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Posts Tagged ‘Chanukah’

The menorah is used during the eight day celebration of Hanukkah. The Hebrew word for menorah is Hanukiyah. Some people also call it a candelabra or candelabrum.

Hanukkah is celebrated each year on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev. Depending on when that date falls, Hanukkah is celebrated in late November or early December.

The first menorah had seven branches. Each branch symbolized one day of the week and it burned olive oil. The second menorah also had seven branches, but when the first and second Temples were destroyed seven branched menorahs were no longer used. Seven branched menorahs are available in today’s modern times though, in honor of and as a reminder of the first menorah.

Today the more common menorah has eight branches along with a ninth branch to hold the candle that is used to light the other candles. On the first night of Hanukkah one candle is light, the candle on the far right side of the menorah. It is lit by the Shamash candle (also called the server candle), which is the candle in the center of the menorah (the one that is higher than the other candles). The Shamash candle is always the candle used to light the other candles in the menorah. On each succeeding night of Hanukkah another candle is lit. The candles are placed in the menorah from right to left; but they are lit from left to right. By the eighth day of the Hanukkah celebration, all the candles on the menorah are lit.

It is encouraged that the menorah try to be lit as soon as the first stars can be seen in the night sky, but it can be later in the evening too. A blessing is spoken when the menorah is lit. The ceremony of lighting the menorah is traditionally witnessed by the entire household. After the menorah is lit, it is customarily placed in or near a window so people passing by can see it. The menorah stays lit until the candles burn themselves out.

The menorahs available today vary from simple to elaborate. There are special menorahs just for children brass; tabletop menorahs; floor menorahs; and menorahs that are electrified instead of burning candles. Some types and styles I’ve seen include: crystal, etched glass, aluminum, ceramic, wood, silver, gold, and even various animal menorahs such as a dove menorah and elephant menorah.

The menorah is an important Jewish symbol and is widely recognized. Many non-Jewish or gentile people may not be familiar with Jewish history and traditions but they likely know what a menorah is.

Source: Free Articles

Author: Adam Barnett

Children, as well as adults, love to play the Dreidel Game during Hanukkah (also spelt Chanukah), and a wide range of dreidels can easily be purchased online at judaica shops. The selection and variation of styles available can be overwhelming, but the game played with them is always the same!

A dreidel (also spelt draydel and draydle) is a four-sided top or any shaped spinning item with four Hebrew symbols on it. The symbols are each a different Hebrew letter: nun, gimel, heh, and shin. These four letters stand for the words: nes, gadol, hayah, and sham. The translation of these four words is: “A Great Miracle Happened There.” In Israel, the last letter on the dreidel is peh instead of shin. This last letter stands for the word poh, which changes the meaning to: “A Great Miracle Happened Here.”

To play the Dreidel Game, you start with a “pot” in the middle. The “pot” can be made of candy, coins, chocolate gelt, or any other small thing of value, although most times children play with gelt. Gelt is the Yiddish word for “money,” but in this context, gelt often refers to chocolate coins widely available during Hanukkah. Each player is given a certain amount of gelt and puts one piece into the center to start the “pot.” The players then take turns spinning the dreidel, and whichever side faces up (or whichever Hebrew letter is pointed to) when it stops spinning determines what you do:

If the letter NUN is facing up, you do NOTHING.
If the letter SHIN is facing up, you PUT ONE piece of gelt into the pot.
If the letter HEH is facing up, you TAKE HALF the gelt from the pot.
If the letter GIMEL is facing up, you TAKE ALL the gelt from the pot.
If ever the pot is empty, each player puts one piece of gelt into the center. When a player runs out of gelt, he or she is out of the game! The winner is the last one left in.

Some dreidels are hollow and can be filled with candy or chocolate. Some play music when they spin. And still others can be stacked on top of one another as they spin. They are made from many different materials, including plastic, wood, ceramic, glass, gold, and silver. The plastic versions cost as little as ten cents, but gold and silver dreidels can cost in the hundreds of dollars. Even though dreidels are mostly enjoyed by children, no matter how young or old, many adults collect ornate and beautiful dreidels, and display them in china or curio cabinets.

“L’dor l’dor” means “from generation to generation,” and it refers to the importance of passing down traditions and religious practices to your children. Hanukkah is one of best times to pass down your Jewish traditions to your kids because of how many resources there are, and how much fun the holiday is.

Fortunately, it’s easy to help your kids enjoy and understand the Hanukkah season, and to get them involved in Hanukkah activities. Of course, most popular is the dreidel game. If your kids don’t have dreidels, buy at least one for each of them and teach them how to play. If you want to encourage their artistic side, you can get dreidels your kids can color and decorate themselves, or even ones that they can build themselves such as the new clay dreidel that can be molded, dried and then painted before it is played with.

Other activities during the Hanukkah season include reading Hanukkah books, eating candy and gelt, coloring, putting together puzzles, sending out Hanukkah cards, making cookies with Hanukkah cookie cutters, playing with Hanukkah stickers, and more. Kids can even get Hanukkah yo-yos that play traditional songs like The Dreidel Song, which begins, “I have a little dreidel.”

It is common for each child in the family to have their own Hanukkah menorah to light. But if you have kids who are too young to light candles, then you may want to consider some of the kid-friendly menorahs available today. For instance, there are stuffed menorahs with flames that Velcro on, and thin plastic ones that stick to the window and have separate plastic flames that can be attached.

Because the Hanukkah season is so festive, there are big parties and family gatherings. Many families give their children a present each night of Chanukah and decorate their homes with blue and white festive decorations and electric lights, often shaped like dreidels. Gifts run the gamut from gelt to clothing, from hanukkah toys and crafts to video games.

Some families choose to get and fill Hanukkah bags for their kids so they don’t feel left out when their non-Jewish friends receive gifts and candy in stockings. Again, all of these wonderful items are easily available online as you shop from your armchair, and you can shop to your heart’s content as you plan on making this a hanukkah for your kids to remember with hanukkah toys, activities, dreidels, puzzles, cookie cutters, menorahs, and more.

About the Author:
Adam Barnett works for Studio Shofar Judaica & Gifts, and hopes to help educate the judaica market to better understand judaica products in general. Visit his website to learn more about hanukkah, hanukkah toys, crafts, games & more at www.studioshofar.com/hanukkah.html

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Hanukkah – The Dreidel Game, Hanukkah Crafts & Fun for Kids

Author: Adam Barnett

Hanukkah (also spelt Chanukah) is a huge annual Jewish religious event that celebrates the reclamation and rededication of the Holy Jewish Temple in Jerusalem after it was forcefully taken back from the Greco-Syrian monarch, Antiochus Epiphanes, by a small group of Jewish freedom fighters called the Maccabees, and the miracle of the oil that happened at that time.

Like Christmas, it has become very commercial and with all the hanukkah products now available on the internet with online shopping it can be easy to lose the original focus of the holiday. However, with careful choices made in your shopping for hanukkah gifts, crafts, toys, menorahs & activities, it is possible to add new dimensions of understanding and enjoyment to this family festival appreciated by young and old alike.

So, as you get ready to do your hanukkah shopping this year, explore the possibilities and pick up a new menorah that means something to you or your family, buy a book with mouthwatering recipes to remember, and indulge your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins or friends with some of the many creative & imaginative toys and activities now available at online hanukkah shops to enhance their appreciation, rather than distract from, this wonderful time also known as the Festival of Lights. Read on to learn more!

The Jewish freedom fighters arose because Antiochus Epiphanes had forced the Jewish people to practice Greek culture and forbade them from reading the Torah. The insurrection was first led by Mattathias the Hasmonean, and later by his son Judah the Maccabee. This is why the freedom fighters came to be known as the Maccabees. Even though the Maccabees were outnumbered, after three years of fighting they were able to recapture the Temple mount and begin to repair the damage that had been done to it. However, when they went to rededicate the Temple and light the menorah, they found only enough oil to burn for one day, but they knew that it would take eight days to make and consecrate more oil.

In faith the Maccabees decided not to wait the eight days, but rather they lit the menorah right away with the remaining oil and a miracle happened as the oil continued to burn for eight days while new oil was being made and consecrated! For this reason, Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days each year, beginning with the 25th day of Kislev, and it is also often known as the Festival of Lights.

Hanukkah, the celebration that commemorates this significant victory, and miracle, literally means “dedication.” Each evening the Hanukkah menorah is lit, with one more candle being lit every day until all the candles are alight. The 9th branch carries the shammash (or “servant”) candle, and this is used to light the others. When you place the candles in the menorah, always place them from right to left, but when you light them you should do so from left to right. This is to give honor to the newest member.

Once the candles are lit, let them burn out on their own, and do not use their light to light your room and do work or read by, but rather just to be looked at to be appreciated and enjoyed. The light from the candles in the Hanukkah menorah are not supposed to provide light to see by because they are not supposed to perform any work. The purpose of the candles is just to serve as a reminder of the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days in the Temple.

The Hanukkah menorah has 9 branches. Eight of the branches represent each of the 8 days the menorah burned in the Temple after the Maccabees defeated the Syrians. In order for it to be kosher, all 8 branches should be on the same level, however there are some contemporary menorahs available now that have the branches on different levels, and many people now also use these menorahs. The 9th branch is set apart from the others, often slightly higher, and it holds the Shamash, which literally means “servant.” The Shamash is lit first and is used to light each of the other candles. The first night of Hanukkah, you light the Shamash plus one. On the second night, you light the Shamash plus two, and so on until the end of Hanukkah.

There are traditional blessings that should be recited before the lighting of the menorah, two each night and one extra the first night only. Before one recites the blessings over lighting the candles at Hanukkah, the following prayer, known as the Shehecheyanu, is said only on the first night:
Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha’o-lam she-he-che-ya-nu v’ki-yi-ma-nu v’hi-gi-a-nu la-z’man ha-zeh. Amein.
Blessed are you, O L-rd, our G-d, King of the universe Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season. Amen.

On each night the following prayers are said:
Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha’o-lam a-sher ki-di-sha-nu b’mitz’vo-tav v’tzi-va-nu l’had’lik neir shel Hanukkah. Amein.
Blessed are you, O L-rd, our G-d, King of the universe Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to light the lights of Chanukah. Amen.

Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha’o-lam she’a-sah ni-sim la’a-vo-tei-nu ba-ya-mim ha-heim ba-zi-man ha-zeh. Amein.
Blessed are you, O L-rd, our G-d, King of the universe, Who performed miracles for our ancestors in those days at this time. Amen.

After the lighting it is customary to sing Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages), a traditional song, as well as other Hanukkah songs. Many times the children or adults will play the dreidel game while the candles are burning, do hanukkah crafts, eat chocolate gelt, cook up a platter of latkes & sour cream, or read the story of hanukkah aloud. Often there are latkes and sofganiot (jelly donuts), as well as chocolate gelt and other goodies. Any food cooked in oil is traditional during Hanukkah, but the most popular is probably potato latkes, traditionally served with sour cream and apple sauce.

Hanukkah menorahs themselves come in all shapes and sizes. They can be made out of silver, gold, pewter, brass, ceramic, stone, wood, glass, or just about any other material. In some homes, each person in the family has a Hanukkah menorah, including the children. Many contemporary menorahs follow a theme such as sports, pets, trains, the city of Jerusalem, flowers, etc. Contemporary menorahs will have the branches on all different levels, as in the Tree of Life menorah. Some menorahs even substitute electric lights for candles, and there are as many themes out there as you can look for. The internet is a wonderful place to source new and unique menorahs, and whether you are a biker, car racer, sailor, shoe collector, musician, chef, sports fan, hippy or whatever, there is a menorah out there for you! Just don’t forget to order a box of hanukkah candles at the same time!

About the Author:
Adam Barnett works for Studio Shofar Judaica & Gifts, and hopes to help educate the judaica market to better understand judaica products in general. Visit us to learn more about hanukkah, menorahs & other festival items at www.studioshofar.com/hanukkah.html

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Hanukkah – The Festival of Lights