I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land (Bereshis 45:18)

The heroes of the Chanuka story are Matisyahu and his sons, who were known as the Chashmonayim. The root letters of the word Chashmonayim are ches, shin, and mem. These letters stand for three words: ches is Chodesh, shin is Shabbos, and mem is Milah. These three mitzvos were the first ones the Greeks banned; they told the Jews that they could no longer keep Rosh Chodesh, Shabbos, or Bris Milah. The penalty a person received if they refused to listen to this ban was death.

There is a very interesting thing to notice about the holiday of Chanukah – it is eight days long and begins at the end of the month of Kislev. It is eight days long as a reminder of Bris Milah, which happens on the eighth day. Also, since it is eight days long it includes at least one Shabbos. Finally, since it comes at the end of the month, it always includes Rosh Chodesh. The reason the holiday is like this is because the Greeks tried to take away our religion, but they didn’t. We still have everything they tried to ban us from doing. This is a very important lesson – our enemies try to get rid of us but they can’t.

Four thousand years ago, the most beautiful land in the world was Egypt. It was a powerful country with beautiful scenery. Nowadays, though, would anyone want to travel to Egypt to see the beauty of its land?

Two thousand years ago, the Greeks and Romans were powerful. Nowadays, where are the Greeks and Romans? Look throughout history at all of the powerful nations which either no longer exist or, if they do exist, they are not the powerhouse they used to be. The lands that were once beautiful are now destroyed.

But throughout all of the years, one thing has remained constant – the Jews are still here! We have lived through some terrible times, but our religion is still here keeping the same mitzvos that our forefathers kept. We cannot be destroyed! This is the lesson of the Chamonayim.

Many sports teams choose Greek and Roman names as their mascots. I went to a public high school whose mascot was a Spartan. My senior year, my school merged with another one and our mascot became the Knights. When is the last time you met a Spartan? How about a Knight in shining armor? They might have been strong years ago, but now they only exist in history books. If a team wants a mascot to signify they are winners and will always be winners, they should name themselves the Jews! The Jews are the only ones who have lasted for thousands of years and are still here!

Good Shabbos!
-yes
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