Hanukkah (Hebrew: חנוכה, also
spelled Chanukah), also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish
holiday beginning on the 25th day of the month of Kislev, which may fall anytime from late
November to late December. It celebrates the re-kindling of the Temple menorah at the time of the Maccabee rebellion.
The festival is observed in Jewish homes by the kindling of lights on each night of the holiday -
one on the first night, two on the second, and so on.
Commemoration
Hanukkah, from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", marks the re-dedication of the Temple after its
desecration by Antiochus IV and commemorates the "miracle of the container of
oil." According to the Talmud, at the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem following the victory of the Maccabees over
the Seleucid Empire, there was only enough consecrated olive
oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days - which was the
length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate new oil.
Hanukkah is also mentioned in the deuterocanonical books of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they
celebrated the rededication of the altar. Then Judah and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days
of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews
celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the feast of Booths."
The martyrdom of Hannah and her seven sons has also been linked to Hanukkah. According to the Talmudic story[1] and Book of Maccabees, a
Jewish woman named Hannah and her seven sons were tortured and executed by Antiochus' for refusing to bow down to a statue and eat pork, in violation of Jewish law.
Historically, Hanukkah commemorates two events:
- The triumph of Judaism's spiritual values as embodied in the Torah (symbolized by the Menorah, since the Torah is compared to light) over
Hellenistic civilization (considered darkness). Under Antiochus IV, Jewish religious practices were outlawed, and Greek religious symbols were forcibly
installed in the Second Temple.
- The victory of the Jews over the armies of Antiochus IV. The rebellion, begun
by Mattathias Maccabee and continued by Judah
Maccabee and his brothers, ended in a resounding victory of the "few against the many" and the rededication of the Second
Temple.
Because Judaism as a religion shies away from glorifying military victories, the Hasmoneans
later became corrupt, and civil war between Jews is viewed as deplorable, Hanukkah does not formally commemorate these historical
events. Instead, it focuses on the Miracle of the Oil and the positive spiritual aspects of the Temple's rededication; The oil
becomes a metaphor for the miraculous survival of the Jewish people through millennia of trials and tribulations.
Name
The name "Hanukkah" is interpreted in many ways.[2]
- Some scholars say the word was derived from the Hebrew verb "חנך" meaning "to dedicate." When a new house is built, it is
customary to hold a "חנוכת בית" or dedication ceremony, before moving in. On Hanukkah, the Jews mark the rededication of the
House of the Lord.[3]
- Others argue that the name can be broken down into "חנו", from the Hebrew word for encampment, and the Hebrew letters כ"ה,
which stand for the 25th day of Kislev, the day on which the holiday begins: Hence, the Jews sat in their camp, i.e., rested from
fighting, on the 25th day of Kislev.[4]
- Hanukkah is also the Hebrew acronym for "ח' נרות והלכה כבית הלל" meaning
"eight candles as determined by House of Hillel". This is a reference to the
disagreement between two rabbinical schools of thought - Hillel and the House of Shammai - on
the proper way to light Hanukkah candles. Shammai said that eight candles should be lit from the start, and reduced by one candle
every night, whereas Hillel argued in favor of starting with one candle and lighting an additional one every night. The custom
today is based on Hillel's opinion.[attribution needed]
Historical sources
In the Talmud
The miracle of Hanukkah is described in the Talmud. The
Gemara, in tractate Shabbat 21b,[5] says that after the occupiers had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been
profaned. They found only a single container that was still sealed by the High Priest, with enough oil to keep the Menorah in the Temple lit for a
single day. They used this, and miraculously, that oil burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made
ready).
The Talmud presents three customs:
- Lighting one light each night per household,
- One light each night for each member of the household, or,
- The most beautiful method, where the number of candles changed each night.
There was a dispute over how the last option was to be performed: either display eight lamps on the first night of the
festival, and reduce the number on each successive night; or begin with one lamp the first night, increasing the number till the
eighth night. The followers of Shammai favored the former custom; the followers of
Hillel advocated the latter. As is the case in most such disputes, Jews today follow
Hillel. Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one's door or in the window closest to the street.
Josephus could not believe that the lights were symbolic of the liberty obtained by the Jews
on the day that Hanukkah commemorates. Rashi, in a note to Shabbat 21b, says their purpose
is to publicize the miracle. Hanukkah is also mentioned in the (older) Mishnah (TB
Megillah 30b).
In the Septuagint and other sources
The story of Hanukkah is alluded in the books of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees. But Hannukah is not specially mentioned, rather, a story similar in character, and obviously
older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 et seq., according to which the relighting of the altar-fire by
Nehemiah was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, and which appears
to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabeus.
The Books of Maccabees are not part of the Tanakh (Hebrew
Bible), but are part of deuterocanonical historical and religious material
preserved in the Septuagint. The Tanakh ends with the
consequences following the events of Purim, and had already been codified many centuries earlier
by the Men of the Great Assembly (Anshei Knesset HaGedolah).
Another source is the Megillat Antiochus. This work (also known as "Megillat
HaHasmonaim", or "Megillat Hanukkah") has come down to us in both Aramaic and
Hebrew; the Hebrew version is a literal translation from the Aramaic original. Recent
scholarship dates it to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th Centuries, probably in the 2nd Century,[6] with the Hebrew dating to the seventh century.[7] It was published for the first time in Mantua in
1557. Saadia Gaon, who translated it into Arabic in
the 9th Century, ascribed it to the Maccabees themselves, but this seems unlikely, since it gives dates as so many years before
the destruction of the second temple in 70 AD.[8] The Hebrew text with an English translation can be found in the Siddur of Philip Birnbaum.
The story
-
Around 200 BCE Jews lived as an autonomous people in the land of Israel, also referred
to as Judea, which at that time was controlled by the Seleucid king of Syria. The Jewish people paid taxes to Syria
and accepted its legal authority, and by and large were free to follow their own faith, maintain their own jobs, and engage in
trade.
By 175 BCE Antiochus IV Epiphanes ascended to the Seleucid throne. At first
little changed, but under his reign, the Temple in Jerusalem was looted, Jews
were massacred, and Judaism was effectively outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to
Zeus erected in the Temple.
Many modern scholars argue that the king may have been interveneing in an internal civil war between the traditionalist Jews
in the country and the Hellenized elite Jews in Jerusalem. These competed violently over who would be the High Priest, with
traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic like Onias overthrown by Hellenizers with Greek names like
Jason and Menelaus. As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices
the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other
places and times, banned the traditional religion of a whole people.[9]
In any case, Antiochus' actions proved to be a major miscalculation as they provoked a large-scale revolt. Mattathias, a Jewish priest, and his five sons Jochanan, Simeon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah led a rebellion against Antiochus.
Judah became known as Judah Maccabee ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By
165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated. The festival of
Hanukkah was instituted by Judah Maccabee and his brothers to celebrate this
event.[10] After recovering Jerusalem and the Temple, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in
place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, oil was
needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was supposed to burn throughout the night every night. But 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.
Hanukkah lamp unearthed near
Jerusalem, c. 1900.
The version of the story in 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, states that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was
proclaimed upon rededication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of the oil.[11] A number of historians believe that the reason for the eight-day celebration
was that the first Hanukkah was in effect a belated celebration of the festivals of Sukkot and
Shemini Atzeret.[12] During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret properly; the combined
festivals also last eight days, and the Sukkot festivities featured the lighting of lamps in the Temple (Suk.v. 2-4). The
historian Josephus[13]
mentions the eight-day festival and its customs, but does not tell us the origin of the eight day lighting custom. Given that his
audience was Hellenized Romans, perhaps his silence on the origin of the eight-day custom is due to its miraculous nature. In any
event, he does report that lights were kindled in the household and the popular name of the festival was, therefore the "Festival
of Lights" ("And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights").
It has been noted that Jewish festivals are connected to the harvesting of the Biblical seven fruits which Israel was famed
for. Pesach is a celebration of the barley harvest, Shavuot of
the wheat, Sukkot of the figs, dates, pomegranates and grapes, and Hanukkah of the
olives. The olive harvest is in November and olive oil would be
ready in time for Hanukkah in December.
It has also been noted that the number eight has special significance in Jewish theology, as representing transcendence and
the Jewish People's special role in human history. Seven is the number of days of creation, that is, of completion of the
material cosmos, and also of the classical planets. Eight, being one step beyond seven,
represents the Infinite. Hence, the Eighth Day of the Assembly festival, mentioned above, is according to Jewish Law a festival
for Jews only (unlike Sukkoth, when all peoples were welcome in Jerusalem). Similarly, the rite of circumcision, which brings a
Jewish male into God's Covenant, is performed on the eighth day. Hence, Hanukkah's eight days (in celebration of monotheistic
morality's victory over Hellenistic humanism) have great symbolic importance for practicing Jews.
Hanukkah rituals
Various
menorot used for Hanukkah, also called Hanukiot (sing. Hanukiah). 12th thru 19th
century, C.E.
Hanukkah is celebrated by a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the 8-day holiday. Some are family-based
and others are communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after
meals. Hanukkah is not a "Sabbath-like" holiday, and there is no obligation to refrain from activities that are forbidden on the
Sabbath, as specified in the Shulkhan Arukh[14] People go to work as usual, but may leave early in order to be home to kindle
the lights at nightfall. There is no religious reason for schools to be closed, although, in Israel, schools close for the whole
week of Hanukkah.
Kindling the Hanukkah Lights
- See also: Chanukkiyah
The primary ritual, according to Jewish law and custom, is to light a single light each night
for eight nights. As a universally-practiced "beautification" of the mitzvah, the number of
lights lit is increased by one each night.[15] An extra
light called a shamash, meaning guard or servant is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location,
usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the
Talmud (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than
publicizing - and meditating on - the Hanukkah story. (This differs from Sabbath candles which
are meant to be used for illumination). Hence, if one were to need extra illumination on Hanukkah, the shamash candle
would be available and one would avoid using the prohibited lights. Some light the shamash candle first and then use it to
light the others.[16] So all together, including the
shamash, two lights are lit on the first night, three on the second and so on, ending with nine on the last night, for a
total of 44.
The lights can be candles or oil lamps.[17] Electric
lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room. Most Jewish
homes have a special candelabrum or oil lamp holder for Hanukkah, which holds eight lights
plus the additional shamash light. In the State of Israel, it is usually called a
"chanukkiyah". Ashkenazic Jews (central and east
European Jews) mostly call it a "Hanukkah menorah", though chanukkiyah has become more common in Israel. Some
Sephardic Jews (west European, Mediterranean and Latin American Jews) simply call it "a
hanukkah". By contrast, the Temple menorah,
described in Exodus 25:31 ff, which is often used to symbolize Judaism, has six branches plus a central shaft, for a total of seven lamps.
The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the
house without", so that passers-by should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle. Accordingly lamps are set up at a
prominent window or near the door leading to the street. It is customary amongst some Ashkenazim to have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), whereas most
Sephardim light one chanukkiyah for the whole household. Only when there was danger
of anti-semitic persecution were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the
case in Persia under the rule of the Zoroastrians, or in
parts of Europe before and during World War II. However, most Hasidic groups, light
lamps near an inside doorway, not necessarily in public view. According to this tradition, the lamps are placed on the opposite
side from the mezuzah, so that when one passes through the door he is surrounded by the
holiness of mitzvoth.
When to light the lights
Hanukkah lights should burn for at least one half hour after it gets dark (the custom of the Vilna Gaon - observed by many residents of Jerusalem as the custom of the city, is to light at sundown,
although most Hassidim light later, even in Jerusalem. Many Hassidic Rebbes light much later, because they fulfill the obligation
of publicising the miracle by the presence of their Hasidim when they kindle the lights.). The standard inexpensive wax candles
sold for Hanukkah burn for approximately half an hour, so on most days this requirement can be met by lighting the candles when
it is dark out. Friday night presents a problem, however. Candles must be lit before the start of Shabbat and inexpensive Hanukkah candles do not burn long enough to meet the requirement. A simple solution is
to use "tea lights" or Sabbath candles, arranging them in a straight line and setting the shamash candle apart and above
the rest, or by using the traditional oil lamps.
Blessings over the candles
Typically three blessings (Brachot singular Brachah) are recited during this eight-day festival. On the first
night of Hanukkah, Jews recite all three blessings, on all subsequent nights, they recite only the first two.[18] The blessings are said before or after the candles are lit depending on
tradition. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle, lamp, or electric) is lit on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first and is lit first proceeding
from left to right, and so on each night.
The first blessing
Recited all eight nights just prior to lighting the candles:
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu l'hadlik neir (shel) chanukah.
- Translation: "Praised are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us
to kindle the Hanukkah lights."
The second blessing
Recited all eight nights just prior to lighting the candles:
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, she-asah nisim la-avoteinu, bayamim haheim, (u)baz'man hazeh.
- Translation: "Praised are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who performed wondrous deeds for our ancestors, in those
days, at this season."
The third blessing
Recited only on the first night just prior to lighting the candles:
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, shehecheyanu, v'kiyemanu, vehigi-anu laz'man hazeh.
- Translation: "Praised are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has kept us in life, sustained us, and enabled us to
reach this season."
After kindling the lights - Hanerot Halalu
When the lights are kindled the Hanerot Halalu prayer is subsequently recited:[19]
(Ashkenazic version):
Hanneirot hallalu anachnu madlikin 'al hannissim ve'al hanniflaot 'al hatteshu'ot ve'al hammilchamot she'asita laavoteinu
bayyamim haheim, (u)bazzeman hazeh 'al yedei kohanekha hakkedoshim. Vekhol-shemonat yemei Hanukkah hanneirot hallalu kodesh heim,
ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtammesh baheim ella lir'otam bilvad kedei lehodot ul'halleil leshimcha haggadol 'al nissekha ve'al
nifleotekha ve'al yeshu'otekha.
- Translation: "We light these lights For the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and
the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your holy
priests. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make them serve except for
to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for your miracles, Your wonders and Your
salvations."
Singing of Maoz Tzur after lighting
-
Each night after the lighting of the candles, while remaining within eyeshot of the candles, Ashkenazim (and, in recent decades, some Sephardim and
Mizrahim in Western countries), then usually sing the following hymn written in Medieval
Ashkenaz (Germany). The song contains six stanzas. The
first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation, and the middle four deal with events of persecution in
Jewish history, and praises God for survival despite these tragedies (the
the exodus from Egypt, the Babylonian
captivity, the miracle of the holiday of Purim, and the Hasmonean victory).
Other customs
Various Hasidic and Sefardic traditions have
additional prayers that are recited both before and after lighting the Hanukkah lights. This includes the recitation of many
Psalms, most notably Psalms 30, 67, and 91 (many Hassidim recite Psalm 91 seven times after lighting the lamps, as was taught by
the Baal Shem Tov), as well as other prayers and hymns, each congregation according to its
own custom.
Additions to the daily prayers
"We thank You also for the miraculous deeds and for the redemption and for the mighty deeds and the saving
acts wrought by You, as well as for the wars which You waged for our ancestors in ancient days at this season. In the days of the
Hasmonean Mattathias, son of Johanan the high priest, and his sons, when the iniquitous Greco-Syrian kingdom rose up against Your
people Israel, to make them forget Your Torah and to turn them away from the ordinances of Your will, then You in your abundant
mercy rose up for them in the time of their trouble, pled their cause, executed judgment, avenged their wrong, and delivered the
strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the
hands of the righteous, and insolent ones into the hands of those occupied with Your Torah. Both unto Yourself did you make a
great and holy name in Thy world, and unto Your people did You achieve a great deliverance and redemption. Whereupon your
children entered the sanctuary of Your house, cleansed Your temple, purified Your sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courts,
and appointed these eight days of Hanukkah in order to give thanks and praises unto Your holy name."
Translation of Al ha-Nissim |
An addition is made to the "hoda'ah" (thanksgiving) benediction in the Amidah, called
Al ha-Nissim ("On/about the Miracles").[20] This
addition refers to the victory achieved over the Syrians by the Hasmonean Mattathias and his sons. (The erroneous designation of
Mattathias as son of Johanan the high priest seems to rest upon the late Hebrew apocryphal "Megillat Antiochus" or "Megillat Hanukkah", which has other names and dates strangely
mixed.)
The same prayer is added to the grace after meals. In addition, the Hallel Psalms are
sung during each morning service and the Tachanun penitential prayers are omitted. The
Torah is read every day in the synagogue, the first day beginning from Numbers 6:22 (According to some customs, Numbers 7:1), and
the last day ending with Numbers 8:4.
Since Hanukkah lasts eight days it includes at least one, and sometimes two, Sabbaths. The
weekly Torah portion for the first Sabbath is almost always Miketz, telling of Joseph's dream and his enslavement in
Egypt. The Haftarah reading for the first Sabbath
Hanukkah is Zechariah 2:14-4:7. When there is a second Sabbath on Hanukkah, the
Haftarah reading is from I Kings 7:40 - 7:50.
The Hanukkah menorah is also kindled daily in the synagogue, at night with the blessings and in the morning without the
blessings. The menorah is not lit on the Sabbath, but rather prior to the beginning of the Sabbath at night and not at all during
the day. Some congregations have the custom of throwing towels at the one who kindles the menorah in the synagogue, in order to
demonstrate that he has not fulfilled his obligation to kindle, and must still kindle again later in his home.
During the Middle Ages "Megillat Antiochus"
was read in the Italian synagogues on Hanukkah just as the Book of Esther is read on Purim. It still forms part of the liturgy of the
Yemenite Jews.[21]
Zot Hanukkah
The last day of Hanukkah is known as Zot Hanukkah, from the verse in the Book of Numbers 7:84 "Zot Chanukat
Hamizbe'ach" - "This was the dedication of the altar", which is read on this day in the synagogue. According to the teachings
of Kabballah and Hasidism, this day is the
final "seal" of the High Holiday season of Yom Kippur, and is considered a time to
repent out of love for God. In this spirit, many Hassidic Jews wish each other "Gmar chatimah tovah", "may you be sealed
totally for good", a traditional greeting for the Yom Kippur season. It is taught in Hassidic and Kabbalistic literature
that this day is particularly auspicious for the fulfillment of prayers.
Judith and Holofernes
An artist's rendition of the story of Judith
Eating dairy foods, especially cheese, on Hanukkah is a little-known custom that has its roots in the story of Judith, as
related in the book of Judith(Yehudit/Yehudis in Hebrew). Holofernes, an Assyrian general, surrounds the village of Bethulia as part of his campaign to conquer Judea.
After intense fighting, the water supply of the Jews is cut off and the situation becomes desperate. Judith, a pious widow, tells
the city leaders that she has a plan to save the city. Judith goes to the Assyrian camps and pretends to surrender. She meets
Holofernes, who is smitten by her beauty. She goes back to his tent with him, where she plies him with cheese and wine. When he
falls into a drunken sleep, Judith beheads him and escapes from the camp, taking the severed head with her. When Holoferenes'
soldiers find his corpse, they are overcome with fear; the Jews, on the other hand, are emboldened, and launch a successful
counterattack. The town is saved, the Assyrians defeated.
Many argue that Holofernes was actually Greek, placing the events in the general time-frame of Hanukkah. The longstanding
tradition that Judith was the daughter of Mattathias, the Hasmonean High Priest, and sister to Judah the Maccabee, is how this
story came to be associated with Hanukkah.
There are many depictions of Judith and Holofernes in Christian art.
Hanukkah music
-
After lighting the candles and reciting the blessings, singing Hanukkah songs is customary in many Jewish homes.
Israeli Hanukkah songs
As a festival that has become something of a national holiday in Israel, a large number of songs have been written on Hanukkah
themes - perhaps more so than for any other Jewish holiday. Some of the most well known are "Hanukkiah Li Yesh" ("I have a
Hanukkah Menora"), "Kad Katan" ("A Small Jug"), "Sevivon Sov Sov Sov" ("Hanukka Top, Spin and Spin") and "Ner Li, Ner Li" ("I
have a Candle").
Hanukkah foods
Potato pancakes, known as latkes in
Yiddish, are traditionally associated with Hanukkah (especially among Ashkenazi families) because there is a custom to eat foods fried or baked in oil, preferably
olive oil, as the original miracle of the Hanukkah menorah involved the discovery of the small
flask of oil used by the Jewish High Priest (the Kohen Gadol).
Many Sephardic families as well as Polish Ashkenazim and Israelis have the custom to eat all
kinds of fruit filled doughnuts (Yiddish: פאנטשקעס pontshkes), (bimuelos, or sufganiyot) which are deep-fried in oil.
Hanukkah games
Dreidel
-
The dreidel, or sevivon in Hebrew, is a four-sided spinning top that children play with on Hanukkah. Each side
is imprinted with a Hebrew letter. These letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words, נס גדול היה שם, Nes Gadol
Haya Sham—"A great miracle happened there" (referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in the
Beit Hamikdash).
In the State of Israel, the fourth side of most dreidels is inscribed with the letter פ
(Pe), rendering the acronym, נס גדול היה פה, Nes Gadol Haya
Po—"A great miracle happened here" (referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel). Some
stores in Haredi neighbourhoods may sell the traditional Shin dreidels.
Some Jewish commentators ascribe symbolic significance to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects
the four letters with the four exiles to which the nation of Israel was historically subject—Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and
Rome.[22]
After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, it is customary in many homes to play the dreidel game: Each player starts out with 10 or
15 coins (real or of chocolate), nuts, raisins, candies or other markers, and places one marker in the "pot." The first player
spins the dreidel, and depending on which side the dreidel falls on, either wins a marker from the pot or gives up part of his
stash. The code (based on a Yiddish version of the game) is as follows:
- Nun - nisht - "not" - nothing happens and the next player spins
- Gimel - gants - "all" - the player takes the entire pot
- Hey - halb - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
- Shin - shtel ayn - "put in" - the player puts one marker in the pot
Another version differs in that nun is nem - "take", while gimel is gib - "give". The game may last until one
person has won everything.
Some say the dreidel game is played to commemorate a game devised by the Jews to camouflage the fact that they were studying
Torah, which was outlawed by Greeks. The Jews would gather in caves to study, posting a lookout to alert the group to the
presence of Greek soldiers. If soldiers were spotted, the Jews would hide their scrolls and spin tops, so the Greeks thought they
were gambling, not learning.
Hanukkah gelt
Hanukkah gelt (Yiddish for "money") is often distributed to children to
enhance their enjoyment of the holiday. The amount is usually in small coins, although grandparents or other relatives may give
larger sums as an official Hanukkah gift. In Israel, Hanukkah gelt is known as dmei
Hanukkah. Many Hassidic Rebbes distribute coins to
those who visit them during Hanukkah. Hassidic Jews consider this to be an auspicious blessing from the Rebbe, and a
segulah for success.
Twentieth-century American chocolatiers picked
up on the gift/coin concept by creating chocolate gelt, or chocolate shaped and stamped like coins and wrapped in gold or
silver foil. Chocolate gelt is often used in place of money in dreidel games.
Interaction with other traditions
Hanukkah gained increased importance with many Jewish families in the latter half of the twentieth century, including large
numbers of secular Jews who wanted a Jewish alternative to the Christmas celebrations that often overlap with Hanukkah.
In recent years, an amalgam of Christmas and Hanukkah has emerged — dubbed "Chrismukkah"
— celebrated by some mixed-faith families, particularly in the United States. A
decorated tree is sometimes called a "Hanukkah bush". Other Jews (tongue-in-cheek) simultaneously acknowledge both the increasing secularization of the holiday season and
their Jewish roots by wishing each other a "happy cholidays."
Though it was traditional to give "gelt" or money coins to children during Hanukkah, in many families this has changed into
gifts in order to prevent Jewish children from feeling left out of the Christmas gift giving.
These secular traditions are not a traditional part of the Hanukkah observance, and are often frowned upon by more observant
and traditionally-minded Jews.
The African American festival of Kwanzaa
incorporates a ritual similar to that of the menorah. Every day of the week-long festival, celebrants light one candle in a
seven-branch candleholder called a kinara. Each candle represents one of the seven
principles of Kwanzaa.
Alternative spellings based on transliterating Hebrew letters
In Hebrew, the word Hanukkah is written חנֻכה or
חנוכה. It is most commonly transliterated to English as Chanukah or Hanukkah, the
latter because the sound represented by "CH" (as in the Scottish pronunciation of
"loch") essentially does not exist in the modern English language. Furthermore, the letter
"heth" (ח), which is the first letter in the Hebrew
spelling, is pronounced differently in modern Hebrew (voiceless velar
fricative) than in classical Hebrew (voiceless pharyngeal
fricative), and neither of those sounds is unambiguously representable in English spelling. Moreover, the 'kaf' consonant
is geminate in classical (but not modern) Hebrew. Adapting the classical Hebrew pronunciation
with the geminate and pharyngeal Ḥeth can lead to the spelling "Hanukkah"; while adapting the modern Hebrew pronunciation with no
geminate and velar Ḥeth leads to the spelling "Chanukah". Variations include:
Spelling variations are due to transliteration of Hebrew
Chet Nun Vav Kaf Hey
Most Commonly Used Spellings
- Hanukkah (in North America)
- Chanukkah (in the UK and Australia, also common in North America)
Common Variants
- Hannukah
- Hannukkah
- Chanukah
- Channukkah
Uncommon Variants
- Hanuka
- Chanuka
- Hannuka
- Channuka
- Hanukka
- Chanukka
- Hannukka
- Channukka
YIVO Variant
Background
Chronology
- 198 BCE: Armies of the Seleucid King Antiochus III (Antiochus the Great)
oust Ptolemy V from Judea and Samaria.
- 175 BCE: Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) ascends the Seleucid throne.
- 168 BCE: Under the reign of Antiochus IV, the Temple is looted, Jews are massacred, and Judaism is outlawed.
- 167 BCE: Antiochus orders an altar to Zeus erected in the Temple. Mattathias, and his five sons
John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah lead a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah becomes known as Judah Maccabe (Judah The
Hammer).
- 166 BCE: Mattathias dies, and Judah takes his place as leader. The Hasmonean Jewish
Kingdom begins; It lasts until 63 BCE
- 165 BCE: The Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy is successful. The Temple
is liberated and rededicated (Hanukkah).
- 142 BCE: Establishment of the Second Jewish Commonwealth. The Seleucids recognize Jewish autonomy. The Seleucid kings have a
formal overlordship, which the Hasmoneans acknowledged. This inaugurates a period of great geographical expansion, population
growth, and religious, cultural and social development.
- 139 BCE: The Roman Senate recognizes Jewish autonomy.
- 130 BCE: Antiochus VII besieges Jerusalem, but withdraws.
- 131 BCE: Antiochus VII dies. The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom throws off Syrian rule
completely
- 96 BCE: An eight year civil war begins.
- 83 BCE: Consolidation of the Kingdom in territory east of the Jordan River.
- 63 BCE: The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an end due to rivalry between the brothers Aristobulus II and Hyrcanus II, both of whom appeal to the
Roman Republic to intervene and settle the power struggle on their behalf. The Roman
general Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great) is dispatched to the area. Twelve thousand Jews
are massacred as Romans enter Jerusalem. The Priests of the Temple are struck down at the Altar. Rome annexes Judea.
Battles of the Maccabean revolt
-
There were a number of key battles between the Maccabees and the Seleucid Syrian-Greeks:
- Listed alphabetically:
When Hanukkah occurs
- Further information: Jewish holidays 2000-2050
The dates of Hanukkah are determined by the Hebrew Calendar. Hanukkah begins at the
25th day of Kislev and concluding on the 2nd or 3rd day of Tevet
(Kislev can have 29 or 30 days). The Jewish day begins at sunset, whereas the Gregorian
Calendar begins the day at midnight. So, the first day of Hanukkah actually begins at sunset of the day immediately before
the date noted on Gregorian calendars.
Hanukkah according to the Gregorian calendar
Hanukkah begins at sundown on the evening before the date shown (These are official dates).
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- December 22, 2000
- December 10, 2001
- November 30, 2002
- December 20, 2003
- December 8, 2004
- December 26, 2005
- December 16, 2006
- December 4, 2007
- December 22, 2008
- December 12, 2009
|
- December 2, 2010
- December 21, 2011
- December 9, 2012
- November 28, 2013
- December 17, 2014
- December 7, 2015
- December 25, 2016
- December 13, 2017
- December 3, 2018
- December 23, 2019
|
See also
References
