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Hanukkah means dedication.
According to Pesikta Rabbati, a medieval midrash on the festivals,
the festival of Hanukkah commemorates more than one great event in the historical
evolution of the Jewish people. There are, in fact, seven Hanukkot.
And they are
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Dedication
marking the covenant of Creation: "when the heavens and earth were
completed" (Bereshit/Genesis 2:1); "completed" refers
to dedication, as it is written "and when the work of the tabernacle
of the Tent of Meeting was completed" (Exodus 39).
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Moshe's
dedication, "on the day Moses completed building the tabernacle"
(Numbers 7).
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The
dedication of the First Temple, as it is written "A psalm and song
at the dedication of the House of David" (Psalms 30).
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The dedication of
the Second Temple, as it is written "And they brought sacrifices
in celebration of the dedication of the House of God" (Ezra 7).
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The
dedication of the wall, as it written "And at the dedication of
the wall of Jerusalem, they sought all the Levites from all their places,
to bring them to Jerusalem to rejoice in the dedication (Nehemiah 12).
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This dedication,
the dedication of the priests of the House of the Hasmoneans, the one
we celebrate now with lighting a lamp.
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The
dedication in the world to come, where there will also be many candles,
as it is written: "The light of the moon shall be as the light
of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light
of seven days" (Isaiah 30).
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