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Chanukah (Hanukkah or Hanukah), the Jewish Festival of Lights

Chanukah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights, begins on the evening of Kislev 25, in the 9^th month of the Jewish calendar. Similar to other festivals centered around lanterns, candles or lights, the holiday celebrates the triumph of light over darkness and of spirituality over materialism.

At the heart of the festival is the nightly menorah lighting. The menorah is a candelabrum that holds nine candles or lights: one for each of the eight nights of the festival, and a “shamus,” or “servant,” used to light the other candles. Each night, another candle is added from right to left (like the Hebrew language). On the eighth night, all nine candles (the 8 Chanukah candles and the shammus) are lit.

Because of the festival’s association with the oil used to light the menorah in the Holy Temple, traditional foods include fried dishes such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiot (dougnuts).

Another Chanukah tradition is playing “dreidel,” a gambling game played with a square top. Most people play for small tokens such as matchsticks, pennies, candies or chocolate coins. Players spin the dreidel, and then add to the pot or take winnings, depending on how the dreidel lands. The dreidel is marked with four Hebrew letters (Nun, Gimmel, Heh and Shin), which stand for the Hebrew phrase “Nes Gadol Hayah Sham” — “a great miracle happened there” — referring to the miracle of the oil. The dreidel is associated with Chanukah because, during the time of their oppression by the Greeks, Jews concealed their illegal studies of the Torah by playing gambling games with tops whenever an inspector appeared.

Traditionally, Chanukah does not involve gift-giving other than the giving of “Chanukah gelt,” gifts of money, to children. Because of its proximity to Christmas, however, 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. Ironically, the holiday has its roots in a revolution against the assimilation and suppression of Jewish religion.

The Origins of Chanukah

More than twenty-two centuries ago, Alexander the Great conquered Syria, Egypt and Palestine, but allowed the people he ruled to continue observing their own religion. Under his rule, many Jews assimilated much of Hellenistic culture, adopting Greek language, customs and dress. A century later, however, Antiochus IV, a successor to Alexander, began to oppress the Jews, placing a Hellenistic priest in the Temple at Jerusalem, prohibiting Jewish religious practices, and desecrating their altars.

Two groups of Jews opposed Antiochus, joining forces to revot against the assimilation of the Hellenistic Jews and the oppression by the Greek government. This small band of Jews defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, and reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

When they sought to re-light the Temple’s menorah, which is supposed to burn through the night every night, they found that only one day’s worth of pure olive oil had escaped contamination by the Greeks. Miraculously, the one-day supply burned for eight days, until new ritually-pure oil could be prepared.

To commemorate the re-dedication of the temple and the miracle of the oil, the sages instituted the festival of Chanukah, with its nightly candle lighting.

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