is outside of that definition, and is really a cultural tradition that remembers a miraculous event, but it's not really a Torah mitzvah per se on its own, although certain rabbinic schools would ascribe mitzvahs to it.

Anyway- my worthless two cents.
 
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tampasteve

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Funny, I don't really see Chanukah as part of the Oral Torah, but part of tradition nonetheless. I think (for me) it's easier to equate the Oral Torah as that which teaches us about the Torah or helps us live by it. Chanukah for me is outside of that definition, and is really a cultural tradition that remembers a miraculous event, but it's not really a Torah mitzvah per se on its own, although certain rabbinic schools would ascribe mitzvahs to it.

Anyway- my worthless two cents.
I see where you are going. Funny enough, there is more written scriptural evidence for MJ to celebrate it than Rabbinic Jews. Being as it is in Maccabees and mentioned in the NT there is more than just Oral Tradition for us.
 
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ralliann

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I see where you are going. Funny enough, there is more written scriptural evidence for MJ to celebrate it than Rabbinic Jews. Being as it is in Maccabees and mentioned in the NT there is more than just Oral Tradition for us.
there is no miracle in Maccabees though. No such story of oil burning for 8 days
 
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tampasteve

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there is no miracle in Maccabees though. No such story of oil burning for 8 days
I did not mean to imply that there was, simply that the event that is commemorated is in that Christian book.
 
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