Happy Hanukkah!!!

Hanukkah holds special memories for me. When I was growing up, we as a family attended a Messianic Jewish congregation and enjoyed celebrating the Biblical Jewish holidays that Jews have celebrated for centuries. We so enjoyed opening a present each night of Hanukkah from my maternal grandmother's Hanukkah basket that she prepared for us each year. For eight nights we opened presents that included Hanukkah necessities like candles and Hanukkah gelt (chocolate "coins") and homemade treats like pizzelles and date nut bread. Each night we lit a candle of the menorah which prominently stood on the wide ledge of our bay window that faced the nearby road. As cars drove past our home on the outskirts of a small city (which was more like a town), drivers probably assumed that a Jewish family was celebrating Hanukkah (which was fine with us), when in fact we were a Christian Gentile family with a deep, genuine, multigenerational love for our Jewish Messiah, for the Jewish people, for Israel, and for our Judeo-Christian heritage. We loved celebrating Hanukkah!

So on this special first night of Hanukkah, I want to wish each and every one of you a Happy Hanukkah! May G-d bless you with a special and safe Festival of Lights as you celebrate His faithfulness and the Light He brings into each of our lives. We look forward to the day when the Messiah, the Light of the World, is welcomed in Jerusalem, the heart of Israel.

Here is a video of President and Mrs. Bush celebrating Hanukkah at the White House in 2004: 

Shalom,
Nili Smit