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Hanukkah
The festival of lights, as it is often called, is a celebration of both Jewish spiritual values and the triumph of the Jews over the armies of Antiochus IV.
984 Questions
When did the composer of dreidel dreidel die?
The song was written by Samuel S. Grossman but it's not known when he died.
The eighth day of Chanukah ends at sunset on the 8th day after the 25th of Kislev.
This year, that date corresponded to Saturday, December 19, 2009. The Gregorian date changes each year.
What order do the dreidel letters go in?
nun, gimmel, hei, sheen
It's an acronym for: neis gadol haya sham - a great miracle happened there.
In Israel it's:
nun, gimmel, hei, pei
neis gadol haya po - a great miracle happened here.
How many people don't celebrate Christmas Hanukkah and Kwanzaa?
About 1.5 Billion people celebrate Christmas. About 14 million celebrate Hanukkah. There are no statistics on the number of Kwanzaa celebrators
But it's safe to say that the vast majority of the planet doesn't celebrate any of those 3 holidays.
What is another way to say Hanukkah?
Festival of Lights. But that's not a Jewish name and we don't use it.
What does the letter gimel mean in the dreidel game?
gimel (×’) = "get all". You take the entire pot.
Do you light the candle on the 1st night of Hanukkah?
Yes, you light candles on ALL 8 nights of Hanukkah.
A list of things people eat on Hanukkah?
Special foods include potato pancakes (latkes) and jelly donuts (sufganiyot). Also, any foods fried in oil are traditional.
There isn't anything that could be called a "Hanukkah Dinner" though.
How are oil candles lit for Hanukkah?
To use an oil hanukiyah (menorah), you'll need some special short wicks - you can buy wicks from hobby stores and cut it to the correct length, or visit a Hebrew bookstore which will stock them in the correct size. Wicks can easily be rolled from raw cotton or cotton balls. The oil cups on the hanukiyah are then filled with the oil. The wicks, usually fitted with glass or metal discs to hold them above the oil, are placed in them. These are then lit using the shamash (helper or attendant candle) just as you would with a candle hanukiyah.
Who was the Jewish king immediately prior to the revolt of hanukkah?
Immediately prior to the revolt, there was no Jewish king. The Syrian-Greek (Seleucid) king, Antiochus IV, ruled Israel.
No. Babusha has nothing to do with Hanukkah.
- Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that falls in Late fall or winter.
- Babushka is an old russian woman or grandmother, or headscarf tied under the chin, typical of those worn by Polish and Russian women.
Who celebrates chanukah and why?
Hanukkah is a minor Jewish holiday that commemorates the victory of the Jews against the Syrian-Greeks in the Maccabean War of 165 BCE.
The real miracle of Hanukkah is that the Jews were victorious, against all odds, they beat their enemy and were able to restore the Ancient Temple in Jerusalem, which had been desecrated by the Greeks. In a larger context, Hanukkah represents victory against religious persecution and assimilation.
But a second miracle is more commonly known: A story in the Talmud (400 years later) tells of a legendary miracle. After the war, When the Jews returned to rededicate the Ancient Temple, they found that there was only enough oil to keep the eternal lamp burning for 1 day. It would take 8 days to make more of this special oil. So the lit the lamp, and it miraculously burned for 8 days, giving them plenty of time to make more oil to keep the lamp burning.
This second miracle is very popular with children. It is understood as a legend only, and appears to be the early Rabbis' attempt to add a spiritual level to the holiday.
Answer:
The above answer is non-traditional. Our tradition is that the miracle of the oil did indeed occur and isn't just a legend. If it wasn't for the clear tradition of our Sages, Hanukkah would have been forgotten long ago.
Moreover, on Hanukkah the chief celebration is not for the military victory; it's for the miracle of the oil (Talmud, Shabbat 21b). As an augmentation to the celebration of that miracle, we also thank God during Hanukkah for the Hasmoneans' miraculous military victories (during which they ousted the Seleucids and their lackeys, the Hellenizing Jews, making possible the rededication of the Temple).
The Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks) under Antiochus Epiphanes (2nd century BCE), at the instigation of the Hellenizers, had forbidden various Torah-practices such as Sabbath-observance and circumcision, rededicated the Temple to a Greek idol, and pressed the Jews to offer up sacrifices to the idol. One of the leading elder Jewish sages called upon the people to keep observing the Torah anyway; and if necessary, to use force in resisting the decrees. When a Hellenized Jew offered a sacrifice to the Greek idols in a nearby village, the sage killed him as well as the Greek overseer. This brought a violent reaction from the Greeks; and the loyal Jews, led by the Hasmonean family, were forced to retreat from their towns and strike out at the Greeks in an attempt to oust them from the Holy Land and to enable the people to once again observe the Torah. The Torah-Jews were heavily outnumbered by the attacking Greek armies, but God gave them miraculous victories again and again. After three years of struggle, the Greek armies retreated from Jerusalem, and the Hasmoneans (also called Maccabees) entered the Holy Temple which the Greeks had defiled, reconsecrated it to God, and began the Temple service once more. Among other things, they wanted to relight the olive oil candelabrum (Exodus ch. 25), but could only find one day's supply of undefiled oil - and it would take eight days to make and bring some more.
Miraculously, the menorah stayed lit for eight days (Talmud, Shabbat 21b), allowing enough time for new oil to be prepared and brought. The significance of the miracle is that it demonstrated that God's presence was still there. The Torah-community was overjoyed, because God's presence meant everything to them.
This is what Hanukkah represents: the closeness to God; and the avoidance of Hellenization (assimilation).
The Torah Sages instituted the festival of Hanukkah at that time (Talmud, Shabbat 21b), to publicize the miracle (Rashi commentary, ibid). This is why we light our Hanukkah-menorahs.
(The Hanukkah-menorah, or hanukkiyah, is a special form of the original seven-branched menorah. Our Hanukkah-menorahs have eight spaces for oil, or candles, to mark each of the eight days for which the oil lasted and a ninth to hold the shamash, a candle used to light the others.)
The eight-day rededication of the Temple is also mentioned in pre-Talmudic sources: Megillat Taanit (ch.9), the book of Maccabees (I, 4:56-59; and II, 1:18); and Josephus (Antiquities ch.12).
The Al-Hanisim prayer which we recite during Hanukkah centers around the Hasmoneans' victory and rededication of the Temple, while the candle-lighting commemorates the miracle of the oil.
Though the military victory is prominently mentioned in the prayers, it wouldn't have been celebrated if not for the miracle of the oil, just as we have no special occasion to mark Abraham's victory (Genesis ch.14), or those of Moses (Numbers ch.21), Joshua, Deborah (Judges ch.4), Gideon (Judges ch.6-7), Jephthah (Judges ch.11), or King David. And though the Hasmonean battles continued for two decades after the retaking of the Temple, the Sages instituted Hanukkah immediately after the miracle of the oil.
It should also be noted that the main goal for which the Maccabees fought was not political independence. They fought to enable the people to observe the Torah's commandments; as we say in the Al Hanisim prayer: "the Greeks sought to cause us to forget Your Torah and leave Your statutes."
Where is the country Hanukkah located?
Hanukkah is not located in a single country. Jews celebrate Hanukkah wherever they live in the world.
What is the name for the candles that are seen everywhere in judaism?
Candles used in Judaism usually don't have names, other than the names of the occasions they're used on, such as:
Shabbat candles, used on Shabbat
Havdalah candles, used on Havdalah
Hanukkah candles, used on Hanukkah
Yahrzeit candles, used for someone's Yahrzeit
What date do you give a Hanukkah card?
There are no traditions about when to send Hanukkah cards. This is a non-traditional practice borrowed from Christmas and is only a few decades old.
What is another name for gift for Hanukkah?
There is no special name for the act of gift giving on Hanukkah. This is a new custom. The only traditional gift is the coins given to children.
What is the highest candle menorah called?
In Hebrew it is called the Shamash. It is used to light all of the other candles in the Hanukkah Menorah or Hanukiah.
What is connection with Hanukkah week and Christianity?
There isn't any connection. Hanukkah commemorates a War in Israel, in 165 BCE. It was a war between the Jews and the Syrian-Greeks. Christians weren't around yet.
Which is more important a Christmas tree or a Hanukkah bush?
There is no such thing as a Hanukkah bush. This is something that was made up by Jews who really want to celebrate Christmas, but can't bring themselves to do it.
Why do you light Hanukkah candles for eight nights when the miracle was for seven days?
This is a famous question, discussed by some of the greatest Jewish rabbis in recent centuries. The question is: since the cruse which they lit had enough oil for one day (Talmud, Shabbat 21b) and miraculously burned for eight days, it would seem therefore that there were only seven days in the miracle! Why then should we celebrate eight days?
Hundreds of answers have been written in our Halacha-sources. Here are a couple:
1) On the first night we're celebrating the military victory, and on the other seven nights we're commemorating the miracle of the oil.
2) Each day, only one-eighth of the oil was consumed.
See also the attached Related Link.
Why do Jews think that everybody should celebrate Hanukkah?
They don't. Jews believe that Jews should celebrate Hanukkah.
