What does the word Chanukah mean?
Chanukah means dedication or induction. Following their victory over the Greeks, the Maccabees re-dedicated the Holy Temple and its altar which were desecrated and defiled by the pagan invaders. The word Chanukah can also be divided into two: “Chanu” – they rested, and “Kah” – which has the numerical value of 25. On the twenty-fifth day of the Hebrew month of Kislev the Maccabees rested from their battle, and triumphantly marched into the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, ready to rededicate it.
