Revel in the bright lights of the Festival of Hanukkah!

The Festival of Hanukkah, or as it is also known, The Festival of Lights, pierces the dark, cold winter nights with the warm, embracing glow of millions of lights that flicker atop the Hanukiah Menorahs at the entrance to the homes of every Jewish household in the Holy Land. These Hanukiahs are purposely placed at the entrance to publicize the miracles that took place during the Syrian-Greek Empire's control over the Holy Land during the second century BCE.

Hanukkah is a festival for all the family, whether it is singing 'Maoz Tzur', giving children Hanukkah Gelt (pocket money) or playing games with the Dreidel (four-sided spinning top). Get all the essential facts about Hanukkah in our blog!

Over 2000 years ago, the Holy Land was under the control of the Syrian-Greek Empire. Alongside the physical threat to the Jewish population was the Hellenist influence in the Holy Land, such as Idol worship and the Syrian way of life, the complete opposite of the values of Judaism. The high priest, Yochanan, rallied against it, especially against the Jewish Hellinists who had assimilated into the Syrian-Greek culture.

The ruler in the Holy Land was Antiochus IV, who oppressed the Jewish people. He replaced Yochanan with his Hellenist brother Jason, who spread Hellenist influences among the other Jewish priests. Thousands of Jews were murdered, and harsh decrees banned Jewish practices and customs. Those who refused to carry out Hellinist practices in defiance of the authorities were cruelly put to death.

In one incident, Antiochus's men went to the ancient town of Modi'in, where an old priest called Mattiyahu lived. They built a pagan altar and ordered Mattiyahu to offer sacrifices. Mattiyahu defiantly refused, and when a Hellenist Jew approached to offer a sacrifice on the altar, Mattiyahu killed him. The community rose up against the authorities, killing several soldiers and chasing out those who remained. Mattityahu and his men fled to the Judean mountains and formed bands of rebels who would attack Antiochus's men and destroy his pagan altars.

Before he died, Mattiyahu appointed his son, Judah, as his successor. Despite their small numbers, Judah Maccabee and his followers defeated Antiochus's soldiers, including a grand battle against 40,000 soldiers! They went on to liberate Jerusalem and, upon entering the Holy Temple, worked to clear the Temple of the pagan idols placed there. Judah rededicated a new altar, and the Maccabees fashioned a temporary Menorah to replace the golden one which had been stolen. They discovered only one small vial, still intact, and with full faith, used it to light the Menorah, which miraculously stayed lit for eight whole days - giving time for more pure oil to be produced!

Every night during Hannukah, families gather around to light the Hannukaiah. We add an additional candle each night so that by the eighth and final night, there will be eight candles! In some households, each family member lights their own Hanukiahs - so when there are larger families, by the time we get to the end of Hannukah, there are tens of lit candles! It is a wonderful tradition to publicize the miracles of Hannukah, and we do so by lighting the Hannukiah at the entrance to our homes or even outside in special boxes to protect them from the wind so that everyone passing can see the beautiful lights of Hannukah!

After we recite the blessings for lighting the candles, we sing the traditional Hannukah songs of Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages in Hebrew), whose lyrics refer to the themes of God and deliverance from the enemies who tried to destroy the Jewish people over history, and Hanerot Halalu (These Lights), a psalm in which we give thanks and praise for the miracles that occurred during Hannukah!

In honor of the miracle of the oil, Hannukah is the one time of the year we allow ourselves to indulge in delicious fried foods! Classics include Israeli-style doughnuts with a variety of fillings and crispy deep-fried potato latkes! Each community has its own Hannukah delicacies, including Sfinj and Jalebis—friend pastry rings in sugar syrup!

There is a tradition of giving children small gifts, among them Hannukah Gelt, which means pocket money—often in the form of chocolate coins! There is a game in which the children can 'bet' their gelt by spinning the four-sided Driedlel, which features four Hebrew letters: Nun, Gimel, Hey, Shin, which are abbreviations of the Hebrew phrase 'A great miracle occurred there.' in reference to the Hannukah miracles!

There are numerous family activities, from making and decorating Hannukiahs to tours of Jerusalem at night to see the thousands of Hannukiahs illuminating the streets and public Hannukiah lighting ceremonies and concerts.

For foodies, the choices are endless! This is a time when Israel's bakeries and patisseries have brought the art of doughnuts and sufganiyot making to elite levels! Many people take it upon themselves to try as many different varieties of doughnuts and rate them to find out which is the most delicious. From traditional jam doughnuts to Israeli-style halva-filled doughnuts - the competition keeps getting tougher each year. You can even find savory doughnuts packed with prime slow-cooked asado meat!

For eight days, families and communities come together again to celebrate the miracles that occurred thousands of years ago and are still occurring today! That the Jewish people are proudly living in their homeland, and despite the difficulties and challenges, we still unite and come together to lift the spirits of our brothers and sisters and celebrate the miracle of Israel!

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