Hanakah/Christmas

[loki09789]

Since Hanakah is not an 'anti Christian' holiday but a celebration of a miracle within Jewish history (I would be interested in a detailed explanation of this oil miracle if anyone is willing to share), are there any members that celebrate both Christmas and Hanakah?

I can see why Jewish people would not celebrate 'Christmas/religious observation' but why is it so hard for Christians to recognize that Hanakah is a traditional observation that they could participate in without being outside of Christian values - since Jewish traditions are part of the Christian heritage?

 

[Old Fat Kenpoka]

From Judaism 101 at Jewfaq.org:

Chanukkah, the Jewish festival of rededication, also known as the festival of lights, is an eight day festival beginning on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev.

Chanukkah is probably one of the best known Jewish holidays, not because of any great religious significance, but because of its proximity to Christmas. Many non-Jews (and even many assimilated Jews!) think of this holiday as the Jewish Christmas, adopting many of the Christmas customs, such as elaborate gift-giving and decoration. It is bitterly ironic that this holiday, which has its roots in a revolution against assimilation and the suppression of Jewish religion, has become the most assimilated, secular holiday on our calendar.

The Story of Chanukkah
The story of Chanukkah begins in the reign of Alexander the Great. Alexander conquered Syria, Egypt and Palestine, but allowed the lands under his control to continue observing their own religions and retain a certain degree of autonomy. Under this relatively benevolent rule, many Jews assimilated much of Hellenistic culture, adopting the language, the customs and the dress of the Greeks, in much the same way that Jews in America today blend into the secular American society.

More than a century later, a successor of Alexander, Antiochus IV was in control of the region. He began to oppress the Jews severely, placing a Hellenistic priest in the Temple, massacring Jews, prohibiting the practice of the Jewish religion, and desecrating the Temple by requiring the sacrifice of pigs (a non-kosher animal) on the altar. Two groups opposed Antiochus: a basically nationalistic group led by Mattathias the Hasmonean and his son Judah Maccabee, and a religious traditionalist group known as the Chasidim, the forerunners of the Pharisees (no direct connection to the modern movement known as Chasidism). They joined forces in a revolt against both the assimilation of the Hellenistic Jews and oppression by the Selucid Greek government. The revolution succeeded and the Temple was rededicated.

According to tradition as recorded in the Talmud, at the time of the rededication, there was very little oil left that had not been defiled by the Greeks. Oil was needed for the menorah (candelabrum) in the Temple, which was supposed to burn throughout the night every night. 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 to commemorate this miracle. Note that the holiday commemorates the miracle of the oil, not the military victory: Jews do not glorify war.

Chanukkah Traditions
Chanukkah is not a very important religious holiday. The holiday's religious significance is far less than that of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Passover, and Shavu'ot. It is roughly equivalent to Purim in significance, and you won't find many non-Jews who have even heard of Purim! Chanukkah is not mentioned in Jewish scripture; the story is related in the book of Maccabbees, which Jews do not accept as scripture.

The only religious observance related to the holiday is the lighting of candles. The candles are arranged in a candelabrum called a menorah (or sometimes called a chanukkiah) that holds nine candles: one for each night, plus a shammus (servant) at a different height. On the first night, one candle is placed at the far right. The shammus candle is lit and three berakhot (blessings) are recited: l'hadlik neir (a general prayer over candles), she-asah nisim (a prayer thanking G-d for performing miracles for our ancestors at this time), and she-hekhianu (a general prayer thanking G-d for allowing us to reach this time of year). See Chanukkah Candle Lighting Blessings for the full text of these blessings. After reciting the blessings, the first candle is then lit using the shammus candle, and the shammus candle is placed in its holder. The candles are allowed to burn out on their own after a minimum of 1/2 hour.

Each night, another candle is added from right to left (like the Hebrew language). Candles are lit from left to right (because you pay honor to the newer thing first). On the eighth night, all nine candles (the 8 Chanukkah candles and the shammus) are lit. See animation at right for the candlelighting procedure.

Why the shammus candle? The Chanukkah candles are for pleasure only; we are not allowed to use them for any productive purpose. We keep an extra one around (the shammus), so that if we need to do something useful with a candle, we don't accidentally use the Chanukkah candles. The shammus candle is at a different height so that it is easily identified as the shammus.

It is traditional to eat fried foods on Chanukkah because of the significance of oil to the holiday. Among Ashkenazic Jews, this usually includes latkes (pronounced "lot-kuhs" or "lot-keys" depending on where your grandmother comes from. Pronounced "potato pancakes" if you are a goy.) My recipe is included later in this page.

Gift-giving is not a traditional part of the holiday, but has been added in places where Jews have a lot of contact with Christians, as a way of dealing with our children's jealousy of their Christian friends. It is extremely unusual for Jews to give Chanukkah gifts to anyone other than their own young children. The only traditional gift of the holiday is "gelt," small amounts of money.

Another tradition of the holiday is playing dreidel, a gambling game played with a square top. Most people play for matchsticks, pennies, M&Ms or chocolate coins. The traditional explanation of this game is that during the time of Antiochus' oppression, those who wanted to study Torah (an illegal activity) would conceal their activity by playing gambling games with a top (a common and legal activity) whenever an official or inspector was within sight.

A dreidel is marked with four Hebrew letters: Nun, Gimmel, Heh and Shin. These letters stand for the Hebrew phrase "Nes Gadol Hayah Sham", a great miracle happened there, referring to the miracle of the oil.

The letters also stand for the Yiddish words nit (nothing), gantz (all), halb (half) and shtell (put), which are the rules of the game! There are some variations in the way people play the game, but the way I learned it, everyone puts in one coin. A person spins the dreidel. On Nun, nothing happens; on Gimmel (or, as we called it as kids, "gimme!"), you get the whole pot; on Heh, you get half of the pot; and on Shin, you put one in. When the pot is empty, everybody puts one in. Keep playing until one person has everything. Then redivide it, because nobody likes a poor winner.

 

[Ray]

I don't know if it is a common practice, but I had a Jewish friend who said that, when young, his family had a "hanakah bush" every year.

 

[Old Fat Kenpoka]

I don't know if it is a common practice, but I had a Jewish friend who said that, when young, his family had a "hanakah bush" every year.

No, it is not common. But, most Jews think it is too common. Jewish American children are barraged with the commercial elements of Christmas for an entire month. Jewish American parents do a lot to keep their kids from feeling left out. This includes presents, decorations, and a lot of other stuff. It is really hard to get a pre-schooler enthusiastic about being Jewish if they don't get lights, songs, candy, and presents the way their Christian friends do. But, cutting down a tree and dragging it into the living room is not my idea of how to celebrate Chanukah or how to make Judaism interesting to the kids..

 

[Phoenix44]

My family is Jewish, and we observe Jewish traditions. Hanukah, as Kenpoka points out, is a minor Jewish holiday, but it is Jewish. I don't see why a Christian would want to celebrate it, but hey, have a nice day. I've been known to celebrate a solstice or two.

I've found that Jews who embrace our heritage, understand and celebrate our own holidays (and there are LOTS of them) have no need to borrow from other traditions. I imagine that's true for observers of any religion. (There is no such thing as a hanukah bush). We have lots of fun holidays: Purim, Sukkot, Simchat Torah come to mind. You don't necessarily hear about them, because in the secular arena, we don't get days off from work to observe them. My kids have never believed in Santa Claus (though they kept their mouths shut), and while they've helped their friends decorate Christmas trees, they've never desired one of their own.

 

[Feisty Mouse]

When I was married to a Jewish man, we celebrated both. I think Christmas was a lot more difficult for him than Channukah was for me.

 

[kenpo tiger]

OFK said:

'Oil was needed for the menorah (candelabrum) in the Temple, which was supposed to burn throughout the night every night. 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 to commemorate this miracle. Note that the holiday commemorates the miracle of the oil, not the military victory: Jews do not glorify war.'

I went to that woman's website. It's an ambitious project, to be sure. She states she's explaining things from an Orthodox Jewish point of view. Hmm.

Version I was taught in Hebrew school varies slightly.

The oil was for the Eternal Light (Ner Tamid) which burns constantly over the ark containing the Torah in every synagogue and symbolizes G-d's omnipresence. There seemed to be only enough oil for one day, and a runner was sent to find consecrated oil to rekindle the Ner Tamid and complete the reconsecration of the Temple. It took the runner eight days to secure this oil and return to the Temple. All the while, the Ner Tamid remained lit, symbolizing our faith remaining strong throughout an oppressive time and G-d performing this miracle for us.

The menorah is merely a symbol of the Festival of Light, symbolizing the eight days the miracle took place. To add to what was said about the shamus candle and the other eight candles on the menorah, we allow the candles to burn down themselves; they are never otherwise extinguished (same goes for our Shabbat candles).

And no, we do not glorify war. It is a constant state of being for our people living in Israel and the vast majority do not want it.

As I've stated elsewhere, I don't celebrate Christmas. It's not who or what I am. And, as was pointed out to me by one of my Little Dragons mothers, the tree is really a pagan symbol and has little to do with the non-commercial celebration of a religious holiday. I think they're lovely to look at, and I have been known to enthusiastically help decorate the odd tree or buy decorations for my friends' trees, but I do not have my own.

 

[7starmantis]

Since Hanakah is not an 'anti Christian' holiday but a celebration of a miracle within Jewish history (I would be interested in a detailed explanation of this oil miracle if anyone is willing to share), are there any members that celebrate both Christmas and Hanakah?

I can see why Jewish people would not celebrate 'Christmas/religious observation' but why is it so hard for Christians to recognize that Hanakah is a traditional observation that they could participate in without being outside of Christian values - since Jewish traditions are part of the Christian heritage?

Growing up my family celebrated Hanakah for many years. We were very traditional about it. I think the reason most "christians" dont accept hanakah as being within "christian" values is because the jewish faith is far from christianity. There are many different school of thought, but most "christians" dont see jewish traditions as being part of the christian heritage.

7sm

 

[Old Fat Kenpoka]

Kenpo Tiger: I grew up reformed. What I learned matched what I pasted from jewfaq.org.

Maybe this is the difference between reformed and other branches: Reform Jews would sit on their tushies hoping the oil would burn, Conservative Jews would go out and get more oil. Nu? :idunno:

 

[kenpo tiger]

OFK,

I also grew up as and still am a Reform Jew. Interpretation. Same way there are so many different types of kenpo - and other martial arts - true?!

It's nice to see that people go to the trouble of finding out and explaining the meaning of their religions without preaching. KT

 

[loki09789]

Growing up my family celebrated Hanakah for many years. We were very traditional about it. I think the reason most "christians" dont accept hanakah as being within "christian" values is because the jewish faith is far from christianity. There are many different school of thought, but most "christians" dont see jewish traditions as being part of the christian heritage.

7sm

So true about the Christian view, currently at least, on Jewish heritage.

Interestingly enough, the thing that inspired me to create this thread was a converted Jew to Catholicism (even more so, he became a Deacon) who still practiced some of the 'Jewish' customs of Kosher, Head covering/humility,....as a cultural habit even though he was "Christian" by religion now.

It was GREAT to learn the links between Jewish/Christian practices and views from a person who was educated in the Judeo view of the Old Testement AND took that scholarly discipline/passion into his study of New Testement material as well. Very enlightening.

Personally, I do see Jewish faith as part of the Christian heritage/family. But, then again, I am not too popular among most 'Christians' because I recognize that the 'spirit/ressurection' elements of Christian/Messianic faith may have been strongly inspired by/sourced as coming from Eastern philosophies/Greek/Egyptian ideas.

To me it just means that 'Great minds think alike' and not that it diminishes my faith. Much like the cyclical patterns of the Creation myths (first was Adam, then Noah for the 'rebirth' of the Earth), if here were/are cyclical comings of a Messiah, it doesn't mean that the Christ wasn't the "ONE" only that he was the "ONE for this time." (if you even believe that much of the story).

 

[7starmantis]

Yes, I tend to not be all that popular with the "mainstream christian" views either. It is strange, but there is now a large population of "born again" christians who are now taking on many if not most of the jewish religious practices. Its pretty odd how thye pick and choose from conflicting beliefs to create their own "middle ground", but its interestign as well. I do see the connection between "old school" judism and "christianity", but I think the "mainstream" christians do not or choose to ignore it.

7sm

 

[PeachMonkey]

...but there is now a large population of "born again" christians who are now taking on many if not most of the jewish religious practices.

Given that so much of fundamentalist born-again practice focuses on salvation rather than compassion, it's not terribly surprising that they would absorb the old Covenant practices, including the focuses on retribution and vengeance.

 

[kenpo tiger]

Given that so much of fundamentalist born-again practice focuses on salvation rather than compassion, it's not terribly surprising that they would absorb the old Covenant practices, including the focuses on retribution and vengeance.

Peach, I don't see any convenient lightning bolts taking you out.

How can you say that???

 

[7starmantis]

Given that so much of fundamentalist born-again practice focuses on salvation rather than compassion, it's not terribly surprising that they would absorb the old Covenant practices, including the focuses on retribution and vengeance.

Except that we are talking about practices which were declared useless by Jesus when he came. That would be surprising since these "born again" christians are followers of Jesus and are now ignoring parts of his teachings.

7sm

 

[PeachMonkey]

Peach, I don't see any convenient lightning bolts taking you out.

How can you say that???

I don't understand the question, KT. Can you rephrase?

My implication was that, much as born-again fundamentalists focus on their own salvation rather than the compassion they're supposed to show others, they also like the vindictiveness and retributive aspects of the old Covenant rather than the rest of it.

I recommend a study of the Jerry Falwell/Pat Robertson/"Left Behind" rhetoric for more.

Does that answer your question?

 

[PeachMonkey]

Except that we are talking about practices which were declared useless by Jesus when he came. That would be surprising since these "born again" christians are followers of Jesus and are now ignoring parts of his teachings.

Yeah, but as I implied above, they also tend to happily ignore lots of his other teachings too, including the bits about compassion, about how difficult it is for the wealthy to go to heaven, yadda yadda yadda.

The cool bit about that particular movement is that once you're "saved", you're "saved", and you really don't have to worry about behavior, compassion, all that kind of troublesome nonsense.

 

[kenpo tiger]

I don't understand the question, KT. Can you rephrase?

My implication was that, much as born-again fundamentalists focus on their own salvation rather than the compassion they're supposed to show others, they also like the vindictiveness and retributive aspects of the old Covenant rather than the rest of it.

I recommend a study of the Jerry Falwell/Pat Robertson/"Left Behind" rhetoric for more.

Does that answer your question?

Aha. I misinterpreted your original statement (as you suspected). Way I learned it, vindictiveness and retribution were used as examples of how not to conduct *one*self.

 

[Old Fat Kenpoka]

Uh-oh...this thread is about to go horribly wrong.

So, how many of you work out on X-Mas day? I think it should become a modern-day Jewish tradition...like the "traditional" Jewish X-mas dinner at the local Chinese restaurant.

 

[kenpo tiger]

OFK - I was at the dojo bright and early. Alone. Worked my personal form for over an hour, did techs for a little while.

Beats the movies any time. KT

ps - had Chinese for dinner! Had to wait for a table, too, and this isn't a heavily Jewish area. Go figure.