The story of Chanukah and its lessons for today - from Rabbi Moses Parry and entertainer, Matisyahu

Chanukah means "re-dedication" - but to what, why ,and how? Rabbi Moses "Moshe" Parry teaches the history of Chanukah and its lessons for Jewish people today.


The Maccabees (led by Matisyahu and his son Judah) were a small band of rebel fighters who battled against the Greek/Syrian Empire, led by King Antiochus. The name Maccabee is an acronym for the verse, "Mi Chamocha Ba'eilim Hashem" (Exodus 15:11) "Who is like you amongst the supernal beings, O'Lord." This acronym emphasizes that this was not a war fought for land, wealth, or sport. King Antiochus wanted to secularize the Jewish faith and pull focus from G-d and place the emphasis on logic and reason. The Maccabees fought to keep G-d in the equation of Jewish life, and their name reflected that. (Courtesy, songwriter Matisyahu and Simcha Levenberg in HuffPost)

Matisyahu says, "There are so many Christmas songs out there. I wanted to give the Jewish kids something to be proud of. We've got Adam Sandler's song, which is hilarious, but I wanted to try to get across some of the depth and spirituality inherent in the holiday in a fun, celebratory song. My boy Kojak was in town so at the last minute we went into the studio in the spirit of miracles and underdogs and this is what we came up with- the music video of "Matisyahu's Miracle on Ice.""