[img]96|left|||no_popup[/img] Dateline Jerusalem — Next week is Chanukkah, Chanukah, Chanuka, Hanukkah, Hanukah, Hanuka, or whatever way you wish to spell it. Since it is a Hebrew word, and the Hebrew alphabet is not the same as what we use in the U.S., the spelling of the word is usually written as it sounds. However, some pronounce it with a guttural “ch” and some with just an “h”, just like the pronunciation of the city where I live in Israel. Sometimes it is written as Rehovot or Rechovot. In fact, each of the four signs on the corners of my street is spelled differently in English. But that is the way things are in Israel. At least my street does not change names from block to block like many Israeli streets.
Chanukah, often called the Festival of Lights or Festival of Miracles, commemorates the re-dedication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Approximately 2,000 years ago, Israel was ruled by the Syrian Greek Empire. Jews were forbidden to circumcise their newborn sons, they were forbidden to observe Shabbat, they were forced to disobey the dietary laws of the Torah (Jewish Bible) and eat pork, and they were killed if they observed the Torah and Jewish Law. But not only were the Jews persecuted by the Syrian Greeks, but there was a movement among some Jews that wanted Jews to accept idol-worship and assimilate into their oppressor's secular and anti-religious lifestyle. This was called Hellenism. It was the biggest threat to the existence of the Jewish people.
A band of Jews called the Maccabees fought to defend G-d's Torah against approximately 40,000 well trained soldiers. And one of many miracles happened. They won. This enabled them to re-capture the Holy Temple and purify it. There was only enough pure olive oil to burn for one night in the Temple's menorah although they needed oil for eight nights, the time it took for preparing non-polluted oil and to make new holy vessels. But another of G-d's miracles occurred when the oil burned day and night for eight days, not just one. Therefore, Chanukah is celebrated for eight days to commemorate this miracle.
It seems that most Jewish holidays have symbolic foods. There is an old joke that all Jewish holidays have a common theme, “we were persecuted, we won, let's eat!” Since Chanukah is about the miracle concerning oil, the foods tend to be those fried or cooked in olive oil. However, Chanukah is celebrated in Israel a bit differently than in the U.S. In the U.S., the main holiday food is potato pancakes (latkes) fried in oil. In Israel, the main food is sufganiyot, a deep-fried jelly donut, totally unlike U.S. donuts. Also dairy foods, like cheesecakes, are popular this time of year. My favorite character in the Chanukah story is Judith who bravely went into the enemy camp. She fed the general Holofernes cheese, and it made him thirsty. So she fed him wine to quench his thirst but all it did was make him drunk. When he was so drunk, she was able to cut off his head. What happened to their leader scared the enemy, they fled and Israel was saved. So cheese dishes are also a symbolic Chanukah tradition.
In the U.S., most people light menorahs that hold colorful candles. But in Israel hardly anyone lights candles. Instead, they light wicks that float in olive oil-filled glass holders on the menorah. In the U.S., children tend to be given eight gifts, one each of the eight nights of the holiday. It became a tradition in the U.S. because Chanukah comes about the time of Xmas and Jewish parents needed to give gifts so that their children would not be envious of their non-Jewish friends receiving gifts during the holiday season. But in Israel, parents give their children Chanukah “gelt,” which is real money children are taught to give away to charity, not the silver and gold-foiled chocolates shaped like coins that children get in the U.S. Another difference is the game of “dreidel,” which is a spinning top. In the U.S., the Hebrew letters on the dreidel stand for “a great miracle happened there.” In Israel the letters stand for “a great miracle happened here.”
In the U.S. many secular and non-religious Jews tend to celebrate Chanukah like it is a major Jewish holiday. But religious Jews and those in Israel do not do so. I find it interesting because the significance of the holiday has to do with the religious observance of Torah laws and anti-assimilation. It seems the very people who want to assimilate into other cultures and religions are the ones most fervently celebrating this anti-assimilation holiday!
L'hitraot. Shachar.