Friday Facts: Chanukah, Hanukkah, Hannukah
Posted on Friday, December 7th, 2018
Today is the fifth day of Hanukkah which begins on the eve of Kislev 25 and continues for eight days. The Hebrew word Chanukah means “dedication,” and is thus named because it celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple. Also spelled Hanukkah (or variations of that spelling), the Hebrew word is actually pronounced with a guttural, “kh” sound, kha-nu-kah, not tcha-new-kah.
The festival marks the phenomenal victory of a group of Jews called the Maccabees over the Syrian Greeks, the most powerful army of the ancient world. At the end of the three-year war, the Maccabees recaptured Jerusalem and rededicated the temple. When the Maccabees rededicated the temple, they discovered a single cruse of oil with the seal of the High Priest still intact. When they came to light the eight-branched temple candelabrum, the menorah, they had enough oil to last only a day. But the menorah miraculously stayed alight for eight days. This became known as the miracle of the oil.
Thus, at the heart of the festival is the nightly menorah lighting. The menorah holds nine flames, one of which is the shamash (“attendant”), which is used to kindle the other eight lights. Each night a flame is lit, and by the eighth night of Chanukah, all eight lights are kindled. Special blessings are recited, often to a traditional melody, before the menorah is lit, and traditional songs are sung afterward. Since the Chanukah miracle involved oil, it is customary to eat foods fried in oil. On Chanukah, it is customary to play with a “dreidel” (a four-sided spinning top bearing the Hebrew letters, nun, gimmel, hei and shin, an acronym for nes gadol hayah sham, “a great miracle happened there”). The game is usually played for a pot of coins, nuts, or other stuff, which is won or lost based on which letter the dreidel lands when it is spun. Here’s the menorah in my shared office:
Today people tend to place great importance on giving Chanukah gifts. However, the tradition is to give Chanukah gelt, gifts of money, to children. In addition to rewarding positive behavior and devotion to Torah study, the cash gifts give the children the opportunity to give tzedakah (charity). This has also spawned the phenomenon of foil-covered “chocolate gelt.”
Here is my favourite lesson signified by the candle – “Never be afraid to stand up for what’s right. Judah Maccabee and his band faced daunting odds, but that didn’t stop them. With a prayer on their lips and faith in their heart, they entered the battle of their lives—and won. We can do the same.”
Chanukah is not a Jewish high holiday that may see requests for leave as with Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur. However learning about the celebrations of many cultures and having curiosity about them is a key skill of an inclusive leader.
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