[img]96|left|||no_popup[/img]Dateline Jerusalem – “Chanukah, oh Hanukkah, come light the menorah (candelabra), let's have a party, we'll all dance the hora, gather 'round the table, we'll all have a treat, sivivon (Hebrew for dreidels or spinning tops in English) to play with, and latkes (fried potato pancakes, but the Israeli tradition is sufganiot, deep-fried jelly donuts) to eat, and while we are playing/dancing, the candles are burning bright/low (depending on the version), one for each night, they shed a sweet light, to remind us of days long ago.” Chanukkah or Hanukah (so far I have spelled it four different ways) is a Hebrew word meaning “dedication.” Because the Hebrew alphabet is unlike English, the transliteration into English letters can result in several ways of spelling a word. This is why it is not unusual to observe different spellings of a street name on the signs of all four corners of an Israeli intersection.
Chanukah is called the Festival of Lights or Festival of Miracles since it commemorates the re-dedication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Two thousand years ago, a small band of Jews called the Maccabees fought to defend G-d's Torah against 40,000 well-trained soldiers of the Syrian Greek empire that ruled Israel at the time, a sort of David vs. Goliath miracle because the Maccabees won. Re-capturing the Holy Temple, they purified it. To do so, it took eight days to prepare non-polluted oil and make new holy vessels. The famous Chanukah miracle was that the olive oil for the menorah, of which there was only enough pure olive oil to burn for one night, defied the laws of physics by burning day and night for eight days, confirming to the world that there was in fact a higher power, that of G-d. Therefore, Chanukah is celebrated for eight days in commemoration of this miracle of lights and the re-dedication of the Holy Temple.
Mantra for All Holidays
When it comes to Jewish holidays, I am oreminded of the age-old saying, “We were persecuted, we won, let's eat!” Chanukah is celebrated by eating fried food and cheese, symbolic for the miracle of the oil, and for the Chanukah heroine Yehudit (Judith). She was courageous when she went into the enemy camp. At a dinner for two in Gen. Holofernes's tent, Yehudit fed him cheese, which made him thirsty. She offered him wine to quench his thirst, knowing he would get drunk. She then took his sword and cut off his head, putting it on display in a nearby town. When his soldiers saw the head of their leader, they got scared and fled. Thus, Israel was saved and cheese dishes became a symbolic food for Chanukah.
Israel celebrates Chanukah differently than those in the U.S. Besides jelly doughnuts vs. potato pancakes, here we light wicks that float in olive oil-filled glass holders on the menorah, called a chanukiah, instead of lighting colorful candles every night. In Israel, parents give their children Chanukah gelt in the form of real money, not chocolate candy “gelt” wrapped in silver and gold foil in the shape of coins (although, both candles and chocolate coins are found in markets here). This is because in Israel the children are taught to give charity with their gelt. It is a season of giving, as opposed to the U.S. where children receive eight Chanukah presents, one for each of the eight nights of Chanukah. The gift tradition in the U.S. resulted from Jewish parents not wanting their children to be envious of their non-Jewish friends receiving holiday gifts since Chanukah and Xmas usually are observed the same time of year. I remember as a child in the States, the Xmas tree in the public school in our Jewish neighborhood was a white tree with blue bulbs and the PTA called it a Chanukah bush. Probably the greatest difference between Chanukah in Israel and the U.S. is in playing the game of Dreidel. The spinning top has Hebrew letters on its sides. In Israel, one of the letters stands for “a great miracle happened here” as opposed to outside Israel where a letter stands for “a great miracle happened there.”
I never could understand the emphasis on Chanukah outside Israel by many secular and non-religious Jews, especially since it is not a major Jewish holiday. In fact, it is an “anti-assimilation” holiday, about fighting for the right of religious observance of Torah laws and anti-assimilation, the two things secular and non-religious Jews seem to ignore. Yet it seems the ones who celebrate Chanukah as a major holiday are the very ones who want to assimilate into other cultures and religions, to adopt their traditions and rituals. It is as though the history of 2000 years ago, when Israel was persecuted by the Syrian Greeks for circumcising their newborn sons, observing Shabbat, and obeying the kosher dietary laws of the Torah, is meaningless. The Jews of yore were forced to eat pork and accept idol worship. Some actually embraced idol-worship and assimilated into their oppressor's secular, anti-religious Hellenistic lifestyle. As history repeats itself, many secular and non-religious Jews feel Torah laws are obsolete in this day and age. This was the biggest threat to the existence of the Jewish people then, and still is today.
Wishing my Jewish family, friends, and readers a happy, healthy and safe Chanukah.
L'hitraot. Shachar