Hanukkah celebrates religious freedoms
by Caren Penland, reporter

    At sundown Sunday, Dec. 9, Jewish people around the world will light the first candle of the menorah, an eight-branched candelabra, to mark the beginning of the eight days of Hanukkah.

    According to Judy Grossbard, director of education for the Avath Sholom Congregation in Fort Worth, Hanukkah is the celebration of a historical holiday, about the first battle for religious freedom recorded in history. It is a time for each Jew to rededicate himself or herself to the spiritual and ethical teachings of the religion.

    Dating back to 165 B.C., the festival of Hanukkah celebrates the Jewish victory over the Greco-Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes.

    The king forbade the Jewish people from practicing their religion or culture, as well as studying the Torah. He forced them to worship the Greek gods, and it is said that he even placed a statue of the Greek God Zeus on the altar of the Holy Temple of Jerusalem.

    Judah Maccabee and his four brothers organized a resistance in response to the oppression and attempts of assimilation. Their victory is attributed to their unwavering faith, as well as their highly effective guerilla-warfare strategy, Grossbard said.

    After three years, the Maccabees drove the Syrians out of Judea and reclaimed the Holy Temple, which they cleaned by removing all Greek symbols and statues. After cleaning the temple, they rededicated it. Hanukkah literally translates as dedication, thus celebrating this event.

    According to tradition, the brothers discovered that the Syrians had defiled the oil, which is used for the menorah. Only one vat of oil remained, enough for one day, but it would take several days to process new oil. The tradition says that a miracle occurred and the oil lasted for eight days.

    Therefore, Hanukkah is also referred to as the celebration of light. Grossard said custom calls for a somewhat public celebration—for followers to place their menorahs in an open doorway or window for all to see and share in the celebration.

    Each night of Hanukkah, a family member lights one of the candles until all eight are burning. They are always lit by a ninth candle, the shamash, which has it own special holder on the menorah. During the lighting, special prayers are recited.

    Other traditions include singing songs, exchanging gifts, playing games and eating special foods such as potato latkes (pancakes).

    “This is not the Jewish Christmas,” she said. “This is a celebration for the victors who stayed true to their laws because this was also a civil war—between those who adopted the Greek ways and those who opposed them.”

    Grossbard said that Judaism is a way of life, and that there is a lot of home observance. She also compared it to Christianity.

    “It’s a little more complicated, and it’s different. There are a lot of things that are the same, but the things that are different are really different,” she said.

    The celebration of Hanukkah begins at the end of the Jewish month of Kislev. Since the Jewish calendar is lunar-based, corresponding roughly with the Zodiac calendar, there is no fixed date.

    Giving gifts has been expanded from simple traditional customs, such as rewarding well-behaving children with gelt, or money. Grossbard said that if a student had a teacher or friend who celebrates Hanukkah, it would be all right to give that person a gift.
    “If they give the gift in the right spirit, it is appropriate. I’ve given gifts to my non-Jewish friends. I have my Christmas paper right next to my Hanukkah paper.

    “Give whatever, like a small birthday gift,” she said.

    Grossbard expressed some skepticism concerning the validity of the story of the oil. She said Rabbis added the story much later, but many people are not aware of this. She said her people not knowing that the story of the oil was added later was much the same as most Americans who celebrate Christmas with Santa Claus not knowing the real story of St. Nicholas.

    “Possibly it [the miracle of the oil] was created later on because people were focusing too much on the military aspect of Hanukkah. There are other reasons why the eight days could have been celebrated. But the story certainly stuck,” she said.