The holidays are a magical time of year for many families. There is a collective joy in the air as people bustle around preparing for the festive events. My family is Jewish, and for eight nights we light the Chanukah menorah and put it on display in the window. Each night we add another candle to increase in light. My daughter reminded me, it only takes a little bit of light to dispel a lot of darkness. I smiled.
Chanukah may be the most widely known Jewish holiday, but it is not considered to be a major holiday according to the Jewish religion. This is because the events that occurred proceeding the Chanukah miracle happened over 1,000 years after the Torah was written. It is a rabbinic holiday, not one that is commanded by G-d. But what is it that we are celebrating?
Around 200 B.C. the land of Israel was under control of the Syrian king Antiochus III. He was revered as a kind king that allowed the Jewish people to live in Israel and practice their religion freely. But he was murdered and Antiochus IV came into power. Antiochus IV forbade the Jewish people to practice their religion and ordered them to worship Greek gods. One of the cornerstones of Judaism is the belief in one G-d. In 168 B.C. the Syrian army invaded Jerusalem, they desecrated the Bais Hamikdash (the Holy Temple) erected idols, and brought pigs as sacrifices knowing they were non-kosher animals.
The first miracle of Chanukah occurred when the Maccabees, led by Judah, sought out to reclaim the Holy Temple and defeat the Syrian army. The odds were stacked against them, but they were victorious in reclaiming the Holy Temple. This is when the second miracle took place.
As they were cleaning the Holy Temple, they found a single jug of pure olive oil to light the menorah. The menorah is supposed to stay lit 24/7 but it would take 8 days to produce this special olive oil. Miraculously, that single jug of oil, that was only enough for one day, lasted eight days.
Today, we commemorate this miracle by lighting the menorah for eight nights, and place it in a window for all to see. Every night of Chanukah, we gather as a family and say the blessings and add an additional candle until the eighth night.
We also have the custom of eating foods fried in oil. A popular family activity is decorating jelly-filled donuts known as sufganiyot. They are fluffy donuts filled with strawberry jelly and we cover them with chocolate frosting and the girls get to pick different sprinkles as toppings. Another popular food eaten on Chanukah is potato latkes. These are potato pancakes – my favorite are when the potatoes are graded not mashed, and then fried in oil until the are brown and crispy on the outside. Traditionally, sour cream or applesauce is used as a toping and its a great debate in our house which is a superior condiment.
What may come as a surprise is that many Orthodox Jewish families do not give their children presents on Chanukah, but rather they are given Chanukah gelt, or money. This custom comes from the tradition that during the time of the Syrian rule, the Jewish people were not allowed to learn Torah, so the did so in secrecy. If a Syrian soldier walked by, the Jewish people would hide their Torah learning and take out a dreidel and coins and pretend to play a game of tops. Today, we play with a four side dreidel and chocolate coins. Growing up my family was more traditional and our family custom was to exchange presents, so today we do a combination of both in our home.
Another family tradition that my children look forward to each year is our annual Chanukah party. My husband is one of eight children, so just his immediate family is a huge party. My favorite part is watching my children play with all of their cousins, hopefully these are memories that will last a lifetime. As a Jewish mom, I’m always afraid of not having enough food so I overcompensate and we eat leftovers for the next 3 days. We play Chanukah music and sing and dance till our feet grow tired and our eyelids become heavy. The message of Chanukah is spreading awareness of the miracle that happened. That each night we increase in light by adding another candle and this same message should reflect our own lives throughout the year.
A candle has a unique quality, it can light another candle without diminishing from its own light. As my daughter reminded me on the first night of Chanukah, it only takes a little bit of light to dispel a lot of darkness.
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