Every day of Chanukah during the morning prayers we read a special Torah portion special for Chanukah. The Torah portion that is read describes the sacrifices that the princes of the tribes of Israel brought at the time that the Jewish people completed the building of the Tabernacle in the desert. What is the connection between Chanukah and the completion of the Tabernacle? Our tradition tells us that the Tabernacle was completed on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev. This is the same day that we begin Chanukah.
If one truly sees God’s hand in all of creation it is difficult to believe in coincidences. The holiday of Chanukah is intrinsically connected to the completion of the Tabernacle. The connection is not just that they both share a date. On Chanukah we celebrate the re-dedication of the Temple during the time of the Maccabees, which is a reminder of the holiness of the Temple and its importance to us since the time of the Jews in the desert after leaving Egypt.
When God commended Moses to build the Tabernacle he said “make for me a holy dwelling place, and I will dwell amongst you.” The verse is interesting because it should have said, make for me a holy dwelling place and I dwell in it, but it doesn’t say that. The lesson is that the goal is for God to dwell in us, the Temple and Tabernacle were means of purifying ourselves so that we were worthy of God dwelling in each of us. Today we don’t have the Temple anymore, but the celebration of its re-dedication on Chanukah is a reminder for us to rededicate ourselves so that we are worthy of God dwelling amongst us.
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