Jews around the world will begin to celebrate the eight-day holiday of Chanukah tonight. We celebrate the miraculous triumph of the Maccabees, but really, we remember that whatever the odds, the righteous fight is the one worth fighting for, worth dying for, no matter the odds. So pray ā for our people, our nation. And pray G-d gives our righteous President the strength and wisdom to prevail as the forces of evil surround us and work furiously to subsume free will.
Chabad: Chanukah is the Jewish eight-day, wintertime āfestival of lights,ā celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers and fried foods.
The Hebrew word Chanukah means ādedication,ā and is thus named because it celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple (as youāll read below). Also spelled Hanukkah (or variations of that spelling), the Hebrew word is actually pronounced with a guttural, ākhā sound, kha-nu-kah, not tcha-new-kah.
Chanukah begins on the eve of Kislev 25 and continues for eight days. On the civil calendar, it generally coincides with the month of December. Chanukah 2020 runs from Dec. 10-18.
Artist Dominic Alves captured this image of a snowy Chanukah in Brighton, UK.
In the second century BCE, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who tried to force the people of Israel to accept Greek culture and beliefs instead of mitzvah observance and belief in Gād. Against all odds, a small band of faithful but poorly armed Jews, led by Judah the Maccabee, defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of Gād.
When they sought to light the Templeās Menorah (the seven-branched candelabrum), they found only a single cruse of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks. Miraculously, they lit the menorah and the one-day supply of oil lasted for eight days, until new oil could be prepared under conditions of ritual purity.
To commemorate and publicize these miracles, the sages instituted the festival of Chanukah.
At the heart of the festival is the nightly menorah lighting. The menorah holds nine flames, one of which is the shamash (āattendantā), which is used to kindle the other eight lights. On the first night, we light just one flame. On the second night, an additional flame is lit. By the eighth night of Chanukah, all eight lights are kindled.
On Friday afternoon, care must be taken to light the menorah before Shabbat candles are lit, and the following evening they are to be kindled only after Shabbat has ended.
A menorah is lit in every household (or even by each individual within the household) and placed in a doorway or window. The menorah is also lit in synagogues and other public places. In recent years, thousands of jumbo menorahs have cropped up in front of city halls and legislative buildings, and in malls and parks all over the world.
We recite the special Hallel prayer daily, and add VāAl HaNissim in our daily prayers and in the Grace After Meals, to offer praise and thanksgiving to Gād for ādelivering the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few ā¦ the wicked into the hands of the righteous.ā
A closeup view of two sweet potato latkes on a white plate. The background is soft and creamy and shows off the wonderful orange colour and texture of the two latkes. The lighting is a natural light from a window behind and to the right in the image.
Since the Chanukah miracle involved oil, it is customary to eat foods fried in oil. The Eastern-European classic is the potato latke (pancake) garnished with applesauce or sour cream, and the reigning Israeli favorite is the jelly-filled sufganya (doughnut).
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