Chanukah celebrates two miracles:
a) The 2nd century BCE victory of a small, greatly outnumbered and out-armed army of Jews, known as the “Maccabees,” over the mighty Greek army that occupied the Holy Land. The rebellion was in response to the Greek attempt to force a Hellenistic G‑dless lifestyle on the Jewish inhabitants of Israel.
b) The kindling of a seven-branched Menorah (candelabra) was an important component of the daily service in the Holy Temple. When the Maccabees liberated the Temple from the hands of the Greek invaders, they found only a small cruse of pure and undefiled olive oil fit for fueling the Menorah. The problem was, it was sufficient to light the Menorah only for one day, and it would take eight days to produce new pure oil. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days and nights.
In the Hebrew, Chanukah is pronounced with the letter chet. The chet’s “ch” sound is not enunciated like the “ch” in child; rather it’s a guttural, throaty sound—like the “ch” in Johann Bach—which does not have an English equivalent. The letter “H” is the closest, but it’s not really it. So while some people spell and pronounce it “Chanukah” and others settle for “Hanukkah,” they really are one and the same.
Chanukah means “dedication” or “induction.” Following their victory over the Greeks, the Maccabees rededicated the Holy Temple and its altar, which had been desecrated and defiled by the pagan invaders.
The word Chanukah can also be divided into two: Chanu—they rested, and Kah—which has the numerical value of 25. On the twenty-fifth day of the Hebrew month of Kislev the Maccabees rested from their battle, and triumphantly marched into the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, ready to rededicate it.
Chanukah begins on the twenty-fifth day of the Jewish month of Kislev. The Jewish calendar is primarily based on the lunar cycle, and its dates fluctuate with respect to other calendar systems. Thus the first day of Chanukah can fall anywhere between November 28th and December 26th.
Is Chanukah a major holiday for you all like Christmas is for us?
While this has remained a question debated throughout time, personally, it is not in my mind a so called "major holiday." When I think important holidays in Judaism, I think of Rosh Ha'Shanah, Yom Kippur, Yom Ha'Shoa, and Passover.
Do you get presents every night?
In our family we don't, however it some families they do. Since my family is rather spread out, it's rare that we get to spend hanukah together. For example, the holiday starts tomorrow at sundown, but we won't see our family until Thursday or Friday. We usually exchange at least one gift if possible or give smaller gifts, like I did for Brad this year.
And for your listening pleasure here are some of my favorite videos of the season...
Happy Holidays and a safe, happy, and healthy New Year!!
