The meaning of Hanukkah

Gabriel Stuart-Sikowitz is my Legislative Director. He wrote this piece to help explain Hanukkah to all of us who may not celebrate. I learned a lot from this piece about the Festival of Lights and the holiday that commemorates our Jewish Sisters and Brothers overcoming adversity again and again.

“You have probably seen Hanukkah spelled a variety of different ways! Because it is a Hebrew word, 'Hanukkah' has no true transliteration into English! As long as it's close to 'Chanukah' or 'Hanukkah' you'll be fine.

Hanukkah or 'to dedicate' is the celebration of the liberation of Jerusalem from the Seleucid Empire and the subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the end of the Maccabean revolt in the 160s BCE. At the time Jerusalem was controlled by the Selucids. The Selucid ruler reversed policies of religious tolerance and outlawed Jewish practices. This led to the Maccabean revolt, which would eventually liberate Jerusalem and the rest of Judea from their rule. This also allowed them to rededicate the temple in Jerusalem. Hanukkah is the commemoration of this miracle. 

The reason we light the menorah is because of the miracle of the oil. When they went to light the seven branched menorah in the temple, commemorating the seven days of the week, they only had enough oil for one day, instead it lasted for eight nights. This is why we light our hanukkiah menorah.

This part of the celebration comes almost 200 years after the events of the Hasmonean Revolt  in the wake of a failed revolt against Roman rule. At the time, and for the 1800 intervening years,  Jews feared what Gentiles might think of them celebrating a time when they were triumphant. 

Hanukkah basically is about the Jewish people’s ability to survive and endure against insurmountable odds.

The miracle of the oil still has its place, especially when emphasizing humanity's stewardship of the planet, and the need to conserve things.

Now Hanukkah is not 'Jewish Christmas'. It is a minor cultural holiday that has been overly commercialized to "compete" with Christmas, especially in America. In most other countries it is observed and celebrated, but not with the same fanfare that it is in America.

Today Haukkah is celebrated all over the world by Jews, by lighting the Hanukkah candles, eating traditional foods, latkes and jelly doughnuts, spending time with loved ones and music! Children will play dreidel, a top, and bet with gelt, chocolate coins. The dreidel has 4 sides each with its own letter. The letters are an acrostic for A Great Miracle Happened There (Ness, Gadol, Hayah, Sham). Latkes are fried potato pancakes. Hanukkah music ranges from traditional prayers, to modern more secular music, Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages) to Ochos Kandelikas (Eight Little Candles).”