The holiday of Hanukka is known as the festival of lights, but in many respects it is also the festival of oil, specifically the olive oil used in Temple times to light the Temple menorah, which we commemorate by lighting hanukkiot, as well as feasting on festive treats such as doughnuts and latkes.
This year, the Temple Institute, an educational and activist group dedicated to preparing the vessels for a third Temple, has produced pure olive oil fit for use in the menorah of the Temple for what it says is the first time in 2,000 years.
The production of four and a half liters of the precious olive oil this year was an extremely complex process due to the necessity of keeping it pure according to Jewish law. In addition, the ceramic flasks also had to made to conform to the standards of religious purity required for use in the Temple.