Happy Hanukkah to our Jewish friends, neighbors, family, and loved ones.
Chanukkah
Originally retrieved Dec. 16, 2006
From new twists to
favorite traditions, Hanukkah Lights offers stories that touch the essence of a
long-standing celebration: the resurgence of Jewish religion and culture after
being forbidden by the Seleucid Empire, which sought to impose Greek values.
The holiday of
Hanukkah, or "dedication," stems from the rededication of the temple
at Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. As the legend goes, Maccabean fighters who had
defeated King Antiochus IV's supporters were left with only a day's supply of
oil for the temple — but it lasted for eight days.
While it is not a
major holiday — the events marked by Hanukkah took place in 165 B.C., long
after the Torah was written — Hanukkah is marked by a wide range of music, the
reading of psalms — and food fried in oil, commemorating what is often called a
miracle of light.
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On the 25th of Kislev
are the days of Chanukkah, which are eight... these were appointed a Festival
with Hallel [prayers of praise] and thanksgiving. -Shabbat 21b, Babylonian Talmud
Chanukkah, 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.
Chanukkah 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 the suppression of Jewish religion, has
become the most assimilated, secular holiday on our calendar.
The story of Chanukkah
begins in the reign of Alexander the Great. Alexander conquered Syria, Egypt
and Palestine, 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 and the dress of the Greeks, 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, the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of oil for the menorah. 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.
Our rabbis taught the
rule of Chanukkah: ... on the first day one [candle] is lit and thereafter they
are progressively increased ... [because] we increase in sanctity but do not
reduce. -Shabbat 21b, Babylonian
Talmud
Chanukkah 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!
Chanukkah 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 (or sometimes called a chanukkiah)
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).
See Chanukkah Candle
Lighting Blessings for the full text of these blessings. After reciting the
blessings, 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). On the
eighth night, all nine candles (the 8 Chanukkah candles and the shammus) are
lit. See animation at right for the candlelighting procedure. On nights after
the first, only the first two blessings are recited; the third blessing,
she-hekhianu is only recited on the first night of holidays.
Why the shammus
candle? The Chanukkah 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 Chanukkah 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 Chanukkah 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" if you are a goy.) My recipe is
included later in this page.
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. It is extremely unusual for Jews to give
Chanukkah gifts to anyone other than their own young children. 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. The
traditional explanation of this game is that during the time of Antiochus'
oppression, those who wanted to study Torah (an illegal activity)
would conceal their activity by playing gambling games with a top (a common and
legal activity) whenever an official or inspector was within sight.
