Hannukah - Chanukah
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 people under his control to continue
observing their own religions and retain a certain degree
of autonomy. Under this relatively benevolent rule,
many Jews assimilated, adopting much of Hellenistic culture, including the language, customs, 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 the 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 Hanukia. Many people refer to the Hanukia incorrectly as a menorah. The name menorah is used only to describe the seven-branched candelabrum that was housed in the Jewish Temple. The Hanukiah holds nine candles: one for each night, plus a shamash (servant) at a different height. On the first night, one candle is placed at the far right. The shamash 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 shamash candle, and the shamash 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 of the 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:
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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. |
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Blessed are You, our God, Creator of time and space, who performs miracles for our ancestors, in the days of long ago and in this time. |
Baruch atah adonai eloheinu melech ha'olam she'asah nisim la'avoteinu bayamim haheim baz'man hazeh. |
On the first night, the Shehecheyanu blessing is also recited.
Why the shamash 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
shamash), so that if we need to do something
useful with a candle, we don't accidentally
use the Chanukah candles. The shamash candle is at a different height so that it
is easily identified as the shamash.
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), or “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 children’s
jealousy of their Christian friends. The only
traditional gift of the holiday is “gelt,” small
amounts of money. Chanukah gelt is a Jewish
custom rooted in the Talmud:
“The Talmud states
that even a very poor person must light Chanukah
lights, even if he can’t afford it.
A person with no money is required to go
‘knocking on doors’ until he
collects enough to buy at least one candle
for each night of Chanukah. The Torah concept
of charity -- tzedakah -- requires us to
help the recipient in the most dignified
manner possible. Therefore, the custom arose
to give gifts of money during Chanukah so
that someone who needs extra money for Chanukah
candles can receive it in the form of ‘Chanukah
Gelt.’”
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).
Sources: Judaism 101 and Cardin, Rabbi Nina Beth. The
Tapestry of Jewish Time. NJ: Behrman House, 2000. Ohr Somayach
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