Hannukah

 
Meanings of Hanukkah
Miracle of the lamp
At home
Traditional foods
Further reading and study


Meanings of Hanukkah


  

[1]
The mid-winter holiday of Hanukkah, which begins on the 25th of Kislev, is an ancient religious-national holiday which celebrates the victory of the Maccabees (a family from the priestly tribe) in 164 BCE over the Seleucid Greeks and their cruel king Antiochus Epiphanes.[1] A candelabrum is lit for eight nights, in celebration of the Maccabees' rededication of the defiled Holy Temple, and in celebration of freedom.


Miracle of the lamp

The sages of the Talmud embellish the historical reason for the festival with the story of the pure oil found in the Temple; though sufficient for only day only, this oil miraculously burned for eight days until new supplies could be prepared. In commemoration of this miraculous event, a special Hanukkah lamp with eight lights is lit each night of the holiday, beginning with one on the first eve and adding one light each succeeding night.[2] Hanukkah is also known as Hag ha-Urim (Festival of Lights).
[2]
 
Rather than focusing on the military aspect of the festival, the rabbis chose to emphasize the survival of religious values in the face of pagan and idolatrous opposition. In modern times, especially in the State of Israel, the opposite tendency can be noted.


At home

  
Each night the Hanukkah lamp (hanukkiah) is lit, increasing a light each night. On the first night,three blessings are recited.[3] On the second and subsequent nights only the first two blessings are recited. On Sabbath eve, the Hanukkah candles are lit before the Shabbat candles.
[3]

[4]
 A popular Hanukkah game is the spinning of a top (dreidl in Yiddish, sevivon in Hebrew) with four sides, on each side of which are the four Hebrew letters nun, gimmel, heh, shin (acrostic for Nes gadol haya sham - A great miracle happened there).[4]
Given the dedication theme of the festival (Hanukkah literally means dedication in Hebrew), is also customary to affix a mezuzah to a doorpost in the home that has yet to receive one.[5]


[5]
Traditional foods

  • Latkes, fried in oil as a reminder of the miracle of the oil (latkes is Yiddish for fried pancakes; known in Hebrew as levivot).
  • dishes made with honey and fruit (such as tsimmes - potatoes with carrots, prunes and honey)
  • In Israel it is customary to serve jelly donuts (sufganiot).


Further reading and study

Black, Naomi.
     Celebration: The Book of Jewish Festivals (Jonathan David, 1989).
Donin, Rabbi Hayim Halevy.
     To be a Jew: A Guide to Jewish Observance in Contemporary Life
     (Basic Books, 1972).
Greenberg, Rabbi Irving.
     The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays (Summit Books, 1988).
Greenberg, Blu.
     How to Run a Traditional Jewish Household (Jason Aronson, 1989).
Goodman, Philip, ed.
     Jewish Holiday anthologies (JPS, 1970, 1992).
Jacobs, Louis.
   The Book of Jewish Practice (Behrman House, 1987)
Kitov, Eliyahu.
     The Book of Our Heritage (Feldheim, 1978).
Klagsbrun, Francine.
     Jewish Days: A Book of Jewish Life and Culture around the Year
     (Farrar Straus Giroux, 1996).
Knobel, Peter.
     Gates of the Seasons: A Guide to the Jewish Year.
     (CCAR, 1983).
Renberg, Dalia Hardof.
     The Complete Family Guide to Jewish Holidays (Adama Books, 1985).
Schauss, Hayyim.
     The Jewish Festivals: A Guide to their History and Observance.
       (Schocken Books, 1996).
Strassfeld, Michael.
     The Jewish Holidays: A Guide and Commentary
     (Harper & Row, 1985).
Waskow, Arthur.
     Season of our Joy: A Celebration of Modern Jewish Renewal
     (Beacon Press, 1990).


[Back to FESTIVAL & LIFE CYCLE Screen]