Hanukkah by Ira Schwartz

In keeping with Ira's holiday spirit, the article for today is about the Jewish Holiday of Hanukkah.  He tells me there may be one more in this series.  Enjoy!

Hanukkah

by

Ira Schwartz

Hanukkah better known as the Festival of Lights, is a Jewish holiday that is celebrated for eight days and eight nights. It means “dedication” in Hebrew and starts on the 25th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar (which is November-December on the Gregorian calendar).

Hanukkah or Chanukah is one of the few Jewish holidays not mentioned in the Jewish Bible. Its story is written in the books of the Maccabees and tells of a small band of Jewish fighters named Maccabee, who in 167 B.C.E liberated the Land of Israel from Greek King Antiochus IV who oppressed the Jews and defiled and looted the Holy Temple.

Once the Jews captured and rededicated the temple the Maccabees decided that Sukkot, the Jewish harvest festival, should be celebrated right away since they were unable to do so at its proper time. This they did on the 25th of the month of Kislev. They searched for oil to light the Menorah, which is a candelabrum used during Hanukkah, with eight candleholders in a row and a ninth candleholder set a little above the others. After an exhausted search they were able to find only enough oil to last for one day. This was a problem since Sukkot lasts for seven days. They lit the menorah anyway and miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days. Today Jews celebrate Hanukkah for eight days by lighting candles in a menorah every night, thus commemorating the eight-day miracle. It is customary to light the candles from left to right, with the newest candle being in the leftmost spot. This custom arose so that the candle for the first night would not always be lit before the others, which might be taken to symbolize that the first night was more important than the other nights of Hanukkah.

It is also customary to place the lit Menorah in a window so that passersby will see it and be reminded of the miracle of the Hanukkah oil. It is forbidden to use the light of the Menorah for any other purpose, for instance, to light the dinner table or to read by.

More Hanukkah traditions involve eating Latkes and playing with dreidels. The dreidel is a four-sided spinning top with a Hebrew letter inscribed on each side. In America the letters stand for "A Great Miracle Happened There". In Israel the letters mean "A Miracle Happened Here".

Each player receives a given number of coins or candy pieces called “gelt”. Before spinning the dreidel, each player puts a fixed proportion of the amount received into the "kupah" or kitty. Each player in turn spins the dreidel. When the dreidel falls, it will fall on one of the 4 letters. According to the letter, you will take all, take half, lose or get a pass. The dreidel game was popular during the rule of Antiochus before the Maccabees' revolt, a time when soldiers executed any Jews who were caught practicing their religion. When pious Jews gathered to study the Torah, they had the top ready in case they heard soldiers approaching. If the soldiers appeared, they would hide the holy scriptures and pretend to play with the dreidel. The word "dreidel" is derived from the German word "drehen", or "turn".

Latkes are a delicacy unto themselves. Essentially they are potato pancakes made from grated potatoes mixed with eggs, onions, and flour, then fried in vegetable oil. The texture is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. They're served hot and often dipped in apple sauce or sour cream. The Maccabbee soldiers ate latkes made from cheese, vegetables, or fruits which were brought to them on the battlefields. However, they didn't eat potato latkes, since potatoes weren't available until the 16th century. Too bad potato latkes are the best.

One thing I failed to mention, and one of the reasons my daughter STILL loves Hanukkah today, is Jewish children get one present each night after the candles are lit. Not a bad deal. Happy Hanukkah everyone.

© 2009 by Ira Schwartz. Used with Permission. All rights reserved.