Hanukkah 101: a festival of lights
Hanukkah, 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, which begins with the first candle this year
on Friday evening, December 19.
Hanukkah 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 quite ironic that this holiday, which
has its roots in a revolution against assimilation and
the suppression of Judaism, has become the most assimilated,
secular holiday on the Jewish calendar.
The story of Hanukkah
The story of Hanukkah begins in the reign
of the Greek ruler, Alexander the Great, who conquered
the lands we now know as Syria, Egypt and Palestine,
but allowed the people 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.
Alexander’s untimely death in 323
B.C.E., with no provision for his succession, paved
the way for the breakup of his empire. More than a century
later, the Seleucid king 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 Jewish rites and rituals,
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 — the self-named Maccabees (“battle
hammer”) — 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 Seleucid government. The three-year
revolution succeeded and the Temple was rededicated
in 164 B.C.E.
According to tradition, 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 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 acquire 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.
Hanukkah traditions
Hanukkah 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.
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 hanukkiah) 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 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). 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 a half hour. Each night, another candle is added
from right to left (like the Hebrew language) until
all eight and the shammus are lit.
Why the shammus candle? The Hanukkah 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 Hanukkah
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
Hanukkah because of the significance of oil to the holiday.
Among many Jews, this usually includes latkes, pronounced "lot-kuhs" or "lot-keys"
(depending on where your grandmother came from) —
which are commonly known as potato pancakes, and sweet
jelly doughnuts — sufganyot, pronounced “soof-gan-ee-oht.”
Gift giving is not a traditional part of
the holiday, but has been added in many homes to mollify
the children whose many friends will be getting Christmas
gifts. 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. A dreidel is marked with four Hebrew letters:
Nun, Gimmel, Heh and Shin.
This supposedly stands for the Hebrew phrase
"nes gadol hayah sham,” a great miracle happened
there. Actually, it stands 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 one way is that
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.
Latkes, anyone?
The best latkes are made from scratch. Especially
since the advent of the food processor, no boxed, reconstituted
potatoes should be used. This recipe makes about 18
latkes.
* 4 medium Idaho or russet potatoes, washed
* 1 medium yellow onion
* 2 medium-large eggs
* 3/4 cup matzah meal (flour or bread crumbs
can be substituted)
* salt and black pepper to taste
* vegetable oil
Shred the potatoes and onion into a large
bowl; it’s not necessary to peel them. Press out
all excess liquid. Add eggs and mix well. Add matzah
meal gradually while mixing until the batter is doughy,
not too dry. (You may not need the whole amount, depending
on how well you drained the veggies). Add a few dashes
of salt and black pepper. Don't worry if the batter
turns a little orange; that’s just the result
of the shredded potatoes being exposed to air, like
apples that turn brown.
Heat about 1/2 inch of oil to a medium heat.
Form the batter into thin patties about the size of
your palm. Fry batter in hot oil. Be patient: this takes
time, and too much flipping will burn the outside without
cooking the inside. Flip when the bottom is golden brown.
Place finished latkes on paper towels to
drain. Eat hot with sour cream or applesauce —
or anything else that sounds good to you. They reheat
OK in a microwave, but not in an oven unless you cook
them just right.
For some variations on the theme, and other
Hanukkah menu ideas, click http://www.epicurious.com/e_eating/e04_hanukkah/hanmenus.html.
Most of the above was adapted from the Judaism
101 Web site, which is compiled and written by Tracey
R. Rich. Nancy and Jane Berger edited it.
