Lighting the januka lights
In Israel, as in many places around the world, we have begun to light our Hanukkah lights.
Thus remembering for these eight days the Great miracle of the powerful liberation that the Blessed Creator granted to our ancestors at that time in these days!
We would like to take this opportunity to answer the question that many (non-Jewish) people are asking us these days:
Can we Gentiles or non-Jews light the lights of a Hanukkah (candelabra)?
And they also ask us:
Can they (the Gentiles) celebrate Hanukkah?
We will answer with quotes from the well-known book "In the Garden of Universal Faith" by the well-known Rab Shalom Arush (since it is a book dedicated especially to the Righteous among the Nations (Gentiles and/or non-Jews)
In the book he titles this topic like this:
"Hanukkah - the victory of believers over heretics"
And he explains the following:
"This celebration expresses the victory of Judaism over Hellenism, demonstrating to the entire world the strength of Pure Emunah (Faith) in the One Creator and the true devotion and dedication in fulfilling the Torah and the Mitzvot (the precepts).
The lamps should be lit as an act of gratitude to the Creator for the victory of believers over heretics.
These eight lights that we light allude to the seven precepts that were ordered to the Benei Noaj (sons of Noah), plus the eighth includes all the logical Commandments that can be understood by the human mind.
It is also advisable to have a festive meal in gratitude to the Eternal One.
These are the recommendations given by Rabbi S. Arush in his book already mentioned above, (in chapter 18 Shabbat and the Festivals) Expressing that "Gentiles who fulfill the 7 laws given to Noah" can observe this holiday, even lighting the lights and carrying out a festive meal to thank the Creator.
We know, from what the great sages teach, that it is not necessary or rather, "one should not fulfill" the Benei Noach, that is, "mentioning or reciting the Beracha of the lighting," since they "are not obligated."
We hope this note has been helpful to many.
We wish you all a Happy Hanukkah!
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