omanot

Chanukah

Chanukah, the Jewish festival of rededication, also known as the festival of lights, is an eight day festival. This is a fun holiday for children as well as for adults. Every night, for 8 days we are lighting candles. The candles are arranged in a candelabrum called Chanukiya that holds nine candles: one for each night, plus a shammus (servant) at a different height.

It is traditional to eat fried food, because of the significance of oil to the holiday, thinks like sopganiyot (kind of like doughnuts but without hole in the center), latkes - grated fried potatoes.

Why do we celebrate Chanukah?
The story of Chanukah begins in the reign of Alexander the Great. Alexander conquered Syria, Egypt and Palestine, but allowed the lands under his control to continue observing their own religions and retain a certain degree of autonomy. More than a century later, a successor of Alexander, Antiochus IV was in control of the region. He began to oppress the Jews severely, massacring Jews, prohibiting the practice of the Jewish religion, and so on.

Two groups opposed Antiochus: a basically nationalistic group led by Mattathias the Hasmonean and his son Judah Maccabee, and a religious traditionalist group known as the Chasidim. They joined forces in a revolt against Greek government. The revolution succeeded and the Temple was rededicated.

According to traditional stories, 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 (candelabrum) 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 prepare a fresh supply of oil for the menorah. An eight day festival was declared to commemorate this miracle. (not the war)

It is customary to place the Chanukiya at the window so that every body will see the light, in ancient times it was for people to see their way home at night. In the old city of Jerusalem, they still placing their Chanukiya at the window, and it is amazing to see the light shining in the dark narrow alleys.

posted by rebecca @ 11:53 AM