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CREATE A JEWISH HOME
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HELPING PARENTS
WINTER HOLIDAY ISSUE
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C H A N U K A H & T U B ’ S H E VAT
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n the cold winter, during the shortest days of the year, comes the holiday that celebrates breaking the gloom with the brave light of candles. Chanukah could not come at a more fitting time. The celebration of Chanukah is just that: for eight days Jews celebrate as they remember the unlikely triumph of IN CHANUKAH, the Maccabees over the Greeks between JEWS HAVE A 168 and 165 B.C.E. HOLIDAY THAT This is no time for EVOKES SOME OF somber reflection. thanks that they can stay The message of separate from a holiday that has THE BEST Chanukah is that many commercial elements. In MEMORIES OF miracles are possible. Chanukah, Jews have a holiday Chanukah is CHILDHOOD. that celebrates their religion and especially a children’s values, that has its own set of celebration. It is a rellovely traditions, and that atively minor Jewish holiday that evokes some of the best memories has evolved in recent decades into of childhood. Few can taste that one of the major festivals of the first crisp, warm, delicious bite of year—what appears to many to be latke without giving thanks for a direct result of trying to counter Chanukah, or see a chanukiah that child-centered holiday, (menorah) blazing in a window on Christmas. a cold night without thinking of the For Jews, Chanukah is a time miracle of long ago that leads Jews to know one is different. For many every year to celebrate the triumph parents, it is also a time to give of hope over despair. A PUBLICATION
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There are few traditions from which to fashion a Chanukah observance. That is one of the best things about the holiday—Jews are free to create a holiday that works for them, free to show their family’s spirit and creativity. There are eight nights of Chanukah: you can choose to celebrate them quietly, with a short observance and candle-lighting each night. You can choose to hold a different kind of celebration on each night, such as honoring a different member of the family. You can choose, as at least one family does, to add a new and beautiful chanukiah each year to the collection, filling one’s home with light from all of them.
WHAT’S INSIDE The Chanukah story for children page 5 The Christmas Question page 6 That other winter holiday, Tu B’Shevat page 7 Resources for parents and children page 8
ROBERT E. LOUP JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER
C H A N U K A H
Celebrating Chanukah
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òh hT;a' ËWrB; µl;/[h; Ël,m, Wnyqeeløa‘ wyt;/x]miB] Wnv;D“qi rv,a} ≥hK;nUj} lv, rn< qilid“h'l] WnW:xiw“
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here are few musts about Chanukah. Jews light candles Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheynu melech in a chanukiah every night ha’olam, asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav for the eight nights of the festival v’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel Chanukah. and place the chanukiah in a window for all to see. The candle Holy One of Blessing, Your lighting is a reminder of the miracle Presence fills creation. You made us of the oil that, according to holy through the commandments Talmudic legend, burned for eight and bid us to kindle the Chanukah nights even though there was only lights. enough oil for one. Candles and blessings are about it for ritual, òh hT;a' ËWrB; though. The rest is up to you. µl;/[h; Ël,m, Wnyqeeløa‘ The shamash, or servant candle, is the one above or apart Wnyte/ba}l' µySinI hc;[;v, from the others in the chanukiah. ≥hZ<h' ˆm'Z“B' µheh; µymiY:B' The shamash is always lit first, then used to light the other candles. Put Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheynu melech the first candle on the far right as ha’olam, she’asah nissim la’avotaynu you face the chanukiah. The other bayamim hahaym ba-z’man hazeh. candles are placed sequentially to the left of the first candle, an addiPraised are You, Adonai, Our God, tional one each night. The candles Ruler of the universe, Who are always lit from left to right. performed wondrous deeds for our According to tradition, the candles ancestors in those ancient days at should be lit next to a window for this season. everyone to see, or in a central location so anyone who enters the house will notice them—the Let your children take turns lighting the candles dictum is to show on successive nights, or allow each child to light the world the the candles in his or her own chanukiah, with WITH miracle of the adult help if necessary. Some families Chanukah oil. Each YOUR have each child take turns choosing the KIDS night, the candles colored candles for the night, and placing them are allowed to burn in the chanukiah. out. The candles should last at least a half hour.
WITH YOUR KIDS
Your children might want to play a game to guess which candle will last the longest each night.
The First Night
On this night, place the shamash in its place and one candle on the far right. Light the shamash, then before you light the candle, say these blessings:
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On the first night of Chanukah only, recite shehecheyanu, the blessing for new things:
òh hT;a' ËWrB; µl;/[h; Ël,m, Wnyqeeløa‘ Wnm,Y“qiw“ Wny:j‘h,v, ≥hZ<h' ˆm'Z“l' Wn[;yGIhiw“
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheynu melech ha’olam, shehecheyanu v’ki-y’manu v’higiyanu la-z’man hazeh. Praised are you, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, for keeping us alive, for sustaining us, and for helping us reach this moment.
The Following Nights Place the candles in the chanukiah that will be used for the ceremony, using new candles each night. Light the shamash, recite the first two blessings, and then light the newest candle first using the shamash. When you have finished the lighting, put the shamash candle in its holder. On Shabbat, light the Chanukah candles just before you light Shabbat candles. On Saturday night, light the Chanukah candles after Havdalah, the blessings for the end of Shabbat.
C H A N U K A H
Gifts and Chanukah
Making Menorahs
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any children who attend religious school, or go to Jewish preschools, will come home with a chanukiah they have made. In the case of chanukiot, though, the more the merrier. You and your children can make them out of real clay or out of clay that can be shaped and baked in the oven. You can make them out of spools, seashells—anything that will hold candles and can be glued to a base. Remember that the shamash needs to be at a different height, or set apart, and that children must always be monitored while candles are burning. You might also want to make
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here are eight nights of Chanukah, and eight possible nights of gift-giving. It is no secret that the lavish gift-giving in some families is a direct result of Christmas competition, with the boast by Jewish kids that they have eight days of gifts, not just one like Christmas. In years past, major-league gifts at Chanukah were virtually unheard of; today, they are common. There are a variety of ways you can handle the gift-giving aspect of this holiday. Here are a few. • Designate each night a different kind of gift night: one night for gifts of time (back rubs, playing board games, time with parents, etc.), another for a gift of nature, another for a gift of Chanukah gelt*, another for a book, etc.
Activity: Make a Chanukiah
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• Designate each night a night for celebrating a different person, such as parents, children, grandparents.
• Do a good deed or give tzedakah to a different person or charity each night.
• Give your family some gifts of togetherness—a night out for dinner or to a play, or a coupon for a day-long hike to be taken at a future time.
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• Make sure that at least one night, you concentrate on giving gifts to someone else. • You may want to give your children eight small gifts, one for each night, or seven token gifts, such as Chanukah gelt, and one larger gift on the last night.
an oil-burning chanukiah as a more graphic representation of the miracle of the oil. You can do this with shot glasses or votive candle glasses glued to a base. You can find wicks that float and lamp oil in many card or gift stores. Each night, pour water in the right number of glasses, carefully pour in oil, and add the wicks. With an oilburning chanukiah, however, you will still need a shamash candle to light the oil.
What you need: • 10 screw nuts with a diameter equal to the size of birthday candles (bring one to the store so you buy the right size screw nut) • tongue depressor • glue • markers, crayons, or water-based paints • 44 birthday candles
* Chanukah gelt: literally Chanukah money. In Eastern Europe this consisted of a few coins with which children could play dreidel. Now it often refers to foilcovered chocolate coins. 3 ▼
1. Have your child decorate the tongue depressor by coloring or painting it. 2. Glue nine of the screw nuts onto the depressor. Make one the shamash holder by gluing another screw nut on top of one of the nuts (so that the shamash stands higher). Caution: when you use this chanukiah remember that the candles will burn down to the bottom, and this chanukiah is not fire-proof.
C H A N U K A H
The Story Behind the Story of Chanukah
THE DREIDEL GAME
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1. Each player gets the same number of items to gamble with. You can use pennies, nuts, pebbles, raisins, candy, Chanukah gelt. 2. To start each round, each player puts one of the pennies (or whatever) into the pot.
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any do not know that Chanukah is a relatively new and minor festival, the only holiday not mentioned in the Tanach or the Mishnah (the early collection of rabbinic interpretations). Its origins are somewhat obscure. Chanukah started in observance of the re-dedication of the Temple after it was reclaimed from the Greeks. The story of the jar of oil is clearly a legend; it appears for the first time in the Babylonian Talmud, 400 to 500 years after the war. Searching for a way to find sacred in the secular, to give the Chanukah lights a religious tradition, the legend about the miracle of the oil was created, a story reflecting an ancient custom of lighting candles at the darkest part of the year to banish the winter darkness. The Maccabean conflict was not just a battle against Antiochus’ troops: it was about assimilation, a civil war between Jews who favored Hellenization and those who opposed it. The Maccabees fought the Greeks and their Jewish allies who embraced Greek values.
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lmost every Jew remembers playing this game at some Chanukah during childhood. It is that rare time when children have the blessing of their parents to gamble. Legend has it that the dreidel is a leftover from the days of the miracle of Chanukah, when Jews who gathered to pray (when it was forbidden) pretended to be playing with a dreidel when confronted by soldiers. Children can make their own dreidels with clay: the only requirement is that the dreidel be able to spin and that it have four sides, each marked with one of four Hebrew letters: Nun, Gimmel, Hey and Shin. The letters stand for the phrase Nes Gadol Hayah Sham—A great miracle happened there. The reference, of course, is to the unexpected triumph of the Maccabees. For the uninitiated, or those who forget those long-ago childhood games, here’s how you play.
3. The players take turns spinning the dreidel. When the dreidel lands, the letter that is showing directs the player’s actions.
n Nun: nothing happens. g Gimmel: the player gets everything in the pot. The game continues with a new pot.
h Hey: the player gets half the pot. v Shin: the player puts another penny into the pot.
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4. The game ends when one player has all the other players’ pennies.
HOW MANY CANDLES? HILLEL VS. SHAMMAI
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he number of lights lit on each day of Chanukah was a controversial issue in Talmudic times. Two different schools—one led by Hillel, the other by Shammai—had different opinions, as the Talmud tells us in the following text. Ultimately, the school of Hillel prevailed and the practice of lighting an additional candle each night was adopted.
“The rabbis taught: The laws of Chanukah require one light for a person and household; those who want to be more careful may use one light for each member of the household. For those who want to be even more careful, the school of Shammai suggested that on the first day of the festival, eight candles are to be lit and we light one fewer each progressive night. Hillel suggested that on the first day, one candle is lit and one candle is added each night. Shammai reasoned that the 4 ▼
number of candles corresponds to the number of days to come; Hillel reasoned that the number of candles corresponds to the days already passed.” —Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 21b
C H A N U K A H
The Chanukah Story
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ews who lived in Jerusalem under the Greek rule of Antiochus many centuries ago had a problem. Antiochus wanted them to give up their religion, which the Jews were not about to do. Finally, one group of Jews had had enough. They began to fight back. A small group fled to the hills. They chose Judah Maccabee as their leader. The revolt of the Jews enraged Antiochus. He gathered a huge army, outfitted in armor and with the best weapons, to attack the small group of rebels. Antiochus’ army marched to the hills. The Jews, called Maccabees after their leader, watched the enormous army come closer. “Should we give up?” one soldier asked another. “Never,” the other said. “We have God to help us.” The first soldier nodded. Both of them took deep breaths, stood up straighter, and held their ground. The Greeks, their shiny weapons flashing, came closer. The Jews knew that without God, they were lost. They prayed to God. God heard their prayers. Somehow, miraculously, the ragtag army of the Maccabees defeated the mighty Greek army. The Jews came into Jerusalem victorious, but then they ran into another problem. Oil was needed to re-dedicate the Temple, but there was not enough oil to burn in the Temple for more than one day, and it would take an eight-day round trip to travel to a place where there was more oil. Even knowing that there was not enough oil, the priests couldn’t wait to celebrate the victory. They lit the menorah. The next morning, to everyone’s surprise, the menorah was still lit—and it stayed lit for eight days, until the new oil arrived. What we celebrate on Chanukah is the miracle of the brave Jews, outnumbered and outarmed, who stood up for their beliefs and won, with God’s help. We also celebrate the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days, giving light to the world.
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his is the traditional food for Chanukah, potato pancakes fried to commemorate the miracle of the oil that lasted eight days.
WITH YOUR KIDS
Allow your older children to help grate the potatoes and onions. The younger ones can help squeeze the shredded vegetables and then shape them into patties. Electric skillets help keep the mess off your stove. 6 large potatoes, grated 1 large onion, grated 2 lightly beaten eggs 2 1/2 tablespoons flour 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper Oil for pan frying (or, for the healthconscious, non-stick spray)
After grating the potatoes and onions, wrap them in tea towels and squeeze out as much water as possible. Then combine all the ingredients well. In a heavy skillet, place enough oil to make about 1/2 inch in the bottom. Heat the oil at medium high heat until it sizzles. Form the latkes and slide into the oil, using a slotted spatula. When one side is brown, flip the latkes and brown the other side. Ladle the browned latkes onto a piece of paper towel and drain. Serve hot with applesauce and sour cream on the side.
C H A N U K A H
The Christmas Question
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making Christmas longed-for just because it is forbidden. Encourage your children to invite their Christian friends to your celebrations as well. The best way to deal with these understandable longings on the part of children is not to pretend they don’t exist, but to counter them with Jewish memories that are just as strong, evocative, and meaningful, so when your children grow up, they will remember a childhood filled with love, warmth, and the holiday memories that only a Jewish childhood can bring.
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eginning sometime in November, Christmas seems to take over the world. For Jews, the decorations, the parties, and the gifts can be an overwhelming reminder that they are different. That, however, can be a very good thing, and there is no holiday more appropriate for making that point than Chanukah and the story it tells of a people determined to defend their customs, their way of life, and their beliefs. Those ancient Jews persevered and triumphed. So, too, can modern Jews retain their sense of separation—and joy. The easiest way to explain to children why they aren’t part of the Christmas celebration they see everywhere around them is to tell them that while Christians have Christmas, Jews are lucky enough to have many important holidays such as Sukkot, Passover, Chanukah—and Shabbat, which is a holiday that happens every week. Children can also understand that if celebrating Chanukah makes Jews different, it also makes them special. Because Jews do not celebrate Christmas, however, is no reason to denigrate the holiday for those who do celebrate it. Children can be taught that Christmas is an important religious holiday to Christians, and that it is worthy of respect, even if the commercialization of the holiday can obscure its religious origins. The commercial frenzy of the Christmas season, which many Christians also decry, is one reason to be very thankful for being
Jewish. While the rest of the world seems to be caught in a panic of shopping, cooking, and wearing themselves out, Jews have the luxury of sitting back instead of being the ones rushing around. What a relief. Should Jewish children invited to Christmas parties attend them? If your children have a firm sense of themselves as Jews, there is no harm in allowing them to enjoy another group’s celebrations. Prohibiting any kind of participation may have the effect of
Chanukah Bushes and Christmas Troubles THE INTERFAITH COMPLICATION
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f there is ever a time when an intermarried couple clashes, it is likely to be the winter holiday season. For Christians, love and warmth and the holidays are wrapped up in Christmas trees, Santa Claus, memories of gingerbread men and the excitement of Christmas morning. Giving all that up can be very painful for the non-Jewish parent. For many Jews, the idea of including those symbols of the dominant culture is unthinkable. “I’ll never have a Chanukah bush in my home,” one partner says to the other, and the conflict is on. There is, unfortunately, no one way to resolve these deep-seated, emotional issues. Some couples who are raising their children as Jews resolve the question by having the non-Jewish partner celebrate the Christian holidays, which may or may not include a Christmas tree. That partner can explain his or her heritage to the children. Other families rely on grandparents to solve the problem. They go to the Christian grandparents’ home for
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Christmas morning, and have a Chanukah party at their other grandparents’ home. Some people think having two religious traditions in a home is inherently confusing and potentially harmful to children. Others believe children are affected by conflict between their parents, and that parents should work hard to resolve their faith-based differences. Still others feel that children can deal with whatever arrangement their parents choose, as long as the parents show they are comfortable with it. What is important is that memories usually have little to do with the material side of religious holidays. What people remember is the feeling of the family being together celebrating, the mantle of love and warmth and caring that seems to surround children during these holidays. If you provide that to your children, and pride in your heritage, you are giving them the most significant thing any parent can offer: a child’s own beloved childhood memories.
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Tu B’Shevat: The Birthday of the Trees
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trees? We receive some of our nourishment from below, from the earth, and other elements of our nourishment—spiritual nourishment—from the heavens above. In the early days of Zionism, Tu B’Shevat was revived as a day to celebrate the value of trees in the land of Israel. Tu B’Shevat is when the almond trees come into bloom in Israel. It is that awakening that Jews around the world remember during this holiday. They eat the rich fruits of Israel and think of the homeland of the Jewish people. Today, there are many ways to celebrate this fragrant holiday. It has become a day for American Jews to focus on environmental concerns.
Have a Fruit Party
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he fruits of Israel are delicious, different, and abundant. Have a tasting party and try dates, figs, olives, pomegranates, almonds, honey, carob, oranges, avocados, bananas and kiwis— all specialties of Israel. Some people use fifteen different kinds of fruits, in honor of the holiday occurring on the 15th of the month. You can have your children taste test them. You can also blindfold members of the family, feed them a taste of a fruit, and see if they can guess what they are eating. You can make special dishes using these foods, as well, such as date cookies and Israeli specialties such as tabbouli and falafel.
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fragrant reminder of Israel, Tu B’Shevat is mentioned in the Mishnah as the New Year for trees. There is no ritual associated with it, although some synagogues now hold a Tu B’Shevat seder. The name Tu comes from the Hebrew letters tet and vav, the number equivalents of which add up to 15. The name of the holiday means the fifteenth of the month of Shevat, a date that falls sometime in January or February. It is supposed to be the day when winter begins to make its retreat (although in many parts of the United States, that is wishful thinking). Originally Tu B’Shevat was the “Fiscal New Year” for fruit trees— any fruit tree that set its blossoms before that day had its fruit tithed (a tithe is a 10% tax that farmers in ancient Israel would bring to the Temple) with the previous year’s crop, while trees that set their blossoms after that day were tithed with the next year’s crop. After the destruction of the Temple (70 C.E.) this system lost its meaning until the Kabbalists (mystics) of Tsfat gave the holiday new significance. The custom of holding a Tu B’Shevat seder first originated among the mystics of 16th century Tsfat (Safed) in the north of Israel. Their general approach to Jewish life was to find the secret, hidden meaning in rituals, celebrations, and laws. So they asked themselves, “What is the secret mystical significance of trees that gives us this wonderful holiday?” They concluded that the “trees” of which the holiday speaks are not “actual” trees but all sorts of “virtual” trees, such as the Tree of Life (Torah) or the tree-like structure that is a human being. How are humans like
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Plant a Tree in Israel— or at a Local Park
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Tree-planting has become an honored way to celebrate this holiday. You can give money to Jewish charities such as the Jewish National Fund (1-800-542-8733) that will plant trees in Israel under your name, or contribute a tree to a local park, or even plant a tree in your yard. If you live in a place where Tu B’Shevat still means frozen ground, buy an orange tree to keep inside your home. You can also plant parsley seeds that will grow into plants you can use for your Pesach seder.
Visit a Botanical Garden, or Plan Your Summer Garden Some people celebrate this holiday by visiting a place where plants and trees are honored, such as an indoor botanical garden or, in warmer climes, a nature preserve. Others take time to look through their seed and garden catalogues and plan their gardens for the next summer. Focusing on the coming green days can be a refreshing way to spend a winter afternoon. 7 ▼
A Tu B’Shevat Seder Some congregations are beginning to give this holiday more attention. They devote part of a service to honoring trees, and may have a congregational vegetarian meal. Home observances usually include nature readings and drinking four glasses of wine. The first glass is white, the last glass is red, and the other two are mixtures. Before each cup of wine is drunk, celebrants recite:
Ël,m, Wnyqeløa‘ òh hT;a' ËWrB; ≥ˆp,G:h' yrIP] arE/B µl;/[h; Baruch atah Adonai Eloheynu melech ha’olam boray p’ree ha-gafen. You bound in Blessings, Adonai Our God. You create the fruit of the vine.
Resources
For parents…
Apples & Honey© is a publication of the Robert E. Loup Jewish Community Center 350 South Dahlia Street Denver, CO 80246 303-399-2660/fax 303-320-0042 The purpose of Apples & Honey is to serve as an educational publication and outreach tool for expectant and new parents interested in learning about how to create a Jewish home.
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T he F a mi ly T r ea sur y of J ewi sh H oli da ys by Malka Drucker. New York: Little, Brown and Co., 1994. A delightful holiday book with stories, poems, songs and activities for all ages.
H a nukka h! by Roni Schotter. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1990. Warm, loving story describing the meaning and traditions of Chanukah as a family celebrates the holiday. Ages 3 to 7.
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T he J ewi sh H oli da ys: A Gui de a nd Commenta r y by Michael Strassfeld. New York: Harper & Row, 1995. A comprehensive and authoritative guide to the meaning and practice of the holidays.
For children: Books…
Computer software…
H a nukka h Acti vi ty Center from Davka (Windows). This lively CDROM, chockfull of music, combines eight exciting activities: Hanukkah Jukebox, Dreidel Drama, Menorah Magic, 44 Candles, Memory Challenge, Who Am I, Hanukkah Browser, and Hanukkah Coloring.
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Ra i nbow Ca ndles: A Cha nuka h Counti ng Book by Myra Shostak and illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn. Rockville, MD: Kar-Ben, 1986. A board book with rhymes for celebrating Chanukah and counting candles on the chanukiah. Ages 1 to 4.
H er shel a nd the H a nukka h Gobli ns by Eric Kimmel. New York: Holiday House, 1989. Exciting story of how Hershel outwits the goblins and saves Chanukah. Ages 4 to 8.
My F i r st H a nukka h P op-up Book by Carol Gulder. New York: Scholastic, 1994. Little Chanukah surprise book with pop-ups, lift-up flaps and pull tabs. Ages 2 to 5.
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Robert E. Loup Jewish Community Center 350 South Dahlia Street Denver, CO 80246
Lisa Farber Miller, Editor Sandra Widener, Managing Editor Hal Aqua, Design and Illustration Tamra L. Dollin, Judaic Consultant Bernice Tarlie, Bibliographer Dr. Ed Goldson, Child Development Consultant Dr. Jessica Pearson, Evaluation Consultant Risa Towbin Aqua, Calligraphy Editorial Advisory Board Rabbi Daniel Goldberger Dr. Ed Goldson Rabbi Richard N. Levy Rabbi David Nelson Rabbi Raymond A. Zwerin
Subscriptions to this newsletter are available by calling 303-399-2660. © Robert E. Loup Jewish Community Center. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the Robert E. Loup JCC. Apples & Honey was made possible by funds granted by The Covenant Foundation. The statements made and the views expressed, however, are solely the responsibility of the Robert E. Loup Jewish Community Center.