Hanukkah (Chanukah), the
Festival of Lights, begins Wednesday evening, December 25, 2024. It celebrates the
Jewish victory over the Syrian-Greek regime of Antiochus. The Greeks attempted to
Hellenize the Jews and abolish many Jewish practices and many Jews willingly complied. But a small band of the devout, led by Matitiyahu the Priest and his son Judah Maccabee, led a
successful rebellion against them. When they recaptured the Temple and relit the Menorah, a vial of pure oil sufficient to burn one day burned for
eight days straight – the
eight days of Hanukkah.
We
light the menorah for the eight days of Hanukkah to commemorate the miracle. A menorah is lit in every household, and also in the synagogue. Special
blessings are recited when we light the menorah. We also spin the dreidel (sivivon in Hebrew), a four-sided top with a Hebrew letter on each side. We play the
dreidel game, which has deeper meaning and invites "inspiration from above.”
On Hanukkah, we commemorate the miracle of the oil by eating foods cooked with olive oil. Enjoy these
fried potato pancake (latke) recipes. For the Israeli version of "oily food," use this
how-to guide for great homemade doughnuts, sufganiyot.
Identifying as a Jew
