Hanukkah

I’ve been teaching a class about Judaism at Southern Connecticut State University for twenty years. At the beginning of every semester, I ask the students what they know about Judaism. And every semester, several respond that the only thing they know about the religion is a little about Hanukah. They say that they’re not sure how to spell it (Chanukah, Hanukkah, etc.) and that they know while it comes at the same time of the year, it is not a Jewish Christmas but also does feature lights and presents. And how do they know this? One of the Jewish parents visited their elementary school class and talked about the holiday and brought “some really good pancakes.” Some even remember who that nice mother was.

This is a good way to start thinking about Hanukah this year. It’s wonderful to think about a school promoting understanding by inviting parents of a minority religion to explain their customs to all the students. Years later, it still may be the only thing they know about Judaism, but these college students have fond and positive associations.

Hanukah commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleukid Greeks. The Seleukid king, Antiochos IV Epiphanes, started the first religious persecution in human history of a people worshipping their own religion in their own land. The victory won by a small group of Jews against a might army of an empire is the victory of freedom over tyranny.

Let’s think about the details the students remembered. Hanukah is an eight-day holiday that starts on a different secular date every year, because the Jewish year is based on the lunar, not the solar calendar. Hanukah falls on the 25th day of the Hebrew month Kislev, which usually occurs in late November or December.

It’s true that there are different spellings of Hanukah due to difficulties in transliterating the Hebrew word into the Latin alphabet, as some Hebrew sounds, like the guttural initial consonant (het), don’t exist in English. The “ch” in Chanukah represents this sound, while the “h” in Hanukah provides a phonetic approximation, leading to variations like Hannukah and Chanukkah.

Why is Hanukah celebrated for eight days? The usual answer is that the holiday lasts eight days to honor the miracle in which the oil in the Temple’s menorah burned for eight days, even though there was only enough for one day. The real answer is that it was based on the eight-day holiday of Sukkot, the Harvest Festival. The eight days symbolize hope and perseverance.

Where do the lights come in? While the traditional candelabrum, the menorah, which goes back the time of Moses a thousand years before these events, had seven branches, the special menorah for Hanukah, called a Hanukiah, has eight branches, one for each day. A candle on the ninth branch, called the shamash, is used to light the others.

When you see homes and synagogue with Hanukah lights, and homes and churches with Christmas lights, it’s as if many of us are projecting light into the darkness of short days and winter nights. it’s a sign of what makes the community great. It’s nice to be able to celebrate and recognize in America that we’re a society that we can express our faiths and that we can respect each other’s faiths.