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Chanukkah Blessings
Dreidel Game
On the 25th of Kislev are the days of Chanukkah, which are eight... these were appointed a Festival with Hallel [prayers of praise] and thanksgiving. -Shabbat 21b, Babylonian Talmud
Chanukkah, 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.
Chanukkah 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 bitterly ironic that this holiday, which has its roots in a revolution against assimilation and the suppression of Jewish religion, has become the most assimilated, secular holiday on our calendar.
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The story of Chanukkah 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. Under this relatively benevolent rule, many Jews assimilated much of Hellenistic culture, adopting the language, the customs and the dress of the Greeks, in much the same way that Jews in America today blend into the secular American society.
More than a century later, a successor of Alexander, 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 the Jewish religion, 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 Maccabee, 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 Greek government. The revolution succeeded and the Temple was rededicated.
According to tradition as recorded in the Talmud, 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. Note that the holiday commemorates the miracle of the oil, not the military victory: Jews do not glorify war.
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Our rabbis taught the rule of Chanukkah: ... on the first day one [candle] is lit and thereafter they are progressively increased ... [because] we increase in sanctity but do not reduce. -Shabbat 21b, Babylonian Talmud
Chanukkah 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, and you won't find many non-Jews who have even heard of Purim! Chanukkah is not mentioned in Jewish scripture; the story is related in the book of Maccabees, which Jews do not accept as scripture.
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 chanukkiah) 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
berakhot
(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). See
Chanukkah Candle Lighting Blessings for the full
text of these blessings. After reciting the blessings, the first candle is then
lit using the shammus candle, and the shammus candle is placed in its holder.
Candles can be lit any time after dark but before midnight. The candles are
normally allowed to burn out on their own after a minimum of 1/2 hour, but if
necessary they can be blown out at any time after that 1/2 hour. On
Shabbat, Chanukkah candles are normally lit
before the Shabbat candles, but may be lit any time before candlelighting time
(18 minutes before sunset). Candles cannot be blown out on Shabbat (it's a
violation of the sabbath rule against igniting or extinguishing a flame).
Because the Chanukkah candles must remain burning until a minimum of 1/2 hour
after dark (about 90 minutes total burning time on Shabbat), some Chanukkah
candles won't get the job done. On one of the earlier nights, you might want to
make sure your candles last long enough. If they don't, you might want to use
something else for Chanukkah on Shabbat, such as tea lights or even Shabbat candles.
Each night, another candle is added from right to left (like the
Hebrew language). Candles are lit from left to
right (because you pay honor to the newer thing first). On the eighth night,
all nine candles (the 8 Chanukkah candles and the shammus) are lit. See
animation at right for the candlelighting procedure. On nights after the first,
only the first two blessings are recited; the third blessing, she-hekhianu is
only recited on the first night of holidays.
Why the shammus candle? The Chanukkah 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 Chanukkah 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 Chanukkah because of the significance of oil to the holiday. Among Ashkenazic Jews, this usually includes latkes (pronounced "lot-kuhs" or "lot-keys" depending on where your grandmother comes from. Pronounced "potato pancakes" if you are a goy.) My recipe is included later in this page.
Gift-giving is not a traditional part of the holiday, but has been added in places where Jews have a lot of contact with Christians, as a way of dealing with our children's jealousy of their Christian friends. It is extremely unusual for Jews to give Chanukkah gifts to anyone other than their own young children. 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. The traditional explanation of this game is that during the time of Antiochus' oppression, those who wanted to study Torah (an illegal activity) would conceal their activity by playing gambling games with a top (a common and legal activity) whenever an official or inspector was within sight.
A
dreidel is marked with four Hebrew letters:
Nun, Gimel, Hei and Shin. These letters stand for the Hebrew phrase "Nes Gadol
Hayah Sham", a great miracle happened there, referring to the miracle of the oil.
The letters also stand 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 the way I learned it, everyone puts in one coin. A person spins the dreidel. If it lands on Nun, nothing happens; on Gimel (or, as we called it as kids, "gimme!"), you get the whole pot; on Hei, 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.
You can play a virtual dreidel game here! Requires JavaScript.
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Ma'oz Tzur (Rocky Fortress)
 The lyrics of this song date back to approximately the 13th century C.E. It is believed to be written by a man named Mordecai, because that name is encrypted in the first letters of the five stanzas. The music dates back to at least the 18th century, and possibly as far back as the 15th century. Most people are only familiar with the first stanza, which is reproduced below. This very literal translation is not what most people are used to seeing (it is usually translated as "Rock of Ages"). |
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| Rocky Fortress of my Salvation It is delightful to praise You Restore my House of Prayer And there we will give thanks with an offering When you have prepared the slaughter for the blaspheming foe Then I will complete with a song of hymn the dedication of the altar Then I will complete with a song of hymn the dedication of the altar |
Ma'oz tzur y'shuati L'kha na-eh l'shabei-ach Tikon beyt t'filati V'sham todah n'zabei-ach L'eit tachin matbei-ach Mitzar ha-m'nabei-ach Az egmor b'shir mizmor Chanukat ha-mizbei-ach Az egmor b'shir mizmor Chanukat ha-mizbei-ach |
| A less literal but more singable translation: | |
| Rock of Ages, let our song, Praise Thy saving power Thou amidst the raging foes, Wast our sheltering tower Furious they assailed us, But Thine arm availed us And thy word broke their sword, When our own strength failed us. And thy word broke their sword, When our own strength failed us. |
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| Mi Y'maleil? (Who Can Retell?)
Although the translation is not quite literal, it's the closest thing to a literal translation I've been able to find. For some reasons, this popular Chanukkah song is usually translated with great liberties. |
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Who can tell of the feats of Israel
Hear! In those days at this time |
Mi y'malel g'vurot Yisrael
Sh'ma! Ba-yamim ha-heim ba-z'man hazeh |
| A popular less literal but more singable translation: | |
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Who can retell the things that befell us, who can count them?
Hear! In days of yore in Israel's ancient land |
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| Chanukkah, Oh Chanukkah
There are many variations on this popular Chanukkah tune. I've provided singable versions in both English and Yiddish. The lyrics of these two versions don't really correspond to each other, but both versions speak of the fun of the secular trappings of the holiday, with slight reference to the religious aspects. |
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Chanukkah, Oh Chanukkah
And while we are playing |
Chanukkah, O Chanukkah
Geshvinder tsindt kinder |
And no list of Chanukkah songs would be complete without a link to the Maccabeats' brilliant music video, Candlelight, a parody of Taio Cruz's "Dynamite" that tells the story of Chanukkah. The Maccabeats are an a cappella group from Yeshiva University, so you know they'll get all the details right!
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Makes approximately 12 palm-sized latkes
Shred the potatoes and onion into a large bowl. Press out all excess liquid.(if using a food processor, use the chopping blade for 2 or 3 seconds after pressing out liquid to avoid stringy fly-aways). 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 the baking powder, salt and pepper and mix well. (don't taste the batter -- it's really gross!). Don't worry if the batter turns a little orange; that will go away when it fries.
Heat about 1/2 inch of oil to medium-high heat. Form the batter into thin patties about the size of your palm. Fry batter in 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. They reheat OK in a microwave, but not in an oven unless you cook them just right.
If you'd like to try something a little different, add some bell peppers, parsley, carrots, celery, or other vegetables to the batter to make veggie latkes! You may need to add a third egg and some more matzah meal for this. For a zesty twist, add some diced jalepeño peppers to the batter! This should definitely be served with sour cream!
I have put a video on YouTube that illustrates some hard-to-describe aspects of latke making: how deep to make the oil, how to tell when the oil is ready, how to tell when the latkes are ready to flip and so forth.
Time-saving substitutions:
Grocery stores now provide many time-saving options for cooking. The substitutions below will save you time in preparing the batter and cleaning up. Sorry, nothing I can do to speed the frying time. You can substitute any or all of these:
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Chanukkah will occur on the following days of the secular calendar:
For additional holiday dates, see Links to Jewish Calendars.
© Copyright 5756-5771 (1995-2011), Tracey R Rich