ADDENDUM
FEAST OF PURIM
The Feast of Purim (see Ester 9) was not given to Moses on Mount Sinai as part of the Ceremonial Law.
Approximately 483-473 BC the Jews were held under the authority of Persia. In this period Haman, an Agagite, was the Prime Minister of King Xerxes of Persia. Haman hated the Jews and developed a plan to destroy them. Once the plan was developed he cast the Pur, which means to lot, to determine when would be the best time to execute his plan of destruction.
Because of the courage of the Jewish woman Ester, who at this time was Queen of Persia, her adopted father, Mordecai and along with the prayers and fasting of the Jewish population, God thwarted Haman’s plan. Instead, Haman was hanged by the King and the Jewish people were saved from their destruction.
To celebrate and remember their deliverance the Jews imposed upon themselves that on the 14th and 15th days of Adar, which corresponds to our February/March timeframe, the Feast of Purim or Lot was to be held.
FEAST OF DEDICATION
The Feast of Dedication also called the Feast of Hanukkah or Feast of Lights was and is annually celebrated for 8 days. It begins of the 25th day of the Jewish month Kislev, which corresponds to our November/December timeframe. This feast was also not given to Moses as part of the Ceremonial Law.
This feast is celebrated to commemorate the cleansing and rededication of the Jerusalem Temple after it was desecrated under the authority of Antiochus Epiphanes of Syria. Approximately 3 years after its defilement the restoration of the worship of God was brought about in 165 BC by Judas Maccabaeus. The tradition claims that Judas Maccabaeus found a small container of oil that was sufficient to light a lamp for one day but lasted eight.
This feast is characterized by the lighting of synagogues and houses. The system of lighting is one light for the first day and an additional one for each succeeding eight days of the feast. It is noted that in John 10:22 it was identified as the Feast of Dedication.