Thoughts on Hanukkah (and a Healthy Chocolate Almond-Butter Candy Recipe!)

Our littlest was sick this past Sabbath, so we decided to stay home instead of going to our fellowship’s Shabbat service like we normally do. When Indie (our oldest) found out that she was going to miss out on the Hanukkah craft in kids’ class, she was pretty upset. So I started scouring the Internet for fun Hanukkah crafts and found this DIY paper dreidel how-to video. As we were in the process of making a couple of paper dreidels, I thought to myself, what fun is the dreidel game without some chocolate? That’s when my quest for the perfect dark chocolate peanut butter candy began…

I’ve always loved Reese’s cups. At least the concept of them. (The sugar and artificial ingredients, not so much.) We happened to have an unsweetened chocolate bar and some almond butter in our pantry, so I decided to make up my own healthy version of my favorite childhood treat. I’ve included my recipe at the end of this post. Click here to jump to it if you’re not really interested in reading the rest of this. Otherwise, I wanted to take some time to share our current thoughts on Hanukkah and whether Torah-observant Christians/believers in Yeshua (Jesus) should celebrate it.

We celebrated Hanukkah last year, and I felt convicted about the way it was done almost as soon as it ended. We decorated our home with blue lights, lit the Hanukkiah all eight nights, read the story of Hanukkah in a children’s book that I had bought, and gave each other gifts. Lots of gifts, actually… In fact, I went shopping on Black Friday with my family, while they were doing their Christmas shopping.

In that time, I had heard many conflicting things about the traditions associated with Hanukkah, as well 1 & 2 Maccabees (which I still have yet to read in their entirety), and became somewhat confused about it all. I must admit, there is still some confusion for me as to its origins and whether or not we should partake in its modern traditions – at least the ones that are reminiscent of Christmas.

While I understand that Yeshua is the light of the world and Hanukkah, also known as the “Festival of Lights,” is a celebration of that (at least for Messianics), there is debate over whether or not Yeshua himself was truly celebrating the “Festival of Dedication” as is often claimed in popular readings of John 10. There are some who have suggested that what we read as the “Festival of Dedication” in chapter 10 was actually the same time period as the occurrences earlier on in chapter 8, which Scripture tells us took place at the end of Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles.

Some would also say that because it’s not one of the appointed times mentioned in Scripture, it’s not necessary to commemorate Hanukkah. Moreover, as it celebrates the rededication of the temple, which some argue God gave no specific provisions for, could it be said that we have essentially created another “golden calf?”

(I, of course, am playing devils advocate, as I am often prone to do…)

Currently, our household has chosen to recognize Hanukkah as a significant historical event without partaking in many of its popular “Christmas-like” traditions. After all, it is difficult to negate the impact of the Maccabean revolt on not only the preservation of the Torah, but also that of a Jewish lineage into which our Messiah could be born. In addition, if we believe he was born during the fall feast of Tabernacles, it’s very plausible that Hanukkah marks the date of his conception (a miracle in itself).

But because of that, I think it’s also easy for the holiday to become a substitute for Christmas, which is likewise stated by most modern-day Christians to be a celebration of the birth of Christ.

(That, however, is also debatable.)

I must admit that when we first came into this walk, I hesitated to be open about our celebration of Hanukkah, due to it being commonly known as a “Jewish” holiday. Because we celebrate the Biblical feasts, it was already difficult to dispel the idea that Jereme and I had converted to Judaism in the eyes of family members who still to this day say they “don’t know what we believe.” Because the other holy days are actually in our modern-day canonized Scripture, we can easily squash the assumption that we’re “Jewish” with the statement that “we’re whole-Bible believers, and Scripture clearly advocates for the keeping of Yahweh’s appointed feasts.”

Hanukkah, however, is not so clear… and as we have held many other man-made Christian practices (such as Christmas) to the test, perhaps we should do the same with those traditionally known to be Jewish (such as Hanukkah). That means if you’re going to celebrate it, it’s important to understand why you’re doing it and why it matters

So, should Torah-Keeping Christians Celebrate Hanukkah?

At this point, I wouldn’t say yes or no. I would say that Torah-pursuant believers in Yeshua/Jesus, should do whatever they are led to do by the Holy Spirit. I don’t condemn anyone for choosing to celebrate or not, and see nothing wrong with commemorating its historical impact. However, I do think we need to be careful about letting it become a substitute for Christmas, which is very clearly what happened for our family when we celebrated it last year. Simply trading one man-made tradition for another, without having a solid reason for doing so, might give those around us reason to say we’re really no different nor set-apart after all. Because of that, we are approaching this season with a little more caution. We will be attending the Hanukkah Conference that our church is hosting here in Charlotte, and as such, we will be learning more about it and celebrating the one thing I believe all of us (regardless of holidays), as Messianic believers, do agree on:

Yeshua is the light of the world. Whoever follows him will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12)

And now, without further ado (and likely the only reason you’ve even read this far…)

A Recipe for Healthy Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Candy

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. Unsweetened dark chocolate*
• Honey
• 1/2 c Almond Butter
• 3-4 tbsp Coconut Flour
• 1-2 tbsp Coconut Sugar
• Sea salt (optional, to taste)

*If you don’t have any unsweetened chocolate, you can make your own by mixing equal parts cocoa powder and coconut oil and gently heating in a pan on the stove.

Directions:

1. Gently melt the chocolate (or the cocoa powder and coconut oil) over the stovetop. You can do this by putting it in a pan and melting it directly over the burner on low heat. Or you can create a makeshift double-boiler by boiling water in a small pot and placing the chocolate in a pan that sits over the boiling pot of water. Either way, do not let it come to a boil and do not overheat!
2. Sweeten the chocolate to taste by adding honey, one tbsp at a time, until it reaches your desired level of sweetness.
3. Allow the now-sweetened chocolate to cool to room temperature. It should still be the consistency of a somewhat viscous liquid, but if it hardens, you can simply melt it by heating on the stove as before. Carefully pour into a silicone candy tray until each mold is about 1/3 full. Place the tray in the fridge or freezer long enough to allow the liquid to fully harden.
4. While waiting for the chocolate to solidify, mix together the almond butter, coconut flour, coconut sugar and a pinch of sea salt (to taste) until it reaches your desired sweetness and consistency. (If you prefer a more solid, less oily texture than that of plain almond butter, you’ll want to add more of the flour.)
5. Once the chocolate has hardened, take it out of the fridge and add a small amount of the almond butter mixture to each tray mold. Pour the remaining chocolate over top until the almond butter is completely covered and the tray molds are filled. Put the tray back in the fridge or freezer. Once the chocolate hardens, you should be able to punch the candy pieces out of the tray and eat them like mini peanut butter cups!

Enjoy! Here are some photos of the kids playing the dreidel game (with dried chickpeas) this past Shabbat!