RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Deep Topics Judaism 101: Chanukkah

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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

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.

Chanukkah Traditions

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.

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.



A dreidel is marked with four Hebrew letters: Nun, Gimmel, Heh and Shin. These letters stand for the Hebrew phrase "Nes Gadol Hayah Sham", a great miracle happened there, referring to the miracle of the oil.

The letters also stand for the Yiddish words nit (nothing), gantz (all), halb (half) and shtell (put), which are 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.

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Jim Jackson said:
Where does the Holiday Armadillo come in to play?

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I beg your pardon?

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Oh well. Warm seasonal regards.

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Darknight613 said:

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Jim Jackson said:
Where does the Holiday Armadillo come in to play?

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I beg your pardon?

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Jim Jackson said:

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Darknight613 said:

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Jim Jackson said:
Where does the Holiday Armadillo come in to play?

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I beg your pardon?

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It's from an episode of FRIENDS.

Ross is trying to teach his son, Ben, about Chanukkah, and he dresses up as something he calls the Holiday Armadillo (an armadillo costume was all he could find) in order to compete with Santa and to keep Ben's attention while he tells him the Chanukkah story.

Joey shows up as Superman.

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Darknight613 said:

Oh yeah - I remember that episode - and I remember thinking it was disrespectful at the time (I've mellowed a bit since then). Chanukkah may not be a major holiday, but I remember thinking at the time I saw that episode, "why did Christmas get respect and Chanukkah got made fun of? Why aren't our holidays worthy of respect also?"

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Jim Jackson said:

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Darknight613 said:

Oh yeah - I remember that episode - and I remember thinking it was disrespectful at the time (I've mellowed a bit since then). Chanukkah may not be a major holiday, but I remember thinking at the time I saw that episode, "why did Christmas get respect and Chanukkah got made fun of? Why aren't our holidays worthy of respect also?"

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If you recall, by the episode's end, Ben is very much interested in the story of Chanukkah, which is what Ross wanted all along...

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wannabuyamonkey said:
I think if you saw the eppisode again, it's really not making fun of Chanukkah, but pointing out the true fact that Chanukkah is overwhelmed by Christmas and it's hard to intrest kids when all they really want is Santa. At the same timme I don't think it's entirely unfair, because while Chanukkah is considered a minor holliday in the Jewish faith Christmas is the most major in the Christian faith. I honestly don't think Chanukkah would get the attention it does if it weren't looked to as the alternitive to Christmas.

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Darknight613 said:

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wannabuyamonkey said:
I think if you saw the eppisode again, it's really not making fun of Chanukkah, but pointing out the true fact that Chanukkah is overwhelmed by Christmas and it's hard to intrest kids when all they really want is Santa. At the same timme I don't think it's entirely unfair, because while Chanukkah is considered a minor holliday in the Jewish faith Christmas is the most major in the Christian faith. I honestly don't think Chanukkah would get the attention it does if it weren't looked to as the alternitive to Christmas.

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Well, if it's ever on again, I'll give it a second chance.

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wannabuyamonkey said:

To be honest. I'm sick and tired of Friends so I would recomend skipping it.

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So, because YOU'RE tired of it, somebody else shouldn't watch it?

How about, if you're tired of it, you don't watch it. Works for me.

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Steve T said:

Happy birthday!

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And my sympathies!

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Why? I'm the one who's circumcised...

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Jim Jackson said:

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wannabuyamonkey said:

To be honest. I'm sick and tired of Friends so I would recomend skipping it.

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So, because YOU'RE tired of it, somebody else shouldn't watch it?

How about, if you're tired of it, you don't watch it. Works for me.

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yes because I don't like it I would RECOMEND that he not see it because MY RECOMENDATION is based on MY OPINION. I didn't insist that he not watch it simply made a recomendation based on my opinion. I would recomend that you relax and enjoy your birthday.

Anyone else see the irony about a discussion about Chanukkah being overshadowed by Christmas has now seen Chanukkah overshadowed by Jim's birthday?

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wannabuyamonkey said:
Anyone else see the irony about a discussion about Chanukkah being overshadowed by Christmas has now seen Chanukkah overshadowed by Jim's birthday?

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Even Jews whose identification with their brethren is determinedly cultural rather than religious are happy to participate. A convivium, some candles, a game with a little top that you can play for money, what's not to like? Except for one thing. The festivities were instituted to instill confidence that religious thinking will ultimately vanquish secular thinking. Lots of these folks are unwittingly partying it up at the prospect of the demise of their worldview.

The conceptual basis of Hanukah is simple enough: The Greeks were the first nation to wage war not so much against Jews as against Judaism. They sent an occupying force to Israel and enlisted Jewish collaborators known as Hellenists. Their primary goal, as the liturgy expresses, was "to make them forget Your Torah." It was a war against the Bible, and it was founded in the Greek worldview of scientific secularism. Sadly, it was mostly successful. Although the Talmud never overtly admits this, most independent historical sources indicate that this campaign succeeded in seducing the vast majority.

The small group of guerrilla fighters known as the Maccabees are celebrated for their brilliant military campaign, overcoming great odds. But perhaps more challenging was winning the population back to their national patrimony. Indeed, tradition has it that only one flask of sanctified oil survived the Greek occupation of the Temple. An amount ordinarily sufficient to burn one day, it miraculously lasted for eight full days. Light is used as a symbol for intellect in Judaism, because it illuminates where there is doubt. Thus, the candles represent the ability of the Bible to be restored to prominence as long as a small loyal group safeguards it in time of crisis.

This is not viewed as a completed victory. In fact, even the military battle against the Greeks continued for many years after the Maccabees reclaimed the Temple. Eventually, every one of the major Maccabee leaders was killed in battle. Still, once they turned the corner, they were confident of ultimate triumph. The legendary Maharal (an acronym for Rabbi Judah Loew) of Prague (1512-1609) explains that Hanukah occurs in conjunction with the winter solstice, when light is least in the world...and then begins to gradually, inevitably increase.

Take that model and apply it to subsequent history. You will see that it fits again and again, a blueprint that guarantees eventual vanquishment.

It's 2300 years later and the Bible is stronger than ever. It sometimes experiences low ebbs, when new assaults are leveled. Yet it always bounces back, because the few serve as guardians of the light. Think of the campaign of the last century and a half to use science as a bludgeon against religion. How well is that working out for them? They sometimes get the illusion of having majorities, but in the end the world's only superpower is a country where 90 percent believe in the Bible in one form or another.

Interestingly, the existence of Christianity was made possible by Hanukah. Had the Jews blinked, had the Bible been discarded and converted into a museum piece, it would not have been accessible to Jews during the Roman Era or to the Romans themselves. There can be no greater irony than the fact that the annoying little Bible of one small nation not only stood up to the Greco-Roman Empire, it ultimately conquered its oppressors by converting them to a Bible-based worldview.

Still, the opposition never gives up. They're always out there, trying to dominate the intelligentsia, academia, the media, everything that ends with an A. However small they shrink our zone of influence, their darkness cannot prevail. When the dust settles, it turns out that Bible-toters produce most of the A-quality literature and art, bringing true light into every corner of existence. That candle shines into the heart of all humanity, into the soul of all being.

So let's welcome everyone to the party. Even those who don't get it just yet. This program works in individual lives as well: sometimes the Greeks in your head dominate, but the candle is always there in the background, flickering but ready to be fanned into flame.