The Story of Chanukah

Every year between the end of November and the end of December, Jewish people around the world celebrate the holiday of Chanukah, the Festival of Lights. Chanukah begins on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, but the starting date on the western calendar varies from year to year. The holiday celebrates the events which took place over 2,300 years ago in the land of Judea, which is now Israel.

Long ago in the land of Judea there was a Syrian king, Antiochus. The king ordered the Jewish people to reject their G-d, their religion, their customs and their beliefs and to worship the Greek gods. There were some who did as they were told, but many refused. One who refused was Judah Maccabee.

Judah and his four brothers formed an army and chose as their name the word "Maccabee", which means hammer. After three years of fighting, the Maccabees were finally successful in driving the Syrians out of Israel and reclaimed the Temple in Jerusalem. The Maccabees wanted to clean the building and to remove the disliked Greek symbols and statues. On the 25th day of the month of Kislev, the job was finished and the temple was rededicated.


When Judah and his followers finished cleaning the temple, they wanted to light the eternal light, known as the N'er Tamid, which is present in every Jewish house of worship. Once lit, the oil lamp should never be extinguished.


Only a tiny jug of oil was found with only enough for a single day. The oil lamp was filled and lit. Then a miracle occurred as the tiny amount of oil stayed lit not for one day, but for eight days.

Jews celebrate Chanukah to mark the victory over the Syrians and the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple. The Festival of the Lights, Chanukah, lasts for eight days to commemorate the miracle of the oil. The word Chanukah means "rededication".


All over the world, families celebrate Chanukah at home. They give and receive gifts, decorate the house, entertain friends and family, eat special foods, and light the holiday menorah.

The Chanukah Menorah

The Chanukah menorah is called a CHANUKIYAH. It has nine candle holders. There are eight candles, one for each night of Chanukah. The ninth is called the SHAMASH.

The Shamash is used to light the other eight candles. The Shamash is lit first and then is used to light the other candles.

The candles are placed in the CHANUKIYAH from right to left. But when the candles are lit, you light from left to right.

The Prayer for Chanukah Candle-Lighting

Every night during Chanukah, when the candles are lit this is the prayer that is recited:

Ba-ruch ata, A-do-nai E-lo-hei-nu, me-lech ha-o-lam, a-sher ki-de-sha-nu be-mits-vo tov, ve-tsi-va-nu le-had-lik neir shel Chan-nu-kah.

Ba-ruch ata, A-do-nai E-lo-hei-nu, me-lech ha-o-lam,she-a-sa ni-sim las-a-vo-tei-nu ba-ya-mim ha-heim ba-ze-man ha-zah.

Ba-ruch ata, A-do-nai E-lo-hei-nu, me-lech ha-o-lam, she-he-chya-nu ve-ki-ya-ma-nu ve-hi-gi-a-nu las-man-ha-zeh

One of the best known symbols of Chanukah is the Dreidel. A dreidel is a four sided top with a Hebrew letter on each side.

The four letters are:

SHIN, HEY, GIMEL, NUN

These letters mean "A Great Miracle Happened There." In Israel the dreidel is a bit different in that their letters mean " A Miracle Happened HERE!"

Dreidel is also a popular game played during the Holiday. Players use pennies, nuts, raisins, or chocolate coins (gelt) as tokens or chips.

The player spins the dreidel. When the dreidel stops, the letter that is facing up decides the fate.

NUN - nothing happens - next player spins the dreidel
GIMEL - player takes all tokens in the pot
HEY - player takes half of the pot
SHIN - player must put one token into the pot

The Spellings of Chanukah

There seems to be some confusion surrounding the actual spelling of Chanukah. Part of the reason for this confusion may be due to the fact there is no exact English translation of the Hebrew word for Chanukah.

So to help clear up some of the confusion we would like to present a number of the different spellings one might encounter.

• Chanuka
• Chanukah
• Chanukkah
• Channukah
• Hanukah
• Hannukah
• Hanukkah
• Hanuka
• Hanukka
• Hanaka
• Haneka
• Hanika
• Khanukkah

While in the Australia it is most common to use the spelling "CHANUKAH," rest assured that they are all the same celebration!

          Chanukia in Jerusalem        Sugvaniot – Jam Doughnuts

 

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