Hanukkah By: Deborah Barron
Hanukkah is the Jewish eight-day, wintertime “festival of lights,” celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers and fried foods. Hanukkah means “dedication,” and has ancient roots, commemorating the second century B.C.E. reclaiming and rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem following a period of Greek-Syrian occupation and desecration of the holy place, according to ancient Hebrew texts like the Talmud and the books of the Maccabees. First-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote his account of the origins of the holiday. Josephus referred to the holiday as the Festival of Lights and not as Hanukkah.
Josephus seems to be connecting the newfound liberty that resulted from the events with the image of light, and the holiday is often still referred to by the title Josephus gave it. The Talmud contains the extant version of the famous story of the miraculous jar of oil that burned for eight days. The Talmud relates these stories in the context of a discussion about the fact that fasting (refrain from all or some kinds of food/drink) and grieving are not allowed during Hanukkah. Hanukkah began to find new expression in the years leading up to the founding of the modern State of Israel. In the post-Holocaust world, Jews are acutely aware of the issues raised by Hanukkah, and the need to fight for national independence. A student that was interviewed said that “they had no idea about the history”.
When they sought to light the Temple’s Menorah (the seven-branched candelabrum), they found only a single cruse of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks. Miraculously, they lit the menorah and the one-day supply of oil lasted for eight days, until new oil could be prepared under conditions of ritual purity. The menorah holds nine flames, one of which is the shamash (‘attendant’), which is used to kindle the other eight lights. On the first night, we light just one flame. On the second night, an additional flame is lit. By the eighth night of Hanukkah, all eight lights are kindled. On Friday afternoon, care must be taken to light the menorah before Shabbat (the Jewish day of rest; no work is done) candles are lit, and the following evening they are to be kindled only after Shabbat has ended. A menorah is lit in every household (or even by everyone within the household) and placed in a doorway or window. The menorah is also lit in synagogues and other public places. Another student said that they “knew about this but didn’t realize how big it was.”
Since the Hanukkah miracle involved oil, it is customary to eat foods fried in oil. The Eastern-European classic is the potato latke (pancake) garnished with applesauce or sour cream, and the reigning Israeli favorite is the jelly-filled sufganya (doughnut). It is customary to play with a dreidel (a four-sided spinning top bearing the Hebrew letters) the game is usually played for a pot of coins, nuts, or other stuff, which is won or lost based on which letter the dreidel lands when it is spun. The tradition is to give Hanukkah gelt, gifts of money to children. In addition to rewarding positive behavior and devotion to Torah (referring to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, known as Pentateuch) study, the cash gifts give the children the opportunity to give tzedakah (charity). This has also spawned the phenomenon of foil-covered chocolate gelt (coins). Some traditions for this holiday include, singing special (or silly) songs, give (all kinds of) Hanukkah gelt, playing dreidel, attend the giant Menorah lighting, relax and eat fried foods.
