Happy Chanukah
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Happy Chanuka! I made 140 latkes today for a party we're going to have. (I make them ahead and freeze them because there will too many people to stand by the stove and cook for them).
Chanukah, the Jewish festival of rededication, to Christmas. Many non-Jews (and even many assimilated Jews!) think of this holiday as the Jewish Christmas, adopting many of the Christmas customs, such as elaborate Kislev.
Chanukah, the Jewish festival of rededication, also known as the festival of lights, is an eight day festival beginning on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev.
Chanukah is probably one of the best known Jewish holidays, not because of any great religious significance, but because of its proximity to Christmas. Many non-Jews (and even many assimilated Jews!) think of this holiday as the Jewish Christmas, adopting many of the Christmas customs, such as elaborate gift-giving and decoration. It is bitterly ironic that this holiday, which has its roots in a revolution against assimilation and suppression of Jewish religion, has become the most assimilated, secular holiday on our calendar.
The story of Chanukah begins in the reign of Alexander the Great. Alexander conquered Syria, Egypt and Judea, but allowed the lands under his control to continue observing their own religions and retain a certain degree of autonomy. Under this relatively benevolent rule, many Jews assimilated much of Hellenistic culture, adopting the language, the customs, the dress, etc., in much the same way that Jews in America today blend into the secular American society.
More than a century later, a successor of Alexander, Antiochus IV was in control of the region. He began to oppress the Jews severely, placing a Hellenistic priest in the Temple, massacring Jews, prohibiting the practice of the Jewish religion, and desecrating the Temple by requiring the sacrifice of pigs (a non-kosher animal) on the altar. Two groups opposed Antiochus: a basically nationalistic group led by Mattathias the Hasmonean and his son Judah Maccabee, and a religious traditionalist group known as the Chasidim, the forerunners of the Pharisees (no direct connection to the modern movement known as Chasidism). They joined forces in a revolt against both the assimilation of the Hellenistic Jews and oppression by the Selucid Greek government. The revolution succeeded and the Temple was rededicated.
According to tradition as recorded in the Talmud, at the time of the rededication, there was very little oil left that had not been defiled by the Greeks. Oil was needed for the menorah (candelabrum) in the Temple, which was supposed to burn throughout the night every night. There was only enough oil to burn for one day, yet miraculously, it burned for eight days. An eight day festival was declared to commemorate this miracle. Note that the holiday commemorates the miracle of the oil, not the military victory: Jews do not glorify war.
Chanukah is not a very important religious holiday. The holiday's religious significance is far less than that of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Passover, and Shavu'ot. It is roughly equivalent to Purim in significance, and you won't find many non-Jews who have even heard of Purim! Chanukah is not mentioned in Jewish scripture; the story is related in the book of Maccabbees, which Jews do not accept as scripture.
The only religious observance related to the holiday is the lighting of candles. The candles are arranged in a candelabrum called a menorah that holds nine candles: one for each night, plus a shammus (servant) at a different height. On the first night, one candle is placed at the far right. The shammus candle is lit and three berakhot (blessings) are recited: l'hadlik neir (a general prayer over candles), she-asah nisim (a prayer thanking G-d for performing miracles for our ancestors at this time), and she-hekhianu (a general prayer thanking G-d for allowing us to reach this time of year). The first candle is then lit using the shammus candle, and the shammus candle is placed in its holder. The candles are allowed to burn out on their own after a minimum of 1/2 hour. Each night, another candle is added from right to left (like the Hebrew language). Candles are lit from left to right (because you pay honor to the newer thing first).
Because ofthe law prohibiting the lighting of a fire on Shabbat, Chanukah candles are lit before the Shabbat candles on Friday night, and they are lit after Havdalah on Saturday night. The following blessings are said:
Blessed are You,
our God, Creator of time and space,
who enriches our lives with holiness,
commanding us to kinkle the Chanukah lights.
Baruch atah adonai eloheinu melech ha'olam asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu l'hadlik neir shel Chanukah.
Baruch atah adonai eloheinu melech ha'olam she'asah
nisim la'avoteinu bayamim haheim baz'man hazeh.
On the first night, the Shehecheyanu is also recited.
Why the shammus candle? The Chanukah candles are for pleasure only; we are not allowed to use them for any productive purpose. We keep an extra one around (the shammus), so that if we need to do something useful with a candle, we don't accidentally use the Chanukah candles. The shammus candle is at a different height so that it is easily identified as the shammus.
It is traditional to eat fried foods on this holiday, because of the significance of oil to the holiday. Among Ashkenazic Jews, this usually includes latkes (pronounced "lot-kuhs" or "lot-keys" depending on where your grandmother comes from. Pronounced "potato pancakes".)
Gift-giving is not a traditional part of the holiday, but has been added in places where Jews have a lot of contact with Christians, as a way of dealing with our children's jealousy of their Christian friends. The only traditional gift of the holiday is "gelt," small amounts of money.
Another tradition of the holiday is playing dreidel, a gambling game played with a square top. Most people play for matchsticks, pennies, M&Ms or chocolate coins. A dreidel is marked with the following four Hebrew letters: Nun, Gimmel, Heh and Shin. On Israeli dreidels, there is no Shin but rather a Peh, which stands for Po, meaning here.
This supposedly stands for the Hebrew phrase "nes gadol hayah sham," a great miracle happened there. Actually, it stands for the Yiddish words nit (nothing), gantz (all), halb (half) and shtell (put), which is the rules of the game! There are some variations in the way people play the game, but the way I learned it, everyone puts in one coin. A person spins the dreidel. On Nun, nothing happens; on Gimmel (or, as we called it as kids, "gimme!"), you get the whole pot; on Heh, you get half of the pot; and on Shin, you put one in. When the pot is empty, everybody puts one in. Keep playing until one person has everything. Then redivide it, because nobody likes a poor winner.
A traditional song of this holiday is "Maoz Tzur," better known to Christians as "Rock of Ages" (the tune is the same as one of the more popular ones; the Christian translation takes substantial liberties).
I just read this to Hubba. We both learned a lot. Thanks for takin' the time to teach us more about Hannukah, John R.
Happy Hannukah! Why do some menorahs only have 7 candles?
http://images.google.com/imgres?img...&tbnid=wXvoaf_n_uopHM:&tbnh=129&tbnw=104&prev=
Thanks for the info John R
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7 vs 9
A Menorah is a candelabrum that has meaning in Jewish history and ritual. There is a seven branched Menorah and a special nine branched Hanukkah Menorah, which is also called a Chanukiah.
The Seven Branched Menorah
According to the Bible (Ex. 37:17-24) and the Talmud (Men. 28b), Bezalel made the original Menorah from a single mass of gold for the Tabernacle (Ex. 25:31-40). The Tabernacle was the temporary, mobile center for worship of God used by the Israelites from the days of Moses until construction of First Temple in Jerusalem. In the First Temple in Jerusalem, the original Menorah sat with ten additional lamps, according to tradition. When the First Temple was destroyed, they were demolished.
The Second Temple held one Menorah.
This Menorah, according to the story of Chanukah, was looted by Greek Syrian soldiers and then restored, purified and rededicated by the Maccabees. When the Second Temple was destroyed, Titus took the Menorah and other artifacts and displayed them on his return to Rome. The famous relief of the Arch of Titus shows the looted Menorah.
The Menorah has served as a uniquely Jewish symbol from antiquity to contemporary times. The Menorah can be found on ancient coins, gravestones, synagogue decorations. Today the Menorah serves as the seal and emblem of the Jewish State of Israel.
The Hanukkah Menorah
During the festival of Hanukkah, a special Hanukkah Menorah, also called a Hanukkiah (or Chanukiah), is lit.
The Hanukkah Menorah is a candelabrum with eight branches of equal size that all sit in a row (one for each night of the festival of Hanukkah) and a separate candle holder for the "Shamash." The Shamash candle is used to light the other eight candles since it is forbidden to use the Hanukkah lights for any purpose other than viewing. When lit, the Hanukkah Menorah should be placed in a front window or by a doorway for all to see.
Lighting the Hanukkah Menorah is a joyous occassion. The Hanukkah Menorah is lit to commemorate the Jewish Maccabees' miraculous victory over the Greek-Syrian army and the one-days-worth of pure oil that miraculously lasted for eight days in the Temple. Jewish families gather around their Hanukkah Menorah during each night of Hanukkah to recite the Hanukkah blessings, kindle the Hanukkah lights, sing Hanukkah songs, play the dreidel game and eat special Hanukkah food.
A Menorah is a candelabrum that has meaning in Jewish history and ritual. There is a seven branched Menorah and a special nine branched Hanukkah Menorah, which is also called a Chanukiah.
The Seven Branched Menorah
According to the Bible (Ex. 37:17-24) and the Talmud (Men. 28b), Bezalel made the original Menorah from a single mass of gold for the Tabernacle (Ex. 25:31-40). The Tabernacle was the temporary, mobile center for worship of God used by the Israelites from the days of Moses until construction of First Temple in Jerusalem. In the First Temple in Jerusalem, the original Menorah sat with ten additional lamps, according to tradition. When the First Temple was destroyed, they were demolished.
The Second Temple held one Menorah.
This Menorah, according to the story of Chanukah, was looted by Greek Syrian soldiers and then restored, purified and rededicated by the Maccabees. When the Second Temple was destroyed, Titus took the Menorah and other artifacts and displayed them on his return to Rome. The famous relief of the Arch of Titus shows the looted Menorah.
The Menorah has served as a uniquely Jewish symbol from antiquity to contemporary times. The Menorah can be found on ancient coins, gravestones, synagogue decorations. Today the Menorah serves as the seal and emblem of the Jewish State of Israel.
The Hanukkah Menorah
During the festival of Hanukkah, a special Hanukkah Menorah, also called a Hanukkiah (or Chanukiah), is lit.
The Hanukkah Menorah is a candelabrum with eight branches of equal size that all sit in a row (one for each night of the festival of Hanukkah) and a separate candle holder for the "Shamash." The Shamash candle is used to light the other eight candles since it is forbidden to use the Hanukkah lights for any purpose other than viewing. When lit, the Hanukkah Menorah should be placed in a front window or by a doorway for all to see.
Lighting the Hanukkah Menorah is a joyous occassion. The Hanukkah Menorah is lit to commemorate the Jewish Maccabees' miraculous victory over the Greek-Syrian army and the one-days-worth of pure oil that miraculously lasted for eight days in the Temple. Jewish families gather around their Hanukkah Menorah during each night of Hanukkah to recite the Hanukkah blessings, kindle the Hanukkah lights, sing Hanukkah songs, play the dreidel game and eat special Hanukkah food.
Grayt story. Now I understand even better. Thanks again, JR. I saw the gold coins at Publix in the Manichewitz section. I was thinking those look fuNN, and come to find out that's what dreidel is played with. Sorry about my misspelling of Hanukkah above. 
I edited. 
I edited.
A few years ago, we were in SoWal between Christmas and New Years and Chanukah happened to fall during that period that year. We were with my husband's family, so we lit the menorah on our porch at the cottage. My dream would be to someday light menorah's with friends on the beach. It would be a beautiful sight.
The synagogue we go to has a ritual each year in which the members of the congregation bring their menorah's to the synagogue to be lit together. Then the lights are turned off and the sight is stunning with all the candles lit. That in itself looks like a miracle of lights and the sight leaves us breathless.
Our synagogue is quite clever because it's a building that serves the Jews on Saturdays and then on Sundays, the bema (which is the raised platform used during the services) rotates and turns into an alter for the Christian services. I don't know if it's true, but I heard the Christians babysit the Jews kids during the Jews Friday/Saturday services and the Jews babysit the Christians kids during the Sunday services. The building is shared by both Christians and Jews and there are common services now and then. I love the idea.
The synagogue we go to has a ritual each year in which the members of the congregation bring their menorah's to the synagogue to be lit together. Then the lights are turned off and the sight is stunning with all the candles lit. That in itself looks like a miracle of lights and the sight leaves us breathless.
Our synagogue is quite clever because it's a building that serves the Jews on Saturdays and then on Sundays, the bema (which is the raised platform used during the services) rotates and turns into an alter for the Christian services. I don't know if it's true, but I heard the Christians babysit the Jews kids during the Jews Friday/Saturday services and the Jews babysit the Christians kids during the Sunday services. The building is shared by both Christians and Jews and there are common services now and then. I love the idea.
Cil
Beach Fanatic
That's really a cool arrangement, Paula.
And John R, I so appreciate your Hanukkah cyber-observance.
I sure am in a different place, physically as well as mentally, from last year.
But Hanukkah will always be Hanukkah.