VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, [4] ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 19:51:40 11/25/02 Mon
Author: schwabra
Author Host/IP: dialup-67.29.193.82.Dial1.Cincinnati1.Level3.net / 67.29.193.82
Subject: Encyclopedia Judaica article on Hanukkah

Also: Lights, Hanukkah
HANUKKAH (Heb. hinH; "dedication"), an annual eight-day festival commencing on the 25th of Kislev. According to a well-founded tradition it was instituted by Judah Maccabee and his followers. The term hanukkah is found in Hebrew and in Aramaic (hanukta) in rabbinic literature, while in Greek it is O EgkainismOj to> qusiasthriou, "dedication of the altar," (I Maccabees 4:59) and tF Egkainia, "feast of the dedication" (John 10:22, where it is an abbreviation of hanukkat ha-mizbe'ah, "dedication of the altar," of I Maccabees, and of hanukkat beit Hashmonai, "dedication of the Hasmonean Temple" in rabbinic literature). The sources which refer to Hanukkah yield little information on the institution of the festival. They were composed long (perhaps even generations) after its establishment; legends seem to be inextricably interwoven with the historical traditions. I Maccabees (4:36–59) states that Judah Maccabee, after defeating Lysias, entered Jerusalem and purified the Temple. The altar that had been defiled was demolished and a new one was built. Judah then made new holy vessels (among them a candelabrum, an altar for incense, a table, and curtains) and set the 25th of Kislev as the date for the rededication of the Temple. The day coincided with the third anniversary of the proclamation of the restrictive edicts of Antiochus Epiphanes in which he had decreed that idolatrous sacrifices should be offered on a platform erected upon the altar. The altar was to be consecrated with the renewal of the daily sacrificial service, accompanied by song, the playing of musical instruments, the chanting of Hallel, and the offering of sacrifices (no mention of any special festival customs is made). The celebrations lasted for eight days and Judah decreed that they be designated as days of rejoicing for future generations. Hanukkah, as the festival that commemorates the dedication of the altar, is also mentioned in the scholium of Megillat Ta'anit, as well as in the traditional Al ha-Nissim ("We thank Thee for the miracles") prayer for Hanukkah.
In II Maccabees (1:8; 10:1–5), the main aspects of Hanukkah are related as in I Maccabees. The book adds, however, that the eight-day dedication ceremony was performed on an analogy with Solomon's consecration of the Temple (2:12). The eight days were celebrated "with gladness like the Feast of Tabernacles remembering how, not long before, during the Feast of Tabernacles, they had been wandering like wild beasts in the mountains and the caves. So, bearing wands wreathed with leaves and fair boughs and palms, they offered hymns of praise" (10:6–8). Hanukkah is, therefore, called Tabernacles (1:9), or Tabernacles and Fire (1:18). Fire had descended from heaven at the dedication of the altar in the days of Moses and at the sanctification of the Temple of Solomon; at the consecration of the altar in the time of Nehemiah there was also a miracle of fire, and so in the days of Judah Maccabee (1:18–36, 2:8–12, 14; 10:3).
Josephus, whose history of Hanukkah is based on I Maccabees, does not mention the term Hanukkah and concludes: "From that time onward unto this day we celebrate the festival, calling it 'Lights'" (fIta, Ant. 12:325). He explains that the festival acquired this name because the right to serve God came to the people unexpectedly, like a sudden light (ibid.).
None of these writings mentions the kindling of lights on Hanukkah. Reference is first made in a baraita: "The precept of light on Hanukkah requires that one light be kindled in each house; the zealous require one light for each person; the extremely zealous add a light for each person each night. According to Bet Shammai: 'On the first day, eight lights should be kindled, thereafter they should be progressively reduced' while Bet Hillel held that: 'On the first night one light should be kindled, thereafter they should be progressively increased'" (Scholium to Megillat Ta'anit; Shab. 21b). Another baraita states that the Hasmoneans could not use the candelabrum in the Temple since the Greeks had defiled it. They, therefore, took seven iron spits, covered them with zinc, and used them as a candelabrum (Scholium to Megillat Ta'anit). Indeed the sages of the second century C.E. observe that the candelabrum of the early Hasmoneans was not made of gold (Men. 28b; et al.). This tradition forms the core of the story, a later version of which relates that the Hasmoneans found in the Temple "eight iron bars, erected them, and kindled lights in them" (PR 2:5). Another baraita ascribes the eight-day celebration of Hanukkah to the kindling of the Temple candelabrum. It states that on entering the Temple, the Hasmoneans discovered that the Greeks had defiled all the oil, except for one cruse, which contained enough oil to keep the candelabrum burning for only one day. A miracle, however, happened and they kindled from it for eight days; in its commemoration a festival lasting eight days was instituted for future generations (Scholium to Megillat Ta'anit; Shab. 21b; cf. also Scroll of Antiochus). All these stories seem to be nothing but legends, and the authenticity of the "oil cruse" story has already been questioned in the Middle Ages.
Certain critics conjectured that the origin of Hanukkah was either a festival of the hellenized Jews or even an idolatrous festival that had occurred on the 25th of Kislev. Antiochus had, therefore, chosen the day to commence the idolatrous worship in the Temple. No allusion can be found in the sources to bear out this surmise. Hanukkah is also not connected in any way, except in calendrical coincidence, with the celebrations of the shortest day of the year (the birthday of the sun), or with the feasts of the Greek god Dionysius.
Most of the Hanukkah traditions complement one another, and what is lacking in one may be found in the other. Probably, during the eight-day dedication of the altar by Judah Maccabee, a second Tabernacles (analogous to the Second Passover) was held because the festival had not been celebrated at its proper time. They observed the precept of taking the lulav in the Temple though not the precept of sitting in tents, for this was done at its proper time even by the partisans in the mountains. The custom of Simhat Bet ha-Sho'evah ("the water-drawing festival"), with its kindling of torches and lamps in the courts of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem, seems likely to have been transferred as well from Sukkot to Hanukkah. This was the general pattern of the festival as Judah instituted it. Before long, however, the custom of taking the lulav during Hanukkah was abolished and forgotten in time. The author of I Maccabees, who lived in Alexander Yannai's time, was unaware of the custom although it was still remembered in the Diaspora and is recorded by Jason of Cyrene and by the author of II Maccabees. Hints of a connection between Hanukkah and Sukkot are also preserved in rabbinic literature. The rejoicing with lights and illuminations in the Temple (after which Hanukkah came to be called Urim, "Lights") also became less common after a time so that Josephus no longer knew why the name "Lights" was given to the festival. By then, however, the custom of kindling lights on Hanukkah had spread to places outside Jerusalem, lights being kindled in the streets or in the homes. This variety of customs associated with Hanukkah is reflected in the baraita which discusses the controversy between the schools of Shammai and Hillel (see above) seemingly about the second half of the first century C.E. The custom of kindling the Hanukkah lights was then fixed by the sages as a rule for each man; thus it spread throughout Israel, and when other festive days mentioned in Megillat Ta'anit were revoked, Hanukkah remained as a holiday (RH 18b–19b). Consequently, Hanukkah evolved from a distinct Temple festival into a popular family one.
The halakhah prescribes that lighting the Hanukkah lamp should take place between "sunset and until there is no wayfarer left in the street. The lamp should be placed outside the entrance of the house. If a person lives on an upper story, it should be set on the window, nearest to the street. If he is in fear of the gentiles, the lamp may be placed inside the inner entrance of the house, and in times of danger, the precept is fulfilled by setting it on the table" (Scholium to Megillat Ta'anit; Shab. 21b). "Danger" not only existed in Erez Israel during the Hadrianic persecution, but also in Babylonia, where Jews feared the Habbarei who were fire worshipers (Shab. 45a). Perhaps because of the danger involved, Jews in Babylonia were most particular in the observance of the Hanukkah precepts; they decided that "because its purpose is to publicize the miracle," it takes precedence over the purchase of wine for Kiddush on the Sabbath (Shab. 23b). "Women are also obliged to kindle the Hanukkah lamp since they were also included in the miracle" (Shab. 23a). The precept is best fulfilled by kindling with olive oil; however, any oil may be used (ibid.). The Hanukkah lamp and the Hanukkah light may not serve any practical purpose (Shab. 21b). On kindling the lights, two benedictions are recited, one is a blessing on the lights and the other for the miracle; on the first night, "She-Heheyanu" (the blessing for the season) is added. The kindling of the light is followed by a short prayer which begins with the words "Ha-Nerot Hallalu" ("these lamps"; Sof. 20:4). A summary of the event, i.e., Al ha-Nissim... Bi-Ymei Mattityahu ("In the days of Mattathias") is recited in the Amidah prayer and in the Grace after Meals. The entire Hallel is said on each of the eight days. The reading of the law is from the portion of the Torah which describes the sacrifices brought by the princes at the dedication of the sanctuary, and the kindling of the candelabrum (Num. 7:1–8:4); special haftarot are prescribed for the Sabbaths of Hanukkah. Tahanun is not said and it is forbidden to eulogize the dead or to fast.
In medieval times, Hanukkah became such a popular festival it was said "Even he who draws his sustenance from charity, should borrow, or sell his cloak to purchase oil and lamps, and kindle" the Hanukkah light (Maim. Yad, Megillah va-Hanukkah, 4:12). In some communities, women did not work while the lights were burning, and often even during the whole of Hanukkah. It became the custom to feast on Hanukkah and, relying upon late Midrashim which associate the story of Judith with Hanukkah, cheese was customarily eaten. Pancakes (latkes) are eaten in many Ashkenazi communities, and in Israel doughnuts (sufganiyyot) have become customary food for the festival. "Ma'oz Zur Yeshu'ati" ("Mighty Rock of my Salvation"), a hymn composed in Germany by a 13th-century poet about whom nothing is known except his name Mordecai, is usually sung in the Ashkenazi ritual after the kindling of the lights. The Sephardim recite Psalm 30. The origin of the custom to have an additional light, the shammash ("servant") with which the Hanukkah lights are kindled, is based on two injunctions: not to kindle one Hanukkah light with another; and not to use the Hanukkah lights for illumination.
Hanukkah celebrations were also expressed in ways of which the halakhists disapproved, e.g., in card playing which became traditional from the end of the Middle Ages. On Hanukkah, children play with a dreidel or sevivon ("spinning top"), and also receive gifts of "Hanukkah money." Among Sephardim, special feasts for the children and competitions for youths are arranged. In countries where Christmas became a popular family festival, Hanukkah, particularly among Reform Jews, assumed a similar form. In modern Israel, Hanukkah symbolizes mainly the victory of the few over the many, and the courage of the Jews to assert themselves as a people which was the impetus of the national renaissance. This view found literary and artistic expression and is also reflected in such customs as the torch relay race which sets out from Modi'in where the revolt broke out and the Hasmoneans are buried.
In Israel giant Hanukkah lamps, visible for great distances, are kindled during the feast atop public buildings, such as the Knesset building in Jerusalem.
[Moshe David Herr]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-6
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.