gelt (See geld)
v : cut off the testicles (of male animals such as horses); "the vet gelded the young horse" [syn: cut] [also: gelt]gelt n : informal terms for money [syn: boodle, bread, cabbage, clams, dinero, dough, kale, lettuce, lolly, lucre, loot, moolah, pelf, scratch, shekels, simoleons, sugar, wampum]

English

Noun

1. money

Hanukkah (, alt. Chanukah), also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, and may occur from late November to late December on the Gregorian calendar.

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a special candelabrum, the Menorah or Hanukiah, one light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a shamash, (Hebrew: "guard" or "servant") is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story.

Hanukkah is mentioned in the deuterocanonical or apocrypha books of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the altar. Then Judah and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the feast of Booths."

Origins of the holiday

"Hanukkah," from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", marks the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by the forces of Antiochus IV and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil." According to the Talmud, at the re-dedication following the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, there was only enough consecrated olive oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the deuterocanonical books of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the altar. Then Judah and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the feast of Booths."

The martyrdom of Hannah and her seven sons has also been linked to Hanukkah. According to the Talmudic story and 2 Maccabees, a Jewish woman named Hannah and her seven sons were tortured and executed by Antiochus for refusing to bow down to a statue and eat pork, in violation of Jewish law.

Name

The name "Hanukkah" is interpreted in many ways.

• Some scholars say the word was derived from the Hebrew verb "חנך" meaning "to dedicate" or to "educate." On Hanukkah, Jews mark the rededication of the House of the Lord.

• Others argue that the name can be broken down into "חנו", from the Hebrew word for encampment, and the Hebrew letters כ"ה, which stand for the 25th day of Kislev, the day on which the holiday begins: Hence, the Jews sat in their camp, that is, they rested fighting, on the 25th day of Kislev.

• Hanukkah is also the Hebrew acronym for "ח' נרות והלכה כבית הלל" meaning "eight candles as determined by House of Hillel" This is a reference to the disagreement between two rabbinical schools of thought - Hillel and the House of Shammai - on the proper way to light Hanukkah candles. Shammai said that eight candles should be lit from the start, and reduced by one candle every night, whereas Hillel argued in favor of starting with one candle and lighting an additional one every night. Jewish law adopted the position of Hillel.

Historical sources

In the Talmud

The miracle of Hanukkah is described in the Talmud. The Gemara, in tractate Shabbat 21b focuses on Shabbat candles and moves to Hanukkah candles and says that after the occupiers 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 still sealed by the High Priest, with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, and miraculously, that oil burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready).

The Talmud presents three customs:

1. Lighting one light each night per household,
2. One light each night for each member of the household, or,
3. The most beautiful method, where the number of candles changed each night.

There was a dispute among the sages over how the last option was to be performed: either display eight lamps on the first night of the festival, and reduce the number on each successive night; or begin with one lamp the first night, increasing the number till the eighth night. The followers of Shammai favored the former custom; the followers of Hillel advocated the latter. As is the case in most such disputes, Jewish law followed Hillel. Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one's door or in the window closest to the street. Rashi, in a note to Shabbat 21b, says their purpose is to publicize the miracle. Hanukkah is also mentioned in the (older) Mishnah (TB Megillah 30b).

In the Septuagint and other sources

The story of Hanukkah is alluded to in the books of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees of the Septuagint but Hanukkah is not specially mentioned; rather, a story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 et seq according to which the relighting of the altar fire by Nehemiah was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth 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 Maccabeus.

The Books of Maccabees are not part of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), but are part of deuterocanonical historical and religious material preserved in the Septuagint. The Tanakh ends with the consequences following the events of Purim, and had already been codified many centuries earlier by the Men of the Great Assembly (Anshei Knesset HaGedolah).

Another source is the Megillat Antiochus. This work (also known as "Megillat HaHasmonaim", or "Megillat Hanukkah") is in both Aramaic and Hebrew; the Hebrew version is a literal translation from the Aramaic original. Recent scholarship dates it to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th Centuries, probably in the 2nd Century, with the Hebrew dating to the seventh century. It was published for the first time in Mantua in 1557. Saadia Gaon, who translated it into Arabic in the 9th Century, ascribed it to the Maccabees themselves, disputed by some, since it gives dates as so many years before the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE. The Hebrew text with an English translation can be found in the Siddur of Philip Birnbaum.

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the New Testament, where in the Gospel of John it is referred to as the Feast of the Dedication (Bible verse |John|10:22|KJV).

The story

see also Hasmonean Around 200 BCE Jews lived as an autonomous people in the Land of Israel, also referred to as Judea, which at that time was controlled by the Seleucid king of Syria. The Jewish people paid taxes to Syria and accepted its legal authority, and they were free to follow their own faith, maintain their own jobs, and engage in trade.

By 175 BCE Antiochus IV Epiphanes ascended to the Seleucid throne. At first little changed, but under his reign, the Temple in Jerusalem was looted, Jews were massacred, and Judaism was effectively outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to Zeus erected in the Temple.

Many modern scholars argue that the king may have been intervening in an internal civil war between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized elite Jews in Jerusalem. These competed violently over who would be the High Priest, with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like Onias overthrown by Hellenizers with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus. 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 the traditional religion of a whole people.

Antiochus' actions proved to be a major miscalculation as they provoked a large-scale revolt. Mattathias, a Jewish priest, and his five sons Jochanan, Simeon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah led a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated. The festival of Hanukkah was instituted by Judah Maccabee and his brothers to celebrate this event. After recovering Jerusalem and the Temple, 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. According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. But there was only enough oil to burn for one day, yet miraculously, it burned for eight days, the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of oil for the menorah. An eight day festival was declared by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

The version of the story in 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, states that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was proclaimed upon rededication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of the oil. A number of historians believe that the reason for the eight day celebration was that the first Hanukkah was in effect a belated celebration of the festivals of Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret. During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret properly; the combined festivals also last eight days, and the Sukkot festivities featured the lighting of lamps in the Temple (Suk.v. 2-4). The historian Josephus mentions the eight-day festival and its customs, but does not tell us the origin of the eight day lighting custom. Given that his audience was Hellenized Romans, perhaps his silence on the origin of the eight-day custom is due to its miraculous nature. In any event, he does report that lights were kindled in the household and the popular name of the festival was, therefore the "Festival of Lights" ("And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights").

It has also been noted that the number eight has special significance in Jewish theology, as representing transcendence and the Jewish People's special role in human history. Seven is the number of days of creation, that is, of completion of the material cosmos, and also of the classical planets. Eight, being one step beyond seven, represents the Infinite. Hence, the Eighth Day of the Assembly festival, mentioned above, is according to Jewish Law a festival for Jews only (unlike Sukkot, when all peoples were welcome in Jerusalem). Similarly, the rite of brit milah (circumcision), which brings a Jewish male into God's Covenant, is performed on the eighth day. Hence, Hanukkah's eight days (in celebration of monotheistic morality's victory over Hellenistic humanism) have great symbolic importance for practicing Jews.

Hanukkah rituals

The lights can be candles or oil lamps. The blessings are said before or after the candles are lit depending on tradition. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle, lamp, or electric) is lit on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first candle and so on, proceeding from right to left each night.

For the full text of the blessings, see List of Jewish prayers and blessings: Hanukkah

Hanerot Halalu

During or after the lights are kindled the hymn Hanerot Halalu is recited. There are several differing versions - the version presented here is recited in many Ashkenazic communities:

Maoz Tzur

Each night after the lighting of the candles, while remaining within sight of the candles, Ashkenazim (and, in recent decades, some Sephardim and Mizrahim in Western countries) usually sing the hymn Ma'oz Tzur written in Medieval Germany. 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 in Jewish history, and praises God for survival despite these tragedies (the the exodus from Egypt, the Babylonian captivity, the miracle of the holiday of Purim, and the Hasmonean victory).

Other customs

After lighting the candles and Ma'oz Tzur, singing various other Hanukkah songs is customary in many Jewish homes. Various Hasidic and Sefardic traditions have additional prayers that are recited both before and after lighting the Hanukkah lights. This includes the recitation of many Psalms, most notably Psalms 30, 67, and 91 (many Hasidim recite Psalm 91 seven times after lighting the lamps, as was taught by the Baal Shem Tov), as well as other prayers and hymns, each congregation according to its own custom. In North America it is common to exchange presents or give children presents at this time.

Additions to the daily prayers

An addition is made to the "hoda'ah" (thanksgiving) benediction in the Amidah, called Al ha-Nissim ("On/about the Miracles"). This addition refers to the victory achieved over the Syrians by the Hasmonean Mattathias and his sons.

The same prayer is added to the grace after meals. In addition, the Hallel Psalms are sung during each morning service and the Tachanun penitential prayers are omitted. The Torah is read every day in the synagogue, 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 weekly Torah portion for the first Sabbath is almost always Miketz, telling of Joseph's dream and his enslavement in Egypt. The Haftarah reading for the first Sabbath Hanukkah is Zechariah 2:14-4:7. When there is a second Sabbath on Hanukkah, the Haftarah reading is from I Kings 7:40 - 7:50.

The Hanukkah menorah is also kindled daily in the synagogue, at night with the blessings and in the morning without the blessings. The menorah is not lit on the Sabbath, but rather prior to the beginning of the Sabbath at night and not at all during the day.

During the Middle Ages "Megillat Antiochus" was read in the Italian synagogues on Hanukkah just as the Book of Esther is read on Purim. It still forms part of the liturgy of the Yemenite Jews.

Hanukkah music

There are several songs associated with the festival of Hanukkah. The most well known in English-speaking countries include "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" and "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah." In Israel, Hanukkah has become something of a national holiday. A large number of songs have been written on Hanukkah themes, perhaps more so than for any other Jewish holiday. Some of the most well known are "Hanukkiah Li Yesh" ("I Have a Hanukkah Menora"), "Kad Katan" ("A Small Jug"), "S'vivon Sov Sov Sov" ("Hanukka Top, Spin and Spin"), "Mi Yimalel" (Who can Retell") and "Ner Li, Ner Li" ("I have a Candle").

Hanukkah foods

Potato pancakes, known as latkes in Yiddish, are traditionally associated with Hanukkah, especially among Ashkenazi families. There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil (preferably olive oil), as the original miracle of the Hanukkah menorah involved the discovery of the small flask of oil used by the Jewish High Priest, the Kohen Gadol. This small batch of olive oil was only supposed to last one day, and instead it lasted eight.

Many Sephardic families as well as Polish Ashkenazim and Israel have the custom of eating all kinds of fruit-filled doughnuts (), (bimuelos, or sufganiyot) which are deep-fried in oil, and of course all Kosher foods.

Hanukkah games

Dreidel

Most commonly used spellings

• Hanukkah (in North America, Australia - also very common in UK)
• Chanukkah (in the UK, also common in North America)

Common variants

• Hannukah
• Hannukkah
• Chanukah
• Channukkah

YIVO variant

• Khanike (YIVO standard transliteration from the Yiddish and/or Ashkenazic pronunciation of the Hebrew)

Background

Chronology

• 198 BCE: Armies of the Seleucid King Antiochus III (Antiochus the Great) oust Ptolemy V from Judea and Samaria.
• 175 BCE: Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) ascends the Seleucid throne.
• 168 BCE: Under the reign of Antiochus IV, the Temple is looted, Jews are massacred, and Judaism is outlawed.
• 167 BCE: Antiochus orders an altar to Zeus erected in the Temple. Mattathias, and his five sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah lead a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah becomes known as Judah Maccabe (Judah The Hammer).
• 166 BCE: Mattathias dies, and Judah takes his place as leader. The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom begins; It lasts until 63 BCE
• 165 BCE: The Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy is successful. The Temple is liberated and rededicated (Hanukkah).
• 142 BCE: Establishment of the Second Jewish Commonwealth. The Seleucids recognize Jewish autonomy. The Seleucid kings have a formal overlordship, which the Hasmoneans acknowledged. This inaugurates a period of great geographical expansion, population growth, and religious, cultural and social development.
• 139 BCE: The Roman Senate recognizes Jewish autonomy.
• 130 BCE: Antiochus VII besieges Jerusalem, but withdraws.
• 131 BCE: Antiochus VII dies. The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom throws off Syrian rule completely
• 96 BCE: An eight year civil war begins.
• 83 BCE: Consolidation of the Kingdom in territory east of the Jordan River.
• 63 BCE: The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an end due to rivalry between the brothers Aristobulus II and Hyrcanus II, both of whom appeal to the Roman Republic to intervene and settle the power struggle on their behalf. The Roman general Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great) is dispatched to the area. Twelve thousand Jews are massacred as Romans enter Jerusalem. The Priests of the Temple are struck down at the Altar. Rome annexes Judea.

Battles of the Maccabean revolt

There were a number of key battles between the Maccabees and the Seleucid Syrian-Greeks:

Listed alphabetically:

• Battle of Adasa (Judas Maccabeus leads the Jews to victory against the forces of Nicanor.)
• Battle of Beth Horon (Judas Maccabeus defeats the forces of Seron.)
• Battle of Beth-zechariah (Elazar the Maccabee is killed in battle. Lysias has success in battle against the Maccabess, but allows them temporary freedom of worship.)
• Battle of Beth Zur (Judas Maccabeus defeats the army of Lysias, recapturing Jerusalem.)
• Dathema (A Jewish fortress saved by Judas Maccabeus.)
• Battle of Elasa (Judas Maccabeus dies in battle against the army of King Demetrius and Bacchides. He is succeeded by Jonathan Maccabaeus and Simon Maccabaeus who continue to lead the Jews in battle.)
• Battle of Emmaus (Judas Maccabeus fights the forces of Lysias and Georgias).
• Battle of Wadi Haramia.

When Hanukkah occurs

The dates of Hanukkah are determined by the Hebrew calendar. Hanukkah begins at the 25th day of Kislev and concluding on the 2nd or 3rd day of Tevet (Kislev can have 29 or 30 days). The Jewish day begins at sunset, whereas the Gregorian calendar begins the day at midnight. So, the first day of Hanukkah actually begins at sunset of the day immediately before the date noted on Gregorian calendars.

Hanukkah according to the Gregorian calendar

Hanukkah begins at sundown on the evening before the date shown.

• December 22, 2000
• December 10, 2001
• November 30, 2002
• December 20, 2003
• December 8, 2004
• December 26, 2005
• December 16, 2006
• December 5, 2007
• December 22, 2008
• December 12, 2009
• December 2, 2010
• December 21, 2011
• December 9, 2012
• November 28, 2013
• December 17, 2014
• December 7, 2015
• December 25, 2016
• December 13, 2017
• December 3, 2018
• December 23, 2019

See also

• Hasmonean
• Maccabees
• Jewish holidays
• Temple in Jerusalem
• County of Allegheny v. ACLU on the constitutionality of Hanukkah displays on public property in the U.S.
• Hanukkah Harry
• Hanukkah bush
• Hanukkah Rocks - 2005 album by The LeeVees

References

External links

General

• Hanukah - desiretoshare.com - Insights & Laws according to Sephardim & Kabbalah
• Complete Hanukkah Guide, with how-to's, songs, stories and children's activities on chabad.org
• Chanukah - Aish.com - how to light, stories, children's activities
• Chanuka classes and songs of 613.org Torah audio
• Midrash Hanukkah with Sephardic traditions and history
• COEJL's "Let there be renewable light" campaign

Songs

• Hanerot Hallalu ("These Candles")
• Maoz Tzur ("Rock of Ages")
• Hanukkah songs on chabad.org
• Hanukkah songsheets
• Hanukkah songs
• The Celebrating Chanukkah, its Essence and Laws

Recipes

• Traditional Hanukkah recipes
• About Kosher Hanukkah recipes
• Wiki-Recipe.org Hanukkah recipes
• Chanukah recipes on chabad.org

Video

• Video: Lighting Hanukkah Menorah How-To
• Lubavitch Hanukkah videos
  • The Grand Rabbi of Satmar lighting the Hanukkah Menorah
  • The Grand Rabbi of Bobov lighting the Hanukkah Menorah
  • The Grand Rabbi of Bobov leading his Hassidim in the singing of a Hanukkah hymn composed by his father after the Holocaust
  • The Grand Rabbi of Klausenberg from America lighting the Hannukkah Menorah
  • The Grand Rabbi of Pittsburgh from Ashdod, E. Israel, leading his followers in the celebration of Hannukkah
  • The Grand Rabbi of Nadvorna from Safed, E. Israel, leading his followers in the celebration of Hannukah

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