Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days,[5] starting on the 25th day ofKislev according to theHebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from November 28 to December 27 in theGregorian calendar. The festival is observed by lighting the candles of acandelabrum with ninebranches, commonly called amenorah or hanukkiah. One branch is placed above or below the others and its candle is used to light the other eight candles. This unique candle is called theshammash (שַׁמָּשׁ, "attendant"). Each night, one additional candle is lit by theshammash until all eight candles are lit together on the final night of the festival.[6]
Other Hanukkah festivities include singingHanukkah songs, playing the game ofdreidel and eating oil-based foods, such aslatkes andsufganiyot (similar to jelly donuts), anddairy foods. Since the 1970s, the worldwideChabadHasidic movement has initiated publicmenorah lightings in open public places in many countries.[7][8]
Originally instituted as a feast "in the manner ofSukkot (Booths)", it does not come with the corresponding obligations, and is therefore a relatively minor holiday in strictly religious terms. Nevertheless, Hanukkah has attained major cultural significance in North America and elsewhere, especially amongsecular Jews, due to often occurring around the same time asChristmas during thefestive season.[9]
The name "Hanukkah" derives from the Hebrew verb "חנך", meaning "to dedicate", because on Hanukkah, the Maccabean Jews regained control of Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple.[10][11]
Manyhomiletical explanations have been given for the name:[12]
The name can be broken down intoחנו כ״ה, "[they] rested [on the] twenty-fifth", referring to the fact that the Jews ceased fighting on the 25th day ofKislev, the day on which the holiday begins.[13]
חינוךChinuch, from the same root, is the name for Jewish education, emphasizing ethical training and discipline.
חנוכה (Hanukkah) is also the Hebrewacronym forחנרותוהלכהכביתהלל – "Eight candles, and thehalakha is according to the House of Hillel". This is a reference to the disagreement between two rabbinical schools of thought – theHouse of Hillel and theHouse of Shammai – on the proper order in which to light the Hanukkah flames. Shammai opined that eight candles should be lit on the first night, seven on the second night, and so on down to one on the last night (because the miracle was greatest on the first day). Hillel argued in favor of starting with one candle and lighting an additional one every night, up to eight on the eighth night (because the miracle grew in greatness each day).Jewish law adopted the position of Hillel.[14]
Psalm 30 is calledשיר חנכת הביתShîr Ḥănukkāt HaBayit, "the Song of the 'Dedication' of the House", and is traditionally recited on Hanukkah. 25 (of Kislev) + 5 (Books of Torah) = 30, which is the number of the song.
Spelling variations due to transliteration of HebrewḤet Nun Vav Kaf Hey
InHebrew, the word Hanukkah is writtenחֲנֻכָּה orחֲנוּכָּה (Ḥănukā). It is most commonlytransliterated to English asHanukkah orChanukah. The spellingHanukkah, which is based on using characters of the English alphabet as symbols to re-create the word's correct spelling in Hebrew,[15] is the most common[16] and the preferred choice ofMerriam–Webster,[17]Collins English Dictionary, theOxford Style Manual, and the style guides ofThe New York Times andThe Guardian.[18] The sound represented byCh ([χ], similar to theScottish pronunciation ofloch) is not native to theEnglish language, so those not familiar with Hebrew pronunciation may pronounce it with an h ([h]).[e] Furthermore, the letterḥeth (ח), which is the first letter in the Hebrew spelling, is pronounced differently in modern Hebrew (voiceless uvular fricative) from in classical Hebrew (voiceless pharyngeal fricative[ħ]), and neither of those sounds is unambiguously representable in English spelling. However, its original sound is closer to the EnglishH than to the ScottishCh, andHanukkah more accurately represents the spelling in the Hebrew alphabet.[15] Moreover, the 'kaf' consonant isgeminate in classical (but not modern) Hebrew. Adapting the classical Hebrew pronunciation with the geminate and pharyngealḤeth can lead to the spellingHanukkah, while adapting the modern Hebrew pronunciation with no gemination and uvularḤeth leads to the spellingChanukah.[19][20][21]
InModern Hebrew, Hanukkah may also be called theFestival of Lights (חַג הַאוּרִים,Ḥag HaUrim), based on a comment byJosephus inAntiquities of the Jews, καὶ ἐξ ἐκείνου μέχρι τοῦ δεῦρο τὴν ἑορτὴν ἄγομεν καλοῦντες αὐτὴν φῶτα "And from then on we celebrate this festival, and we call it Lights". The first Hebrew translation ofAntiquities (1864) used (חַג הַמְּאֹרוֹת) "Festival of Lamps", but the translation "Festival of Lights" (חַג הַאוּרִים) appeared by the end of the nineteenth century.[22]
The story of Hanukkah is told in the books of theFirst andSecond Maccabees, which describe in detail the re-dedication of theTemple in Jerusalem and the lighting of themenorah. These books, however, are not a part of thecanonizedMasoretic Text version of theTanakh (Hebrew and Aramaic language Jewish Bible) used and accepted by normativeRabbinical Judaism and therefore modern Jews (as copied, edited and distributed by a group of Jews known as theMasoretes between the 7th and 10th centuries of theCommon Era). However, the books of Maccabees were included among thedeuterocanonical books added to theSeptuagint, Greek-language translations of the Hebrew Bible originally compiled in the mid-3rd century BCE. The Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches consider the books of Maccabees as acanonical part of the Old Testament.[23]
The eight-day re-dedication of the temple is described in 1 Maccabees,[24] though the miracle of the oil does not appear here. A story similar in character, and older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees[25] according to which the relighting of the altar fire byNehemiah was due to a miracle which occurred on the 25th of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabee.[26] The above account in 1 Maccabees, as well as 2 Maccabees[27] portrays the feast as a delayed observation of the eight-day Feast of Booths (Sukkot); similarly 2 Maccabees explains the length of the feast as "in the manner of the Feast of Booths".[28]
Megillat Taanit (1st century) contains a list of festive days on which fasting or eulogizing is forbidden. It specifies, "On the 25th of [Kislev] is Hanukkah of eight days, and one is not to eulogize". Thescholion (9th-10th century) then references the story of the rededication of the Temple and themiracle of the cruse of oil.[29]
TheMishna (late 2nd century) mentions Hanukkah in several places,[30] but never describes its laws in detail and never mentions any aspect of the history behind it. To explain the Mishna's lack of a systematic discussion of Hanukkah,Nissim ben Jacob postulated that information on the holiday was so commonplace that the Mishna felt no need to explain it.[31] Modern scholarReuvein Margolies suggests that as the Mishnah was redacted after theBar Kochba revolt, its editors were reluctant to include explicit discussion of a holiday celebrating another relatively recent revolt against a foreign ruler, for fear of antagonizing the Romans.[32]
Hanukkah lamp unearthed near Jerusalem about 1900
The miracle of the one-day supply of oil miraculously lasting eight days is described in theTalmud, committed to writing about 600 years after the events described in the books of Maccabees.[33] The Talmud says that after the forces ofAntiochus IV had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was stillsealed by theHigh Priest, with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, yet it burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready).[34]
The law requires only one light each night per household,
A better practice is to light one light each night for each member of the household
The most preferred practice is to vary the number of lights each night.
Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one's door, on the opposite side of themezuza, or in the window closest to the street.Rashi, in a note toShabbat 21b, says their purpose is to publicize the miracle. The blessings for Hanukkah lights are discussed in tractateSuccah, p. 46a.[36]
Megillat Antiochus (probably composed in the 2nd century[37]) concludes with the following words:
...After this, the sons of Israel went up to the Temple and rebuilt its gates and purified the Temple from the dead bodies and from the defilement. And they sought after pureolive oil to light the lamps therewith, but could not find any, except one bowl that was sealed with the signet ring of the High Priest from the days of Samuel the prophet and they knew that it was pure. There was in it [enough oil] to light [the lamps therewith] for one day, but the God of heaven whose name dwells there put therein his blessing and they were able to light from it eight days. Therefore, the sons of Ḥashmonai made this covenant and took upon themselves a solemn vow, they and the sons of Israel, all of them, to publish amongst the sons of Israel, [to the end] that they might observe these eight days of joy and honour, as the days of the feasts written in [the book of] the Law; [even] to light in them so as to make known to those who come after them that their God wrought for them salvation from heaven. In them, it is not permitted to mourn, neither to decree a fast [on those days], and anyone who has a vow to perform, let him perform it.[38]
TheAl HaNissim prayer is recited on Hanukkah as an addition to theAmidah prayer, which was formalized in the late 1st century.[39]Al HaNissim describes the history of the holiday as follows:
In the days ofMattiyahu ben Yohanan, high priest, theHasmonean and his sons, when the evil Greek kingdom stood up against Your people Israel, to cause them to forget Your Torah and abandon the ways You desire – You, in Your great mercy, stood up for them in their time of trouble; You fought their fight, You judged their judgment, You took their revenge; You delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the evil into the hands of the righteous, the sinners into the hands of those who engaged in Your Torah; You made yourself a great and holy name in Your world, and for Your people Israel You made great redemption and salvation as this very day. And then Your sons came to the inner chamber of Your house, and cleared Your Temple, and purified Your sanctuary, and lit candles in Your holy courtyards, and established eight days of Hanukkah for thanksgiving and praise to Your holy name.
The Jewish historianTitus Flavius Josephus narrates in his book,Jewish Antiquities XII, how the victoriousJudas Maccabeus ordered lavish yearly eight-day festivities after rededicating the Temple in Jerusalem that had been profaned byAntiochus IV Epiphanes.[40] Josephus does not say the festival was called Hanukkah but rather the "Festival of Lights":
Now Judas celebrated the festival of the restoration of the sacrifices of the temple for eight days, and omitted no sort of pleasures thereon; but he feasted them upon very rich and splendid sacrifices; and he honored God, and delighted them by hymns and psalms. Nay, they were so very glad at the revival of their customs, when, after a long time of intermission, they unexpectedly had regained the freedom of their worship, that they made it a law for their posterity, that they should keep a festival, on account of the restoration of their temple worship, for eight days. And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights. I suppose the reason was because this liberty beyond our hopes appeared to us; and that thence was the name given to that festival. Judas also rebuilt the walls round about the city, and reared towers of great height against the incursions of enemies, and set guards therein. He also fortified the cityBethsura, that it might serve as a citadel against any distresses that might come from our enemies.[41]
In theNew Testament,John 10:22–23 says, "Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, andJesus was in thetemple courts walking inSolomon's Colonnade" (NIV). The Greek noun used appears in the neuter plural as "the renewals" or "the consecrations" (Ancient Greek:τὰ ἐγκαίνια;ta enkaínia).[42] The same root appears in 2 Esdras 6:16 in theSeptuagint to refer specifically to Hanukkah. This Greek word was chosen because the Hebrew word for 'consecration' or 'dedication' isHanukkah (חנכה). The Aramaic New Testament uses the Aramaic wordhawdata (a close synonym), which literally means 'renewal' or 'to make new'.[43]
After thedeath of Alexander the Great in 323BCE,Judea became part of thePtolemaic Kingdom of Egypt until 200 BCE, when KingAntiochus III the Great ofSyria defeated KingPtolemy V Epiphanes of Egypt at theBattle of Panium. Judea then became part of theSeleucid Empire of Syria.[44] King Antiochus III the Great, wanting to conciliate his new Jewish subjects, guaranteed their right to "live according to their ancestral customs" and to continue to practice their religion in the Temple of Jerusalem.[45] The Seleucids, like the Ptolemies before them, held asuzerainty over Judea, where they respected Jewish culture and protected Jewish institutions. This policy was drastically reversed byAntiochus IV Epiphanes, the son of Antiochus III, seemingly after what was either a dispute over leadership of the Temple in Jerusalem and the office ofHigh Priest, or possibly a revolt whose nature was lost to time after being crushed.[46] In 175 BCE, Antiochus IV invaded Judea at the request of the sons of Tobias.[47] TheTobiads, who led theHellenizing Jewish faction in Jerusalem, were expelled to Syria around 170 BCE when the high priestOnias and his pro-Egyptian faction wrested control from them. The exiled Tobiads lobbied Antiochus IV Epiphanes to recapture Jerusalem. As Flavius Josephus relates:
The king being thereto disposed beforehand, complied with them, and came upon the Jews with a great army, and took their city by force, and slew a great multitude of those that favored Ptolemy, and sent out his soldiers to plunder them without mercy. He also spoiled the temple, and put a stop to the constant practice of offering a daily sacrifice of expiation for three years and six months.
When theSecond Temple in Jerusalem was looted and services stopped,Judaism was outlawed. In 167 BCE,Antiochus ordered an altar toZeus erected in the Temple. He bannedbrit milah (circumcision) and ordered pigs to be sacrificed at the altar of the temple.[49]
Antiochus's actions provoked a large-scalerevolt.Mattathias (Mattityahu), aJewish priest, and his five sonsJochanan,Simeon,Eleazar,Jonathan, andJudah led a rebellion against Antiochus. It started with Mattathias killing first a Jew who wanted to comply with Antiochus's order to sacrifice to Zeus, and then a Greek official who was to enforce the government's behest (1 Mac. 2, 24–25[50]). Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BCE, Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 164 BCE, the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated. The festival of Hanukkah was instituted to celebrate this event.[51] Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made.[26] According to the Talmud,
"For when the Greeks entered the Sanctuary, they defiled all the oils therein, and when the Hasmonean dynasty prevailed against and defeated them, they made search and found only one cruse of oil which lay with the seal of thekohen gadol (high priest), but which contained sufficient [oil] for one day's lighting only; yet a miracle was wrought therein, and they lit [the lamp] therewith for eight days. The following year these [days] were appointed a Festival with [the recital of] Hallel and thanksgiving."
—Shabbat 21b
Tertiary sources in the Jewish tradition make reference to this account.[52]
Maimonides (12th century) described Hanukkah as follows:
When, on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, the Jews had emerged victorious over their foes and destroyed them, they re-entered the Temple where they found only one jar of pure oil, enough to be lit for only a single day; yet they used it for lighting the required set of lamps for eight days, until they managed to press olives and produce pure oil. Because of this, the sages of that generation ruled that the eight days beginning with the twenty-fifth of Kislev should be observed as days of rejoicing and praising the Lord. Lamps are lit in the evening over the doors of the homes, on each of the eight nights, so as to display the miracle. These days are called Hanukkah, when it is forbidden to lament or to fast, just as it is on the days of Purim. Lighting the lamps during the eight days of Hanukkah is a religious duty imposed by the sages.[53]
Some modern scholars, following the account in 2 Maccabees, observe that the king was intervening in an internalcivil war between the Maccabean Jews and theHellenized Jews in Jerusalem.[54][55][56][57] These competed violently over who would be the High Priest, with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names likeOnias contesting with Hellenizing High Priests with Greek names likeJason andMenelaus.[58] In particular, Jason's Hellenistic reforms would prove to be a decisive factor leading to eventual conflict within the ranks of Judaism.[59] Other authors point to possible socioeconomic reasons in addition to the religious reasons behind the civil war.[60]
Modern Israeli 10 agorot coin, reproducing the menorah image from a coin issued byMattathias Antigonus
What began in many respects as a civil war escalated when the Hellenistic kingdom of Syria sided with the Hellenizing Jews in their conflict with the traditionalists.[61] As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times, banned a traditional religion.[62]
The miracle of the oil is widely regarded as a legend and its authenticity has been questioned since the Middle Ages.[63] However, given the famous questionJoseph Karo (1488–1575) posed concerning why Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days when the miracle was only for seven days (since there was enough oil for one day),[64][65] it was clear that writing in the 16th century CE, he believed it to be a historical event. This belief has been adopted by most ofOrthodox Judaism, in as much as Karo'sShulchan Aruch is a main code of Jewish Law.
175 BCE:Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) ascends the Seleucid throne.[66]
168 BCE: Under the reign of Antiochus IV, thesecond Temple is looted, Jews are massacred, andJudaism is outlawed.[67]
167 BCE: Antiochus orders an altar toZeus erected in the Temple.Mattathias and his five sons John,Simon,Eleazar,Jonathan, andJudah leada rebellion against Antiochus. Judah becomes known as Judah Maccabee ("Judah the Hammer").
166 BCE: Mattathias dies, and Judah takes his place as leader. TheHasmonean Jewish Kingdom begins; It lasts until 63 BCE.
164 BCE: The Jewish revolt against theSeleucid monarchy is successful in recapturing the Temple, which is liberated and rededicated (Hanukkah).
142 BCE: Re-establishment of theSecond Jewish Commonwealth. The Seleucids recognize Jewish autonomy. The Seleucid kings have a formal overlordship, which the Hasmoneans acknowledge. This inaugurates a period of population growth and religious, cultural and social development. This includes the conquest of the areas now covered byTransjordan,Samaria,Galilee, andIdumea (also known asEdom), and the forced conversion of Idumeans to the Jewish religion, including circumcision.[68]
85–82 BCE: Consolidation of the Kingdom in territory east of theJordan River.[73]
63 BCE: The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an end because of a rivalry between the brothersAristobulus II andHyrcanus II, both of whom appeal to theRoman Republic to intervene and settle the power struggle on their behalf. The Roman generalGnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great) is dispatched to the area. Twelve thousand Jews are massacred in the RomanSiege of Jerusalem. The Priests of the Temple are struck down at the Altar. Rome annexes Judea.[74]
Battle of Emmaus: Judas Maccabeus performs a daring night march to make a surprise attack on the Seleucid camp while the Seleucid forces are split.
Battle of Beth Zur: Judas Maccabeus defeats the army ofLysias, and captures Jerusalem soon after. Lysias relents and repeals Antiochus IV's anti-Jewish decrees.
Battle of Adasa: Judas defeats the forces of Nicanor after killing him early in the battle.
Battle of Elasa: Judas dies in battle against the army ofBacchides. He is succeeded by his brotherJonathan Apphus, and eventually their other brotherSimon Thassi, as leader of the rebellion. The Seleucids re-establish control of the cities for 8 years, but eventually make deals with the Maccabees and appoint their leaders as official Seleucid governors and generals in a vassal-like status before eventual independence.
Matityahu the Priest, also referred to as Mattathias and Mattathias ben Johanan. Matityahu was a Jewish priest who, together with his five sons, played a central role in the story of Hanukkah.[75]
Judah the Maccabee, also referred to as Judas Maccabeus and Y'hudhah HaMakabi. Judah was the eldest son of Matityahu and is acclaimed as one of the greatest warriors in Jewish history alongsideJoshua,Gideon, andDavid.[76]
Eleazar the Maccabee, also referred to as Eleazar Avaran, Eleazar Maccabeus and Eleazar Hachorani/Choran.
Simon the Maccabee, also referred to as Simon Maccabeus and Simon Thassi.
Children pull strings to tell story of Hanukah,c. 1940
Hanukkah is celebrated with a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the eight-day holiday, some are family-based and others communal. There are special additions to thedaily prayer service, and a section is added to theblessing after meals.[80]
Hanukkah is not a "Sabbath-like" holiday, and there is no obligation to refrain fromactivities that are forbidden on the Sabbath, as specified in theShulkhan Arukh.[81][82] Adherents go to work as usual but may leave early in order to be home to kindle the lights at nightfall. There is no religious reason for schools to be closed, although in Israel schools close from the second day for the whole week of Hanukkah.[83][84] Many families exchange gifts each night, such as books or games, and "Hanukkah Gelt" is often given to children. Fried foods—such aslatkes (potato pancakes), jelly doughnuts (sufganiyot) andSephardicbimuelos—are eaten to commemorate the importance of oil during the celebration of Hanukkah. Some also have a custom of eating dairy products to rememberJudith and how she overcameHolofernes by feeding him cheese, which made him thirsty, and giving him wine to drink. When Holofernes became very drunk, Judithcut off his head.[85]
Chanukah Menorah opposite Nazi building in Kiel, Germany, December 1931.Hanukkah festival atBrandenburg Gate inBerlin, December 2019Public Hanukkiah lighting in Brussels next to theBerlaymont building, the headquarters of theEuropean Commission, 2020Boy in front of a menorah
Each night throughout the eight-day holiday, a candle or oil-based light is lit to "advertise" the miracle.[86] As a universally practiced "beautification"[87] of themitzvah, the number of lights lit is increased by one each night.[88] An extra light called ashammash, meaning "attendant" or "sexton",[89] is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher, lower, or to the side of the others.[82]
AmongAshkenazim the tendency is for every male member of the household (and in many families, girls as well) to light a full set of lights each night,[90][91] while amongSephardim the prevalent custom is to have one set of lights for the entire household.[92]
The purpose of theshammash is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud,[93] against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah miracle. This differs fromSabbath candles which are meant to be used for illumination and lighting. Hence, if one were to need extra illumination on Hanukkah, theshammash candle would be available, and one would avoid using the prohibited lights. Some, especially Ashkenazim, light theshammash candle first and then use it to light the others.[94] So altogether, including theshammash, two lights are lit on the first night, three on the second and so on, ending with nine on the last night, for a total of 44 (36, excluding theshammash). It is Sephardic custom not to light the shammash first and use it to light the rest. Instead, the shammash candle is the last to be lit, and a different candle or a match is used to light all the candles. Some Hasidic Jews follow this Sephardic custom as well.[95]
The lights can be candles or oil lamps.[94] Electric lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room, or for the very elderly and infirm; however, those who permit reciting a blessing over electric lamps only allow it if it is incandescent and battery operated (an incandescent flashlight would be acceptable for this purpose), while a blessing may not be recited over a plug-in menorah or lamp. Most Jewish homes have a specialcandelabrum referred to as either aHanukkah menorah (the traditional name,menorah being Hebrew for 'lamp') or aChanukiah (the modern Israeli term). Some families use an oil lamp menorah (traditionally filled with olive oil) for Hanukkah; like the candle version, it has eight wicks to light plus the additionalshammash light.[96]
The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without", so that passersby should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle (i.e. that the sole cruse of pure oil found which held enough oil to burn for one night actually burned for eight nights). Accordingly, lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street. It is customary amongst someAshkenazi Jews to have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), whereas mostSephardi Jews light one for the whole household. Only when there was danger ofantisemitic persecution were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the case inPersia under the rule of theZoroastrians,[26] or in parts of Europe before and during World War II. However, mostHasidic groups light lamps near an inside doorway, not necessarily in public view. According to this tradition, the lamps are placed on the opposite side from themezuzah, so people passing through the door are surrounded by the holiness ofmitzvot (thecommandments).[101]
Generally, women are exempt in Jewish law from time-bound positive commandments, although the Talmud requires that women engage in the mitzvah of lighting Hanukkah candles "for they too were involved in the miracle."[102][103]
Some Jews in North America and Israel have taken up environmental concerns in relation to Hanukkah's "miracle of the oil", emphasizing reflection onenergy conservation andenergy independence. An example of this is the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life's renewable energy campaign.[104][105][106]
Hanukkah lights should usually burn for at least half an hour after it gets dark.[107] Many light at sundown, while most Hasidim and many other communities light later, generally around nightfall.[108] Many HasidicRebbes light much later to fulfill the obligation of publicizing the miracle by the presence of their Hasidim when they kindle the lights.[109]
Inexpensive small wax candles sold for Hanukkah burn for approximately half an hour so should be lit no earlier than nightfall.[107] Friday night presents a problem, however. Since candles may not be lit onShabbat itself, the candles must be lit before sunset.[107] However, they must remain lit through the lighting of the Shabbat candles. Therefore, the Hanukkah menorah is lit first with larger candles than usual,[107] followed by theShabbat candles. At the end of the Shabbat, there are those who light the Hanukkah lights beforeHavdalah and those who make Havdalah before the lighting Hanukkah lights.[110]
If for whatever reason one didn't light at sunset or nightfall, the lights should be kindled later, as long as there are people in the streets.[107] Later than that, the lights should still be kindled, but the blessings should be recited only if there is at least somebody else awake in the house and present at the lighting of the Hannukah lights.[111]
Typically two blessings (brachot; singular:brachah) are recited during this eight-day festival when lighting the candles. On the first night only, theshehecheyanu blessing is added, making a total of three blessings.[112]
The blessings are recited before each candle is lit. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle or oil) is lit on the right side of the menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first but it is lit first, and so on, proceeding from placing candles right to left but lighting them from left to right over the eight nights.[113]
Transliteration:Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu l'hadlik ner Hanukkah.
Translation: "Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the Hanukkah light[s]."
After the lights are kindled the hymnHanerot Halalu is recited. There are several different versions; the version presented here is recited in many Ashkenazic communities:[115]
We kindle these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through yourholy priests. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights aresacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them except for to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for Your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations.
In the Ashkenazi tradition, each night after the lighting of the candles, the hymnMa'oz Tzur is sung. The song contains six stanzas. The first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation, and the middle four deal with events of persecution inJewish history, praising God for survival despite these tragedies (the exodus from Egypt, theBabylonian captivity, the miracle of the holiday ofPurim, theHasmonean victory) and expressing a longing for the days when Judea will finally triumph overRome.[116]
The song was composed in the thirteenth century by a poet only known through the acrostic found in the first letters of the original five stanzas of the song: Mordechai. The familiar tune is most probably a derivation of a German Protestant church hymn or a popular folk song.[117]
After lighting the candles and Ma'oz Tzur, singing other Hanukkah songs is customary in many Jewish homes. SomeHasidic andSephardi Jews recitePsalms, such as Psalm 30, Psalm 67, and Psalm 91. In North America and in Israel it is common to exchange presents or give children presents at this time. In addition, many families encourage their children to givetzedakah (charity) in lieu of presents for themselves.[118][119]
"We thank You also for the miraculous deeds and for the redemption and for the mighty deeds and the saving acts wrought by You, as well as for the wars which You waged for our ancestors in ancient days at this season. In the days of the Hasmonean Mattathias, son of Johanan the high priest, and his sons, when the iniquitous Greco-Syrian kingdom rose up against Your people Israel, to make them forget Your Torah and to turn them away from the ordinances of Your will, then You in your abundant mercy rose up for them in the time of their trouble, pled their cause, executed judgment, avenged their wrong, and delivered the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and insolent ones into the hands of those occupied with Your Torah. Both unto Yourself did you make a great and holy name in Thy world, and unto Your people did You achieve a great deliverance and redemption. Whereupon your children entered the sanctuary of Your house, cleansed Your temple, purified Your sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courts, and appointed these eight days of Hanukkah in order to give thanks and praises unto Your holy name."
An addition is made to the "hoda'ah" (thanksgiving) benediction in theAmidah (thrice-daily prayers), calledAl HaNissim ("On/about the Miracles").[121] This addition refers to the victory achieved over the Syrians by the Hasmonean Mattathias and his sons.[122][123][26]
The same prayer is added to the grace after meals. In addition, theHallel (praise) Psalms[124] are sung during each morning service and theTachanun penitential prayers are omitted.[122][125]
The Torah is read every day in theshacharit morning services insynagogue, on the first day beginning from Numbers 6:22 (according to some customs, Numbers 7:1), and the last day ending with Numbers 8:4. Since Hanukkah lasts eight days it includes at least one, and sometimes two,Jewish Sabbaths (Saturdays). The weeklyTorah portion for the first Sabbath is almost alwaysMiketz, telling ofJoseph's dream and his enslavement inEgypt. TheHaftarah reading for the first Sabbath Hanukkah is Zechariah 2:14 – Zechariah 4:7. When there is a second Sabbath on Hanukkah, theHaftarah reading is from 1 Kings 7:40–50.
The Hanukkahmenorah is also kindled daily in the synagogue, at night with the blessings and in the morning without the blessings.[126]
The menorah is not lit during Shabbat, but rather prior to the beginning of Shabbat as described above and not at all during the day.During theMiddle Ages "Megillat Antiochus" was read in theItalian synagogues on Hanukkah just as theBook of Esther is read onPurim. It still forms part of the liturgy of theYemenite Jews.[127]
Zot Hanukkah: Hanukkah as the end of the High Holy Days
The last day of Hanukkah is known by some asZot Hanukkah and by others asChanukat HaMizbeach, from the verse read on this day in the synagogue Numbers 7:84,Zot Hanukkat Hamizbe'ach: "This was the dedication of the altar". According to the teachings ofKabbalah andHasidism, this day is the final "seal" of the High Holiday season ofYom Kippur and is considered a time to repent out of love for God. In this spirit, many Hasidic Jews wish each otherGmar chatimah tovah ("may you be sealed totally for good"), a traditional greeting for the Yom Kippur season. It is taught in Hasidic and Kabbalistic literature that this day is particularly auspicious for the fulfillment of prayers.[128]
SomeHasidic scholars teach that the Hanukkah is in fact the final conclusion of God's judgment extendingHigh Holy Days ofRosh Hashana when humanity is judged andYom Kippur when the judgment is sealed:
Hassidic masters quote from Kabbalistic sources that the God's mercy extends even further, giving the Children of Israel till the final day of Chanukah (known as "Zot Chanukah" based on words which appear in the Torah reading of that day), to return to Him and receive a favorable judgment. They see several hints to this in different verses. One is Isaiah 27:9: "Through this (zot) will Jacob's sin be forgiven" – i.e., on account of the holiness of Zot Chanukah.[129]
It is customary for women not to work for at least the first half-hour of the candles' burning, and some have the custom not to work for the entire time of burning. It is also forbidden to fast or to eulogize during Hanukkah.[82]
Hanukkah songs (in Hebrew except where indicated) include "Ma'oz Tzur" (Rock of Ages), "Latke'le Latke'le" (Yiddish: "LittleLatke, Little Latke"), "Hanukkiah Li Yesh" ("I Have a Hanukkah Menorah"), "Ocho Kandelikas" (Judeo-Spanish: "Eight Little Candles"), "Kad Katan" ("A Small Jug"), "S'vivon Sov Sov Sov" ("Dreidel, Spin and Spin"), "Haneirot Halolu" ("These Candles Which We Light"), "Mi Yimalel" ("Who Can Retell") and "Ner Li, Ner Li" ("I have a Candle").
In theNadvornaHasidic dynasty, it is customary for the rebbes to play violin after the menorah is lit.[132]
Penina Moise's Hannukah Hymn published in the 1842Hymns Written for the Use of Hebrew Congregations was instrumental in the beginning of Americanization of Hanukkah.[133][134][135]
Latkes are not popular in Israel, having been largely replaced by sufganiyot due to local economic factors, convenience and the influence of trade unions.[138] Bakeries in Israel have popularized many new types of fillings forsufganiyot besides the traditional strawberry jelly filling, including chocolate cream, vanilla cream, caramel, cappuccino and others.[139] In recent years, downsized, "mini" sufganiyot containing half the calories of the regular, 400-to-600-calorie version, have become popular.[140]
Rabbinic literature also records a tradition of eating cheese and other dairy products during Hanukkah.[141] This custom, as mentioned above, commemorates the heroism ofJudith during the Babylonian captivity of the Jews and reminds us that women also played an important role in the events of Hanukkah.[142] Thedeuterocanonical book of Judith (Yehudit or Yehudis in Hebrew), which is not part of theTanakh, records thatHolofernes, an Assyrian general, had surrounded the village of Bethulia as part of his campaign to conquer Judea. After intense fighting, the water supply of the Jews was cut off and the situation became desperate. Judith, a pious widow, told the city leaders that she had a plan to save the city. Judith went to the Assyrian camps and pretended to surrender. She met Holofernes, who was smitten by her beauty. She went back to his tent with him, where she plied him with cheese and wine. When he fell into a drunken sleep, Judith beheaded him and escaped from the camp, taking the severed head with her (thebeheading of Holofernes by Judith has historically been a popular theme in art). When Holofernes' soldiers found his corpse, they were overcome with fear; the Jews, on the other hand, were emboldened and launched a successful counterattack. The town was saved, and the Assyrians defeated.[143]
Roast goose has historically been a traditional Hanukkah food among Eastern European and American Jews, although the custom has declined in recent decades.[144]
Indian Jews traditionally consumegulab jamun, fried dough balls soaked in a sweet syrup, similar toteiglach orbimuelos, as part of their Hanukkah celebrations.
Italian Jews eat fried chicken, cassola (a ricotta cheese latke almost similar to a cheesecake), andfritelle de riso par Hanukkah (a fried sweet rice pancake).
After lighting the candles, it is customary to play (or spin) thedreidel The dreidel, orסביבון (romanized:sevivon)in Hebrew, is a four-sided spinning top that children play with during Hanukkah. Each side is imprinted with a Hebrew letter which is an abbreviation for the Hebrew wordsנס גדול היה שם (NesGadolHayaSham, "A great miracle happened there"), referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in theBeit Hamikdash. The fourth side of some dreidels sold in Israel are inscribed with the letterפ(Pe), rendering the acronymנס גדול היה פה (NesGadolHayaPo, "A great miracle happened here"), referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel, although this is a relatively recent[when?] innovation. Stores inHaredi neighborhoods sell the traditionalShin dreidels as well, because they understand "there" to refer to the Temple and not the entire Land of Israel, and because the Hasidic Masters ascribe significance to the traditional letters.[146][147]
Chanukkah gelt (Yiddish for "Chanukkah money"), known in Israel by the Hebrew translationHebrew:דְּמֵי חֲנֻכָּה,romanized: dmei Hanukkah, is often distributed to children during the festival of Hanukkah. The giving of Hanukkah gelt also adds to the holiday excitement. The amount is usually in small coins, although grandparents or relatives may give larger sums. The tradition of giving Chanukahgelt dates back to a long-standing East European custom of children presenting their teachers with a small sum of money at this time of year as a token of gratitude. Oneminhag favors the fifth night of Hanukkah for giving Hanukkah gelt.[148] Unlike the other nights of Hanukkah, the fifth does not ever fall on the Shabbat, hence never conflicting with theHalachic injunction against handling money on theShabbat.[149]
The earliest Hanukkah link with the White House occurred in 1951 when Israeli Prime MinisterDavid Ben-Gurion presented United States PresidentHarry Truman with a Hanukkah menorah. In 1979 PresidentJimmy Carter took part in the first public Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony of theNational Menorah held across the White House lawn.[150] In 1989, PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush displayed a menorah in the White House. In 1993, PresidentBill Clinton invited a group of schoolchildren to theOval Office for a small ceremony.[98]
TheUnited States Postal Service has released severalHanukkah-themed postage stamps. In 1996, the United States Postal Service (USPS) issued a 32 cent Hanukkah stamp as ajoint issue withIsrael.[151] In 2004, after eight years of reissuing the menorah design, the USPS issued a dreidel design for the Hanukkah stamp. The dreidel design was used through 2008. In 2009 a Hanukkah stamp was issued with a design featured a photograph of a menorah with nine lit candles.[152] In 2008, PresidentGeorge W. Bush held an official Hanukkah reception in the White House where he linked the occasion to the 1951 gift by using that menorah for the ceremony, with a grandson of Ben-Gurion and a grandson of Truman lighting the candles.[153]
In December 2014, two Hanukkah celebrations were held at the White House. TheWhite House commissioned a menorah made by students at the Max Rayne school in Israel and invited two of its students to join U.S. PresidentBarack Obama and First LadyMichelle Obama as they welcomed over 500 guests to the celebration. The students' school in Israel had been subjected to arson by extremists. President Obama said these "students teach us an important lesson for this time in our history. The light of hope must outlast the fires of hate. That's what the Hanukkah story teaches us. It's what our young people can teach us – that one act of faith can make a miracle, that love is stronger than hate, that peace can triumph over conflict."[154] RabbiAngela Warnick Buchdahl, in leading prayers at the ceremony commented on the how special the scene was, asking the President if he believed America's founding fathers could possibly have pictured that a female Asian-American rabbi would one day be at the White House leading Jewish prayers in front of the African-American president.[155]
The dates of Hanukkah are determined by theHebrew calendar. Hanukkah begins at the 25th day ofKislev and concludes on the second or third day ofTevet (Kislev can have 29 or 30 days). The Jewish day begins at sunset. Hanukkah dates for recent and upcoming:
Sunset, 18 December 2022 – nightfall, 26 December 2022[1]
Sunset, 7 December 2023 – nightfall, 15 December 2023
Sunset, 25 December 2024 – nightfall, 2 January 2025
Sunset, 14 December 2025 – nightfall, 22 December 2025
Sunset, 4 December 2026 – nightfall, 12 December 2026
Sunset, 24 December 2027 – nightfall, 1 January 2028
Sunset, 12 December 2028 – nightfall, 20 December 2028
Sunset, 1 December 2029 – nightfall, 9 December 2029
In 2013, on 28 November, the American holiday ofThanksgiving fell during Hanukkah for only the third time since Thanksgiving was declared a national holiday by PresidentAbraham Lincoln. The last time was 1899, and due to the nature of the Gregorian and Jewish calendars being slightly out of sync with each other, it will not happen again in the foreseeable future.[156] This rare convergence prompted the creation of theneologismThanksgivukkah.[157][158][159]
Second night of Hannukah at Jerusalem'sWestern Wall
Major Jewish holidays are those when all forms of work are forbidden, and that feature traditional holiday meals, kiddush, holiday candle-lighting, etc. Only biblical holidays fit these criteria, and Chanukah was instituted some two centuries after theHebrew Bible was completed. Nevertheless, though Chanukah is of rabbinic origin, it is traditionally celebrated in a major and very public fashion. The requirement to position the menorah, or Chanukiah, at the door or window, symbolizes the desire to give the Chanukah miracle a high-profile.[160] Moreover,Hallel (a set of Psalms expressing praise that is recited on significant Jewish holidays) is recited on all eight days of Hanukkah, which signifies Hanukkah's importance on the Jewish calendar. While not considered the most significant holiday, the recitation of Hallel on Hanukkah highlights its importance in Jewish tradition.[161]
"Hanukkah is an ancient holiday, but a modest one. The holiday of the Hasmoneans is new, yet it is full of spiritual exaltation and national joy. What was Hanukkah forty years ago? 'Al ha-nissim' and Hallel; a short reading in the synagogue; lighting the tiny, slender wax candles or oil lights; at home, levivot [latkes-potato pancakes], cards for the older children, and sevivonim [dreidels-spinning tops] for the little ones. But what is Hanukkah today? The holiday of the Hasmoneans. A holiday of salvation. A great national holiday, celebrated in all the countries of the Diaspora with dances and speeches, melody and song, outings and parades, as if a new soul has been breathed into the ancient holiday, another spirit renewed within it. One thing is clear: if those tiny, modest candles had been extinguished in Diaspora times, if our grandparents had not preserved the traditions of Hanukkah in the synagogue and at home . .., the holiday of the Hasmoneans could never have been created. There would have been nothing to change, nothing to renew. The new soul of our times would not have found a body in which to envelop itself."
The emergence of Jewish nationalism and theZionist movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries had a profound impact on the celebration and reinterpretation ofJewish holidays. These developments resulted in increased emphasis on certain Jewish celebrations, of which Hanukkah andTu BiShvat are prominent examples.[164]
Hanukkah took on renewed meaning following the rise of Jewish nationalism as anationalist holiday, symbolizing the struggle of the Jewish people against foreign oppression and their desire for national re-creation[165] (although the struggle of Jews against foreign oppression has always been a core component of Hanukkah, as shown by theAl HaNissim, which has been part of Jewish liturgy since at least 700 CE).[166] Hanukkah served as a common ground where both religious and secular Zionists could unite around their nationalist agenda. RabbiShmuel Mohilever, an early religious Zionist, proposed making Hanukkah the official holiday of the proto-Zionist organizationHovevei Zion in Russia in 1881. Public celebrations of Hanukkah gained prominence in the early 20th century, with parades and public events becoming common. Schools inMandate Palestine played an early role in promoting these celebrations.[167]
With the advent of Zionism and the state ofIsrael, the themes of militarism were reconsidered. In modern Israel, the national and military aspects of Hanukkah became, once again, more dominant.[168][169]
In North America, Hanukkah in the 21st century has taken a place equal toPassover as a symbol of Jewish identity. Both the Israeli and North American versions of Hanukkah emphasize resistance, focusing on some combination ofnational liberation andreligious freedom as the defining meaning of the holiday.[170][9]
Diane Ashton attributed the increased visibility and reinvention of Hanukkah by some of the American Jewish community as a way to adapt to American life, re-inventing the festival in "the language of individualism and personal conscience derived from both Protestantism and the Enlightenment".[133]
In North America, Hanukkah became increasingly important to many Jewish individuals and families during the latter part of the 20th century, including a large number ofsecular Jews, who wanted to celebrate a Jewish alternative to theChristmas celebrations which frequently overlap with Hanukkah.[171][172] Diane Ashton argues that Jewish immigrants to America raised the profile of Hanukkah as a kid-centered alternative to Christmas as early as the 1800s.[173] This in parts mirrors the ascendancy of Christmas, which like Hanukkah increased in importance in the 1800s.[174] During this time period, Jewish leaders (especiallyReform) such asMax Lilienthal andIsaac Mayer Wise made an effort to rebrand Hanukkah and started creating Hanukkah celebration for kids at their synagogues, which included candy and singing songs.[173][175] By the 1900s, it started to become a commercial holiday like Christmas, with Hanukkah gifts and decorations appearing in stores and Jewish Women's magazines printing articles on holiday decorations, children's celebrations, and gift giving.[173] Ashton says that Jewish families did this in order to maintain a Jewish identity which is distinct from mainline Christian culture, on the other hand, the mirroring of Hanukkah and Christmas made Jewish families and kids feel that they were American.[173] Though it was traditional forAshkenazi Jews to give "gelt" or money to children during Hanukkah, in many families, this tradition has been supplemented with the giving of other gifts so that Jewish children can enjoy receiving gifts just like their Christmas-celebrating peers do.[176] Children play a big role in Hanukkah, and Jewish families with children are more likely to celebrate it than childless Jewish families, and sociologists hypothesize that this is because Jewish parents do not want their kids to be alienated from their non-Jewish peers who celebrate Christmas.[171] Recent celebrations have also seen the presence of theHanukkah bush, which is considered a Jewish counterpart to theChristmas tree. Today, the presence of Hanukkah bushes is generally discouraged by mostrabbis.[177]
^Its use in transliteration of Hebrew into English is based on influences of Yiddish and German, particularly since transliteration into German tended to be earlier than transliteration into English. SeeRomanization of Hebrew
^abcde"Dates for Hanukkah". Hebcal.com by Danny Sadinoff and Michael J. Radwin (CC-BY-3.0). Retrieved26 August 2018.
^Miller, Jason (21 December 2011)."How Do You Spell Hanukkah?".The New York Jewish Week.Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved30 October 2021.
^"What Is Hanukkah?". Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center.In the second century BCE, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who tried to force the people of Israel to acceptGreek culture and beliefs instead ofmitzvah observance and belief in G‑d. 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 theGreeks from the land, reclaimed theHoly Temple inJerusalem and rededicated it to the service ofG‑d. ... To commemorate and publicize these miracles, the sages instituted the festival of Hanukkah.
^Bashiri, Y. (1964). "מגלת בני חשמונאי". In Yosef Ḥubara (ed.).Sefer Ha-Tiklāl (Tiklāl Qadmonim) (in Hebrew). Jerusalem: Yosef Ḥubara. pp. 75b–79b (Megillat Benei Ḥashmunai).OCLC122703118. (penned in the handwriting of Shalom b. Yihye Qoraḥ, and copied from "Tiklal Bashiri" which was written in 1618CE). Original Aramaic text:
^This is the first reference to the Feast of Dedication by this name (ta egkainia,ta enkainia [a typical "festive plural"]) in Jewish literature (Hengel 1999: 317).
^Roth, Andrew Gabriel (2008).Aramaic English New Testament, 3rd Ed. Netzari Press LLV. p. 266.
^abSacchi, Paolo (2004).The History of the Second Temple Period. Bloomsbury Publishing.ISBN978-0-567-04450-1.
^"T. Livivs".TheLatinLibrary.com. Retrieved6 October 2018.
^Hengel, Martin (1974).Judaism and Hellenism. 1 (1st engl. ed.). London: SCM Press.ISBN978-0-334-00788-3.
^Schultz, Joseph P. (1981).Judaism and the Gentile Faiths: Comparative Studies in Religion.Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 155.ISBN978-0-8386-1707-6.Modern scholarship on the other hand considers the Maccabean revolt less as an uprising against foreign oppression than as a civil war between the orthodox and reformist parties in the Jewish camp
^Ginzberg, Louis."Alexander Jannæus (Jonathan)". Retrieved6 October 2018.His three years' war east of the Jordan (about 85–82) was successful; and he conquered Pella, Dium, Gerasa, Gaulana, Seleucia, and the strong fortress Gamala.Jewish Encyclopedia.
^Missler, Dr. Chuck."Happy Hanukkah". Retrieved6 October 2018.Mattathias and his five sons became the nucleus of a growing band of rebels against Antiochus.
^"On Hanukkah, Women As Role Models". Retrieved6 October 2018.Also in the Apocrypha is the Book of Judith, which tells how this heroine stopped the siege of Jerusalem by decapitating Holofernes, a major military leader for the enemy.
^Dobb, Rabbi Fred Scherlinder (6 July 2011)."CFL Hannukah Installation Ceremony". Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL). Archived fromthe original on 28 November 2013. Retrieved6 October 2018.
^abcde"How to Celebrate Chanukah". Retrieved6 October 2018.[...] the menorah must contain enough fuel at the time of the lighting to burn until 30 minutes after nightfall.
^Shulchan Aruch OC 672:1, as understood by the Magen Avraham and others.
^abAshton, Dianne (2013).Hanukkah in America: A History. NYU Press. pp. 42–46.ISBN978-1-4798-5895-8.Throughout the nineteenth century some Jews tried various ways to adapt Judaism to American life. As they began looking for images to help understand and explain what a proper response to American Challenges might be, Hanukkah became ripe for reinvention. In Charleston, South Carolina, one group of Jews made Hanukkah into a time for serious religious reflexion that responded to their evangelical Protestant milieu...[Moise's] poem gave Hanukkah a place in the emerging religious style of American culture that was dominated by the language of individualism and personal conscience derived from both Protestantism and the Enlightenment. However, neither the Talmud nor the Shulchan Aruch identifies Hanukkah as a special occasion to ask for the forgiveness of sins.
^Parker, Adam (18 December 2011)."Celebrating Hanukkah".The Post and Courier. Archived fromthe original on 5 January 2015. Retrieved6 October 2018.
^Ashton, Dianne. "Quick to the Party: The Americanization of Hanukkah and Southern Jewry".Southern Jewish History.12:1–38.
^"Chanukah is upon us". The Philadelphia Jewish Voice. 7 January 2006. Retrieved6 October 2018.
^Nathan, Joan (12 December 2006)."Hanukkah Q&A".The New York Times. Retrieved6 October 2018.
^Lebowitz, Rabbi Aryeh (11 December 2005)."Chanukah Gelt and Gifts"(PDF).Dvarim Hayotzim Min Halev (PDF). Vol. 17, no. 6. p. 3.Archived(PDF) from the original on 29 December 2016. Retrieved6 October 2018.In fact, the Orchos Rabeinu in cheilek ג teaches that the Steipler Gaon maintained the minhag of giving out Chanukah gelt davka on the fifth night of Chanukah. Why specifically the fifth night? Answers the Orchos Rabeinu, since the fifth night is the only night that cannot coincide with Shabbos.
^Conforti 2012, p. 158-159, "Jewish nationalism and Zionism breathed new life into the Jewish holidays. The traditional Jewish calendar is full of holidays and days of commemoration, which served as a basis for the revival of modern Jewish nationalism. From its inception, Zionism made broad use of the reserve of Jewish memories and myths from biblical times and from the Second Temple period. This was the case for the renewal of biblical names and symbols as well as the significance of national holidays. Significant examples of this are the holidays of Hanukkah and Tu bi-Shvat. These two holidays were initiated relatively late in history, and had relatively little importance in the religious sense. But beginning with the Zionist awakening in the 1880s, these holidays took on central meaning. In the 1890s, many of the newly founded Zionist organisations adopted the names 'Hasmoneans and 'Maccabees', in an attempt to create a clear connection between the heroic foundations of the ancient biblical golden age and the renaissance of Jewish nationalism… Hanukkah, celebrated in the Diaspora as the festival of lights, mainly expressed God's might and the principles of the Jewish faith. But at the inception of the Zionist project, this holiday was transformed into a symbol of the power and rebellion of the entire nation against its foreign oppressor (Don-Yehiya 1992). The connection that the Zionist movement made between ba-vamim ha-hem u-ba-zman ha-zeh [*in days past, and in these times'] expressed the Zionist desire to return to a heroic past and 'the lost Jewish masculinity'. It also reflected the aspiration to create a new Jew, in contrast to the Diaspora Jew (Bashkin 1998). Instead of God's might, the Zionists began to emphasise the strength of the rebel Maccabbees. In the arts, Boris Schatz's sculpture "Mattathias the Hasmonean' was given a position of honour in Zionist iconography.".
^Zion & Spectre 2000, p. 12, "The rabbinic religious tradition - in so far as it recalled the Hasmoneans at all - emphasized the religious miracle in their battle against persecution of Judaism and the desecration of the Temple (see the traditional praver "Al Ha. Nissim"). However the Secular Zionists rejected the miracle and emphasized the earthly realism of Hasmonean heroism. Zionism made Hanukkah a nationalist holidav. The secularization and nationalization of religious celebrations focused on minor religious holidavs and reprioritized their significance. Lag BaOmer became a celebration of Bar Kochba's revolt against the Roman Empire (132-135 CE): Tu B'Shvat became a celebration of the redemption of Eretz Yisrael through reforestation. However. Hanukkah was the main site of national re-creation. The early religious Zionist Rabbi Shmuel Mohi-lever proposed that Hanukkah be the official holiday of the proto-Zionist organization in Russia - Hovevei Zion (1881). This minor holiday provided neutral ground for religious and secular Zionists to share their nationalist program.".
^Conforti 2012, p. 160ps:"Schools in the Yishuv as well as adults followed the tradition of visiting the tombs of the Maccabees. Thus beginning in this period, Hanukkah was given a renewed interpretation that was nationalist, romantic, and activist, as opposed to the traditional interpretation. From the inception of Zionism in the 1880s and '90s, Hanukkah took on a central position as a national holiday. The pioneers of the First Aliya to Palestine (1882-1903), as well as members of the Zionist organisations in Europe, raised Hanukkah to the level of a national holiday. Hanukkah would not have taken its central place in the national calendar without the close cooperation between religious and secular Zionists from the beginning of Zionism until the period of the British mandate and the Jewish settlement (Yishuv) in Palestine (Dotan 1988:38-43). With the revival of Jewish nationalism, Hanukkah took on a new character. It was celebrated not only at home, but in public as well. In the 1920s, the holiday began to receive increasing public expression. Parades were held in celebration of Hanukkah, the festival of lights. For example, schoolchildren in Tel Aviv marched in a torch procession organised by the school in conjunction with the Tel Aviv municipality (Arieh-Sapir 2002). This process of adapting a 'useful past' for the purpose of strengthening the national narrative was not necessarily made "from the top down'. Rather, it had many agents, all of which contributed to the success of Hanukkah celebrations throughout all of Palestine. Although institutions were involved in moulding the character of the holiday, many citizens also participated "from the bottom up'. Furthermore, the religious character of the symbols did not completely disappear from the public arena. For example, the Great Synagogue on Allenby Street in Tel Aviv served as the starting point for the festival parade in the 1930s, with the menorah lit on top of the building. The revolution that Zionism led in the celebration of Hanukkah is just one example of the broader revolution it initiated in other Jewish holidays by granting them a new Zionist interpretation. Examples of this are Shavuot celebrations among the workers' settlements and Purim festivities in Tel Aviv, as well as other holidays, in the 1920s and '30s (Helman 2007; Shoham 2006).".
^Rosenstock, Natasha (1 October 2016)."Hanukkah Gifts". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved6 October 2018.
^Diamant, Anita (1998).Choosing a Jewish Life: A Handbook for People Converting to Judaism and for Their Family and Friends. Schocken Books.ISBN978-0-8052-1095-8.Rabbis are emphatic and virtually unanimous in their feeling that there is no place for Christmas celebrations within a Jewish home. But that would seem to be overstating the case, videRon Isaacs (2003).Ask the Rabbi: The Who, What, When, Where, Why, & How of Being Jewish. Jossey-Bass.ISBN0-7879-6784-X.
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