The Feasts of Israel
An Excerpt from Chapter 9, Hanukkah: The Festival of Lights
by Bruce Scott
Observance of Hanukkah
Beginning on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev (November-December), Hanukkah is observed for eight days. Although originally a minor festival, over the years it has become one of the two festivals most widely observed by American Jews, Passover being the other. Hanukkah is a joyous time with happy meals, family gatherings, and playful activities for the children. Work is allowed during the Hanukkah season, but it is not encouraged.
Hanukkah begins in the home with the customary lighting of the holiday candles. The candelabra that is used is unique to Hanukkah. The Hanukkah menorah or hanukkiyah has nine candlesticks. One candle is added each evening in memory of the eight days that the oil purportedly lasted in the time of the Maccabees. The ninth candle, called the shammash (servant), is used to light the other eight. The menorah is usually placed near a front window so that its lighting may serve as a testimony to the miracle that occurred long ago. After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, the family often sings songs. One traditional hymn entitled Maoz Tzur speaks of God’s power to deliver.
Rock of ages, let our song
Praise Your saving power;
You amidst the raging throng
Were our sheltering tower.
Furious they assailed us,
But Your help availed us;
And your word broke their sword
When our own strength failed us.
Special foods are eaten at Hanukkah meals. Oil-fried dishes, such as crispy potato pancakes (called latkes) eaten with applesauce or other toppings are common on Hanukkah in memory of the Maccabean miracle oil. In Israel, doughnuts are prevalent.
Later in the evening, the moment the children anxiously await finally arrives. Hanukkah gifts are exchanged. Some parents give their children all of their gifts on the first night, while others spread them out over the eight-day period. Children also often receive Hanukkah gelt (money) in the form of coins made of chocolate or actual coins.
Along with the gifts, Jewish children also enjoy playing a traditional game called Spin the Dreidel. The dreidel is a four-sided top. The children spin the top to see who wins the game. Candy, coins, or other items are used for stakes. On each of the four sides of the top is a Hebrew letter. The four letters combine to form an acrostic that stands for “A great miracle happened there.” Once the State of Israel came into being, one letter was changed on Israeli dreidels so that the acrostic reads, “A great miracle happened here.”
In Israel Hanukkah also is celebrated with torch relay races from the ancient town of Modin up to the city of Jerusalem. Large Hanukkah menorahs are placed atop public buildings. Handel’s oratorio, Judas Maccabaeus, is occasionally performed.
There can be no doubt that the manner in which Hanukkah is observed today has been highly influenced by the holiday of Christmas. Both holidays occur around the same time of the year. Both holidays feature warm family gatherings full of happiness and good cheer. Yet it has been difficult for the Jewish minority living in the midst of an overwhelmingly Gentile majority to retain a distinct, Jewish Hanukkah identity at this season. Surrounded by Christmas carols, jolly Santas, and Bethlehem scenes, it has been hard not to incorporate just a little bit of the “Christmas spirit” into the Hanukkah celebration. Some Jewish families even bring a Christmas tree or Hanukkah bush into their homes, which they decorate as any non-Jewish family would. Other Jewish families try to resist the temptation. As one Jewish author put it, “Appreciation does not mean appropriation. Because appropriation leads to confusion, loss of identity, and, ultimately, assimilation. And assimilation is what the Maccabees and generations of Jews after them fought so hard to prevent. To appropriate Christmas into our homes would give posthumous victory to Antiochus. Christmas does not belong in a Jewish home—period.”
This author’s point is well taken. It would be an accurate statement and a legitimate concern if not for one detail. The reason for Christmas is Christ. If Jesus is the Messiah, as He claimed to be, then incorporating a celebration of His birth into the Hanukkah festivities would not be a denial of the Jewish faith but, rather, a culminating affirmation of it. It would be an “assimilation” into the truth, which is something not to avoid but to embrace.
| Bruce Scott holds a B.A. in Bible from Grace College of the
Bible,
Omaha, Nebraska and a M.Div. from Central Baptist
Theological Seminary
in Plymouth, Minnesota. He is a Bible teacher and preacher
with The
Friends of Israel in Minnesota. |