Wikipedia - User contributions [en]

Kike

2009-05-05T18:23:08Z

Dbratton: revert uncited and highly questionable addition

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{{wiktionary}}

In modern English language, the word '''kike''' (IPA: /ˈkаɪk/) is a [[negative]], highly offensive term referring to a [[Jew]]. In some languages, such as Spanish, this word (pronounced {{IPA|/ˈkike/}} and sometimes spelled ''Quique'') is a [[given name]] or shortened from a longer form (usually from ''Enrique'').

==Etymology==
The [[etymology]] of the term is uncertain. It may be an alteration of a common ending of the personal names of [[History of the Jews in Europe|Eastern European Jew]]s who immigrated to the [[United States]] in the early 20th century{{Fact|reason=please give a reliable source for this assertion.|date=April 2009}}. The first recorded usage of the term is in 1904.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''kike''</ref><ref name=kpearson>[http://kpearson.faculty.tcnj.edu/Dictionary/kike.htm Kim Pearson's ''Rhetoric of Race''] by Eric Wolarsky. [[The College of New Jersey]].</ref>

According to [[Leo Rosten]],
{{Cquote|The word kike was born on [[Ellis Island]] when Jewish immigrants who were illiterate (or could not use Roman-English letters), when asked to sign the entry-forms with the customary 'X,'* refused, because they associated an X with the cross of Christianity, and instead made a circle. The [[Yiddish]] word for 'circle' is kikel (pronounced KY-kul), and for 'little circle,' kikeleh (pronounced ky-kul-uh. Before long the immigration inspectors were calling anyone who signed with an 'O' instead of an 'X' a kikel or kikeleh or kikee or, finally and succinctly, kike.<ref>[[Leo Rosten]]: ''The Joys of Yiddish'', cited in [http://kpearson.faculty.tcnj.edu/Dictionary/kike.htm Kim Pearson's ''Rhetoric of Race''] by Eric Wolarsky. [[The College of New Jersey]].</ref>}}

According to Rosten, [[Jewish American]] merchants continued to sign with an 'O' instead of an 'X' for several decades, spreading the nickname ''kike'' wherever they went as a result. At that time ''kike'' was more of an affectionate term, used by Jews to describe other Jews, and only developed into an ethnic slur later on.<ref name=kpearson/>

In his book ''How the Irish Invented Slang: the Secret Language of the Crossroads'', [[Daniel Cassidy]] suggests an alternative etymology. Cassidy notes that the [[Irish Language]] word ''Ciabhóg'' (pronounced k'i'og) was the general term used by the Irish and [[Irish-American]]s to denote the [[payot]] of [[Orthodox Jews]]. The Irish word ''Ciabhóg'' means ''side-curl,'' which is what payot are.

Another possible etymology is that the term, derived Greek word for circle, kyklos, referenced the practice of [[circumcision]].{{Fact|date=July 2008}}

According to "Our Crowd", by Stephen Birmingham, the term "kike" was coined as a derogatory putdown by the assimilated American German Jews to identify Eastern-European Jews: "Because many Russian
[Jewish] names ended in 'ki', they were called 'kikes'- a German Jewish contribution to the American vernacular. The name then proceeded to be co-opted by Gentiles as is gained prominence in its usage in society, and was later used as a demeaning Anti-Semitic slur.

Another proposed theory is that "kike" is a reference to Isaac; a common Jewish, biblical name.{{Fact|date=July 2008}}

“Kike” could also stem from the word “keek”, a Yiddish term referring to individuals who were hired by tailors and clothing manufacturers to spy on the new designs in production by their competitors.{{Fact|date=July 2008}}

==In literature==
*[[Harry Turtledove]] in his ''[[Worldwar]]'' series where alien invaders interrupt [[WWII]], in speeches by [[Nazi]] German characters, uses "kike" as an English rendering of their German-language derogatory words for Jews.

==See also==
* [[List of ethnic group names used as insults]] (distinct from the below)
* [[List of ethnic slurs]]
* [[Profanity]]
* [[Yid]]

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Antisemitism]]
[[Category:Ethnic and religious slurs]]
[[Category:Pejorative terms for people]]

[[id:Kike]]
[[ms:Kike]]
[[tr:Kike]]

Jewish-American princess stereotype

2009-04-02T07:14:02Z

Dbratton: Revert to revision 277093954 dated 2009-03-14 01:28:42 by XLinkBot using popups

'''Jewish-American Princess''' or '''JAP''' is a [[pejorative]] characterization of a subtype of [[Jewish-American]] women. The term implies [[materialism|materialistic]] and [[selfish]] tendencies, attributed to a pampered background, and similar stereotypes exist in other countries with Jewish populations, including the [[United Kingdom]], [[Australia]] and [[Canada]]. The term was coined by [[Herman Wouk]].{{Fact|date=December 2008}}

==Antisemitism==

The stereotype is often though not always the basis for [[anti-Semitism|anti-Semitic]] jokes both [[self-hating Jew|inside]] and outside the Jewish community.<ref>Alperin, Mimi. “JAP Jokes: Hateful Humor.” Humor: International Journal of Humor Research 2 (1989) 412-416.
.</Ref> In recent years the term has been re-appropriated by some Jewish women as a term of cultural identity, especially in areas with high density Jewish populations. The term "JAP" has been used by some women in order to be identified as privileged but this manner can be offensive as it attempts to reinforce the stereotype.

==Sexism and violence==
The term "Jewish-American Princess" centers on deprecating sexism,{{Fact|date=October 2008}} and pejoratively brands young adult Jewish-American women as spoiled and materialistic.<ref>Whitney Dibo: 'That girl is such a JAP'.</ref> While the full phrase and acronym is occasionally used wryly by Jews of both sexes as a term of Judaism, the acronym itself is considered at best fashionably vulgar if not degrading. T-shirts with the message "SLAP-A-JAP" and the stereotypical image of ethnically Jewish-American women may have been considered briefly fashionable in the early 90s.<ref>Bigots in the Ivory Tower, Nancy Gibbs, Time Magazine, May 7, 1990</ref> In the late 80s a Syracuse professor of sociology, Dr. Gary Spencer, noted areas on his campus that students declared "JAP-free zones." He also noted a sporting incident on campus where fans heckled women by yelling "JAP! JAP! JAP!"<ref>Spencer, Gary “An Analysis of JAP-Baiting Humor on the College Campus." International Journal of Humor Research 2 (1989) 329-348</ref> Spencer also mentions the "verbal violence" against Jewish women during a college fair at [[Cornell University]] where signs read, "Make her prove she's not a JAP, make her swallow." In the Cornell University student newspaper, a cartoon went on to offer advice on how to "exterminate" JAPs.<ref>Beck, Evelyn Torton (1992) From 'Kike to Jap': How misogyny, anti-semitism, and racism construct the Jewish American Princess. In Margaret Andersen & Patricia Hill Collins (Eds.) Race, Class, and Gender. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 87-95.</ref>

==Discrimination==

When researching the stereotype Jill Gregorie noted significant prejudicial and discriminatory actions toward Jewish women who fit the "JAP" stereotype, noting one woman on a college campus who went so far as to avoid contact with perceived JAPs at all. Gregorie cites one college student as saying: "If I see them in an elevator, I always wait for the next one."<ref>Jill Gregorie. [http://www.subboard.com/generation/articles/113201236459285.asp "Princess Bitch: The public perception of the maligned"], "Generation"</ref> Alana Newhouse of the Boston Globe also noted housing ads on college campuses that warned ''No JAPs''<ref>The return of the JAP, By Alana Newhouse, March 13, 2005.</ref>

==Prevalence==
Research has found significant levels of JAP-baiting in educational settings throughout the US.<ref> Student Attitudes toward "JAPs": The New Anti-Semitism. Research Report #9-89, Schwalb, Susan J.; Sedlacek, William E.</ref> Still almost all identified incidents have fallen short of the legal definition of a hate crime.<ref> Hate Crimes: Criminal Law & Identity Politics By James B. Jacobs, Kimberly Potter.</ref> There also seems to be a lesser degree of data and research-driven knowledge concerning the extent of its usage within the broader public sphere.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

==See also==
* [[List of ethnic slurs|Ethnic slurs]]
* [[Jewish mother stereotype]]
* [[Black American Princess]]
* [[Materialism]]
* [[Jewish feminism]]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=jewish+american+princess Dictionary definition]
* [http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2005/03/13/the_return_of_the_jap/ The Return of the JAP]
* [http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/1998/10/06feature2.html Monica Lewinsky]
* [http://www.amazon.ca/Jewish-American-Princess-Other-Myths/dp/1561710822 The Jewish-American Princess and Other Myths: The Many Faces of Self-Hatred (Hardcover)]
* [http://www.michigandaily.com/content/whitney-dibo-girl-such-jap This girl is such a JAP.]
* [http://jewschool.com/2007/02/20/can-we-please-not-revive-that-ugly-stereotype/ Can we please not revive that ugly stereotype?]
* [http://condor.depaul.edu/~mwilson/multicult/jap.html From 'Kike to JAP': How misogyny, anti-Semitism and racism construct the Jewish-American Princess. Beck, Evelyn Torton, Margaret Andersen & Patricia Hill Collins (Eds.) Race, Class, and Gender. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 87-95. 1992 ]
* [http://www.utoronto.ca/wjudaism/journal/vol1n1/v1n1gold.htm Celebrating the Lives of Jewish Women: Patterns in a Feminist Sampler,Canadian Jewish Women and their Experiences of Antisemitism and Sexism, by NORA GOLD, edited by Rachel Josefowitz Siegel & Ellen Cole (Haworth, 1997).]
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6049722273734911626 JAP RAP]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEFD61239F934A35755C0A967958260 JAP FOR A DAY]
* [http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/casting/2004_Oct_27_jap_squad Style Network Casts for "JAP Squad".]
* [http://www.beth-elsa.org/be_s1120.htm When jokes are not funny]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEEDF1138F934A3575AC0A961948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 Jewish Women Campaign Against 'Princess' New York Times, September 7,1987]

[[Category:Ethnic and religious slurs]]
[[Category:Judaism and women]]
[[Category:Stereotypes]]
[[Category:Stock characters]]

Jewish-American princess stereotype

2009-02-16T07:18:24Z

Dbratton: /* Sexism and violence */ over the top. trimmed to a reasonable number of adjectives

'''Jewish-American Princess''' or '''JAP''' is a [[pejorative]] characterization of a subtype of [[Jewish-American]] women. The term implies [[materialism|materialistic]] and [[selfish]] tendencies, attributed to a pampered background. The term was coined by [[Herman Wouk]].{{Fact|date=December 2008}}
{{unreferenced|date=December 2008}}

==Antisemitism==

The stereotype is often though not always the basis for [[anti-Semitism|anti-Semitic]] jokes both [[self-hating Jew|inside]] and outside the Jewish community.<ref>Alperin, Mimi. “JAP Jokes: Hateful Humor.” Humor: International Journal of Humor Research 2 (1989) 412-416.
.</Ref> In recent years the term has been re-appropriated by some Jewish women as a term of cultural identity, especially in areas with high density Jewish populations. The term "JAP" has been used by some women in order to be identified as privileged but this manner can be offensive as it attempts to reinforce the stereotype.

==Sexism and violence==
The term "Jewish-American Princess" centers on deprecating sexism,{{Fact|date=October 2008}} and pejoratively brands young adult Jewish-American women as spoiled and materialistic.<ref>Whitney Dibo: 'That girl is such a JAP'.</ref> While the full phrase and acronym is occasionally used wryly by Jews of both sexes as a term of Judaism, the acronym itself is considered at best fashionably vulgar if not degrading. T-shirts with the message "SLAP-A-JAP" and the stereotypical image of ethnically Jewish-American women may have been considered briefly fashionable in the early 90s.<ref>Bigots in the Ivory Tower, Nancy Gibbs, Time Magazine, May 7, 1990</ref> In the late 80s a Syracuse professor of sociology, Dr. Gary Spencer, noted areas on his campus that students declared "JAP-free zones." He also noted a sporting incident on campus where fans heckled women by yelling "JAP! JAP! JAP!"<ref>Spencer, Gary “An Analysis of JAP-Baiting Humor on the College Campus." International Journal of Humor Research 2 (1989) 329-348</ref> Spencer also mentions the "verbal violence" against Jewish women during a college fair at [[Cornell University]] where signs read, "Make her prove she's not a JAP, make her swallow." In the Cornell University student newspaper, a cartoon went on to offer advice on how to "exterminate" JAPs.<ref>Beck, Evelyn Torton (1992) From 'Kike to Jap': How misogyny, anti-semitism, and racism construct the Jewish American Princess. In Margaret Andersen & Patricia Hill Collins (Eds.) Race, Class, and Gender. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 87-95.</ref>

==Discrimination==

When researching the stereotype Jill Gregorie noted significant prejudicial and discriminatory actions toward Jewish women who fit the "JAP" stereotype, noting one woman on a college campus who went so far as to avoid contact with perceived JAPs at all. Gregorie cites one college student as saying: "If I see them in an elevator, I always wait for the next one."<ref>Jill Gregorie. [http://www.subboard.com/generation/articles/113201236459285.asp "Princess Bitch: The public perception of the maligned"], "Generation"</ref> Alana Newhouse of the Boston Globe also noted housing ads on college campuses that warned ''No JAPs''<ref>The return of the JAP, By Alana Newhouse, March 13, 2005.</ref>

==Prevalence==
Research has found significant levels of JAP-baiting in educational settings throughout the US.<ref> Student Attitudes toward "JAPs": The New Anti-Semitism. Research Report #9-89, Schwalb, Susan J.; Sedlacek, William E.</ref> Still almost all identified incidents have fallen short of the legal definition of a hate crime.<ref> Hate Crimes: Criminal Law & Identity Politics By James B. Jacobs, Kimberly Potter.</ref> There also seems to be a lesser degree of data and research-driven knowledge concerning the extent of its usage within the broader public sphere.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

==See also==
* [[List of ethnic slurs|Ethnic slurs]]
* [[Jewish mother stereotype]]
* [[Black American Princess]]
* [[Materialism]]
* [[Jewish feminism]]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=jewish+american+princess Dictionary definition]
* [http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2005/03/13/the_return_of_the_jap/ The Return of the JAP]
* [http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/1998/10/06feature2.html Monica Lewinsky]
* [http://www.amazon.ca/Jewish-American-Princess-Other-Myths/dp/1561710822 The Jewish-American Princess and Other Myths: The Many Faces of Self-Hatred (Hardcover)]
* [http://www.michigandaily.com/content/whitney-dibo-girl-such-jap This girl is such a JAP.]
* [http://jewschool.com/2007/02/20/can-we-please-not-revive-that-ugly-stereotype/ Can we please not revive that ugly stereotype?]
* [http://condor.depaul.edu/~mwilson/multicult/jap.html From 'Kike to JAP': How misogyny, anti-Semitism and racism construct the Jewish-American Princess. Beck, Evelyn Torton, Margaret Andersen & Patricia Hill Collins (Eds.) Race, Class, and Gender. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 87-95. 1992 ]
* [http://www.utoronto.ca/wjudaism/journal/vol1n1/v1n1gold.htm Celebrating the Lives of Jewish Women: Patterns in a Feminist Sampler,Canadian Jewish Women and their Experiences of Antisemitism and Sexism, by NORA GOLD, edited by Rachel Josefowitz Siegel & Ellen Cole (Haworth, 1997).]
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6049722273734911626 JAP RAP]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEFD61239F934A35755C0A967958260 JAP FOR A DAY]
* [http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/casting/2004_Oct_27_jap_squad Style Network Casts for "JAP Squad".]
* [http://www.beth-elsa.org/be_s1120.htm When jokes are not funny]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEEDF1138F934A3575AC0A961948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 Jewish Women Campaign Against 'Princess' New York Times, September 7,1987]

[[Category:Ethnic and religious slurs]]
[[Category:Judaism and women]]
[[Category:Stereotypes]]
[[Category:Stock characters]]

Talk:Jews

2009-02-06T07:17:54Z

Dbratton: Revert to revision 268540322 dated 2009-02-04 20:28:20 by SineBot using popups

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== Stereotypes of Jews ==

There should be a page about what the stereotypes of Jews have been, especially considering how often stereotyped they are. I would do it, but it may come across as offensive. If not a seperate page, at least have a section on this page. Some things to mention would be:
* Big nose
* Christ killer
* Blood libel
* Greedy
* Scheming

And I'm sure there are others. —Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/70.173.220.96|70.173.220.96]] ([[User talk:70.173.220.96|talk]]) 05:42, 26 December 2008 (UTC) 
:Now there's soemthin we need to cover. I doubt it deserves it's own article but it could be mentioned in [[antisemetism]] maybe. I don't know where I'd go about finding sources for this so sure, go ahead, add to the [[antisemetism]] article.--[[User:Patton123|Patton]][[User talk:Patton123|123]] 12:11, 26 December 2008 (UTC)
:I'm not sure either way. It's a controversial subject. ;-) —Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/82.3.18.150|82.3.18.150]] ([[User talk:82.3.18.150|talk]]) 18:57, 26 December 2008 (UTC) 
::82.3.18.150, huh? [[User:Reliableforever|Reliable]] [[User:Reliableforever|Forever]][[User Talk:Reliableforever|talk]] 20:41, 4 January 2009 (UTC)

== Use of the word "Jew" ==

I noticed that throughout this article are wordings such as "is a Jew," "a Jew," etc. This immediately did not sound right to me, and seemed even offensive. After some research to be sure that this notion on the topic was indeed prevailing, I have found that referring to the Jewish people or a Jewish person as Jews or a Jew are considered traditionally and colloquially pejorative. It is especially offensive to say that someone "is a Jew" as opposed to "is Jewish." My initial instinct that something was very wrong with the tone of this article was correct, and it seems to stem from this usage. I suggest also that the article title be changed from the word "Jew," which has a definite demeaning connotation to something less controversial and more accepted such as "Jewish People." In other words, the adjective form is vastly preferred to the noun form when describing a people or person, not only due to its historical connotation but also as this describing is the grammatical function of an adjective. Thank you for taking the time to read this and address this issue.
Here are several references and discussions on the topic for your use: http://shakti.trincoll.edu/~mendele/vol01/vol01.174
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/jonah081500.asp
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/943953.html
I would like to hear your opinions. Thank you. [[Special:Contributions/76.236.78.59|76.236.78.59]] ([[User talk:76.236.78.59|talk]]) 05:10, 27 December 2008 (UTC)

:This "issue" has been discussed at length here more than once. The latest such discussion is found in the archives at [[Talk:Jew/Archive 21#Title of article|this location]]. Go and study. The consensus was to retain the current title. There is nothing demeaning, pejorative or offensive about the word "Jew". Those who use it to express hostility won't be appeased by a name change. [[User:Hertz1888|Hertz1888]] ([[User talk:Hertz1888|talk]]) 05:55, 27 December 2008 (UTC)

:Thank you for your speedy reply and the link to the archives. It seems you have missed the major point I was trying to make here; perhaps I should not have mentioned the title change -- it was an ancillary issue. My major suggestion was one not debated as far as I could find here or in the archives, that in sentence structure, instances of "- is a Jew" be changed to "- is Jewish." The word Jew on its own has been found here to be acceptable, but the preference of "Jewish" to describe a person as opposed to "a Jew" is a valid one, and has not been discussed here. Thank you for your time, and I hope you will not trivialize my "suggestion" by putting it in quotation marks or telling me to "go and study." I am sure rudeness was not your intent. Thank you also for having the common sense to understand that all anti-semitism cannot be brought to an end by changing an article name, but unless you see otherwise, my point about the adjective form being preferred to describe someone is valid and people reading this article could by way of reading it pick up the less common, less preferred syntax that is indeed considered improper -- unlike the word "Jew" alone. Thanks for reading all this! [[Special:Contributions/76.236.78.59|76.236.78.59]] ([[User talk:76.236.78.59|talk]]) 22:48, 28 December 2008 (UTC)
::Like most things, wikipedia prefers neither form over the other so there is no need to change them article.--[[User:Patton123|Patton]][[User talk:Patton123|123]] 00:28, 29 December 2008 (UTC)
::Here's what the American Heritage Dictionary has to say:
::<blockquote>It is widely recognized that the attributive use of the noun ''Jew'', in phrases such as ''Jew lawyer'' or ''Jew ethics'', is both vulgar and highly offensive. In such contexts Jewish is the only acceptable possibility. Some people, however, have become so wary of this construction that they have extended the stigma to any use of ''Jew'' as a noun, a practice that carries risks of its own. In a sentence such as ''There are now several Jews on the council'', which is unobjectionable, the substitution of a circumlocution like ''Jewish people'' or ''persons of Jewish background'' may in itself cause offense for seeming to imply that ''Jew'' has a negative connotation when used as a noun.[http://www.bartleby.com/61/75/J0037500.html]</blockquote>
::That seems pretty clear; using ''Jew'' as an adjective is offensive, using ''Jew'' as a noun is not offensive, and suggesting it is may itself be offensive. [[User:Jayjg|Jayjg ]][[User_talk:Jayjg|(talk)]] 02:41, 29 December 2008 (UTC)
:::That makes sense but doesn't address "is a Jew" vs. "is Jewish." I would think and have found that "Jewish" here is preferred, since in essence the word here is used to describe a person, the work of an adjective. [[Special:Contributions/76.236.78.59|76.236.78.59]] ([[User talk:76.236.78.59|talk]]) 16:24, 29 December 2008 (UTC)
::::Is there something specific in the article that you think should be altered, 76? --[[User:Steven J. Anderson|Steven J. Anderson]] ([[User talk:Steven J. Anderson|talk]]) 18:43, 29 December 2008 (UTC)
:::::My only grievance at this point are the instances of the question "who is a Jew?" which I believe ought to read "who is Jewish?" However, given the already agreed upon main title for the article and the prevalence of this question in serious, philosophical and intelligently objective publications, I think it all best to be left alone. Thank you all for taking the time to look this over with me. [[Special:Contributions/76.236.78.59|76.236.78.59]] ([[User talk:76.236.78.59|talk]]) 03:30, 30 December 2008 (UTC)

A rabbi once corrected me when I mentioned the word 'Jewish' and told be to use the word 'Jew'. His reasoning was as follows: 'Warmish' is like not really warm, so 'Jewish' would be like not really a Jew. I liked that. [[User:Debresser|Debresser]] ([[User talk:Debresser|talk]]) 14:32, 7 January 2009 (UTC)

{{Talk:Jew/GA1}}

== "genetic studies of DNA" ==

should be changed to simply "genetic studies". As far as I am aware there is no other kind of genetic study (unless it is referring to [[Genetic (linguistics)]], but this is an obscure meaning that is clearly not what is meant in the context). --[[Special:Contributions/86.135.176.230|86.135.176.230]] ([[User talk:86.135.176.230|talk]]) 01:32, 13 January 2009 (UTC)
:I agree the title should be changed. Perhaps "DNA Studies" would be even clearer. [[User:McKorn|McKorn]] ([[User talk:McKorn|talk]]) 13:07, 13 January 2009 (UTC)

 This would be nice to have in the text! 
Another finding, paradoxical but unsurprising, is that by the yardstick of the Y chromosome, the world's Jewish communities closely resemble not only each other but also Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese, suggesting that all are descended from a common ancestral population that inhabited the Middle East some four thousand years ago. LINK:http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D02E0D71338F93AA35756C0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1
 
This would also be intrssting to have in to the text: 
Advanced genetic testing, including Y-DNA and mtDNA haplotyping, of modern Jewish communities around the world, has helped to determine which of the communities are likely to descend from the Israelites and which are not, as well as to establish the degrees of separation between the groups. Important studies archived here include the University College London study of 2002, Ariella Oppenheim's study of 2001, Ariella Oppenheim's study of 2000, Michael Hammer's study of 2000, Doron Behar's study of 2008, and others.

Key findings:
# The main ethnic element of Ashkenazim (German and Eastern European Jews), Sephardim (Spanish and Portuguese Jews), Mizrakhim (Middle Eastern Jews), Juhurim (Mountain Jews of the Caucasus), Italqim (Italian Jews), and most other modern Jewish populations of the world is Israelite. The Israelite haplotypes fall into Y-DNA haplogroups J and E.
# Ashkenazim also descend, in a smaller way, from European peoples such as Slavs and Khazars. The non-Israelite Y-DNA haplogroups include Q (typically Central Asian) and R1a1 (typically Eastern European).
# Dutch Jews from the Netherlands also descend from northwestern Europeans.
# Sephardim also descend, in a smaller way, from various non-Israelite peoples.
# Georgian Jews (Gruzinim) are a mix of Georgians and Israelites.
# Yemenite Jews (Temanim) are a mix of Yemenite Arabs and Israelites.
# Moroccan Jews, Algerian Jews, and Tunisian Jews are mainly Israelites.
# Libyan Jews are mainly Israelites who may have mixed somewhat with Berbers.
# Ethiopian Jews are almost exclusively Ethiopian, with little or no Israelite ancestry.
# Bene Israel Jews and Cochin Jews of India have much Indian ancestry in their mtDNA.
# Palestinian Arabs are probably partly Israelite. —Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/77.53.74.49|77.53.74.49]] ([[User talk:77.53.74.49|talk]]) 21:12, 16 January 2009 (UTC) 

== Why 'Arabs'? ==

Jews in general partly (or mostly) descend from Middle Eastern people, no doubt about that. But why does it specifically list Arabs as related ethnic group?

What about this? 
''"Jews were found to be more closely related to groups in the north of the Fertile Crescent (Kurds, Turks, and Armenians) than to their Arab neighbors."''
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11573163?dopt=Abstract

And even if Jews are genetically very similar to "Arabs" it's true only with '''Levantine''' Arabs, surely not Arabs from Somalia, Libya, Oman etc.

Besides, this article is not really about ethnicity! Or is it? I don't know. The population figures include Ethiopian Jews (Black converts), while excluding '''ethnic''' Jews from US, Russia, Germany etc., who are not Jewish by religion/religious law (for example - there are about 6-8 (not 5.2) million ethnic Jews in the states. The same is true for other countries, especially in the [[Post-Soviet_states|FSU]].[[Special:Contributions/79.183.235.101|79.183.235.101]] ([[User talk:79.183.235.101|talk]]) 17:50, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

== Beginning of the Diaspora ==
There is a reference to a policy of conversion which continued after the destruction of the Jewish state. This is ambiguous. Conversions ended effectively with the rise of Rabbinic Judaism following the destruction of the Second Temple. Further, it is likely that many or most of the Greek Speaking Diaspora Jews effectively assimilated through conversion to Christianity in the first two centuries CE. There is no remnant of Hellenistic Diaspora Culture in Rabbinic Jews. Rabbinic Judaism rejected the Greek translation of the Torah (Septuagint). In all likelihood, contemporary Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews probably descend from a core population from the Land of Israel and Babylonia (this is supported by common Aramaic and Hebrew texts including the Babylonian and Yerushalmi Talmuds as well as extensive DNA evidence). {{unsigned|163.1.207.30|12:57, 3 February 2009}}

== The DNA Debate ==
The genetic origin of Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jewry is frequently misunderstood. Haplogroups J and E are among the best candidates for Middle Eastern Origin. However haplogroups G2a and T are also likely indicative of a Middle Eastern origin and are shared between Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews. Haplogroups Q, R1b, and R1a are also found both within Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jewish populations despite ultimately originating outside the Middle East. One must remember that ancient Israel and later Judea were a tremendous crossroads for populations from the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and North Africa and therefore the sources of original "Jewish" DNA were likely varied. {{unsigned|163.1.207.30|12:57, 3 February 2009}}

== The Khazars ==
Frequently references to Khazars are framed so as to imply that the entire Khazar population was comprised of converts. This is historically inaccurate. Hebrew, Arabic, and other sources maintain that large numbers of Persian, Babylonian, Byzantine, Crimean, and Armenian Jews moved into Khazaria and were the impetus for the conversion of the ruling classes to Judaism. Thus the Khazars should be regarded as a fusion of Middle Eastern Jewry and converted Turkic peoples.

On the contribution of the Khazars to Ashkenazic Jewry, DNA evidence suggests that this did not occur to a significant degree as Haplogroups E, T, J, are not found in large amounts within the lands that comprised Khazaria. Though the proximity of the Caucasus to the Middle East makes it more difficult to draw significant conclusions about certain haplogroups.

Finally, there is no discernible trace of Turkic vocabulary, grammer, syntax, or any other linguistic clue, in Yiddish. Yiddish itself is based upon a fusion of Medieval High German, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Slavic dialects. {{unsigned|163.1.207.30|12:57, 3 February 2009}}

== Jewish Culture ==
Does the conversion of the Khazars to Judaism matter from a cultural point of view? It should be expressed that Judaism is not a racial identification (except in the eyes of anti-semites) and that further contemporary Jewry are certainly the cultural descendants of ancient Middle Eastern Jewry, and as DNA evidence points out, most likely the biological descendants of these Jews as well. Further, there is no trace of Khazar culture or custom among Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Kavkazi, or Mizrachi Jewry. {{unsigned|163.1.207.30|12:57, 3 February 2009}}

== Population ==

There seems to be numerous promblems with the population figures. For example if you look at the top, of the page it states that there are 184,000 Jews in Argentina, and that Argentina has the 6th greatest population of Jews in the world. Later on somewhere in the middle of the page it says there are 250,000 Jews in Argentina. If you look in the [[Argentina]] page it states that Argentina has the 5th largest Jewish community in the world. These figures are very contradicting, maybe someone should take a look at this. {{unsigned|163.1.207.30|12:57, 3 February 2009}}

:For this article I used the latest Jewish population figures available from the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute (2007) or the Jewish Virtual Library (2006). I also tried to make sure the population numbers were consistent throughout the article because at one time they weren't. Other article may be based on other census figures. — [[::User:Malik Shabazz|Malik Shabazz]] ([[::User talk:Malik Shabazz|talk]] '''·''' [[::Special:Contributions/Malik Shabazz|contribs]]) 18:11, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

== Picture ==

Emma Lazarus? Golda Meir? Maimonides? OK, I can forget about Maimonides, but Lazarus and Meir,
'''seriously?'''

You've got [[Freud]], [[Spinoza]], [[Felix Mendelssohn|Mendelssohn]], [[Mark Chagall|Chagall]], [[Isaac Asimov|Asimov]], [[Gershwin]], [[Rand]], [[Niels Bohr|Bohr]], [[Max Born|Born]], [[Chomsky]], [[Emma Goldman|Goldman]], [[Woody Allen|Allen]], [[Leonard Cohen|Cohen]], [[Stanley Kubrick|Kubrick]], etc. etc. etc., so why them? It seems the editors have chosen to go the PC way (2 men, 2 women; 2 Aszkenazim, 2 Sefardim; Israeli Jew in addition to diaspora Jews; Religious leaders and Atheist Jews), and it's a shame really. A gifted nation with gifted people, and Meir/Lazarus are chosen to represent them. I have nothing against these two great women, but their place here is not justified, and I'm sure I'm not alone on this. —Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/79.178.57.55|79.178.57.55]] ([[User talk:79.178.57.55|talk]]) 20:27, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Yom Kippur

2009-02-05T14:56:03Z

Dbratton: Undid revision 268690611 by 87.41.50.4 (talk)

{{redirect|Day of Atonement}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image = Gottlieb-Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur.jpg
|caption = Yom Kippur in the synagogue, painting by [[Maurycy Gottlieb]] (1878)
|holiday_name = Yom Kippur
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''יוֹם כִּפּוּר''' or '''יום הכיפורים'''
|nickname =
|observedby = [[Jew]]s
|date = 10th day of [[Tishrei]]
|observances = [[Fasting]], [[prayer]], abstaining from physical pleasures, refraining from [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|work]]
|type = Jewish
|significance = Soul-searching and repentance
|related to = [[Rosh Hashanah]], which precedes Yom Kippur
|date2008 = Sunset, October 8 – nightfall, October 9
|date2009 = Sunset, September 27 – nightfall, September 28
|date2010 = Sunset, September 17 – nightfall, September 18
|date2011 = Sunset, October 7 – nightfall, October 8
}}'''Yom Kippur''' ({{lang-he|יוֹם כִּפּוּר}}, {{IPA2|ˈjɔm kiˈpur}}), also known in English as the ''Day of Atonement'', is the most solemn and important of the [[Jewish holiday]]s. Its central themes are [[Atonement in Judaism|atonement]] and [[Repentance in Judaism|repentance]]. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of [[Ta'anit|fasting]] and intensive [[Jewish services|prayer]], often spending most of the day in [[synagogue]] services.

Yom Kippur is the tenth and final day of the [[Ten Days of Repentance]] which begin with [[Rosh Hashanah]]. According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year into a "book" on Rosh Hashanah and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict. During the Ten Days of Repentance, a Jew tries to amend his behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God (''bein adam leMakom'') and against his fellow man (''bein adam lechavero''). The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and private petitions and confessions of guilt (''[[Vidui]]''). At the end of Yom Kippur, one considers himself absolved by God.

The Yom Kippur prayer service includes several unique aspects. One is the actual number of prayer services. Unlike a regular day, which has three prayer services (''Ma'ariv'', the evening prayer; ''Shacharit'', the morning prayer; and ''Mincha'', the afternoon prayer), or a [[Shabbat]] or [[Yom Tov]], which have four prayer services (''Ma'ariv''; ''Shacharit''; ''Musaf'', the additional prayer; and ''Mincha''), Yom Kippur has five prayer services (''Ma'ariv''; ''Shacharit''; ''Musaf''; ''Mincha''; and ''Ne'ilah'', the closing prayer). The prayer services also include a public confession of sins (''[[Vidui]]'') and a reenactment of the special Yom Kippur ''avodah'' (service) of the [[Kohen Gadol]] in the [[Holy Temple in Jerusalem]].

==Observances==
===General observances===
{{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:27|HE}} decrees that Yom Kippur is a strict day of rest and of fasting.

Five additional prohibitions are traditionally observed, as detailed in the [[Oral Torah|Jewish oral tradition]] (''[[Mishnah]]'' tractate ''[[Yoma]]'' 8:1):

#Eating and drinking
#Wearing leather shoes
#Bathing/washing
#Anointing oneself with perfumes or lotions
#Sexual relations

Total abstention from food and drink usually begins 30 minutes before sundown (called ''tosefet Yom Kippur'', lit. "Addition to Yom Kippur"), and ends after nightfall the following day. Although the fast is required of all healthy adults, it is waived in the case of certain medical conditions. Virtually all Jewish holidays involve a ritual feast, but since Yom Kippur involves fasting, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] requires one to eat a large and festive meal on the afternoon before Yom Kippur, after the ''[[Mincha]]'' afternoon prayer. Wearing white clothing is traditional to symbolize one’s purity on this day. Many [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] men immerse themselves in a ''[[mikvah]]'' on the day before Yom Kippur.<ref name=OU>{{cite web |url=http://www.ou.org/chagim/yomkippur/ykcustoms.htm |title=OU Customs for Erev Yom Kippur |accessdate=2008-09-21}}</ref>

===Eve of Yom Kippur ===
{{main|Kol Nidre}}

'''Erev Yom Kippur''' (lit. "eve of day of atonement") is the day preceding Yom Kippur, corresponding to the ninth day of the Hebrew month of [[Tishrei]]. This day is commemorated with two festive meals, the giving of charity, and asking others for forgiveness.<ref>http://www.divreinavon.com/pdf/ErevYomKippur.pdf Erev Yom Kippur - The purpose of the day as seen through Talmudic anecdotes</ref>

Before sunset on Yom Kippur eve, worshippers gather in the [[synagogue]]. The [[Ark (synagogue)|Ark]] is opened and two people take from it two [[Sefer Torah|Sifrei Torah]] (Torah scrolls). Then they take their places, one on each side of the [[Hazzan|cantor]], and the three recite:
<blockquote>In the tribunal of Heaven and the tribunal of earth, by the permission of God—praised be He—and by the permission of this holy congregation, we hold it lawful to pray with transgressors."</blockquote>

The cantor then chants the [[Kol Nidre]] prayer (Hebrew: '''כל נדרי''') in [[Aramaic]], not [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]. Its name is taken from the opening words, meaning “All vows”:

<blockquote>All personal vows we are likely to make, all personal oaths and pledges we are likely to take between this Yom Kippur and the next Yom Kippur, we publicly renounce. Let them all be relinquished and abandoned, null and void, neither firm nor established. Let our personal vows, pledges and oaths be considered neither vows nor pledges nor oaths.<ref>Translation of Philip Birnbaum, from ''High Holyday Prayer Book'', Hebrew Publishing Company, NY, 1951</ref></blockquote>

The leader and the congregation then say together three times “May all the people of Israel be forgiven, including all the strangers who live in their midst, for all the people are in fault.” The Torah scrolls are then replaced, and the customary [[Jewish services|evening service]] begins.

===Prayer services===
Many married men wear a ''[[kittel]]'', a white robe-like garment for evening prayers on Yom Kippur.<ref name=JVL_yk>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/holiday4.html |title=Jewish Virtual Library — Yom Kippur |accessdate=2008-09-21}}</ref> They also wear a [[tallit]], the only evening service of the year in which this is done.<ref name=MJL>{{cite web |url=http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Yom_Kippur/Overview_Yom_Kippur_Community/Prayer_Services.htm |title=My Jewish Learning — Prayer Services |accessdate=2008-09-21 |author=Rabbi Daniel Kohn}}</ref> Prayer services begin with the prayer known as “[[Kol Nidre]],” which must be recited before sunset, and continue with the evening prayers (''Ma'ariv'' or ''Arvith''), which includes an extended [[Selichot]] service.

The morning prayer service is preceded by litanies and petitions of forgiveness called ''selichot''; on Yom Kippur, many ''selichot'' are woven into the [[liturgy]]. The morning prayers are followed by an added prayer (''Musaf'') as on all other holidays. This is followed by ''Mincha'' (the afternoon prayer) which includes a reading ([[Haftarah]]) of the [[Book of Jonah]], which has as its theme the story of God's willingness to forgive those who repent. The service concludes with the ''Ne'ilah'' prayer, which begins shortly before sunset, when the "gates of prayer" will be closed. Yom Kippur comes to an end with a recitation of ''[[Shema Yisrael]]'' and the blowing of the ''[[shofar]]'', which marks the conclusion of the fast.<ref name=MJL />
{{Teshuva}}

===The ''Avodah'': Remembering the Temple service===
A recitation of the sacrificial service of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] traditionally features prominently in both the liturgy and the religious thought of the holiday. Specifically, the ''Avodah'' (“service”) in the ''musaf'' prayer recounts the sacrificial ceremonies in great detail.

This traditional prominence is rooted in the [[Babylonian Talmud]]’s description of how to attain atonement following the destruction of the Temple. According to Talmud tractate [[Yoma]], in the absence of a Temple, Jews are obligated to study the High Priest’s ritual on Yom Kippur, and this study helps achieve atonement for those who are unable to benefit from its actual performance. In [[Orthodox Judaism]], accordingly, studying the Temple ritual on Yom Kippur represents a positive [[mitzvah#rabbinical mitzvot|rabbinically-ordained obligation]] which Jews seeking atonement are required to fulfill.

In Orthodox, most [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]], and some [[Progressive Judaism|progressive]]<ref>An abbreviated version of the Seder Avodah is used in Yom Kippur services at the [[Hebrew Union College]] Jerusalem campus</ref> synagogues a detailed description of the Temple ritual is recited on the day. In most Orthodox and some Conservative synagogues, the entire congregation [[prostration|prostrates]] themselves at each point in the recitation where the [[Kohen Gadol]] (High Priest) would pronounce the [[Tetragrammaton]] (God’s holiest name, according to Judaism).

The main section of the Avodah is a threefold recitation of the High Priest’s actions regarding expiation in the [[Holy of Holies]]. Performing the sacrificial acts and reciting [[Leviticus]] 16:30, “for on this day atonement shall be made for you, to atone for you for all your sins, before God…” (he would recite the Tetragrammaton at this point, to which the people would prostrate to the ground) and after extending the Name, he would finish the verse “…you shall be purified.” He would first ask for forgiveness for himself and his family (“Your pious man”), then for the priestly caste (“Your holy people”), and finally for all of Israel (“Your upright children”). (These three times, plus in some congregations the ''Alenu'' prayer during the [[Musaf]] [[Amidah]] on Yom Kippur and [[Rosh Hashanah]], are the only times in [[Jewish services]] when Jews engage in complete full-body prostration, with the exception of some [[Yemenite Jews]] and ''talmedhei haRambam'' who may prostrate themselves on other occasions during the year). A variety of liturgical poems are added, including a poem recounting the radiance of the countenance of the [[Kohen Gadol]] after exiting the Holy of Holies, traditionally believed to emit palpable light in a manner echoing the [[Bible]]'s account of the countenance of [[Moses]] after descending from [[Mount Sinai]], as well as prayers for the speedy rebuilding of the [[Third Temple|Temple]] and the restoration of [[korban|sacrificial worship]]. There are a variety of other customs, such as hand gestures to mime the sprinkling of blood (one sprinkling upwards and seven downwards per set of eight).

Orthodox liturgies include prayers lamenting the inability to perform the Temple service and petitioning for its restoration, which Conservative synagogues generally omit. In some Conservative synagogues, only the ''[[Hazzan]]'' engages in full prostration. Some Conservative synagogues abridge the recitation of the Avodah service to varying degrees, and some omit it entirely. Many [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] and [[Reconstructionist Judaism|Reconstructionist]] services omit the entire service as inconsistent with modern sensibilities.

=== Observance among secular Jews ===
Yom Kippur is considered one of the holiest of Jewish holidays, and it is observed by many [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Jews]] who may not observe other holidays. Many secular Jews fast and attend synagogue on Yom Kippur, where the number of worshippers attending is often double or triple the normal attendance.

===Yom Kippur in Israel ===
[[Image:Yom Kippur on Highway 20 Tel-Aviv.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Ayalon Highway, Tel-Aviv, in Yom Kippur 2007. Empty of cars.]]
Yom Kippur is a legal holiday in the modern state of Israel. There are no radio or television broadcasts, airports are shut down, there is no public transportation, and all shops and businesses are closed.<ref>[http://web.israelinsider.com/Views/6829.htm "Sounds of The City", article from [[Israel Insider]], October 14, 2005]</ref> In 1973, an air raid siren was sounded on the afternoon of Yom Kippur and radio broadcasts were resumed to alert the public to the surprise attack that launched the [[Yom Kippur War]].

In 2008, 63% percent of the Jewish people of [[Israel]] said that they were intending to fast on Yom Kippur.<ref>http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3606861,00.html</ref> This may be the reason that it is very common in [[Israel]] to wish "Tsom Kal" (an easy fast) to everyone before Yom Kippur, even if you don't know whether they will fast or not.

It is considered "bad form" to eat in public on Yom Kippur or to drive a motor vehicle. There is no legal prohibition on driving or eating in public, and from the strict legal point of view any person has the right to do so — but in practice such actions are frowned upon. Allowance is made for ambulances and emergency vehicles, but there have been incidents where even they are not tolerated.<ref>"Youths hurl rocks at Magen David paramedics in Acre, Haifa" ([[Haaretz]], October 11, 2008[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027741.html]</ref>

Over the last few decades, bicycle-riding on the empty streets has become a new “tradition” among [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Israeli]] youngsters, especially on the eve of Yom Kippur.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3310235,00.html
|title=Yom Kippur: Nearly 2,000 injured
|publisher=Ynetnews
|year=2006
|accessdate=2006-10-02}}</ref> In consequence, Yom Kippur is jocularly referred to as the “Festival of Bicycles.”<ref>See for instance uses at [http://www.doctors.co.il/xID-4096,xCT-0,xCN-printer,m-Doctors,a-Article.html], [http://www.tapuz.co.il/blog/ViewEntry.asp?EntryId=801794&passok=yes]</ref> Bicycle sales rise in the weeks before Yom Kippur, and companies have taken to advertising children’s bicycles as “Yom Kippur specials.”

==Yom Kippur in the Bible==
The [[Torah]] calls the day ''Yom HaKippurim'' (יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים) and in {{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:27|}} decrees a strict prohibition of work and affliction of the soul upon the tenth day of the seventh month, later known as [[Tishrei]]. The rites for Yom Kippur are set forth in the sixteenth chapter of [[Leviticus]] (cf. [[Exodus]] 30:10; Leviticus 23:27–31, 25:9; [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 29:7–11). It is described as a solemn fast, on which no food or drink could be consumed, and on which all work is forbidden.

=== Midrashic interpretation ===
''The midrashim described in this section need sources cited from Midrashic literature''

Traditionally, Yom Kippur is considered the date on which [[Moses]] received the second set of [[Ten Commandments]]. It occurred following the completion of the second 40 days of instructions from God. At this same time, the [[Israelites]] were granted atonement for the sin of the [[Golden Calf]]; hence, its designation as the Day of Atonement.<ref>Spiro, Rabbi Ken. [http://www.aish.edu/literacy/jewishhistory/Crash_Course_in_Jewish_History_Part_12_—_The_Golden_Calf.asp Crash Course in Jewish History Part 12 — The Golden Calf]. [[Aish HaTorah]]. accessed April 29, 2007</ref>

===View of contemporary Biblical scholarship===
According to [[textual criticism|textual scholars]], the biblical regulations covering Yom Kippur are spliced together from multiple source texts,<ref name="Jewish Encyclopedia">''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref><ref>Cheyne and Black, ''[[Encyclopedia Biblica]]''</ref> as indicated by evidence such as with the [[doublet|duplication]] of the confession over the bullock,<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:6|}} and {{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:6|}}</ref> and the incongruity in one verse stating that the high priest should not enter the Holy of Holies (with the inference that there are exceptions for certain explicitly identified festivals),<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:2|}}</ref> and the next verse indicating that they can enter whenever they wish (as long as a specific ritual is carried out first).<ref name="Jewish Encyclopedia"/> Although [[Rashi]] tried to find a harmonistic explanation for this incongruity, the [[Leviticus Rabbah]] maintains that it was indeed the case that the high priest could enter at any time if these rituals were carried out.<ref>''Leviticus Rabbah'' 21</ref> Textual scholars argue that the ritual is composed from three sources, and a couple of redactional additions:<ref name="Jewish Encyclopedia"/><ref>Cheyne and Black, ''[[Encyclopedia Biblica]]''</ref>
*prerequisite rituals before the high priest can enter the Holy of Holies (on any occasion), namely a sin offering and a whole offering, followed by the filling of the Holy of Holies with a cloud of incense while wearing linen garments<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:1|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:3–4|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:12–13|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:34|}} (b)</ref>
*regulations which establish an annual day of fasting and rest, during which the sanctuary and people are purified, without stating the ritual for doing so;<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:29–34|}} (a)</ref> this regulation is very similar to the one in the Holiness Code<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:27–31|}}</ref>
*later elaborations of the ceremony,<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:5|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:7–10|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:14–28|}}</ref> which include the sprinkling of the blood on the ''mercy seat'', and the use of a scapegoat sent to Azazel; the same source also being responsible for small alterations to related regulations<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|30:10|}}, {{bibleverse||Leviticus|25:9|}}</ref>
*the redactional additions<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:2|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:6|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:11|}}</ref>

According to [[biblical criticism|biblical scholars]], the original ceremony was simply the ritual purification of the sanctuary from any accidental ritual impurity, at the start of each new year, as seen in the [[Book of Ezekiel]],<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Day of Atonement''</ref> which textual scholars date to before the [[priestly source]], but after [[JE]].<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Priestly Source''</ref><ref>[[Richard Elliott Friedman]], ''Who wrote the Bible''</ref> According to the Book of Ezekiel, the sanctuary was to be cleansed by the sprinkling of bullock's blood, on the first day of the first and of the seventh months<ref>{{bibleverse||Ezekiel|45:18–20|}}</ref> — near the start of the Civil year and of the Ecclesiastical year, respectively; although the [[masoretic text]] of the Book of Ezekiel has the second of these cleansings on the seventh of the first month, biblical scholars regard the [[Septuagint]], which has the second cleaning as being the first of the seventh month, as being more accurate here.<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Day of Atonement''</ref> It appears that during the period that the Holiness Code and the Book of Ezekiel were written, the new year began on the tenth day of the seventh month,<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|25:9|}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse||Ezekiel|40:1|}}</ref> and thus biblical scholars believe that by the time the Priestly Code was compiled, the date of the new year and of the day of atonement had swapped around.<ref name="Jewish Encyclopedia"/>

== Yom Kippur in Mishnaic and Talmudic literature ==
===The Temple service ===
The following summary of the Temple service is based on the traditional Jewish religious account described in [[Mishnah]] tractate [[Yoma]], appearing in contemporary traditional Jewish prayerbooks for Yom Kippur, and studied as part of a traditional Jewish Yom Kippur worship service.<ref name=kasirer>Arnold Lustiger, Michael Taubes, [[Menachem Genack]], and [[Hershel Schacter]], ''Kasirer Edition Yom Kippur Machzor With Commentary Adapted from the Teachings of Rabbi [[Joseph B. Soloveitchik]]''. New York: K'hal Publishing, 2006. pp. 588–589 (summary); 590–618.</ref>

While the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple]] was standing in [[Jerusalem]] (from Biblical times through 70 C.E.), the [[Kohen Gadol]] (High Priest) performed a complex set of special services and sacrifices for Yom Kippur. These services were considered to be the most important parts of Yom Kippur, as through them the Kohen Gadol made atonement for all Jews in the world. During the service, the Kohen Gadol entered the [[Holy of Holies]] in the center of the Temple, the only time of the year that anyone went inside. Doing so required special purification and preparation, including five immersions in a ''[[mikvah]]'' (ritual bath), and four changes of clothing.

Seven days prior to Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol was sequestered in the [[Parhedrin chamber]] in the Temple, where he reviewed the service with the Temple sages, and was sprinkled with spring water containing ashes of the [[Red Heifer]] as purification. The [[Talmud]] (Tractate [[Yoma]]) also reports that he practiced the incense offering ritual in the [[Avitnas chamber]].

On the day of Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol had to follow a precise order of services, sacrifices, and purifications:
{{Judaism}}
*'''Morning (Tamid) Offering''' The Kohen Gadol first performed the regular daily (''Tamid'') offering — usually performed by ordinary priests — in special golden garments, after immersing in a ''[[mikvah]]'' and washing his hands and feet.
*'''Garment Change 1''' The Kohen Gadol immersed in a special ''mikvah'' in the Temple courtyard and changed into special linen garments, and washed his hands and feet twice, once after removing the golden garments and once before putting on the linen garments.
* '''Bull as Personal Sin-Offering''' The Kohen Gadol leaned (performed ''[[Semicha in sacrifices|Semikha]])'' and made a confession over the bull on behalf of himself and his household, pronouncing the [[Tetragrammaton]]. The people prostrated themselves when they heard. He then slaughtered the bull as a ''chatat'' (sin-offering) and received its blood in a bowl.
* '''Lottery of the goats''' At the Eastern (Nikanor) gate, the Kohen Gadol drew lots from a lottery box over two [[goat]]s. One was selected “for the Lord,” and one “for [[Azazel]].” The Kohen Gadol tied a red band around the horns of the goat “for Azazel.”
* '''Incense Preparation''' The Kohen Gadol ascended the ''[[mizbeach]]'' (altar) and took a shovel full of [[ember]]s with a special shovel. He was brought [[incense]]. He filled his hands and placed it in a vessel. (The ''[[Talmud]]'' considered this the most physically difficult part of the service, as the Kohen Gadol had to keep the shovelful of glowing [[coal]]s balanced and prevent its contents from dropping, using his armpit or teeth, while filling his hands with the incense).
* '''Incense Offering''' Holding the shovel and the vessel, he entered the [[Kadosh Hakadashim]], the Temple’s [[Holy of Holies]]. In the days of the [[Solomon’s Temple|First Temple]], he placed the shovel between the poles of the [[Ark of the Covenant]]. In the days of the [[Second Temple]], he put the shovel where the Ark would have been. He waited until the chamber filled with smoke and left.
*'''Sprinkling of Blood in the Holy of Holies''' The Kohen Gadol took the bowl with the bull’s blood and entered the Most Holy Place again. He sprinkled the bull’s blood with his finger eight times, before the Ark in the days of the First Temple, where it would have been in the days of the Second. The Kohen Gadol then left the Holy of Holies, putting the bowl on a stand in front of the [[Parochet]] (curtain separating the Holy from the Holy of Holies).
*'''Goat for the Lord as Sin-Offering for [[Kohen|Kohanim]]''' The Kohen Gadol went to the eastern end of the Israelite courtyard near the Nikanor Gate, laid his hands (''[[Semicha in sacrifices|semikha]]'') on the goat “for the Lord,” and pronounced [[confession]] on behalf of the Kohanim (priests). The people prostrated themselves when he pronounced the Tetragrammaton. He then slaughtered the goat, and received its blood in another bowl.
*'''Sprinkling of blood in the Holy''' Standing in the ''[[Hekhal]]'' (Holy), on the other side of the Parochet from the Holy of Holies, the Kohen Gadol took the bull's blood from the stand and sprinkled it with his finger eight times in the direction of the Parochet. He then took the bowl with the goat's blood and sprinkled it eight times in the same manner, putting it back on the stand.
*'''Smearing of blood on the Golden (Incense) Altar''' The Kohen Gadol removed the goat’s blood from the stand and mixed it with the bull's blood. Starting at the northeast corner, he then smeared the mixture of blood on each of the four corners of the Golden (Incense) altar in the Haichal. He then sprinkled the blood eight times on the altar.
*'''Goat for Azazel''' The Kohen Gadol left the Haichal and walked to the east side of the ''[[Azarah]]'' (Israelite courtyard). Near the Nikanor Gate, he leaned his hands (Semikha) on the goat “for Azazel” and confessed the sins of the entire people of Israel. The people prostrated themselves when he pronounced the Tetragrammaton. While he made a general confession, individuals in the crowd at the Temple would confess privately. The Kohen Gadol then sent the goat off “to the wilderness.” In practice, to prevent its return to human habitation, the goat was led to a cliff outside Jerusalem and pushed off its edge.
*'''Preparation of sacrificial animals''' While the goat “for Azazel” was being led to the cliff, the Kohen Gadol removed the insides of the bull, and intertwined the bodies of the bull and goat. Other people took the bodies to the ''Beit HaDeshen'' (place of the ashes). They were burned there after it was confirmed that the goat “for Azazel” had reached the wilderness.
*'''Reading the Torah''' After it was confirmed that the goat “for Azazzel” had been pushed off the cliff, the Kohen Gadol passed through the Nikanor Gate into the ''Ezrat Nashim'' (Women’s Courtyard) and read sections of the ''Torah'' describing Yom Kippur and its [[Korban|sacrifice]]s.
*'''Garment change 2''' The Kohen Gadol removed his linen garments, immersed in the ''mikvah'' in the Temple courtyard, and changed into a second set of special golden garments. He washed his hands and feet both before removing the linen garments and after putting on the golden ones.
*'''Offering of Rams''' The Kohen Gadol offered two rams as an ''olah'' offering, slaughtering them on the north side of the ''mizbeach'' (outer altar), receiving their blood in a bowl, carrying the bowl to the outer altar, and dashing the blood on the northeast and southwest corners of the Outer Altar. He dismembered the rams and burned the parts entirely on the outer altar. He then offered the accompanying ''[[mincha]]'' (grain) offerings and ''nesachim'' (wine-libations).
*'''Musaf Offering''' The Kohen Gadol then offered the ''[[Musaf]]'' offering.
*'''Burning of Innards''' The Kohen Gadol placed the insides of the bull and goat on the outer altar and burned them entirely.
*'''*Garment change 3''' The Kohen Gadol removed his golden garments, immersed in the ''mikvah'', and changed to a new set of linen garments, again washing his hands and feet twice.
*'''Removal of Incense from the [[Kadosh Hakadashim|Holy of Holies]]''' The Kohen Gadol returned to the Holy of Holies and removed the bowl of incense and the shovel.
*'''Garment Change 4''' The Kohen Gadol removed his linen garments, immersed in the ''mikvah'', and changed into a third set of golden garments, again washing his hands and feet twice.
*'''Evening (Tamid) Offering''' The Kohen Gadol completed the afternoon portion of the regular (''tamid'') daily offering in the special golden garments. He washed his hands and feet a tenth time.

The Kohen Gadol wore five sets of garments (three golden and two white linen), immersed in the ''mikvah'' five times, and washed his hands and feet ten times. Sacrifices included two (daily) lambs, one bull, two goats, and two rams, with accompanying ''mincha'' (meal) offerings, wine libations, and three incense offerings (the regular two daily and an additional one for Yom Kippur). The Kohen Gadol entered the Holy of Holies three times. The Tetragrammaton was pronounced three times, once for each confession.<ref name=kasirer />

== Yom Kippur and the Bnai Noah ==

Yom Kippur is one of the Holy Days observed by the [[B’nei Noah]], gentiles who adhere to the [[Seven Laws of Noah]] and are under the knowledgeable guidance of [[Orthodox Judaism]].{{fact|date=September 2008}}

==Christians and Yom Kippur==
{{main|Day of Atonement (Christian holiday)}}
In [[Christianity]] the phrase ''Day of Atonement'' is usually taken to refer to a more singular [[eschatology|eschatological]] event also known as ''[[Judgment Day]]'', and most Christians ignore Yom Kippur as they do not consider it to be part of the ''[[New Covenant]]''. However, many [[Christian theology|Christian theologians]] and scholars acknowledge that there is a strong connection between the two days; for example, one Christian theologian argues that Yom Kippur is the foreshadowing pre-text of [[Christos pantocrator|Christ's future judgment]] of mankind.<ref>Sausa, Diego D. ''Kippur — the Final Judgment: Apocalyptic Secrets of the Hebrew Sanctuary'', Fort Myers, FL: The Vision Press, 2006. ISBN 0-9788346-1-5.</ref>

In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], the [[Fast Day]] of the [[Exaltation of the Holy Cross]] is observed on September 14 in the [[Julian Calendar]], roughly coinciding with Yom Kippur (which oscillates with respect to the Julian and [[Gregorian Calendar]]s). One Orthodox priest – Rev. Patrick Reardon – argues that it is obviously derived from Yom Kippur, and that everyone realizes this.<ref>[http://www.ancientfaithradio.com/specials/allsaints/ Welcome — Ancient Faith Radio]</ref> The [[Amish]] Christians also observe a Fast Day on October 11 in the Gregorian Calendar, which similarly coincides roughly with Yom Kippur.<ref>[http://www.dutchcrafters.com/aboutamish.aspx About The Amish]</ref>

However, Yom Kippur is most comparable to the Christian holy day of [[Good Friday]]. As Yom Kippur is seen as the day for atonement of sins, so is Good Friday depicted as the event which [[Christ]] granted humanity atonement through his death and resurrection.

==Yom Kippur in Islamic tradition==
According to [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] tradition, when [[Muhammad]] arrived in [[Medina]] in 622 CE, he found that the Jews there fasted on the 10th day of [[Muharram]] and asked them the reason for their fasting on this day. They said, “This is a blessed day. On this day God saved the Children of Israel from their enemy (in Egypt) and so Moses fasted on this day giving thanks to God.” Muhammad said, “We are closer to Musa than you are". He fasted on that day and commanded Muslims to fast on this day.<ref>Al-Bukhari</ref> This day is known as [[Ashura]].

The fasting suggests Yom Kippur while the Exodus story suggests [[Passover]]. Later, Muhammad mentioned that Muslims would have their sins forgiven if they repented sincerely and fasted on Ashura. There are conflicting accounts as to whether it corresponds with Passover or with Yom Kippur. Furthermore, Ashura no longer generally coincides with either days, since the [[Quran]] prohibited [[intercalary month|intercalation]] into the lunar calendar,<ref>Qu'ran 9:36</ref> resulting in the gradual shift of the start of the 354 day [[Islamic Calendar|Islamic year]] with respect to the solar year, while the lunisolar [[Hebrew Calendar]] retains intercalation.

==See also==
*[[Break fast]]
*[[Kol Nidre]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.aish.com/hhYomK/hhYomKDefault/ABCs_of_Yom_Kippur.asp]
*[http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=4687 Yom Kippur guide] at [[Chabad.org]]
*[http://www.mavensearch.com/content/YomKippur.asp Yom Kippur Info] at MavenSearch
*[http://www.pizmonim.com Yom Kippur Prayers for Sephardic Jews]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=73|type=Shiurim}}
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/eng/?cat=104|type=Q&A}}

{{Jewish holidays}}
{{High Holidays}}
{{US Holidays}}

[[Category:Yom Kippur]]
[[Category:Jewish holy days]]

[[ar:يوم كيبور]]
[[ast:Yom Kippur]]
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[[he:יום הכיפורים]]
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[[lt:Jom Kipuras]]
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[[ja:ヨム・キプル]]
[[no:Jom kippúr]]
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[[pt:Yom Kipur]]
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[[sr:Јом кипур]]
[[fi:Jom kippur]]
[[sv:Jom kippur]]
[[tl:Araw ng Pagbabayad-puri]]
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[[tr:Yom Kippur]]
[[uk:Йом-Кіпур]]
[[ur:یوم کِپور]]
[[yi:יום כיפור]]
[[zh:贖罪日]]

Passover

2009-02-04T08:47:41Z

Dbratton: Undid revision 268435108 by 76.79.180.143 (talk)

{{otheruses4|the Jewish holiday}}
{{redirect3|Pasch|Pasch could also refer to the mathematician, [[Moritz Pasch]], and the [[Pasch (surname)|surname]]}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image = Machine-made Shmura Matzo.jpg
|caption = Machine-made [[matzo]], the traditional substitute for bread eaten on Passover.
|holiday_name = Passover
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''פסח''' (''Pesach'')
|observedby = [[Judaism|Jew]]s, [[Samaritan]]s
|begins = 15th day of [[Nisan]]
|ends = 21st day of [[Nisan]] in [[Israel]], and among some liberal [[Jewish diaspora|Diaspora Jews]]; 22nd day of [[Nisan]] outside of [[Israel]] among more traditional Diaspora Jews.
|celebrations = In Jewish practice, one or two festive [[Passover Seder|Seder]] meals - first two nights; in the times of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]], the [[Korban]] Pesach. In Samaritan practice, men gather for a religious ceremony on Mount Gerizim that includes the ancient Passover Sacrifice.
|date2006 = sunset of 12 April to nightfall of 19 April / 20 April
|date2007 = sunset of April 2 to nightfall of 9 April / 10 April
|date2008 = sunset of April 19 to nightfall of 26 April / 27 April
|date2009 = sunset of April 8 to nightfall of 15 April / 16 April
|type = One of the [[Three Pilgrim Festivals]]
|significance = Celebrates the [[Exodus]], the freedom from [[slavery]] of the [[Children of Israel]] from [[History of ancient Egypt|ancient Egypt]] that followed the [[Ten Plagues]]. 
Beginning of the 49 days of [[Counting of the Omer]]
|relatedto = [[Shavuot]] ("Festival [of] Weeks") which follows 49 days from the second night of Passover.
}}
{{Jews and Judaism sidebar}}

'''Passover''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]]: פֶּסַח, {{Audio|He-Pesach.ogg|'''Pesach'''}}, [[Tiberian Hebrew|Tiberian]]: {{IPA|pɛsaħ}}, [[Hebrew language|Israeli]]: '''Pesah''', '''Pesakh''', Yiddish: '''Peysekh''') is a [[Jew]]ish and [[Samaritan]] holy day and festival commemorating God sparing the Jews when He killed the first born of Egypt, and is followed by the seven day Feast of the Unleavened Bread commemorating [[the Exodus]] from [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] and the liberation of the [[Israelite]]s from [[Judaism and slavery|slavery]].<ref>{{bibleverse||Lev|23:6|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Num|28:17|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Num|33:3|HE}}</ref>

Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of [[Nisan]], the [[full moon]] of that month, the first month of the [[Hebrew calendar|Hebrew calendar's]] festival year according to the [[Hebrew Bible]].<ref name="Lev-23-4">({{bibleverse||Lev|23:4|HE}}; {{bibleverse||Num|9:3,5|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Num|28:16|HE}})</ref>

In the story of [[the Exodus]], the Bible tells that God inflicted [[Ten Plagues|ten plagues]] upon the Egyptians before Pharaoh would release his Israelite slaves, with the tenth plague being the killing of firstborn sons. However, the Israelites were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a spring lamb, and upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord passed over these homes, hence the term "passover".<ref>Exodus 12:12: "On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn—both men and animals—and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am יהוה (the LORD)."</ref> When Pharaoh freed the Israelites, it is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread to rise. In commemoration, for the duration of Passover, no [[leaven|leavened bread]] is eaten, for which reason it is also called חַג הַמַּצּוֹת ('''Chag HaMatzot'''), "The Festival of the Unleavened Bread".<ref>{{bibleverse||Lev|23:6|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Num|28:17|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Num|33:3|HE}}</ref> ''[[Matza]]''
(unleavened bread) is the primary symbol of the holiday. This bread that is flat and unrisen is called Matzo.

Together with [[Shavuot]] ("Pentecost") and [[Sukkot]] ("Tabernacles"), Passover is one of the [[three pilgrim festivals]] (''Shalosh Regalim'') during which the entire Jewish populace historically made a pilgrimage to the [[Temple in Jerusalem]]. Samaritans still make this pilgrimage to Mount Gerizim, but only men participate in public worship.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3394699,00.html |date=2007-05-02 |last=K'fir |first=Amnon |title=The Samaritans' Passover sacrifice |publisher=ynet news |accessdate=2008-10-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/854549.html |newspaper=Haaretz |title=Ancient Samaritan sect marks Passover sacrifice near Nablus |date=2007-01-05 |accessdate=2008-10-10}}</ref>

==Date in the spring and length==
Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of [[Nisan]], which corresponds to the [[full moon]] of Nisan, the first month of the [[Hebrew calendar]], in accordance with the [[Hebrew Bible]].<ref name="Lev-23-4"/> Passover is a spring festival, so the 14th of Nisan begins on the night of a full moon after the [[vernal equinox]]. To ensure that Passover did not start before spring, the tradition in ancient Israel held that the 1st of Nisan would not start until the barley is ripe, being the test for the onset of spring.<ref>The barley had to be "eared out" (ripe) in order to have a wave-sheaf offering of the first fruits according to the Law. {{cite book |title=Secrets of Time |last=Jones |first=Stephen |year=1996}} This also presupposes that the cycle is based on the northern hemisphere seasons.</ref> If the barley was not ripe an [[Intercalation|intercalary month]] ([[Adar II]]) would be added. However, since at least the 12th century, the date has been determined mathematically.

In [[Land of Israel|Israel]], Passover is the seven-day holiday of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, with the first and last days observed as legal holidays and as holy days involving abstention from work, special prayer services, and holiday meals; the intervening days are known as [[Chol HaMoed]] ("festival days"). Diaspora Jews historically observed the festival for eight days, and most still do. [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] and [[Reconstructionist Judaism|Reconstructionst Jews]] and Israeli Jews, wherever they are, usually observe the holiday over seven days. The reason for this extra day is due to enactment of the [[Sages]]. It is thought by many scholars that Jews outside of Israel could not be certain if their local calendars fully conformed to practice of the temple at Jerusalem, so they added an extra day. But as this practice only attaches to certain (major) holy days, others posit the extra day may have been added to accommodate people who had to travel long distances to participate in communal worship and ritual practices; or the practice may have evolved as a compromise between conflicting interpretations of Jewish Law regarding the calendar; or it may have evolved as a safety measure in areas where Jews were commonly in danger, so that their enemies could not be certain on which day to attack.<ref>De Lange, Nicholas (2000). An Introduction to Judaism. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press. p. 97</ref>

==Origins of the festival==
{{see also|The Exodus}}

Passover is a biblically-mandated holiday, indicating that it was already old and traditional by the time of the redaction of the [[Pentateuch]]:

<blockquote>In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month between the two evenings is the LORD'S Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD; seven days ye shall eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work. And ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days; in the seventh day is a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work. ({{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:5|HE}})</blockquote>

The biblical regulations for the observance of the festival, which reflect early postexilic practice, require that all leavening be disposed of before the beginning of the 15th of Nisan.<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|13:7|RSV}}</ref> An unblemished lamb or kid is to be set apart on Nisan 10,<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|12:3|RSV}}</ref> and slaughtered on Nisan 14 "between the two evenings",<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|12:6|RSV}}</ref> a phrase which is, however, not defined. It is then to be eaten "that night", Nisan 15,<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|12:8|RSV}}</ref> roasted, without the removal of its internal organs <ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|12:9|RSV}}</ref>with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|12:8|RSV}}</ref> Nothing of the sacrifice on which the sun rises may be eaten, but must be burned.<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|12:10|RSV}}</ref> The sacrifices may only be performed in Jerusalem.<ref>{{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|16:2|RSV}},{{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|16:5|RSV}}</ref>

Some of these details can be corroborated, and to some extent amplified, in later postexilic sources. The removal (or "sealing up") of the leaven is referred to the the Passover Papyrus, an Aramaic papyrus from 5th century BCE Elephantine in Egypt. <ref>James B. Prichard, ed., The Ancient Near East-An Anthology of Texts and Pictures, Volume 1, Princeton University Press, 1958, p. 278.</ref> The slaughter of the lambs on the 14th is mentioned in ''The Book of Jubilees'', a Jewish work of the Ptolemaic period, and by the Herodian-era writers [[Josephus]] and [[Philo]]. These sources also indicate that "between the two evenings" was taken to mean the afternoon.<ref>"On the feast called Passover...they sacrifice from the ninth to the eleventh hour", Josephus, ''Jewish War'' 6.423-428, in ''Josephus III, The Jewish War, Book IV-VII'', Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1979. Philo in one place (''Special Laws'' 2.148) states that the victims are sacrificed "from noon till eventide", and in another place (''Questions on Exodus'' 1.11) that the sacrifices begin at the ninth hour. According to Jubilees 49.12, "it is not fitting to sacrifice [the Passover] during any time of light except during the time of the border of evening."</ref> ''Jubilees'' states the sacrifice was eaten that night,<ref>Jubilees 49.1.</ref> and together with Josephus states that nothing of the sacrifice was allowed to remain until morning.<ref>"And what is left of its flesh from the third of the night and beyond, they shall burn with fire," ''Jubilees'' 49.12. "We celebrate [the Passover] by fraternities, nothing of the sacrificial victims being kept for the morrow," Josephus, ''Antiquities'' 3.248.</ref> Philo states that the banquet included hymns and prayers.<ref>"The guests assembled for the banquet have been cleansed by purificatory lustrations, and are there...to fulfill with prayers and hymns the custom handed down by their fathers." Philo, Special Laws 2.148, in ''Philo VII: On the Decalog; On the Special Laws I-III'', Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1937.</ref>

The Biblical commandments concerning the Passover (and the Feast of Unleavened Bread) stress the importance of remembering:

<blockquote>And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt; and thou shalt observe and do these statutes." ({{Bibleverse||Deuteronomy|16:12|HE}}) </blockquote>

{{Bibleverse||Exodus|12:14|HE}} commands, in reference to God's sparing of the firstborn from the [[Ten Plagues|Tenth Plague]]:

<blockquote>And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.</blockquote>

{{Bibleverse||Exodus|13:3|HE}} repeats the command to remember:

<blockquote>Remember this day, in which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, for by strength the hand of the LORD brought you out from this place.</blockquote>

===Origin of the name===
[[Image:The Jews Passover.jpg|left|thumb|"The Jews' Passover"—facsimile of a miniature from a 15th century [[missal]], ornamented with paintings of the School of Van Eyck]]

The verb "''pasàch''" ({{lang-he|פָּסַח}}) is first mentioned in the [[Torah]] account of [[the Exodus]] from Egypt ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:23|HE}}), and there is some debate about its exact meaning: the commonly-held assumption that it means "He passed over", in reference to God "passing over" the houses of the Israelites during the final of the Ten [[Plagues of Egypt]], stems from the translation provided in the [[Septuagint]] (''παρελευσεται'' in {{bibleverse||Exodus|12:23|HE}}, and ''εσκεπασεν'' in {{bibleverse||Exodus|12:27|HE}}). Judging from other instances of the verb, and instances of [[Parallelism (rhetoric)|parallelism,]] a more faithful translation may be "he hovered over, guarding." Indeed, this is the image used by [[Isaiah]] by his use of this verb in Isaiah. 31:5: "As birds hovering, so will the Lord of hosts protect Jerusalem; He will deliver it as He protecteth it, He will rescue it as He ''passeth over''" (כְּצִפֳּרִים עָפוֹת—כֵּן יָגֵן יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, עַל-יְרוּשָׁלִָם; גָּנוֹן וְהִצִּיל, פָּסֹחַ וְהִמְלִיט.) ({{bibleverse||Isaiah|31:5|HE}})
The English term "Passover" came into the [[English language]] through [[William Tyndale]]'s translation of the Bible, and later appeared in the [[King James Version of the Bible|King James Version]] as well.

The term ''Pesach'' ({{lang-he|פֶּסַח}}) may also refer to the [[Domestic sheep|lamb]] or [[Domestic goat|kid]] which was designated as the Passover sacrifice (called the ''[[Korban]] Pesach'' in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]). Four days before the Exodus, the Israelites were commanded to set aside a lamb or kid ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:3|HE}}) and inspect it daily for blemishes. During the day on the 14th of Nisan, they were to slaughter the animal and use its blood to mark their lintels and door posts. Up until midnight on the 15th of Nisan, they were to consume the lamb. Each family (or group of families) gathered together to eat a meal that included the meat of the ''Korban Pesach'' while the Tenth Plague ravaged Egypt.

In subsequent years, during the existence of the [[Tabernacle (Judaism)|Tabernacle]] and later the [[Temple in Jerusalem]], the ''Korban Pesach'' was eaten during the [[Passover Seder]] on the 15th of Nisan. However, following the destruction of the Temple, no sacrifices may be offered or eaten. The ''Seder Korban Pesach'', a set of scriptural and Rabbinic passages dealing with the Passover sacrifice, is customarily recited during or after the [[Jewish services|''Mincha'']] (afternoon prayer) service on the 14th on Nisan.<ref> Eliyahu Kitov, ''The Book of Our Heritage: The Jewish Year and Its Days of Significance,'' Feldheim, 1997, p. 562.</ref> The story of the ''Korban Pesach'' is also retold at the Passover Seder, and the symbolic food which represents it on the [[Passover Seder Plate|Seder Plate]] is usually a roasted lamb [[wiktionary:shank|shankbone]], chicken wing, or chicken neck.

===Historic offering, "''Korban Pesach''"===
{{main|Korban Pesach}}
When the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] was standing, the focus of the Passover festival was the ''[[Korban]] Pesach'' (lit. "Pesach sacrifice," also known as the "Paschal Lamb"). Every family large enough to completely consume a young lamb or [[Wild Goat]] was required to offer one for sacrifice at the Jewish Temple on the afternoon of the 14th day of Nisan,<ref>{{bibleverse||Num|9:11|HE}})</ref> and eat it that night, which was the 15th of Nisan.<ref>({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:6|NIV}})</ref> If the family was too small to finish eating the entire offering in one sitting, an offering was made for a group of families. The offering could not be slaughtered while one was in possession of leaven,<ref>({{bibleverse||Exodus|23:18|HE}})</ref> and had to be roasted, without its head, feet, or inner organs being removed<ref>({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:9|HE}})</ref> and eaten together with [[matzo]] (unleavened bread) and [[maror]] (bitter herbs).<ref>({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:9|HE}})</ref> One had to be careful not to break any bones from the offering,<ref>({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:46|HE}})</ref> and none of the meat could be left over by morning.<ref>({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:10|HE}}{{bibleverse||Exodus|23:18|HE}})</ref>

Because of the ''Korban Pesach'''s status as a sacred offering, the only people allowed to eat it were those who have the obligation to bring the offering. Among those who can not offer or eat the ''Korban Pesach'' are: An [[apostate]] ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:43|HE}}), a [[Indentured servant|servant]] ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:45|HE}}), an [[Brit milah|uncircumcised man]] ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:48|HE}}), a person in a state of [[Tohorot|ritual impurity]], except when a majority of Jews are in such a state (''[[Pesahim]]'' 66b). The offering must be made before a [[quorum]] of 30 (''[[Pesahim]]'' 64b). In the Temple, the [[Levites]] sing [[Hallel]] while the [[Kohen|Kohanim]] perform the sacrificial service. Men and women are equally obligated regarding the ''Korban Pesach'' (''[[Pesahim]]'' 91b).

Women were obligated, as men, to perform the Korban Pesach and to participate in a Seder.

Today, in the absence of the Temple, the [[mitzvah]] of the ''Korban Pesach'' is memorialized in the ''Seder Korban Pesach'', recited in the afternoon of Nisan 14, and in the form of symbolic food placed on the [[Passover Seder Plate]], which is usually a roasted [[humerus|shankbone]]. Many [[Sephardic]] Jews, however, have the opposite custom of eating lamb or goat meat during the Seder in memory of the ''Korban Pesach''

==Modern observance and preparation==
Many Jews observe the positive [[Torah]] [[Mitzvah|commandment]] of eating matzo on the first night of Passover at the [[Passover Seder]], as well as the Torah prohibition against eating [[chametz]] - certain leavening and fermenting agents, and things made with them, such as yeast breads, certain types of cake and biscuit, and certain alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages—but wine is an essential component of Passover, notwithstanding it is a fermented, yeast-bearing beverage. [[Karaite]] Jews are not bound by the oral law, under which "chametz" includes not only leavening agents but the grains from which bread is commonly made. Specifically, five grains, and products made from them, may not be used during Passover—wheat, rye, barley, oats, and spelt—except for making matzo, which ''must'' be made from one of these five grains. This is because the oral law decrees they begin to ferment within eighteen minutes of contact with water. So, despite pasta not being a leavened product, macaroni products cannot be owned or used during Passover under this interpretation of Jewish Law. Ashkenazic rabbinical tradition also forbids the use of rice, most legumes and new world grains like maize (unknown to the old world when the Bible was written), because they might be made into bread (such as cornbread). Sephardic and other rabbinical traditions do not have this prohibition.

===Chametz===
{{main|Chametz}}
''Chametz'' (חמץ, "leavening") refers either to a grain product that is already [[fermentation|fermented]] (e.g. yeast [[bread]]s, certain types of [[cake]], and most alcoholic beverages) or a substance that can cause fermentation (e.g. [[yeast]] or [[sourdough]]). The specific definition varies between religious and ethno-cultural traditions. The consumption of chametz and, under the oral law, its possession, are forbidden during Passover in most Jewish traditions.

In Ashkenazic and certain Sephardic applications of Jewish Law, "chametz" does not include [[baking soda]], [[baking powder]] or like products. Although these are leavening agents, they leaven by chemical reaction whereas the prohibition against chametz is understood to apply only to fermentation. Thus, bagels, waffles and pancakes made with baking soda and matzo meal are considered permissible, while bagels made with yeast, sourdough pancakes and waffles, and the like, are prohibited. Karaite Jews and many non-Ashkenazic Jewish traditions do not observe a distinction between chemical leavening and leavening by fermentation.

The Torah commandments regarding ''chametz'' are:

*To remove all ''chametz'' from one's home, including things made with chametz, before the first day of Passover. ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:15|HE}}). It may be simply used up, thrown out (historically, destroyed by burning, since there was no weekly garbage pickup in ancient times), or given or sold to non-Jews (or non-Samaritans, as the case may be).

*To refrain from eating ''chametz'' or mixtures containing ''chametz'' during Passover. ({{bibleverse||Exodus|13:3|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Exodus|12:20|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|16:3|HE}}).

*Not to possess ''chametz'' in one's domain (i.e. home, office, car, etc.) during Passover ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:19|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|16:4|HE}}).

====Spring Mega-Cleaning====

Observant Jews typically spend the weeks before Passover in a flurry of thorough housecleaning, to remove every morsel of ''[[chametz]]'' from every part of the home. The oral Jewish law ([[Halakha]]) requires the elimination of [[olive]]-sized or larger quantities of leavening from one's possession, but most housekeeping goes beyond this. Even the cracks of kitchen counters are thoroughly scrubbed, for example, to remove any traces of flour and yeast, however small.

Traditionally, Jews do a formal search for remaining chametz ("''bedikat chametz''") after nightfall on the evening before Passover (which is also the evening that precedes the Fast of the Firstborn). A blessing is read (על ביעור חמץ - ''al biyur chametz'', "on the removal of chametz") and one or more members of the household proceed from room to room to ensure no crumbs remain in any corner. In very traditional families, the search may be conducted by the head of the household; in more modern families, the children may be the ones who do the search, under the careful supervision of their parents.

It is customary to turn off the lights and conduct the search by [[candle]]light, using a feather and a wooden spoon: candlelight effectively illuminates corners without casting shadows; the feather can dust crumbs out of their hiding places; and the wooden spoon which collects the crumbs can be burned the next day with the ''chametz''.

Because the house is assumed to have been thoroughly cleaned by the night before Passover, there is some concern that making a blessing over the search for chametz will be for nought ("''bracha l'vatala''") if nothing is found. Thus, ten pieces of bread smaller than the size of an olive are hidden throughout the house in order to ensure that there is chametz to be found.

====Sale of Chametz====
''Chametz'' may be sold rather than discarded, especially in the case of relatively valuable forms such as [[liquor]] [[distillation|distilled]] from wheat, with the products being re-purchased afterward. In some cases, they may never leave the house, instead being formally sold while remaining in the original owners possession in a locked cabinet until they can be repurchased after the holiday. Although this practice dates back many years, some contemporary rabbinical authorities have come to regard it with disdain - since the supposed "new owner" never takes actual possession of the goods.

The sale of chametz may also be conducted communally via the [[rabbi]], who becomes the "agent" for all the community's Jews through a halakhic procedure called a "''[[kinyan]]''" (acquisition). Each householder must put aside all the ''chametz'' he is selling into a box or cupboard, and the rabbi enters into a contract to sell all the ''chametz'' to a non-Jewish person (who is not obligated to observe the commandments) in exchange for a small [[down payment]] (''e.g.'' $1.00), with the remainder due after Passover. This sale is considered completely binding according to Halakha, and at any time during the holiday, the buyer may come to take or partake of his property. The rabbi then re-purchases the goods for less than they were sold at the end of the holiday.<ref>[http://www.torahlearningcenter.com/jhq/question169.html Pesach questions and answers] by the Torah Learning Center.</ref>

Observant Jewish store owners who stock leavened food products sell everything in their storeroom in this fashion with the full knowledge that the new owner is entitled to claim the property. In [[Eastern Europe]]an [[shtetl]]s, Jewish [[tavern]]keepers, would sell their alcoholic ''chametz'' and risk having their neighbors enter their [[wine cellar|cellars]] to drink the liquor.{{Fact|date=March 2008}}

====Burning====
Following the formal search for ''chametz'', any leavened products that were found during the search, along with 10 morsels of bread, are burned (''s'rayfat chametz''). The head of the household declares any ''chametz'' that may not have been found to be null and void "as the dust of the earth" (''biyur chametz''). Should more ''chametz'' actually be found in the house during the Passover holiday, it must be burnt.

Unlike ''chametz'', which can be eaten any day of the year except during Passover, kosher for Passover foodstuffs can be eaten on Passover and year-round. They need not be burnt or otherwise discarded after the holiday ends. The sole exception is the historic sacrificial lamb, which is almost never part of the modern Jewish holiday but is still a principal feature of Samaritan observance. The meat of this lamb, which is slaughtered and cooked on the evening of Passover, must be completely consumed before the morning.({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:15|HE}})

===Matzo===
====Commandments and symbolism====
{{main|Matzo}}[[Image:Matzo.jpg|thumb|250px|Machine-made [[matzo]], the "official" food of Passover]]
The Torah contains a divine commandment to eat matzo on the first night of Passover and to eat only unleavened bread (i.e. matzo) during the week of Passover.<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|12:18|HE}}</ref> Accordingly, the eating of matzo figures prominently in the [[Passover Seder]]. There are several explanations for this.

The Torah says that it is because the Hebrews left Egypt with such haste that there was no time to allow baked bread to rise; thus, flat bread, matzo, is a reminder of the rapid departure of the Exodus.<ref>[http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=107&o=60495} Thought For Food: An Overview of the Seder | AskMoses.com - Judaism, Ask a Rabbi - Live]</ref>. Other scholars teach that in the time of the Exodus, matzo was commonly baked for the purpose of traveling because it preserved well and was light to carry, suggesting that matzo was baked intentionally for the long journey ahead.

Matzo has also been called ''Lechem Oni'' (Hebrew: "poor man's bread"). There is an attendant explanation that matzo serves as a symbol to remind Jews what it is like to be a poor slave and to promote humility, appreciate freedom, and avoid the inflated ego symbolized by leavened bread.<ref>[http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=107&o=450 What is the kabbalistic view on chametz?] by Rabbi Yossi Marcus</ref>

====Matzo baking====
[[Image:Shmura Matzo.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Handmade ''shmura matzo'']]In the weeks before Passover, matzos are prepared for holiday consumption. In [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] communities, men traditionally gather in groups ("''chaburas''") to bake a special version of handmade matzo called "''shmura matzo''", or "guarded matzo", for use at the Seder. These are made from wheat that is guarded from contamination by chametz from the time of summer [[harvest]] to its baking into matzos five to ten months later.<ref>These Matzos are often begun to be produced in early November.[http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/050422/matzo.shtml]</ref> ''Shmura matzo'' dough is rolled by hand, resulting in a large and round matzo. ''Chaburas'' also work together in machine-made matzo factories, which produce the typically square-shaped matzo sold in stores.

The baking of ''shmura matzo'' is labor-intensive, as only 18-22 minutes is permitted between the mixing of flour and water to the conclusion of baking and removal from the oven; however, most are completed by 5 minutes after first being kneaded.<ref>[http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/050422/matzo.shtml Making matzo: A time-honored tradition]</ref> Consequently, only a small amount of matzos can be baked at one time, and the ''chabura'' members are enjoined to work the dough constantly so that it is not allowed to ferment and rise. A special cutting tool is run over the dough just before baking to keep the matzos flat while baking; this creates the familiar dotted holes in the matzo.

After the matzos come out of the oven, the entire work area is scrubbed down and swept to make sure that no pieces of old, potentially leavened dough remain, as any stray pieces are now ''chametz'', and can contaminate the next batch of matzo.

===Passover dishes===
Due to the strict separation between matzo products and ''chametz'' during Passover, observant families typically own complete sets of serving dishes, glassware and silverware for use only during Passover. Under certain circumstances, some ''chametz'' utensils can be immersed in boiling water (''hagalat keilim'') to purge them of any traces of ''chametz'' may have accumulated during the year. Many [[Sephardic]] families thoroughly wash their year-round glassware and then use it for Passover, as the Sephardic position is that [[glass]] does not absorb enough traces of food to present a problem.

===Fasting===
{{main|Fast of the firstborn}}

On the morning before Passover, the [[fast of the firstborn]] takes place. This fast commemorates the salvation of the Israelite firstborns during the [[Plagues of Egypt#The plagues|Plague of the Firstborn]] (according to the Book of [[Exodus]], the tenth of ten plagues wrought upon [[ancient Egypt]] prior to the Exodus of the [[Children of Israel]]), when, according to Exodus (12:29): ''"...God struck every firstborn in the Land of Mitzrayim (ancient Egypt)...."'' Many authorities, including the [[Rema]], note the custom that fathers of firstborn sons are required to observe the fast if their son has not yet reached the age of [[Bar Mitzvah]]. In practice, however, most firstborns only fast until the end of the morning prayer service in synagogue. This is due to the widespread custom for a member of the congregation to conduct a ''[[siyum]]'' (ceremony marking the completion of a section of [[Torah]] learning) right after services and invite everyone to partake in a celebratory meal. According to widespread custom, partaking of this meal removes one's obligation to fast.
If the first born is a boy in a Jewish family, that boy will have to fast after he has his Bar Mitzva.

==The Passover seder==
[[Image:Sedertable.jpg|thumb|250px|Table set for the Passover Seder]]
{{main|Passover seder}}

It is traditional for Jewish families to gather on the first night of Passover (first two nights in Orthodox and Conservative communities outside the land of Israel) for a special dinner called a [[Passover seder|seder]] (סדר—derived from the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word for "order", referring to the very specific order of the ritual). The table is set with the finest china and silverware to reflect the importance of this meal. During this meal, the story of the Exodus from Egypt is retold using a special text called the [[Haggadah]]. Four cups of wine are consumed at various stages in the narrative. The Haggadah divides the night's procedure into 14 parts:

#''Kadeish'' קדש - recital of [[Kiddush]] blessing and drinking of the first cup of wine
#''Urchatz'' ורחץ - the washing of the hands - without blessing
#''Karpas'' כרפס - dipping of the ''[[karpas]]'' in salt water
#''Yachatz'' יחץ - breaking the middle matzo; the larger piece becomes the ''[[afikoman]]'' which is eaten later during the ritual of ''Tzafun''
#''Maggid'' מגיד - retelling the Passover story, including the recital of "[[the four questions]]" and drinking of the second cup of wine
#''Rachtzah'' רחצה - second washing of the hands - with blessing
#''Motzi''-''Matzo'' מוציא-מצה - traditional blessing before eating [[bread]] products followed by the blessing before eating [[matzo]]
#''Maror'' מרור - eating of the [[maror]]
#''Koreich'' כורך - eating of a sandwich made of matzo and maror
#''Shulchan oreich'' שולחן עורך - lit. "set table"—the serving of the holiday meal
#''Tzafun'' צפון - eating of the ''[[afikoman]]''
#''Bareich'' ברך - blessing after the meal and drinking of the third cup of wine
#''[[Hallel]]'' הלל - recital of the Hallel, traditionally recited on festivals; drinking of the fourth cup of wine
#''Nirtzah'' נירצה - [[conclusion]]

[[Image:Maurice Ascalon Pal-Bell Seder Plate.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Bronze [[matzo]] plate inscribed "''"Ha Lachma Anya"'' ("This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]],") the opening words of the "''Maggid''" (Retelling). Design: [[Maurice Ascalon]].]]

The seder is replete with questions, answers, and unusual practices (e.g. the recital of [[Kiddush]] which is not immediately followed by the blessing over bread, which is the traditional procedure for all other holiday meals) to arouse the interest and curiosity of the children at the table. The children are also rewarded with nuts and candies when they ask questions and participate in the discussion of the Exodus and its aftermath. Likewise, they are encouraged to search for the ''[[afikoman]]'', the piece of matzo which is the last thing eaten at the seder. The child or children who discover the hiding place of the ''afikoman'' are rewarded with a prize or money. Audience participation and interaction is the rule, and many families' seders last long into the night with animated discussions and much singing. The seder concludes with additional songs of praise and faith printed in the Haggadah, including ''[[Chad Gadya]]'' ("One Kid Goat").

===''Maror''===
{{Main|Maror}}
[[Image:3TypesMaror.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Maror, one disallowed type and two acceptable kinds (L to R): "''chrein''" ([[Yiddish language|Yiddish]])- grated [[horseradish]] with cooked beets and sugar, not acceptable [[maror]] due to its sweetness; [[romaine lettuce]]; and whole horseradish root, often served grated.]]A commandment to eat ''Maror,'' bitter herbs (typically, [[horseradish]] or [[romaine lettuce]]), together with matzo and the Passover [[korban|sacrifice]] {{bibleverse||Exodus|12:8|HE}}. In the absence of the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple]], Jews cannot bring the Passover sacrifice. This commandment is fulfilled today by the eating of ''Maror'' both by itself and together with matzo in a ''Koreich''-sandwich during the Passover seder.

===Recounting the Exodus===
On the first night of Passover (first two nights in Orthodox and Conservative communities outside [[Land of Israel|Israel]]), a Jew is required to recount the story of [[the Exodus]] from Egypt. This commandment is performed during the Passover seder.

===The four cups of wine===
There is a Rabbinic requirement that four cups of wine (or grape juice) are to be drunk during the seder. This applies to both men and women. The Mishnah says (Pes. 10:1) that even the poorest man in Israel has an obligation to drink. Each cup is connected to a different part of the seder: the first cup is for Kiddush, the second cup is connected with the recounting of [[the Exodus]], the drinking of the third cup concludes [[Birkat Hamazon]] and the fourth cup is associated with Hallel.

===Children in Passover===
{{see also|The four questions}}

Children have a very important role in the Passover seder. Traditionally the youngest child is prompted to ask questions about the Passover seder. The questions encourage the gathering to discuss the significance of the symbols in the meal. The questions asked by the child are:

:Why is this night different from all other nights?
:Why tonight do we eat only unleavened bread?
:Why tonight do we eat bitter herbs?
:Why tonight do we dip them twice?
:Why tonight do we all recline?

Often the leader of the seder and the other adults at the meal will use prompted responses from the Haggadha, which begin, “We must obey the command to talk about the Exodus from Egypt. The more one talks about it the more praiseworthy it is.” Many readings, prayers, and stories are used to recount the story of the Exodus. Many households add their own commentary and interpretation and often the story of the Jews is related to theme of liberation and its implications worldwide. Originally the Seder meal was eaten before the questions were asked, but today most families recount the story of the Exodus before the meal.

The [[afikoman]] is another part of the seder meal that is used to engage children at Passover. In the beginning to the meal, the leader takes the second piece of matzah and breaks it. The larger portion is put away as afikoman, which will be the last piece of food eaten during the evening as a reminder of the paschal sacrifice. Traditions vary in different areas, but in many homes, the afikoman is hidden and at a certain point in the meal, Zafun, children will be sent to search for the afikoman with an offer of a reward. This encourages children to stay awake for the whole seder.

In some communities, such as the Ashkenazi, the children try during the meal to “steal” the afikoman from the leader of the seder. The leader will hide the afikoman from the children. If the children are able to steal the afikoman, they will offer it back with a “ransom” of presents. They are promised the presents after the seder, again being encouraged to stay awake for the whole celebration.

After the Hallel, the fourth glass of wine the hymn is recited that ends in “next year in Jerusalem!” Following this, a sing-a-long ensues that consists of many cheerful and fun Hebrew songs. This part of the celebration is a reward for children who have stayed awake through the whole seder.<ref>Afikoman. Dov Noy and Joseph Tabory. Encyclopaedia Judaica. Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. Vol. 1. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. p434.</ref><ref>De Lange, Nicholas (2000). An Introduction to Judaism. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.</ref>

== Holiday week and related celebrations ==
In [[Land of Israel|Israel]], Passover lasts for seven days with the first and last days being major [[Jewish holidays|holidays]]. In [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] and [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] communities, no work is performed on those days, with most of rules relating to the observances of [[Shabbat]] being applied. A seder is held on the first day.

Outside Israel, in [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] and [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] communities, the holiday lasts for eight days with the first two days and last two days being major holidays. A seder is conducted twice, on both the first and second days. In the intermediate days necessary work can be performed. [[Reform Judaism]] observes Passover over seven days, with the first day being a major holiday when a seder is held.

Like the holiday of [[Sukkot]], the intermediary days of Passover are known as [[Chol HaMoed]] (festival weekdays) and are imbued with a semi-festive status. It is a time for family outings and picnic lunches of matzo, hardboiled eggs, fruits and vegetables, and Passover treats such as [[macaroon]]s and homemade candies.

The prohibition against eating leavened food products and regular flour during Passover results in the increased consumption of potatoes, eggs and oil in addition to fresh milk and cheeses, fresh meat and chicken, and fresh fruit and vegetables. To make a "Passover cake," recipes call for [[Starch#Starch_in_food|potato starch]] or "Passover cake flour" (made from finely granulated matzo) instead of regular flour, and a large amount of eggs (8 and over) to achieve fluffiness. Cookie recipes use [[matzo farfel]] (broken bits of matzo) or ground nuts as the base. For families with [[Eastern Europe]]an backgrounds, [[borsht]], a soup made with [[beet]]s, is a Passover tradition.

Some [[hotel]]s, [[resort]]s, and even [[cruise ship]]s across [[United States|America]], [[Europe]] and [[Israel]] also undergo a thorough housecleaning to make their premises "[[kosher]] for Pesach" to cater for observant Jews.

===Counting of the Omer===
{{main|Counting of the Omer}}
Beginning on the second night of Passover, the 16th day of Nissan,<ref>[[Karaite]] Jews begin the count on the Sunday within the holiday week. This leads to Shavuot for the Karaites always falling on a Sunday.</ref> Jews begin the practice of the [[Counting of the Omer]], a nightly reminder of the approach of the holiday of [[Shavuot]] 50 days hence. Each night after the evening prayer service, men and women recite a special blessing and then enumerate the day of the Omer. On the first night, for example, they say, "Today is the first day in (or, to) the Omer"; on the second night, "Today is the second day in the Omer." The counting also involves weeks; thus, the seventh day is commemorated, "Today is the seventh day, which is one week in the Omer." The eighth day is marked, "Today is the eighth day, which is one week and one day in the Omer," etc.

When the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple stood in Jerusalem]], a sheaf of new-cut barley was presented before the altar on the second day of Unleavened Bread. Josephus writes<blockquote>
On the second day of unleavened bread, that is to say the sixteenth, our people partake of the crops which they have reaped and which have not been touched till then, and esteeming it right first to do homage to God, to whom they owe the abundance of these gifts, they offer to him the first-fruits of the barley in the following way. After parching and crushing the little sheaf of ears and purifying the barley for grinding, they bring to the altar an ''assaron'' for God, and, having flung a handful thereof on the altar, they leave the rest for the use of the priests. Thereafter all are permitted, publicly or individually, to begin harvest.<ref>Josephus, Antiquities 3.250-251, in Josephus IV Jewish Antiquities Books I-IV, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1930, pp. 437-439.</ref></blockquote> Since the destruction of the Temple, this offering is brought in word rather than deed.

One explanation for the Counting of the Omer is that it shows the connection between Passover and Shavuot. The physical freedom that the Israelites achieved at the Exodus from Egypt was only the beginning of a process that climaxed with the spiritual freedom they gained at the giving of the Torah at [[Biblical Mount Sinai|Mount Sinai]]. Another explanation is that the newborn nation which emerged after the Exodus needed time to learn their new responsibilities vis-a-vis Torah and [[mitzvot]] before accepting God's law. The distinction between the Omer offering—a measure of barley, typically animal fodder—and the Shavuot offering—two loaves of wheat bread, human food—symbolizes the transition process.

===Seventh day of Passover===

''Shvi'i shel Pesach'' (שביעי של פסח "seventh [day] of Passover") is another full [[Jewish holiday]], with special prayer services and festive meals. Outside the [[Land of Israel]] in the [[Jewish diaspora]], ''Shvi'i shel Pesach'' is celebrated on both the seventh and eighth days of Passover. This holiday commemorates the day the [[Children of Israel]] reached the [[Red Sea]] and witnessed both the miraculous "Splitting of the Sea," the drowning of all the Egyptian chariots, horses and soldiers that pursued them, and the [[Passage of the Red Sea]]. According to the [[Midrash]], only [[Pharaoh]] was spared to give testimony to the miracle that occurred.

[[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] [[Rebbe]]s traditionally hold a ''[[Tish (Hasidic celebration)|tish]]'' on the night of ''Shvi'i shel Pesach'' and place a cup or bowl of water on the table before them. They use this opportunity to speak about the Splitting of the Sea to their disciples, and sing songs of praise to God.

=== Second Passover ===
{{main|Pesach Sheni}}
The "Second Passover" (''Pesach Sheni'') on the 14th of Iyar in the [[Hebrew Calendar]] is mentioned in the [[Hebrew Bible]] ([[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 9:6-13) as a make-up day for people who were unable to offer the pesach sacrifice at the appropriate time due to ritual impurity or distance from [[Jerusalem]]. Just as on the first Pesach night, breaking bones from the second Paschal offering (Numbers 9:12) or leaving meat over until morning (Numbers 9:12) were prohibited.

Today, Pesach Sheni on the 14th of Iyar has the status of a very minor holiday (so much so that many of the Jewish people have never even heard of it, and it essentially does not exist outside of [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] and traditional [[Conservative Judaism]]). There are not really any special prayers or observances that are considered Jewish law. The only change in the liturgy is that in some communities ''[[Tachanun]]'', a penitential prayer omitted on holidays, is not said. There is a custom, though not Jewish law, to eat just one piece of Matzah on that night.<ref>[http://www.torah.org/learning/yomtov/omer/5755/vol1no21.html Pesach Sheini]</ref>

==Influence in other religions==
According to Sunni [[Muslim]] tradition the fast of [[Ashura]] commemorates the [[The Exodus|liberation of Israelites from Egypt]]. It takes place on the [[10th]] day of [[Muharram]] in the [[Islamic Calendar]]. The start date of the actual fast varies from the [[9th]] of [[Muharram]] to the [[10th]], or from the [[10th]] to the [[11th]].

The [[Christian]] holiday of [[Easter]] is related to Passover. The holy day is actually called "Passover" (or a derivative) in most languages other than English, and its central theme is that Christ was the paschal lamb in human form.( {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|5:7-8|KJV}}) Additionally, the Synoptic Gospels relate that [[Christ]]'s [[Last Supper]] was a Passover ''seder''. ({{bibleverse||Luke|22:15-16|KJV}})

With a few sectarian exceptions, the date of Easter was always determined by taking into account the same lunisolar cycles that of the Hebrew calendar. Since the 4th-5th centuries CE, the most approved method has used a 19-year cycle of lunar months to set Easter to the first Sunday following the first full moon falling on or after the spring equinox, the full moon being reckoned functionally as the 14th of the lunar month, and the equinox being reckoned functionally as March 21. Because of the drift of the seasons and lunations under the [[Julian calendar]], over the centuries the Easter cycle fell out of synchronization with the sun and moon. But the [[Gregorian calendar|Gregorian reforms]] restored the equinox to March 21 and corrected the tabulated lunar cycles, so that the Gregorian calendar's Easter is almost always the same as would be computed by more precise astronomical computations. Gregorian Easter usually falls up to seven days after Passover, but in years 8, 11, and 19 of the Hebrew calendar's 19-year cycle, (corresponding respectively to years 11, and 14, and 3 of the Christian 19-year cycle) Passover falls about a month after Gregorian Easter. Similarly, because the solar year of the Julian calendar is too long compared to the spring equinox year, Orthodox Easter occurs about a month after Gregorian Easter in years 3, 8, 11, 14 and 19 of the Christian 19-year cycle. Three of these years (3, 11, and 14) correspond to years in which Passover is about a month after Gregorian Easter. So in these years (years 19, 8, and 11 of the Hebrew calendar's cycle) Passover will occur in the same lunation as Julian (Eastern Orthodox) Easter. However, because the Julian calendar's tabulated lunar months are now 3 to 5 days behind the astronomical facts, Passover even in these years will always precede Orthodox Easter. In years 8 and 19 of the Christian cycle (corresponding to years 5 and 16 of the Hebrew calendar's cycle), Passover and Gregorian Easter will be in the same lunation, and Julian Easter will be a lunation later. This state of affairs will continue until 2199, after which the Gregorian epacts will shift. Beginning in 2200, Passover will be a month after Gregorian Easter in four years out of nineteen - in years 3, 8, 11, and 19 of the Jewish cycle (corresponding respectively to years 6, 11, 14, and 3 of the Gregorian cycle).

Jehovah's Witnesses are one of a few (usually) Western churches that do not observe Easter but, instead, observe only the [[Last Supper]] on the first evening of Passover; they do not necessarily use the same date as the modern Jewish calendar, but it sometimes corresponds with the same full moon as the festival of [[Purim]].<ref>Passover. Louis Jacobs, Ernst Kutsch, Rela M. Geffen, and Abram Kanof. Encyclopaedia Judaica. Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. Vol. 15. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. p678-683.</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Passover Seder]]
* [[Passover Seder Plate]]
* [[Kitniyot]]
* [[Fast of the Firstborn]]
* [[Haggadah of Pesach]]
* [[Passover (Christian holiday)]]

== Footnotes ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== External links ==
{{commonscat|Passover}}
*[http://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/default.asp Complete Guide to Passover] by [[Chabad.org]]
*[http://www.aish.com/holidays/passover/default.asp Complete Guide to Passover] by [[Aish HaTorah]]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=103|type=Shiurim}}
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/eng/default.aspx?cat=126|type=Q&A}}

*{{CathEncy|wstitle=Pasch or Passover}}

 
{{Passover Footer}}
{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}
{{Time in religion and mythology}}


[[Category:Passover| ]]
[[Category:Jewish holy days]]
[[Category:Spring holidays]]



[[ar:عيد الفصح اليهودي]]
[[ca:Pasqua jueva]]
[[cs:Pesach]]
[[da:Pesach]]
[[de:Pessach]]
[[es:Pésaj]]
[[eo:Pesaĥo]]
[[fa:پسح]]
[[fr:Pessa'h]]
[[fur:Pasche ebraiche]]
[[gl:Pessach]]
[[ko:과월절]]
[[id:Paskah Yahudi]]
[[is:Páskahald gyðinga]]
[[it:Pesach]]
[[he:פסח]]
[[sw:Pasaka ya Kiyahudi]]
[[la:Pascha]]
[[lt:Pascha]]
[[hu:Pészah]]
[[mn:Даван туулсан өдөр]]
[[nl:Pesach]]
[[ja:過越]]
[[no:Pesach]]
[[nn:Pesah]]
[[pl:Pesach]]
[[pt:Pessach]]
[[ro:Pesah]]
[[ru:Песах]]
[[sk:Pesach]]
[[sl:Pasha]]
[[sr:Пасха]]
[[fi:Pesah]]
[[sv:Pesach]]
[[tl:Paskwa]]
[[th:ปัสกา]]
[[vi:Lễ Vượt Qua]]
[[tr:Hamursuz Bayramı]]
[[yi:פסח]]
[[zh:逾越節]]

Tetragrammaton

2009-02-04T08:26:10Z

Dbratton: Undid revision 268423638 by 24.97.210.74 (talk)

{{Otheruses}}
[[Image:Tetragrammaton scripts.svg|frame|right|The Tetragrammaton in [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|Paleo-Hebrew]] (10th century BC to 135 AD), old [[Aramaic alphabet|Aramaic]] (10th century BC to 4th century AD) and square [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]] (3rd century BCE to present) scripts.]]

'''Tetragrammaton ''' (from the [[Greek language|Greek]] {{polytonic|τετραγράμματον}}, meaning '[word of] four letters' (tetra "four" + gramma (gen. grammatos) "letter"), <ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=tetragrammaton Online Etymology Dictionary]</ref> refers to '''{{lang|he|יהוה}}''', one of the [[Names of God in Judaism|names]] of the [[God of Israel]]. '''{{lang|he|יהוה}}''' is composed of four Hebrew consonants and it occurs over 6000 times in the [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]] Consonantal Text. '''{{lang|he|יהוה}}''' is sometimes referred to as the unvocalized Tetragrammaton since it contains no vowel points.

The letters, properly read from right to left (in Biblical Hebrew), are:
:{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Hebrew !! Letter name !! Pronunciation
|-valign=top
| '''י'''
| [[Yodh]]
| "Y"
|-valign=top
| '''ה'''
| [[He (letter)|He]] (pronounced "hey")
| "H"
|-valign=top
| '''ו'''
| [[Waw (letter)|Waw ]]
| "W" or placeholder for "O"/"U" vowel (see [[mater lectionis]])
|-valign=top
| '''ה'''
| [[He (letter)|He]]
| "H" (or sometimes [[silent letter|silent]] at the ends of words)
|}

[[Image:BASILICA OF ST LOUIS KING OF FRANCE MISSOURI USA Near the Gateway Arch TETRAGRAMMATON.jpg|thumb|200px|Front side of the Roman-Catholic [[Basilica of St. Louis, King of France]], or the ''Old Cathedral'', built in 1834 and located in downtown [[St. Louis, Missouri]] near the [[Gateway Arch]]. The Tetragrammaton is seen at the top of the front arch.]]

These four letters are usually transliterated from Hebrew as IHVH in [[Latin language|Latin]], JHWH in [[German language|German]], [[French language|French]] and [[Dutch language|Dutch]], and YHWH in [[English language|English]]. This was variously rendered as "[[Yahweh]]" or "[[Jehovah]]", since in [[Latin]] there was no distinct lettering to distinguish 'Y' from 'J', or 'W' from 'V', and the Hebrew does not clearly indicate the omitted vowels. In English translations, it is often rendered in [[Small caps|small capital letters]] as "the {{LORD}}", following [[Judaism|Jewish]] tradition which reads the word as "[[Adonai]]" ("Lord") out of respect for the [[names of god|name of God]] and the [[Ten commandments|commandment]] not to take the name of God in vain. The word "haŠem" 'the Name' is also used in Jewish contexts; in Samaritan, "Šemå" is the normal substitution.

See [[Yahweh#Historical overview|"Historical overview"]] at [[Yahweh]] and [[Jehovah]].

==Occurrences and uses==
The Tetragrammaton occurs 6,828 times in the Hebrew text of both the [[Biblia Hebraica]] and [[Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia]].<ref>{{cite book|title=(1988) Insight on the Scriptures Vol. 2|page=8|publisher=©Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania|chapter=Importance of the Name.}}</ref> It does not appear in the [[Song of Songs]], [[Ecclesiastes]], or [[Esther]].

For views on the pronunciation of the name, see the main article, [[Yahweh]].

==The Leningrad Codex of 1008-1010 A.D.==
Vowel points were added to the Tetragrammaton by the Masoretes,
in the first millennium C.E.

Six different Hebrew spellings of the Tetragrammaton are found in:
 [http://www.tanach.us/Tanach.xml The Leningrad Codex of 1008-1010 A.D.]
as shown below:

<table border="1">
<td>Chapter & Verse</td>
<td>Hebrew Spelling</td>
<td>Transliteration</td>
<td><center>Codex L. Link</center></td>
<td>Explanation</td>
<tr>

<td><center>Genesis 3:14</center></td>
<td><center>יְהֹוָה</center></td>
<td><center>Yehovah</center></td>
<td><center>[http://www.tanach.us/Tanach.xml#Gen3:14-3:14]</center></td>
<td>This is the most common set of vowels, which are essentially the vowels from Adonai (with the hataf patah reverting to its natural state as a shwa).</td>
<tr>

<td><center>Judges 16:28</center></td>
<td><center>יְהוָה</center></td>
<td><center>Yehwah</center></td>
<td><center>[http://www.tanach.us/Tanach.xml#Judges16:28]</center></td>
<td>This is the same as above, but with the dot over the holam/waw left out, because it is a little redundant.</td>
<tr>

<td><center>Judges 16:28</center></td>
<td><center>יֱהֹוִה</center></td>
<td><center>Yehowih*</center></td>
<td><center>[http://www.tanach.us/Tanach.xml#Judg16:28-16:28]</center></td>
<td>When the Tetragrammaton is preceded by Adonai, it receives the vowels from the name Elohim instead. The hataf segol does not revert to a shwa because doing so could lead to confusion with the vowels in Adonai.</td>
<tr>

<td><center>Genesis 15:2</center></td>
<td><center>יֱהוִה</center></td>
<td><center>Yehwih*</center></td>
<td><center>[http://www.tanach.us/Tanach.xml#Gen15:2-15:2]</center></td>
<td>Just as above, this uses the vowels from Elohim, but like the second version, the dot over the holam/waw is omitted as redundant.</td>
<tr>

<td><center>1 Kings 2:26</center></td>
<td><center>יְהֹוִה</center></td>
<td><center>Yehowih</center></td>
<td><center>[http://www.tanach.us/Tanach.xml#1%20Kings2:26-2:26]</center></td>
<td>Here, the dot over the holam/waw is present, but the hataf segol does get reverted to a shwa.</td>
<tr>

<td><center>Ezekiel 24:24</center></td>
<td><center>יְהוִה</center></td>
<td><center>Yehwih</center></td>
<td><center>[http://www.tanach.us/Tanach.xml#Ezek24:24-24:24]</center></td>
<td>Here, the dot over the holam/waw is omitted, and the hataf segol gets reverted to a shwa.</td>
<tr>

</table>
The * indicates that the transliteration “e” indicates a Hatef Segol.

{{Commons}}
==See also==
* [[Tetragrammaton in the New Testament]]
* [[Yahweh#Pronunciation_of_the_Name|Pronunciation of the Name]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Names of God]]
[[Category:Names of God in Judaism]]
[[Category:Yahweh]]
[[Category:Tetragrammaton| ]]

[[als:JHWH]]
[[ar:يهوه]]
[[ast:Xehová]]
[[bs:Jehova]]
[[bg:Яхве]]
[[ca:Jehovà]]
[[cs:JHVH]]
[[da:Tetragrammaton]]
[[de:JHWH]]
[[et:Jahve]]
[[el:Τετραγράμματο]]
[[es:Yahveh]]
[[eo:Jehovo]]
[[fa:یهوه]]
[[fr:YHWH]]
[[fur:Jeova]]
[[ko:야훼]]
[[id:Tetragrammaton]]
[[ia:Tetragrammaton]]
[[is:JHVH]]
[[it:Tetragramma biblico]]
[[he:השם המפורש]]
[[kw:Yehovah]]
[[la:Iehovah]]
[[lt:Tetragramatonas]]
[[hu:JHVH]]
[[cdo:Ià-huò-huà]]
[[nl:JHWH]]
[[ja:ヤハウェ]]
[[no:JHVH]]
[[nn:JHVH]]
[[pl:JHWH]]
[[pt:Tetragrama YHVH]]
[[ro:YHWH]]
[[ru:Тетраграмматон]]
[[sq:JHVH]]
[[sk:Tetragramatón]]
[[sl:Tetragrammaton]]
[[sh:Jahve]]
[[fi:Jahve]]
[[sv:Tetragrammaton]]
[[tl:Jehova]]
[[ta:யாவே]]
[[th:พระเยโฮวาห์]]
[[tr:Yehova]]
[[zh-yue:耶和華]]
[[zh:耶和華]]

Passover

2009-02-03T15:52:36Z

Dbratton: Revert to revision 268265585 dated 2009-02-03 15:48:56 by DerHexer using popups

Ashkenazi Jews

2009-02-03T13:21:52Z

Dbratton: rv uncited

{{about|Ashkenazi Jews|people with Ashkenazi as a surname|Ashkenazi (surname)}}
{{Infobox Ethnic group
|image = <div style="margin-top:1px; margin-bottom:1px;">[[Image:Isaac.Asimov02.jpg‎|65px|Isaac Asimov]] [[Image:BYwork-cropped.jpg‎|65px|Eliezer Ben-Yehuda]] [[Image:Albert Einstein Head.jpg|65px|Albert Einstein]] [[Image:Sigmund Freud-loc.jpg|65px|Sigmund Freud]] [[Image:George Gershwin 1937.jpg|65px|George Gershwin]] [[Image:Portrait Emma Goldman.jpg|65px|Emma Goldman]] [[Image:Golda Meir 03265u.jpg|65px|Golda Meir]] [[Image:Besht.jpg|65px|Baal Shem Tov]] [[Image:Joseph Stiglitz.jpg|65px|Joseph Stiglitz‎]] [[Image:Trockiy2.jpg‎|65px|Leon Trotsky]] [[Image:Vilna Gaon authentic portrait.JPG|65px|Vilna Gaon]]</div>
<div style="background-color:#fee8ab">[[Isaac Asimov]]&ensp;·&ensp;[[Eliezer Ben-Yehuda]]&ensp;·&ensp;[[Albert Einstein]] [[Sigmund Freud]]&ensp;·&ensp;[[George Gershwin]]&ensp;·&ensp;[[Emma Goldman]] [[Golda Meir]]&ensp;·&ensp;[[Baal Shem Tov]]&ensp;·&ensp;[[Joseph Stiglitz]] [[Leon Trotsky]]&ensp;·&ensp;[[Vilna Gaon]]</div>
|group = Ashkenazi Jews (יהודי אשכנז ''Yehudei Ashkenaz'')
|poptime = 8<ref name="behar" /> - 11.2<ref>[http://www.jhu.edu/~gazette/julsep97/sep0897/briefs.html John Hopkins Gazette], September 8, 1997.</ref> million
|popplace =
|region1 = {{flagcountry|United States}}
|pop1 = 5-6 million
|region2 = {{flagcountry|Israel}}
|pop2 = 3 million
|region4 = {{flagcountry|Russia}}
|pop4 = 800,000
|region5 = {{flagcountry|Argentina}}
|pop5 = 300,000
|region6 = {{flagcountry|United Kingdom}}
|pop6 = ~ 260,000
|region7 = {{flagcountry|Canada}}
|pop7 = ~ 240,000
|region8 = {{flagcountry|Germany}}
|pop8 = 200,000
|region9 = {{flagcountry|France}}
|pop9 = 200,000
|region10 = {{flagcountry|Ukraine}}
|pop10 = 150,000
|region11 = {{flagcountry|Australia}}
|pop11 = 120,000
|region12 = {{flagcountry|South Africa}}
|pop12 = 80,000
|region13 = {{flagcountry|Belarus}}
|pop13 = 80,000
|region14 = {{flagcountry|Hungary}}
|pop14 = 60,000
|region15 = {{flagcountry|Mexico}}
|pop15 = 40,000
|region16 = {{flagcountry|Netherlands}}
|pop16 = 30,000
|region17 = {{flagcountry|Poland}}
|pop17 = 25,000
|region18 = {{flagcountry|Chile}}
|pop18 = 18,500
|region19 = {{flagcountry|Latvia}}
|pop19 = 10,000
|region20 = {{flagcountry|Austria}}
|pop20 = 9,000
|region21 = {{flagcountry|New Zealand}}
|pop21 = 5,000
|region22 = {{flagcountry|Lithuania}}
|pop22 = 4,000
|region23 = {{flagcountry|Czech Republic}}
|pop23 = 3,000
|region24 = {{flagcountry|Slovakia}}
|pop24 = 3,000
|region25 = {{flagcountry|Estonia}}
|pop25 = 1,000
|langs =[[English language|English]], [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Yiddish]], [[Russian language|Russian]]
|rels = [[Judaism]]
|related = [[Sephardi Jews]], [[Mizrahi Jews]], and other [[Jewish ethnic divisions]]. Other [[Semitic]] peoples.
}}
'''Ashkenazi Jews''', also known as '''Ashkenazic Jews''' or '''Ashkenazim''' ({{lang-he-n|אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים}}, {{pronounced|ˌaʃkəˈnazim}}, sing. {{IPA|[ˌaʃkəˈnazi]}}; also {{Hebrew|יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכֲּנָז}}, ''Yehudei Ashkenaz'', "the Jews of Ashkenaz"), are the [[Jews]] descended from the [[medieval]] [[Jewish ethnic divisions|Jewish communities]] of the [[Rhineland]] in the west of Germany. ''Ashkenaz'' is the [[medieval Hebrew]] name for the region which in modern times encompasses the country of [[Germany]] and [[German language|German-speaking]] borderland areas. [[Ashkenaz]] is also a [[Japhetic]] [[patriarch]] in the [[Table of Nations]] ([[s:Bible (King James)/Genesis#Chapter 10|Genesis 10]]). Thus, ''Ashkenazim'' or ''Ashkenazi Jews'' are literally "German Jews."

Many Ashkenazi Jews later migrated, largely eastward, forming communities in non German-speaking areas, including [[Hungary]], [[Poland]], [[Lithuania]], [[Russia]], [[Eastern Europe]], and elsewhere between the 10th and 19th centuries. With them, they took and diversified [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], a [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] [[Jewish languages|Jewish language]] that had since medieval times been the [[lingua franca]] among Ashkenazi Jews. To a much lesser extent, the Judæo-French language [[Zarphatic]] and the [[Slavic Languages|Slavic]]-based [[Knaanic language|Knaanic]] (Judæo-Czech) were also spoken. The Ashkenazi Jews developed a distinct culture and liturgy influenced, to varying degrees, by interaction with surrounding peoples, predominantly [[Germans]], [[Austrians]], [[Poles]], [[Czechs]], [[Slovaks]], [[Kashubians]], [[Hungarian people|Hungarians]], [[Ukrainians]], [[Lithuanians]], [[Latvians]], [[Belarusians]], and [[Russians]].

Although in the 11th century they comprised only 3% of the world's [[Jewish population]], Ashkenazi Jews accounted for (at their highest) 92% of the world's Jews in 1931 and today make up approximately 80% of Jews worldwide.<ref name="sephardic">{{cite web|url=http://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles3/sephardic.htm|title=Can Sephardic Judaism be Reconstructed?|publisher=Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs|first=Daniel J.|last=Elazar|accessdate=2006-05-24}}</ref> Most Jewish communities with extended histories in Europe are Ashkenazim, with the exception of those associated with the [[Mediterranean]] region. The majority of the Jews who migrated from Europe to other continents in the past two centuries are Ashkenazim, [[Eastern Yiddish|Eastern Ashkenazim]] in particular. This is especially true in the [[United States]], where 6 out of the 7 million [[American Jew]]ish population — the largest [[Jewish population]] in the world when consistent statistical parameters are employed<ref name="pfef">{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/903585.html |publisher=Haaretz Daily Newspaper Israel |title=Jewish Agency: 13.2 million Jews worldwide on eve of Rosh Hashanah, 5768 |last=Pfeffer |first=Anshel |accessdate=2007-09-13}}</ref> — is Ashkenazi, representing the world's single largest concentration of Ashkenazim.

==Who is an Ashkenazi Jew?==
The [[Who is a Jew?|exact definition of Jewishness]] is not universally agreed upon -- neither by religious scholars (especially across different [[Jewish denominations|denominations]]), nor in the context of politics (as applied to those who wish to make [[Aliyah]]), nor even in the conventional, everyday sense where 'Jewishness' may be loosely understood by the casual observer as encompassing both religious and [[secular Jew]]s, or religious Jews alone. This makes it especially difficult to define who is an Ashkenazi Jew, because they have been defined by different people using religious, cultural, or ethnic perspectives. Since the overwhelming majority of Ashkenazi Jews no longer live in Eastern Europe, the isolation that once favored a distinct religious tradition and culture has vanished. Furthermore, the word ''Ashkenazi'' is being used in non-traditional ways, especially in [[Israel]]. By conservative and orthodox philosophies, a person can only be considered a Jew if their mother was Jewish (meaning more specifically that they descend from a female down the matrilineal line who was assumed to be present at Mt. Sinai when the ten commandments were given or one of their female matrilineal ancestors underwent what is considered to be a valid conversion before the birth of her children), or they themselves have undergone conversion. This means that a person can be Ashkenazi but not considered a Jew by some of those within the Jewish communities, making the term "Ashkenazi" more applicable as broad ethnicity which evolved from the practice of Judaism in Europe.

===Religious definition===

Religious Jews have [[Minhag]]im, customs, in addition to [[Halakha]], or religious law, and different interpretations of law. Different groups of religious Jews in different geographic areas historically adopted different customs and interpretations. On certain issues, Orthodox Jews are required to follow the customs of their ancestors, and do not regard themselves as having the option of picking and choosing. Therefore, observant Jews at times find it important for religious reasons to ascertain who their household's religious ancestors are in order to know what customs their household should follow. These times include, for example, when two Jews of different ethnic background marry, when a non-Jew converts to Judaism and determines what customs to follow for the first time, or when a lapsed or less observant Jew returns to traditional Judaism and must determine what was done in his or her family's past. In this sense, "Ashkenazic" refers both to a family ancestry and to a body of customs binding on Jews of that ancestry.

In a religious sense, an Ashkenazi Jew is any Jew whose family tradition and ritual follows Ashkenazi practice. When the Ashkenazi community first began to develop in the [[Early Middle Ages]] and until the 9th century, the centers of Jewish religious authority were in the Islamic world, at [[Baghdad]] and in Islamic Spain. Ashkenaz (Germany) was so distant geographically that it developed a ''[[minhag]]'' of its own, and Ashkenazi Hebrew came to be pronounced in ways distinct from other forms of Hebrew.

In this respect, the counterpart of Ashkenazi is [[Sephardic]], since most non-Ashkenazi Orthodox Jews follow Sephardic rabbinical authorities, whether or not they are ethnically Sephardic. By tradition, a [[Sephardic]] or [[Mizrahi]] woman who marries into an [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] or [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] Ashkenazi Jewish family raises her children to be Ashkenazi Jews, and a [[gentile]] who [[Conversion to Judaism|converts to Judaism]] and takes on Ashkenazi religious practices becomes an Ashkenazi Jew.

Traditional Jewish law or ''[[Halakha|Halacha]]'' considers a person who has undergone a formal religious conversion to be a Jew, but it also defines [[who is a Jew]] by ancestry, following the maternal lineage, irrespective of belief. According to Halacha, membership in a [[synagogue]] or participation in a local Jewish community does not alone make one a Jew. Likewise a person who disassociates themselves from the Jewish community is still considered to be Jewish by Halachic standards. Outside the [[State of Israel]], no central authority or ruling body in Judaism determines who is a Jew. More religiously liberal and secular Jews have different approaches to accepting the Jewish heritage.

Since by tradition, Jewish status is inherited and follows the maternal lineage, someone who is maternally descended from a Jew, even if totally unaware of their Jewish heritage, or even if a practitioner of another religion, is from a traditional Jewish legal perspective still a Jew. Likewise, a person born of a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother is not considered Jewish by traditional Orthodox Jewish law, even if they were raised Jewish, unless they convert.

As a result of both difficulties caused applying of the traditional rules in the face of widespread intermarriage in less traditional Jewish circles and ideological perspectives ([[egalitarianism]]), [[Reform Judaism]] and [[Reconstructionist Judaism]] adopted an approach of single-parent descent irrespective of gender. Under this definition, someone born to one Jewish parent who is given a Jewish upbringing is considered Jewish, and conversely, someone born to one Jewish parent who is not given a Jewish upbringing is considered a non-Jew (regardless of whether it is the father or mother who is Jewish).

The following examples illustrate Jewish identity issues from the perspective of [[Halakha]]:
[[Image:rubinstein repin.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[[Anton Rubinstein]]]]
[[Image:Karl Marx.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[[Karl Marx]]{{Fact|date=January 2009}}]]
*'''Apostasy'''. A Jew who converts to another religion, though an apostate, is still considered a Jew. [[Anton Rubinstein]], who converted to [[Eastern Christianity]], was still considered an Ashkenazi Jew. In [[Israel]], however, an Israeli Jew who converts to a different religion is no longer considered to be Jewish by the [[State of Israel]], but is still considered Jewish by the Israeli Chief Rabbinate.

*'''Atheism'''. A Jew who becomes an atheist is still considered a Jew. [[Karl Marx]], an atheist whose Jewish mother and father had converted to [[Christianity]] before he was born, would be considered an Ashkenazi Jew.{{Fact|date=January 2009}}

*'''Hidden Identity'''. A Jew whose identity was hidden, who was raised in another religion, is still considered a Jew. [[Madeleine Albright]], the former US [[Secretary of State]] whose Jewish parents converted to [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholicism]] to escape persecution in the [[Holocaust]] and then hid their ancestry, is considered an Ashkenazi Jew, even though she did not know of her "identity" until she became an adult, and was a professing Catholic.

*'''Renunciation'''. A Jew who renounces and even condemns Judaism is still considered a Jew. [[Bobby Fischer]], the international chess star who claimed that the [[Holocaust]] was a Jewish invention and a lie, claimed to have only a Jewish mother, though evidence has shown to suggest that both his parents were Jewish.<ref>Nicholas, Peter, and Clea Benson. [http://www.philly.com/inquirer/news/13896736.html ''Files reveal how FBI hounded chess king'']</ref>

With the reintegration of Jews from around the world in [[Israel]], North America, and other places, the religious definition of an Ashkenazi Jew is blurring, especially outside of [[Orthodox Judaism]]. Many Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews have joined liberal movements that originally developed within Ashkenazi Judaism. At least in recent decades, the congregations they have joined have often embraced them, and absorbed new traditions into their minhag. [[Rabbi]]s and [[Hazzan|Cantor]]s in all non-Orthodox movements study [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] in [[Israel]], learning Sephardic rather than Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation. Ashkenazi congregations are adopting Sephardic or modern Israeli melodies for many prayers and traditional songs. Since the middle of the 20th century there has been a gradual [[syncretism]] and fusion of traditions, and this is affecting the [[minhag]] of all but the most traditional congregations.

New developments in Judaism often transcend differences in religious practice between Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews. In North American cities, social trends such as the [[chavurah|chavurah movement]], and the emergence of ''post-denominational Judaism''<ref>{{cite journal |author=Rosenthal, Rachel |title=What's in a name? |journal=Kedma |year=2006 |issue=Winter 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Greenberg, Richard and Debra Nussbaum Cohen |url=http://jewschool.com/THE_NEW_JEW.pdf |title=Uncovering the Un-Movement |year=2005|format=PDF}}</ref> often bring together younger Jews of diverse ethnic backgrounds. In recent years, there has been increased interest in [[Kabbalah]], which many Ashkenazi Jews study outside of the [[Yeshiva]] framework. Another trend is the new popularity of [[ecstatic]] worship in the [[Jewish Renewal]] movement and the [[Shlomo Carlebach|Carlebach]] style [[minyan]], both of which are nominally of Ashkenazi origin.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kehilathadar.org/Aboutus/forward08-10-01.html|date=August 10, 2001|title=Any Old Shul Won't Do for the Young and Cool|first=Rachel|last=Donadio|accessdate=2006-05-24}}</ref>

===Cultural definition===
In a cultural sense, an Ashkenazi Jew can be identified by the concept of ''[[Yiddishkeit]]'', a word that literally means “Jewishness” in the [[Yiddish language]]. Of course, there are other kinds of Jewishness. ''Yiddishkeit'' is simply the Jewishness of Ashkenazi Jews.

Before the [[Haskalah]] and the [[Jewish Emancipation|emancipation of Jews]] in Europe, this meant the study of [[Torah]] and [[Talmud]] for men, and a family and communal life governed by the observance of Jewish Law for men and women. From the [[Rhineland]] to [[Riga]] to [[Romania]], most Jews prayed in liturgical Ashkenazi Hebrew, and spoke Yiddish in their secular lives.

But with modernization, ''Yiddishkeit'' now encompasses not just Orthodoxy and [[Hasidism]], but a broad range of movements, ideologies, practices, and traditions in which Ashkenazi Jews have participated and somehow retained a sense of Jewishness. Although a far smaller number of Jews still speak Yiddish, ''Yiddishkeit'' can be identified in manners of speech, in styles of humor, in patterns of association. Broadly speaking, a Jew is one who associates culturally with Jews, supports Jewish institutions, reads Jewish books and periodicals, attends Jewish movies and theater, travels to Israel, visits ancient synagogues in [[Prague]], and so forth. It is a definition that applies to Jewish culture in general, and to Ashkenazi Yiddishkeit in particular.

Contemporary population migrations have contributed to a reconfigured Jewishness among Jews of Ashkenazi descent that transcends Yiddishkeit and other traditional articulations of Ashkenazi Jewishness. As Ashkenazi Jews moved away from Eastern Europe, settling mostly in Israel, North America, and other English-speaking areas, the geographic isolation which gave rise to Ashkenazim has given way to mixing with other cultures, and with non-Ashkenazi Jews who, similarly, are no longer isolated in distinct geographic locales. For Ashkenazi Jews living in Eastern Europe, chopped liver and [[gefiltefish]] were archetypal Jewish foods. To contemporary Ashkenazi Jews living both in [[Israel]] and in the [[Jewish diaspora|diaspora]], Middle Eastern foods such as [[hummus]] and [[falafel]], neither traditional to the historic Ashkenazi experience, have become central to their lives as Ashkenazi Jews in the current era. [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] has replaced Yiddish as the primary Jewish language for some Ashkenazi Jews, except for many [[Hasidic]] and [[Hareidi]] sects which continue to use Yiddish. For example, in [[Borough Park, Brooklyn|Borough Park]], [[Williamsburg, Brooklyn|Williamsburg]], and other cities where large ultra-Orthodox populations reside, Yiddish still remains the language spoken by Jews. Also, in many religious areas of Israel, including [[Bnai Brak]] and [[Meah Shearim]], some conservative Hasidic groups continue using Yiddish, often refusing to use Hebrew entirely. Given the phenomenal growth of Hasidic Jews all over the world, and in the United States in particular, many sociologists{{Who|date=June 2008}} predict the number of Yiddish speakers will boom. The number of Yiddish speakers today might be stagnant, or growing slowly, because of so many elderly Jews dying, but when this older cohort of Yiddish speakers dies the language will experience tremendous growth.{{Synthesis|date=June 2008}} In many yeshivas all over the world, Yiddish is the primary language of instruction.

France's blended Jewish community is typical of the cultural recombination which is going on among Jews throughout the world. Although France expelled its original Jewish population in the [[Middle Ages]], by the time of the [[French Revolution]], there were two distinct Jewish populations. One consisted of Sephardic Jews, originally refugees from the [[Inquisition]] and concentrated in the southwest, while the other community was Ashkenazi, concentrated in [[Alsace]], and speaking mainly Yiddish. The two communities were so separate and different that the [[National Assembly (French Revolution)|National Assembly]] emancipated them separately in 1791. But after emancipation, a sense of a unified French Jewry emerged, especially when France was wracked by the [[Dreyfuss affair]] in the 1890s. In the 1920s and 1930s, Ashkenazi Jews arrived in large numbers as refugees from [[antisemitism]], the [[Russian Revolution of 1917|Russian revolution]], and the economic turmoil of the [[Great Depression]]. By the 1930s, [[Paris]] had a vibrant Yiddish culture, and many Jews were involved in radical political movements. After the [[Vichy France|Vichy]] years and the [[Holocaust]], the French Jewish population was augmented once again, first by refugees from Eastern Europe, and later by immigrants and refugees from North Africa, many of them [[francophone]]. Then, in the 1990s, yet another Ashkenazi Jewish wave began to arrive from countries of the former [[Soviet Union]] and Eastern Europe. The result is a pluralistic Jewish community that still has some distinct elements of both Ashkenazi and Sephardic culture. But in France, it is becoming much more difficult to sort out the two, and a distinctly French Jewishness has emerged.<ref>Wall, Irwin. (2002) "Remaking Jewish Identity in France" in Howard Wettstein, ''Diaspora's and Exiles''. University of California Press, pages 164-190.</ref>

===Ethnic definition===
In an ethnic sense, an Ashkenazi Jew is one whose ancestry can be traced to the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. For roughly a thousand years, the Ashkenazim were a reproductively isolated population in Europe, despite living in many countries, with little inflow or outflow from migration, conversion, or intermarriage with other groups, including other Jews. Human geneticists have identified genetic variations that have high frequencies among Ashkenazi Jews, but not in the general European population. This is true for patrilineal markers ([[Y-chromosome]] [[haplotype]]s) as well as for matrilineal markers ([[mitochondrion|mitochondrial]] haplotypes).<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/14/science/14gene.html New Light on Origins of Ashkenazi in Europe - New York Times]</ref>

Since the middle of the 20th century, many Ashkenazi Jews have intermarried, both with members of other Jewish communities and with people of other nations and faiths, while some Jews have also adopted children from other ethnic groups or parts of the world and raised them as Jews. Conversion to Judaism, rare for nearly 2,000 years, has become more common. Jewish women and families who choose artificial insemination often choose a biological father who is not Jewish, to avoid common autosomal recessive genetic diseases. Orthodox religious authorities actually encourage this, because of the danger that a Jewish donor could be a [[mamzer]]. Thus, the concept of Ashkenazi Jews as a distinct ethnic people, especially in ways that can be defined ancestrally and therefore traced genetically, has also blurred considerably.

A study by Michael Seldin, a geneticist at the University of California Davis School of Medicine, found Ashkenazi Jews to be a clear, relatively homogenous genetic subgroup. Strikingly, regardless of the place of origin, Ashkenazi Jews can be grouped in the same genetic cohort — that is, regardless of whether an Ashkenazi Jew's ancestors came from Poland, Russia, Hungary, Lithuania, or any other place with a historical Jewish population, they belong to the same ethnic group. The research demonstrates the endogamy of the Jewish population in Europe and lends further credence to the idea of Ashkenazi Jews as an ethnic group. Moreover, though intermarriage among Jews of Ashkenazi descent has become increasingly more common, many Ultra-Orthodox Jews, particularly members Hasidic or Hareidi sects, continue to marry exclusively fellow Ashkenazi Jews. This trend keeps Ashkenazi genes prevalent and will also help researchers further study the genes of Ashkenazi Jews with relative ease. It is also noteworthy that these Ultra-Orthodox Jews often have extremely large families too.<ref>[http://www.forward.com/articles/11444/ One Big, Happy Family - Forward.com"]</ref>

===Realignment in Israel===
In Israel the term ''Ashkenazi'' is now used in ways that have nothing to do with its original meaning. In practice, the label Ashkenazi is often applied to all Jews of European background living in Israel, including those whose ethnic background is actually [[Sephardic]]. Jews of any non-Ashkenazi background, including Mizrahi, Yemenite, Kurdish, and others having no connection at all with the [[Iberian Peninsula]], have similarly come to be lumped together as [[Sephardic]]. Jews of mixed background are increasingly common, partly because of intermarriage between Ashkenazi and non-Ashkenazi, and partly because some do not see such historic markers as relevant to their life experiences as Jews.

Religious Ashkenazi Jews living in Israel are obliged to follow the authority of the chief Ashkenazi rabbi in [[halakha|halakhic]] matters. In this respect, a religiously Ashkenazi Jew is an Israeli who is more likely to support certain religious interests in Israel, including certain political parties. These political parties result from the fact that a portion of the Israeli electorate votes for Jewish religious parties: although the electoral map changes from one election to another, there are generally several small parties associated with the interests of religious Ashkenazi Jews. The role of religious parties, including small religious parties which play important roles as coalition members, results in turn from Israel's composition as a complex society in which competing social, economic, and religious interests stand for election to the [[Knesset]], a unicameral legislature with 120 seats.

==Origins of Ashkenazim==
Although the historical record itself is very limited, there is a consensus of cultural, linguistic, and genetic evidence that the Ashkenazi Jewish population originated in the Middle East. Jews have lived in Germany, or "Ashkenaz", at least since the early 4th century. When they arrived in northern France and the Rhineland, the Ashkenazi Jews brought with them both [[Rabbinic Judaism]] and the Babylonian Talmudic culture that underlies it. [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], once spoken by the vast majority of Ashkenazi Jewry, is a [[Jewish languages|Jewish language]] which developed from the [[Middle High German]] vernacular, heavily influenced by [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] and [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]. (By comparison, the [[Greek language|Greek]] or [[Latin]] influence on Yiddish was much less significant).

European Jews came to be called "Ashkenaz" because the main centers of Jewish learning were located in [[Germany]]. ''Ashkenaz'' is a [[Medieval Hebrew]] name for Germany. (See [[Ashkenazi Jews#Usage of the name|Usage of the name]] for the term's etymology.)

===Background in the Roman Empire===
After the forced Jewish exile from [[Jerusalem]] in 70 CE and the complete Roman takeover of Judea following the [[Bar Kochba rebellion]] of 132-135 CE, Jews continued to be a majority of the population in Palestine for several hundred years. However, the Romans no longer recognized the authority of the [[Sanhedrin]] or any other Jewish body, and Jews were prohibited from living in Jerusalem. Outside the Roman Empire, a large Jewish community remained in [[Mesopotamia]]. Other Jewish populations could be found dispersed around the Mediterranean region, with the largest concentrations in the [[Levant]], [[Egypt]], [[Asia Minor]], [[Greece]], and [[Italy]], including [[Rome]] itself. Smaller communities are recorded in southern [[Gaul]] (France), [[Spain]], and [[North Africa]].<ref>{{cite book|title="Imperialism and Jewish Society, 200 BCE to 640 CE |author=Schwartz, Seth |year=2001 |publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0-691-11781-0 |pages=103–128 }}</ref>

Jews were denied full Roman citizenship until 212 CE, when Emperor [[Caracalla]] granted all free peoples this privilege. However as a penalty for the [[First Jewish-Roman War|first Jewish Revolt]], Jews were still required to pay a [[poll tax]] until the reign of Emperor [[Julian the Apostate|Julian]] in 363. In the late Roman Empire, Jews were still free to form networks of cultural and religious ties and enter into various local occupations. But after Christianity became the official religion of [[Rome]] and [[Constantinople]] in 380, Jews were increasingly marginalized, and brutally persecuted.

In Palestine and Mesopotamia, where Jewish religious scholarship was centered, the majority of Jews were still engaged in farming, as demonstrated by the preoccupation of early Talmudic writings with agriculture. In [[diaspora]] communities, trade was a common occupation, facilitated by the easy mobility of traders through the dispersed Jewish communities.

Throughout this period and into the early Middle Ages, some Jews assimilated into the dominant Greek and Latin cultures, mostly through conversion to [[Christianity]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Beginnings of Jewishness|author=Shaye J. D. Cohen |year=2001 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=0-520-22693-3}}</ref> In Palestine and Mesopotamia, the spoken language of Jews continued to be [[Aramaic]], but elsewhere in the diaspora, most Jews spoke Greek. Conversion and assimilation were especially common within the Hellenized or Greek-speaking Jewish communities, amongst whom the [[Septuagint]] and [[Aquila of Sinope]] (Greek translations and adaptations of the [[Tanakh]] or Hebrew Bible) were the source of scripture. A remnant of this Greek-speaking Jewish population (the [[Romaniotes]]) survives to this day.

The Germanic invasions of the [[Western Roman Empire]] in the 5th century by tribes such as the [[Visigoths]], [[Franks]], [[Lombards]], and [[Vandals]] caused massive economic and social instability within the western Empire, contributing to its decline. In the late Roman Empire, Jews are known to have lived in [[Cologne]] and [[Trier]], as well as in what is now [[France]]. However, it is unclear whether there is any continuity between these late Roman communities and the distinct Ashkenazi Jewish culture that began to emerge about 500 years later. King [[Dagobert]] of the [[Franks]] expelled the Jews from his [[Merovingian]] kingdom in 629. Jews in former Roman territories now faced new challenges as harsher anti-Jewish Church rulings were enforced.

===Rabbinic Judaism moves to Ashkenaz===
In Mesopotamia, and in Persian lands free of Roman imperial domination, Jewish life fared much better. Since the conquest of [[Judea]] by [[Nebuchadrezzar II]], this community had always been the leading [[diaspora]] community, a rival to the leadership of Palestine. After conditions for Jews began to deteriorate in Roman controlled lands, many of the religious leaders of [[Judea]] and the [[Galilee]] fled to the east. At the academies of [[Pumbeditha]] and [[Sura (city)|Sura]] near Babylon, [[Rabbinic Judaism]] based on [[Talmud]]ic learning began to emerge and assert its authority over Jewish life throughout the diaspora. Rabbinic Judaism created a religious mandate for literacy, requiring all Jewish males to learn Hebrew and read from the Torah. This emphasis on literacy and learning a second language would eventually be of great benefit to the Jews, allowing them to take on commercial and financial roles within Gentile societies where literacy was often quite low.

After the Islamic conquest of the Middle East and North Africa, new opportunities for trade and commerce opened between the Middle East and Western Europe. The vast majority of Jews in the world now lived in Islamic lands. Urbanization, trade, and commerce within the Islamic world allowed Jews, as a highly literate people, to abandon farming and live in cities, engaging in occupations where they could use their skills.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ideas.repec.org/p/cpr/ceprdp/5571.html|title=From Farmers to Merchants, Voluntary Conversions and Diaspora: A Human Capital Interpretation of Jewish History|last=Botticini|first=Maristella|coauthors=Zvi Eckstein|month=March | year=2006|accessdate=2006-05-24}}</ref> The influential, sophisticated, and well organized Jewish community of Mesopotamia, now centered in Baghdad, became the center of the Jewish world. In the Caliphate of Baghdad, Jews took on many of the financial occupations that they would later hold in the cities of Ashkenaz. Jewish traders from Baghdad began to travel to the west, renewing Jewish life in the western Mediterranean region. They brought with them Rabbinic Judaism and Babylonian [[Talmud]]ic scholarship.

After 800, [[Charlemagne|Charlemagne's]] unification of former Frankish lands with northern Italy and Rome brought on a brief period of stability and unity in Western Europe. This created opportunities for Jewish merchants to settle once again north of the Alps. Charlemagne granted the Jews in his lands freedoms similar to those once enjoyed under the [[Roman Empire]]. Returning once again to Frankish lands, many Jewish merchants took on occupations in finance and commerce, including money lending or [[usury]]. (Church legislation banned Christians from lending money in exchange for [[interest]].) From Charlemagne's time on to the present, there is a well documented record of Jewish life in northern Europe, and by the 11th century, when [[Rashi]] of [[Troyes]] wrote his commentaries, Ashkenazi Jews had emerged also as interpreters and commentators on the [[Torah]] and [[Talmud]].

===DNA clues===

Efforts to identify the origins of Ashkenazi Jews through DNA analysis began in the 1990s. Like most DNA studies of human migration patterns, these studies have focused on two segments of the human genome, the [[Y chromosome]] (inherited only by males), and the mitochondrial genome ([[mtDNA]], DNA which passes from mother to child). Both segments are unaffected by recombination. Thus, they provide an indicator of paternal and maternal origins, respectively.

A study of [[haplotypes]] of the Y chromosome, published in 2000, addressed the paternal origins of Ashkenazi Jews. Hammer ''et al''<ref name="hammer">{{cite journal|title=Jewish and Middle Eastern non-Jewish populations share a common pool of Y-chromosome biallelic haplotypes|first=M. F.|last=Hammer|coauthors=A. J. Redd, E. T. Wood, M. R. Bonner, H. Jarjanazi, T. Karafet, S. Santachiara-Benerecetti, A. Oppenheim, M. A. Jobling, T. Jenkins, H. Ostrer, and B. Bonné-Tamir|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|month=May 9|year=2000|doi=10.1073/pnas.100115997|volume=97|page=6769| pmid=10801975}}</ref> found that the [[Y chromosome]] of some Ashkenazi and [[Sephardic Jews]] contained mutations that are also common among Middle Eastern peoples, but uncommon in the general European population. This suggested that the male ancestors of the Ashkenazi Jews could be traced mostly to the Middle East. The proportion of male genetic admixture in Ashkenazi Jews amounts to less than 0.5% per generation over an estimated 80 generations, with "relatively minor contribution of European Y chromosomes to the Ashkenazim," and a total admixture estimate "very similar to Motulsky's average estimate of 12.5%." This supported the finding that "Diaspora Jews from Europe, Northwest Africa, and the Near East resemble each other more closely than they resemble their non-Jewish neighbors."

Until recently, geneticists had largely attributed the genesis of most of the [[Jewish ethnic divisions|world's Jewish populations]], including the Ashkenazim of Northern and Central Europe, to a founding act by the males who migrated from the Middle East and "by the women from each local population whom they took as wives and converted to Judaism". David Goldstein, now of Duke University, reported in 2002 that the mitochondrial DNA of women in Jewish communities around the world did not seem to be Middle Eastern, and indeed each community had its own genetic pattern. But in some cases the mitochondrial DNA was closely related to that of the host community. But new studies suggest that in addition to the male founders, significant female founder ancestry may also derive from the Middle East.<ref name="wade">{{cite journal|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/14/science/14gene.html?_r=1&oref=slogin| title=New Light on Origins of Ashkenazi in Europe|first=Nicholas|last=Wade|journal=The New York Times|month=January 14|year=2006|accessdate=2006-05-24}}</ref>

Recent research indicates that a significant portion of Ashkenazi maternal ancestry is also likely of [[Middle Eastern]] origin. A 2006 study by Behar ''et al''<ref name="behar">{{cite journal|url=http://www.ftdna.com/pdf/43026_Doron.pdf|title=The Matrilineal Ancestry of Ashkenazi Jewry: Portrait of a Recent Founder Event|first=Doron M.|last=Behar|coauthors=Ene Metspalu, Toomas Kivisild, Alessandro Achilli, Yarin Hadid, Shay Tzur, Luisa Pereira, Antonio Amorim, Lluı's Quintana-Murci, Kari Majamaa, Corinna Herrnstadt, Neil Howell, Oleg Balanovsky, Ildus Kutuev, Andrey Pshenichnov, David Gurwitz, Batsheva Bonne-Tamir, Antonio Torroni, Richard Villems, and Karl Skorecki|journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics|month=March|year=2006|volume=78|issue=3|pages=487–97| pmid=16404693|doi=10.1086/500307|format=PDF|accessdate=2008-12-30}}</ref>, based on [[haplotype]] analysis of [[mitochondrial DNA]] (mtDNA), suggested that about 40% of the current Ashkenazi population is descended matrilineally from just four women, or "founder lineages", that were "likely from a [[Hebrews|Hebrew]]/[[Levant]]ine mtDNA pool" originating in the Near East in the first and second centuries CE. According to the authors, "the observed global pattern of distribution renders very unlikely the possibility that the four aforementioned founder lineages entered the Ashkenazi mtDNA pool via gene flow from a European host population."

In addition, Behar ''et al'' have suggested that the rest of Ashkenazi mtDNA is originated from ~150 women, most of those were probably of Middle Eastern origin.
<blockquote>Both the extent and location of the maternal ancestral deme from which the Ashkenazi Jewry arose remain obscure. Here, using complete sequences of the maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), we show that close to one-half of Ashkenazi Jews, estimated at 8,000,000 people, can be traced back to only four women carrying distinct mtDNAs that are virtually absent in other populations, with the important exception of low frequencies among non-Ashkenazi Jews. We conclude that four founding mtDNAs, likely of Near Eastern ancestry, underwent major expansion(s) in Europe within the past millennium.<ref name="behar"/><ref>{{cite journal|last=Wade|first=Nicholas|title=[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/14/science/14gene.html?ex=1294894800&en=d17eda8e09ca32a4&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss New Light on Origins of Ashkenazi in Europe]|journal=New York Times|month=January 14|year=2006}}</ref></blockquote>
More, different studies have suggested that some high frequency disease alleles in the Ashkenazi population originated before the separation of Jewish communities in the Near East.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ostrer|first=H|title="A genetic profile of contemporary Jewish populations."|journal=Nat Rev Genet|year=2001}}</ref></blockquote>

==Ashkenazi migrations throughout the High and Late Middle Ages==
Historical records show evidence of Jewish communities north of the [[Alps]] and [[Pyrenees]] as early as the 8th and 9th century. By the early 900s, Jewish populations were well-established in [[Northern Europe]], and later followed the [[Norman Conquest]] into [[England]] in 1066, also settling in the [[Rhineland]]. With the onset of the [[Crusades]], and the expulsions from [[England]] (1290), France (1394), and parts of [[Germany]] (1400s), Jewish migration pushed eastward into [[Poland]], [[Lithuania]], and [[Russia]]. Over this period of several hundred years, some have suggested, Jewish economic activity was focused on trade, business management, and financial services, due to [[Christian]] European prohibitions restricting certain activities by Jews, and preventing certain financial activities (such as "[[usury|usurious]]" loans) between Christians.<ref>{{cite book |first=Hayim |last=Ben-Sasson |title=A History of the Jewish People |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1976 }}</ref>

[[Image:Rzeczpospolita.png|thumb|right|200px|The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at its greatest extent.]]

By the 1400s, the Ashkenazi Jewish communities in [[Poland]] were the largest Jewish communities of the [[Diaspora]].<ref name="Ashkenazim">{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Ashkenazim.html|title=Ashkenazim|first=Shira|last=Schoenberg|publisher=Jewish Virtual Library|accessdate=2006-05-24}}</ref> This area, which eventually fell under the domination of [[Russia]], [[Austria]], and [[Prussia]] ([[Germany]]), would remain the main center of Ashkenazi Jewry until the [[Holocaust]].

The answer to why there was so little assimilation of Jews in Eastern Europe for so long would seem to lie in part in the probability that the alien surroundings in Eastern Europe were not seductive, though contempt did not prevent some assimilation. Furthermore, Jews lived almost exclusively in [[Shtetls]], maintaining a strong system of education for males, heeded rabbinic leadership, and scorned the life-style of their neighbors; and all of these tendencies increased with every outbreak of [[antisemitism]].<ref>Feldman, Louis H. Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World : Attitudes and Interactions from Alexander to Justinian. Ewing, NJ, USA: Princeton University Press, 1996. p 43.</ref>

===Usage of the name===
In reference to the Jewish peoples of Northern Europe and particularly the [[Rhineland]], the word ''Ashkenazi'' is often found in medieval [[rabbinic literature]]. References to Ashkenaz in [[Yosippon]] and [[Hasdai ibn Shaprut]]'s letter to the king of the [[Khazars]] would date the term as far back as the tenth century, as would also [[Saadia Gaon]]'s commentary on Daniel 7:8.

The word ''Ashkenaz'' first appears in the genealogy in the [[Tanakh]] (Genesis 10) as a son of [[Gomer]] and grandson of [[Japheth]]. It is thought that the name originally applied to the [[Scythia#Scythians in the Bible|Scythians]] (Ishkuz), who were called ''Ashkuza'' in Assyrian inscriptions, and lake [[Ascanius]] and the region [[Ascania]] in [[Anatolia]] derive their names from this group.

''Ashkenaz'' in later [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] tradition became identified with the peoples of Germany, and in particular to the area along the Rhine where the ''[[Alamanni]]'' tribe once lived (compare the French and Spanish words ''Allemagne'' and ''Alemania'', respectively, for Germany).

The [[endonym|autonym]] was usually ''[[Yid]]n'', however.

Ashkhenaz is also recorded as being an ancient Armenian kingdom,{{Fact|date=October 2007}} and Armenians speak of themselves in their literature as “the Ashkenazi nation” as putative descendants of Noah’s grandson Ashkenaz.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} Jewish literature, too, sometimes equates the geographic place Ashkenaz with Armenia.{{Fact|date=October 2007}}
The "Ashkuza" have also been linked to the [[Oghuz Turks|Oghuz]] branch of Turks including nearly all Turkic peoples today from Turkey to Turkmenistan.{{Fact|date=January 2007}}

===Medieval references===
In the first half of the 11th century, [[Hai Gaon]] refers to questions that had been addressed to him from Ashkenaz, by which he undoubtedly means [[Germany]]. ''[[Rashi]]'' in the latter half of the 11th century refers to both the language of Ashkenaz<ref>Commentary on Deuteronomy 3:9; idem on [[Talmud]] tractate Sukkah 17a</ref> and the country of Ashkenaz.<ref>Talmud, Hullin 93a</ref> During the 12th century the word appears quite frequently. In the [[Mahzor Vitry]], the kingdom of Ashkenaz is referred to chiefly in regard to the ritual of the synagogue there, but occasionally also with regard to certain other observances.<ref>ib. p. 129</ref>

In the literature of the 13th century references to the land and the language of Ashkenaz often occur. See especially [[Solomon ben Aderet]]'s Responsa (vol. i., No. 395); the Responsa of [[Asher ben Jehiel]] (pp. 4, 6); his ''Halakot'' (Berakot i. 12, ed. Wilna, p. 10); the work of his son [[Jacob ben Asher]], ''Tur Orach Chayim'' (chapter 59); the Responsa of Isaac ben Sheshet (numbers 193, 268, 270).

In the ''[[Midrash]]'' compilation ''Genesis Rabbah'', Rabbi Berechiah mentions Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah as [[Germany|German]] tribes or as German lands. It may correspond to a [[Greek language|Greek]] word that may have existed in the Greek dialect of the Palestinian Jews, or the text is corrupted from "Germanica." This view of Berechiah is based on the Talmud (Yoma 10a; Jerusalem Talmud Megillah 71b), where Gomer, the father of Ashkenaz, is translated by ''Germamia'', which evidently stands for Germany, and which was suggested by the similarity of the sound.

In later times the word Ashkenaz is used to designate southern and Western Germany, the ritual of which sections differs somewhat from that of Eastern Germany and [[Poland]]. Thus the prayer-book of [[Isaiah Horowitz]], and many others, give the [[piyyutim]] according to the [[Minhag]] of Ashkenaz and Poland.

According to 16th century mystic [[Elijah Ba'al Shem of Chelm|Rabbi Elijah of Chelm]], Ashkenazi Jews lived in [[Jerusalem]] during the 11th century. The story is told that a German-speaking [[Palestine|Palestinian]] Jew saved the life of a young German man [[surname]]d Dolberger. So when the [[knight]]s of the [[First Crusade]] came to siege Jerusalem, one of Dolberger’s family members who was among them rescued Jews in Palestine and carried them back to [[Worms, Germany|Worms]] to repay the favor.<ref>Seder ha-Dorot", p. 252, 1878 ed.</ref> Further evidence of German communities in the holy city comes in the form of [[Halakha|halakhic]] questions sent from Germany to Jerusalem during the second half of the eleventh century.<ref>Epstein, in "Monatsschrift," xlvii. 344; [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=242&letter=J#928 Jerusalem: Under the Arabs]</ref>

== Customs, laws and traditions ==
The ''[[Halakha|Halakhic]]'' practices of Ashkenazi Jews may differ from those of [[Sephardi Jews]], particularly in matters of custom. Differences are noted in the ''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' itself, in the gloss of [[Moses Isserles]]. Well known differences in practice include:
*Observance of ''[[Passover|Pesach]]'' (Passover): Ashkenazi Jews traditionally refrain from eating [[legumes]], [[corn]], [[millet]], and [[rice]] ([[quinoa]], however, has become accepted as foodgrain in the North American communities), whereas Sephardi Jews typically do not prohibit these foods.
*Ashkenazi Jews freely mix and eat fish and milk products; some Sephardic Jews refrain from doing so.
*Ashkenazim are more permissive toward the usage of [[Wig (hair)|wigs]] as a hair covering for married and widowed women.
*In the case of ''[[kashrut]]'' for meat, conversely, Sephardi Jews have stricter requirements—this level is commonly referred to as ''[[Shulkhan Arukh#Beth Yosef|Beth Yosef]]''. Meat products which are acceptable to Ashkenazi Jews as kosher may therefore be rejected by Sephardi Jews. Notwithstanding stricter requirements for the actual slaughter, Sephardi Jews permit the rear portions of an animal after proper [[Halakha|Halakhic]] removal of the [[sciatic nerve]], while many Ashkenazi Jews do not. This is not because of different interpretations of the law; rather, slaughterhouses could not find adequate skills for correct removal of the sciatic nerve and found it more economical to separate the hindquarters and sell them as non-kosher meat.
*Ashkenazi Jews frequently name newborn children after deceased family members, but not after living relatives. Sephardi Jews, on the other hand, often name their children after the children's grandparents, even if those grandparents are still living (See [[Sephardi#Names|Sephardi Names]]). A notable exception to this generally reliable rule is among [[Dutch Jews]], where Ashkenazim for centuries used the naming conventions otherwise attributed exclusively to Sephardim (See [[Chuts]]).
*Ashkenazi [[tefillin]] bear some differences from [[Sephardic]] [[tefillin]]. In the traditional Ashkenazic rite the tefillin are wound towards the body, not away from it. Ashkenazim traditionally don [[tefillin]] while standing whereas other Jews generally do so while sitting down.
*Ashkenazic traditional pronunciations of [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] differ from those of other groups. The most prominent consonantal difference from Sephardic and Mizrahic Hebrew dialects is the pronunciation of the Hebrew letter [[Taw (letter)|tav]] in certain Hebrew words (historically, in postvocalic undoubled context) as an /s/ and not a /t/ or /θ/ sound.
* The prayer shawl, or tallit (or tallis in ashkenazi Hebrew), is worn by the majority of Ashkenazi men after marriage, but western European Ashkenazi men wear it from Bar Mitzvah. In Sephardi or Mizrahi Judaism, the prayer shawl is commonly worn from early childhood.<ref>[http://www.religionfacts.com/judaism/things/tallit.htm ''Tallit: Jewish Prayer Shawl'', Religion Facts], accessed December 13, 2008</ref>

== Relationship to other Jews ==
{{Jews and Judaism sidebar|ethnicities}}
The term ''Ashkenazi'' also refers to the ''[[nusach]] Ashkenaz'' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], "liturgical tradition", or rite) used by Ashkenazi [[Jew]]s in their ''[[Siddur]]'' (prayer book). A ''nusach'' is defined by a liturgical tradition's choice of prayers, order of prayers, text of prayers and melodies used in the singing of prayers. Two other major forms of nusach among Ashkenazic Jews are Nusach Sphard (not to be confused with Sephardi), which is the same as the general Polish (Hasidic) Nusach; and Nusach Chabad, otherwise known as Lubavitch Chasidic, Nusach [[Isaac Luria|Arizal]] or Nusach ha'Ari.

This phrase is often used in contrast with [[Sephardi]] Jews, also called Sephardim, who are descendants of Jews from [[Spain]] and [[Portugal]]. There are some differences in how the two groups pronounce certain Hebrew letters and in points of ritual.

Several famous people have [[Ashkenazi (surname)|Ashkenazi as a surname]], such as [[Vladimir Ashkenazi]]. Ironically, most people with this surname hail from within Sephardic communities, particularly from the [[Syrian Jew]]ish community. The Sephardic carriers of the surname would have some Ashkenazi ancestors since the surname was adopted by families who were initially of Ashkenazic origins who move to [[Sephardi]] countries and joined those communities. Ashkenazi would be formally adopted as the family surname having started off as a nickname imposed by their adopted communities. Some have shortened the name to Ash. Other spellings exist, such as Eskenazi or Esquenazi by the Syrian Jews who relocated to [[Panama]] and other [[South-American]] Jewish communities.

The theory that the majority of Ashkenazi Jews are the descendants of the non-Semitic converted [[Khazar]]s was advocated by various racial theorists and [[antisemitism|antisemitic sources]] in the late-19th and 20th centuries, especially following the publication of [[Arthur Koestler]]'s [[The Thirteenth Tribe]].<ref>Michael Barkun, ''Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement'', UNC Press, ISBN 0807846384, pp. 137-142.</ref><ref name=Goodrick-Clarke>Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, ''Black Sun: Aryan cults, esoteric nazism, and the politics of identity'', NYU Press, 2002, ISBN 0814731554, p. 237.</ref><ref>Paul F. Boller, ''Memoirs of an Obscure Professor and Other Essays'', TCU Press, 1992, pp. 5-6.</ref> Despite recent genetic evidence to the contrary,<ref name="behar">{{cite journal|url=http://www.ftdna.com/pdf/43026_Doron.pdf|format=PDF|title=The Matrilineal Ancestry of Ashkenazi Jewry: Portrait of a Recent Founder Event|first=Doron M.|last=Behar|coauthors=Ene Metspalu, Toomas Kivisild, Alessandro Achilli, Yarin Hadid, Shay Tzur, Luisa Pereira, Antonio Amorim, Lluı's Quintana-Murci, Kari Majamaa, Corinna Herrnstadt, Neil Howell, Oleg Balanovsky, Ildus Kutuev, Andrey Pshenichnov, David Gurwitz, Batsheva Bonne-Tamir, Antonio Torroni, Richard Villems, and Karl Skorecki|journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics|month=March|year=2006|volume=78|issue=3|pages=487–97| pmid=16404693|doi=10.1086/500307}}</ref> and a lack of any real mainstream scholarly support,<ref name=Lewis>"This theory… is supported by no evidence whatsoever. It has long since been abandoned by all serious scholars in the field, including those in Arab countries, where the Khazar theory is little used except in occasional political polemics." [[Bernard Lewis|Lewis, Bernard]]. "Semites and Anti-Semites", W.W. Norton and Company, ISBN 0-393-31839-7, p. 48.</ref> this belief is still popular among antisemites.<ref>"Of course an anti-Zionist (as well as an anti-Semitic) point is being made here: The Palestinians have a greater political right to Palestine than the Jews do, as they, not the modern-day Jews, are the true descendants of the land's Jewish inhabitants/owners." [[Benny Morris|Morris, Benny]]. ''The Road to Jerusalem: Glubb Pasha, Palestine and the Jews'', I.B.Tauris, 2003, ISBN 1860649890, p. 22.</ref><ref>"Arab anti-Semitism might have been expected to be free from the idea of racial odium, since Jews and Arabs are both regarded by race theory as Semites, but the odium is directed, not against the Semitic race, but against the Jews as a historical group. The main idea is that the Jews, racially, are a mongrel community, most of them being not Semites, but of Khazar and European origin." Yehoshafat Harkabi, "Contemporary Arab Anti-Semitism: its Causes and Roots", in Helen Fein, ''The Persisting Question: Sociological Perspectives and Social Contexts of Modern Antisemitism'', Walter de Gruyter, 1987, ISBN 311010170X, p. 424.</ref>

== Population genetics ==

There are many references to Ashkenazi Jews in the literature of medical and population genetics. Indeed, much awareness of "Ashkenazi Jews" as an ethnic group or category stems from the large number of genetic studies of disease, including many that are well reported in the media, that have been conducted among Jews. According to Daphna Birenbaum Carmeli at the [[University of Haifa]], Jewish populations have been studied more thoroughly than most other human populations, for a variety of reasons:

* Jewish populations, and particularly the large Ashkenazi Jewish population, are ideal for such research studies, because they exhibit a high degree of [[endogamy]], yet they are sizable.
* Geneticists are intrinsically interested in Jewish populations, and a disproportionate percentage of genetics researchers are Jewish. Israel in particular has become an international center of such research.
* Jewish populations are overwhelmingly urban, and are concentrated near biomedical centers where such research has been carried out. Such research is especially easy to carry out in Israel, where cradle-to-grave medical insurance is available, together with universal screening for genetic disease.
* Jewish communities are comparatively well informed about genetics research, and have been supportive of community efforts to study and prevent genetic diseases.
* Participation of Jewish scientists and support from the Jewish community alleviates ethical concerns that sometimes hinder such genetic studies in other ethnic groups.

The result is a form of [[ascertainment bias]]. This has sometimes created an impression that Jews are more susceptible to genetic disease than other populations. Carmeli writes, "Jews are over-represented in human genetic literature, particularly in mutation-related contexts."<ref>{{cite journal|author=Carmeli, Daphna Birenbaum|journal=American Journal of Medical Genetics|year=2004|title=Prevalence of Jews as subjects in genetic research: Figures, explanation, and potential implications| vol=130A|issue=1|pages=76–83 |volume=130a|doi=10.1002/ajmg.a.20291}}</ref>

=== Specific diseases and disorders ===
{{Expand list|date=December 2008}}
Diseases that are inherited in an [[autosomal recessive]] pattern often occur in [[endogamy|endogamous]] populations. Among Ashkenazi Jews, a higher incidence of specific [[genetic disorders]] and [[hereditary]] [[disease]]s have been scientifically verified, including:

* [[Bloom syndrome]] <ref>[http://www.jewishgeneticscenter.org/what/ashkenazi/bloom.asp Ashkenazi Disorders: Mendelian -- Bloom's Syndrome: from The Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders]</ref>
* [[Breast cancer]] and [[ovarian cancer]] (due to higher distribution of [[BRCA1]] and [[BRCA2]]) <ref>[http://www.jewishgeneticscenter.org/cancer/ashkenazi.asp Ashkenazi Jews and BRCA1 and BRCA2: from The Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders]</ref>
* [[Canavan disease]] <ref>[http://www.jewishgeneticscenter.org/what/ashkenazi/canavan.asp Ashkenazi Disorders: Mendelian -- Canavan Disease: from The Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders]</ref>
* [[Colorectal cancer]] due to [[hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer]] (HNPCC) <ref>[http://www.jewishgeneticscenter.org/cancer/colorectal.asp Ashkenazi Jews and Colorectal Cancer: from The Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders]</ref>
* [[Congenital adrenal hyperplasia]] (non-classical form) <ref>[http://www.jewishgeneticscenter.org/what/ashkenazi/adrenal.asp Ashkenazi Disorders: Mendelian -- Non-Classical Adrenal Hyperplasia: from The Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders]</ref>
* [[Congenital hyperinsulinism]] (PHHI) <ref>[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8923011 Nestorowicz, A., et al. "Mutations in the sulonylurea receptor gene are associated with familial hyperinsulinism in Ashkenazi Jews." Hum. Mol. Genet. 1996;5:1813–1822.]</ref>
* [[Crohn's disease]] (the ''NOD2/CARD15'' locus appears to be implicated) <ref>[http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-03/jhmi-lms032608.php "Large multicenter study suggests new genetic markers for Crohn's disease: Results shed light on special genetic vulnerabilities of Ashkenazi Jews"]</ref>
* [[Cystic fibrosis]] <ref>[http://www.jewishgeneticscenter.org/what/ashkenazi/cystic.asp Ashkenazi Disorders: Mendelian -- Cystic fibrosis: from The Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders]</ref>
* [[Familial dysautonomia]] (Riley-Day Syndrome) <ref>[http://www.jewishgeneticscenter.org/what/ashkenazi/familial.asp Ashkenazi Disorders: Mendelian -- Familial dysautonomia: from The Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders]</ref>
* [[Fanconi anemia]] (esp. Group C) <ref>[http://www.jewishgeneticscenter.org/what/ashkenazi/fanconi.asp Ashkenazi Disorders: Mendelian -- Fanconi anemia: from The Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders]</ref>
* [[Gaucher's disease]]<ref name="gauchers">See the [[Gaucher's Disease#Classification and genetics|Classification_and_genetics]] section of the article about [[Gaucher's disease]], where it says, in part, "Diaz et al suggest that the Gaucher-causing mutations entered the Ashkenazi Jewish gene pool in the early Middle Ages (48-55 generations ago)." and has a footnote referencing '{{cite journal |author=Diaz GA, Gelb BD, Risch N, ''et al'' |title=Gaucher disease: the origins of the Ashkenazi Jewish N370S and 84GG acid beta-glucosidase mutations |journal=Am. J. Hum. Genet. |volume=66 |issue=6 |pages=1821–32 |year=2000 |pmid=10777718|doi=10.1086/302946}}'</ref>
* [[Hemophilia C]] <ref>[http://www.jewishgeneticscenter.org/what/ashkenazi/factor.asp Ashkenazi Disorders: Mendelian -- Hemophilia C: from The Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders]</ref>
* [[Kaposi's sarcoma]] <ref>[http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/jdv/2000/00000014/00000002/art00003 "Epidemiological study of classic Kaposi's sarcoma: a retrospective review of 125 cases from Northern Israel"]</ref>
* [[Maple Syrup Urine Disease]] <ref>[http://www.tuftsmedicalcenter.org/OurServices/SpecialServicesandCenters/JewishGeneticDiseasesScreening/AshkenaziJewishDiseases Ashkenazi Jewish Diseases: Tufts Medical Center]</ref>
* [[Mucolipidosis IV]] <ref>[http://www.jewishgeneticscenter.org/what/ashkenazi/mucoli.asp Ashkenazi Disorders: Mendelian -- Mucolipidosis IV: from The Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders]</ref>
* [[Niemann-Pick disease]] (Type A) <ref>[http://www.jewishgeneticscenter.org/what/ashkenazi/niemann.asp Ashkenazi Disorders: Mendelian -- Niemann-Pick disease: from The Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders]</ref>
* Nonsyndromic Hearing Loss and Deafness, DFNB1 (Connexin 26) <ref>[http://www.jewishgeneticscenter.org/what/ashkenazi/hearingloss.asp Ashkenazi Disorders: Mendelian -- Nonsyndromic Hearing Loss and Deafness, DFNB1 (Connexin 26): from The Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders]</ref>
* [[Pemphigus vulgaris]] <ref>{{cite journal |author=Klein J, Sato A |title=The HLA system. Second of two parts |journal=N. Engl. J. Med. |volume=343 |issue=11 |pages=782–6 |year=2000 |month=September |pmid=10984567 |doi= |url=http://content.nejm.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=short&pmid=10984567&promo=ONFLNS19}}</ref>
* [[Tay-Sachs disease]].<ref name = "taysachs">{{cite web |url=http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/taysachs/taysachs.htm
|title=Tay-Sachs Disease Information Page |publisher=[[National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke]] |date=February 14, 2007 |accessdate=2008-05-25}}</ref>
* [[Torsion dystonia]] <ref>[http://www.jewishgeneticscenter.org/what/ashkenazi/torsion.asp Ashkenazi Disorders: Mendelian -- Torsion Dystonia: from The Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders]</ref>
* [[Ulcerative Colitis]] <ref>[http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=3105389 Ashkenazi jews, sulfur gases, and ulcerative colitis]</ref>
* [[Von Gierke disease]] <ref>[http://www.questdiagnostics.com.mx/fast2/corpus/directorionichols/Details/16069X.htm Glycogen Storage Disease Type Ia Mutation Analysis (Ashkenazi Jewish)"]</ref>
* [[Zellweger syndrome]] <ref>[http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=14802658 "A new autosomal recessive syndrome with Zellweger-like manifestations" - "A son and daughter of consanguineous Ashkenazi Jewish parents presented with phenotypic features that are typically seen in Zellweger syndrome..."]</ref>

[[Genetic counseling]] and [[genetic testing]] are recommended for couples where both partners are of Ashkenazi ancestry. Some organizations, most notably [[Dor Yeshorim]], organize screening programs to prevent [[homozygote|homozygosity]] for the [[gene]]s that cause these diseases. E. L. Abel's book ''Jewish Genetic Disorders: A Layman's Guide'' (McFarland, 2008: ISBN 0786440872) is a comprehensive reference text on the topic; also see [http://www.jewishgeneticscenter.org The Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders] for more information.

==Modern history==
In an essay on [[Sephardi]] Jewry, [[Daniel Elazar]] at the [[Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs]]<ref name="sephardic"/> summarized the demographic history of Ashkenazi Jews in the last thousand years, noting that at the end of the 11th century, 97% of world Jewry was Sephardic and 3% Ashkenazi; in the mid-17th century, "Sephardim still outnumbered Ashkenazim three to two", but by the end of the 18th century, "Ashkenazim outnumbered Sephardim three to two, the result of improved living conditions in Christian Europe versus the Ottoman Muslim world."<ref name="sephardic"/> By 1931, Ashkenazi Jews accounted for nearly 92% of world Jewry.<ref name="sephardic"/>

Ashkenazi Jews developed the [[Hasidic]] movement as well as major Jewish academic centers across Poland, Russia, and Lithuania in the generations after emigration from the west. After two centuries of comparative tolerance in the new nations, massive westward emigration occurred in the 1800s and 1900s in response to [[pogrom]]s and the economic opportunities offered in other parts of the world. Ashkenazi Jews have made up the majority of the [[American Jew]]ish community since 1750.<ref name="Ashkenazim"/>

Ashkenazi cultural growth led to the ''[[Haskalah]]'' or Jewish Enlightenment, and the development of [[Zionism]] in modern Europe.

===Ashkenazi Jews and the Holocaust===
Of the estimated 8.8 million Jews living in Europe at the beginning of [[World War II]], the majority of whom were Ashkenazi, about 6 million — more than two-thirds — were systematically murdered in [[the Holocaust]]. These included 3 million of 3.3 million Polish Jews (91%); 900,000 of 1.1 million in [[Ukraine]] (82%); and 50–90% of the Jews of other Slavic nations, Germany, France, Hungary, and the Baltic states. Sephardi communities suffered similar depletions in a few countries, including Greece, the Netherlands and the former Yugoslavia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/killedtable.html|title=Estimated Number of Jews Killed in The Final Solution|publisher=Jewish Virtual Library|accessdate=2006-05-24}}</ref> Many of the surviving Ashkenazi Jews [[Human migration|emigrated]] to countries such as [[Israel]], [[Canada]], [[Argentina]], [[history of the Jews in Australia|Australia]], and the [[United States]] after the war.

===Ashkenazi Jews in Israel===
Today, Ashkenazi Jews constitute the largest group among Jews,<ref name="sephardic"/> but comprise a slight minority of [[Israelis|Israeli Jews]] (see [[Demographics of Israel]]). However, they have played a prominent role in the economy, media, and politics of Israel since its founding. Tensions have sometimes arisen between the traditional Jews of the Middle East (the [[Sephardim]] and [[Mizrahim]]) and the mostly European Ashkenazim who founded Israel. Later [[aliyah|migrants]] hailing from the various non-Ashkenazi groups sometimes claim that they are [[discrimination|discriminated]] against in terms of education, jobs/income, housing and in other areas.

===Achievements===
Ashkenazi Jews have a noted history of achievement in western societies.<ref>{{cite news |first=Charles |last=Murray |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=Jewish Genius |url=https://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/Jewish-Genius-10855?page=all |work= |publisher=Commentary Magazine |location= |id= |pages= |page= |date=April 2007 |accessdate=2007-12-23 |language= |quote=Disproportionate Jewish accomplishment in the arts and sciences continues to this day. |archiveurl= |archivedate=}}</ref> They have won a large number of the Nobel awards.<ref>{{cite news |first=Charles |last=Murray |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=Jewish Genius |url=https://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/Jewish-Genius-10855?page=all |work= |publisher=Commentary Magazine |location= |id= |pages= |page= |date=April 2007 |accessdate=2007-12-23 |language= |quote=In the first half of the 20th century...Jews won 14 percent of Nobel Prizes in literature, chemistry, physics, and medicine/physiology. |archiveurl= |archivedate=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Steven |last=Pinker |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=THE LESSONS OF THE ASHKENAZIM:Groups and Genes |url=http://pinker.wjh.harvard.edu/articles/media/2006_06_17_thenewrepublic.html |work= |publisher=The New Republican |location= |id= |pages= |page= |date=2006-06-17 |accessdate=2007-12-23 |language= |quote=Though never exceeding 3 percent of the American population, Jews account for 37 percent of the winners of the U.S. National Medal of Science, 25 percent of the American Nobel Prize winners in literature, 40 percent of the American Nobel Prize winners in science and economics, and so on. |archiveurl= |archivedate=}}</ref> In those societies where they have been free to enter any profession, they have a record of high occupational achievement, entering professions and fields of commerce where higher education is required.<ref>{{cite news |first=Charles |last=Murray |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=Jewish Genius |url=https://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/Jewish-Genius-10855?page=all |work= |publisher=Commentary Magazine |location= |id= |pages= |page= |date=April 2007 |accessdate=2007-12-23 |language= |quote=From 1870 to 1950, Jewish representation in literature was four times the number one would expect. In music, five times. In the visual arts, five times. In biology, eight times. In chemistry, six times. In physics, nine times. In mathematics, twelve times. In philosophy, fourteen times. |archiveurl= |archivedate=}}</ref>

== Ashkenazi Chief Rabbis in the Yishuv and Israel ==
* [[Abraham Isaac Kook]] : (23 Feb 1921 - 1 Sep 1935)
* [[Isaac Halevi Herzog]] : (1937 - 25 Jul 1959)
* [[Isser Yehuda Unterman]] : (1964 - 1972)
* [[Shlomo Goren]] : (1972 - 1983)
* [[Avraham Shapira]] : (1983 - 1993)
* [[Israel Meir Lau]] : (1993 - 3 Apr 2003)
* [[She'ar-Yashuv Cohen]] (acting): (3 Apr 2003 - 14 Apr 2003)
* [[Yona Metzger]] : (14 Apr 2003 - present)

==See also==
*[[Jews and Judaism in Europe]]
*[[History of the Jews in Germany]]
*[[Jewish ethnic divisions]]
*[[List of Ashkenazi Jews]]
*[[Oberlander Jews]]

==Notes==
<div class="references-small"><references/>

==References for "Who is an Ashkenazi Jew?"==
* {{cite book|last=Goldberg|first=Harvey E.|year=2001|title=The Life of Judaism|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=0-520-21267-3}}
*{{cite book|last=Silberstein|first=Laurence|year=2000|title=Mapping Jewish Identities|publisher=New York University Press|isbn=0-8147-9769-5}}
*{{cite book|last=Wettstein|first=Howard|year=2002|title=Diasporas and Exiles: Varieties of Jewish Identity|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=0-520-22864-2}}
*{{cite book|last=Wex|first=Michael|authorlink=Michael Wex|year=2005|title=[[Born to Kvetch]]: Yiddish Language and Culture in All Its Moods|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=0-312-30741-1}}

==Other References==
* Beider, Alexander (2001): ''A Dictionary of Ashkenazic Given Names: Their Origins, Structure, Pronunciations, and Migrations''. Avotaynu. ISBN 1-886223-12-2.
* Biale, David (2002): ''Cultures of the Jews: A New History''. Schoken Books. ISBN 0-8052-4131-0
* Brook, Kevin Alan (2003): "The Origins of East European Jews" in ''Russian History/Histoire Russe'' vol. 30, nos. 1-2, pp. 1-22.
* Gross, N. (1975): ''Economic History of the Jews''. Schocken Books, New York.
* Haumann, Heiko (2001): ''A History of East European Jews''. Central European University Press. ISBN 963-9241-26-1.
* Lewis, Bernard (1984): ''The Jews of Islam''. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-05419-3
* Vital, David (1999): ''A People Apart: A History of the Jews in Europe''. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-821980-6
</div>

==External links==
* [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Ashkenazim.html Ashkenazi history at the Jewish Virtual Library]
* [http://jogg.info/11/coffman.htm A Mosaic of a People: The Jewish Story and a Reassessment of the DNA Evidence] by Ellen Levy-Coffman
* {{PDFlink|[http://www.familytreedna.com/pdf/43026_doron.pdf "The Matrilineal Ancestry of Ashkenazi Jewry: Portrait of a Recent Founder Event"]|2.02 MB}}
* [http://www.nature.com/ejhg/journal/v15/n4/full/5201764a.html "Ashkenazi Jewish mtDNA haplogroup distribution varies among distinct subpopulations: lessons of population substructure in a closed group"] (''European Journal of Human Genetics'' - 2007)
* [http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2156/9/14 "Analysis of genetic variation in Ashkenazi Jews by high density SNP genotyping"] ('''BMC Genetics''' - 2008)
*[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=1&cid=1202742130771&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Genetics and the Jewish identity]
{{Jews and Judaism}}
{{History of the Jews in Europe}}

[[Category:Ashkenazi Jews topics| ]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Israel]]
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[[Category:Ethnic groups in Russia]]
[[Category:Jewish ethnic groups]]

[[ar:يهود أشكناز]]
[[be-x-old:Ашкеназы]]
[[bg:Ашкенази]]
[[cs:Aškenazim]]
[[da:Ashkenazisk jødedom]]
[[de:Aschkenasim]]
[[et:Aškenazi juudid]]
[[es:Askenazí]]
[[eo:Aŝkenazo]]
[[fa:اشکنازی]]
[[fr:Ashkenaze]]
[[gl:Asquenací]]
[[ko:아슈케나짐]]
[[id:Ashkenazim]]
[[it:Aschenaziti]]
[[he:יהדות אשכנז]]
[[hu:Askenázik]]
[[nl:Asjkenazische Joden]]
[[ja:アシュケナジム]]
[[no:Askenasiske jøder]]
[[nn:Askenasím]]
[[oc:Ashkenazí]]
[[pl:Aszkenazyjczycy]]
[[pt:Asquenaze]]
[[ro:Evreii aşkenazi]]
[[ru:Ашкеназы]]
[[sk:Aškenázski Židia]]
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[[tr:Aşkenaz]]
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Passover

2009-01-26T11:14:11Z

Dbratton: Undid revision 266438084 by 76.104.53.58 (talk)

{{otheruses4|the Jewish holiday}}
{{redirect3|Pasch|Pasch could also refer to the mathematician, [[Moritz Pasch]], and the [[Pasch (surname)|surname]]}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image = Machine-made Shmura Matzo.jpg
|caption = Machine-made [[matzo]], the traditional substitute for bread eaten on Passover.
|holiday_name = Passover
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''פסח''' (''Pesach'')
|observedby = [[Judaism|Jew]]s, [[Samaritan]]s
|begins = 15th day of [[Nisan]]
|ends = 21st day of [[Nisan]] in [[Israel]], and among some liberal [[Jewish diaspora|Diaspora Jews]]; 22nd day of [[Nisan]] outside of [[Israel]] among more traditional Diaspora Jews.
|celebrations = In Jewish practice, one or two festive [[Passover Seder|Seder]] meals - first two nights; in the times of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]], the [[Korban]] Pesach. In Samaritan practice, men gather for a religious ceremony on Mount Gerizim that includes the ancient Passover Sacrifice.
|date2006 = sunset of 12 April to nightfall of 19 April / 20 April
|date2007 = sunset of April 2 to nightfall of 9 April / 10 April
|date2008 = sunset of April 19 to nightfall of 26 April / 27 April
|date2009 = sunset of April 8 to nightfall of 15 April / 16 April
|type = One of the [[Three Pilgrim Festivals]]
|significance = Celebrates the [[Exodus]], the freedom from [[slavery]] of the [[Children of Israel]] from [[History of ancient Egypt|ancient Egypt]] that followed the [[Ten Plagues]]. 
Beginning of the 49 days of [[Counting of the Omer]]
|relatedto = [[Shavuot]] ("Festival [of] Weeks") which follows 49 days from the second night of Passover.
}}
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'''Passover''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]]: פֶּסַח, {{Audio|He-Pesach.ogg|'''Pesach'''}}, [[Tiberian Hebrew|Tiberian]]: {{IPA|pɛsaħ}}, [[Hebrew language|Israeli]]: '''Pesah''', '''Pesakh''', Yiddish: '''Peysekh''') is a [[Jew]]ish and [[Samaritan]] holy day and festival commemorating God sparing the Jews when He killed the first born of Egypt. Followed by the seven day Feast of the Unleavened Bread commemorating [[the Exodus]] from [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] and the liberation of the [[Israelite]]s from [[Judaism and slavery|slavery]].<ref>{{bibleverse||Lev|23:6|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Num|28:17|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Num|33:3|HE}}</ref>

Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of [[Nisan]], the [[full moon]] of that month, the first month of the [[Hebrew calendar|Hebrew calendar's]] festival year according to the [[Hebrew Bible]].<ref name="Lev-23-4">({{bibleverse||Lev|23:4|HE}}; {{bibleverse||Num|9:3,5|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Num|28:16|HE}})</ref>

In the story of [[the Exodus]], the Bible tells that God inflicted [[Ten Plagues|ten plagues]] upon the Egyptians before Pharaoh would release his Israelite slaves, with the tenth plague being the killing of firstborn sons. However, the Israelites were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a spring lamb, and upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord passed over these homes, hence the term "passover".<ref>Exodus 12:12: "On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn—both men and animals—and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am יהוה (the LORD)."</ref> When Pharaoh freed the Israelites, it is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread to rise. In commemoration, for the duration of Passover, no [[leaven|leavened bread]] is eaten, for which reason it is also called חַג הַמַּצּוֹת ('''Chag HaMatzot'''), "The Festival of the Unleavened Bread".<ref>{{bibleverse||Lev|23:6|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Num|28:17|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Num|33:3|HE}}</ref> ''[[Matza]]''
(unleavened bread) is the primary symbol of the holiday. This bread that is flat and unrisen is called Matzo.

Together with [[Shavuot]] ("Pentecost") and [[Sukkot]] ("Tabernacles"), Passover is one of the [[three pilgrim festivals]] (''Shalosh Regalim'') during which the entire Jewish populace historically made a pilgrimage to the [[Temple in Jerusalem]]. Samaritans still make this pilgrimage to Mount Gerizim, but only men participate in public worship.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3394699,00.html |date=2007-05-02 |last=K'fir |first=Amnon |title=The Samaritans' Passover sacrifice |publisher=ynet news |accessdate=2008-10-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/854549.html |newspaper=Haaretz |title=Ancient Samaritan sect marks Passover sacrifice near Nablus |date=2007-01-05 |accessdate=2008-10-10}}</ref>

==Date in the spring and length==
Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of [[Nisan]], which corresponds to the [[full moon]] of Nisan, the first month of the [[Hebrew calendar]], in accordance with the [[Hebrew Bible]].<ref name="Lev-23-4"/> Passover is a spring festival, so the 14th of Nisan begins on the night of a full moon after the [[vernal equinox]]. To ensure that Passover did not start before spring, the tradition in ancient Israel held that the 1st of Nisan would not start until the barley is ripe, being the test for the onset of spring.<ref>The barley had to be "eared out" (ripe) in order to have a wave-sheaf offering of the first fruits according to the Law. {{cite book |title=Secrets of Time |last=Jones |first=Stephen |year=1996}} This also presupposes that the cycle is based on the northern hemisphere seasons.</ref> If the barley was not ripe an [[Intercalation|intercalary month]] ([[Adar II]]) would be added. However, since at least the 12th century, the date has been determined mathematically.

In [[Land of Israel|Israel]], Passover is the seven-day holiday of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, with the first and last days observed as legal holidays and as holy days involving abstention from work, special prayer services, and holiday meals; the intervening days are known as [[Chol HaMoed]] ("festival days"). Diaspora Jews historically observed the festival for eight days, and most still do. [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] and [[Reconstructionist Judaism|Reconstructionst Jews]] and Israeli Jews, wherever they are, usually observe the holiday over seven days. The reason for this extra day is not known. It is thought by many scholars that Jews outside of Israel could not be certain if their local calendars fully conformed to practice of the temple at Jerusalem, so they added an extra day. But as this practice only attaches to certain (major) holy days, others posit the extra day may have been added to accommodate people who had to travel long distances to participate in communal worship and ritual practices; or the practice may have evolved as a compromise between conflicting interpretations of Jewish Law regarding the calendar; or it may have evolved as a safety measure in areas where Jews were commonly in danger, so that their enemies could not be certain on which day to attack.<ref>De Lange, Nicholas (2000). An Introduction to Judaism. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press. p. 97</ref>

==Origins of the festival==
{{see also|The Exodus}}

Passover is a biblically-mandated holiday, indicating that it was already old and traditional by the time of the redaction of the [[Pentateuch]]:

<blockquote>In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month between the two evenings is the LORD'S Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD; seven days ye shall eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work. And ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days; in the seventh day is a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work. ({{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:5|HE}})</blockquote>

The biblical regulations for the observance of the festival, which reflect early postexilic practice, require that all leavening be disposed of before the beginning of the 15th of Nisan.<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|13:7|RSV}}</ref> An unblemished lamb or kid is to be set apart on Nisan 10,<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|12:3|RSV}}</ref> and slaughtered on Nisan 14 "between the two evenings",<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|12:6|RSV}}</ref> a phrase which is, however, not defined. It is then to be eaten "that night", Nisan 15,<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|12:8|RSV}}</ref> roasted, without the removal of its internal organs <ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|12:9|RSV}}</ref>with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|12:8|RSV}}</ref> Nothing of the sacrifice on which the sun rises may be eaten, but must be burned.<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|12:10|RSV}}</ref> The sacrifices may only be performed in Jerusalem.<ref>{{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|16:2|RSV}},{{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|16:5|RSV}}</ref>

Some of these details can be corroborated, and to some extent amplified, in later postexilic sources. The removal (or "sealing up") of the leaven is referred to the the Passover Papyrus, an Aramaic papyrus from 5th century BCE Elephantine in Egypt. <ref>James B. Prichard, ed., The Ancient Near East-An Anthology of Texts and Pictures, Volume 1, Princeton University Press, 1958, p. 278.</ref> The slaughter of the lambs on the 14th is mentioned in ''The Book of Jubilees'', a Jewish work of the Ptolemaic period, and by the Herodian-era writers [[Josephus]] and [[Philo]]. These sources also indicate that "between the two evenings" was taken to mean the afternoon.<ref>"On the feast called Passover...they sacrifice from the ninth to the eleventh hour", Josephus, ''Jewish War'' 6.423-428, in ''Josephus III, The Jewish War, Book IV-VII'', Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1979. Philo in one place (''Special Laws'' 2.148) states that the victims are sacrificed "from noon till eventide", and in another place (''Questions on Exodus'' 1.11) that the sacrifices begin at the ninth hour. According to Jubilees 49.12, "it is not fitting to sacrifice [the Passover] during any time of light except during the time of the border of evening."</ref> ''Jubilees'' states the sacrifice was eaten that night,<ref>Jubilees 49.1.</ref> and together with Josephus states that nothing of the sacrifice was allowed to remain until morning.<ref>"And what is left of its flesh from the third of the night and beyond, they shall burn with fire," ''Jubilees'' 49.12. "We celebrate [the Passover] by fraternities, nothing of the sacrificial victims being kept for the morrow," Josephus, ''Antiquities'' 3.248.</ref> Philo states that the banquet included hymns and prayers.<ref>"The guests assembled for the banquet have been cleansed by purificatory lustrations, and are there...to fulfill with prayers and hymns the custom handed down by their fathers." Philo, Special Laws 2.148, in ''Philo VII: On the Decalog; On the Special Laws I-III'', Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1937.</ref>

The Biblical commandments concerning the Passover (and the Feast of Unleavened Bread) stress the importance of remembering:

<blockquote>And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt; and thou shalt observe and do these statutes." ({{Bibleverse||Deuteronomy|16:12|HE}}) </blockquote>

{{Bibleverse||Exodus|12:14|HE}} commands, in reference to God's sparing of the firstborn from the [[Ten Plagues|Tenth Plague]]:

<blockquote>And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.</blockquote>

{{Bibleverse||Exodus|13:3|HE}} repeats the command to remember:

<blockquote>Remember this day, in which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, for by strength the hand of the LORD brought you out from this place.</blockquote>

===Origin of the name===
[[Image:The Jews Passover.jpg|left|thumb|"The Jews' Passover"—facsimile of a miniature from a 15th century [[missal]], ornamented with paintings of the School of Van Eyck]]

The verb "''pasàch''" ({{lang-he|פָּסַח}}) is first mentioned in the [[Torah]] account of [[the Exodus]] from Egypt ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:23|HE}}), and there is some debate about its exact meaning: the commonly-held assumption that it means "He passed over", in reference to God "passing over" the houses of the Israelites during the final of the Ten [[Plagues of Egypt]], stems from the translation provided in the [[Septuagint]] (''παρελευσεται'' in {{bibleverse||Exodus|12:23|HE}}, and ''εσκεπασεν'' in {{bibleverse||Exodus|12:27|HE}}). Judging from other instances of the verb, and instances of [[Parallelism (rhetoric)|parallelism,]] a more faithful translation may be "he hovered over, guarding." Indeed, this is the image used by [[Isaiah]] by his use of this verb in Isaiah. 31:5: "As birds hovering, so will the Lord of hosts protect Jerusalem; He will deliver it as He protecteth it, He will rescue it as He ''passeth over''" (כְּצִפֳּרִים עָפוֹת—כֵּן יָגֵן יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, עַל-יְרוּשָׁלִָם; גָּנוֹן וְהִצִּיל, פָּסֹחַ וְהִמְלִיט.) ({{bibleverse||Isaiah|31:5|HE}})
The English term "Passover" came into the [[English language]] through [[William Tyndale]]'s translation of the Bible, and later appeared in the [[King James Version of the Bible|King James Version]] as well.

The term ''Pesach'' ({{lang-he|פֶּסַח}}) may also refer to the [[Domestic sheep|lamb]] or [[Domestic goat|kid]] which was designated as the Passover sacrifice (called the ''[[Korban]] Pesach'' in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]). Four days before the Exodus, the Israelites were commanded to set aside a lamb or kid ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:3|HE}}) and inspect it daily for blemishes. During the day on the 14th of Nisan, they were to slaughter the animal and use its blood to mark their lintels and door posts. Up until midnight on the 15th of Nisan, they were to consume the lamb. Each family (or group of families) gathered together to eat a meal that included the meat of the ''Korban Pesach'' while the Tenth Plague ravaged Egypt.

In subsequent years, during the existence of the [[Tabernacle (Judaism)|Tabernacle]] and later the [[Temple in Jerusalem]], the ''Korban Pesach'' was eaten during the [[Passover Seder]] on the 15th of Nisan. However, following the destruction of the Temple, no sacrifices may be offered or eaten. The ''Seder Korban Pesach'', a set of scriptural and Rabbinic passages dealing with the Passover sacrifice, is customarily recited during or after the [[Jewish services|''Mincha'']] (afternoon prayer) service on the 14th on Nisan.<ref> Eliyahu Kitov, ''The Book of Our Heritage: The Jewish Year and Its Days of Significance,'' Feldheim, 1997, p. 562.</ref> The story of the ''Korban Pesach'' is also retold at the Passover Seder, and the symbolic food which represents it on the [[Passover Seder Plate|Seder Plate]] is usually a roasted lamb [[wiktionary:shank|shankbone]], chicken wing, or chicken neck.

===Historic offering, "''Korban Pesach''"===
{{main|Korban Pesach}}
When the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] was standing, the focus of the Passover festival was the ''[[Korban]] Pesach'' (lit. "Pesach sacrifice," also known as the "Paschal Lamb"). Every family large enough to completely consume a young lamb or [[Wild Goat]] was required to offer one for sacrifice at the Jewish Temple on the afternoon of the 14th day of Nisan,<ref>{{bibleverse||Num|9:11|HE}})</ref> and eat it that night, which was the 15th of Nisan.<ref>({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:6|NIV}})</ref> If the family was too small to finish eating the entire offering in one sitting, an offering was made for a group of families. The offering could not be slaughtered while one was in possession of leaven,<ref>({{bibleverse||Exodus|23:18|HE}})</ref> and had to be roasted, without its head, feet, or inner organs being removed<ref>({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:9|HE}})</ref> and eaten together with [[matzo]] (unleavened bread) and [[maror]] (bitter herbs).<ref>({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:9|HE}})</ref> One had to be careful not to break any bones from the offering,<ref>({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:46|HE}})</ref> and none of the meat could be left over by morning.<ref>({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:10|HE}}{{bibleverse||Exodus|23:18|HE}})</ref>

Because of the ''Korban Pesach'''s status as a sacred offering, the only people allowed to eat it were those who have the obligation to bring the offering. Among those who can not offer or eat the ''Korban Pesach'' are: An [[apostate]] ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:43|HE}}), a [[Indentured servant|servant]] ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:45|HE}}), an [[Brit milah|uncircumcised man]] ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:48|HE}}), a person in a state of [[Tohorot|ritual impurity]], except when a majority of Jews are in such a state (''[[Pesahim]]'' 66b). The offering must be made before a [[quorum]] of 30 (''[[Pesahim]]'' 64b). In the Temple, the [[Levites]] sing [[Hallel]] while the [[Kohen|Kohanim]] perform the sacrificial service. Men and women are equally obligated regarding the ''Korban Pesach'' (''[[Pesahim]]'' 91b).

Women were obligated, as men, to perform the Korban Pesach and to participate in a Seder.

Today, in the absence of the Temple, the [[mitzvah]] of the ''Korban Pesach'' is memorialized in the ''Seder Korban Pesach'', recited in the afternoon of Nisan 14, and in the form of symbolic food placed on the [[Passover Seder Plate]], which is usually a roasted [[humerus|shankbone]]. Many [[Sephardic]] Jews, however, have the opposite custom of eating lamb or goat meat during the Seder in memory of the ''Korban Pesach''

==Modern observance and preparation==
Many Jews observe the positive [[Torah]] [[Mitzvah|commandment]] of eating matzo on the first night of Passover at the [[Passover Seder]], as well as the Torah prohibition against eating [[chametz]] - certain leavening and fermenting agents, and things made with them, such as yeast breads, certain types of cake and biscuit, and certain alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages—but wine is an essential component of Passover, notwithstanding it is a fermented, yeast-bearing beverage. [[Karaite]] Jews are not bound by the oral law, under which "chametz" includes not only leavening agents but the grains from which bread is commonly made. Specifically, five grains, and products made from them, may not be used during Passover—wheat, rye, barley, oats, and spelt—except for making matzo, which ''must'' be made from one of these five grains. This is because the oral law decrees they begin to ferment within eighteen minutes of contact with water. So, despite pasta not being a leavened product, macaroni products cannot be owned or used during Passover under this interpretation of Jewish Law. Ashkenazic rabbinical tradition also forbids the use of rice, most legumes and new world grains like maize (unknown to the old world when the Bible was written), because they might be made into bread (such as cornbread). Sephardic and other rabbinical traditions do not have this prohibition.

===Chametz===
{{main|Chametz}}
''Chametz'' (חמץ, "leavening") refers either to a grain product that is already [[fermentation|fermented]] (e.g. yeast [[bread]]s, certain types of [[cake]], and most alcoholic beverages) or a substance that can cause fermentation (e.g. [[yeast]] or [[sourdough]]). The specific definition varies between religious and ethno-cultural traditions. The consumption of chametz and, under the oral law, its possession, are forbidden during Passover in most Jewish traditions.

In Ashkenazic and certain Sephardic applications of Jewish Law, "chametz" does not include [[baking soda]], [[baking powder]] or like products. Although these are leavening agents, they leaven by chemical reaction whereas the prohibition against chametz is understood to apply only to fermentation. Thus, bagels, waffles and pancakes made with baking soda and matzo meal are considered permissible, while bagels made with yeast, sourdough pancakes and waffles, and the like, are prohibited. Karaite Jews and many non-Ashkenazic Jewish traditions do not observe a distinction between chemical leavening and leavening by fermentation.

The Torah commandments regarding ''chametz'' are:

*To remove all ''chametz'' from one's home, including things made with chametz, before the first day of Passover. ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:15|HE}}). It may be simply used up, thrown out (historically, destroyed by burning, since there was no weekly garbage pickup in ancient times), or given or sold to non-Jews (or non-Samaritans, as the case may be).

*To refrain from eating ''chametz'' or mixtures containing ''chametz'' during Passover. ({{bibleverse||Exodus|13:3|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Exodus|12:20|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|16:3|HE}}).

*Not to possess ''chametz'' in one's domain (i.e. home, office, car, etc.) during Passover ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:19|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|16:4|HE}}).

====Spring Mega-Cleaning====

Observant Jews typically spend the weeks before Passover in a flurry of thorough housecleaning, to remove every morsel of ''[[chametz]]'' from every part of the home. The oral Jewish law ([[Halakha]]) requires the elimination of [[olive]]-sized or larger quantities of leavening from one's possession, but most housekeeping goes beyond this. Even the cracks of kitchen counters are thoroughly scrubbed, for example, to remove any traces of flour and yeast, however small.

Traditionally, Jews do a formal search for remaining chametz ("''bedikat chametz''") after nightfall on the evening before Passover (which is also the evening that precedes the Fast of the Firstborn). A blessing is read (על ביעור חמץ - ''al biyur chametz'', "on the removal of chametz") and one or more members of the household proceed from room to room to ensure no crumbs remain in any corner. In very traditional families, the search may be conducted by the head of the household; in more modern families, the children may be the ones who do the search, under the careful supervision of their parents.

It is customary to turn off the lights and conduct the search by [[candle]]light, using a feather and a wooden spoon: candlelight effectively illuminates corners without casting shadows; the feather can dust crumbs out of their hiding places; and the wooden spoon which collects the crumbs can be burned the next day with the ''chametz''.

Because the house is assumed to have been thoroughly cleaned by the night before Passover, there is some concern that making a blessing over the search for chametz will be for nought ("''bracha l'vatala''") if nothing is found. Thus, ten pieces of bread smaller than the size of an olive are hidden throughout the house in order to ensure that there is chametz to be found.

====Sale of Chametz====
''Chametz'' may be sold rather than discarded, especially in the case of relatively valuable forms such as [[liquor]] [[distillation|distilled]] from wheat, with the products being re-purchased afterward. In some cases, they may never leave the house, instead being formally sold while remaining in the original owners possession in a locked cabinet until they can be repurchased after the holiday. Although this practice dates back many years, some contemporary rabbinical authorities have come to regard it with disdain - since the supposed "new owner" never takes actual possession of the goods.

The sale of chametz may also be conducted communally via the [[rabbi]], who becomes the "agent" for all the community's Jews through a halakhic procedure called a "''[[kinyan]]''" (acquisition). Each householder must put aside all the ''chametz'' he is selling into a box or cupboard, and the rabbi enters into a contract to sell all the ''chametz'' to a non-Jewish person (who is not obligated to observe the commandments) in exchange for a small [[down payment]] (''e.g.'' $1.00), with the remainder due after Passover. This sale is considered completely binding according to Halakha, and at any time during the holiday, the buyer may come to take or partake of his property. The rabbi then re-purchases the goods for less than they were sold at the end of the holiday.<ref>[http://www.torahlearningcenter.com/jhq/question169.html Pesach questions and answers] by the Torah Learning Center.</ref>

Observant Jewish store owners who stock leavened food products sell everything in their storeroom in this fashion with the full knowledge that the new owner is entitled to claim the property. In [[Eastern Europe]]an [[shtetl]]s, Jewish [[tavern]]keepers, would sell their alcoholic ''chametz'' and risk having their neighbors enter their [[wine cellar|cellars]] to drink the liquor.{{Fact|date=March 2008}}

====Burning====
Following the formal search for ''chametz'', any leavened products that were found during the search, along with 10 morsels of bread, are burned (''s'rayfat chametz''). The head of the household declares any ''chametz'' that may not have been found to be null and void "as the dust of the earth" (''biyur chametz''). Should more ''chametz'' actually be found in the house during the Passover holiday, it must be burnt.

Unlike ''chametz'', which can be eaten any day of the year except during Passover, kosher for Passover foodstuffs can be eaten on Passover and year-round. They need not be burnt or otherwise discarded after the holiday ends. The sole exception is the historic sacrificial lamb, which is almost never part of the modern Jewish holiday but is still a principal feature of Samaritan observance. The meat of this lamb, which is slaughtered and cooked on the evening of Passover, must be completely consumed before the morning.({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:15|HE}})

===Matzo===
====Commandments and symbolism====
{{main|Matzo}}[[Image:Matzo.jpg|thumb|250px|Machine-made [[matzo]], the "official" food of Passover]]
The Torah contains a divine commandment to eat matzo on the first night of Passover and to eat only unleavened bread (i.e. matzo) during the week of Passover.<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|12:18|HE}}</ref> Accordingly, the eating of matzo figures prominently in the [[Passover Seder]]. There are several explanations for this.

The Torah says that it is because the Hebrews left Egypt with such haste that there was no time to allow baked bread to rise; thus, flat bread, matzo, is a reminder of the rapid departure of the Exodus.<ref>[http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=107&o=60495} Thought For Food: An Overview of the Seder | AskMoses.com - Judaism, Ask a Rabbi - Live]</ref>. Other scholars teach that in the time of the Exodus, matzo was commonly baked for the purpose of traveling because it preserved well and was light to carry, suggesting that matzo was baked intentionally for the long journey ahead.

Matzo has also been called ''Lechem Oni'' (Hebrew: "poor man's bread"). There is an attendant explanation that matzo serves as a symbol to remind Jews what it is like to be a poor slave and to promote humility, appreciate freedom, and avoid the inflated ego symbolized by leavened bread.<ref>[http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=107&o=450 What is the kabbalistic view on chametz?] by Rabbi Yossi Marcus</ref>

====Matzo baking====
[[Image:Shmura Matzo.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Handmade ''shmura matzo'']]In the weeks before Passover, matzos are prepared for holiday consumption. In [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] communities, men traditionally gather in groups ("''chaburas''") to bake a special version of handmade matzo called "''shmura matzo''", or "guarded matzo", for use at the Seder. These are made from wheat that is guarded from contamination by chametz from the time of summer [[harvest]] to its baking into matzos five to ten months later.<ref>These Matzos are often begun to be produced in early November.[http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/050422/matzo.shtml]</ref> ''Shmura matzo'' dough is rolled by hand, resulting in a large and round matzo. ''Chaburas'' also work together in machine-made matzo factories, which produce the typically square-shaped matzo sold in stores.

The baking of ''shmura matzo'' is labor-intensive, as only 18-22 minutes is permitted between the mixing of flour and water to the conclusion of baking and removal from the oven; however, most are completed by 5 minutes after first being kneaded.<ref>[http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/050422/matzo.shtml Making matzo: A time-honored tradition]</ref> Consequently, only a small amount of matzos can be baked at one time, and the ''chabura'' members are enjoined to work the dough constantly so that it is not allowed to ferment and rise. A special cutting tool is run over the dough just before baking to keep the matzos flat while baking; this creates the familiar dotted holes in the matzo.

After the matzos come out of the oven, the entire work area is scrubbed down and swept to make sure that no pieces of old, potentially leavened dough remain, as any stray pieces are now ''chametz'', and can contaminate the next batch of matzo.

===Passover dishes===
Due to the strict separation between matzo products and ''chametz'' during Passover, observant families typically own complete sets of serving dishes, glassware and silverware for use only during Passover. Under certain circumstances, some ''chametz'' utensils can be immersed in boiling water (''hagalat keilim'') to purge them of any traces of ''chametz'' may have accumulated during the year. Many [[Sephardic]] families thoroughly wash their year-round glassware and then use it for Passover, as the Sephardic position is that [[glass]] does not absorb enough traces of food to present a problem.

===Fasting===
{{main|Fast of the firstborn}}

On the morning before Passover, the [[fast of the firstborn]] takes place. This fast commemorates the salvation of the Israelite firstborns during the [[Plagues of Egypt#The plagues|Plague of the Firstborn]] (according to the Book of [[Exodus]], the tenth of ten plagues wrought upon [[ancient Egypt]] prior to the Exodus of the [[Children of Israel]]), when, according to Exodus (12:29): ''"...God struck every firstborn in the Land of Mitzrayim (ancient Egypt)...."'' Many authorities, including the [[Rema]], note the custom that fathers of firstborn sons are required to observe the fast if their son has not yet reached the age of [[Bar Mitzvah]]. In practice, however, most firstborns only fast until the end of the morning prayer service in synagogue. This is due to the widespread custom for a member of the congregation to conduct a ''[[siyum]]'' (ceremony marking the completion of a section of [[Torah]] learning) right after services and invite everyone to partake in a celebratory meal. According to widespread custom, partaking of this meal removes one's obligation to fast.
If the first born is a boy in a Jewish family, that boy will have to fast after he has his Bar Mitzva.

==The Passover seder==
[[Image:Sedertable.jpg|thumb|250px|Table set for the Passover Seder]]
{{main|Passover seder}}

It is traditional for Jewish families to gather on the first night of Passover (first two nights in Orthodox and Conservative communities outside the land of Israel) for a special dinner called a [[Passover seder|seder]] (סדר—derived from the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word for "order", referring to the very specific order of the ritual). The table is set with the finest china and silverware to reflect the importance of this meal. During this meal, the story of the Exodus from Egypt is retold using a special text called the [[Haggadah]]. Four cups of wine are consumed at various stages in the narrative. The Haggadah divides the night's procedure into 14 parts:

#''Kadeish'' קדש - recital of [[Kiddush]] blessing and drinking of the first cup of wine
#''Urchatz'' ורחץ - the washing of the hands - without blessing
#''Karpas'' כרפס - dipping of the ''[[karpas]]'' in salt water
#''Yachatz'' יחץ - breaking the middle matzo; the larger piece becomes the ''[[afikoman]]'' which is eaten later during the ritual of ''Tzafun''
#''Maggid'' מגיד - retelling the Passover story, including the recital of "[[the four questions]]" and drinking of the second cup of wine
#''Rachtzah'' רחצה - second washing of the hands - with blessing
#''Motzi''-''Matzo'' מוציא-מצה - traditional blessing before eating [[bread]] products followed by the blessing before eating [[matzo]]
#''Maror'' מרור - eating of the [[maror]]
#''Koreich'' כורך - eating of a sandwich made of matzo and maror
#''Shulchan oreich'' שולחן עורך - lit. "set table"—the serving of the holiday meal
#''Tzafun'' צפון - eating of the ''[[afikoman]]''
#''Bareich'' ברך - blessing after the meal and drinking of the third cup of wine
#''[[Hallel]]'' הלל - recital of the Hallel, traditionally recited on festivals; drinking of the fourth cup of wine
#''Nirtzah'' נירצה - [[conclusion]]

[[Image:Maurice Ascalon Pal-Bell Seder Plate.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Bronze [[matzo]] plate inscribed "''"Ha Lachma Anya"'' ("This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]],") the opening words of the "''Maggid''" (Retelling). Design: [[Maurice Ascalon]].]]

The seder is replete with questions, answers, and unusual practices (e.g. the recital of [[Kiddush]] which is not immediately followed by the blessing over bread, which is the traditional procedure for all other holiday meals) to arouse the interest and curiosity of the children at the table. The children are also rewarded with nuts and candies when they ask questions and participate in the discussion of the Exodus and its aftermath. Likewise, they are encouraged to search for the ''[[afikoman]]'', the piece of matzo which is the last thing eaten at the seder. The child or children who discover the hiding place of the ''afikoman'' are rewarded with a prize or money. Audience participation and interaction is the rule, and many families' seders last long into the night with animated discussions and much singing. The seder concludes with additional songs of praise and faith printed in the Haggadah, including ''[[Chad Gadya]]'' ("One Kid Goat").

===''Maror''===
{{Main|Maror}}
[[Image:3TypesMaror.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Maror, one disallowed type and two acceptable kinds (L to R): "''chrein''" ([[Yiddish language|Yiddish]])- grated [[horseradish]] with cooked beets and sugar, not acceptable [[maror]] due to its sweetness; [[romaine lettuce]]; and whole horseradish root, often served grated.]]A commandment to eat ''Maror,'' bitter herbs (typically, [[horseradish]] or [[romaine lettuce]]), together with matzo and the Passover [[korban|sacrifice]] {{bibleverse||Exodus|12:8|HE}}. In the absence of the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple]], Jews cannot bring the Passover sacrifice. This commandment is fulfilled today by the eating of ''Maror'' both by itself and together with matzo in a ''Koreich''-sandwich during the Passover seder.

===Recounting the Exodus===
On the first night of Passover (first two nights in Orthodox and Conservative communities outside [[Land of Israel|Israel]]), a Jew is required to recount the story of [[the Exodus]] from Egypt. This commandment is performed during the Passover seder.

===The four cups of wine===
There is a Rabbinic requirement that four cups of wine (or grape juice) are to be drunk during the seder. This applies to both men and women. The Mishnah says (Pes. 10:1) that even the poorest man in Israel has an obligation to drink. Each cup is connected to a different part of the seder: the first cup is for Kiddush, the second cup is connected with the recounting of [[the Exodus]], the drinking of the third cup concludes [[Birkat Hamazon]] and the fourth cup is associated with Hallel.

===Children in Passover===
{{see also|The four questions}}

Children have a very important role in the Passover seder. Traditionally the youngest child is prompted to ask questions about the Passover seder. The questions encourage the gathering to discuss the significance of the symbols in the meal. The questions asked by the child are:

:Why is this night different from all other nights?
:Why tonight do we eat only unleavened bread?
:Why tonight do we eat bitter herbs?
:Why tonight do we dip them twice?
:Why tonight do we all recline?

Often the leader of the seder and the other adults at the meal will use prompted responses from the Haggadha, which begin, “We must obey the command to talk about the Exodus from Egypt. The more one talks about it the more praiseworthy it is.” Many readings, prayers, and stories are used to recount the story of the Exodus. Many households add their own commentary and interpretation and often the story of the Jews is related to theme of liberation and its implications worldwide. Originally the Seder meal was eaten before the questions were asked, but today most families recount the story of the Exodus before the meal.

The [[afikoman]] is another part of the seder meal that is used to engage children at Passover. In the beginning to the meal, the leader takes the second piece of matzah and breaks it. The larger portion is put away as afikoman, which will be the last piece of food eaten during the evening as a reminder of the paschal sacrifice. Traditions vary in different areas, but in many homes, the afikoman is hidden and at a certain point in the meal, Zafun, children will be sent to search for the afikoman with an offer of a reward. This encourages children to stay awake for the whole seder.

In some communities, such as the Ashkenazi, the children try during the meal to “steal” the afikoman from the leader of the seder. The leader will hide the afikoman from the children. If the children are able to steal the afikoman, they will offer it back with a “ransom” of presents. They are promised the presents after the seder, again being encouraged to stay awake for the whole celebration.

After the Hallel, the fourth glass of wine the hymn is recited that ends in “next year in Jerusalem!” Following this, a sing-a-long ensues that consists of many cheerful and fun Hebrew songs. This part of the celebration is a reward for children who have stayed awake through the whole seder.<ref>Afikoman. Dov Noy and Joseph Tabory. Encyclopaedia Judaica. Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. Vol. 1. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. p434.</ref><ref>De Lange, Nicholas (2000). An Introduction to Judaism. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.</ref>

== Holiday week and related celebrations ==
In [[Land of Israel|Israel]], Passover lasts for seven days with the first and last days being major [[Jewish holidays|holidays]]. In [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] and [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] communities, no work is performed on those days, with most of rules relating to the observances of [[Shabbat]] being applied. A seder is held on the first day.

Outside Israel, in [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] and [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] communities, the holiday lasts for eight days with the first two days and last two days being major holidays. A seder is conducted twice, on both the first and second days. In the intermediate days necessary work can be performed. [[Reform Judaism]] observes Passover over seven days, with the first day being a major holiday when a seder is held.

Like the holiday of [[Sukkot]], the intermediary days of Passover are known as [[Chol HaMoed]] (festival weekdays) and are imbued with a semi-festive status. It is a time for family outings and picnic lunches of matzo, hardboiled eggs, fruits and vegetables, and Passover treats such as [[macaroon]]s and homemade candies.

The prohibition against eating leavened food products and regular flour during Passover results in the increased consumption of potatoes, eggs and oil in addition to fresh milk and cheeses, fresh meat and chicken, and fresh fruit and vegetables. To make a "Passover cake," recipes call for [[Starch#Starch_in_food|potato starch]] or "Passover cake flour" (made from finely granulated matzo) instead of regular flour, and a large amount of eggs (8 and over) to achieve fluffiness. Cookie recipes use [[matzo farfel]] (broken bits of matzo) or ground nuts as the base. For families with [[Eastern Europe]]an backgrounds, [[borsht]], a soup made with [[beet]]s, is a Passover tradition.

Some [[hotel]]s, [[resort]]s, and even [[cruise ship]]s across [[United States|America]], [[Europe]] and [[Israel]] also undergo a thorough housecleaning to make their premises "[[kosher]] for Pesach" to cater for observant Jews.

===Counting of the Omer===
{{main|Counting of the Omer}}
Beginning on the second night of Passover, the 16th day of Nissan,<ref>[[Karaite]] Jews begin the count on the Sunday within the holiday week. This leads to Shavuot for the Karaites always falling on a Sunday.</ref> Jews begin the practice of the [[Counting of the Omer]], a nightly reminder of the approach of the holiday of [[Shavuot]] 50 days hence. Each night after the evening prayer service, men and women recite a special blessing and then enumerate the day of the Omer. On the first night, for example, they say, "Today is the first day in (or, to) the Omer"; on the second night, "Today is the second day in the Omer." The counting also involves weeks; thus, the seventh day is commemorated, "Today is the seventh day, which is one week in the Omer." The eighth day is marked, "Today is the eighth day, which is one week and one day in the Omer," etc.

When the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple stood in Jerusalem]], a sheaf of new-cut barley was presented before the altar on the second day of Unleavened Bread. Josephus writes<blockquote>
On the second day of unleavened bread, that is to say the sixteenth, our people partake of the crops which they have reaped and which have not been touched till then, and esteeming it right first to do homage to God, to whom they owe the abundance of these gifts, they offer to him the first-fruits of the barley in the following way. After parching and crushing the little sheaf of ears and purifying the barley for grinding, they bring to the altar an ''assaron'' for God, and, having flung a handful thereof on the altar, they leave the rest for the use of the priests. Thereafter all are permitted, publicly or individually, to begin harvest.<ref>Josephus, Antiquities 3.250-251, in Josephus IV Jewish Antiquities Books I-IV, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1930, pp. 437-439.</ref></blockquote> Since the destruction of the Temple, this offering is brought in word rather than deed.

One explanation for the Counting of the Omer is that it shows the connection between Passover and Shavuot. The physical freedom that the Israelites achieved at the Exodus from Egypt was only the beginning of a process that climaxed with the spiritual freedom they gained at the giving of the Torah at [[Biblical Mount Sinai|Mount Sinai]]. Another explanation is that the newborn nation which emerged after the Exodus needed time to learn their new responsibilities vis-a-vis Torah and [[mitzvot]] before accepting God's law. The distinction between the Omer offering—a measure of barley, typically animal fodder—and the Shavuot offering—two loaves of wheat bread, human food—symbolizes the transition process.

===Seventh day of Passover===

''Shvi'i shel Pesach'' (שביעי של פסח "seventh [day] of Passover") is another full [[Jewish holiday]], with special prayer services and festive meals. Outside the [[Land of Israel]] in the [[Jewish diaspora]], ''Shvi'i shel Pesach'' is celebrated on both the seventh and eighth days of Passover. This holiday commemorates the day the [[Children of Israel]] reached the [[Red Sea]] and witnessed both the miraculous "Splitting of the Sea," the drowning of all the Egyptian chariots, horses and soldiers that pursued them, and the [[Passage of the Red Sea]]. According to the [[Midrash]], only [[Pharaoh]] was spared to give testimony to the miracle that occurred.

[[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] [[Rebbe]]s traditionally hold a ''[[Tish (Hasidic celebration)|tish]]'' on the night of ''Shvi'i shel Pesach'' and place a cup or bowl of water on the table before them. They use this opportunity to speak about the Splitting of the Sea to their disciples, and sing songs of praise to God.

=== Second Passover ===
{{main|Pesach Sheni}}
The "Second Passover" (''Pesach Sheni'') on the 14th of Iyar in the [[Hebrew Calendar]] is mentioned in the [[Hebrew Bible]] ([[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 9:6-13) as a make-up day for people who were unable to offer the pesach sacrifice at the appropriate time due to ritual impurity or distance from [[Jerusalem]]. Just as on the first Pesach night, breaking bones from the second Paschal offering (Numbers 9:12) or leaving meat over until morning (Numbers 9:12) were prohibited.

Today, Pesach Sheni on the 14th of Iyar has the status of a very minor holiday (so much so that many of the Jewish people have never even heard of it, and it essentially does not exist outside of [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] and traditional [[Conservative Judaism]]). There are not really any special prayers or observances that are considered Jewish law. The only change in the liturgy is that in some communities ''[[Tachanun]]'', a penitential prayer omitted on holidays, is not said. There is a custom, though not Jewish law, to eat just one piece of Matzah on that night.<ref>[http://www.torah.org/learning/yomtov/omer/5755/vol1no21.html Pesach Sheini]</ref>

==Influence in other religions==
According to Sunni [[Muslim]] tradition the fast of [[Ashura]] commemorates the [[The Exodus|liberation of Israelites from Egypt]]. It takes place on the [[10th]] day of [[Muharram]] in the [[Islamic Calendar]]. The start date of the actual fast varies from the [[9th]] of [[Muharram]] to the [[10th]], or from the [[10th]] to the [[11th]].

The [[Christian]] holiday of [[Easter]] is related to Passover. The holy day is actually called "Passover" (or a derivative) in most languages other than English, and its central theme is that Christ was the paschal lamb in human form.( {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|5:7-8|KJV}}) Additionally, the Synoptic Gospels relate that [[Christ]]'s [[Last Supper]] was a Passover ''seder''. ({{bibleverse||Luke|22:15-16|KJV}})

With a few sectarian exceptions, the date of Easter was always determined by taking into account the same lunisolar cycles that of the Hebrew calendar. Since the 4th-5th centuries CE, the most approved method has used a 19-year cycle of lunar months to set Easter to the first Sunday following the first full moon falling on or after the spring equinox, the full moon being reckoned functionally as the 14th of the lunar month, and the equinox being reckoned functionally as March 21. Because of the drift of the seasons and lunations under the [[Julian calendar]], over the centuries the Easter cycle fell out of synchronization with the sun and moon. But the [[Gregorian calendar|Gregorian reforms]] restored the equinox to March 21 and corrected the tabulated lunar cycles, so that the Gregorian calendar's Easter is almost always the same as would be computed by more precise astronomical computations. Gregorian Easter usually falls up to seven days after Passover, but in years 8, 11, and 19 of the Hebrew calendar's 19-year cycle, (corresponding respectively to years 11, and 14, and 3 of the Christian 19-year cycle) Passover falls about a month after Gregorian Easter. Similarly, because the solar year of the Julian calendar is too long compared to the spring equinox year, Orthodox Easter occurs about a month after Gregorian Easter in years 3, 8, 11, 14 and 19 of the Christian 19-year cycle. Three of these years (3, 11, and 14) correspond to years in which Passover is about a month after Gregorian Easter. So in these years (years 19, 8, and 11 of the Hebrew calendar's cycle) Passover will occur in the same lunation as Julian (Eastern Orthodox) Easter. However, because the Julian calendar's tabulated lunar months are now 3 to 5 days behind the astronomical facts, Passover even in these years will always precede Orthodox Easter. In years 8 and 19 of the Christian cycle (corresponding to years 5 and 16 of the Hebrew calendar's cycle), Passover and Gregorian Easter will be in the same lunation, and Julian Easter will be a lunation later. This state of affairs will continue until 2199, after which the Gregorian epacts will shift. Beginning in 2200, Passover will be a month after Gregorian Easter in four years out of nineteen - in years 3, 8, 11, and 19 of the Jewish cycle (corresponding respectively to years 6, 11, 14, and 3 of the Gregorian cycle).

Jehovah's Witnesses are one of a few (usually) Western churches that do not observe Easter but, instead, observe only the [[Last Supper]] on the first evening of Passover; they do not necessarily use the same date as the modern Jewish calendar, but it sometimes corresponds with the same full moon as the festival of [[Purim]].<ref>Passover. Louis Jacobs, Ernst Kutsch, Rela M. Geffen, and Abram Kanof. Encyclopaedia Judaica. Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. Vol. 15. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. p678-683.</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Passover Seder]]
* [[Passover Seder Plate]]
* [[Kitniyot]]
* [[Fast of the Firstborn]]
* [[Haggadah of Pesach]]
* [[Passover (Christian holiday)]]

== Footnotes ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== External links ==
{{commonscat|Passover}}
*[http://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/default.asp Complete Guide to Passover] by [[Chabad.org]]
*[http://www.aish.com/holidays/passover/default.asp Complete Guide to Passover] by [[Aish HaTorah]]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=103|type=Shiurim}}
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/eng/default.aspx?cat=126|type=Q&A}}

*{{CathEncy|wstitle=Pasch or Passover}}

 
{{Passover Footer}}
{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}
{{Time in religion and mythology}}


[[Category:Passover| ]]
[[Category:Jewish holy days]]
[[Category:Spring holidays]]



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Kippah

2009-01-22T11:30:34Z

Dbratton: Undid revision 265519472 by 86.10.122.244 (talk)

:''"Kipa" redirects here. For the supermarket, please see [[Kipa (supermarket)]]. Distinguish from [[kipper]].''
{{Infobox Halacha
|verse =
|image = [[image:kippah.jpg|thumb|right|200px|kippah.]]
|image = [[Image:Kippot.jpg|250px]]
|caption =
|talmud = Shabbat 156b and Kiddushin 31a
|rambam = [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/i/2n.htm Ahavah], [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/i/2700n.htm Hilkhot Tefilah] 5:5
|sa = [[Orach Chayim]] [http://www.torah.org/advanced/shulchan-aruch/classes/orachchayim/chapter1.html 2:6]
}}
A '''kippah''' or '''yarmulke''' (also called a ''kappel'') is a thin, slightly-rounded [[skullcap]] traditionally worn at all times by observant Jewish men, and sometimes by both men and women in [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] and [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] communities during services and other religious rituals. Its use is associated with demonstrating respect and reverence for God. Presently, the rule has been lenient for some Jews who still practice, but do not always openly wear it in public.<ref>http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/607780/jewish/The-Kippah-Skullcap.htm "The Kippah" (chabad.org).</ref>

==Etymology==
There are different proposed [[etymology|etymologies]] for the word ''yarmulke''. According to most mainstream etymologists, it is a [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] word (ירמולקא) deriving from the [[Polish language|Polish]] word ''jarmułka'', meaning "cap", ultimately possibly of Turkish origin.<ref>See [[American Heritage Dictionary]]: http://www.bartleby.com/61/86/Y0008600.html or [[Merriam-Webster]]: http://m-w.com/dictionary/yarmulke.</ref>

Others propose that it is derived from an [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] phrase, ''yarei malka'', meaning "fear of the King [i.e. God],"<ref>For instance, [[Mordechai Becher|Becher, Mordechai]], ''Gateway to [[Judaism]]: The What, How, And Why of Jewish Life'' [[Artscroll|Artscroll-Mesorah Publishing]], 2005. page 284, citing Rabbi Yehoshua of [[Belz]], ''Ohel Yehoshua'', quoted in ''[[minhag|Minhagei]] Yisroel, [[Orach Chaim]], 1.''</ref> or from the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], ''ya'arei me'Elokai'', "those who tremble before the Lord."

The Hebrew-language equivalent, ''kippah'' (כיפה), plural ''kippot'' (כיפות), actually means "dome", same as Arabic ''Qubbah'' (قبة). The [[Gothic language|Gothic]] word ''kappel'' (cf. ''[[chapel]]'') still exists in the Yiddish term today and survives in the Viennese dialect word ''kappl'' (hat). The equivalent of the Hebrew word is the [[French language|French]] ''calotte'' and the [[Italian language|Italian]] ''calotta'', both referring to an architectural dome.

==Source==
[[Image:Kippa.jpg|thumb|200px|Crocheted kippah]]

The sources for wearing a ''kippah'' are found in the [[Talmud]]. In [[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]] 156b it states: "Cover your head in order that the fear of heaven may be upon you." In [[Nashim|Kiddushin]] 31a it states, "Rabbi Honah ben Joshua never walked 4 cubits (2 meters) with his head uncovered. He explained: 'Because the [[Shekhinah|Divine Presence]] is always over my head."

As to the obligation of wearing a ''kippah'', ''[[halakha|halakhic]]'' experts agree that it is a [[minhag]] (custom). The prevailing view among Rabbinical authorities is that this custom has taken on a kind of force of law (''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'', Orach Chayim 2:6), because it is an act of [[Kiddush Hashem]]. From a strictly Talmudic point of view, however, the only moment when a Jewish man is required to cover his head is during prayer (''Mishneh Torah'', ''Ahavah'', ''Hilkhot Tefilah'' 5:5).

Even this interpretation is in question; as recently as the 1600s, scholar [[David Haley]] of Ostrog, Ukraine, suggested that Jews should never uncover their heads in order to help distinguish them from Christians — especially while at prayer.

A [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]]/Kabbalistic tradition states that the ''kippah'' reflects several ideas. One is that God covers us with His Divine Palm; indeed, the Hebrew word ''kaf'' means either "cloud" or "palm of the hand." The Hebrew letter [[Kaph]] is the first letter of the word ''kippah''.

Reasons given for wearing a ''kippah'' today include:

*Recognition that God is "above" mankind;
*Acceptance of the [[613 mitzvot]] (Torah commandments);
*Identification with the Jewish people;
*Demonstration of the "ministry" of all Jews.

Some Jews wear two head coverings, typically a ''kippah'' covered by a hat, for Kabbalistic reasons: the two coverings correspond to two levels of intellect, or two levels in the fear of God. The [[Kohen Gadol]] (High Priest) of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] also used to wear a woolen ''kippah'' under his priestly headdress ([[Kodashim|Chulin]] 138a)[http://www.chabadtalk.com/go/ph/ph-7.htm].

==Codification in Jewish law==
According to the [[Shulchan Arukh]], Jewish men are required to cover their heads and should not walk more than four [[cubits]] without a hat.<ref>[[Shulchan Aruch]], Orach Chaim, 2:6</ref> Wearing a ''kippah'' is described as "honoring God".<ref>''Shaar HaTzion'', OC 2:6</ref> The [[Mishnah Berurah]] modifies this ruling, adding that the ''[[Achronim]]'' established it as a requirement to wear a head covering even when traversing less than four cubits,<ref>Ber Heitev, OC 2:6, note 4, who quotes the ''[[Bach]]'', ''[[Taz]]'' and the ''[[Magen Avraham]]''</ref> and even when one is simply standing in place.<ref>Mishnah Berurah 2:6, note 9</ref> This applied both indoors as well as out.<ref>Mishnah Berurah, 2:6, note 10</ref>

This ruling is echoed by the [[Kitzur Shulchan Aruch]], a concise version of the ''Shulchan Aruch'' authored by Rabbi [[Shlomo Ganzfried]].<ref name=autogenerated1>KSA 3:6</ref> He cites a story from the Talmud (Shabbat 156b) about Rav Nachman bar Yitzchok who might have become a thief had his mother not saved him from this fate by insisting that he cover his head, which instilled in him the fear of God.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

In many communities, boys are encouraged to wear a ''kippah'' from a young age in order to ingrain the habit.<ref>Ber Heitev, OC 2:6, note 5</ref>

According to Rabbi Isaac Klein's ''Guide to Jewish Religious Practice'', a Jew ought to cover his head when in the synagogue, at prayer or sacred study, when engaging in a ritual act, and when eating.<ref>Klein, Isaac. ''A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice''. Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1979.</ref>

==Traditions==
[[Image:Chisinau jew.jpg|thumb|right|A Jewish man from [[Chişinău]] (1900) wearing a ''kippah'']]
The kippah is traditionally worn by Jewish men. Observant Jewish women who have been married (including widows and divorcees) cover their heads more completely with [[scarf|scarves]], [[hat]]s, or [[Wig (hair)|wigs]], but for a totally different reason. The tradition for women comes from a different source than that of men and originates from the laws dealing with the ''sotah'' (suspected adulteress; see [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 5), implying that a Jewish married woman should cover her hair under normal circumstances.<ref>[http://members.aol.com/LazerA/headcovering.htm Headcovering in Jewish Law]</ref> Today, some women — mainly Reform and Conservative Jews — wear a ''kippah''. Some Jews wear ''kippot'' only while [[Jewish services|praying]], eating, reciting a blessing, or studying Jewish religious texts.

In modern contexts, it is also common for non-religious Jews or even non-Jews to wear a simple ''Kippah'', or to cover their heads as a sign of respect, when present at Jewish religious services or at Jewish sites, such as [[Yad Vashem]] and the [[Western Wall]]. Male Jews and non-Jews alike are asked to don a skullcap in the vicinity of the Western Wall, and returnable skullcaps are provided for this use.

Any form of head covering is acceptable according to ''[[halakha]]'' (Jewish law). There are no hard and fast rules on the subject, although the compact, lightweight nature of a ''kippah'', along with the fact that hats for men have fallen out of fashion in the [[Western world|West]] over last few decades, may have contributed to its popularity. ''Kippot'' have become identified as a symbol of Judaism over the last century. [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] men, who mostly wear large black cloth or velvet ''kippot'', often wear fedoras with their ''kippot'' underneath. In the Hasidic community, this double head-covering has Kabbalistic meaning.

===Kippah as identification===
Often the color and fabric of the ''kippah'' can be a sign of adherence to a specific religious movement. The Israeli [[Religious Zionist movement|Religious Zionist]] community is often referred to by the name ''kippot serugot'' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] כיפות סרוגות), literally "knitted kippot," though they are typically [[crochet]]ed. American [[Modern Orthodox]] Jews often wear suede or leather ''kippot'' which require clips to hold them in place. Members of most Haredi groups usually wear black velvet or cloth kippot. Because of this, men who wear these ''kippot'' are sometimes referred to as ''kipot shekhorot'' (Hebrew כיפות שחורות), literally "black kippot".

In the early 19th century in the United States, rabbis often wore a scholar's cap (large saucer-shaped caps of cloth, like a beret) or a Chinese skullcap. An engraved portrait of the Moldavian rabbi, Benjamin ben Benjamin (Rabbi Benjamin II), shows him wearing a Chinese silk skullcap.

Other Jews of this era wore black pillbox-shaped ''kippot''. In the mid-1800s, Reformers led by Rabbi [[Isaac Wise]] stopped wearing ''kippot'' altogether.

More recently, ''kippot'' have been observed in the colors of sports teams supported by the wearer, especially [[football]]. In the United States, children's ''kippot'' with cartoon characters or themes such as [[Star Wars]] are popular. (In response to this trend, some Jewish schools have banned ''kippot'' with characters that do not conform to traditional Jewish values.)

[[Image:Na-nach-nachma-yarmulke.jpg|thumb|left|Knitted [[Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman]] kippah]]
Some [[Breslov (Hasidic dynasty)|Breslov]] Hasidim, known commonly as "the Na-Nach Breslovers" the followers of the late Rabbi [[Yisroel Ber Odesser]], wear full-head-sized, white, crocheted ''kippot'' with the [[Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman]] mantra emblazoned on it. Mainstream Breslover Hasidim (the larger percentage of the Breslov community who do not follow Rabbi Yisrael Ber Odesser) dress like other Hasidim with black velvet ''kippot''.

[[Samaritan]] Israelis once wore distinctive blue head coverings to separate them from Jews who wore white ones, but today they more commonly wear fezes with turbans similar to that of [[Sephardi Jews]] from the Middle East and North Africa. Today, Samaritans don't normally wear head coverings except during prayer, Sabbath, and religious festivals.

==Head coverings in ancient Israelite culture==
The ''[[Tanach]]'' (The Hebrew Bible) makes references,at times, to special head coverings for Jewish males over the age of 12 in biblical times {{Fact|date=April 2008}}, and the prevalence of this custom is supported by archeology: The [[Israelites]] on [[Sennacherib]]'s marble relief appear with headdress, and although the ambassadors of [[Jehu]] on the [[Shalmaneser]] stele have a head covering, their costume seems to be Israelite. One passage of the older literature is of significance: I Kings 20:31 mentions חֲבָליִם ''havalim'' together with שַׂקּיִם ''saqqim'', both of which are placed around the head. This calls to mind pictures of [[Demographics of Syria|Syrians]] on [[Egypt]]ian monuments, represented wearing a cord around their long, flowing hair, a custom still followed in [[Arabia]]. Evidently the costume of the poorest classes is represented; but as it gave absolutely no protection against the heat of the sun to which a worker in the fields is so often exposed, there is little probability that it remained unchanged very long, although it may have been the most ancient fashion.

===Possible modern analogues===
The Israelites might have worn a headdress similar to that worn by the [[Bedouins]]. This consists of a ''keffieh'' folded into a triangle, and placed on the head with the middle ends hanging over the neck to protect it, while the other two are knotted together under the chin. A thick woolen cord (''’akal'') holds the cloth firmly on the head.

In later times, the Israelites, both men and women, adopted a [[turban]]-like headdress more like that of the ''[[Fellah]]s'' of today. The latter wear a little cap (''takiyah''), usually made of cotton cloth folded doubly or triply, which is supposed to shield the other parts of the head covering from perspiration. With boys, this often forms the only head covering. Under this cap are placed one, often two, felt caps (''lubbadah''); and the national head-dress of the [[Turkey|Turks]], the red ''[[tarboosh]]''. Around this, finally, is wound either an unbleached cotton cloth with red stripes and fringe, a gaily-flowered ''mandil'', a red-and-yellow-striped ''keffich'', a black [[cashmere wool|cashmere]] scarf, a piece of white [[muslin]], or a colored cloth. Such a covering not only keeps off the scorching rays of the sun, but it also furnishes a convenient pillow on occasion, and is not seldom used by the Fellahs for preserving important documents.

That the headdress of the Israelites might have been of this kind may be inferred from the use of the noun צַנִיף ''tzanif'' (the verb ''tzanaf'' meaning "to roll like a ball," Isaiah 22:18) and by the verb חַבָּש ''habash'' ("to wind," comp. Ezekiel 16:10; Jonah 2:6). As to the form of such turbans, nothing is known, and they may have varied according to the different classes of society, as was customary with the Assyrians and Babylonians, whose fashions likely influenced the costume of the Israelites -- particularly during and after the [[Babylonian_captivity|Babylonian Exile]]. [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=465&letter=H&search=Head-Dress]

Middle Eastern and North African Jewish community headdress may also resemble that of the ancient Israelites. In Yemen, the wrap around the cap was called מַצַר ''massar''; the head covering worn by all women according to Dath Mosha was a גַּרגוּש "Gargush".[http://www.chayas.com/garb.htm]

==Other types of skullcaps==
===Islam===
Many [[Muslims]] wear a ''kippah'' equivalent called a "kufi" or ''topi''. The origin of this practice, and any other practice of men covering their heads with various head gear, is the general ''[[sunnah]]'' (or normative practice / example) of the Prophet [[Muhammad]] to cover one's head. Until more recent times, men in most Muslim societies were rarely seen without [[headdress]] of some sort. A ''[[taqiyah (cap)]]'' covers most of the head. Covering the head is seen by Muslims to transcend many religious traditions, confirming Muslim belief in the practice's Divine origin, as, according to Muslim belief, all Prophets of God preached the same basic message with varying cultural and social adjustments throughout time. Finally, the modern ''taqiyahs'' worn by Muslims are analogous to the ''kippot'' worn by observant Jews whether in the Middle East or elsewhere. The Jews of the Middle East probably picked up much of their clothing and head gear from the wider society in which they lived. Hence, no different from their Muslim neighbors and compatriots throughout time, the ''kippah'' can be seen as much a product of the Middle East and its diverse social fabric of co-existence as is its analog (in terms of head coverings), the ''taqiyah''.

The ''[[doppa]]'', a square or round [[skullcap]] originating in the [[Caucasus]] and worn by [[Kazan]] [[Tatars]], [[Uzbeks]] and [[Uyghur people|Uyghurs]] is another example of a Muslim skullcap. The ''doppa'' is derived from a [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]], more pointed ancestral cap, which can be seen in some of the portraits of [[Jalaleddin]] [[Mingburnu]].

Conservative Muslims in [[Indonesia]] and [[Malaysia]] , especially in the rural areas, are often seen wearing a thin ''kopiah'', which looks almost exactly like the ''kippah'' in outward appearance.

===Druze===
Among followers of the [[Druze]] faith, the use of headgear is similar, although some Druze also wear either the fez, a fez-turban combination, or the pillbox skullcap.{{Fact|date=October 2007}}

===Zoroastrian===
The black satin head gear called or known as ''fenta'' or ''topi'' is a pillbox-shaped skullcap, worn by Zarathushtris [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]]. Like the ''doppah'', it is possible that the ''fenta''/''topi'' may have had influence on the use of the ''kippa''. It is considered in the Zarathushtri religion to be of vital importance in the attainment of Urvaan, the Zoroastrian equivalent of Buddhist Nirvana. In earlier times, a very saucer-shaped, red and white striped kipah was the hallmark of the Zarathushtri.

===Catholic===
The ''[[zucchetto]]'' ([[Italian language|Italian]] for "small gourd") of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] is based on a very old ''kippah'' design. The cap is traditionally worn by clergy members and its color denotes the rank of the wearer: the [[Pope]] wears a white cap; the [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinals,]] red; [[Bishop]]s, as well as [[abbot]]s and [[prelate]]s, [[amaranth (color)|amaranth]]; [[Deacon]]s and [[Priest]]s, black, although this practice is rare among diocesan and religious order priests. {{Fact|date=September 2007}} However, the zucchetto developed independently from the kippah: it began as a covering for the [[tonsure]]d head of clergy, particularly in cold climates, and, in usage opposite to that of the kippah, is removed to bare the head as a sign of respect during the most solemn parts of religious ceremonies.

===Buddhist===
[[Buddhist]] priests in [[China]] wear the ''[[bao-tzu]]'' (more commonly known as the ''mao-tzu'', 帽子 [[Standard Mandarin|Mandarin]] ''màozi''), the classic skullcap that is the most like the Jewish tradition. In [[Japan]], the cap is more in the form of a pillbox and is called the ''boshi'' (帽子). Though not of ecclesiastical significance, the Buddhist skullcap does denote something about the priest's standing in the community.

===Secular===
[[Switzerland]] is home to the Cup-and-Ring (or ''Kuppa-unt-Hinge'') skullcap, a straw cap with embroidered flowers, a small pompom in the center, and velvet strips sewn round it in rings. This cap was traditionally worn by shepherds for luck and by married men (for fertility).

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commonscat|Kippah}}
*[http://www.aish.com/rabbi/ATR_browse.asp?s=Yarmulke&f=tqak&offset=1 Aish HaTorah's Ask the Rabbi on head covering]
*[http://ohr.edu/ask/ask221.htm#Q3 Ohr Someyach's Ask the Rabbi on head covering]
*[http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=110370 The Skullcap - A brief treatise on the significance of covering one's head with a Kipah]
*[http://www.chabadtalk.com/go/ph/ph-7.htm Chabad-Lubavitch Laws of head covering]
*[http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=160972 Discussion on the need for wearing a kippah.]

{{Jewish life}}

[[Category:Jewish law and rituals]]
[[Category:Jewish ritual objects]]
[[Category:Jewish religious clothing]]
[[Category:Non-clerical religious clothing]]
[[Category:Hebrew words and phrases]]
[[Category:Caps]]



[[cs:Kipa]]
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[[fa:کیپا]]
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[[he:כיפה (יהדות)]]
[[lt:Jarmulka]]
[[ms:Kippah]]
[[nl:Keppel (hoofddeksel)]]
[[ja:キッパー (民族衣装)]]
[[no:Kippa]]
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Shema

2009-01-11T21:18:26Z

Dbratton: Undid revision 263416174 by 75.69.157.208 (talk)

{{Jews and Judaism sidebar|religion}}
'''''Shema Yisrael''''' (or '''Sh'ma Yisroel''' or just '''Shema''') ({{lang-he|שמע ישראל}}; "Hear, [O] Israel") are the first two words of a section of the [[Torah]] ([[Hebrew Bible]]) that is a centerpiece of the morning and evening [[Jewish services|Jewish prayer services]]. The first verse encapsulates the [[Monotheism|monotheistic]] essence of [[Judaism]]: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is One." The Shema is considered the most important [[prayer]] in Judaism, and its twice-daily recitation is a ''[[mitzvah]]'' (religious commandment).

The term "Shema" is used by extension to refer to the whole part of the daily prayers that commences with ''Shema Yisrael'' and comprises [[Book of Deuteronomy|Deuteronomy]] {{bibleverse-nb||Deuteronomy|6:4–9|HE}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Deuteronomy|11:13-21|HE}}, and [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] {{bibleverse-nb||Numbers|15:37–41|HE}}. These are in the [[weekly Torah portion]]s: ''Eikev'', ''VaEtchannan'', and ''Shlach'' respectively.

==History==
Originally, the Shema consisted only of one verse: [[Deuteronomy]] 6:4 (see [[Talmud]] Sukkot 42a and Berachot 13b). The recitation of the Shema in the liturgy, however, consists of three portions: [[Book of Deuteronomy|Deuteronomy]] 6:4–9, 11:13–21, and [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 15:37–41. These three portions relate to central issues of Jewish belief.

Additionally, the [[Talmud]] points out that subtle references to the [[Ten Commandments]] can be found in the three portions. As the Ten Commandments were removed from daily prayer in the [[Mishnaic]] period, the Shema is seen as an opportunity to commemorate the Ten Commandments.

Notice that the two larger-print letters in the first sentence ('ayin ע and daleth ד) spell "עד" which in Hebrew means "witness". The idea thus conveyed is that through the recitation or proclamation of the Shema' one is a living witness testifying to the truth of its message. Modern Kabbalistic schools, namely that of the [[Arizal|Ari]], teach that when one recites the last letter of the word 'echadh' (אחד), meaning "one", he/she is to 'intend that he is ready to "die into God".

==Content==
===''Shema Yisrael''===
The first, pivotal, words of the Shema are:

:'''שמע ישראל יהוה אלהינו יהוה אחד'''

Judaism teaches that the [[Tetragrammaton]] (י-ה-ו-ה) is the [[ineffable]] name of [[Tetragrammaton|God]], and as such is not read aloud in the Shema but is traditionally replaced with אדני, Adonai ("my Lord"). For this reason, the Shema is recited aloud as:

:''Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad''.

The literal word meanings are roughly as follows:
:''Shema'' — ''listen'', or ''hear'' (according to the [[Targum Onkelos|Targum]], ''accept'')
:''Yisrael'' — Israel, in the sense of the people or congregation of Israel
:''Adonai'' — often translated as "Lord", it is read in place of the [[Tetragrammaton]]
:''Eloheinu'' — ''our God'', the word "[[El (god)|El]]" or "Elohei" signifying God (''see also:'' [[Elohim]]), and the plural possessive determiner suffix "nu" or "einu" signifying "our"
:''Echad'' — the Hebrew word for the number 1

In common with other ancient [[language]]s, connective words such as "is", and conventions regarding punctuation, are usually implied rather than stated as they would be in modern [[English language|English]].

This first verse of the Shema relates to the [[monarch|kingship]] of God. The first verse, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord," has ever been regarded as the confession of belief in the One God. Due to the ambiguities of the [[Hebrew language]] there are multiple ways of translating the Shema:

:"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God! The LORD is One!" and,
:"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God — the LORD alone."

Many commentaries have been written about the subtle differences between the translations. There is an emphasis on the oneness of God and on the sole worship of God by Israel. There are other translations, though most retain one or the other emphases.

===''V'ahavta''===
The following verses, commonly referred to by the first word of the verse immediately following the Shema as the ''V'ahavta'', meaning "And you shall love...", contain the commands to love God with all one's heart, soul, and might; to remember all commandments and "teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit down and when you walk, when you lie down and when you rise" (Deut 6:7); to recite the words of God when retiring or rising; to bind those words "on thy arm and thy head" (interpreted as ''[[tefillin]]''), and to inscribe them on the door-posts of your house and on your gates (referring to ''[[mezuzah]]'').

===''V'haya im shemoa''===
The passage following the "Shema" and "V'ahavta" relates to the issue of reward and punishment. It contains the promise of reward for serving God with all one's heart, soul, and might (Deut 11:13) and for the fulfillment of the laws. It also contains punishment for transgression. It also contains a repetition of the contents of the first portion -but this time spoken to the second person plural, (Where as the first portion is directed to the individual Jew, this time it is directed to the whole community, all the Jews).

===''Vayomer''===
The third portion relates to the issue of redemption. Specifically, it contains the law concerning the [[Tallit|tzitzit]] as a reminder that all laws of God are obeyed, as a warning against following evil inclinations and in remembrance of the exodus from Egypt. For the prophets and rabbis, the exodus from Egypt is [[paradigm]]atic of Jewish faith that God redeems from all forms of foreign domination. It can be found in the portion "Shlach Lecha" in the book of Numbers.

===Summary===
In summary, the content flows from the assertion of ''the oneness of God's kingship''. Thus, in the first portion, there is a command to ''love God with all one's heart, soul and might'' and to remember and teach these very important words to the children throughout the day. Obeying these commands, says the second portion, will lead to ''rewards'', and disobeying them will lead to punishment. To ensure fulfillment of these key commands, God also commands in the third portion a ''practical reminder'', wearing the [[tzitzit]], "that ye may remember and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God."

The full content verse by verse, in Hebrew, English transliteration and English translation, can be found [http://www.jewfaq.org/prayer/shema.htm here].

The second line quoted, "Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever", was originally a congregational response to the declaration of the Oneness of God; it is therefore often printed in small font and recited in an undertone, as recognition that it is not, itself, a part of the cited Biblical verses. The third section of the Shema formally ends at Numbers 15:41, but in fact traditionally Jews end the recitation of the Shema with the following word from the next verse, ''Emet'', or "Truth", as the end of the prayer.

==Recitation and reading==
The [[Hebrew Bible]] states that "these words" be spoken of "when you lie down, and when you rise up" [[Deuteronomy]] 6:7.

The first book of the [[Talmud]], tractate ''[[Berakhot (Talmud)|Brachot]]'', opens with a discussion of when exactly the Shema needs to be recited. The [[Mishna]] connects the time of recitation with details of the rhythm of the life of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]], saying that the Shema should be recited in the evening when the [[Kohen|Kohanim]] (Jewish priests) who were [[Tamei]] (ritually impure) (and had been unable to serve) enter to eat their [[Heave offering|Terumah]] ([[heave offering]]s). The [[Gemarrah]] contains a wide-ranging discussion of exactly when this occurred, with general agreement that it occurred in the evening, either after sunset or after three stars were visible. A similar discussion describes the morning Shema, which can be recited at first light prior to sunrise, as soon as colors can be discerned.

The Shema does not have to be recited in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]. It may be recited in any language the worshipper understands ([[s:Mishnah/Seder Zeraim/Tractate Berakhot/Chapter 2/3|Berakhot 2:3]]). However, it is an almost universal custom among observant Jews to recite it in Hebrew.

In [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] and [[Conservative Judaism]], the Shema should be recited twice daily, whether or not one is able to attend services with a [[minyan|congregation]], wherever one is. Even a requirement of decent surroundings (e.g. not to recite it in the bathroom) can be waived if necessary.

The Shema, or as much of the first verse of it as can be said under the circumstances, is traditionally recited by a dying person as part of an affirmation of faith upon death. It is also recited at the end of [[Ne'illah]] service on [[Yom Kippur]].

==Women and the Shema==
{{Main|Role of women in Judaism}}

In [[Orthodox Judaism]], women are not required to recite the Shema, (as a command from the Torah)<ref>[Mishnah Berurah, O.C. 106:1 §7]</ref> as with other time-bound requirements which might impinge on their traditional familial obligations, although they are obligated to pray at least once daily without a specific liturgy requirement and many discharge that obligation through prayers like the Shema. However, the practice among all Jews, women, men, and children is to recite it<ref>[Shailos and Teshuvos, Rav Ephraim Greenblatt, Rabbavot Ephraim, Vol. 1, (O.C) §52]</ref> . The Mishnah<ref>[Mishnah, Berachos 1:2]</ref> suggests that the time for recitation should not be more than 3rd hour, but if it is after that time, it should still be read, since it contains expressions of the unity of G-d, belief in a Creator etc<ref>[Mishnah, Berachos 1:2]</ref>. For this reason, women should say it. It is incumbent to teach children to recite the first verse, and subsequent paragraphs as soon as they are able to understand its meaning. Women are not time bound in its recitation and therefore are not required to say it within its time, in addition the Rabbavot Ephraim<ref>[Shailos and Teshuvos, Rav Ephraim Greenblatt, Rabbavot Ephraim, Vol. 1, (O.C) §52]</ref> brings the [[Rashba]] who holds that the last set of Blessings are on the Shema, based on the [[Rambam]] Women should consult their Local Orthodox Rabbi if they should recite the Blessings before and after. Since 2002, [[Conservative Judaism]] has regarded Conservative women as generally obligated to recite the Shema at the same times as men. [[Reform Judaism]] and [[Reconstructionist Judaism]] do not regard gender-related traditional [[Halakha|Jewish ritual requirements]], including obligations for men but not women to pray specific prayers at specific times, as necessary in modern circumstances; instead, both genders may fulfill all requirements.

==Accompanying blessings==
The Benedictions preceding and following the ''Shema'' are traditionally credited to the members of the [[Great Assembly]]. They were first instituted in the liturgy of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]].

According to the Talmud, the reading of the Shema morning and evening fulfils the commandment "You shall meditate therein day and night". As soon as a child begins to speak, his father is directed to teach him the verse "Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob" (Deut. 33:4), and teach him to read the Shema (Talmud, Sukkot 42a). The reciting of the first verse of the Shema is called "the acceptance of the yoke of the kingship of God" (''kabalat ol malchut shamayim'') (Mishnah Berachot 2:5). [[Judah ha-Nasi]], who spent all day involved with his studies and teaching, said just the first verse of the Shema in the morning (Talmud Berachot 13b) "as he passed his hands over his eyes" which appears to be the origin of the Jewish custom to cover the eyes with the right hand whilst reciting the first verse.

The first verse of the Shema is recited aloud, simultaneously by the [[hazzan]] and the congregation, which responds with the rabbinically instituted ''Baruch Shem'' ("Blessed be the Name") in silence before continuing the rest of Shema. Only on [[Yom Kippur]] is this response said aloud. The remainder of the Shema is read in silence. [[Sephardi]]m recite the whole of the Shema aloud, except the ''Baruch Shem''. [[Reform Judaism|Reform Jews]] also recite the whole of the first paragraph of the Shema aloud, but including the ''Baruch Shem''.

==Bedtime Shema==
Before going to sleep, the first paragraph of the Shema is recited. This is not only a commandment directly given in the Bible (in [[Deuteronomy]] 6:6–7), but is also alluded to from verses such as "Commune with your own heart upon your bed" ([[Psalms]] 4:5).

Some also have the custom to read all three paragraphs, along with a whole list of sections from Psalms, [[Tachanun]], and other prayers. altogether this is known as the ''Kerias Shema She'al Hamita''. According to the [[Arizal]], reading this prayer with great concentration is also effective in cleansing one from sin. This is discussed in the [[Tanya]].<ref>[http://otzar770.com/library/display_page.asp?nPageNumber=23&ilSC=40&nBookId=108&cPartLetter=B Tanya, p. 23]</ref>

==Other instances==
The exhortation by the [[Kohen]] ("priest") in calling Israel to arms against an enemy (which does not apply when the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] is not standing) also includes Shema Yisrael. ([[Deuteronomy]] 20:3; Talmud Sotah 42a).

[[Rabbi Akiva]] patiently endured while his flesh was being torn with iron combs, and died reciting the Shema. He pronounced the last word of the sentence, ''Echad'' ("one") with his last breath (Talmud Berachot 61b). Since then, it has been traditional for Jews to say the Shema as their [[last words]].

[[Roi Kline]], a major in the [[Israel Defense Forces|IDF]], said the Shema before jumping on a live [[grenade]], in accordance with the traditional Jewish practice of reciting the Shema when one believes one is going to die.

=== Music ===

[[Arnold Schoenberg]] used it as part of the story to his narrative orchestral work [[A Survivor from Warsaw]] (1947).

In [[Parade (musical)]] the main character Leo Frank, wrongly accused of the murder of a child worker at the pencil factory he manages, recites the Shema Yisrael as a vigilante gang kidnap and hang him in the final scenes of the work. The musical is based on a true story.

Pop versions have been published by [[Mordechai ben David]] and [[Sarit Hadad]].

==Shema in Christianity==
Shema is one of the sentences that are [[Quotations from the Old Testament in the New Testament|quoted]] in the [[New Testament]]. The [[Gospel of Mark]] 12:29 mentions that [[Jesus]] considered the Shema the beginning exhortation of the first of his two [[greatest commandments]]: "And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, 'Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord'" ([[King James Version of the Bible|KJV]]). [[Jesus]] also refers to the Shema in The [[Gospel of John]] 10:30. A group of Jews in the [[Temple|Temple in Jerusalem]] at the Feast of Dedication, or [[Hanukkah]], asks him if he is [[Messiah]], the anointed one of God. [[Jesus]] concludes his response with the words "I and my Father are one" ([[King James Version of the Bible|KJV]]). This is an allusion to the Shema, which the Jews immediately recognize.

In addition, the apostle [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]] reworks the Shema in [[1 Corinthians]] 8:6 vis-à-vis the risen Christ: "yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist."<ref>cf. N.T. Wright, ''The Climax of the Covenant'', 1994</ref>

Greek: ἀλλ᾿ ἡμῖν εἷς θεὸς ὁ πατὴρ ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς αὐτόν, καὶ εἷς κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς δι᾿ οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἡμεῖς δι᾿ αὐτοῦ (cf. to [[Septuagint|LXX]] of [[Book of Deuteronomy|Deut.]] 6:4: ἄκουε Ισραηλ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν).

==Footnotes==
<references/>

==References==
*[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=599&letter=S&search=Shema Jewish Encyclopedia: Shema]
*[http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=272672 The Shema Yisrael in Hebrew and English]
*[http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=282822 Transliteration of the Shema Yisrael]
*[http://drewkaplan.info/Torah/ShemaAppendix-Excised.pdf The Institution of Shema’ Recital Upon One’s Bed]
*[http://www.aish.com/literacy/mitzvahs/Shema_Yisrael.asp The Meaning of Shema Yisrael]

==See also==
* [[Profession (religious)]]
*[[Christian-Jewish reconciliation]]

{{Jewish prayers}}

[[Category:Jewish prayer and ritual texts]]
[[Category:Hebrew words and phrases]]
[[Category:Hebrew Bible verses]]
[[Category:Biblical phrases]]

[[cs:Šema Jisra'el]]
[[cy:Shema Yisrael]]
[[da:Shemá Jisrael]]
[[de:Schma Jisrael]]
[[es:Shemá Israel]]
[[fr:Chema Israël]]
[[ko:쉐마 이스라엘]]
[[hr:Sh'ma Israel]]
[[it:Shema]]
[[he:שמע ישראל]]
[[ku:Şima Yîsrael]]
[[nl:Sjema]]
[[no:Shema]]
[[nn:Sjemá‘ Jisraél]]
[[oc:Shemà Israèl]]
[[pl:Szema Jisrael]]
[[pt:Shemá Israel]]
[[ro:Şema Israel]]
[[ru:Шма]]
[[sk:Šma Jisra’el]]
[[fi:Šema Israel]]
[[sv:Shema]]

User talk:Dbratton

2009-01-10T11:45:40Z

Dbratton: Undid revision 263109747 by 124.176.91.149 (talk) - vandalism?

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==Welcome==

{{tl|Welcome}} (I see you know your way around, but welcome nonetheless). [[User:Jfdwolff|JFW]] | [[User_talk:Jfdwolff|T@lk]] 21:57, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

:Thanks! I'm still working out all of the formatting tags, so this welcome page should come in useful. [[User:Dbratton|Dbratton]] 03:52, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

==Jehovah==

Thanks for heads-up. [[User:AnonMoos|AnonMoos]] 19:36, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

== Jewish Easter ==
"Passover *definitely* is not the 'Jewish Easter'" Why not? -- [[User:Vít Zvánovec|Vít Zvánovec]] 15:44, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

:Whereas the Last Supper as [[Good Friday]] re enacts is a Passover seder. [[User:John wesley|John wesley]] 16:25, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

:: Yes, exactly. -- [[User:Vít Zvánovec|Vít Zvánovec]] 07:53, 13 April 2006 (UTC)

== Link spamming ==

I've sprotected the pages for now; perhaps that will bring the anon to the Talk: page. [[User:Jayjg|Jayjg ]][[User_talk:Jayjg|(talk)]] 22:35, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

== Removed violationg image ==

I have removed violating image please destroy image.
I guess i'll have to take a picture of my self wearing one then {{unsigned2|29 May 2006|Lucy-marie}}

== Brit milah ==

Dear Dbratton.

It is a direct quote from the book [[Sdei Chemed]].

The book is widely available to buy.

I have a photocopy of the book were he writes it and if you or someone can show me how I would gladly scan it for everyone to see.

About the verbal problems please be specific it’s probably a wording problem and I most probably didn’t express myself good.

BTW, someone with user name [[Jbolden1517]] is personally angry with me because something else I wrote, so he deleted the entire part about Metzitzah, not knowing that it is a vital part of Brit milah, and not even taking time to realize that I am not the author of the article except for this one part. Instead, he slanders me with out any foundation or proof.

So would you please be so kind and revert it? Like this, it’s not personal.

[[User:Bloger|Bloger]] 18:39, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

:Can someone explain to Jbolden1517 that he’s off his tracks. he keeps on deleting the entire article about Metzitzah because he doesn’t like my edits about an organization on a complete different subject, and he cant get it thru his head that I didn’t write the article except for one part (even if I did he’s wrong on deleting it because his personal feelings) he doesn’t now anything about brit milah as is evident of his deleting of the entire section and yet feels comfortable in editing it.

:Besides he keeps on attacking me and others with slanders attaches and then deletes the complains from his talk page to make it looks nice and clean (check out the history)there should be a consequence for people like that who put there own filings above the concept of putting useful info out as is the goal of wikipedia

:[[User:Bloger|Bloger]] 19:57, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

==[[The Long Con]]==
Why is that peice of information notable, as you put it, "for its implications"? What implications are those? The trivia point is vague and if it should be kept, it needs to be re-written to be clear in it's intention. It contains what appears to be Original Research when all that it says that connects the two books is that the plots are "similar." I'm very familiar with [[An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge]] and am really curious what it has to do with the plot outside of [[Dave (Lost)]]. If anything the reference to [[The Third Policeman]] should be excised (and stand on it's own in the previous episode it appeared in), and a clear reasoning for the inclusion of "Owl Creek" should hold up based on its own, without the vauge reference. Help me out here. Thanks. [[User:Radagast83|Radagast83]] 04:09, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

== Agreed ==

If you would note the previous pages, you would note that the self-described "defender of Judaism" seems to have no objections to falsely attacking others. I agree it is ridiculous, and, in her case, has seemingly been so since the start. Also, that person had explicitly stated at least once that a direct response to a reasonable point would never be forthcoming. For what little it might be worth, this "person" in question will be intermittently watched by me in the event further discussions of this sort ever happen again. I note that s/he was treated with more civility than s/he displayed from the beginning, and used that advantage to insult and demean others regularly. In fact, I even tried to defend him/her in the beginning, before I (and I think everyone else) saw how consistently s/he was failing to live up to the standards s/he wishes others to follow. I realize that these issues are inherently emotional. However, this particular person has demonstrated, I think to everyone, that emotion, and not reason, is all s/he is capable of. Rationally, that point could have been made and left. However, s/he insisted on repeatedly accusing others of bad faith and pointedly refusing to answer points made against him/her. That is truly ridiculous. I am personally a member of I think all but maybe five projects on the Philosophy and religion directory page, and I am fairly sure I will be on hand in the event discussion like this ever takes place again. If it does, I will ensure that the other party is treated no better than s/he treats others. It will be interesting to see the response. [[User:Badbilltucker|Badbilltucker]] 00:24, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
:Badbill, you are just as much at fault here as Ryan for prolonging this, if not more so. Don't try to justify yourself to me - having seen an almost identical exchange between you and Izak, it's clear to me who's at fault. The difference with Izak was that he didn't feel the need to defend himself to you, which is Ryan's only shortcoming in the discussion. Good night. [[User:Dbratton|Daniel]][[Special:Contributions/Dbratton|C]]/[[User talk:Dbratton|T]][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Dbratton&action=edit&section=new +] 00:36, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
::Again, please note that I agreed with her and actually defended her early in the discussion. Please tell me how I am at fault for eventually coming to the same conclusions seemingly everybody else in the conversation (with the possible exception of BostonMA, who is I believe of extraordinary character in such matters), places me in the wrong. Or perhaps it is unreasonable to ask people to support their positions with something like facts. There is no question in my mind who was at fault here. I noted the previous "discussion" with IZAK was also one where he flatly refused to contact anyone before telling everyone his "objections". Presumably, that behavior of his was my fault as well. Really. [[User:Badbilltucker|Badbilltucker]] 00:44, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
:::I would welcome arbitration. I believe any reasonable review of the record which does exist would make it clear whose actions were less appropriate here, and I'm certain it isn't me. Have a good day, and good luck with the house. I know that moving can be a problem. And, by the way, I only put that user's page on my watchlist to observe her continuing attempts to try to dodge reality. As she is otherwise boring, I am removing it from my list. Again, good luck with the move. [[User:Badbilltucker|Badbilltucker]] 00:53, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
::::'Self-Described Defender of Judaism'? If that was meant to refer to me, I am (and described myself as) no such thing. You'll either have to provide a diff or stop making that vile comment asap. If it was not referring to me, please delete, strike or just ignore this post. -- [[User:RyanFreisling]] [[User_talk:RyanFreisling|@]] 01:03, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
:::::You describe yourself on your userpage as proudly wearing the badge of the Zionist Cabal. There is little, if any, factual difference between the two characterizations, although I acknowledge it wasn't an exact quote. Considering your own regular misphrasings of the words of others, I would think you would be the last person to raise objections there, but somehow I'm not surprised that your aren't. [[User:Badbilltucker|Badbilltucker]] 01:08, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
::::::Again you mischaracterize. The link makes clear I was included on a list of 'Zionists' on a Nazi website (see the link on my User page) - that's not self-described, nor do I claim membership in a 'Elders of Wikipedia Zionist cabal'. I'm still not sure what issue prompted my inclusion on that list but I am proud of being described as a 'useful idiot' by Nazis given the irony implicit therein (and herein as well). If you don't read, and think, you just react from emotion. 'Duckspeak', in essence. I'm beginning to consider your conduct as being very much in that vein. Dbratton's point that I don't need to defend myself to you has been well taken. Have a lovely half-mooned evening. -- [[User:RyanFreisling]] [[User_talk:RyanFreisling|@]] 01:12, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
::And again you seemingly willfully misstate my comments. It is an exact quote on your userpage that it is a "badge of honor". Those words are not from a link, but are explicitly your own. Also, at no point did I use the word "elders" which you ascribed to me, in quotations, no less. On that basis, I have no alternative to believe that your comment above contained a willful lie and a willful misrepresentation/personal attack. It would be interesting to see how long you would be suspended for it if I weren't a bit more nice than I should be, as someone has told me at least once on my userpage. [[User:Badbilltucker|Badbilltucker]] 01:20, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
:::Bill, focus. Focus. 'Useful Idiot' is the badge of honor, not 'Zionist Cabal'. 'Elders' is from the source website. Do you understand? Please try to understand. Re-read what I said, think for :03 seconds and then answer. -- [[User:RyanFreisling]] [[User_talk:RyanFreisling|@]] 01:21, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
::::Note that you refuse to address the matter of your own false statement once again. No surprise there, of course. Also you are explicitly in your own words saying you are "one of the 'Zionist Cabal' here at Wikipedia, or at least a 'useful idiot' (link) a misattributed badge of honor'. I acknowledge that there is no such thing as a Zionist Cabal here (except for maybe you and IZAK), so I acknowledge that it might be misattributed on that basis. Your own statement is far from clear on your user page, and in fact, in the context of the words, not the link, considering the words are what are actually on your page, it is the most reasonable conclusion. ''Try'' to think for at least a second before you respond. [[User:Badbilltucker|Badbilltucker]] 01:26, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
:::::It's obvious you aren't interested in reaching any agreements so I'll point out to you what it actually says:
::::::''' ''In fact, if you ask your local Nazi skinhead,''' I may even be one of the 'Zionist Cabal' here at Wikipedia, or at least a 'useful idiot' - [1], a misattributed badge of honor which, given the source, I now wear proudly.''
::::::The meaning of that text is clear. It points out the absurdity of the idea of a cabal and some Nazi believing in my having anything to contribute worth 'cabalifying'. You may not want to understand or acknowledge what I am saying - as it doesn't support your preconceptions - but once again you go too far ('lies'), illustrate you have no actual argument, fail to find any common ground to resolve the issue, relentlessly attack on turns of phrases until a chorus points out your repetitiveness, and further solidify whatever case I might need to make regarding your conduct. Good evening. -- [[User:RyanFreisling]] [[User_talk:RyanFreisling|@]] 01:35, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
(once again caught in edit conflict with person who insists on revising her own words immediately every time, for reasons we can only speculate about)
:::::::Attempting to put words in the mouths of others when those words are not even close to what was actually stated is a lie. I am sorry that you find yourself incapable of understanding that. And by trying to once again avoid an obvious fact of your own words, not those of others which are not even explicitly referred to in your own words, which you could have referred to, you are clearly and explicitly misrepresenting both your own words as they appear and reality. For all anyone knows, that link could be a reference, and it is not anybody else's responsibility to try to find ways to defend your own misstatements. It is your own. I am sorry that you will seemingly never be able to recognize that, at least by your own current behavior. Good night and I sincerely hope good bye. [[User:Badbilltucker|Badbilltucker]] 01:41, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

== Nazuraiun ==

Hi Daniel: What do you make of [[Nazuraiun]]? Thanks, [[User:IZAK|IZAK]] 10:28, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

===AFD===
See [[Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Nazuraiun]]. Thank you. [[User:IZAK|IZAK]] 13:48, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

==Thanks for catching that==

Thanks for [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Who_is_a_Jew%3F&diff=prev&oldid=107071516 this]. I had accidentally reverted to a different version than I intended! : ) --[[User:MPerel|MPerel ]]( [[user_talk:MPerel|talk]] | [[Special:contributions/MPerel|contrib]]) 06:17, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

== I am happy ==

I am happy that my thought and some others' efforts to give it a good acceptable shape is liked by you. Pray for me so that I can reach my scientific goal with due knowledge and due tolerance.

Regards

Samir

Aurthor/creator of the article Philosophy of Death and Adjustment [[User:203.112.197.69|203.112.197.69]] 13:53, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

== Wrong to revert ==

Indeed, we '''have''' been down this road before. A very large number of Messianics study the Talmud. I provided five citations that support this in the talk page. You will not be reverting it again. [[User:Noogster|Noogster]] 01:24, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

:What discussion is there, because I'm not even seeing it. A lot of Messianics study/use/reference the Talmud, therefore it belongs on the template. It's so simple and foundational that it seems almost ridiculous that there would be any "heated discussion" at all unless the objectors have a very POV characterization of what they feel MJ is supposed to be. [[User:Noogster|Noogster]] 01:33, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

== Tetragrammaton ==

You're welcome! I thought about leaving you a message, but decided that you would probably have come back to finish the job shortly. - [[User:Fayenatic london|Fayenatic london]] [[User_talk:Fayenatic_london|(talk)]] 14:02, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

== Could you have a look at these articles and their talk? ==

Could you have a look at these articles and their talk?

* [[Jewish reactions to intelligent design]]
* [[Jewish opposition to evolution]]

I feel the articles are extremely well sourced and balanced. I'd like somebody else to remove the tags. Please look at my last versions, because I have run up against somebody from the evolution/creation universe who wants to pick a fight. --[[User:Metzenberg|Metzenberg]] 03:10, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

: I really need your help here. ZayZayEM is engaging in troll-like behavior, such as making edits on the very materials I am editing, removing sourced materials immediately after I add them, and so forth. It is a harassment pattern that extends across multiple articles. The main articles involved are:

: * [[Jewish reactions to intelligent design]]
: * [[Jewish opposition to evolution]]
: * [[Natan Slifkin]]

: It is bizarre behavior, because I can see no reason why he is even interested in this material. As you and I both know, it is material you have to really understand well to edit. Over the last week, I have substantially rearranged all the materials on [[Judaism and evolution]] in an effort to clean up the main Judaism and Evolution page first of all, so that it can be turned into a page that is not dominated by issues (such as the Slifkin affair) that would have undue weight. ZayZayEM has simply made it impossible for me to work. He has followed me from one article to another, demanding arbitrary changes. many of his edits, and his changes, show that he knows very little about the subject, which as you and I both know, is quite abstruse at times. --[[User:Metzenberg|Metzenberg]] 16:30, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

==Sheep==

I'm not quite sure how this was vandalism; an article about sheep behavior referenced in the sheep article with its source linked. Can you please explain? Thanks! [[User:68.158.243.198 |68.158.243.198 ]] 8:36, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

== "Jewish descent" versus Jew ==

See the discussion at '''[[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Judaism#"Jewish descent" versus Jew]]''' concerning the problems of using the term "Jewish descent" versus "Jew" as well as the related proposal. Thank you, [[User:IZAK|IZAK]] 10:06, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

==IP range block==

((unblock-auto|1=86.136.244.238|2=repeated vandalism from this range, sorry|3=Can't sleep, clown will eat me)) [[User:Dbratton|Daniel]][[Special:Contributions/Dbratton|C]]/[[User talk:Dbratton|T]][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Dbratton&action=edit&section=new +] 21:44, 25 June 2007 (UTC)
:Apologies, the block expired before I was able to review it. You should be able to edit, for now, although we may want to ask CSCWEM why the block was set, in the first place. In any case, cheers. – [[User:Luna Santin|'''Luna Santin''']] ([[User talk:Luna Santin|talk]]) 00:17, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

== Revert without discussing? ==

Why are you reverting the article [[Who is a Jew?]] without one iota of use of that article's Talk page? [[User:Bus stop|Bus stop]] 14:37, 20 July 2007 (UTC)
:You've been corrected and asked to stop making unilateral edits on the talk page. Please respect consensus. [[User:Dbratton|Daniel]][[Special:Contributions/Dbratton|C]]/[[User talk:Dbratton|T]][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Dbratton&action=edit&section=new +] 14:43, 20 July 2007 (UTC)

== Thanks ==

Thanks for contributing to the MJ discussion. Your input is valued, and welcomed! Shalom. [[User:Inigmatus|inigmatus]] 18:55, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

== No problem :) ==
Always here to help. :) I'm guessing that this is an IP hopping vandal? --[[User:Woohookitty|''Woohookitty'']][[User talk:Woohookitty|Woohoo!]] 01:01, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

==Please see response==
Plwase see my response to you on the Ashkenazi Jews talk page :-) Thank you. [[User:M.V.E.i.|M.V.E.i.]] 21:03, 7 September 2007 (UTC)
:And something more. Deleting a lie wont prove him wrong and leave a feeling in the air he might be right. The best method is to keep it cool and my logic and facts beat him. Belive me, at least for a while he wont try to do it again. An example is how i answared to someone [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Ashkenazi_Jews#African_Traits here]. [[User:M.V.E.i.|M.V.E.i.]] 21:24, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

== Jewish history of Wales & N. Ireland needed ==

Hello Dbratton: Hope all goes well with you and yours. The series of articles on the [[History of the Jews in Europe]] is complete. All the European countries have articles, even if they are stubs for now. However there are still two more: '''[[History of the Jews in Wales]]''' and '''[[History of the Jews in Northern Ireland]]''' (see related articles [[History of the Jews in England]] and [[History of the Jews in Scotland]]) that are listed as countries in template <nowiki>{{|Europe topic|History of the Jews in}}</nowiki> that require someone to add information and start the article. If you are able to, your efforts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, [[User:IZAK|IZAK]] 13:17, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

== My recent RfA ==

Thank you for participating in [[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/The Haunted Angel 2|my recent RfA]]. Although the voting ended at 36/22/5, there was no consensus to promote, and the RfA was unsuccessful. I would like the thank you nonetheless for supporting me during the RfA, and hope that any future RfA’s proceed better than this one did. Again, I thank you for your support. ≈ [[User: The Haunted Angel|The Haunted Angel]] [[Wikipedia:Editor review/The Haunted Angel 2|Review Me!]] 02:31, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

==display of the top yellow banner==
Your pages wasn't rendering correctly on my browser so I changed the code. The "float:left" confuses the creation of the table of content, and the multiple "<nowiki> </nowiki>"s can only help in most of the cases. As the banner is intended to go across the whole screen the "float:left" is unnecessary. If you want to change it back, go ahead. [[User:Jon513|Jon513]] ([[User talk:Jon513|talk]]) 10:35, 26 November 2007 (UTC)
:thanks for the joke. [[User:Jon513|Jon513]] 22:44, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

== Thank you ==

Thank you for your kind words. I noticed something interesting on your talk page: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk%3ADbratton&diff=145926856&oldid=145925649] Looks great! :-) [[User:Jayjg|Jayjg ]][[User_talk:Jayjg|(talk)]] 03:15, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

== [[Hannukah]] ==

Hi! You reverted an edit to the [[Hannukah]] article with a comment that the edit, giving religious usage for the blessing in Hebrew, is not allowable because "This is a secular encyclopedia." I would disagree that this is a secular encyclopedia. This is an encyclopedia that is [[WP:NPOV|neutral as to point of view]], and [[User:Jimbo Wales]] has gone on record saying that Wikipedia should not prefer a secular point of view to a religious one. Neutrality is particularly relevant here because the article is on a religious subject, and religious points of view and religious usage in that religion are necessarily relevant to its content. The question of the most appropriate way to print the Hebrew involved is a matter of usage subject to discussion. Would suggest bringing up the matter on the article's talk page. There was at one time a discussion in [[WP:JUDAISM]] about style in this regard but an attempt to set general rules was inconclusive. If you believe there should be general rules, suggest bringing it up at the WikiProject level. In all candor, because I think either position works and there doesn't seem to be any [[WP:CONSENSUS|consensus]], I probably wouldn't have done anything if you had made this change without making the claim you made about the nature of Wikipedia. Best, --[[User:Shirahadasha|Shirahadasha]] ([[User talk:Shirahadasha|talk]]) 02:49, 23 December 2007 (UTC)

Took a look at http://infidels.org/library/modern/features/2000/lowder2.html. It is an interesting perspective, but I don't think it's an exact analogy. As I understand it, the [[WP:NPOV]] policy allows and sometimes requires the articulation of explicitly religious points of view in Wikipedia articles of a sort which the Supreme Court's interpretation of the [Establishment Clause]] would doubtless not permit in a public school curriculum. This is perhaps particularly true of religion articles. On the original subject, I would be inclined to think that how to spell out a blessing would depend on usage rather than any a priori policy rule. [[Hannukah]] blessings would seem more general and common across denominations. But there are doubtless quite a few blessings that are only used in the Orthodox would and it's plausible that the only people who would actually say them would probably use the tetragrammaton-conscious spelling. The blessing on immersing dishes in a mikvah or seeing a king come to mind, among other things. Hope you're having a Happy New Year. Best, --[[User:Shirahadasha|Shirahadasha]] ([[User talk:Shirahadasha|talk]]) 00:24, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

==Picture Displays==
Hey there, I wanted to do a quick follow up to our Sephardi Jews discussion. When dealing with pictures, please bear in mind that the photos may show up in a different alignement for different computers based on different dpi and font settings. In my experience, people tend to have a very narrow view that the way the page looks on their computer is the way it looks on everyone's computer when this is not the case. For instance, on my computer, the Sephardi Jews page has 2 rows of three pictures and then Spinoza centered in a 3rd row. I bet it doesn't do that on your computer. I'm glad we came to a conclusion on this. Just wanted to give you some perspective.--[[User:Dr who1975|Dr who1975]] ([[User talk:Dr who1975|talk]]) 16:20, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

== ''Binding of Isaac'' article name change ==

Five editors have responded to my proposal to change the name of the article [[Binding of Isaac]] to "Sacrifice of Isaac" at [[Talk:Binding of Isaac#Name of this article]]. Four oppose and one is neutral. The consensus is opposed to the name change. I'll therfore leave the article as currently named ("Binding of Isaac") and consider the matter closed. Thanks for your participation! --[[User:Bryan H Bell|Bryan H Bell]] ([[User talk:Bryan H Bell|talk]]) 03:13, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

== Messiani Judaism ==

If it is possible please write your opinion on my topic on Messianic Judaism page about Daniel Zion. Thank you. [[User:Vladislav1968|Vladislav1968]] ([[User talk:Vladislav1968|talk]]) 08:24, 29 March 2008 (UTC)Vladislav1968

==WikiProject Judaism Newsletter==
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<center>'''The WikiProject Judaism Newsletter'''</center> <center>Issue I -- [[Sivan]], [[5768 (Hebrew year)|5768]]</center>
<center>
{| style="background:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #3740fe"
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|<center><big><big>[[WP:JEW|Main Project Page]] [[Image:Star of David.svg|15px|Star of David]] [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Judaism|Talk Page]] [[Image:Star of David.svg|15px|Star of David]] [[Portal:Judaism|Judaism Portal]] [[Image:Star of David.svg|15px|Star of David]] [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Judaism/Categories|Categories]] [[Image:Star of David.svg|15px|Star of David]] [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Judaism/Todo|To Do]]
[[Image:Star of David.svg|15px|Star of David]] Judaism [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Judaism|AFD]]/[[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Religion and philosophy|RFC]] </big><big></center>
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[[Image:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 079.jpg|thumb|left|[[Shavuot|Shavuot]] celebrates Moses receiving the Ten Commandments.]]
<big>'''What's This?'''</big> 
''Shalom aleichem'' sports fans, and welcome to the first of what I hope will be a monthly newsletter with the need-to-know information about our fair WikiProject. If you have any questions or comments, or would like to recommend a story for the newsletter, click [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:L%27Aquatique&action=edit&section=new here] to leave a message on the Newsletter Coordinator's talk page. 
<big>'''In the News'''</big>
*WikiProject Good Articles is doing sweeps over all our current good articles to ensure they still meet criteria. For more information and how you can help, check out [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Good articles/Project quality task force/Sweeps|WikiProject Good Articles Sweeps]].
*GA status for the article [[Jew]] has been put on hold pending a few minor revisions. A list of things that need to be done to return this top importance article to its proper status can be found [[Talk:Jew#GA Sweeps_Review: On Hold|here]].
*[[Jerusalem]] is a Featured Article Candidate! Go forth, my people, and [[WP:VOTE|!vote]]!
<big>'''To Do'''</big>
*One new Judaism-related article was created this month, the long requested [[Hebrew Punctuation]]. Thanks to [[User:Epson291|Epson291]] for creating it. Remember, folks, there are over forty [[Wikipedia:Requested_articles/Social_sciences#Judaism|standing requests for Judaism articles]], so whenever you get the opportunity make sure to go create a few.
*In the right column you will see a listing of our most popular articles. All of these articles got 170,000+ page hits in the past month, and they should be on everyone's watchlist so we can keep them vandalism-free.
*Spread the word! No, not the ''[[Divine revelation|Word]]''... (well, you can do that too) I'm talking about inviting knowledgeable users to join the project. You can proclaim your undying love of WikiProject Judaism in methods mild to wild, check the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Judaism/Templates|project template page]] and [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Judaism/Members|member list]] for examples. We also now have a flashy advertisement, to use it add <nowiki>{{</nowiki>[[Template:Wikipedia ads|Wikipedia ads]]|ad=148<nowiki>}}</nowiki> to your userpage.
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'''Quick Stats''' 
On the date of publish, we had...
*275 [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Judaism/Members|Project Members]]
*6152 articles
:*2341 of which are [[:Category:Stub-Class Judaism articles|Stubs]]
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'''New Members'''
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'''Most Popular Articles''' 
By page hits. [http://stats.grok.se/ Source].
#[[Israel]]
#[[The Holocaust]]
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#[[Ten Commandments]]
#[[Ark of the Covenant]]

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==WikiProject Judaism Newsletter==

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<center>'''The Judaism Newsletter'''</center> 
<center>Issue II -- [[Tammuz (month)|Tammuz]], [[5768 (Hebrew year)|5768]]</center>
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|<center><big><big>[[WP:JEW|WikiProject Judaism]] ([[WT:JEW|talk]]/[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Judaism/Todo|to do]]) [[Image:Star of David.svg|15px|Star of David]] [[WP:JH|WikiProject Jewish History]] ([[WT:JH|talk]]/[[WP:JH#To-do_list|to do]]) [[Image:Star of David.svg|15px|Star of David]] [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Kabbalah|WikiProject Kabbalah]] ([[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Kabbalah|talk]]/[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Kabbalah#Tasks|to do]])</big><big></center>
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[[Image:The Worship of the Golden Calf (Filippino Lippi).jpg|200px|left|Worship of the Golden Calf]]
<big>'''Now with 200% ''more'' Jewishness!'''</big> 
Yes, folks, we're moving on up. This newsletter is now the newsletter for both WikiProject Judaism, WikiProject Jewish History, ''and'' WikiProject Kabbalah. In the future, I may split them, but for now I think we'll be just fine with one. As always, any questions or comments should be directed to me, [[User:L'Aquatique|L'Aquatique]].

<big>'''A Special Dispatch'''</big> 
Just a note, not aimed at anyone in particular. By order of the administrative cabal, it is officially not cool (and possibly [[WP:DICK|dickish]]) to call someone an anti-semite ''when'' they aren't being anti-semitic. Anti-semitic is a very charged word, and it's important only to use it when you're absolutely sure it applies, lest it become the subject of a [[Godwin's Law|Godwin-esque law]]. Remember Hanlon's Razor: never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. 
<big>'''In the News'''</big>
*A new class on the importance scale has been added- C Class- which covers articles better than start but not quite to B Class yet. It is up to the WikiProjects to decide whether to adopt them or not. Currently, there has been little discussion within our Projects, so if you feel strongly either way be sure to note so at your Project[s].
*There is a proposal to reword the section on NPOV regarding religious articles. Please see [[Wikipedia_talk:NPOV#Religion section - Disputes between historians or scientists and religious_views]] to weigh in.
*Thanks largely to the efforts of [[User:Xyz7890|Xyz7890]], a new navbox has come into being featuring Halakha topics. See: [[Template talk:Halakha]] to join in the conversation about how it can best be improved.
<big>'''To Do'''</big>
* The [[:Simple:Main Page|Simple English Wikipedia]] is beginning a project of creating and improving articles related to religion, including Judaism. At the present time, volunteers are needed to propose our most important subjects for articles to be created. The official working list is [[:Simple:User:Eptalon/Religion-related_worklist#Judaism|here]] and a more extended list is [[User:John_Carter/Simple_English_wikipedia#Judaism|here]]. If you are unsure of proper topics, you might try checking our lists of top importance level articles: [[:Category:Top-importance Judaism articles|Judaism]] and [[:Category:Top-importance Jewish history-related articles|Jewish History]]. (WikiProject Kabbalah currently doesn't have such a list)
:*[Simple English] WikiProject Christianity is considering running a monthly drive wherein two or three top importance articles from English Wikipedia are simplified and moved over to S.E. They have extended an offer to work with us in creating a similar project for Judaism related articles. For questions or volunteer opportunities, please contact [[User:John Carter]].
*WikiProject Kabbalah is in dire need of an article rating system for quality and importance. If you are familiar with that system and have some time on your hands, please create one. It could also use some infoboxes...
<big>'''New Members'''</big>
*'''Judaism:''' [[User:Big maybe|Big maybe]], [[User:Janirai|Janirai]], [[User:Jfdwolff|Jfdwolff]], [[User:Joseph.mahal|Joseph.mahal]], [[User:Joshua_Weiss|Joshua Weiss]], [[User:LisaLiel|LisaLiel]], [[User:Rcjavid|Rcjavid]], [[User:Yehudi|Yehudi]], [[User:Yidisheryid|YY]], [[user:Agent204.15|Agent204.15]], [[User:Gilad73|Gilad73]], [[User:Joseph.mahal|Joseph.mahal]], [[User:Noah03|Noah03]]
*'''Jewish History:''' [[User:Noah03|Noah03]]
*'''Kabbalah:''' None. Won't you [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:WikiProject_Kabbalah&action=edit&section=2 join]?

<big>'''New Articles'''</big>
*[[Habib ben Elisha Faturechi]] (Thanks [[User:PhatJew|PhatJew]]!)
*There are some 40 odd standing requests for Judaism related articles. Please make them! I would, but I'm too busy writing this. [[Image:Face-grin.svg|25px|Grin]].

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[[Image:Menora.svg|125px|center|Menorah]] 
'''Quick Links''' 
*[[Portal:Judaism|Judaism Portal]]
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*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Judaism|Articles for Deletion]]
* [[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Religion and philosophy|Request for Comment]]
* [[Wikipedia:Requested_articles/Social_sciences#Judaism|Article Requests]]

'''WikiProject Judaism Stats''' 
*281 [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Judaism/Members|Project Members]]
*6155 articles
:*2342 of which are [[:Category:Stub-Class Judaism articles|Stubs]]
:*15 of which are [[:Category:GA-Class Judaism articles|Good]]
:*8 of which are [[:Category:FA-Class Judaism articles|Featured]]
'''WikiProject Jewish History Stats''' 
*69 [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Jewish History#Members|Project Members]]
*1124 articles
:*241 of which are [[:Category:Stub-Class_Jewish_history-related_articles|Stubs]]
:*10 of which are [[:Category:GA-Class_Jewish_history-related_articles|Good]]
:*10 of which are [[:Category:FA-Class_Jewish_history-related_articles|Featured]]
'''WikiProject Kabbalah Stats''' 
*12 [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Kabbalah#Participants|Project Members]]
*165 articles
:*87 of which are [[:Category:Kabbalah_stubs|Stubs]]
:*1 of which is [[David Beckham|Good]]
:*1 of which is [[Diane Keaton|Featured]]
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:*Newsletter delivery by [[User:Xenobot|'''xeno'''bot]] 02:29, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

==The Judaism Newsletter==

{| class="navbox collapsible collapsed" style="text-align: left; border: 2px; margin-top: 0.2em; background-color: #1306c1"
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<center>'''The Judaism Newsletter'''</center> 
<center>Issue III -- [[Av (month)|Av]], [[5768 (Hebrew year)|5768]]</center>
<center>
{| style="background:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #1306c1"
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|<center><big><big>[[WP:JEW|WikiProject Judaism]] ([[WT:JEW|talk]]/[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Judaism/Todo|to do]]) [[Image:Star of David.svg|15px|Star of David]] [[WP:JH|WikiProject Jewish History]] ([[WT:JH|talk]]/[[WP:JH#To-do_list|to do]]) [[Image:Star of David.svg|15px|Star of David]] [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Kabbalah|WikiProject Kabbalah]] ([[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Kabbalah|talk]]/[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Kabbalah#Tasks|to do]])</big><big></center>
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[[Image:Montefiore100.jpg|200px|right|Sir Moses Montefore, a Jewish activist who died 123 years ago this month]]
<big>'''"Censorship" of names of G-d'''</big> 
There is an interesting discussion currently taking place regarding whether or not it is acceptable to censor (i.e. G-d, HaShem->YodHey) names of G-d in articles to protect Jews who may be reading or editing the article. You can weigh in here: [[Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Judaism#Yahweh]].

<big>'''Article Cleanup Lists'''</big> 
[[User:B. Wolterding]] has generously offered us use of his bot to generate lists that show which articles of ours are tagged for cleanup. You can read more about this service here: [[User:B._Wolterding/Cleanup_listings]] and if you would like to take him up on his offer, contact him on [[User talk:B._Wolterding|his talk page]].

<big>'''In the News'''</big>
[[Image:Wikipro.JPG|75px|left|The Jewish Barnstar]]
[[Image:The_Jewish_Barnstar.png|85px|left|The New Jewish Barnstar]]
*There is a collaboration drive to get [[Holocaust in Lithuania]] to [[WP:GA|good article]] status. For information about how you can help, see the talk page or [[User talk:Piotrus|contact User:Piotrus]].
*WikiProject Kabbalah's only Featured and Good articles have been removed from the WikiProject, on the grounds that neither article ([[Diane Keaton]] and [[David Beckham]], respectively) actually mention the subject's affiliation with [[Kabbalah]]. If you have sourced information linking either of these people to Kabbalah, please add it so the articles can be returned to the WikiProject.
*After a rather heated discussion, there are now ''two'' barnstars for use by the Jewish WikiProjects, {{tl|The Jewish Barnstar}} and {{tl|The New Jewish Barnstar}}, and you can choose which one you would like to use.. Remember: barnstars are for rewarding users who are doing good work on the project or on Judaism, Jewish History, or Kabbalah articles, and anyone can give anyone else a barnstar. If you see a user who you thinks deserves a thank you, give them a barnstar!
<big>'''To Do/Help Requests'''</big>
*If you have some spare time on your hands, we could use an article about a Kabbalah scholar named [[Moshe Idel]]. According to [[User:HG|HG]] there are quite a few sources easily available, you can contact him if you have questions. Be sure to nominate it for [[WP:DYK|DYK]] if the finished article is eligible.
*The folks at [[Shimon Peres]] need some assistance from someone familiar with both the Hebrew calendar and language to help them figure out the subject's birthday. If you can help, please see [[Talk:Shimon_Peres#Birthday]].
<big>'''New Members'''</big>
*'''Judaism:''' [[User:Arigont|Arigont]], [[User:Avi15|Avi]], [[User:CheskiChips|CheskiChips]], [[User:Pini00001|Pini00001]], [[User:Shirulashem|Shirulashem]], [[User:TaliaNadel|TaliaNadel]], [[User:Tyciol|Tyciol]], [[User:Yehoshuafriedla|yehoshuafriedla]]
*'''Jewish History:''' [[User:5768altalena|5768altalena]], [[User:AniMate|AniMate]], [[User:Yosef.garibaldi.gmail]], [[User:Pinnecco|Pinnecco]], [[User:Shirulashem|Shirulashem]], [[User:Tyciol|Tyciol]]
*'''Kabbalah:''' [[User:Shaul avrom|Shuliavrumi]]

<big>'''New Articles'''</big>
* [[Bezalel Rudinsky]] (thanks [[User:Shirulashem|Shirulashem]]!}, [[Jewish tartan]] (thanks [[User:Briangotts|Briangotts]]!), [[Hebrew spelling]] (thanks [[User:Epson291|Epson291]])
*We get a lot of articles that are being created and not announced! By announcing new articles, you attract attention to them, and the more people looking and editing the better they will get. If you would like your new article to appear in the newsletter, add it [[Wikipedia:WikiProject_Judaism/New_articles|here]] for Judaism and Kabbalah and [[Wikipedia:WikiProject_Jewish_history/New_article_announcements|here]] for Jewish History.
*There are some 40 odd standing requests for Judaism related articles. Please make them! I would, but I'm too busy writing this. [[Image:Face-grin.svg|25px|Grin]].

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[[Image:Menora.svg|125px|center|Menorah]] 
'''Quick Links''' 
*[[Portal:Judaism|Judaism Portal]]
*[[Portal:Kabbalah|Kabbalah Portal]]
*[[Portal:Israel|Israel Portal]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Judaism|Articles for Deletion]]
* [[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Religion and philosophy|Request for Comment]]
* [[Wikipedia:Requested_articles/Social_sciences#Judaism|Article Requests]]

'''WikiProject Judaism Stats''' 
*291 [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Judaism/Members|Project Members]]
*6248 articles
:*2356 of which are [[:Category:Stub-Class Judaism articles|Stubs]]
:*18 of which are [[:Category:GA-Class Judaism articles|Good]]
:*6 of which are [[:Category:FA-Class Judaism articles|Featured]]
'''WikiProject Jewish History Stats''' 
*77 [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Jewish History#Members|Project Members]]
*1141 articles
:*244 of which are [[:Category:Stub-Class_Jewish_history-related_articles|Stubs]]
:*10 of which are [[:Category:GA-Class_Jewish_history-related_articles|Good]]
:*10 of which are [[:Category:FA-Class_Jewish_history-related_articles|Featured]]
'''WikiProject Kabbalah Stats''' 
*13 [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Kabbalah#Participants|Project Members]]
*165 articles
:*87 of which are [[:Category:Kabbalah_stubs|Stubs]]
:*'''0''' of which are Good
:*'''0''' of which are Featured
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This newsletter was automatically delivered because you are a member of one or more Judaism related WikiProjects. If you would like to opt out of future mailings, please remove your name from [[User:L'Aquatique/wpjewlist|this list]]. As always, please direct all questions, comments, requests, <s>barnstars</s>, offers of help, and angry all-caps anti-semitic rants to my talk page. Thanks, and have a great month. [[User:L'Aquatique|'''L'Aquatique''']][[[User talk:L'Aquatique|approves]]|[[Special:Contributions/L'Aquatique|this]]|[[User:L'Aquatique/thoughts|message]]] 20:31, 31 August 2008 (UTC)

::*Newsletter delivery by [[User:Xenobot|'''xeno'''bot]] 21:06, 31 August 2008 (UTC)

== Thank you, and wow ==

Hey, your Talk: page looks very similar to mine. :-) Anyway, thanks for reverting that nonsense off my Talk: page. [[User:Jayjg|Jayjg ]][[User_talk:Jayjg|(talk)]] 21:01, 25 December 2008 (UTC)
:I have since noticed I made a similar comment on your talk page a year ago. Oh well, it was a long time ago, that's my excuse for not remembering. ;-) [[User:Jayjg|Jayjg ]][[User_talk:Jayjg|(talk)]] 20:10, 26 December 2008 (UTC)

Hanukkah

2009-01-02T12:02:36Z

Dbratton: Revert to revision 261291716 dated 2009-01-01 18:00:08 by 24.129.100.84 using popups

{{for|the Khazar ruler|Hanukkah ben Obadiah}}
{{distinguish|Hanneke}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image = Chanukia.jpg
|caption = A Hanukiah or Menorah
|holiday_name = Hanukkah
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''חֲנֻכָּה''' or '''חנוכה''' [[English language|English]] translation: "Establishing" or "Dedication" (of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]])
|nickname = Festival of Lights, Festival of Dedication
|observedby = [[Jew]]s
|begins = 25 [[Kislev]]
|ends = 2 [[Tevet]] or 3 [[Tevet]]
|celebrations = Lighting [[candle]]s each night. Singing special songs, such as [[Ma'oz Tzur]]. Reciting [[Hallel]] prayer. Eating festive meals and foods fried in oil, such as [[latke]]s and [[sufganiyot]]. Playing the ''[[Hanukkah#Dreidel|dreidel]]'' game, and giving [[Hanukkah#Hanukkah gelt|Hanukkah ''gelt'']]
|type = Jewish
|significance = The [[Maccabees]] successfully rebelled against [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]]. The Temple was purified and the wicks of the menorah miraculously burned for eight days, even though there was only enough sacred oil for one day's lighting.
|relatedto = [[Purim]], as a [[rabbi]]nically decreed holiday.
|date2008 = Sunset, [[December 21]] to sunset, [[December 29]] The first Day of Hanukkah is December 22.
|date2009 = Sunset, [[December 11]] to sunset, [[December 19]]
|date2010 = Sunset, [[December 1]] to sunset, [[December 9]]
}}
'''Hanukkah''' ({{lang-he|חנוכה}}, {{IPA-all|'χanuka}}, alt. '''Chanukah'''), also known as the '''Festival of Lights''', is an eight-day [[Jewish holiday]] commemorating the rededication of the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Holy Temple]] in [[Jerusalem]] at the time of the [[Maccabean Revolt]] of the [[2nd century BCE]]. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of [[Kislev]] according to the [[Hebrew calendar]], and may occur from late November to late December on the [[Gregorian calendar]].


The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a special [[candelabrum]], the nine-branched ''[[Menorah (Hanukkah)|Menorah]]'' or ''Hanukiah'', one light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a ''[[Shamash#Shamash in Judaism|shamash]]'' ([[Hebrew (language)|Hebrew]]: "guard" or "servant") is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the [[Talmud]] (Tracate Shabbat 21b–23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. (The shamash is used to light the other lights.) As such, if one were to read from the lights—something prohibited—then it's not clear whether the light one's reading from was from the Hanukkah lights or the shamash light. So the shamash acts as a safeguard from accidental transgression.{{Fact|date=December 2008}}


==Origins of the holiday==
From the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", marks the re-dedication of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] after its desecration by the forces of [[Antiochus IV]] and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil". According to the [[Talmud]], at the re-dedication following the victory of the [[Maccabees]] over the [[Seleucid Empire]], there was only enough consecrated [[olive oil]] to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication... should be observed... every year... for eight days. (1 Mac. 4:56–59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

The martyrdom of Hannah and her seven sons has also been linked to Hanukkah. According to the Talmudic story<ref>Talmud Gittin 57b tells a story of a woman and her seven sons killed by "Caesar". The name "Hannah" is not stated.</ref> and [[2 Maccabees]], a Jewish woman named Hannah and her seven sons were tortured and executed by [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes|Antiochus]] for refusing to worship an idol, which would have been a violation of [[613 Mitzvot|Jewish law]].

===Name===
The name "Hanukkah" derives from the Hebrew verb "חנך", meaning "to dedicate". On Hanukkah, the Jews regained control of Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple.<ref>See also [[Maharsha]] on [[Talmud]] [[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]] 21b</ref>

In the Jewish tradition, many homiletical explanations have been given for the name:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://innernet.org.il/article.php?aid=11|title=Origin of the Name Chanukah|first=Nosson|last=Scherman|publisher=ArtScroll}}</ref>
* The name can be broken down into "חנו", from the Hebrew word for encampment, and the Hebrew letters כ"ה, which stand for the 25th day of Kislev, the day on which the holiday begins: Hence, the Jews sat in their camp, that is, they rested fighting, on the 25th day of Kislev.<ref>[[Nissim of Gerona|Ran]] on [[Isaac Alfasi|Rif]] 9b</ref>
* Hanukkah is also the Hebrew [[acronym]] for "ח' נרות והלכה כבית הלל" meaning "eight candles as determined by [[Hillel the Elder|House of Hillel]]" This is a reference to the disagreement between two rabbinical schools of thought–Hillel and the [[Shammai|House of Shammai]]–on the proper way to light Hanukkah candles. Shammai said that eight candles should be lit from the start, and reduced by one candle every night, whereas Hillel argued in favor of starting with one candle and lighting an additional one every night. Jewish law adopted the position of Hillel.

== Historical sources ==
=== Mishna ===
{{see also2|[[Mishna#Omissions|Mishna Omissions]]}}

The story of Hanukkah, along with its laws and customs, is entirely missing from the [[Mishna]] outside of a single passing reference, ([[Megillah_(Talmud)|Megillah 3:6]]).<ref>A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice By Isaac Klein p.227</ref> [[Nissim Ben Jacob|Rav Nissim Gaon]] postulates in his Hakdamah Le'mafteach Hatalmud that information on the holiday is commonplace to the point that Rabbinical explanation is unnecessary. Reuvain Margolies suggests that as the Mishnah was redacted after the Bar Kochba revolt, authors could not have included discussion of Hanukkah as the Roman occupiers would not have tolerated the overt nationalism inherent in the story.

=== In the Talmud ===
The miracle of Hanukkah is described in the [[Talmud]]. The [[Gemara]], in tractate ''Shabbat 2'' focuses on [[Shabbat]] candles and moves to Hanukkah candles and says that after the forces of Antiochus IV had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was still [[seal (device)|seal]]ed by the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, and miraculously, that oil burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready). <ref>http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Talmud/shabbat2.html</ref>

The Talmud presents three options:
# The law requires only one light each night per household,
# A better practice is to light one light each night for each member of the household
# The most preferred practise is to vary the number of lights each night.
There was a dispute among the sages over how the last option was to be performed: either display eight lamps on the first night of the festival, and reduce the number on each successive night; or begin with one lamp the first night, increasing the number till the eighth night. The followers of [[Shammai]] favored the former custom; the followers of [[Hillel the Elder|Hillel]] advocated the latter. As is the case in most such disputes, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] followed Hillel. Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one's door or in the window closest to the street. [[Rashi]], in a note to ''Shabbat 21b,'' says their purpose is to publicize the miracle.

===In the Septuagint and other sources===
The story of Hanukkah is alluded to in the book of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]] of the [[Septuagint]] but Hanukkah is not specially mentioned; rather, a story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 ''et seq'' according to which the relighting of the altar fire by [[Nehemiah]] was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabeus.

The Books of Maccabees are not part of the [[Tanakh]] ([[Hebrew Bible]]), but are part of [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] historical and religious material preserved in the [[Septuagint]]. The Tanakh ends with the consequences following the events of [[Purim]], and had already been codified many centuries earlier by the [[Great Assembly|Men of the Great Assembly]] (''Anshei Knesset HaGedolah'').

Another source is the [[Megillat Antiochus]]. This work (also known as "Megillat HaHasmonaim", or "Megillat Hanukkah") is in both [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]; the Hebrew version is a literal translation from the Aramaic original. Recent scholarship dates it to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th Centuries, probably in the 2nd Century,<ref>{{cite web|first=Benjamin|last=Zvieli|title=The Scroll of Antiochus|url= http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html| accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> with the Hebrew dating to the seventh century.<ref name = "pvgsyw"> [http://customerservant.com/2006/12/16/the-scroll-of-the-hasmoneans/ The Scroll Of The Hasmoneans] </ref> It was published for the first time in [[Mantua]] in 1557. [[Saadia Gaon]], who translated it into [[Arabic language|Arabic]] in the 9th Century, ascribed it to the Maccabees themselves, disputed by some, since it gives dates as so many years before the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE.<ref> [http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html The Scroll of Antiochus] </ref> The Hebrew text with an English translation can be found in the [[Siddur]] of [[Philip Birnbaum]].

== The story ==
{{see also|Hasmonean}}
Around 200 [[BCE]] Jews lived as an autonomous people in the [[Land of Israel]], also referred to as [[Judea]], which at that time was controlled by the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] [[Seleucid dynasty|king of Syria]]. The Jewish people paid taxes to Syria and accepted its legal authority, and they were free to follow their own faith, maintain their own jobs, and engage in trade.

=== Traditional view ===
By 175 BCE [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]] ascended to the Seleucid throne. At first little changed, but under his reign, the Temple in [[Jerusalem]] was looted, Jews were massacred, and [[Judaism]] was effectively outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. As was the normal practice of the [[Ancient Greek religion|Hellenic religion]] when sacrificing to the [[Greek gods]], [[pig]]s were sacrificed on the altar to Zeus.

Antiochus' actions proved to be a major miscalculation as they provoked a large-scale revolt. [[Mattathias]], a [[Kohen|Jewish priest]], and his five sons Jochanan, [[Simon Maccabaeus|Simeon]], [[Eleazar Maccabeus|Eleazar]], [[Jonathan Maccabaeus|Jonathan]], and [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] led a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated.
The festival of Hanukkah was instituted by [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah Maccabee]] and his brothers to celebrate this event.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#59 1 Macc. iv. 59]</ref> After recovering Jerusalem and the Temple, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. But 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 by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

[[Image:Hanukkah2.jpg|thumb|right|Hanukkah lamp unearthed near [[Jerusalem]], c. 1900.]]
The version of the story in 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, states that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was proclaimed upon rededication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of the oil.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#36 1 Macc. iv. 36]</ref> A number of historians believe that the reason for the eight day celebration was that the first Hanukkah was in effect a belated celebration of the festivals of [[Sukkot]] and [[Shemini Atzeret]].<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA10.HTM#6 Macc. x. 6] and [http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA1.HTM#9 i. 9]</ref> During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret properly; the combined festivals also last eight days, and the Sukkot festivities featured the lighting of lamps in the Temple (Suk.v. 2-4). The historian [[Josephus]]<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+12.287]
''Jewish Antiquities'' xii. 7, § 7, #323</ref> mentions the eight-day festival and its customs, but does not tell us the origin of the eight day lighting custom. Given that his audience was Hellenized Romans, perhaps his silence on the origin of the eight-day custom is due to its miraculous nature. In any event, he does report that lights were kindled in the household and the popular name of the festival was, therefore the "Festival of Lights" ("And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights").

It has also been noted that the number eight has special significance in Jewish theology, as representing transcendence and the Jewish People's special role in human history. Seven is the number of days of creation, that is, of completion of the material cosmos, and also of the classical planets. Eight, being one step beyond seven, represents the Infinite. Hence, the Eighth Day of the Assembly festival, mentioned above, is according to Jewish Law a festival for Jews only (unlike Sukkot, when all peoples were welcome in Jerusalem). Similarly, the rite of [[brit milah]] (circumcision), which brings a Jewish male into God's Covenant, is performed on the eighth day. Hence, Hanukkah's eight days (in celebration of monotheistic morality's victory over Hellenistic humanism) have great symbolic importance for practicing Jews.

=== Modern perception ===
Most modern scholars argue that the king was in fact intervening in an internal [[civil war]] between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized Jews in Jerusalem.<ref>{{cite book |title= Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know about the Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History|last=Telushkin |first=Joseph |year= 1991|publisher= W. Morrow|isbn= 0688085067|page=114 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= Religions of the Ancient World: A Guide|last=Johnston |first=Sarah Iles |year=2004 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=0674015177 |page= 186}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays|last= Greenberg|first=Irving |year=1993 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn= 0671873032|page= 29}}</ref> According to Joseph P. Schultz:

<blockquote>
Modern scholarship on the other hand considers the Maccabean revolt less as an uprising against foreign oppresion than as a civil war between the orthodox and reformist parties in the Jewish camp.<ref>{{cite book |title=Judaism and the Gentile Faiths: Comparative Studies in Religion |last=Schultz |first=Joseph P. |year= 1981|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press |isbn= 0838617077|page= 155|quote=Modern scholarship on the other hand considers the Maccabean revolt less as an uprising against foreign oppresion than as a civil war between the orthodox and reformist parties in the jewish camp}}</ref>
</blockquote>

These competed violently over who would be the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like [[Onias III|Onias]] contesting with hellenizing High Priests with Greek names like [[Jason (high priest)|Jason]] and [[Menelaus (High Priest)|Menelaus]]. <ref>{{cite book |title= A Survey of the New Testament|last=Gundry |first=Robert H. |year=2003 |publisher=Zondervan |isbn= 0310238250|page= 9}}</ref> In particular Jason's Hellenistic reforms would prove to be a decisive factor leading to eventual conflict within the ranks of Judaism.<ref>{{cite book |title= Judaic Religion in the Second Temple Period: Belief and Practice from the Exile to Yavneh|last= Grabbe|first=Lester L. |year= 2000|publisher=Routledge |isbn=0415212502 |page= 59}}</ref> Other authors point to possible socio/economic in addition to the religious reasons behind the civil war. <ref>{{cite book |title=Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible |last=Freedman |first= David Noel|coauthors=Allen C. Myers, Astrid B. Beck|year=2000 |publisher= Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=0802824005 |page= 837}}</ref>

What begun in many respects as a civil war escalated when the Hellenistic kingdom of Syria sided with the [[Hellenistic Judaism|Hellenizing Jews]] in their conflict with the traditionalists.
<ref>{{cite book |title=A Survey of Israel's History |last=Wood |first=Leon James |year= 1986|publisher= Zondervan|isbn= 031034770X|page=357 }}</ref> As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times, banned the traditional religion of a whole people.<ref>Tchrikover, Victor. ''Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews''.</ref>

==Hanukkah rituals==
[[Image:Hanukkah1.jpg|thumb|right|Various menorot used for Hanukkah. 12th through 19th century, CE]]

Hanukkah is celebrated by a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the 8-day holiday. Some are family-based and others are communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals. Hanukkah is not a "Sabbath-like" holiday, and there is no obligation to refrain from [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|activities that are forbidden on the Sabbath]], as specified in the ''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]''<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 670:1</ref> People go to work as usual, but may leave early in order to be home to kindle the lights at nightfall. There is no religious reason for schools to be closed, although, in Israel, schools close for the whole week of Hanukkah. Many families exchange gifts each night, and fried foods are eaten.

===Kindling the Hanukkah lights===
:{{seealso|Chanukkiyah}}
The primary ritual, according to [[Halakha|Jewish law and custom]], is to light a single light each night for eight nights. As a universally practiced "beautification" of the [[mitzvah]], the number of lights lit is increased by one each night.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 671:2</ref> An extra light called a ''shamash'', meaning ''guard'' or ''servant'' is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud (Tracate Shabbat 21b–23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. This differs from [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] candles which are meant to be used for illumination. Hence, if one were to need extra illumination on Hanukkah, the ''shamash'' candle would be available and one would avoid using the prohibited lights. Some light the ''shamash'' candle first and then use it to light the others.<ref name = "lonorw">''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 673:1</ref> So all together, including the ''shamash'', two lights are lit on the first night, three on the second and so on, ending with nine on the last night, for a total of 44 (36, excluding the ''shamash'').

[[Image:Tiffany glasswork Hanukkah menora02.jpg|thumb|A modern [[Lead came and copper foil glasswork|Tiffany]] Hanukkah menorah]]
The lights can be candles or oil lamps.<ref name = "lonorw"/> Electric lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room. Most Jewish homes have a special [[candelabrum]] or oil lamp holder for Hanukkah, which holds eight lights plus the additional ''shamash'' light.

The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without," so that passers-by should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle. Accordingly lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street. It is customary amongst some Ashkenazim to have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), whereas most Sephardim light one for the whole household. Only when there was danger of [[Anti-Semitism|anti-semitic persecution]] were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the case in [[Iran|Persia]] under the rule of the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]], or in parts of Europe before and during World War II. However, most [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] groups, light lamps near an inside doorway, not necessarily in public view. According to this tradition, the lamps are placed on the opposite side from the ''[[mezuzah]]'', so that when one passes through the door he is surrounded by the holiness of ''mitzvoth''.

[[Image:Maurice Ascalon Menorah Pal-Bell.jpg|thumb|left|Bronze [[Pal-Bell]] oil-burning Hanukkah menorah from Israel circa 1948, by [[Maurice Ascalon]].]]

===Time of lighting===
Hanukkah lights should burn for at least one half hour after it gets dark. The custom of the [[Vilna Gaon]] observed by many residents of Jerusalem as the custom of the city, is to light at sundown, although most Hassidim light later, even in Jerusalem. Many Hasidic Rebbes light much later, because they fulfill the obligation of publicizing the miracle by the presence of their Hasidim when they kindle the lights. Inexpensive small wax candles sold for Hanukkah burn for approximately half an hour, so on most days this requirement can be met by lighting the candles when it is dark outside. Friday night presents a problem, however. Since candles may not be lit on the [[Shabbat]] itself, the candles must be lit before sunset. However, they must remain lit until the regular time–thirty minutes after nightfall–and inexpensive Hanukkah candles do not burn long enough to meet the requirement. A simple solution is to use longer candles, or the traditional oil lamps. In keeping with the above-stated prohibition, the Hanukkah menorah is lit first, followed by the Shabbat candles which signify its onset.

=== Blessings over the candles ===
[[Image:Skulen2.JPG|thumb|Grand Rabbi [[Israel Abraham Portugal]] of [[Skulen (Hasidic dynasty)|Skulen]] [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]] lighting Hanukkah lights]]
Typically three blessings (''Brachot'' singular ''Brachah'') are recited during this eight-day festival. On the first night of Hanukkah, Jews recite all three blessings; on all subsequent nights, they recite only the first two.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:1-2</ref> The blessings are said before or after the candles are lit depending on tradition. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle, lamp, or electric) is lit on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first candle and so on, proceeding from right to left over the eight nights. On each night, the leftmost candle is lit first, and lighting proceeds from left to right.

For the full text of the blessings, see [[List of Jewish prayers and blessings#Hanukkah|List of Jewish prayers and blessings: Hanukkah]].

==== ''Hanerot Halalu'' ====
During or after the lights are kindled the hymn ''Hanerot Halalu'' is recited. There are several differing versions; the version presented here is recited in many Ashkenazic communities:<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:4</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan=2 | [[Ashkenazi]]c version:
|-
! Transliteration
! English
|-
| Hanneirot hallalu anachnu madlikin 'al hannissim ve'al hanniflaot 'al hatteshu'ot ve'al hammilchamot she'asita laavoteinu bayyamim haheim, (u)bazzeman hazeh 'al yedei kohanekha hakkedoshim. Vekhol-shemonat yemei Hanukkah hanneirot hallalu kodesh heim, ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtammesh baheim ella lir'otam bilvad kedei lehodot ul'halleil leshimcha haggadol 'al nissekha ve'al nifleotekha ve'al yeshu'otekha
| We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your [[Kohen|holy priests]]. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them except for to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations.
|-
|}

==== ''Maoz Tzur'' ====
{{main|Ma'oz Tzur}}
Each night after the lighting of the candles, while remaining within sight of the candles, Ashkenazim (and, in recent decades, some Sephardim and Mizrahim in Western countries) usually sing the hymn ''Ma'oz Tzur'' written in Medieval [[Germany]]. The song contains six stanzas. The first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation, and the middle four deal with events of persecution in [[Jewish history]], and praises God for survival despite these tragedies ([[the exodus]] from Egypt, the [[Babylonian captivity]], the miracle of the holiday of [[Purim]], and the [[Hasmonean]] victory).

====Other customs====
After lighting the candles and Ma'oz Tzur, singing various other Hanukkah songs is customary in many Jewish homes. Various Hasidic and Sefardic traditions have additional prayers that are recited both before and after lighting the Hanukkah lights. This includes the recitation of many Psalms, most notably Psalms 30, 67, and 91 (many Hasidim recite Psalm 91 seven times after lighting the lamps, as was taught by the [[Baal Shem Tov]]), as well as other prayers and hymns, each congregation according to its own custom. In North America it is common to exchange presents or give children presents at this time.

=== Additions to the daily prayers ===
{{quote box|align=left|width=45%|quote="We thank You also for the miraculous deeds and for the redemption and for the mighty deeds and the saving acts wrought by You, as well as for the wars which You waged for our ancestors in ancient days at this season. In the days of the Hasmonean Mattathias, son of Johanan the high priest, and his sons, when the iniquitous Greco-Syrian kingdom rose up against Your people Israel, to make them forget Your Torah and to turn them away from the ordinances of Your will, then You in your abundant mercy rose up for them in the time of their trouble, pled their cause, executed judgment, avenged their wrong, and delivered the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and insolent ones into the hands of those occupied with Your Torah. Both unto Yourself did you make a great and holy name in Thy world, and unto Your people did You achieve a great deliverance and redemption. Whereupon your children entered the sanctuary of Your house, cleansed Your temple, purified Your sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courts, and appointed these eight days of Hanukkah in order to give thanks and praises unto Your holy name."|source=Translation of ''Al ha-Nissim''}}
An addition is made to the "''hoda'ah''" (thanksgiving) benediction in the [[Amidah]], called ''Al ha-Nissim'' ("On/about the Miracles").<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 682:1</ref> This addition refers to the victory achieved over the Syrians by the Hasmonean Mattathias and his sons.

The same prayer is added to the grace after meals. In addition, the ''[[Hallel]]'' Psalms are sung during each morning service and the ''[[Tachanun]]'' penitential prayers are omitted. The Torah is read every day in the [[synagogue]], the first day beginning from [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 6:22 (according to some customs, Numbers 7:1), and the last day ending with Numbers 8:4.

Since Hanukkah lasts eight days it includes at least one, and sometimes two, [[Shabbat|Jewish Sabbaths]] (Saturdays). The weekly [[Parsha|Torah portion]] for the first Sabbath is almost always ''[[Miketz]]'', telling of [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]]'s dream and his enslavement in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]. The ''[[Haftarah]]'' reading for the first Sabbath Hanukkah is [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]] 2:14–4:7. When there is a second Sabbath on Hanukkah, the ''Haftarah'' reading is from [[I Kings]] 7:40–50.

The Hanukkah ''menorah'' is also kindled daily in the synagogue, at night with the blessings and in the morning without the blessings. The menorah is not lit on the Sabbath, but rather prior to the beginning of the Sabbath at night and not at all during the day.

During the [[Middle Ages]] "[[Megillat Antiochus]]" was read in the [[Italian Jews#Italian rite Jews|Italian]] [[synagogues]] on Hanukkah just as the [[Book of Esther]] is read on [[Purim]]. It still forms part of the liturgy of the [[Yemenite Jews]].<ref name = "pvgsyw"/>

=== ''Zot Hanukkah'' ===
The last day of Hanukkah is known as ''Zot Hanukkah'', from the verse read on this day in the synagogue (Numbers 7:84, ''Zot Chanukat Hamizbe'ach'', "This was the dedication of the altar"). According to the teachings of [[Kabbalah]] and [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]], this day is the final "seal" of the High Holiday season of [[Yom Kippur]], and is considered a time to repent out of love for God. In this spirit, many Hasidic Jews wish each other ''Gmar chatimah tovah'' ("may you be sealed totally for good"), a traditional greeting for the Yom Kippur season. It is taught in Hasidic and Kabbalistic literature that this day is particularly auspicious for the fulfillment of prayers.

==Judith and Holofernes==
[[Image:Cristofano Allori 002.jpg|thumb|left|''Judith with the head of Holofernes'' by Cristofano Allori]]

The eating of dairy foods, especially cheese, on Hanukkah is a minor custom that has its roots in the story of Judith. The [[deuterocanonical]] book of [[Judith]] (Yehudit or Yehudis in Hebrew), which is not part of the [[Tanach]], records that, [[Holofernes]], an Assyrian general, had surrounded the village of Bethulia as part of his campaign to conquer Judea. After intense fighting, the water supply of the Jews is cut off and the situation became desperate. Judith, a pious widow, told the city leaders that she had a plan to save the city. Judith went to the Assyrian camps and pretended to surrender. She met Holofernes, who was smitten by her beauty. She went back to his tent with him, where she plied him with cheese and wine. When he fell into a drunken sleep, Judith beheaded him and escaped from the camp, taking the severed head with her (the [[Judith and Holofernes|beheading of Holofernes by Judith]] has historically been a popular theme in art). When Holofernes' soldiers found his corpse, they were overcome with fear; the Jews, on the other hand, were emboldened, and launched a successful counterattack. The town was saved, and the Assyrians defeated.

There is a longstanding Jewish tradition that Judith was the daughter of Yochanan the [[Kohen Gadol]] (and consequently a sister of Mattathias the Hasmonean and an aunt of Judah the Maccabee). In the [[Rema]]'s gloss on the [[Shulchan Aruch]] he writes “''There are authorities (Kol Bo and the [[Nissim of Gerona|RaN]]) who say that one should eat cheese on Hanukkah, because the miracle was performed with milk that Judith fed the enemy.''”<ref>''[[Rema]] on [[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 670:2</ref> The [[Chofetz Chaim]] there adds in his [[Mishna Berurah]] on the words “'''''that Judith fed''''',” “''She was the daughter of Yochanan, the Kohen Gadol. There was a decree that every espoused bride should submit to the dignitary first before the consummation of her marriage. She fed cheese to the head of the oppressors in order to intoxicate him and cut his head and they all fled.''”<ref>''[[Mishna Berurah]]'' 670:2:10</ref>

Generally women are exempt in Jewish law from time bound positive commandments, however the Talmud requires that women engage in the mitzvah of lighting Hanukkah candles “''for they too were involved in the miracle.''”<ref>Babylonian Talmud: Shabbat 23a</ref> This account of Judith’s involvement with the events of Chanukah serves to explain the requirement of women to participate in the rituals of Hanukkah and the origins of the custom of eating dairy during the holiday.

==Interaction with modernity and with other traditions==
The classical rabbis downplayed the military and nationalistic dimensions of Hanukkah, and some even interpreted the emphasis upon the story of the miracle oil as a diversion away from the struggle with empires that had led to the disastrous downfall of Jerusalem to the Romans. With the advent of Zionism and the state of Israel, these themes were rapidly reconsidered. In modern Israel, Hanukkah was transformed into a celebration of military strength, a kind of antidote to what was perceived as the idea of the powerless [[Jewish diaspora|Diaspora Jew]] that the Zionists felt that the Jews in the State of Israel needed to psychologically overcome.

In North America especially, Hanukkah gained increased importance with many Jewish families in the latter half of the twentieth century, including large numbers of [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Jews]], who wanted a Jewish alternative to the [[Christmas]] celebrations that often overlap with Hanukkah. Though it was traditional to give "gelt" or money coins to children during Hanukkah, in many families this has changed into gifts in order to prevent Jewish children from feeling left out of the Christmas gift giving.

While Hanukkah traditionally speaking is only a minor Jewish holiday, as indicated by the lack of restrictions on work other than a few minutes after lighting the candles, Hanukkah has taken a place equal to Passover as a symbol of Jewish identity. Both the Israeli and North American versions of Hanukkah emphasize resistance, focusing on some combination of national liberation and religious freedom as the defining meaning of the holiday.

===Green Hanukkah===
Some Jews in North America and Israel have taken up environmental concerns in relation to Hanukkah's "miracle of the oil", emphasizing reflection on energy conservation and energy independence. An example of this is the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life's renewable energy campaign.<ref>[http://www.shalomctr.org/node/1315 Shalom Center on Hannukah and the environment]</ref><ref>[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546797524&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Jerusalem Post: Green Hanukkia' campaign sparks ire]</ref><ref>[http://www.coejl.org/climatechange/CFLceremony.php Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL): Green Hannukah ceremony]</ref>

==Hanukkah music==
{{main|Hanukkah music}}
There are several songs associated with the festival of Hanukkah. The most well known in English-speaking countries include "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" and "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah". In Israel, Hanukkah has become something of a national holiday. A large number of songs have been written on Hanukkah themes, perhaps more so than for any other Jewish holiday. Some of the most well known are "''Hanukkiah Li Yesh''" ("I Have a Hanukkah Menora"), "''Kad Katan''" ("A Small Jug"), "''S'vivon Sov Sov Sov''" ("Dreidel, Spin and Spin"), ''Haneirot Halolu''" ("These Candles which we light"), "''Mi Yimalel''" (Who can Retell") and "''Ner Li, Ner Li''" ("I have a Candle").

==Hanukkah foods==
[[Image:sufganiyah.jpeg|thumb|right|Sufganiyot with jelly]]
There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil (preferably [[olive oil]]), as the original miracle of the Hanukkah menorah involved the discovery of a small flask of pure olive oil used by the Jewish High Priest, the [[Kohen Gadol]]. This small batch of olive oil was only supposed to last one day, and instead it lasted eight.

Accordingly, [[potato pancakes]], known as [[latkes]] in [[Yiddish]], are traditionally associated with Hanukkah, especially among [[Ashkenazi]] families, as they are prepared by frying in oil. Similarly, many [[Sephardic]], [[History of Jews in Poland|Polish]] and [[Israeli]] families have the custom of eating all kinds of jam-filled [[doughnut]]s ({{lang-yi|פאנטשקעס ''[[Pączki|pontshkes]]''}}), ([[bimuelos]], or [[sufganiyah|sufganiyot]]) which are [[Frying|deep-fried]] in oil.

There is also a tradition of eating dairy products on Hannukah that is recorded in rabbinic literature. This custom is seen as a commemoration of the involvement of Judith and thus women in the events of Hannukah (see [[Hanukkah#Judith_and_Holofernes|Judith and Holofernes]] above).

==Hanukkah games==
===Dreidel===
{{main|Dreidel}}
[[Image:Dreidel 001.jpg|thumb|right|Dreidel]]
The ''dreidel'', or ''sevivon'' in Hebrew, is a four-sided spinning top that children play with on Hanukkah. Each side is imprinted with a Hebrew letter. These letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words נס גדול היה שם ('''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''S'''ham'', "A great miracle happened there"), referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Beit Hamikdash]].
* נ ''([[Nun (letter)|Nun]])''
* ג ''([[Gimel (letter)|Gimel]])''
* ה ''([[He (letter)|Hey]])''
* ש ''([[Shin (letter)|Shin]])''

In [[Israel|Eretz Yisroel]], the fourth side of most dreidels is inscribed with the letter פ ''([[Pe (letter)|Pe]])'', rendering the acronym נס גדול היה פה ('''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''P'''o'', "A great miracle happened here"), referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel. Some stores in [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] neighbourhoods may sell the traditional ''Shin'' dreidels.

Some Jewish commentators ascribe symbolic significance to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects the four letters with the four exiles to which the nation of Israel was historically subject: Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome.<ref>[http://www.ohr.org.il/yhiy/article.php/1309 Ohr Somayach :: Chanukah :: The Secret of the Dreidel]</ref>

After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, it is customary in many homes to play the dreidel game: Each player starts out with 10 or 15 coins (real or of chocolate), nuts, raisins, candies or other markers, and places one marker in the "pot." The first player spins the dreidel, and depending on which side the dreidel falls on, either wins a marker from the pot or gives up part of his stash. The code (based on a [[Yiddish Language|Yiddish]] version of the game) is as follows:
* Nun–''nisht'', "nothing"–nothing happens and the next player spins
* Gimel–''gants'', "all"–the player takes the entire pot
* Hey–''halb'', "half"–the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
* Shin–''shtel ayn'', "put in"–the player puts one marker in the pot

Another version differs:
* Nun–''nim'', "take"–the player takes one from the pot
* Gimel–''gib'', "give"–the player puts one in the pot
* Hey–''halb'', "half"–the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
* Shin–''shtil'', "still" (as in "stillness")–nothing happens and the next player spins

The game may last until one person has won everything.

Some say the dreidel game is played to commemorate a game devised by the Jews to camouflage the fact that they were [[Torah study|studying Torah]], which was outlawed by Greeks. The Jews would gather in caves to study, posting a lookout to alert the group to the presence of Greek soldiers. If soldiers were spotted, the Jews would hide their scrolls and spin tops, so the Greeks thought they were gambling, not learning.

===Hanukkah ''gelt''===
Hanukkah ''gelt'' ([[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] for "money") is often distributed to children to enhance their enjoyment of the holiday. The amount is usually in small coins, although grandparents or other relatives may give larger sums as an official Hanukkah gift. In Israel, Hanukkah ''gelt'' is known as ''dmei Hanukkah''. Many Hasidic [[Rebbe]]s distribute coins to those who visit them during Hanukkah. Hasidic Jews consider this to be an auspicious blessing from the Rebbe, and a ''[[segulah]]'' for success.

Rabbi Abraham P. Bloch has written that “''The tradition of giving money (Chanukah gelt) to children is of long standing. The custom had its origin in the seventeenth-century practice of Polish Jewry to give money to their small children for distribution to their teachers. In time, as children demanded their due, money was also given to children to keep for themselves. Teen-age boys soon came in for their share. According to [[Magen Avraham]] (18th cent.), it was the custom for poor yeshiva students to visit homes of Jewish benefactors who dispensed Chanukah money (Orach Chaim 670). The rabbis approved of the custom of giving money on Chanukah because it publicized the story of the miracle of the oil.''”<ref>The Biblical and Historical Background of Jewish Customs and Ceremonies by Abraham P. Bloch. Published by KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 1980. Pp. 277.</ref>

Twentieth-century [[United States|American]] [[chocolatier]]s picked up on the gift/coin concept by creating [[chocolate money|chocolate ''gelt'']].

==Alternative spellings based on transliterating Hebrew letters==
[[Image:Hanukkah.png|right|thumb|Spelling variations are due to transliteration of Hebrew ''Chet Nun Vav Kaf Hey'']]
In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], the word Hanukkah is written '''{{lang|he|חנֻכה}}''' or '''{{lang|he|חנוכה}}'''. It is most commonly transliterated to English as ''Chanukah'' or ''Hanukkah'', the latter because the sound represented by "CH" ([{{IPA|/χ/}}], similar to the [[Scots language|Scottish]] pronunciation of "[[loch]]") essentially does not exist in the modern English language. Furthermore, the letter "[[heth]]" ('''{{lang|he|ח}}'''), which is the first letter in the Hebrew spelling, is pronounced differently in modern Hebrew ([[voiceless uvular fricative]]) than in classical Hebrew ([[voiceless pharyngeal fricative]]), and neither of those sounds is unambiguously representable in English spelling. Moreover, the 'kaf' consonant is [[geminate]] in classical (but not modern) Hebrew. Adapting the classical Hebrew pronunciation with the geminate and pharyngeal Ḥeth can lead to the spelling "Hanukkah"; while adapting the modern Hebrew pronunciation with no geminate and velar Ḥeth leads to the spelling "Chanukah".

===Common variants===
* Hanukkah (in North America and Australia, also common in UK)
* Chanukah (in the UK, also common in North America)

===YIVO variant===
* Khanike ([[YIVO]] standard [[transliteration]] from the Yiddish and/or Ashkenazic [[pronunciation]] of the Hebrew)

== Background ==
===Chronology===

* 198 BCE: Armies of the Seleucid King [[Antiochus III]] (Antiochus the Great) oust [[Ptolemy V Epiphanes|Ptolemy V]] from Judea and Samaria.
* 175 BCE: [[Antiochus IV]] (Epiphanes) ascends the Seleucid throne.
* 168 BCE: Under the reign of Antiochus IV, the Temple is looted, Jews are massacred, and [[Judaism]] is outlawed.
* 167 BCE: Antiochus orders an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. Mattathias, and his five sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah lead a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah becomes known as Judah Maccabe (Judah The Hammer).
* 166 BCE: Mattathias dies, and Judah takes his place as leader. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom begins; It lasts until 63 BCE
* 165 BCE: The Jewish revolt against the [[Seleucid]] monarchy is successful. The Temple is liberated and rededicated (Hanukkah).
* 142 BCE: Establishment of the Second Jewish Commonwealth. The Seleucids recognize Jewish autonomy. The Seleucid kings have a formal overlordship, which the Hasmoneans acknowledged. This inaugurates a period of great geographical expansion, population growth, and religious, cultural and social development.
* 139 BCE: The [[Roman Senate]] recognizes Jewish autonomy.
* 130 BCE: Antiochus VII besieges [[Jerusalem]], but withdraws.
* 131 BCE: Antiochus VII dies. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom throws off Syrian rule completely
* 96 BCE: An eight year civil war begins.
* 83 BCE: Consolidation of the Kingdom in territory east of the [[Jordan River]].
* 63 BCE: The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an end due to rivalry between the brothers [[Aristobulus II]] and [[Hyrcanus II]], both of whom appeal to the [[Roman Republic]] to intervene and settle the power struggle on their behalf. The Roman general [[Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus]] (Pompey the Great) is dispatched to the area. Twelve thousand Jews are massacred as Romans enter Jerusalem. The Priests of the Temple are struck down at the Altar. Rome annexes Judea.

===Battles of the Maccabean revolt===
{{main|Maccabees}}
There were a number of key battles between the Maccabees and the Seleucid Syrian-Greeks:

:''Listed alphabetically'':
* [[Battle of Adasa]] ([[Judas Maccabeus]] leads the Jews to victory against the forces of Nicanor.)
* [[Battle of Beth Horon]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the forces of Seron.)
* [[Battle of Beth-zechariah]] (Elazar the Maccabee is killed in battle. Lysias has success in battle against the Maccabess, but allows them temporary freedom of worship.)
* [[Battle of Beth Zur]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the army of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]], recapturing Jerusalem.)
* [[Dathema]] (A Jewish fortress saved by Judas Maccabeus.)
* [[Battle of Elasa]] (Judas Maccabeus dies in battle against the army of [[Demetrius I Soter|King Demetrius]] and [[Bacchides (general)|Bacchides]]. He is succeeded by [[Jonathan Maccabaeus]] and [[Simon Maccabaeus]] who continue to lead the Jews in battle.)
* [[Battle of Emmaus]] (Judas Maccabeus fights the forces of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]] and [[Gorgias (Syrian general)|Georgias]]).
* [[Battle of Wadi Haramia]].

==When Hanukkah occurs==
{{further|[[Jewish holidays 2000-2050]]}}

The dates of Hanukkah are determined by the [[Hebrew calendar]]. Hanukkah begins at the 25th day of [[Kislev]] and concludes on the 2nd or 3rd day of [[Tevet]] (Kislev can have 29 or 30 days). The Jewish day begins at sunset, whereas the [[Gregorian calendar]] begins the day at midnight. So, the first day of Hanukkah actually begins at sunset of the day immediately before the date noted on Gregorian calendars.

===Hanukkah according to the Gregorian calendar===
Hanukkah begins at sundown on the evening before the date shown.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
* [[December 22]], [[2000]]
* [[December 10]], [[2001]]
* [[November 30]], [[2002]]
* [[December 20]], [[2003]]
* [[December 8]], [[2004]]
* [[December 26]], [[2005]]
* [[December 16]], [[2006]]
{{col-3}}
* [[December 5]], [[2007]]
* [[December 22]], [[2008]]
* [[December 12]], [[2009]]
* [[December 2]], [[2010]]
* [[December 21]], [[2011]]
* [[December 9]], [[2012]]
* [[November 28]], [[2013]]
{{col-3}}
* [[December 17]], [[2014]]
* [[December 7]], [[2015]]
* [[December 25]], [[2016]]
* [[December 13]], [[2017]]
* [[December 3]], [[2018]]
* [[December 23]], [[2019]]
{{col-end}}

==See also==
{{portalpar|Judaism|Menora.svg}}
* [[Hasmonean]]
* [[Maccabees]]
* [[Jewish holiday]]s
* ''[[County of Allegheny v. ACLU]]'' on the constitutionality of Hanukkah displays on public property in the U.S.
* [[Hanukkah bush]]
* [[Hellenistic Judaism]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==

{{commonscat|Hanukkah}}
=== General ===
* [http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default.asp Hanukkah guide on chabad.org]
* [http://www.untitledtheater.com/Plays_About_Hanukkah.html Plays about Hanukkah]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=77|type=Shiurim}}
* [http://www.akhlah.com/holidays/hanukkah/hanukkah.php Hanukkah for Children]
* [http://www.torahlab.org/calendar/article/the_scroll_of_antiochus English translation of Megillas Antiochus]

=== Songs ===
* [http://liturgy.exc.com/Songsheets/Hanukah.cgi Hanukkah songsheets]
* [http://www.hebrewsongs.com/chanukah.htm Hanukkah songs]

=== Recipes ===
* [http://chefkosher.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=136:hanukkah-doughnut-sufganiyah-&catid=45:dessert&Itemid=60 [Sufganiyot Recipe]
* [http://chefkosher.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=140:potato-pancakes-latkes-&catid=46:holiday-recipes&Itemid=62 Latke Recipe]
* [http://www.rd.com/content/cherished-hanukkah-recipes-to-share/ Traditional Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://kosherfood.about.com/od/hanukkah/Hanukkah_Recipes_Kosher_Jewish_Holiday_Food.htm About Kosher Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.wiki-recipe.org/index.php?title=Category:Hanukkah Wiki-Recipe.org Hanukkah recipes]

=== Photos ===
* [http://otzarstock.com/store/search.php?search=hanuka+hanukah+hanukka+hanukkah+chanuka+chanukah+chanukka+chanukkah+חנוכה+menorah+menorah+מנורה+dreidel+סביבון+candle+donut+סופגניה+&match_type=any Hanukkah Photos]

=== Video ===
* [http://www.aish.com/pathways/externallinks/videolink_chanukah.asp Video: Lighting Hanukkah Menorah How-To]
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3174713748168758247&q=satmar The Grand Rabbi of Satmar lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]

{{Hanukkah Footer}}
{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}


[[Category:Hanukkah| ]]
[[Category:Jewish holy days]]


[[ar:حانوكا]]
[[bg:Ханука]]
[[ca:Hanukà]]
[[cs:Chanuka]]
[[da:Chanukka]]
[[de:Chanukka]]
[[es:Jánuca]]
[[eo:Ĥanuka]]
[[fa:حنوکا]]
[[fr:Hanoucca]]
[[gl:Hanuka]]
[[ko:하누카]]
[[hi:हनुका]]
[[hr:Hanuka]]
[[id:Hari raya Pentahbisan]]
[[it:Chanukkà]]
[[he:חנוכה]]
[[la:Encaenia]]
[[lv:Hanuka]]
[[hu:Hanuka]]
[[ms:Hanukkah]]
[[nl:Chanoeka]]
[[ja:ハヌカー]]
[[no:Hanukka]]
[[nn:Hanukká]]
[[oc:Khanuca]]
[[pl:Chanuka]]
[[pt:Chanucá]]
[[ro:Hanuka]]
[[ru:Ханука]]
[[sk:Chanuka]]
[[sr:Ханука]]
[[fi:Hanukka]]
[[sv:Chanukka]]
[[tl:Pista ng Pagtatalaga]]
[[vi:Hanukkah]]
[[tr:Hanuka]]
[[uk:Ханука]]
[[yi:חנוכה]]
[[zh-yue:修殿節]]
[[zh:光明节]]

Orson Welles

2009-01-02T01:13:45Z

Dbratton: /* Return to United States and final years (1970 to 1985) */ wikify

{{Refimprove|article|date=December 2008}}
{{Original research|article|date= November 2008}}
{{Infobox actor
| name = Orson Welles
| image = Orson Welles 1937.jpg
| imagesize = 220px
| caption = Orson Welles in 1937, photographed by [[Carl Van Vechten]].
| birthname = George Orson Welles
| birthdate = {{birth date|1915|5|6|mf=y}}
| birthplace = [[Kenosha, Wisconsin]], United States
| deathdate = {{death date and age|1985|10|10|1915|5|6|mf=y}}
| deathplace = [[Los Angeles, California]], United States
| othername =
| yearsactive = 1934-1985
| spouse = Virginia Nicholson (1934-1940) [[Rita Hayworth]] (1943-1948) Paola Mori (1955-1985)
| domesticpartner = [[Dolores del Río]] (1938-1941) [[Oja Kodar]] (1966-1985)
| academyawards = '''[[Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]]''' 1941 ''[[Citizen Kane]]'' '''[[Academy Honorary Award]] 1971 Life Achievement Award'''
| grammyawards = '''[[Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album|Best Spoken Word Album]]''' 1977 ''Great American Documents'' 1979 ''[[Citizen Kane]]'' 1982 ''[[Donovan's Brain]]''
| awards = '''[[AFI Life Achievement Award]]''' 1975 Lifetime Achievement
}}

'''George Orson Welles''' (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an [[Academy Award]]-winning [[United States|American]] [[Film director|director]], writer, actor and [[Film producer|producer]] for film, [[theatre|stage]], radio and television. Welles was also an accomplished [[Magic (illusion)|magician]], starring in troop variety spectacles in the war years. During this period he became a [[political activist]] and commentator through [[journalism]], radio and public appearances with political figures.

Noted for his innovative dramatic productions as well as his distinctive voice and personality, Welles is widely acknowledged as one of the most accomplished dramatic artists of the 20th century. In 2002 he was voted as the greatest film director of all time in the [[British Film Institute]]'s poll of ''Top Ten Directors''.<ref>[http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/directors-directors.html BFI | Sight & Sound |Top Ten Poll 2002 - The Directors' Top Ten Directors]</ref><ref>[http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/critics-directors.html BFI | Sight & Sound |Top Ten Poll 2002 - The Critics' Top Ten Directors]</ref>

==Biography==
===Youth and early career (1915 to 1934)===
Welles was born May 6, 1915, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Despite his parents' affluence, Welles encountered many hardships in childhood. In 1919, his parents separated and moved to [[Chicago]], and his father became an alcoholic and stopped working. Welles's mother died of [[jaundice]] on May 10, 1924, in a Chicago hospital, four days after Welles's ninth birthday. After his mother's death, Welles ceased pursuing his interest in music. Richard Welles died when Orson was 15, the summer after Orson's graduation from the [[Todd School for Boys]] in [[Woodstock, Illinois]].

Maurice Bernstein became his guardian. Born in Russia, he came to Chicago in 1890, studied and became a successful physician. In a very few years, he had several wives, including the [[Chicago Lyric Opera]] soprano, [[Edith Mason]]. Edith divorced company director Giorgio Polacco to marry Bernstein. Not long thereafter, they divorced and she remarried Polacco.

At Todd, Welles came under the positive influence and guidance of Roger Hill, a teacher who later became Todd's headmaster. Hill provided Welles with an 'ad hoc' educational environment that proved invaluable to his creative experience, allowing Welles to concentrate on subjects that interested him. Welles performed and staged his first theatrical experiments and productions there.

On his father's death, Welles traveled to Europe with the aid of a small inheritance. While on a walking and painting trip through Ireland, he strode into the [[Gate Theatre]] in [[Dublin]] and claimed he was a Broadway star. Gate manager [[Hilton Edwards]] later claimed he didn't believe him but was impressed by his brashness and some impassioned quality in his audition. Welles made his stage debut at the Gate in 1931, appearing in ''[[Jew Suss]]'' as the Duke. He acted to great acclaim, acclaim that reached the United States. He performed smaller supporting roles as well. On returning to the United States he found his brief fame ephemeral and turned to a writing project at Todd that would become the immensely successful ''Everybody's Shakespeare'', and subsequently, ''The Mercury Shakespeare''. Welles traveled to North Africa while working on thousands of illustrations for the ''Everybody's Shakespeare'' series of educational books, a series that remained in print for decades.

An introduction by [[Thornton Wilder]] led Welles to the New York stage. He toured in three off-Broadway productions with [[Katharine Cornell]]'s company. Restless and impatient when the planned Broadway opening of ''Romeo and Juliet'' was canceled, Welles staged a drama festival of his own with the Todd School, inviting [[Micheál MacLiammóir]] and Hilton Edwards from Dublin's Gate Theatre to appear, along with New York stage luminaries. It was a roaring success. The subsequent revival of ''Romeo and Juliet'' brought Welles to the notice of [[John Houseman]], who was then casting for an unusual lead actor and about to take a lead role in the [[Federal Theatre Project]].

By 1935 Welles was supplementing his earnings in the theater as a radio actor in New York City, working with many of the actors who would later form the core of his [[Mercury Theatre]]. He married actress and socialite Virginia Nicholson in 1934. They had one daughter, Christopher, who became known as Chris Welles Feder, an author of educational materials for children. Welles also shot an eight-minute silent short film, ''[[Hearts of Age|The Hearts of Age]]'' with Nicholson.

===Renown in theatre and radio (1936 to 1940)===
In 1936, the [[Federal Theatre Project]] (part of [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt|Roosevelt]]'s [[Works Progress Administration]]) put unemployed theatre performers and employees to work. Welles was hired by [[John Houseman]] and assigned to direct a project for [[Harlem]]'s [[American Negro Theater]]. He offered them ''[[Macbeth]],'' set the production in the [[Haiti]]an court of King [[Henri Christophe]] (and with voodoo witch doctors for the three [[Weird Sisters]]). [[Jack Carter]] played Macbeth. The play was rapturously received and later toured the nation. At the age of 20, Welles was hailed as a prodigy.

[[Image:War of the Worlds ET.jpg|thumb|150px|An electrical transcription disk of the Orson Welles War of the Worlds broadcast.]]
After the success of ''Macbeth'', Welles mounted the absurd farce ''Horse Eats Hat''. He consolidated his "White Hope" reputation with ''Dr Faustus''. This was even more ground-breaking theatre than ''Macbeth'', using light as a prime unifying scenic element in a nearly blacked-out stage. In 1937, he rehearsed [[Marc Blitzstein]]'s pro-union "labour opera" ''[[The Cradle Will Rock]]''. Because of severe federal cutbacks and perhaps rumoured Congressional worries about communist propaganda in the Federal Theatre, the show's premiere at the [[Maxine Elliott Theatre]] was cancelled and the theatre locked and guarded by National Guardsmen. In a last-minute theatrical coup Welles announced to waiting ticket-holders that the show was being transferred to [[New Century Theatre|the Venice]], about twenty blocks away. Cast, crew and audience walked the distance on foot. Since the unions forbade the actors and musicians performing from the stage, ''The Cradle Will Rock'' began with Blitzstein introducing the show and playing the piano accompaniment on stage, with the cast performing their parts from the audience. This impromptu performance was a tremendous hit.

Resigning from the Federal Theatre, Welles and Houseman formed their own company, the [[Mercury Theatre]], which included actors such as [[Agnes Moorehead]], [[Joseph Cotten]], [[Ray Collins (actor)|Ray Collins]], [[George Coulouris]], Frank Readick, [[Everett Sloane]], Eustace Wyatt and Erskine Sanford, all of whom would continue to work for Welles for years. The first Mercury Theatre production was a melodramatic and heavily edited version of Shakespeare's ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]'', set in a contemporary frame of fascist Italy. Cinna the Poet dies at the hands not of a mob but a secret police force. According to [[Norman Lloyd]], who played Cinna, "it stopped the show". The applause lasted more than 3 minutes and the production was widely acclaimed.

Welles was increasingly active on radio, as an actor and soon as a director and producer. He played [[Hamlet]] for [[CBS]] on [[CBS Radio Workshop|The Columbia Workshop]], adapting and directing the play himself. The [[Mutual Network]] gave him a seven-week series to adapt ''[[Les Misérables]]'', which he did with great success. Welles was chosen to anonymously play Lamont Cranston, ''[[The Shadow]]'', in late 1937 (again for Mutual) and in the summer of 1938 CBS gave him (and the Mercury Theatre) a weekly hour-long show to broadcast radio plays based on classic literary works. The show was titled ''[[Mercury Theatre|The Mercury Theatre on the Air]]'', with original music by [[Bernard Herrmann]], who would continue working with Welles on radio and in films for years.

Their October 30 broadcast, [[H. G. Wells]]'s ''[[The War of the Worlds (radio)|The War of the Worlds]]'', brought Welles notoriety and instant fame on both a national and international level. The fortuitous mixture of news bulletin format with the between-breaks dial spinning habits of listeners from the rival and far more popular ''[[Edgar Bergen|Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy program]]'', created widespread confusion among late tuners. Panic spread among many listeners who believed the news reports of an actual Martian invasion. The resulting panic was duly reported around the world and disparagingly mentioned by [[Adolf Hitler]] in a public speech a few months later.<ref name=hand>"evidence of the decadence and corrupt condition of democracy"—{{cite book |last=Hand |first=Richard J. |title=Terror on the Air!: Horror Radio in America, 1931-1952 |year=2006 |publisher=Macfarlane & Company |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |isbn=0-786-42367-6 |page=7}}</ref> Welles's growing fame soon drew Hollywood offers, lures which the independent-minded Welles resisted at first. However, ''The Mercury Theatre on the Air'', which had been a "sustaining show" (without sponsorship) was picked up by [[Campbell Soup Company|Campbell Soup]] and renamed ''[[The Campbell Playhouse]]''.<ref> [http://www.learnoutloud.com/Catalog/Literature/-/The-Mercury-Theatre-on-the-Air/16905 Learn Out Loud] </ref>

===Welles in Hollywood (1939 to 1948)===
[[RKO Pictures]] president [[George Schaefer (film producer)|George Schaefer]] eventually offered Welles what is generally considered the greatest contract ever offered to an untried director: complete artistic control. RKO signed Welles in a two-picture deal; including script, cast, crew, and most important, final cut, though Welles had a budget limit for his projects. With this contract in hand, Welles (and nearly the entire Mercury Theatre) moved to [[Hollywood]]. He commuted weekly to New York to maintain his ''The Campbell Playhouse'' commitment.

Welles toyed with various ideas for his first project for [[RKO Pictures]], settling on an adaptation of [[Joseph Conrad]]'s ''[[Heart of Darkness]]'', which he worked on in great detail. He planned to film the action with a subjective camera from the protagonist's point of view. When a budget was drawn up, RKO's enthusiasm cooled, as it was greater than the previously agreed limit. RKO also declined to approve another Welles project, ''The Smiler with the Knife'' ostensibly because they lacked faith in [[Lucille Ball]]'s ability to carry the leading lady role.

In a sign of things to come, Welles left ''The Campbell Playhouse'' in 1940, due to creative differences with the sponsor. The show continued without him, produced by John Houseman. In perhaps another sign of things to come, Welles's first actual experience on a Hollywood film was as narrator for RKO's 1940 production of ''[[Swiss Family Robinson]]''.

Welles found a suitable film project in an idea he conceived with screenwriter [[Herman J. Mankiewicz]] (who was then writing radio plays for ''The Campbell Playhouse''). Initially called ''American'', it would eventually become Welles's first feature film (also his most famous and honored role), ''[[Citizen Kane]]'' (1941).

Mankiewicz based his original notion on an ''exposé'' of the life of [[William Randolph Hearst]], whom he knew socially but now hated, having once been great friends with Hearst's mistress, [[Marion Davies]]. Mankiewicz was now banished from her company because of his perpetual drunkenness. Mankiewicz, a notorious gossip, exacted revenge with his unflattering depiction of Davies in ''Citizen Kane'' for which Welles got most of the criticisms; Welles also had a connection with Davies through his first wife. Kane's megalomaniac personality was also loosely modeled on [[Robert R. McCormick|Robert McCormick]], [[Howard Hughes]], and [[Joseph Pulitzer]], as Welles wanted to create a broad, complex character, intending to show him in the same scenes from several points of view. The use of multiple narrative perspectives in Conrad's ''Heart of Darkness'' also influenced the treatment. Supplying Mankiewicz with 300 pages of notes, Welles urged him to write the first draft of a screenplay under the watchful nursing of John Houseman, who was posted to ensure Mankiewicz stayed sober. On Welles's instruction, Houseman wrote the opening narration as a pastiche of ''[[The March of Time]]'' newsreels. Taking these drafts, Welles drastically condensed and rearranged them, then added scenes of his own.

The resulting character of Charles Foster Kane is loosely based on parts of Hearst's life. Nonetheless, autobiographical allusions to Welles himself were worked in, most noticeably in the treatment of Kane's childhood, particularly regarding his guardianship. Welles then added features from other famous American lives to create a general and mysterious personality rather than the narrow journalistic portrait intended by Mankiewicz, whose first drafts included scandalous claims about the death of the film director [[Thomas Ince]], killed on an excursion on a Hearst yacht.

Once the script was completed. Welles attracted some of Hollywood's best technicians, including cinematographer [[Gregg Toland]], who walked into Welles's office and announced he wanted to work on the picture. For the cast, Welles primarily used actors from his Mercury Theatre. He invited suggestions from everyone, but only if they were directed through him.

Mankiewicz handed a copy of the final shooting script to his friend, [[Charles Lederer]], now husband of Welles's ex-wife Virginia Nicholson and nephew of Hearst's mistress Marion Davies. [[Hedda Hopper]] saw a small ad in a newspaper for a preview screening of ''Citizen Kane'' and went. Hopper, realizing immediately that the film was based on features of Hearst's life, reported this back to him and threatened to give "Hollywood, Private Lives" if that was what it wanted. Thus began the struggle over the attempted suppression of ''Citizen Kane''.

Hearst's media outlets boycotted the film. It exerted enormous pressure on the Hollywood film community by threatening to expose 15 years of suppressed scandals and the fact that most of the studio bosses were Jewish. At one point, the heads of the major studios jointly offered RKO the cost of the film in exchange for the negative and all existing prints, for the express purpose of burning it. RKO declined, and the film was given a limited release. Meanwhile, Hearst successfully intimidated theatre chains by threatening to ban advertising for any of their other films in any of his papers if they showed ''Citizen Kane''.

While the film was critically well-received, by the time it reached the general public the positive tide of publicity had waned. It garnered nine Academy Award nominations, but won only for Best Original Screenplay, shared by Mankiewicz and Welles. The delay in its release and its uneven distribution contributed to its average result at the box-office, making back its budget and marketing, but RKO lost any chance of a major profit. The fact that ''Citizen Kane'' ignored many Hollywood conventions also meant that the film confused and angered the 1940s cinema public. Exhibitor response was scathing; most theater owners complained bitterly about the adverse audience reaction and the many walkouts, and only a few saw fit to acknowledge Welles's artistic technique. RKO shelved the film and did not re-release it until 1956. During the 1950s, the film came to be seen by young French film critics such as [[François Truffaut]] as exemplifying the "auteur theory", in which the director is the "author" of a film. Truffaut, [[Jean-Luc Godard|Godard]] and others were inspired by Welles's example to make their own films, giving birth to the [[Nouvelle Vague]]. In the 1960s ''Citizen Kane'' became popular on college campuses, both as a film-study exercise and as an entertainment subject. Its frequent revivals on television, home video, and DVD have enhanced its "classic" status, and it ultimately recouped its costs.

The 1996 documentary ''[[The Battle Over Citizen Kane]]'' chronicles the battle between Welles and Hearst. In 1999, ''[[RKO 281]]'', an [[HBO]] docudrama, tells the story of the making of ''Citizen Kane'', starring [[Liev Schreiber]] as Orson Welles.

===After ''Citizen Kane''===
Welles's second film for RKO was ''[[The Magnificent Ambersons (film)|The Magnificent Ambersons]]'', adapted from the [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning [[The Magnificent Ambersons|novel]] by [[Booth Tarkington]]. George Schaefer hoped to make back the money lost by ''Citizen Kane''. ''Ambersons'' had already been adapted for ''The Campbell Playhouse'' by Welles, who wrote the screen adaptation himself. Toland was not available, so [[Stanley Cortez]] was named cinematographer. The meticulous Cortez, however, was slow and the film lagged behind schedule and over budget. Prior to productions, Welles' contract was renegotiated, revoking his right to control the final cut.

At RKO's request, simultaneously, Welles worked on an adaptation of [[Eric Ambler]]'s spy thriller, ''[[Journey into Fear]]'', which he co-wrote with [[Joseph Cotten]]. In addition to acting in the film, Welles was also producer. Direction was credited solely to [[Norman Foster (director)|Norman Foster]]. Welles later stated that they were in such a rush that the director of each scene was whoever was closest to the camera.

Welles was then offered a new radio series by CBS. Called ''[[The Orson Welles Show]]'', it was a half-hour variety show of short stories, comedy skits, poetry and musical numbers. Joining the original Mercury Theatre cast was [[Jiminy Cricket]], "on loan from [[Walt Disney]]". The variety format was unpopular with the listeners, and Welles was soon forced into full half-hour stories instead. To further complicate matters during the production of ''Ambersons'' and ''[[Journey into Fear (film)|Journey into Fear]]'', Welles was approached by [[Nelson Rockefeller]] and [[Jock Whitney]] to produce a [[documentary film]] about South America. This was at the behest of the federal government's [[Good Neighbor Policy]], a wartime propaganda effort designed to prevent [[Latin America]] from allying with the [[Axis Powers]]. Welles saw his involvement as a form of national service, because his physical condition excused him from direct military service.

Expected to film the [[Carnaval]] in [[Rio de Janeiro]], Brazil, Welles rushed to finish the editing on ''Ambersons'' and his acting scenes in ''Journey into Fear''. Ending his CBS radio show, he lashed together a rough cut of ''Ambersons'' with [[Robert Wise]], who had edited ''Citizen Kane'', and left for Brazil. Wise was to join him in Rio to complete the film but never arrived. A provisional final cut arranged via phone call, telegram, and shortwave radio was previewed without Welles's approval in [[Pomona]] in a double bill, to a mostly negative audience response, in particular to the character of Aunt Fanny played by Agnes Moorehead. Whereas Schaefer argued that Welles be allowed to complete his own version of the film, and that an archival copy be kept with the [[Museum of Modern Art]] in New York City, RKO disagreed. With Welles in South America, there was no practical means of having him edit the film.

Major changes occurred at RKO in 1942. [[Floyd Odlum]] took over control of the studio began changing its direction. Rockefeller, the most significant backer of the Brazil project, left the RKO board of directors. Around the same time, the principal sponsor of Welles at RKO, studio president George Schaefer, resigned. The changes throughout RKO caused reevaluations of many projects. RKO took control of ''Ambersons'', formed a committee which was ordered to edit the film into what the studio considered a commercial format. They removed fifty minutes of Welles's footage, re-shot sequences, rearranged the scene order, and added a new happy ending. Koerner released the shortened film on the bottom of a double-bill with the [[Lupe Velez]] comedy ''Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost''. ''Ambersons'' was an expensive flop for RKO, though it received four Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for [[Agnes Moorehead]].

Welles's South American documentary, titled ''[[It's All True (1942 film)|It's All True]]'', budgeted at one million dollars with half of its budget coming from the U.S. Government upon completion, grew in ambition and budget while Welles was in South America. While the film was originally to be a documentary on [[Carnaval]], Welles added a new story which recreated the journey of the ''jangadeiros'', four poor fishermen who had made a {{convert|1500|mi|km|sing=on}} journey on their open raft to petition Brazilian President Vargas about their working conditions. The four had become national folk heroes, Welles first read of their journey in ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. Their leader, Jacare, died during a filming mishap. RKO, in limited contact with Welles, attempted to reign in the production. Most of the crew and budget were withdrawn from the film. In addition, the Mercury staff was removed from the studio in the US.

Welles requested resources to finish the film. He was given a limited amount of black-and-white stock and a silent camera. He completed the sequence, but RKO refused to support any further production on the film. Surviving footage was released in 1993, including a rough reconstruction of the Four Men on a Raft segment. Meanwhile, RKO asserted in public that Welles had gone to Brazil without a screenplay and that he had squandered a million dollars. Their official company slogan for the next year was "Showmanship in place of Genius" which was taken as a slight against Welles.

On returning to Hollywood, Welles found no studios interested in hiring him as a film director after the twin disasters of ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' and ''It's All True''. Welles afterward worked on radio. CBS offered him two weekly series, ''Hello Americans'', based on the research he'd done in Brazil, and ''Ceiling Unlimited'', sponsored by [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]], a wartime salute to advances in aviation. Both featured several members of his original Mercury Theatre. Within a few months, ''Hello Americans'' was canceled and Welles was replaced as host of ''Ceiling Unlimited'' by Joseph Cotten. Welles guest-starred on a great variety of shows, notably guest-hosting [[Jack Benny]]'s show for a month in 1943. He took an increasingly active role in American and international politics and used journalism to communicate his forceful ideas widely.

In 1943, Welles married [[Rita Hayworth]]. They had one child, [[Rebecca Welles]], and divorced five years later in 1948. In between, Welles found work as an actor in other directors' films. He starred in the 1943 film adaptation of ''[[Jane Eyre (1944 film)|Jane Eyre]]'', trading credit as associate producer for top billing over [[Joan Fontaine]]. He also had a cameo in the 1944 wartime salute ''[[Follow the Boys]]'', in which he performed his ''Mercury Wonder Show'' magic act and sawed [[Marlene Dietrich]] in half after [[Columbia Pictures]] head [[Harry Cohn]] refused to allow Hayworth to perform.

In 1944, Welles was offered a new radio show, broadcast only in California. ''Orson Welles's Almanac'' was another half-hour variety show, with [[Mobil Oil]] as sponsor. After the success of his stand-in hosting on ''The Jack Benny Show'', the focus was primarily on comedy. His hosting on Jack Benny included several self-deprecating jokes and story lines about his being a "genius" and overriding any ideas advanced by other cast members. The trade papers were not eager to accept Welles as a comedian, and Welles often complained on-air about the poor quality of the scripts. When Welles started his ''Mercury Wonder Show'' a few months later, traveling to [[Armed Forces]] camps and performing magic tricks and doing comedy, the radio show was broadcast live from the camps and the material took a decidedly wartime flavor. Of his original Mercury actors, only Agnes Moorehead was left. The series was cancelled by year's end due to poor ratings.

While he found no studio willing to hire him as a film director, Welles's popularity as an actor continued. [[Pabst Blue Ribbon]] gave Welles their radio series ''This Is My Best'' to direct, but after one month he was fired for creative differences. He started writing a political column for the ''[[New York Post]]'', again called ''Orson Welles Almanac''. While the paper wanted Welles to write about Hollywood gossip, Welles explored serious political issues. His activism for world peace took considerable amounts of his time. The ''Post'' column eventually failed in syndication because of contradictory expectations and was dropped by the ''Post''.

===Post-World War II work (1946-1948)===
In 1946, International Pictures released Welles's film ''[[The Stranger (1946 movie)|The Stranger]]'', starring [[Edward G. Robinson]], [[Loretta Young]] and Welles. [[Sam Spiegel]] produced the film, which follows the hunt for a [[Nazism|Nazi]] war criminal living under an alias in America. While Anthony Veiller was credited with the screenplay, it had been rewritten by Welles and [[John Huston]]. Welles's most imaginative work on the film was cut out by Spiegel, and the result apart from some bravura sequences on the clock tower or evoking the small town atmosphere, was a comparatively conventional Hollywood thriller. It was successful at the box office but Welles resolved not to have a career as a cog in a Hollywood studio. He resumed his struggle for the creative control which had originally brought him to Hollywood.

In the summer of 1946, Welles directed a musical stage version of ''[[Around the World in Eighty Days (book)|Around the World in Eighty Days]]'', with a comedic and ironic rewriting of the [[Jules Verne]] novel by Welles, incidental music and songs by [[Cole Porter]], and production by [[Mike Todd]], who would later produce the successful film version with [[David Niven]]. When Todd pulled out from the lavish and expensive production, Welles supported the finances himself. When he ran out of money at one point, he convinced Columbia president [[Harry Cohn]] to send him enough to continue the show, and in exchange Welles promised to write, produce, direct and star in a film for Cohn for no further fee. The stage show would soon fail due to poor box-office, with Welles unable to claim the losses on his taxes. He wound up owing the IRS several hundred thousand dollars, and in a few years time Welles would seek tax-shelter in Europe.

At the same time in 1946 he began two new radio series, ''The Mercury Summer Theatre'' for CBS and ''Orson Welles Commentaries'' for ABC. While ''Summer Theatre'' featured half-hour adaptations of some of the classic Mercury radio shows from the 1930s, the first episode was a condensation of his ''Around the World'' stage play, and remains the only record of [[Cole Porter]]'s music for the project. Several original Mercury actors returned for the series, as well as Bernard Herrmann. It was only scheduled for the summer months, and Welles invested his earnings into his failing stage play. ''Commentaries'' was a political soap-box, continuing the themes from his New York Post column. Again, Welles lacked a clear focus, until the [[NAACP]] brought to his attention the case of [[Isaac Woodard]]. Welles devoted the rest of the run of the series to Woodard's cause, was the first broadcaster to bring it to national attention, and caused shock waves across the nation. Soon Welles was being hung in effigy in the South and ''The Stranger'' was banned in several southern states. ABC was unable to find a sponsor for the radio show and soon canceled it. Welles never had a regular radio show in America again and would never direct another anywhere.

The film for Cohn wound up being ''[[The Lady from Shanghai]]'', filmed in 1947 for [[Columbia Pictures]]. Intended to be a modest thriller, the budget skyrocketed after Cohn suggested that Welles's then-estranged second wife Rita Hayworth co-star. Cohn was enraged by Welles's rough-cut, in particular the confusing plot and lack of close-ups, and ordered extensive editing and re-shoots. After heavy editing by the studio, approximately one hour of Welles's first cut had been removed. While expressing dismay at the cuts, Welles was particularly appalled by the soundtrack, objecting to the musical score he thought more suitable for a Disney cartoon and the lack of the ambient soundscape he had designed. The film was considered a disaster in America at the time of release. Welles recalled people refusing to speak to him about it to save him embarrassment. Not long after release, Welles and Hayworth finalized their divorce. Though the film was acclaimed in Europe, it was not embraced in the US for several decades. A similar situation occurred when Welles suggested to [[Charles Chaplin]] that he star in a film directed by Welles based on the life of the French [[serial killer]], [[Henri Désiré Landru]]. Chaplin instead adapted the idea for his own film, ''[[Monsieur Verdoux]]'', with Welles officially credited for the idea. The film proved a failure opening during a time when Chaplin was publicly vilified, but since has gone on to be acclaimed as a classic [[black comedy]].

Unable to find work as a director at any of the major studios, in 1948 Welles convinced [[Republic Pictures]] to let him direct a low-budget version of ''[[Macbeth (1948)|Macbeth]]'', which featured [[Papier mache|papier mâché]] sets, cardboard crowns and a cast of actors lip-syncing to a prerecorded soundtrack. Republic did not care for the Scottish accents on the soundtrack and held up release for almost a year. Welles left for Europe, while his co-producer and life-long supporter [[Richard Wilson]] reworked the soundtrack. Welles ultimately returned and cut twenty minutes from the film at Republic's request and recorded narration to cover the gaps. The film was decried as another disaster. In the late 1970s, ''Macbeth'' was restored to Welles's original version.

During this time, Welles sought to adapt the radio and serial series ''The Shadow'' to the big screen. He aimed to direct, produce, write and star in the film, but the project collapsed when he failed to find any investors. The Mark Millar article detailing Welles's attempt at a Batman film is partially inspired by this.

===Welles in Europe (1948 to 1956)===
Welles left Hollywood for Europe in late 1947, enigmatically saying he had chosen "freedom". This must refer to both acting offers and the possibility of directing and producing films again. There is now compelling evidence that Welles was blacklisted in Hollywood, after years of propaganda by the Hearst empire labeling him a communist and years of [[FBI]] investigations prompted by [[J. Edgar Hoover]].

In Italy he starred as [[Cagliostro]] in the 1948 film ''[[Black Magic (1949 film)|Black Magic]]''. His co-star, [[Akim Tamiroff]], impressed Welles so much that he appeared in four of Welles's own productions during the 1950s and 1960s.

The following year, Welles appeared as [[Harry Lime]] in ''[[The Third Man]]'', written by [[Graham Greene]], directed by [[Carol Reed]], starring Mercury Theatre alumnus [[Joseph Cotten]], and with a memorable [[zither]] score by [[Anton Karas]]. The film was an international smash hit, but Welles unfortunately turned down a percentage of the gross in exchange for a lump-sum advance. A few years later British radio producer [[Harry Alan Towers]] would resurrect the Lime character for radio in the series ''[[The Lives of Harry Lime]]''. The 1951 series included new recordings by Karas, was very successful, and ran for 52 weeks. Welles claimed to write a handful of episodes – a claim disputed by Towers, who maintains they were written by [[Ernest Borneman]] – which would later serve as the basis for the screenplay of Welles's ''[[Mr. Arkadin]]'' (1955).
[[Image:Orson Wellesold.gif|thumb|right|An older Orson Welles]]
Welles also appeared as [[Cesare Borgia]] in the 1949 Italian film ''[[Prince of Foxes (film)|Prince of Foxes]]'', with [[Tyrone Power]] and Mercury Theatre alumnus [[Everett Sloane]], and as the Mongol warrior Bayan in the 1950 film version of the novel ''[[The Black Rose]]'' (again with Tyrone Power). During this time, Welles was channeling his money from acting jobs into a self-financed film version of Shakespeare's play ''[[Othello]]''.

From 1949 to 1951, Welles worked on ''[[Othello (1952 film)|Othello]]'', filming on location in Europe and [[Morocco]]. The film featured Welles's old friends [[Micheál MacLiammóir]] as [[Iago]] and [[Hilton Edwards]] as [[Desdemona (Othello)|Desdemona]]'s father [[Brabantio]]. [[Suzanne Cloutier]] starred as Desdemona and [[Campbell Playhouse]] alumnus [[Robert Coote]] appeared as Iago's associate Roderigo.

Filming was suspended several times as Welles ran out of funds and left to find other acting jobs, accounted in detail in MacLiammóir's published memoir ''Put Money in Thy Purse''. When it premiered at the [[Cannes Film Festival]] it won the [[Palme d'Or]], but was not given a general release in the United States until 1955 (by which time Welles had re-cut the first reel and re-dubbed most of the film, removing Cloutier's voice entirely), and it played only in [[New York]] and Los Angeles. The American release prints had a technically flawed soundtrack, suffering from a complete drop-out of sound at every quiet moment, and it was one of these flawed prints that was restored by Welles's daughter, Beatrice Welles-Smith in 1992 for a wide re-release. The restoration included reconstructing [[Angelo Francesco Lavagnino]]'s original musical score (which was inaudible) and adding ambient stereo sound effects (which weren't in the original film). Though still active in Italy, Lavagnino was not consulted. The subject of great controversy among film scholars, the restoration went on to a successful theatrical run in America. A print of the US version was released on laser-disc in 1995 and soon withdrawn after a legal challenge by Beatrice Welles-Smith. The original Cannes version has survived but is not commercially available.

In 1952 Welles continued finding work in England, after the success of the ''Harry Lime'' radio show. Harry Alan Towers offered Welles another series, ''[[The Black Museum]]'', with Welles as host and narrator, and this would also run 52 weeks. Director Herbert Wilcox offered him the part of the murdered victim in ''[[Trent's Last Case]]'', based on the novel by [[E. C. Bentley]]. And in 1953 the [[BBC]] hired Welles to read an hour of selections from [[Walt Whitman]]'s epic poem ''[[Song of Myself]]''. Towers hired Welles again, to play [[Professor Moriarty]] in the radio series ''[[The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes]]'', starring [[John Gielgud]], and [[Ralph Richardson]].

Late in 1953, Welles returned to America to star in a live CBS ''[[Omnibus (US TV series)|Omnibus]]'' television presentation of Shakespeare's ''[[King Lear]]''. The cast included MacLiammóir and the British actor [[Alan Badel]]. While Welles received good notices, he was guarded by IRS agents, prohibited to leave his hotel room when not at the studio, prevented from making any purchases, and the entire sum (less expenses) he earned went to his tax bill. Welles returned to England after the broadcast.

In 1954, director George More O'Ferrall offered Welles the title role in the 'Lord Mountdrago' segment of ''[[Three Cases of Murder]]'', co-starring Badel. [[Herbert Wilcox]] cast him as the antagonist in ''Trouble in Glen'' opposite [[Margaret Lockwood]], [[Forrest Tucker]] and [[Victor McLaglen]]. Old friend [[John Huston]] cast him as Father Mapple in his film adaptation of [[Herman Melville]]'s ''[[Moby-Dick]]'', starring [[Gregory Peck]].

Welles's next turn as director was the film ''[[Mr. Arkadin]]'' (1955), produced by his political mentor from the 1940s, Louis Dolivet. It was filmed in France, Germany, Spain and Italy on a very limited budget. Based loosely on several episodes of the Harry Lime radio show, it stars Welles as a billionaire who hires a man to delve into the secrets of his past. The film stars [[Robert Arden]], who had worked on the Harry Lime series, Welles's third wife, Paola Mori, whose voice was completely dubbed by actress [[Billie Whitelaw]], and guest stars [[Akim Tamiroff]], [[Michael Redgrave]], [[Katina Paxinou]], and [[Mischa Auer]]. Frustrated by his slow progress in the editing room, producer Dolivet removed Welles from the project and finished the film without him. Eventually five different versions of the film would be released, two in Spanish and three in English. The version which Dolivet completed was retitled ''Confidential Report''. In 2005 Stefan Droessler of the Munich Filmmuseum oversaw a reconstruction of the surviving film elements. Released on DVD by the Criterion Company, it is considered by Welles scholar and director [[Peter Bogdanovich]] to be the best version of Welles's original intentions for the film.

Also in 1955 Welles directed two television series for the BBC. The first was ''Orson Welles's Sketchbook'', a series of six 15-minute shows featuring Welles drawing in a sketchbook to illustrate his reminiscences for the camera (including such topics as the filming of ''It's All True'' and the Isaac Woodard case), and the second was ''[[Around the World with Orson Welles]]'', a series of six travelogues set in different locations around Europe (such as Venice, the [[Basque Country (historical territory)|Basque Country]] between France and Spain, and England). Welles served as host and interviewer, his commentary including documentary facts and his own personal observations (a technique he would continue to explore). A seventh episode of this series, based on the Gaston Dominici case, was suppressed at the time by the French government, but was reconstructed after Welles's death and released to video in 1999.

In 1956 Welles completed ''[[Portrait of Gina]]'', posthumously aired on German television under the title ''Viva Italia'', a 30-minute personal essay on [[Gina Lollobrigida]] and the general subject of Italian sex symbols. Dissatisfied with the results - Welles recalled he had worked on it a lot and the result looked like it - he left the only print behind at the [[Hôtel Ritz Paris|Ritz Hotel]] in Paris. The film cans would remain in a lost and found locker at the hotel for several decades, where they were rediscovered after Welles's death.

===Return to Hollywood (1956 to 1959)===
In 1956, Welles returned to Hollywood, guesting on radio shows (notably as narrator of ''Tomorrow'', a nuclear holocaust drama produced by the [[Federal Civil Defense Administration]]). He guest starred on television shows, including ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' and began filming a projected pilot for [[Desilu]], owned by his former protégé [[Lucille Ball]] and her husband [[Desi Arnaz]], who had recently purchased the former studios of the now bankrupt RKO. The film was ''[[The Fountain of Youth (film)|The Fountain of Youth]]'', based on a story by [[John Collier (writer)|John Collier]]. Originally deemed not viable as a pilot, the film wasn't aired until 1958. It won the [[Peabody Award]] for excellence. Welles's next feature film role was in ''[[Man in the Shadow]]'' for [[Universal Pictures]] in 1957, starring [[Jeff Chandler]].

Welles stayed on at Universal to direct (and co-star with) [[Charlton Heston]] in the 1958 film ''[[Touch of Evil]]'', based on [[Whit Masterson]]'s novel ''[[Badge of Evil]]'' (Welles, who wrote the screenplay for the film, claimed never to have read the book). Originally only hired as an actor, Welles was promoted to director by [[Universal Studios]] at the suggestion (and insistence) of Charlton Heston. Reuniting many actors and technicians with whom he'd worked in Hollywood in the 1940s (including cameraman [[Russell Metty]] [''The Stranger''], make-up artist Maurice Siederman (''Citizen Kane''), and actors [[Joseph Cotten]], [[Marlene Dietrich]], and Akim Tamiroff), filming proceeded smoothly, with Welles finishing on schedule and on budget, and the studio bosses praising the daily rushes. After the end of production, the studio re-edited the film, re-shot scenes, and shot new exposition scenes to clarify the plot. Welles wrote a 58-page memo outlining suggestions and objections. The studio followed a few of the ideas, but cut another 30 minutes from the film and released it. The film was widely praised across Europe, awarded the top prize at the [[Expo '58|Brussels World's Fair]].

In 1978, the long preview version of the film was rediscovered and released. In 1998, editor [[Walter Murch]] and producer [[Rick Schmidlin]], consulting the original memo, used a workprint version to attempt to create a version of the film as close as possible to that outlined in the memo. This is at best a compromise that should not be mistaken for Welles's original intent. Welles stated in that memo that the film was no longer his version — it was the studio's, but as such, he was still prepared to help them with it.

As Universal reworked ''Touch of Evil'', Welles began filming his adaptation of [[Miguel Cervantes]]' novel ''[[Don Quixote]]'' in Mexico, starring [[Mischa Auer]] as Quixote and Akim Tamiroff as [[Sancho Panza]]. While filming would continue in fits and starts for several years, Welles would never complete the project.

Welles continued acting, notably in ''[[The Long, Hot Summer]]'' (1958) and ''[[Compulsion (film)|Compulsion]]'' (1959), but soon returned to Europe.

===Return to Europe (1959 to 1970)===
He continued shooting ''Don Quixote'' in Spain, but replaced Mischa Auer with Francisco Reiguera, and resumed acting jobs.

In Italy in 1959, Welles directed his own scenes as [[King Saul]] in Richard Pottier's film ''David and Goliath''. In Hong Kong he co-starred with [[Curt Jurgens]] in [[Lewis Gilbert]]'s film ''[[Ferry to Hong Kong]]''.

In 1960 in Paris he co-starred in [[Richard Fleischer]]'s film ''Crack in the Mirror''. In [[Yugoslavia]] he starred in [[Richard Thorpe]]'s film ''The Tartars''. He also staged a play at the [[Gate Theatre]] in [[Dublin]] which compressed five of Shakespeare's history plays in order to focus on the story of [[Falstaff]]. [[Keith Baxter (actor)|Keith Baxter]] played Prince Hal and Welles called his adaptation ''[[Chimes at Midnight]]''.

By this time he had completed filming on ''Quixote''. Though he would continue toying with the editing well into the 1970s, he never completed the film. On the scenes he did complete, Welles voiced all the actors and provided the narration. In 1992 a version of the film was completed by director [[Jess Franco]], though not all the footage Welles shot was available to him. What was available had decayed badly. While the Welles footage was greeted with interest, the post-production by Franco was met with harsh criticism.

In 1961 Welles directed ''In the Land of Don Quixote'', a series of eight half-hour episodes for the Italian television network [[RAI]]. Similar to the ''Around the World with Orson Welles'' series, they presented travelogues of Spain and included Welles's wife, Paola, and their daughter, Beatrice. Though Welles was fluent in Italian, the network was not interested in him providing Italian narration because of his accent, and the series sat unreleased until 1964, by which time the network had added Italian narration of its own. Ultimately, the episodes were restored with the original musical score Welles had approved, but without the narration.

In 1962 Welles directed his adaptation of ''[[The Trial (1962 film)|The Trial]]'', based on the novel by [[Franz Kafka]] and produced by [[Alexander Salkind]] and Michael Salkind. The cast included [[Anthony Perkins]] as Josef K, [[Jeanne Moreau]], [[Romy Schneider]], Paola Mori and Akim Tamiroff. While filming exteriors in [[Zagreb]], Welles was informed that the Salkinds had run out of money, meaning that there could be no set construction. No stranger to shooting on found locations, Welles soon filmed the interiors in the [[Gare d'Orsay]], at that time an abandoned railway station in Paris. Welles thought the location possessed a "[[Jules Verne]] modernism" and a melancholy sense of "waiting", both suitable for Kafka. The film failed at the box-office. [[Peter Bogdanovich]] would later observe that Welles found the film riotously funny. During the filming, Welles met [[Oja Kodar]], who would later become his muse, star and partner for the last twenty years of his life.

Welles plays a film director in ''[[La Ricotta]]'' - [[Pier Paolo Pasolini]]'s segment of the ''[[Ro.Go.Pa.G.]]'' movie. He continued taking what work he could find acting, narrating or hosting other people's work, and began filming ''[[Chimes at Midnight]]'', which was completed in 1966. Filmed in Spain, it was a condensation of five Shakespeare plays, telling the story of [[Falstaff]] and his relationship with Prince Hal. The cast included [[Keith Baxter (actor)|Keith Baxter]], [[John Gielgud]], [[Jeanne Moreau]], [[Fernando Rey]] and [[Margaret Rutherford]], with narration by [[Ralph Richardson]]. Music was again by [[Angelo Francesco Lavagnino]]. Jess Franco served as second unit director.

In 1966, Welles directed a film for French television, an adaptation of ''[[The Immortal Story]]'', by [[Isak Dinesen]]. Released in 1968, it stars Jeanne Moreau, Roger Coggio and [[Norman Eshley]]. The film had a successful run in French theaters. At this time Welles met Kodar again, and gave her a letter he had written to her and had been keeping for four years; they would not be parted again. They immediately began a collaboration both personal and professional. The first of these was an adaptation of Isak Dinesen's ''The Heroine'', meant to be a companion piece to ''The Immortal Story'' and starring Kodar. Unfortunately, funding disappeared after one day's shooting. After completing this film, he appeared in a brief cameo as [[Cardinal Thomas Wolsey|Cardinal Wolsey]] in [[Fred Zinnemann]]'s adaptation of ''[[A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)|A Man for All Seasons]]'' - a role for which he won considerable acclaim.

In 1967 Welles began directing ''[[The Deep]]'', based on the novel ''[[Dead Calm]]'' by Charles F. Williams and filmed off the shore of [[Yugoslavia]]. The cast included Jeanne Moreau, [[Laurence Harvey]] and Kodar. Personally financed by Welles and Kodar, they could not obtain the funds to complete the project, and it was abandoned a few years later after the death of Harvey. The surviving footage was eventually restored by the Filmmuseum München. In 1968 Welles began filming a TV special for CBS under the title ''Orson's Bag'', combining travelogue, comedy skits and a condensation of Shakespeare's play ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'' with Welles as [[Shylock]]. Funding for the show sent by CBS to Welles in Switzerland was seized by the IRS, reputedly due to the anger of [[Richard Nixon]] over a record Welles had not written but had narrated, the political satire ''The Begatting of the President''. Without funding, the show was not completed. The surviving portions were eventually restored by the Filmmuseum München.

In 1969, Welles authorised the use of his name for a cinema in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]]. The [[Orson Welles Cinema]] remained in operation until 1986, with Welles making a personal appearance there in 1977. Also in 1969 he played a supporting role in [[John Huston]]'s ''[[The Kremlin Letter]]''. Drawn by the numerous offers he received to work in television and films, and upset by a tabloid scandal reporting his affair with Kodar, Welles abandoned the editing of ''Don Quixote'' and moved back to America in 1970.

===Return to United States and final years (1970 to 1985)===
Welles returned to Hollywood, where he continued to self-finance his own film and television projects. While offers to act, narrate and host continued, Welles also found himself in great demand on talk shows, and made frequent appearances for [[Dick Cavett]], [[Johnny Carson]], [[Dean Martin]], and [[Merv Griffin]]. Welles's primary focus in this period was filming ''[[The Other Side of the Wind]]'', a project that took six years to film but has remained unfinished and unreleased. An early role was portraying [[Louis XVIII of France]] in ''[[Waterloo (film)|Waterloo]]'' (1970).

Welles also narrated the beginning and ending scenes of the [[Bud Yorkin]] historical comedy ''[[Start the Revolution Without Me]]'', which starred [[Gene Wilder]], [[Donald Sutherland]], and [[Hugh Griffith]], among others.

In 1971 Welles directed a short adaptation of ''[[Moby-Dick]]'', a one-man performance on a bare stage, reminiscent of his stage production ''[[Moby Dick Rehearsed]]'' from the 1950s. Never completed, it was eventually restored by the Filmmuseum München. He also appeared in ''La Décade prodigieuse'', co-starring with [[Anthony Perkins]] and directed by [[Claude Chabrol]], based on a detective novel by [[Ellery Queen]]. That same year, the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] gave him an honorary award "For superlative artistry and versatility in the creation of motion pictures". Welles pretended to be out of town and sent [[John Huston]] to claim the award. Huston criticized the Academy for awarding Welles while they refused to give him any work.

In 1972, Welles acted as on-screen narrator for the film documentary version of [[Alvin Toffler]]'s 1970 book ''[[Future Shock]]''. The following year, Welles completed ''[[F for Fake]]'', a personal essay film about art forger [[Elmyr de Hory]] and the biographer [[Clifford Irving]]. Based on an existing documentary by [[Francois Reichenbach]], it included new material with Oja Kodar, Joseph Cotten, [[Paul Stewart (actor)|Paul Stewart]] and [[William Alland]].

[[Image:WellesTreasureIslanda.jpg|thumb|300px|Welles as Long John Silver in the film ''Treasure Island'']]

Working again for a British producer, Welles played [[Long John Silver]] in director [[John Hough]]'s 1973 [[Treasure_Island_(1972_film)|adaptation]] of [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]'s novel ''[[Treasure Island]]'', which had been the second story broadcast by ''The Mercury Theatre on the Air'' in 1938. Welles also contributed to the script, his writing credit was attributed to the pseudonym 'O. W. Jeeves'.

In 1975, Welles narrated the documentary ''[[Bugs Bunny Superstar]]'', focusing on [[Warner Bros.]] cartoons from the 1940s. Also in 1975, the [[American Film Institute]] presented Welles with its third Lifetime Achievement Award (the first two going to director [[John Ford]] and actor [[James Cagney]]). At the ceremony, Welles screened two scenes from the nearly finished ''[[The Other Side of the Wind]]''. Filming had begun in 1972 and by 1976, Welles had almost completed the film. Financed by Iranian backers, ownership of the film fell into a legal quagmire after the [[Shah of Iran]] was deposed. Written by Welles, the story told of a destructive old film director looking for funds to complete his final film. It starred John Huston and the cast included [[Peter Bogdanovich]], [[Susan Strasberg]], [[Norman Foster (director)|Norman Foster]], [[Edmond O'Brien]], [[Cameron Mitchell (actor)|Cameron Mitchell]], and [[Dennis Hopper]]. As of 2006, all legal disputes concerning ownership of the film have been settled and end money for completing the film is being sought, in part from the [[Showtime]] cable network.

In 1979 Welles completed his documentary ''[[Filming Othello]]'', which featured Michael MacLiammoir and Hilton Edwards. Made for West German television, it was also released in theaters. That same year, Welles completed his self-produced pilot for ''[[The Orson Welles Show (TV pilot)|The Orson Welles Show]]'' television series, featuring interviews with [[Burt Reynolds]], [[Jim Henson]] and [[Frank Oz]] and guest-starring [[The Muppets]] and [[Angie Dickinson]]. Unable to find network interest, the pilot was never broadcast.

Beginning in the late 1970s, Welles participated in a series of famous television commercial advertisements, acting as the on-camera spokesman for the [[Paul Masson]] wine company. The sign-off phrase of the commercials — "We will sell no wine before its time" — became a national catchphrase. He was also the voice behind the long-running [[Carlsberg]] "Probably the best lager in the world" campaign.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000080/otherworks ''Orson Welles's other works at IMDB'']</ref> The "probably" tag is still in use today. During coverage of these commercials on [[Ads Infinitum]], [[Victor Lewis Smith]], a critic of Masson wines, fondly remarked that Welles endorsements of the wine were proof he was "a genius, but a lying bastard" and promptly showed an outtake of Welles being impossible to work with in a commercial shoot. In 1979 Welles also appeared in the biopic ''The Secret Life of [[Nikola Tesla]]''.

In 1981, Welles hosted the documentary ''[[The Man Who Saw Tomorrow]]'', about [[Renaissance]]-era prophet [[Nostradamus]]. In 1982 the BBC broadcast ''[[The Orson Welles Story]]'' in the ''[[Arena (TV series)|Arena]]'' series. Interviewed by [[Leslie Megahey]], Welles examined his past in great detail, and several people from his professional past were interviewed as well. It was reissued in 1990 as ''With Orson Welles: Stories of a Life in Film''.

During the 1980s, Welles worked on such film projects as ''[[The Dreamers (unfinished film by Orson Welles)|The Dreamers]]'', based on two stories by [[Isak Dinesen]] and starring Oja Kodar, and ''[[The Orson Welles Magic Show]]'', which reused material from his failed TV pilot. Another project he worked on was ''[[Filming The Trial]]'', the second in a proposed series of documentaries examining his feature films. While much was shot for these projects, none of them were completed. All of them were eventually restored by the Filmmuseum München. Also during this time he recorded narration for the tracks [[Battle Hymns (Manowar album)|"Dark Avenger"]] and [[Fighting the World|"Defender"]] by [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] band [[Manowar]].<ref>http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000080/bio</ref>

During the early years of ''[[Magnum, P.I.]]'', Welles was the voice of the unseen character [[Robin Masters]], a famous writer and [[playboy]]. His death forced the character to largely be written out of the series. He was also the voice of [[Unicron]] in the 1985 animated theatrical release ''[[Transformers: The Movie]]''. This was his final performance before his death.

===Personal life===
In 1932, Welles fell in love with the Mexican actress [[Dolores del Río]]. They lived through a torrid romance between 1938-1941 in spite of the fact that he was ten years her junior. They collaborated together in the movie ''Journey into Fear'' but the affair ended soon afterward. Dolores returned to Mexico and Orson married [[Rita Hayworth]].

Welles went on to have three children with three different women: [[children's author]] Christopher Welles (born in 1937 with Virginia Nicholson), Rebecca Welles Manning (born in 1944 with Rita Hayworth) and Beatrice Welles (born circa November 1955 to Paola Mori).

According to a 1941 [[physical exam]] taken when he was 26, Welles was 72 inches (182.9 cm) tall and weighed 218 pounds (98.9 kg). His eyes were brown.<ref>Simon Callow, Orson Welles: The Road to Xanadu</ref> Other sources cite that he was {{convert|6|ft|4|in|m}} tall. Welles suffered from a serious weight problem in later life that rendered him [[morbidly obese]], at one point weighing nearly four hundred pounds. His obesity was severe to the point that it restricted his ability to travel, aggravated other health conditions, including his [[asthma]], and even required him to go on a diet in order to play [[Sir John Falstaff]].<ref>[http://www.explainthatstuff.com/obesity.html Orson Welles and obesity: A rather fat ghandi: Explain that Stuff!]</ref> This condition was largely the result of over-eating, which some have attributed to [[Depression (mood)|depression]] over his marginalisation by the [[Hollywood]] system, in spite of his public willingness to joke about his weight.<ref name="autogenerated1">[http://arts.guardian.co.uk/fridayreview/story/0,,1030793,00.html Peter Conrad on Orson Welles | Film | The Guardian]</ref>

In April 1982, [[Merv Griffin]] interviewed Welles and asked about his religious beliefs. Welles replied, "I try to be a Christian, I don't pray really, because I don't want to bore God."<ref>{{cite book|last=Brady|first=Frank|title=Citizen Welles: A Biography of Orson Welles|publisher=Scribner|date=1989|pages=576|isbn=0-684-18982-8}}</ref> After the success of his 1941 film ''Citizen Kane'', Welles announced that his next film would be about the life of [[Jesus Christ]], and that he would play the lead role. However, Welles never got around to making the film.<ref>"The Battle Over Citizen Kane" documentary, 1996, written and produced by Thomas Lennon, Richard Ben Cramer and Michael Epstein.</ref> He narrated the [[Christian]]-[[documentary film|documentary]] ''[[The Late Great Planet Earth]]'' as well as the 1961 Biblical film about the life of Christ, ''[[King of Kings (film)|King of Kings]]''.

===Politics===
Welles was politically active from the beginning of his career. He remained a man of the [[Left-wing politics|left]] throughout his life, and always defined his political orientation as "[[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]]." He was a strong supporter of [[Franklin Roosevelt]] and the [[New Deal]], and often spoke out on radio in support of progressive politics. In particular, he was an early and outspoken critic of American [[racism]] and the practice of [[segregation]]. He campaigned heavily for Roosevelt in the 1944 election. For several years, he wrote a newspaper column on political issues and briefly toyed with running for office.

In his book, ''Whatever Happened to Orson Welles?'', writer [[Joseph McBride]] claims that Welles left America in the 1950s to escape [[McCarthyism]] and the [[blacklist]], though Welles himself denied this.<ref>{{cite book|last=McBride|first=Joseph |title=What Ever Happened to Orson Welles?: A Portrait of an Independent Career|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|date=2006|pages=105|isbn=0-813-12410-7}}</ref> According to Welles, he personally asked the [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] to allow him to appear and "explain to you why I'm not a communist." They turned him down.<ref>{{cite book|last=McBride|first=Joseph |title=What Ever Happened to Orson Welles?: A Portrait of an Independent Career|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|date=2006|pages=55|isbn=0-813-12410-7}}</ref>

According to McBride, Welles disapproved of many of the excesses of the 1960s, and disliked the counterculture in general. Much of ''The Other Side of the Wind'' is taken up with a satirical depiction of countercultural tastes and style. Welles was also extremely puritanical about sex, and told his friend and biographer Peter Bogdanovich that his film ''The Last Picture Show'' was "a dirty movie".<ref>{{cite book|last=McBride|first=Joseph |title=What Ever Happened to Orson Welles?: A Portrait of an Independent Career|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|date=2006|pages=145|isbn=0-813-12410-7}}</ref> The only films Welles directed which contain overtly erotic elements are ''F for Fake'' and the unfinished ''Other Side of the Wind'', which many attribute to [[Oja Kodar]]'s influence.

===Death===
On October 10, 1985, Welles died of a [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]] at his home in the [[Hollywood, California|Hollywood]] area of [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], at age 70, the same day as [[Yul Brynner]].<ref>{{cite book|last=McBride|first=Joseph |title=What Ever Happened to Orson Welles?: A Portrait of an Independent Career|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|date=2006|pages=223|isbn=0-813-12410-7}}</ref> Welles's ashes were buried in on the property of a long time friend, retired [[bullfighter]] [[Antonio Ordoñez]], in [[Seville]], [[Spain]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Botham|first=Noel |title=The Book of Useless Information: An Official Publication of the Useless Information Society|publisher=Perigee|date=2006|pages=25|isbn=0-399-53269-2}}</ref>

The last film roles before Welles's death included voice work in the animated films ''The Enchanted Journey'' (1984) and ''[[Transformers: The Movie]]'' (1986), in which he played the planet-eating [[robot]] [[Unicron]], along with on-screen work in [[Henry Jaglom]]'s film ''[[Someone to Love (film)|Someone to Love]]'' (1987). His last filmed appearance was on the [[television show]] ''[[Moonlighting]]''. He recorded an introduction to an episode entitled "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice", which was partially filmed in black and white. The episode aired five days after his death and was dedicated to his memory.

==Unfinished projects==
Welles's exile from Hollywood and reliance on independent production meant that many of his later projects were filmed piecemeal or were not completed. In the mid-1950s, Welles began work on the [[Miguel de Cervantes|Cervantes']] masterpiece ''[[Don Quixote]]'', initially a commission from [[CBS]] television. Welles expanded the film to feature length, developing the screenplay to take Quixote and [[Sancho Panza]] into the modern age. Filming stopped with the death of Francisco Reiguera, the actor playing Quixote, in 1969. Orson Welles continued editing the film through the next few decades and had supposedly completed a rough cut in the mid 1970s. By his death however, the footage of many scenes had been lost around the world during Welles's travels. A search continues for Orson Welles's later edits and other missing footage, but they likely no longer exist. An incomplete version of the film was released in 1992.

In 1970 Welles began shooting ''[[The Other Side of the Wind]]'', about the effort of a film director (played by [[John Huston]]) to complete his last Hollywood picture, and is largely set at a lavish party. Although in 1972 the film was reported by Welles as being "96% complete",<ref>{{cite book|last=Brady|first=Frank|title=Citizen Welles: A Biography of Orson Welles|publisher=Scribner|date=1989|pages=546|isbn=0-684-18982-8}}</ref> the negative remained in a Paris vault until 2004, when [[Peter Bogdanovich]] (who also acted in the film) announced his intention to complete the production. Peter Bogdanovich is currently in the process of editing the footage, and it is scheduled to be completed and released through [[Showtime]] sometime in 2009. Some footage is included in the documentary ''Working with Orson Welles'' (1993).

Other unfinished projects include ''The Deep'', an adaptation of [[Charles Williams (U.S. author)|Charles Williams]]' ''[[Dead Calm]]'' — abandoned in 1970 one scene short of completion due to the death of star [[Laurence Harvey]] — and ''[[The Big Brass Ring]]'', the script of which was adapted and filmed by [[George Hickenlooper]] in 1999.

Welles in his later years was unable to get funding for his many film scripts, but came close with ''[[The Big Brass Ring]]'' and ''[[The Cradle Will Rock]]''. [[Arnon Milchan]] had agreed to produce ''The Big Brass Ring'' if any one of six actors - [[Warren Beatty]], [[Clint Eastwood]], [[Paul Newman]], [[Jack Nicholson]], [[Robert Redford]], or [[Burt Reynolds]] - would sign on to star. All six declined for various reasons. Independent funding for ''The Cradle Will Rock'' had been obtained and actors had signed on, including [[Rupert Everett]] to play the young Orson Welles, location filming was to be done in New York City with studio work in Italy. While pre-production went without a problem, three weeks before filming was to begin the money fell through. Allegedly Welles approached [[Steven Spielberg]] to ask for assistance in rescuing the film, but Spielberg declined. The scripts to both films were published posthumously. After a studio auction, he complained that Spielberg spent $50,000 for the Rosebud sled used in ''Citizen Kane'', but would not give him a dime to make a picture. Welles retaliated by publicly announcing the sled to be a fake, the original having been burned in the film, but he later recanted the claim.

The 1995 documentary ''Orson Welles: One-Man Band'', included on the [[Criterion Collection]] DVD release of ''F for Fake'', features scenes from several of these unfinished projects, as well as footage from an adaptation of ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'' starring Welles that was never aired due to vital footage being allegedly stolen; several short subjects such as the titular ''One-Man Band'', a [[Monty Python]]-esque spoof in which Welles plays all but one of the characters (including two characters in [[Drag (clothing)|drag]]); footage of Welles reading chapters from ''[[Moby-Dick]]''; and a comedy skit taking place in a tailor shop and co-starring [[Charles Gray (actor)|Charles Gray]]. One short, also included in the documentary, is a comedy routine in which Welles (filmed in the 1970s) plays a reporter interviewing a king, also played by Welles, but in footage shot in the 1960s; Welles finished the skit and edited it together years later. The documentary also includes two completed and edited sequences from the unreleased ''The Other Side of the Wind'', and footage from an unbroadcast [[television pilot]] for a talk show (he is shown interviewing [[The Muppets]] and discussing his rationale for doing the talk show, which was produced [[Theatre in the round|in the round]]). The documentary is built around a college lecture given by Welles not long before his death, in which he displays frustration at being unable to complete so many projects. According to Oja Kodar, interviewed in the documentary, Welles always traveled with camera equipment and would shoot film whenever the mood struck him, even if there were no immediate prospects for commercial release of such material.

==Acclaim==
*''Citizen Kane'' was nominated for numerous prizes at the 1941 [[Academy Awards]], including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]] and [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor in a Leading Role]]. The only [[Academy Award|Oscar]] won, however, was [[Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]], which Welles shared with [[Herman J. Mankiewicz]]. ''[[The Magnificent Ambersons (film)|The Magnificent Ambersons]]'' also was nominated for Best Picture in 1942.

*''[[The Stranger]]'' was nominated for the [[Golden Lion]] at the [[Venice Film Festival]] in 1947. Welles himself was awarded a Career Golden Lion in 1970.

*In 1952, Welles's ''[[Othello]]'' won the [[Palme d'Or]] at the [[Cannes Film Festival]].

*Welles was nominated for Best Foreign Actor in a Leading Role at the 1968 [[BAFTA Awards]] for his performance in ''[[Chimes at Midnight]]''.

* Welles was given the first Career [[Golden Lion]] award in the [[Venice Film Festival]] in 1970.

* In 1970, Welles won an [[Honorary Academy Award]] for "superlative and distinguished service in the making of motion pictures."<ref name="movies">{{cite book|last=Verswijver|first=Leo |title="Movies Were Always Magical": Interviews with 19 Actors, Directors, and Producers from the Hollywood of the 1930s Through the 1950s|publisher=McFarland|date=2003|pages=89|isbn=0-786-41129-5}}</ref> In light of his poor treatment by the [[Academy]] and by the American [[film industry]] in general, Welles did not attend the ceremony.<ref>{{cite book|last=Leaming|first=Barbara |title=Orson Welles: A Biography|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|date=1995|pages=511|isbn=0-879-10199-7}}</ref>

* In 1970, he was awarded the French [[Légion d'honneur]], the highest civilian decoration in France. Welles was also a distinguished Foreign Member of the [[Académie française]], succeeded by [[Peter Ustinov]].<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2004/mar/30/broadcasting.artsobituaries Obituary: Sir Peter Ustinov | Media | The Guardian]</ref>

* Welles was given a [[Lifetime Achievement Award]] by the [[American Film Institute]] in 1975.

* In 1978, Welles was presented with the Los Angeles Film Critics Career Achievement Award.

* Welles was inducted into the [[Radio Hall of Fame]] in 1979.

* In 1982, Welles was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture at the [[Golden Globe Awards]] for his role in ''[[Butterfly (1982 film)|Butterfly]]'', and won a [[Grammy Award]] for [[Best Spoken Word Recording]] for his role on ''[[Donovan's Brain]]''.

* Welles was awarded a Fellowship of the [[British Film Institute]] in 1983.

* In 1984, Welles was given the [[D. W. Griffith Award]] of the [[Directors Guild of America]].<ref>[http://www.filmreference.com/Actors-and-Actresses-Va-Wi/Welles-Orson.html Orson Welles - Films as actor:, Films as narrator:, Films as director:]</ref>

* In 1999, the [[American Film Institute]] ranked Welles as the 16th [[AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars|Greatest Male Star of All Time]].

* When asked to describe Welles's influence, [[Jean-Luc Godard]] remarked: "Everyone will always owe him everything." (Ciment, 42)

==In popular culture==
*Lovingly ridiculed as a recurring character on ''[[The Critic]]''.

*Welles made a guest appearance in ''Issue 62'' of ''[[Superman (comic)|Superman]]''.

*In ''Issue 11'' of [[DC Comics]]' ''[[The Shadow Strikes]]'' (1989), [[The Shadow]] teams up with a radio announcer named Grover Mills -- a character based on the young Orson Welles -- who has been impersonating the Shadow on the radio. The character's name is taken from [[Grover's Mill, New Jersey]] -- the name of the town where the Martians land in Welles's 1938 ''The War of the Worlds'' radio broadcast. The comic features several homages to Welles's films, including a climactic gunfight in a funhouse hall of mirrors, similar to the ending of ''The Lady From Shanghai''.

*Welles has been portrayed by [[Vincent D'Onofrio]] with his voice dubbed by [[Maurice LaMarche]] in ''[[Ed Wood (film)|Ed Wood]]'' and also in D'Onofrio's the 2005 short ''Five Minutes, Mr Welles''; [[Angus Macfadyen]] in ''[[Cradle Will Rock]]'', [[Liev Schreiber]] in ''[[RKO 281]]'', Jean Guerin in ''[[Heavenly Creatures]]'', [[Danny Huston]] in the upcoming ''[[Fade to Black]]'', [[Paul Shenar]] in ''[[The Night That Panicked America]]'', Eric Purcell in ''Malice in Wonderland'', John Candy in ''[[Second City Television]]'', [[David Benson]] in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' [[List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish|audio drama]] ''[[Invaders from Mars (Doctor Who audio)|Invaders From Mars]]'' and the voice of [[Maurice LaMarche]] in various animation and films.

*Welles's voice was featured on the 1987 re-release of the [[Alan Parsons Project]] album ''Tales of Mystery and Imagination''. The dialogue used for the song "A Dream Within a Dream" was later re-released in its uncut and original entirety in 2007, on a 2 disk remastered version of the album.

*Welles voiced original trailers for ''[[The Incredible Shrinking Man]]'' in 1957, ''[[Star Wars]]'' in 1977, and ''[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture]]'' in 1979.

*[[Pinky_and_the_Brain#The_Brain|The Brain]], the [[evil genius]] [[lab mouse]] in the cartoon series ''[[Pinky and the Brain]]'', was loosely based on Orson Welles. The Brain even parodies Welles's ''War of the Worlds'' broadcast and his infamous [[radio commercial]] argument, along with a parody of Welles's performance as "Harry Lime" in "The Third Man" in an episode entitled "The Third Mouse".. [[Voice actor]] [[Maurice LaMarche]] provided the voice of The Brain. In the cartoon series ''[[The Critic]]'', ,The "Welles" character (also portrayed by LaMarche) provides voicing in two advertisements; first a jug of cheap wine and secondly a type of green pea with which Welles walks off the camera muttering obscenitites. In another episode of The Critic he appears as the narrator of a video will, dramatizing his role as if he were reading a horror story; later, he gorges on "Mrs. Pelle's Fish Sticks", another fictional advertisement for which he was a spokesman. LaMarche later resumes the role of "Orson Welles" in parodizing the ''War of the Worlds''' broadcast for the Simpsons' [[Treehouse of Horror XVII|17th Halloween special]] segment, "The Day the Earth Looked Stupid",

*He was parodied by comedian [[Bill Martin]] in his monologue ''An Evening with Sir William Martin''.

*The lyrics of the song "The Union Forever" on [[The White Stripes]]' 2001 album ''[[White Blood Cells]]'' are almost entirely composed of dialogue from ''Citizen Kane''.

*In ''[[Kung Pow! Enter the Fist]]'', Welles is mentioned for no apparent reason, when the main villain, Betty, states "Orson", while his henchmen say "Welles".

*"Bright Lucifer", a song that appears on the ''Notes for "Holy Larceny"'' LP by UK musician [[Yo Zushi]], is named after Welles's play of the same name.

*In the film ''[[Superbad]]'', the two characters Evan and Seth discuss how they peaked too early at their "ass getting" like Orson Welles, a reference to the fact that ''Citizen Kane'' was Welles's first film. They also mention how Orson Welles "ate his fat ass to death."

*In an episode of The Jon Heder Show, Jon Heder asks "what would Orson Welles do if he were here right now?

*Orson Wells made an apperance in the Rainbow Realsing Logo.

==Filmography==
{{see|Orson Welles filmography}}

==Quotes on filmmaking==
"...As for my style, for my vision of the cinema, [[film editing|editing]] is not simply one aspect; ''it's the aspect''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mitry|first=Jean |coauthors=King, Christopher|title=The Aesthetics and Psychology of the Cinema|publisher=Indiana University Press|date=1999|pages=176|isbn=0-253-21377-0}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|2}}
* Anderegg, Michael: ''Orson Welles, Shakespeare and Popular Culture'', Columbia University Press, 1999
* Bazin, Andre: ''Orson Welles'', Harper and Row, 1978
* Benamou, Catherine: ''It's All True: Orson Welles's Pan-American Odyssey'', University of California Press, 2007 (forthcoming)
* Beja, Morris, ed.: ''Perspectives on Orson Welles'', G.K. Hall, 1995
* Berg, Chuck and Erskine, Tom, ed.: ''The Encyclopedia of Orson Welles'', Checkmark Books, 2003
* Bessy, Maurice: ''Orson Welles: An investigation into his films and philosophy'', Crown, 1971
* Bogdanovich, Peter and Welles, Orson ''[[This Is Orson Welles]]'', HarperPerennial 1992, ISBN 0-06-092439-X
* Brady, Frank: ''Citizen Welles'', Charles Scribner's Sons, 1989
* Callow, Simon: ''The Road to Xanadu''. Jonathan Cape, 1995.
* Callow, Simon: ''Hello Americans''. Jonathan Cape, 2006.
* Carringer, Robert: ''The Making of Citizen Kane'', University of California Press, 1985
* Carringer, Robert: ''The Magnificent Ambersons: A Reconstruction'', University of California Press, 1993
* Ciment, Michel: 'Les Enfants Terrible' in ''American Film'', December 1984 {{fr icon}}
* Comito, Terry, ed.: ''Touch of Evil'', Rutgers, 1985
* Conrad, Peter: ''Orson Welles: The Stories of His Life'', Faber and Faber, 2003
* Cowie, Peter: ''The Cinema of Orson Welles'', Da Capo Press, 1973.
* Toni D'Angela (edited by), ''Nelle terre di Orson Welles'', Alessandria, Edizioni Falsopiano 2004.
* Davies, Anthony: ''Filming Shakespeare's Plays'', Cambridge University Press, 1988
* Drazin, Charles: ''In Search of the Third Man'', Limelight, 2000
* Estrin, Mark: ''Orson Welles Interviews'', University Press of Mississippi, 2002
* France, Richard, ed.: ''Orson Welles on Shakespeare'', Routledge, 2001
* France, Richard: "The Theatre of Orson Welles", Bucknell University Press, 1977
* Garis, Robert: "The Films of Orson Welles", Cambridge University Press, 2004
* Gottesman, Ronald, ed.: ''Focus on Citizen Kane'', Prentice Hall, 1971
* Gottesman, Ronald, ed.: ''Focus on Orson Welles'', Prentice Hall, 1976
* Greene, Graham: ''The Third Man'', Faber and Faber, 1991
* Heyer, Paul: ''The Medium and the Magician: Orson Welles, The Radio Years'', Rowman and Littlefield, 2005
* Heylin, Clinton. ''Despite the System: Orson Welles Versus the Hollywood Studios'', Chicago Review Press, 2005.
* Higham, Charles: ''The Films of Orson Welles'', University of California Press, 1970
* Higham, Charles: "Orson Welles: The Rise and Fall of an American Genius", St. Martin's Press, 1985
* Howard, James: "The Complete Films of Orson Welles", Citadel Press, 1991
* Jorgens, Jack J.: ''Shakespeare on Film'', Indiana University Press, 1977
* Leaming, Barbara: ''Orson Welles'', Viking, 1985
* Lyons, Bridget Gellert, ed.: ''Chimes at Midnight'', Rutgers, 1988
* Mac Liammóir, Micháel. ''Put Money in Thy Purse: The Filming of Orson Welles's Othello'', Virgin, 1994
* McBride, Joseph: ''Orson Welles'', Harcourt Brace, 1977
* McBride, Joseph: ''Orson Welles'', Da Capo Press, 1996.
* Mulvey, Laura: ''Citizen Kane'', BFI, 1992
* Naremore, James. ''The Magic World of Orson Welles'', Southern Methodist University Press, 1989.
* Naremore, James, ed.: ''Orson Welles's Citizen Kane: A Casebook'', Oxford University Press, 2004
* Noble, Peter: ''The Fabulous Orson Welles'', Hutchinson and Co., 1956
* Perkins, V.F.: ''The Magnificent Ambersons'', BFI, 1999
* Rosenbaum, Jonathan: 'Orson Welles's Essay Films and Documentary Fictions', in "Placing Movies", University of California Press, 1995
* Rosenbaum, Jonathan: 'The Battle Over Orson Welles', in ''Essential Cinema'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004
* Rosenbaum, Jonathan: 'Orson Welles as Ideological Challenge' in ''Movie Wars'', A Capella Books, 2000
* Rosenbaum, Jonathan: ''Discovering Orson Welles'', University of California Press, 2007
* ''Shakespeare Bulletin'', Volume 23, Number 1, Spring 2005: Special Welles issue.
* Simon, William G., ed.: ''Persistence of Vision: The Journal of the Film Faculty of the City University of New York'', Number 7, 1988: Special Welles issue
*Simonson, Robert. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/92728.html "Orson's Shadow Talkback Series Continues May 4 with Welles's Daughter."] 3 May 2005
* Taylor, John Russell: ''Orson Welles: A Celebration'', Pavilion, 1986
* Taylor, John Russell: ''Orson Welles'', Pavilion, 1998
* Walsh, John Evangelist: ''Walking Shadows: Orson Welles, William Randolph Hearst and Citizen Kane'', The University of Wisconsin Press, 2004
* Walters, Ben: ''Welles'', London: Haus Publishing, 2004 (Paperback: ISBN 978-1-904341-80-2).
* Welles, Orson: ''Les Bravades'', Workman, 1996
* Welles, Orson and Bogdanovich, Peter: ''This is Orson Welles'', Da Capo Press, 1998.
* Welles, Orson: ''Mr. Arkadin'', Harper Collins, 2006
* Welles, Orson: ''The Big Brass Ring'', Black Spring Press, 1991
* Welles, Orson: ''The Cradle Will Rock'', Santa Teresa Press, 1994
* Welles, Orson: "The Other Side of the Wind", ''Cahiers du cinéma''/ Festival International du Film de Locarno, 2005
* White, Rob: ''The Third Man'', BFI, 2003
* Wood, Bret: ''Orson Welles: A Bio-Bibliography'', Greenwood blue, 1990
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commonscat|Orson Welles}}
{{wikiquote}}
*{{imdb name|id=0000080|name=Orson Welles}}
*{{tcmdb name|id=203979|name=Orson Welles}}
*{{ibdb name|id=7963|name=Orson Welles}}
*[http://wellesnet.com/ Wellesnet] The Orson Welles Web Resource
*[http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/wellesbib.html Orson Welles bibliography] (via UC Berkeley Media Resources Center)
*[http://otr-reviews.com/orson-welles-collection/ Orson Welles] The Orson Welles OTR Archives
*[http://www.war-ofthe-worlds.co.uk/ ''War of the Worlds''] history of the ''War of the Worlds'' radio broadcast and additional historical material on ''War of the Worlds''
*[http://www.mercurytheatre.info/ Mercury Theatre on the Air] website provides MP3 and Real Audio files of Welles's radio dramas
*[http://www.transpacificradio.com/2007/02/26/nazi1/ ''Nazi Eyes On Canada'', starring Orson Welles], 1942 CBC war loan series
*[http://ambersons.com/ ''The Magnificent Ambersons''] a site that details the strange saga of Welles's second film
*[http://www.geocities.com/orsonwelleslives/ The Unseen Welles] a guide to Welles's unfinished and unreleased projects
*[http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/guides/welles/orsonwelles.html The Orson Welles collection] at the Lilly Library, Indiana University
* [http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/03/welles.html Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database]
* {{fr icon}} [http://cinemaclassic.free.fr/welles/biographie_welles.htm Orson Welles biography]

* [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0506.html Obituary], ''New York Times''
*[http://www.ubu.com/outsiders/365/2003/060.shtml UBU Web's 365 Days Project] Outtake from Welles's [[Frozen Peas]] commercial.
* [http://www.ubu.com/film/welles.html Orson Welles - The One Man Band] (German documentary, 1995) [http://ubu.artmob.ca/video/Welles-Orson_The-One-Man-Band_1995.avi Full.avi download]
* [http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=912&keyword=wells Orson Welles The Wisconsin Historical Society]
* [http://museumoforsonwelles.blogspot.com/ The Museum of Orson Welles] comprehensive collection of radio shows
* [http://www.radiohorrorhosts.com/soundfilm.html A Film Maker with a Sound Backgound] An essay on Welles' extensive radio work and its innovative influence on filmmaking via Citizen Kane.
* {{Find A Grave|id=3587}}
{{OrsonWelles}}


{{Persondata
|NAME=Welles, Orson
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Welles, George Orson
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= Broadcaster, director, actor
|DATE OF BIRTH=May 6, 1915
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Kenosha, Wisconsin]], United States
|DATE OF DEATH= October 10, 1985
|PLACE OF DEATH= [[Los Angeles, California]], United States
}}

{{lifetime|1915|1985|Welles, Orson}}
[[Category:American film actors]]
[[Category:American film directors]]
[[Category:American radio personalities]]
[[Category:American screenwriters]]
[[Category:Shakespearean actors]]
[[Category:Spaghetti Western actors]]
[[Category:Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni]]
[[Category:People from Kenosha, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:American Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Spain]]
[[Category:American magicians]]
[[Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction]]

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User talk:Jayjg/Archive 38

2008-12-26T14:46:31Z

Dbratton:

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== Thank you ==

[[Image:ThankspamMOS.png|center|Thank you to all who participated in my RFA- regardless of whether you supported or opposed, all feedback is important to me. I look forward to proving in the coming months that the trust placed in me by the community is not misplaced. Mizu onna sango15]]
<center>[[User:Mizu onna sango15/thankspambarnstar|The Barnstar]] | [[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Mizu onna sango15 2|My RFA]] | Design by [[User:L'Aquatique|L'Aquatique]]</center>
{| style="border: 2px solid #f40850; background-color: #f4c2c2;"
|rowspan="2" valign="middle" | [[Image:MOSBarnstar.png|100px]]
|rowspan="2" |
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: middle; height: 1.1em;" | '''The Mizu onna sango15 Barnstar'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: middle; border-top: 1px solid gray;" | Thank you to all who participated in my RFA- regardless of whether you supported or opposed, 
all feedback is important to me. I look forward to proving in the coming months that the trust placed in me by the community is not misplaced. 
—[[User:Mizu onna sango15|Mizu onna sango15]]''[[User talk:Mizu onna sango15|Hello!]]''
|}

== Breslov pages ==

Hi again. I am at a loss to figure out what to do about this new editor, [[User:Na Nach Nachmu Nachmun|Na Nach Nachmu Nachmun]], who is busy putting his two cents into every discussion point on the [[Nachman of Breslov]] talk page, and who today (22 Dec 2008) made some horrendous edits to the [[Breslov (Hasidic dynasty)]] page, including deleting the picture of a well-known Breslov rabbi ([[Elazar Mordechai Koenig]]), saying he has "no claim to leadership of Breslov." I believe this editor is running the nanach.net website, as I found his posts [http://www.nanach.net/2008/12/rabbi-nachman-on-wikipedia.html] and [http://www.nanach.net/2008/12/wikipedia-page-for-nachman-of-breslov.html] telling his friends how he has infiltrated Wikipedia to fight against "biased" editors who keep taking the Na Nach philosophy off the Breslov pages (and — read the comments — to get more publicity for their website). Everything he contributes violates [[WP:SOAP]], as he insists that the Na Nachs are the only true interpreters of Rebbe Nachman's teachings. In fact, "Na Nach" was and still is considered a very fringe element in Breslov circles, and one should be very wary of any of their interpretations of Rebbe Nachman’s teachings. '''All''' the leading Breslovers of the previous generation totally rejected the "Na Nach" chant and presentation of Breslov teachings. The Na Nach movement came into being only in the early 1980s, when the “Saba” was in his 90s, speaking Hebrew and Yiddish and was taken out of an old-age home to be cared for by English- and French-speaking baalei teshuvah, most of whom were well-versed with the then-drug scene and were seeking a guru to teach them Rebbe Nachman. Today they dance on cars and block traffic in downtown Jerusalem, among other places; certainly not what Rebbe Nachman had in mind with his deep and erudite teachings.

I think someone needs to order this editor to cite references rather than opinions. However, if he chooses to cite his own writings on his website, I assure you that that site carries absolutely no weight with true Breslov scholars. I feel that we're looking at months of arguing and page-ruining unless we put a stop to it now. Thank you for everything you can do. [[User:Yoninah|Yoninah]] ([[User talk:Yoninah|talk]]) 21:16, 22 December 2008 (UTC)

== USS Liberty Incident ==

Is this an article that most admins won't touch with a barge pole? ''[[User:Justin_A_Kuntz|Justin]]'' ''[[User Talk:Justin_A_Kuntz|talk]]'' 21:01, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

== Happy Hannukah! ==

{| class="messagebox standard-talk" style="border: 5px solid Blue; background-color: #fdffe7;"
|align="center"|[[File:Chanukia.jpg|110px]]
|align="center" width="100%"|<big>[[File:Hanukkah.png|130px]]

{{Hebrew|1=שׂ}}{{Hebrew|1=מ}}{{Hebrew|1=ח!}}
</big> 

<big>From [[User:Chesdovi|Chesdovi</div></div></big>]]
|align="right"|[[File:Sufganiyah.jpeg|150px]]
|}

== Seasons Greetings ==

[[File:Buccoo1.jpg|thumb|left||200px|Wishing you the very best for the season. [[User:Guettarda|Guettarda]] ([[User talk:Guettarda|talk]]) 07:11, 25 December 2008 (UTC)]]

{{-}}
==Reverts at [[Israeli settlement]]==
Jay, hi, it's me again. :) I know I've talked to you about what appears to be some frustration on your part at the Israeli settlement article (and others).[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk%3AJayjg&diff=258822242&oldid=258627154] I'm glad that you're trying an RfC at [[Talk:Israeli settlement]] now, but there's one other thing I wanted to make you aware of. I was looking through your edits on the [[Israeli settlement]] article, and of your edits since early November, nearly every single one of your changes (18 out of 19) has been to re-insert the same thing, the word [[Samaria]] into the lead of the article.[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=249950572&oldid=249936151][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=250022918&oldid=249999281][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=250559892&oldid=250516007][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=250693431&oldid=250624473][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=250740913&oldid=250724329][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=250993042&oldid=250892949][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=251239281&oldid=251100965][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=252083099&oldid=251945185][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=252193022&oldid=252129469][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=253113322&oldid=252947835][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=254351572&oldid=253358383][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=254383270&oldid=254382681][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=255075045&oldid=255073048][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=255528631&oldid=255267891][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=258498001&oldid=258496710][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=258500880&oldid=258500138][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=258501739&oldid=258501393][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=259969697&oldid=259615303] And your 19th edit was Samaria-related as well.[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=255765471&oldid=255714881] You are not making any other changes to the article, and you do not appear to be making any attempt to find compromise wording, you just keep reverting and reinserting the same thing, over and over. Please, can you stop reverting, and just continue to engage in discussion at the talkpage? I've looked through the discussions thus far, and though there doesn't appear to be a clear consensus either way, the general feeling seems to be leaning towards ''not'' including the word in the lead. So until there is a clear consensus ''for'' the change, please stop with the reverts on this one thing? You are still welcome to make other changes to the article, and to continue to engage at the talkpage of course. Hopefully with additional opinions from uninvolved editors, we'll be able to find a proper consensus, and ensure long-lasting changes to the article. Thanks, --[[User:Elonka|El]][[User talk:Elonka|on]][[Special:Contributions/Elonka|ka]] 19:35, 25 December 2008 (UTC)
:I note your concern, but the issue has really been [[User:MeteorMaker]]'s campaign to remove the word "Samaria" from all Wikipedia articles, or, failing that, deprecate its use, against consensus. My restoration of the word was initially in response to MeteorMaker's [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=249633263&oldid=249629051 removal of it] from the article, one of 16 such edits he made on November 4th alone.[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Violence_in_the_Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict_2002&diff=prev&oldid=249630911] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Violence_in_the_Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict_2002&diff=prev&oldid=249631068] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Violence_in_the_Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict_2002&diff=prev&oldid=249631150] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Violence_in_the_Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict_2002&diff=prev&oldid=249631209] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Violence_in_the_Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict_2002&diff=prev&oldid=249631243] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Violence_in_the_Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict_2003&diff=prev&oldid=249631341] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Violence_in_the_Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict_2003&diff=prev&oldid=249631413] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peace_Now&diff=prev&oldid=249631782] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Samaria_(disambiguation)&diff=prev&oldid=249632385] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tisha_B%27Av&diff=prev&oldid=249632531] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sharon_plain&diff=prev&oldid=249632902] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Passover_massacre&diff=prev&oldid=249633000] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=prev&oldid=249633263] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Judea_and_Samaria&diff=prev&oldid=249696804] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Judea_and_Samaria&diff=prev&oldid=249734994] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Samaria_(disambiguation)&diff=prev&oldid=249735688]. The reference to the four settlements in northern Samaria had existed quite peacefully in the lede since January 12, 2007, when an editor [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=100216094&oldid=98537288 noted that these settlements had been removed as well]. Meteormaker has also been assisted in his efforts by [[User:Pedrito]], who reverted for almost two weeks before even deigning to comment on the Talk: page at all, and has since continued to revert while rarely commenting further - 10 times in all.[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=prev&oldid=251726423] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=prev&oldid=252947835] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=prev&oldid=254382681] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=prev&oldid=254391564] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=prev&oldid=254573109] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=prev&oldid=255801198] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=prev&oldid=255809877] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=prev&oldid=258533136] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=prev&oldid=259497825] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=prev&oldid=259542328] And of course, the latest reverter is Nishidani, who has managed to revert the article today without bothering to comment on Talk: either - an amazing revert really, the first article edit he has made since November 22, when he claimed he was no longer editing Wikipedia articles. In contrast, I have been quite involved in the article Talk: page, have been adding sources (e.g. [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=253113322&oldid=253099815] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=254351572&oldid=253358383] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Israeli_settlement&diff=255075045&oldid=255073048]), unlike the blind reverters, who have basically just deleted, regardless of sourcing. There is no consensus to make this change to the lede, which has used this wording for almost two years. I'm hoping the RFC I started will achieve some sort of consensus around this, but that does not mean these non-consensual changes must stand pending a new consensus. [[User:Jayjg|Jayjg ]][[User_talk:Jayjg|(talk)]] 20:33, 25 December 2008 (UTC)
:BTW, does this article restriction cover the entire article, or just the lede? Would have any objection to me moving it into the body of the article for now, so that the references aren't lost? [[User:Jayjg|Jayjg ]][[User_talk:Jayjg|(talk)]] 20:55, 25 December 2008 (UTC)
:: I hear what you're saying, and acknowledge that the word "Samaria" was indeed in the lead from January 2007 to November 2008. I also agree that the concerns are not just with your editing, but also with other editors. It takes two to edit-war, and I do indeed see the edits of {{user|MeteorMaker}}, {{user|Nishidani}}, {{user|Pedrito}}, and others. I've been having a word with some of them as well. As for reverting the article to the pre-November version, no, I think discussions on the talkpage have proceeded past that point. [[WP:CCC|Consensus can change]], so the best way to proceed at this point, is to put a freeze on further reverts to the lead, and instead try to both continue with discussions at the talkpage, and to also look towards finding compromise wording. To answer your most recent question, the 0RR restriction covers ''only'' Samaria-related reverts to the [[WP:LEAD|lead section]] of the article. You are still free to make Samaria-related changes to the rest of the article, and you are also allowed to try different Samaria-related wording in the lead, that is not a revert, but is instead a bonafide attempt to find a compromise. --[[User:Elonka|El]][[User talk:Elonka|on]][[Special:Contributions/Elonka|ka]] 21:03, 25 December 2008 (UTC)
==Feliz Navidad==
Vaya pues. Thanks, [[User:SqueakBox|SqueakBox]] 19:49, 25 December 2008 (UTC)

==Re: Thank you, and wow==
No problem, you have enough to do without de-vandalizing your talk page as well. As for the big yellow box, it provides such an easy way to remove trolling without getting dragged into justifications that I couldn't pass it up. ;) [[User:Dbratton|Daniel]][[Special:Contributions/Dbratton|C]]/[[User talk:Dbratton|T]][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Dbratton&action=edit&section=new +] 14:46, 26 December 2008 (UTC)

User talk:Jayjg/Archive 38

2008-12-23T00:55:56Z

Dbratton: Revert to revision 259596448 dated 2008-12-22 21:32:56 by Yoninah using popups

Yom Kippur

2008-12-22T02:03:35Z

Dbratton: Undid revision 259444496 by 208.61.152.30 (talk)

{{redirect|Day of Atonement}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image = Gottlieb-Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur.jpg
|caption = Yom Kippur in the synagogue, painting by [[Maurycy Gottlieb]] (1878)
|holiday_name = Yom Kippur
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''יוֹם כִּפּוּר''' or '''יום הכיפורים'''
|nickname =
|observedby = [[Jew]]s
|date = 10th day of [[Tishrei]]
|observances = [[Fasting]], [[prayer]], abstaining from physical pleasures, refraining from [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|work]]
|type = Jewish
|significance = Soul-searching and repentance
|related to = [[Rosh Hashanah]], which precedes Yom Kippur
|date2008 = Sunset, October 8 – nightfall, October 9
|date2009 = Sunset, September 27 – nightfall, September 28
|date2010 = Sunset, September 17 – nightfall, September 18
|date2011 = Sunset, October 7 – nightfall, October 8
}}'''Yom Kippur''' ({{lang-he|יוֹם כִּפּוּר}}, {{IPA2|ˈjɔm kiˈpur}}), also known in English as the ''Day of Atonement'', is the most solemn and important of the [[Jewish holiday]]s. Its central themes are [[Atonement in Judaism|atonement]] and [[Repentance in Judaism|repentance]]. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of [[Ta'anit|fasting]] and intensive [[Jewish services|prayer]], often spending most of the day in [[synagogue]] services.

Yom Kippur is the tenth and final day of the [[Ten Days of Repentance]] which begin with [[Rosh Hashanah]]. According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year into a "book" on Rosh Hashanah and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict. During the Ten Days of Repentance, a Jew tries to amend his behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God (''bein adam leMakom'') and against his fellow man (''bein adam lechavero''). The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and private petitions and confessions of guilt (''[[Vidui]]''). At the end of Yom Kippur, one considers himself absolved by God.

The Yom Kippur prayer service includes several unique aspects. One is the actual number of prayer services. Unlike a regular day, which has three prayer services (''Ma'ariv'', the evening prayer; ''Shacharit'', the morning prayer; and ''Mincha'', the afternoon prayer), or a [[Shabbat]] or [[Yom Tov]], which have four prayer services (''Ma'ariv''; ''Shacharit''; ''Musaf'', the additional prayer; and ''Mincha''), Yom Kippur has five prayer services (''Ma'ariv''; ''Shacharit''; ''Musaf''; ''Mincha''; and ''Ne'ilah'', the closing prayer). The prayer services also include a public confession of sins (''[[Vidui]]'') and a reenactment of the special Yom Kippur ''avodah'' (service) of the [[Kohen Gadol]] in the [[Holy Temple in Jerusalem]].

==Date==
Yom Kippur is the climax of the ''[[Yamim Noraim]]'' (“Days of Awe”), and with [[Rosh Hashanah]] forms the Jewish [[High Holy Days]]. In accordance with {{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:27|HE}} the date of Yom Kippur is the 10th day of [[Tishrei]] (“the tenth day of the seventh month”) on the [[Hebrew calendar]].

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Yom Kippur
!Starts (at sundown)
!Ends (at night)
|-

|-
|align="center"|5768
|[[2007]]-[[09-21]]
|[[2007]]-[[09-22]]
|-
|align="center"|5769
|[[2008]]-[[10-08]]
|[[2008]]-[[10-09]]
|-
|align="center"|5770
|[[2009]]-[[09-27]]
|[[2009]]-[[09-28]]
|-
|align="center"|5771
|[[2010]]-[[09-17]]
|[[2010]]-[[09-18]]
|-
|align="center"|5772
|[[2011]]-[[09-07]]
|[[2011]]-[[09-08]]
|-
|align="center"|5773
|[[2012]]-[[09-25]]
|[[2012]]-[[09-26]]
|-
|}

==Observances==
===General observances===
{{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:27|HE}} decrees that Yom Kippur is a strict day of rest and of fasting.

Five additional prohibitions are traditionally observed, as detailed in the [[Oral Torah|Jewish oral tradition]] (''[[Mishnah]]'' tractate ''[[Yoma]]'' 8:1):

#Eating and drinking
#Wearing leather shoes
#Bathing/washing
#Anointing oneself with perfumes or lotions
#Sexual relations

Total abstention from food and drink usually begins 30 minutes before sundown (called ''tosefet Yom Kippur'', lit. "Addition to Yom Kippur"), and ends after nightfall the following day. Although the fast is required of all healthy adults, it is waived in the case of certain medical conditions. Virtually all Jewish holidays involve a ritual feast, but since Yom Kippur involves fasting, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] requires one to eat a large and festive meal on the afternoon before Yom Kippur, after the ''[[Mincha]]'' afternoon prayer. Wearing white clothing is traditional to symbolize one’s purity on this day. Many [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] men immerse themselves in a ''[[mikvah]]'' on the day before Yom Kippur.<ref name=OU>{{cite web |url=http://www.ou.org/chagim/yomkippur/ykcustoms.htm |title=OU Customs for Erev Yom Kippur |accessdate=2008-09-21}}</ref>

===Eve of Yom Kippur ===
{{main|Kol Nidre}}

'''Erev Yom Kippur''' (lit. "eve of day of atonement") is the day preceding Yom Kippur, corresponding to the ninth day of the Hebrew month of [[Tishrei]]. This day is commemorated with two festive meals, the giving of charity, and asking others for forgiveness.<ref>http://www.divreinavon.com/pdf/ErevYomKippur.pdf Erev Yom Kippur - The purpose of the day as seen through Talmudic anecdotes</ref>

Before sunset on Yom Kippur eve, worshippers gather in the [[synagogue]]. The [[Ark (synagogue)|Ark]] is opened and two people take from it two [[Sefer Torah|Sifrei Torah]] (Torah scrolls). Then they take their places, one on each side of the [[Hazzan|cantor]], and the three recite:
<blockquote>In the tribunal of Heaven and the tribunal of earth, by the permission of God—praised be He—and by the permission of this holy congregation, we hold it lawful to pray with transgressors."</blockquote>

The cantor then chants the [[Kol Nidre]] prayer (Hebrew: '''כל נדרי''') in [[Aramaic]], not [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]. Its name is taken from the opening words, meaning “All vows”:

<blockquote>All personal vows we are likely to make, all personal oaths and pledges we are likely to take between this Yom Kippur and the next Yom Kippur, we publicly renounce. Let them all be relinquished and abandoned, null and void, neither firm nor established. Let our personal vows, pledges and oaths be considered neither vows nor pledges nor oaths.<ref>Translation of Philip Birnbaum, from ''High Holyday Prayer Book'', Hebrew Publishing Company, NY, 1951</ref></blockquote>

The leader and the congregation then say together three times “May all the people of Israel be forgiven, including all the strangers who live in their midst, for all the people are in fault.” The Torah scrolls are then replaced, and the customary [[Jewish services|evening service]] begins.

===Prayer services===
Many married men wear a ''[[kittel]]'', a white robe-like garment for evening prayers on Yom Kippur.<ref name=JVL_yk>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/holiday4.html |title=Jewish Virtual Library — Yom Kippur |accessdate=2008-09-21}}</ref> They also wear a [[tallit]], the only evening service of the year in which this is done.<ref name=MJL>{{cite web |url=http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Yom_Kippur/Overview_Yom_Kippur_Community/Prayer_Services.htm |title=My Jewish Learning — Prayer Services |accessdate=2008-09-21 |author=Rabbi Daniel Kohn}}</ref> Prayer services begin with the prayer known as “[[Kol Nidre]],” which must be recited before sunset, and continue with the evening prayers (''Ma'ariv'' or ''Arvith''), which includes an extended [[Selichot]] service.

The morning prayer service is preceded by litanies and petitions of forgiveness called ''selichot''; on Yom Kippur, many ''selichot'' are woven into the [[liturgy]]. The morning prayers are followed by an added prayer (''Musaf'') as on all other holidays. This is followed by ''Mincha'' (the afternoon prayer) which includes a reading ([[Haftarah]]) of the [[Book of Jonah]], which has as its theme the story of God's willingness to forgive those who repent. The service concludes with the ''Ne'ilah'' prayer, which begins shortly before sunset, when the "gates of prayer" will be closed. Yom Kippur comes to an end with a recitation of ''[[Shema Yisrael]]'' and the blowing of the ''[[shofar]]'', which marks the conclusion of the fast.<ref name=MJL />
{{Teshuva}}

===The ''Avodah'': Remembering the Temple service===
A recitation of the sacrificial service of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] traditionally features prominently in both the liturgy and the religious thought of the holiday. Specifically, the ''Avodah'' (“service”) in the ''musaf'' prayer recounts the sacrificial ceremonies in great detail.

This traditional prominence is rooted in the [[Babylonian Talmud]]’s description of how to attain atonement following the destruction of the Temple. According to Talmud tractate [[Yoma]], in the absence of a Temple, Jews are obligated to study the High Priest’s ritual on Yom Kippur, and this study helps achieve atonement for those who are unable to benefit from its actual performance. In [[Orthodox Judaism]], accordingly, studying the Temple ritual on Yom Kippur represents a positive [[mitzvah#rabbinical mitzvot|rabbinically-ordained obligation]] which Jews seeking atonement are required to fulfill.

In Orthodox, most [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]], and some [[Progressive Judaism|progressive]]<ref>An abbreviated version of the Seder Avodah is used in Yom Kippur services at the [[Hebrew Union College]] Jerusalem campus</ref> synagogues a detailed description of the Temple ritual is recited on the day. In most Orthodox and some Conservative synagogues, the entire congregation [[prostration|prostrates]] themselves at each point in the recitation where the [[Kohen Gadol]] (High Priest) would pronounce the [[Tetragrammaton]] (God’s holiest name, according to Judaism).

The main section of the Avodah is a threefold recitation of the High Priest’s actions regarding expiation in the [[Holy of Holies]]. Performing the sacrificial acts and reciting [[Leviticus]] 16:30, “for on this day atonement shall be made for you, to atone for you for all your sins, before God…” (he would recite the Tetragrammaton at this point, to which the people would prostrate to the ground) and after extending the Name, he would finish the verse “…you shall be purified.” He would first ask for forgiveness for himself and his family (“Your pious man”), then for the priestly caste (“Your holy people”), and finally for all of Israel (“Your upright children”). (These three times, plus in some congregations the ''Alenu'' prayer during the [[Musaf]] [[Amidah]] on Yom Kippur and [[Rosh Hashanah]], are the only times in [[Jewish services]] when Jews engage in complete full-body prostration, with the exception of some [[Yemenite Jews]] and ''talmedhei haRambam'' who may prostrate themselves on other occasions during the year). A variety of liturgical poems are added, including a poem recounting the radiance of the countenance of the [[Kohen Gadol]] after exiting the Holy of Holies, traditionally believed to emit palpable light in a manner echoing the [[Bible]]'s account of the countenance of [[Moses]] after descending from [[Mount Sinai]], as well as prayers for the speedy rebuilding of the [[Third Temple|Temple]] and the restoration of [[korban|sacrificial worship]]. There are a variety of other customs, such as hand gestures to mime the sprinkling of blood (one sprinkling upwards and seven downwards per set of eight).

Orthodox liturgies include prayers lamenting the inability to perform the Temple service and petitioning for its restoration, which Conservative synagogues generally omit. In some Conservative synagogues, only the ''[[Hazzan]]'' engages in full prostration. Some Conservative synagogues abridge the recitation of the Avodah service to varying degrees, and some omit it entirely. Many [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] and [[Reconstructionist Judaism|Reconstructionist]] services omit the entire service as inconsistent with modern sensibilities.

=== Observance among secular Jews ===
Yom Kippur is considered one of the holiest of Jewish holidays, and it is observed by many [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Jews]] who may not observe other holidays. Many secular Jews fast and attend synagogue on Yom Kippur, where the number of worshippers attending is often double or triple the normal attendance.

===Yom Kippur in Israel ===
[[Image:Yom Kippur on Highway 20 Tel-Aviv.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Ayalon Highway, Tel-Aviv, in Yom Kippur 2007. Empty of cars.]]
Yom Kippur is a legal holiday in the modern state of Israel. There are no radio or television broadcasts, airports are shut down, there is no public transportation, and all shops and businesses are closed.<ref>[http://web.israelinsider.com/Views/6829.htm "Sounds of The City", article from [[Israel Insider]], October 14, 2005]</ref> In 1973, an air raid siren was sounded on the afternoon of Yom Kippur and radio broadcasts were resumed to alert the public to the surprise attack that launched the [[Yom Kippur War]].

In 2008, 63% percent of the Jewish people of [[Israel]] said that they were intending to fast on Yom Kippur.<ref>http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3606861,00.html</ref> This may be the reason that it is very common in [[Israel]] to wish "Tsom Kal" (an easy fast) to everyone before Yom Kippur, even if you don't know whether they will fast or not.

It is considered "bad form" to eat in public on Yom Kippur or to drive a motor vehicle. There is no legal prohibition on driving or eating in public, and from the strict legal point of view any person has the right to do so — but in practice such actions are frowned upon. Allowance is made for ambulances and emergency vehicles, but there have been incidents where even they are not tolerated.<ref>"Youths hurl rocks at Magen David paramedics in Acre, Haifa" ([[Haaretz]], October 11, 2008[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027741.html]</ref>

Over the last few decades, bicycle-riding on the empty streets has become a new “tradition” among [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Israeli]] youngsters, especially on the eve of Yom Kippur.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3310235,00.html
|title=Yom Kippur: Nearly 2,000 injured
|publisher=Ynetnews
|year=2006
|accessdate=2006-10-02}}</ref> In consequence, Yom Kippur is jocularly referred to as the “Festival of Bicycles.”<ref>See for instance uses at [http://www.doctors.co.il/xID-4096,xCT-0,xCN-printer,m-Doctors,a-Article.html], [http://www.tapuz.co.il/blog/ViewEntry.asp?EntryId=801794&passok=yes]</ref> Bicycle sales rise in the weeks before Yom Kippur, and companies have taken to advertising children’s bicycles as “Yom Kippur specials.”

==Yom Kippur in the Bible==
The [[Torah]] calls the day ''Yom HaKippurim'' (יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים) and in {{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:27|}} decrees a strict prohibition of work and affliction of the soul upon the tenth day of the seventh month, later known as [[Tishrei]]. The rites for Yom Kippur are set forth in the sixteenth chapter of [[Leviticus]] (cf. [[Exodus]] 30:10; Leviticus 23:27–31, 25:9; [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 29:7–11). It is described as a solemn fast, on which no food or drink could be consumed, and on which all work is forbidden.

=== Midrashic interpretation ===
''The midrashim described in this section need sources cited from Midrashic literature''

Traditionally, Yom Kippur is considered the date on which [[Moses]] received the second set of [[Ten Commandments]]. It occurred following the completion of the second 40 days of instructions from God. At this same time, the [[Israelites]] were granted atonement for the sin of the [[Golden Calf]]; hence, its designation as the Day of Atonement.<ref>Spiro, Rabbi Ken. [http://www.aish.edu/literacy/jewishhistory/Crash_Course_in_Jewish_History_Part_12_—_The_Golden_Calf.asp Crash Course in Jewish History Part 12 — The Golden Calf]. [[Aish HaTorah]]. accessed April 29, 2007</ref>

===View of contemporary Biblical scholarship===
According to [[textual criticism|textual scholars]], the biblical regulations covering Yom Kippur are spliced together from multiple source texts,<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref><ref>Cheyne and Black, ''[[Encyclopedia Biblica]]''</ref> as indicated by evidence such as with the [[doublet|duplication]] of the confession over the bullock,<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:6|}} and {{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:6|}}</ref> and the incongruity in one verse stating that the high priest should not enter the Holy of Holies (with the inference that there are exceptions for certain explicitly identified festivals),<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:2|}}</ref> and the next verse indicating that they can enter whenever they wish (as long as a specific ritual is carried out first).<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref> Although [[Rashi]] tried to find a harmonistic explanation for this incongruity, the [[Leviticus Rabbah]] maintains that it was indeed the case that the high priest could enter at any time if these rituals were carried out.<ref>''Leviticus Rabbah'' 21</ref> Textual scholars argue that the ritual is composed from three sources, and a couple of redactional additions:<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref><ref>Cheyne and Black, ''[[Encyclopedia Biblica]]''</ref>
*prerequisite rituals before the high priest can enter the Holy of Holies (on any occasion), namely a sin offering and a whole offering, followed by the filling of the Holy of Holies with a cloud of incense while wearing linen garments<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:1|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:3–4|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:12–13|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:34|}} (b)</ref>
*regulations which establish an annual day of fasting and rest, during which the sanctuary and people are purified, without stating the ritual for doing so;<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:29–34|}} (a)</ref> this regulation is very similar to the one in the Holiness Code<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:27–31|}}</ref>
*later elaborations of the ceremony,<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:5|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:7–10|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:14–28|}}</ref> which include the sprinkling of the blood on the ''mercy seat'', and the use of a scapegoat sent to Azazel; the same source also being responsible for small alterations to related regulations<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|30:10|}}, {{bibleverse||Leviticus|25:9|}}</ref>
*the redactional additions<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:2|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:6|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:11|}}</ref>

According to [[biblical criticism|biblical scholars]], the original ceremony was simply the ritual purification of the sanctuary from any accidental ritual impurity, at the start of each new year, as seen in the [[Book of Ezekiel]],<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Day of Atonement''</ref> which textual scholars date to before the [[priestly source]], but after [[JE]].<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Priestly Source''</ref><ref>[[Richard Elliott Friedman]], ''Who wrote the Bible''</ref> According to the Book of Ezekiel, the sanctuary was to be cleansed by the sprinkling of bullock's blood, on the first day of the first and of the seventh months<ref>{{bibleverse||Ezekiel|45:18–20|}}</ref> — near the start of the Civil year and of the Ecclesiastical year, respectively; although the [[masoretic text]] of the Book of Ezekiel has the second of these cleansings on the seventh of the first month, biblical scholars regard the [[Septuagint]], which has the second cleaning as being the first of the seventh month, as being more accurate here.<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Day of Atonement''</ref> It appears that during the period that the Holiness Code and the Book of Ezekiel were written, the new year began on the tenth day of the seventh month,<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|25:9|}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse||Ezekiel|40:1|}}</ref> and thus biblical scholars believe that by the time the Priestly Code was compiled, the date of the new year and of the day of atonement had swapped around.<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref>

== Yom Kippur in Mishnaic and Talmudic literature ==
===The Temple service ===
The following summary of the Temple service is based on the traditional Jewish religious account described in [[Mishnah]] tractate [[Yoma]], appearing in contemporary traditional Jewish prayerbooks for Yom Kippur, and studied as part of a traditional Jewish Yom Kippur worship service.<ref name=kasirer>Arnold Lustiger, Michael Taubes, [[Menachem Genack]], and [[Hershel Schacter]], ''Kasirer Edition Yom Kippur Machzor With Commentary Adapted from the Teachings of Rabbi [[Joseph B. Soloveitchik]]''. New York: K'hal Publishing, 2006. pp. 588–589 (summary); 590–618.</ref>

While the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple]] was standing in [[Jerusalem]] (from Biblical times through 70 C.E.), the [[Kohen Gadol]] (High Priest) performed a complex set of special services and sacrifices for Yom Kippur. These services were considered to be the most important parts of Yom Kippur, as through them the Kohen Gadol made atonement for all Jews in the world. During the service, the Kohen Gadol entered the [[Holy of Holies]] in the center of the Temple, the only time of the year that anyone went inside. Doing so required special purification and preparation, including five immersions in a ''[[mikvah]]'' (ritual bath), and four changes of clothing.

Seven days prior to Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol was sequestered in the [[Parhedrin chamber]] in the Temple, where he reviewed the service with the Temple sages, and was sprinkled with spring water containing ashes of the [[Red Heifer]] as purification. The [[Talmud]] (Tractate [[Yoma]]) also reports that he practiced the incense offering ritual in the [[Avitnas chamber]].

On the day of Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol had to follow a precise order of services, sacrifices, and purifications:
{{Judaism}}
*'''Morning (Tamid) Offering''' The Kohen Gadol first performed the regular daily (''Tamid'') offering — usually performed by ordinary priests — in special golden garments, after immersing in a ''[[mikvah]]'' and washing his hands and feet.
*'''Garment Change 1''' The Kohen Gadol immersed in a special ''mikvah'' in the Temple courtyard and changed into special linen garments, and washed his hands and feet twice, once after removing the golden garments and once before putting on the linen garments.
* '''Bull as Personal Sin-Offering''' The Kohen Gadol leaned (performed ''[[Semicha in sacrifices|Semikha]])'' and made a confession over the bull on behalf of himself and his household, pronouncing the [[Tetragrammaton]]. The people prostrated themselves when they heard. He then slaughtered the bull as a ''chatat'' (sin-offering) and received its blood in a bowl.
* '''Lottery of the goats''' At the Eastern (Nikanor) gate, the Kohen Gadol drew lots from a lottery box over two [[goat]]s. One was selected “for the Lord,” and one “for [[Azazel]].” The Kohen Gadol tied a red band around the horns of the goat “for Azazel.”
* '''Incense Preparation''' The Kohen Gadol ascended the ''[[mizbeach]]'' (altar) and took a shovel full of [[ember]]s with a special shovel. He was brought [[incense]]. He filled his hands and placed it in a vessel. (The ''[[Talmud]]'' considered this the most physically difficult part of the service, as the Kohen Gadol had to keep the shovelful of glowing [[coal]]s balanced and prevent its contents from dropping, using his armpit or teeth, while filling his hands with the incense).
* '''Incense Offering''' Holding the shovel and the vessel, he entered the [[Kadosh Hakadashim]], the Temple’s [[Holy of Holies]]. In the days of the [[Solomon’s Temple|First Temple]], he placed the shovel between the poles of the [[Ark of the Covenant]]. In the days of the [[Second Temple]], he put the shovel where the Ark would have been. He waited until the chamber filled with smoke and left.
*'''Sprinkling of Blood in the Holy of Holies''' The Kohen Gadol took the bowl with the bull’s blood and entered the Most Holy Place again. He sprinkled the bull’s blood with his finger eight times, before the Ark in the days of the First Temple, where it would have been in the days of the Second. The Kohen Gadol then left the Holy of Holies, putting the bowl on a stand in front of the [[Parochet]] (curtain separating the Holy from the Holy of Holies).
*'''Goat for the Lord as Sin-Offering for [[Kohen|Kohanim]]''' The Kohen Gadol went to the eastern end of the Israelite courtyard near the Nikanor Gate, laid his hands (''[[Semicha in sacrifices|semikha]]'') on the goat “for the Lord,” and pronounced [[confession]] on behalf of the Kohanim (priests). The people prostrated themselves when he pronounced the Tetragrammaton. He then slaughtered the goat, and received its blood in another bowl.
*'''Sprinkling of blood in the Holy''' Standing in the ''[[Hekhal]]'' (Holy), on the other side of the Parochet from the Holy of Holies, the Kohen Gadol took the bull's blood from the stand and sprinkled it with his finger eight times in the direction of the Parochet. He then took the bowl with the goat's blood and sprinkled it eight times in the same manner, putting it back on the stand.
*'''Smearing of blood on the Golden (Incense) Altar''' The Kohen Gadol removed the goat’s blood from the stand and mixed it with the bull's blood. Starting at the northeast corner, he then smeared the mixture of blood on each of the four corners of the Golden (Incense) altar in the Haichal. He then sprinkled the blood eight times on the altar.
*'''Goat for Azazel''' The Kohen Gadol left the Haichal and walked to the east side of the ''[[Azarah]]'' (Israelite courtyard). Near the Nikanor Gate, he leaned his hands (Semikha) on the goat “for Azazel” and confessed the sins of the entire people of Israel. The people prostrated themselves when he pronounced the Tetragrammaton. While he made a general confession, individuals in the crowd at the Temple would confess privately. The Kohen Gadol then sent the goat off “to the wilderness.” In practice, to prevent its return to human habitation, the goat was led to a cliff outside Jerusalem and pushed off its edge.
*'''Preparation of sacrificial animals''' While the goat “for Azazel” was being led to the cliff, the Kohen Gadol removed the insides of the bull, and intertwined the bodies of the bull and goat. Other people took the bodies to the ''Beit HaDeshen'' (place of the ashes). They were burned there after it was confirmed that the goat “for Azazel” had reached the wilderness.
*'''Reading the Torah''' After it was confirmed that the goat “for Azazzel” had been pushed off the cliff, the Kohen Gadol passed through the Nikanor Gate into the ''Ezrat Nashim'' (Women’s Courtyard) and read sections of the ''Torah'' describing Yom Kippur and its [[Korban|sacrifice]]s.
*'''Garment change 2''' The Kohen Gadol removed his linen garments, immersed in the ''mikvah'' in the Temple courtyard, and changed into a second set of special golden garments. He washed his hands and feet both before removing the linen garments and after putting on the golden ones.
*'''Offering of Rams''' The Kohen Gadol offered two rams as an ''olah'' offering, slaughtering them on the north side of the ''mizbeach'' (outer altar), receiving their blood in a bowl, carrying the bowl to the outer altar, and dashing the blood on the northeast and southwest corners of the Outer Altar. He dismembered the rams and burned the parts entirely on the outer altar. He then offered the accompanying ''[[mincha]]'' (grain) offerings and ''nesachim'' (wine-libations).
*'''Musaf Offering''' The Kohen Gadol then offered the ''[[Musaf]]'' offering.
*'''Burning of Innards''' The Kohen Gadol placed the insides of the bull and goat on the outer altar and burned them entirely.
*'''*Garment change 3''' The Kohen Gadol removed his golden garments, immersed in the ''mikvah'', and changed to a new set of linen garments, again washing his hands and feet twice.
*'''Removal of Incense from the [[Kadosh Hakadashim|Holy of Holies]]''' The Kohen Gadol returned to the Holy of Holies and removed the bowl of incense and the shovel.
*'''Garment Change 4''' The Kohen Gadol removed his linen garments, immersed in the ''mikvah'', and changed into a third set of golden garments, again washing his hands and feet twice.
*'''Evening (Tamid) Offering''' The Kohen Gadol completed the afternoon portion of the regular (''tamid'') daily offering in the special golden garments. He washed his hands and feet a tenth time.

The Kohen Gadol wore five sets of garments (three golden and two white linen), immersed in the ''mikvah'' five times, and washed his hands and feet ten times. Sacrifices included two (daily) lambs, one bull, two goats, and two rams, with accompanying ''mincha'' (meal) offerings, wine libations, and three incense offerings (the regular two daily and an additional one for Yom Kippur). The Kohen Gadol entered the Holy of Holies three times. The Tetragrammaton was pronounced three times, once for each confession.<ref name=kasirer />

== Yom Kippur and the Bnai Noah ==

Yom Kippur is one of the Holy Days observed by the [[B’nei Noah]], gentiles who adhere to the [[Seven Laws of Noah]] and are under the knowledgeable guidance of [[Orthodox Judaism]].{{fact|date=September 2008}}

==Christians and Yom Kippur==
{{main|Day of Atonement (Christian holiday)}}
In [[Christianity]] the phrase ''Day of Atonement'' is usually taken to refer to a more singular [[eschatology|eschatological]] event also known as ''[[Judgment Day]]'', and most Christians ignore Yom Kippur as they do not consider it to be part of the ''[[New Covenant]]''. However, many [[Christian theology|Christian theologians]] and scholars acknowledge that there is a strong connection between the two days; for example, one Christian theologian argues that Yom Kippur is the foreshadowing pre-text of [[Christos pantocrator|Christ's future judgment]] of mankind.<ref>Sausa, Diego D. ''Kippur — the Final Judgment: Apocalyptic Secrets of the Hebrew Sanctuary'', Fort Myers, FL: The Vision Press, 2006. ISBN 0-9788346-1-5.</ref>

In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], the [[Fast Day]] of the [[Exaltation of the Holy Cross]] is observed on September 14 in the [[Julian Calendar]], roughly coinciding with Yom Kippur (which oscillates with respect to the Julian and [[Gregorian Calendar]]s). One Orthodox priest – Rev. Patrick Reardon – argues that it is obviously derived from Yom Kippur, and that everyone realizes this.<ref>[http://www.ancientfaithradio.com/specials/allsaints/ Welcome — Ancient Faith Radio]</ref> The [[Amish]] Christians also observe a Fast Day on October 11 in the Gregorian Calendar, which similarly coincides roughly with Yom Kippur.<ref>[http://www.dutchcrafters.com/aboutamish.aspx About The Amish]</ref>

However, Yom Kippur is most comparable to the Christian holy day of [[Good Friday]]. As Yom Kippur is seen as the day for atonement of sins, so is Good Friday depicted as the event which [[Christ]] granted humanity atonement through his death and resurrection.

==Yom Kippur in Islamic tradition==
According to [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] tradition, when [[Muhammad]] arrived in [[Medina]] in 622 CE, he found that the Jews there fasted on the 10th day of [[Muharram]] and asked them the reason for their fasting on this day. They said, “This is a blessed day. On this day God saved the Children of Israel from their enemy (in Egypt) and so Moses fasted on this day giving thanks to God.” Muhammad said, “We are closer to Musa than you are" (meaning that unlike the followers of Muhammed and Moses, the Medina Jewish community was settled and established). He fasted on that day and commanded Muslims to fast on this day.<ref>Al-Bukhari</ref> This day is known as [[Ashura]].

The fasting suggests Yom Kippur while the Exodus story suggests [[Passover]]. Later, Muhammad mentioned that Muslims would have their sins forgiven if they repented sincerely and fasted on Ashura. There are conflicting accounts as to whether it corresponds with Passover or with Yom Kippur. Furthermore, Ashura no longer generally coincides with either days, since the [[Quran]] prohibited [[intercalary month|intercalation]] into the lunar calendar,<ref>Qu'ran 9:36</ref> resulting in the gradual shift of the start of the 354 day [[Islamic Calendar|Islamic year]] with respect to the solar year, while the lunisolar [[Hebrew Calendar]] retains intercalation.

==See also==
*[[Break fast]]
*[[Kol Nidre]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.aish.com/hhYomK/hhYomKDefault/ABCs_of_Yom_Kippur.asp]
*[http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=4687 Yom Kippur guide] at [[Chabad.org]]
*[http://www.mavensearch.com/content/YomKippur.asp Yom Kippur Info] at MavenSearch
*[http://www.pizmonim.com Yom Kippur Prayers for Sephardic Jews]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=73|type=Shiurim}}
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/eng/?cat=104|type=Q&A}}

{{Jewish holidays}}
{{High Holidays}}

[[Category:Yom Kippur]]
[[Category:Jewish holy days]]

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[[lt:Jom Kipuras]]
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Hanukkah

2008-12-19T19:41:10Z

Dbratton: /* Mishna */ ce

{{pp-semi-vandalism|small=yes|expiry=00:00, 30 December 2008 (UTC)}}
{{for|the Khazar ruler|Hanukkah ben Obadiah}}
{{distinguish|Hanneke}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image = Chanukia.jpg
|caption = A Hanukkah [[menorah]]
|holiday_name = Hanukkah
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''חֲנֻכָּה''' or '''חנוכה''' [[English language|English]] translation: "Establishing/Dedication" (of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]])
|nickname = Festival of Lights, Festival of Dedication
|observedby = [[Jew]]s
|begins = 25 [[Kislev]]
|ends = 2 [[Tevet]] or 3 [[Tevet]]
|celebrations = Lighting [[candle]]s each night. Singing special songs, such as [[Ma'oz Tzur]]. Reciting [[Hallel]] prayer. Eating festive meals and foods fried in oil, such as [[latke]]s and [[sufganiyot]]. Playing the ''[[Hanukkah#Dreidel|dreidel]]'' game, and giving [[Hanukkah#Hanukkah gelt|Hanukkah ''gelt'']]
|type = Jewish
|significance = The [[Maccabees]] successfully rebelled against [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]]. The Temple was purified and the wicks of the menorah miraculously burned for eight days.
|relatedto = [[Purim]], as a [[rabbi]]nically decreed holiday.
|date2008 = sunset, [[December 21]] to sunset, [[December 29]] The first Day of Hanukkah is December 22.
|date2009 = sunset, [[December 11]] to sunset, [[December 19]]
|date2010 = sunset, [[December 1]] to sunset, [[December 9]]
}}
'''Hanukkah''' ({{lang-he|חנוכה}}, {{IPA-all|'χanuka}}, alt. '''Chanukah'''), also known as the '''Festival of Lights''', is an eight-day [[Jewish holiday]] commemorating the rededication of the [[Second Temple]] in [[Jerusalem]] at the time of the [[Maccabean Revolt]] of the [[2nd century BCE]]. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of [[Kislev]] according to the [[Hebrew calendar]], and may occur from late November to late December on the [[Gregorian calendar]].

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a special [[candelabrum]], the ''[[Menorah (Hanukkah)|Menorah]]'' or ''Hanukiah'', one light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a ''[[Shamash#Shamash in Judaism|shamash]]'', ([[Hebrew (language)|Hebrew]]: "guard" or "servant") is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the [[Talmud]] (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. (The shamash is used to light the other lights.)

Hanukkah is mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] or [[Biblical apocrypha|apocrypha books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

==Origins of the holiday==
"Hanukkah," from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", marks the re-dedication of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] after its desecration by the forces of [[Antiochus IV]] and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil." According to the [[Talmud]], at the re-dedication following the victory of the [[Maccabees]] over the [[Seleucid Empire]], there was only enough consecrated [[olive oil]] to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

The martyrdom of Hannah and her seven sons has also been linked to Hanukkah. According to the Talmudic story<ref>Talmud Gittin 57b tells a story of a woman and her seven sons killed by "Caesar". The name "Hannah" is not stated.</ref> and [[2 Maccabees]], a Jewish woman named Hannah and her seven sons were tortured and executed by [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes|Antiochus]] for refusing to worship an idol, which would have been a violation of [[613 Mitzvot|Jewish law]].

===Name===
The name "Hanukkah" is interpreted in many ways.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://innernet.org.il/article.php?aid=11|title=Origin of the Name Chanukah|first=Nosson|last=Scherman|publisher=ArtScroll}}</ref>
*Some scholars say the word was derived from the Hebrew verb "חנך" meaning "to dedicate" or to "educate." On Hanukkah, Jews mark the rededication of the House of the Lord.<ref>[[Maharsha]] on [[Talmud]] [[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]] 21b</ref>

*Others argue that the name can be broken down into "חנו", from the Hebrew word for encampment, and the Hebrew letters כ"ה, which stand for the 25th day of Kislev, the day on which the holiday begins: Hence, the Jews sat in their camp, that is, they rested fighting, on the 25th day of Kislev.<ref>[[Nissim of Gerona|Ran]] on [[Isaac Alfasi|Rif]] 9b</ref>

*Hanukkah is also the Hebrew [[acronym]] for "ח' נרות והלכה כבית הלל" meaning "eight candles as determined by [[Hillel the Elder|House of Hillel]]" This is a reference to the disagreement between two rabbinical schools of thought - Hillel and the [[Shammai|House of Shammai]] - on the proper way to light Hanukkah candles. Shammai said that eight candles should be lit from the start, and reduced by one candle every night, whereas Hillel argued in favor of starting with one candle and lighting an additional one every night. Jewish law adopted the position of Hillel.

== Historical sources ==

=== Mishna ===
{{see also2|[[Mishna#Omissions|Mishna Omissions]]}}

The story of Hanukkah, along with its laws and customs, is entirely missing from the [[Mishna]] outside of a single passing reference.<ref>A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice By Isaac Klein p.227</ref> [[Nissim_Ben_Jacob|Rav Nissim Gaon]] postulates in his Hakdamah Le'mafteach Hatalmud that information on the holiday is commonplace to the point that Rabbinical explanation is unnecessary. Reuvain Margolies suggests that as the Mishnah was redacted after the Bar Kochba revolt, authors could not have included discussion of Hanukkah as the Roman occupiers would not have tolerated the overt nationalism inherent in the story.

=== In the Talmud ===
The miracle of Hanukkah is described in the [[Talmud]]. The [[Gemara]], in tractate ''Shabbat 2'' focuses on [[Shabbat]] candles and moves to Hanukkah candles and says that after the forces of Antiochus IV had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was still [[seal (device)|seal]]ed by the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, and miraculously, that oil burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready). <ref>http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Talmud/shabbat2.html</ref>

The Talmud presents three options:
#The law requires only one light each night per household,
#A better practice is to light one light each night for each member of the household
#The most preferred practise is to vary the number of lights each night.
There was a dispute among the sages over how the last option was to be performed: either display eight lamps on the first night of the festival, and reduce the number on each successive night; or begin with one lamp the first night, increasing the number till the eighth night. The followers of [[Shammai]] favored the former custom; the followers of [[Hillel the Elder|Hillel]] advocated the latter. As is the case in most such disputes, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] followed Hillel. Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one's door or in the window closest to the street. [[Rashi]], in a note to ''Shabbat 21b,'' says their purpose is to publicize the miracle. Hanukkah is also mentioned in the (older) [[Mishnah]] (TB [[Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah]] 30b).

===In the Septuagint and other sources===
The story of Hanukkah is alluded to in the book of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]] of the [[Septuagint]] but Hanukkah is not specially mentioned; rather, a story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 ''et seq'' according to which the relighting of the altar fire by [[Nehemiah]] was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabeus.

The Books of Maccabees are not part of the [[Tanakh]] ([[Hebrew Bible]]), but are part of [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] historical and religious material preserved in the [[Septuagint]]. The Tanakh ends with the consequences following the events of [[Purim]], and had already been codified many centuries earlier by the [[Great Assembly|Men of the Great Assembly]] (''Anshei Knesset HaGedolah'').

Another source is the [[Megillat Antiochus]]. This work (also known as "Megillat HaHasmonaim", or "Megillat Hanukkah") is in both [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]; the Hebrew version is a literal translation from the Aramaic original. Recent scholarship dates it to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th Centuries, probably in the 2nd Century,<ref>{{cite web|first=Benjamin|last=Zvieli|title=The Scroll of Antiochus|url= http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html| accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> with the Hebrew dating to the seventh century.<ref name = "pvgsyw"> [http://customerservant.com/2006/12/16/the-scroll-of-the-hasmoneans/ The Scroll Of The Hasmoneans] </ref> It was published for the first time in [[Mantua]] in 1557. [[Saadia Gaon]], who translated it into [[Arabic language| Arabic]] in the 9th Century, ascribed it to the Maccabees themselves, disputed by some, since it gives dates as so many years before the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE.<ref> [http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html The Scroll of Antiochus] </ref> The Hebrew text with an English translation can be found in the [[Siddur]] of [[Philip Birnbaum]].

== The story ==
{{see also|Hasmonean}}
Around 200 BCE Jews lived as an autonomous people in the [[Land of Israel]], also referred to as [[Judea]], which at that time was controlled by the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] [[Seleucid dynasty|king of Syria]]. The Jewish people paid taxes to Syria and accepted its legal authority, and they were free to follow their own faith, maintain their own jobs, and engage in trade.

By 175 BCE [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]] ascended to the Seleucid throne. At first little changed, but under his reign, the Temple in [[Jerusalem]] was looted, Jews were massacred, and [[Judaism]] was effectively outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. As was the normal practice of the [[Ancient Greek religion|Hellenic religion]] when sacrificing to the [[Greek gods]], [[pig]]s were sacrificed on the altar to Zeus.

Many modern scholars argue that the king may have been intervening in an internal civil war between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized elite Jews in Jerusalem. These competed violently over who would be the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like [[Onias III|Onias]] overthrown by Hellenizers with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus. As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times, banned the traditional religion of a whole people.<ref>Tchrikover, Victor. ''Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews''.</ref>

Antiochus' actions proved to be a major miscalculation as they provoked a large-scale revolt. [[Mattathias]], a [[Kohen|Jewish priest]], and his five sons Jochanan, [[Simon Maccabaeus|Simeon]], [[Eleazar Maccabeus|Eleazar]], [[Jonathan Maccabaeus|Jonathan]], and [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] led a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated.
The festival of Hanukkah was instituted by [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah Maccabee]] and his brothers to celebrate this event.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#59 1 Macc. iv. 59]</ref> After recovering Jerusalem and the Temple, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. But 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 by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

[[Image:Hanukkah2.jpg|thumb|right|Hanukkah lamp unearthed near [[Jerusalem]], c. 1900.]]
The version of the story in 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, states that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was proclaimed upon rededication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of the oil.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#36 1 Macc. iv. 36]</ref> A number of historians believe that the reason for the eight day celebration was that the first Hanukkah was in effect a belated celebration of the festivals of [[Sukkot]] and [[Shemini Atzeret]].<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA10.HTM#6 Macc. x. 6] and [http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA1.HTM#9 i. 9]</ref> During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret properly; the combined festivals also last eight days, and the Sukkot festivities featured the lighting of lamps in the Temple (Suk.v. 2-4). The historian [[Josephus]]<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+12.287]
''Jewish Antiquities'' xii. 7, § 7, #323</ref> mentions the eight-day festival and its customs, but does not tell us the origin of the eight day lighting custom. Given that his audience was Hellenized Romans, perhaps his silence on the origin of the eight-day custom is due to its miraculous nature. In any event, he does report that lights were kindled in the household and the popular name of the festival was, therefore the "Festival of Lights" ("And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights").

It has also been noted that the number eight has special significance in Jewish theology, as representing transcendence and the Jewish People's special role in human history. Seven is the number of days of creation, that is, of completion of the material cosmos, and also of the classical planets. Eight, being one step beyond seven, represents the Infinite. Hence, the Eighth Day of the Assembly festival, mentioned above, is according to Jewish Law a festival for Jews only (unlike Sukkot, when all peoples were welcome in Jerusalem). Similarly, the rite of [[brit milah]] (circumcision), which brings a Jewish male into God's Covenant, is performed on the eighth day. Hence, Hanukkah's eight days (in celebration of monotheistic morality's victory over Hellenistic humanism) have great symbolic importance for practicing Jews.

==Hanukkah rituals==
[[Image:Hanukkah1.jpg|thumb|right|Various menorot used for Hanukkah. 12th through 19th century, CE]]

Hanukkah is celebrated by a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the 8-day holiday. Some are family-based and others are communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals. Hanukkah is not a "Sabbath-like" holiday, and there is no obligation to refrain from [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|activities that are forbidden on the Sabbath]], as specified in the ''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]''<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 670:1</ref> People go to work as usual, but may leave early in order to be home to kindle the lights at nightfall. There is no religious reason for schools to be closed, although, in Israel, schools close for the whole week of Hanukkah. Many families exchange gifts each night, and fried foods are eaten.

===Kindling the Hanukkah lights===
:{{seealso|Chanukkiyah}}
The primary ritual, according to [[Halakha|Jewish law and custom]], is to light a single light each night for eight nights. As a universally practiced "beautification" of the [[mitzvah]], the number of lights lit is increased by one each night.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 671:2</ref> An extra light called a ''shamash'', meaning ''guard'' or ''servant'' is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. This differs from [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] candles which are meant to be used for illumination. Hence, if one were to need extra illumination on Hanukkah, the ''shamash'' candle would be available and one would avoid using the prohibited lights. Some light the ''shamash'' candle first and then use it to light the others.<ref name = "lonorw">''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 673:1</ref> So all together, including the ''shamash'', two lights are lit on the first night, three on the second and so on, ending with nine on the last night, for a total of 44.

[[Image:Tiffany glasswork Hanukkah menora02.jpg|thumb|A modern [[Lead came and copper foil glasswork|"Tiffany"]] Hanukkah menorah]]
The lights can be candles or oil lamps.<ref name = "lonorw"/> Electric lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room. Most Jewish homes have a special [[candelabrum]] or oil lamp holder for Hanukkah, which holds eight lights plus the additional ''shamash'' light.

The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without," so that passers-by should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle. Accordingly lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street. It is customary amongst some Ashkenazim to have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), whereas most Sephardim light one for the whole household. Only when there was danger of [[Anti-Semitism|anti-semitic persecution]] were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the case in [[Iran|Persia]] under the rule of the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]], or in parts of Europe before and during World War II. However, most [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] groups, light lamps near an inside doorway, not necessarily in public view. According to this tradition, the lamps are placed on the opposite side from the ''[[mezuzah]]'', so that when one passes through the door he is surrounded by the holiness of ''mitzvoth''.

[[Image:Maurice Ascalon Menorah Pal-Bell.jpg|thumb|left|Bronze [[Pal-Bell]] oil-burning Hanukkah menorah from Israel circa 1948, by [[Maurice Ascalon]].]]

===Time of lighting===
Hanukkah lights should burn for at least one half hour after it gets dark. The custom of the [[Vilna Gaon]] observed by many residents of Jerusalem as the custom of the city, is to light at sundown, although most Hassidim light later, even in Jerusalem. Many Hasidic Rebbes light much later, because they fulfill the obligation of publicizing the miracle by the presence of their Hasidim when they kindle the lights. Inexpensive small wax candles sold for Hanukkah burn for approximately half an hour, so on most days this requirement can be met by lighting the candles when it is dark outside. Friday night presents a problem, however. Since candles may not be lit on the [[Shabbat]] itself, the candles must be lit before sunset. However, they must remain lit until the regular time - thirty minutes after nightfall - and inexpensive Hanukkah candles do not burn long enough to meet the requirement. A simple solution is to use longer candles, or the traditional oil lamps. In keeping with the above-stated prohibition, the Hanukkah menorah is lit first, followed by the Shabbat candles which signify its onset.

=== Blessings over the candles ===
[[Image:Skulen2.JPG|thumb|Grand Rabbi [[Israel Abraham Portugal]] of [[Skulen (Hasidic dynasty)|Skulen]] [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]] lighting Hanukkah lights]]
Typically three blessings (''Brachot'' singular ''Brachah'') are recited during this eight-day festival. On the first night of Hanukkah, Jews recite all three blessings, on all subsequent nights, they recite only the first two.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:1-2</ref> The blessings are said before or after the candles are lit depending on tradition. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle, lamp, or electric) is lit on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first candle and so on, proceeding from right to left each night.

For the full text of the blessings, see [[List of Jewish prayers and blessings#Hanukkah|List of Jewish prayers and blessings: Hanukkah]]

==== ''Hanerot Halalu'' ====
During or after the lights are kindled the hymn ''Hanerot Halalu'' is recited. There are several differing versions - the version presented here is recited in many Ashkenazic communities:<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:4</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan=2 | [[Ashkenazi]]c version:
|-
! Transliteration
! English
|-
| Hanneirot hallalu anachnu madlikin 'al hannissim ve'al hanniflaot 'al hatteshu'ot ve'al hammilchamot she'asita laavoteinu bayyamim haheim, (u)bazzeman hazeh 'al yedei kohanekha hakkedoshim. Vekhol-shemonat yemei Hanukkah hanneirot hallalu kodesh heim, ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtammesh baheim ella lir'otam bilvad kedei lehodot ul'halleil leshimcha haggadol 'al nissekha ve'al nifleotekha ve'al yeshu'otekha
| We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your [[Kohen|holy priests]]. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them except for to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations.
|-
|}

==== ''Maoz Tzur'' ====
{{main|Ma'oz Tzur}}
Each night after the lighting of the candles, while remaining within sight of the candles, Ashkenazim (and, in recent decades, some Sephardim and Mizrahim in Western countries) usually sing the hymn ''Ma'oz Tzur'' written in Medieval [[Germany]]. The song contains six stanzas. The first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation, and the middle four deal with events of persecution in [[Jewish history]], and praises God for survival despite these tragedies ([[the exodus]] from Egypt, the [[Babylonian captivity]], the miracle of the holiday of [[Purim]], and the [[Hasmonean]] victory).

====Other customs====
After lighting the candles and Ma'oz Tzur, singing various other Hanukkah songs is customary in many Jewish homes. Various Hasidic and Sefardic traditions have additional prayers that are recited both before and after lighting the Hanukkah lights. This includes the recitation of many Psalms, most notably Psalms 30, 67, and 91 (many Hasidim recite Psalm 91 seven times after lighting the lamps, as was taught by the [[Baal Shem Tov]]), as well as other prayers and hymns, each congregation according to its own custom. In North America it is common to exchange presents or give children presents at this time.

=== Additions to the daily prayers ===
{{quote box|align=left|width=45%|quote="We thank You also for the miraculous deeds and for the redemption and for the mighty deeds and the saving acts wrought by You, as well as for the wars which You waged for our ancestors in ancient days at this season. In the days of the Hasmonean Mattathias, son of Johanan the high priest, and his sons, when the iniquitous Greco-Syrian kingdom rose up against Your people Israel, to make them forget Your Torah and to turn them away from the ordinances of Your will, then You in your abundant mercy rose up for them in the time of their trouble, pled their cause, executed judgment, avenged their wrong, and delivered the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and insolent ones into the hands of those occupied with Your Torah. Both unto Yourself did you make a great and holy name in Thy world, and unto Your people did You achieve a great deliverance and redemption. Whereupon your children entered the sanctuary of Your house, cleansed Your temple, purified Your sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courts, and appointed these eight days of Hanukkah in order to give thanks and praises unto Your holy name."|source=Translation of ''Al ha-Nissim''}}
An addition is made to the "''hoda'ah''" (thanksgiving) benediction in the [[Amidah]], called ''Al ha-Nissim'' ("On/about the Miracles").<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 682:1</ref> This addition refers to the victory achieved over the Syrians by the Hasmonean Mattathias and his sons.

The same prayer is added to the grace after meals. In addition, the ''[[Hallel]]'' Psalms are sung during each morning service and the ''[[Tachanun]]'' penitential prayers are omitted. The Torah is read every day in the [[synagogue]], the first day beginning from [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 6:22 (According to some customs, Numbers 7:1), and the last day ending with Numbers 8:4.

Since Hanukkah lasts eight days it includes at least one, and sometimes two, [[Shabbat|Jewish Sabbaths]] (Saturdays). The weekly [[Parsha|Torah portion]] for the first Sabbath is almost always ''[[Miketz]]'', telling of [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]]'s dream and his enslavement in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]. The ''[[Haftarah]]'' reading for the first Sabbath Hanukkah is [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]] 2:14-4:7. When there is a second Sabbath on Hanukkah, the ''Haftarah'' reading is from [[I Kings]] 7:40 - 7:50.

The Hanukkah ''menorah'' is also kindled daily in the synagogue, at night with the blessings and in the morning without the blessings. The menorah is not lit on the Sabbath, but rather prior to the beginning of the Sabbath at night and not at all during the day.

During the [[Middle Ages]] "[[Megillat Antiochus]]" was read in the [[Italian Jews#Italian rite Jews|Italian]] [[synagogues]] on Hanukkah just as the [[Book of Esther]] is read on [[Purim]]. It still forms part of the liturgy of the [[Yemenite Jews]].<ref name = "pvgsyw"/>

=== ''Zot Hanukkah'' ===
The last day of Hanukkah is known as ''Zot Hanukkah'', from the verse in the Book of Numbers 7:84 "''Zot Chanukat Hamizbe'ach''" - "This was the dedication of the altar", which is read on this day in the synagogue. According to the teachings of [[Kabbalah]] and [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]], this day is the final "seal" of the High Holiday season of [[Yom Kippur]], and is considered a time to repent out of love for God. In this spirit, many Hasidic Jews wish each other "''Gmar chatimah tovah''", "may you be sealed totally for good", a traditional greeting for the Yom Kippur season. It is taught in Hasidic and Kabbalistic literature that this day is particularly auspicious for the fulfillment of prayers.

==Judith and Holofernes==
[[Image:Cristofano Allori 002.jpg|thumb|left|''Judith with the head of Holofernes'' by Cristofano Allori]]

Eating dairy foods, especially cheese, on Hanukkah is a minor custom that has its roots in the story of Judith, as related in the book of [[Judith]] (''Yehudit'' or ''Yehudis'' in Hebrew). [[Holofernes]], an Assyrian general, had surrounded the village of Bethulia as part of his campaign to conquer Judea. After intense fighting, the water supply of the Jews is cut off and the situation became desperate. Judith, a pious widow, told the city leaders that she had a plan to save the city. Judith went to the Assyrian camps and pretended to surrender. She met Holofernes, who was smitten by her beauty. She went back to his tent with him, where she plied him with cheese and wine. When he fell into a drunken sleep, Judith beheaded him and escaped from the camp, taking the severed head with her. When Holofernes' soldiers found his corpse, they were overcome with fear; the Jews, on the other hand, were emboldened, and launched a successful counterattack. The town was saved, and the Assyrians defeated.

Many argue {{who}} that Holofernes was actually Greek, placing the events in the general time-frame of Hanukkah. The longstanding tradition that Judith was the daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, and consequently a sister of Mattathias the Hasmonean and an aunt of Judah the Maccabee, is how this story came to be associated with Hanukkah. There are many depictions of Judith and Holofernes in painting.

==Interaction with modernity and with other traditions==

The classical rabbis downplayed the military and nationalistic dimensions of Hanukkah, and some even interpreted the emphasis upon the story of the miracle oil as a diversion away from the struggle with empires that had led to the disastrous downfall of Jerusalem to the Romans. With the advent of Zionism and the state of Israel, these themes were rapidly reconsidered. In modern Israel, Hanukkah was transformed into a celebration of military strength, a kind of antidote to what was perceived as the idea of the powerless [[Jewish diaspora|Diaspora Jew]] that the Zionists felt that the Jews in the State of Israel needed to psychologically overcome.

In North America especially, Hanukkah gained increased importance with many Jewish families in the latter half of the twentieth century, including large numbers of [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Jews]], who wanted a Jewish alternative to the [[Christmas]] celebrations that often overlap with Hanukkah. Though it was traditional to give "gelt" or money coins to children during Hanukkah, in many families this has changed into gifts in order to prevent Jewish children from feeling left out of the Christmas gift giving.

While Hanukkah traditionally speaking is only a minor Jewish holiday, as indicated by the lack of restrictions on work other than a few minutes after lighting the candles, Hanukkah has taken a place equal to Passover as a symbol of Jewish identity. Both the Israeli and North American versions of Hanukkah emphasize resistance, focusing on some combination of national liberation and religious freedom as the defining meaning of the holiday.

===Green Hanukkah===

Some Jews in North America and Israel have taken up environmental concerns in relation to Hanukkah's "miracle of the oil", emphasizing reflection on energy conservation and energy independence. An example of this is the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life's renewable energy campaign.<ref>[http://www.shalomctr.org/node/1315 Shalom Center on Hannukah and the environment]</ref> <ref>[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546797524&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Jerusalem Post: Green Hanukkia' campaign sparks ire]</ref> <ref>[http://www.coejl.org/climatechange/CFLceremony.php Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL): Green Hannukah ceremony]</ref>

==Hanukkah music==
{{main|Hanukkah music}}
There are several songs associated with the festival of Hanukkah. The most well known in English-speaking countries include "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" and "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah." In Israel, Hanukkah has become something of a national holiday. A large number of songs have been written on Hanukkah themes, perhaps more so than for any other Jewish holiday. Some of the most well known are "''Hanukkiah Li Yesh''" ("I Have a Hanukkah Menora"), "''Kad Katan''" ("A Small Jug"), "''S'vivon Sov Sov Sov''" ("Dreidel, Spin and Spin"), "''Mi Yimalel''" (Who can Retell") and "''Ner Li, Ner Li''" ("I have a Candle").

==Hanukkah foods==
[[Image:sufganiyah.jpeg|thumb|right|Sufganiyot with jelly]]
[[Potato pancakes]], known as [[latke]]s in [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], are traditionally associated with Hanukkah, especially among Ashkenazi families. There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil (preferably olive oil), as the original miracle of the Hanukkah menorah involved the discovery of the small flask of oil used by the Jewish High Priest, the [[Kohen Gadol]]. This small batch of olive oil was only supposed to last one day, and instead it lasted eight.

Many Sephardic families as well as [[History of Jews in Poland|Polish]] Ashkenazim and [[Israel]] have the custom of eating all kinds of fruit-filled [[doughnut]]s ({{lang-yi|פאנטשקעס ''pontshkes''}}), ([[bimuelos]], or [[sufganiyah|sufganiyot]]) which are [[Frying|deep-fried]] in oil, and of course all Kosher foods.

==Hanukkah games==
===Dreidel===
{{main|Dreidel}}
[[Image:Dreidel 001.jpg|thumb|right|Dreidel]]
The ''dreidel'', or ''sevivon'' in Hebrew, is a four-sided spinning top that children play with on Hanukkah. Each side is imprinted with a Hebrew letter. These letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words, נס גדול היה שם, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''S'''ham''—"A great miracle happened there" (referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Beit Hamikdash]]).

*נ ''([[Nun (letter)|Nun]])''
*ג ''([[Gimel (letter)|Gimel]])''
*ה ''([[He (letter)|Hey]])''
*ש ''([[Shin (letter)|Shin]])''

In [[Israel|Eretz Yisroel]], the fourth side of most dreidels is inscribed with the letter פ ''([[Pe (letter)|Pe]])'', rendering the acronym, נס גדול היה פה, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''P'''o''—"A great miracle happened here" referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel. Some stores in [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] neighbourhoods may sell the traditional ''Shin'' dreidels.

Some Jewish commentators ascribe symbolic significance to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects the four letters with the four exiles to which the nation of Israel was historically subject—Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome.<ref>[http://www.ohr.org.il/yhiy/article.php/1309 Ohr Somayach :: Chanukah :: The Secret of the Dreidel]</ref>

After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, it is customary in many homes to play the dreidel game: Each player starts out with 10 or 15 coins (real or of chocolate), nuts, raisins, candies or other markers, and places one marker in the "pot." The first player spins the dreidel, and depending on which side the dreidel falls on, either wins a marker from the pot or gives up part of his stash. The code (based on a [[Yiddish Language|Yiddish]] version of the game) is as follows:
*Nun - ''nisht'' - "nothing" - nothing happens and the next player spins
*Gimel - ''gants'' - "all" - the player takes the entire pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtel ayn'' - "put in" - the player puts one marker in the pot

Another version differs:
*Nun - ''nim'' - "take" - the player takes one from the pot
*Gimel - ''gib'' - "give" - the player puts one in the pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtil'' - "still" (as in "stillness") - nothing happens and the next player spins

The game may last until one person has won everything.

Some say the dreidel game is played to commemorate a game devised by the Jews to camouflage the fact that they were [[Torah study|studying Torah]], which was outlawed by Greeks. The Jews would gather in caves to study, posting a lookout to alert the group to the presence of Greek soldiers. If soldiers were spotted, the Jews would hide their scrolls and spin tops, so the Greeks thought they were gambling, not learning.

===Hanukkah ''gelt''===
Hanukkah ''gelt'' ([[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] for "money") is often distributed to children to enhance their enjoyment of the holiday. The amount is usually in small coins, although grandparents or other relatives may give larger sums as an official Hanukkah gift. In Israel, Hanukkah ''gelt'' is known as ''dmei Hanukkah''. Many Hasidic [[Rebbe]]s distribute coins to those who visit them during Hanukkah. Hasidic Jews consider this to be an auspicious blessing from the Rebbe, and a ''[[segulah]]'' for success.

Twentieth-century [[United States|American]] [[chocolatier]]s picked up on the gift/coin concept by creating [[chocolate money|chocolate ''gelt'']].

==Alternative spellings based on transliterating Hebrew letters==
In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], the word Hanukkah is written '''{{lang|he|חנֻכה}}''' or '''{{lang|he|חנוכה}}'''. It is most commonly transliterated to English as ''Chanukah'' or ''Hanukkah'', the latter because the sound represented by "CH" ([{{IPA|/χ/}}], similar to the [[Scots language|Scottish]] pronunciation of "[[loch]]") essentially does not exist in the modern English language. Furthermore, the letter "[[heth]]" ('''{{lang|he|ח}}'''), which is the first letter in the Hebrew spelling, is pronounced differently in modern Hebrew ([[voiceless uvular fricative]]) than in classical Hebrew ([[voiceless pharyngeal fricative]]), and neither of those sounds is unambiguously representable in English spelling. Moreover, the 'kaf' consonant is [[geminate]] in classical (but not modern) Hebrew. Adapting the classical Hebrew pronunciation with the geminate and pharyngeal Ḥeth can lead to the spelling "Hanukkah"; while adapting the modern Hebrew pronunciation with no geminate and velar Ḥeth leads to the spelling "Chanukah". Variations include:
[[Image:Hanukkah.png|right|thumb|Spelling variations are due to transliteration of Hebrew ''Chet Nun Vav Kaf Hey'']]

===Common variants===
* Hanukkah (in North America, Australia - also very common in UK)
* Chanukkah (in the UK, also common in North America)

===YIVO variant===
* Khanike ([[YIVO]] standard [[transliteration]] from the Yiddish and/or Ashkenazic [[pronunciation]] of the Hebrew)

== Background ==
===Chronology===

*198 BCE: Armies of the Seleucid King [[Antiochus III]] (Antiochus the Great) oust [[Ptolemy V Epiphanes|Ptolemy V]] from Judea and Samaria.
*175 BCE: [[Antiochus IV]] (Epiphanes) ascends the Seleucid throne.
*168 BCE: Under the reign of Antiochus IV, the Temple is looted, Jews are massacred, and [[Judaism]] is outlawed.
*167 BCE: Antiochus orders an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. Mattathias, and his five sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah lead a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah becomes known as Judah Maccabe (Judah The Hammer).
*166 BCE: Mattathias dies, and Judah takes his place as leader. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom begins; It lasts until 63 BCE
*165 BCE: The Jewish revolt against the [[Seleucid]] monarchy is successful. The Temple is liberated and rededicated (Hanukkah).
*142 BCE: Establishment of the Second Jewish Commonwealth. The Seleucids recognize Jewish autonomy. The Seleucid kings have a formal overlordship, which the Hasmoneans acknowledged. This inaugurates a period of great geographical expansion, population growth, and religious, cultural and social development.
*139 BCE: The [[Roman Senate]] recognizes Jewish autonomy.
*130 BCE: Antiochus VII besieges [[Jerusalem]], but withdraws.
*131 BCE: Antiochus VII dies. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom throws off Syrian rule completely
*96 BCE: An eight year civil war begins.
*83 BCE: Consolidation of the Kingdom in territory east of the [[Jordan River]].
*63 BCE: The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an end due to rivalry between the brothers [[Aristobulus II]] and [[Hyrcanus II]], both of whom appeal to the [[Roman Republic]] to intervene and settle the power struggle on their behalf. The Roman general [[Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus]] (Pompey the Great) is dispatched to the area. Twelve thousand Jews are massacred as Romans enter Jerusalem. The Priests of the Temple are struck down at the Altar. Rome annexes Judea.

===Battles of the Maccabean revolt===
{{main|Maccabees}}
There were a number of key battles between the Maccabees and the Seleucid Syrian-Greeks:

:''Listed alphabetically'':

*[[Battle of Adasa]] ([[Judas Maccabeus]] leads the Jews to victory against the forces of Nicanor.)
*[[Battle of Beth Horon]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the forces of Seron.)
*[[Battle of Beth-zechariah]] (Elazar the Maccabee is killed in battle. Lysias has success in battle against the Maccabess, but allows them temporary freedom of worship.)
*[[Battle of Beth Zur]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the army of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]], recapturing Jerusalem.)
*[[Dathema]] (A Jewish fortress saved by Judas Maccabeus.)
*[[Battle of Elasa]] (Judas Maccabeus dies in battle against the army of [[Demetrius I Soter|King Demetrius]] and [[Bacchides (general)|Bacchides]]. He is succeeded by [[Jonathan Maccabaeus]] and [[Simon Maccabaeus]] who continue to lead the Jews in battle.)
*[[Battle of Emmaus]] (Judas Maccabeus fights the forces of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]] and [[Gorgias (Syrian general)|Georgias]]).
*[[Battle of Wadi Haramia]].

==When Hanukkah occurs==
{{further|[[Jewish holidays 2000-2050]]}}

The dates of Hanukkah are determined by the [[Hebrew calendar]]. Hanukkah begins at the 25th day of [[Kislev]] and concludes on the 2nd or 3rd day of [[Tevet]] (Kislev can have 29 or 30 days). The Jewish day begins at sunset, whereas the [[Gregorian calendar]] begins the day at midnight. So, the first day of Hanukkah actually begins at sunset of the day immediately before the date noted on Gregorian calendars.

===Hanukkah according to the Gregorian calendar===
Hanukkah begins at sundown on the evening before the date shown.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
*[[December 22]], [[2000]]
*[[December 10]], [[2001]]
*[[November 30]], [[2002]]
*[[December 20]], [[2003]]
*[[December 8]], [[2004]]
*[[December 26]], [[2005]]
*[[December 16]], [[2006]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 5]], [[2007]]
*[[December 22]], [[2008]]
*[[December 12]], [[2009]]
*[[December 2]], [[2010]]
*[[December 21]], [[2011]]
*[[December 9]], [[2012]]
*[[November 28]], [[2013]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 17]], [[2014]]
*[[December 7]], [[2015]]
*[[December 25]], [[2016]]
*[[December 13]], [[2017]]
*[[December 3]], [[2018]]
*[[December 23]], [[2019]]
{{col-end}}

==See also==
{{portalpar|Judaism|Menora.svg}}
*[[Hasmonean]]
*[[Maccabees]]
*[[Jewish holiday]]s
*''[[County of Allegheny v. ACLU]]'' on the constitutionality of Hanukkah displays on public property in the U.S.
*[[Hanukkah bush]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{commonscat|Hanukkah}}
=== General ===
* [http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default.asp Hanukkah guide on chabad.org]
* [http://www.untitledtheater.com/Plays_About_Hanukkah.html Plays about Hanukkah]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=77|type=Shiurim}}
* [http://www.akhlah.com/holidays/hanukkah/hanukkah.php Hanukkah for Children]

=== Songs ===
* [http://liturgy.exc.com/Songsheets/Hanukah.cgi Hanukkah songsheets]
* [http://www.hebrewsongs.com/chanukah.htm Hanukkah songs]

=== Recipes ===
* [http://www.rd.com/content/cherished-hanukkah-recipes-to-share/ Traditional Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://kosherfood.about.com/od/hanukkah/Hanukkah_Recipes_Kosher_Jewish_Holiday_Food.htm About Kosher Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.wiki-recipe.org/index.php?title=Category:Hanukkah Wiki-Recipe.org Hanukkah recipes]

=== Photos ===
* [http://otzarstock.com/store/search.php?search=hanuka+hanukah+hanukka+hanukkah+chanuka+chanukah+chanukka+chanukkah+חנוכה+menorah+menorah+מנורה+dreidel+סביבון+candle+donut+סופגניה+&match_type=any Hanukkah Photos]

=== Video ===
* [http://www.aish.com/pathways/externallinks/videolink_chanukah.asp Video: Lighting Hanukkah Menorah How-To]
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3174713748168758247&q=satmar The Grand Rabbi of Satmar lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]

{{Hanukkah Footer}}
{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}


[[Category:Hanukkah| ]]
[[Category:Jewish holy days]]



[[ar:حانوكا]]
[[bg:Ханука]]
[[ca:Hanukà]]
[[cs:Chanuka]]
[[da:Chanukka]]
[[de:Chanukka]]
[[es:Jánuca]]
[[eo:Ĥanuka]]
[[fa:حنوکا]]
[[fr:Hanoucca]]
[[gl:Hanuka]]
[[ko:하누카]]
[[hi:हनुका]]
[[hr:Hanuka]]
[[id:Hari raya Pentahbisan]]
[[it:Chanukah]]
[[he:חנוכה]]
[[la:Encaenia]]
[[hu:Hanuka]]
[[ms:Hanukkah]]
[[nl:Chanoeka]]
[[ja:ハヌカー]]
[[no:Hanukka]]
[[nn:Hanukká]]
[[oc:Khanuca]]
[[pl:Chanuka]]
[[pt:Chanucá]]
[[ro:Hanuka]]
[[ru:Ханука]]
[[sk:Chanuka]]
[[sr:Ханука]]
[[fi:Hanukka]]
[[sv:Chanukka]]
[[tl:Pista ng Pagtatalaga]]
[[vi:Hanukkah]]
[[tr:Hanuka]]
[[uk:Ханука]]
[[yi:חנוכה]]
[[zh-yue:修殿節]]
[[zh:光明节]]

Hanukkah

2008-12-19T19:39:53Z

Dbratton: /* Mishna */ ce

{{pp-semi-vandalism|small=yes|expiry=00:00, 30 December 2008 (UTC)}}
{{for|the Khazar ruler|Hanukkah ben Obadiah}}
{{distinguish|Hanneke}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image = Chanukia.jpg
|caption = A Hanukkah [[menorah]]
|holiday_name = Hanukkah
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''חֲנֻכָּה''' or '''חנוכה''' [[English language|English]] translation: "Establishing/Dedication" (of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]])
|nickname = Festival of Lights, Festival of Dedication
|observedby = [[Jew]]s
|begins = 25 [[Kislev]]
|ends = 2 [[Tevet]] or 3 [[Tevet]]
|celebrations = Lighting [[candle]]s each night. Singing special songs, such as [[Ma'oz Tzur]]. Reciting [[Hallel]] prayer. Eating festive meals and foods fried in oil, such as [[latke]]s and [[sufganiyot]]. Playing the ''[[Hanukkah#Dreidel|dreidel]]'' game, and giving [[Hanukkah#Hanukkah gelt|Hanukkah ''gelt'']]
|type = Jewish
|significance = The [[Maccabees]] successfully rebelled against [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]]. The Temple was purified and the wicks of the menorah miraculously burned for eight days.
|relatedto = [[Purim]], as a [[rabbi]]nically decreed holiday.
|date2008 = sunset, [[December 21]] to sunset, [[December 29]] The first Day of Hanukkah is December 22.
|date2009 = sunset, [[December 11]] to sunset, [[December 19]]
|date2010 = sunset, [[December 1]] to sunset, [[December 9]]
}}
'''Hanukkah''' ({{lang-he|חנוכה}}, {{IPA-all|'χanuka}}, alt. '''Chanukah'''), also known as the '''Festival of Lights''', is an eight-day [[Jewish holiday]] commemorating the rededication of the [[Second Temple]] in [[Jerusalem]] at the time of the [[Maccabean Revolt]] of the [[2nd century BCE]]. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of [[Kislev]] according to the [[Hebrew calendar]], and may occur from late November to late December on the [[Gregorian calendar]].

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a special [[candelabrum]], the ''[[Menorah (Hanukkah)|Menorah]]'' or ''Hanukiah'', one light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a ''[[Shamash#Shamash in Judaism|shamash]]'', ([[Hebrew (language)|Hebrew]]: "guard" or "servant") is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the [[Talmud]] (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. (The shamash is used to light the other lights.)

Hanukkah is mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] or [[Biblical apocrypha|apocrypha books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

==Origins of the holiday==
"Hanukkah," from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", marks the re-dedication of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] after its desecration by the forces of [[Antiochus IV]] and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil." According to the [[Talmud]], at the re-dedication following the victory of the [[Maccabees]] over the [[Seleucid Empire]], there was only enough consecrated [[olive oil]] to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

The martyrdom of Hannah and her seven sons has also been linked to Hanukkah. According to the Talmudic story<ref>Talmud Gittin 57b tells a story of a woman and her seven sons killed by "Caesar". The name "Hannah" is not stated.</ref> and [[2 Maccabees]], a Jewish woman named Hannah and her seven sons were tortured and executed by [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes|Antiochus]] for refusing to worship an idol, which would have been a violation of [[613 Mitzvot|Jewish law]].

===Name===
The name "Hanukkah" is interpreted in many ways.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://innernet.org.il/article.php?aid=11|title=Origin of the Name Chanukah|first=Nosson|last=Scherman|publisher=ArtScroll}}</ref>
*Some scholars say the word was derived from the Hebrew verb "חנך" meaning "to dedicate" or to "educate." On Hanukkah, Jews mark the rededication of the House of the Lord.<ref>[[Maharsha]] on [[Talmud]] [[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]] 21b</ref>

*Others argue that the name can be broken down into "חנו", from the Hebrew word for encampment, and the Hebrew letters כ"ה, which stand for the 25th day of Kislev, the day on which the holiday begins: Hence, the Jews sat in their camp, that is, they rested fighting, on the 25th day of Kislev.<ref>[[Nissim of Gerona|Ran]] on [[Isaac Alfasi|Rif]] 9b</ref>

*Hanukkah is also the Hebrew [[acronym]] for "ח' נרות והלכה כבית הלל" meaning "eight candles as determined by [[Hillel the Elder|House of Hillel]]" This is a reference to the disagreement between two rabbinical schools of thought - Hillel and the [[Shammai|House of Shammai]] - on the proper way to light Hanukkah candles. Shammai said that eight candles should be lit from the start, and reduced by one candle every night, whereas Hillel argued in favor of starting with one candle and lighting an additional one every night. Jewish law adopted the position of Hillel.

== Historical sources ==

=== Mishna ===
{{see also2|[[Mishna#Omissions|Mishna Omissions]]}}

The story of Hanukkah, along with its laws and customs, is entirely missing from the [[Mishna]] outside of a single passing reference.<ref>A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice By Isaac Klein p.227</ref> [[Nissim_Ben_Jacob|Rav Nissim Gaon]] postulates in his Hakdamah Le'mafteach Hatalmud that information on the holiday is commonplace to the point that Rabbinical explanation is unnecessary. Reuvain Margolies suggests that as the Mishnah was redacted after the Bar Kochba revolt, authors could not have included discussion of Hanukkah as the Roman occupiers would not have tolerated this such overt nationalism.

=== In the Talmud ===
The miracle of Hanukkah is described in the [[Talmud]]. The [[Gemara]], in tractate ''Shabbat 2'' focuses on [[Shabbat]] candles and moves to Hanukkah candles and says that after the forces of Antiochus IV had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was still [[seal (device)|seal]]ed by the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, and miraculously, that oil burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready). <ref>http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Talmud/shabbat2.html</ref>

The Talmud presents three options:
#The law requires only one light each night per household,
#A better practice is to light one light each night for each member of the household
#The most preferred practise is to vary the number of lights each night.
There was a dispute among the sages over how the last option was to be performed: either display eight lamps on the first night of the festival, and reduce the number on each successive night; or begin with one lamp the first night, increasing the number till the eighth night. The followers of [[Shammai]] favored the former custom; the followers of [[Hillel the Elder|Hillel]] advocated the latter. As is the case in most such disputes, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] followed Hillel. Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one's door or in the window closest to the street. [[Rashi]], in a note to ''Shabbat 21b,'' says their purpose is to publicize the miracle. Hanukkah is also mentioned in the (older) [[Mishnah]] (TB [[Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah]] 30b).

===In the Septuagint and other sources===
The story of Hanukkah is alluded to in the book of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]] of the [[Septuagint]] but Hanukkah is not specially mentioned; rather, a story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 ''et seq'' according to which the relighting of the altar fire by [[Nehemiah]] was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabeus.

The Books of Maccabees are not part of the [[Tanakh]] ([[Hebrew Bible]]), but are part of [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] historical and religious material preserved in the [[Septuagint]]. The Tanakh ends with the consequences following the events of [[Purim]], and had already been codified many centuries earlier by the [[Great Assembly|Men of the Great Assembly]] (''Anshei Knesset HaGedolah'').

Another source is the [[Megillat Antiochus]]. This work (also known as "Megillat HaHasmonaim", or "Megillat Hanukkah") is in both [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]; the Hebrew version is a literal translation from the Aramaic original. Recent scholarship dates it to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th Centuries, probably in the 2nd Century,<ref>{{cite web|first=Benjamin|last=Zvieli|title=The Scroll of Antiochus|url= http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html| accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> with the Hebrew dating to the seventh century.<ref name = "pvgsyw"> [http://customerservant.com/2006/12/16/the-scroll-of-the-hasmoneans/ The Scroll Of The Hasmoneans] </ref> It was published for the first time in [[Mantua]] in 1557. [[Saadia Gaon]], who translated it into [[Arabic language| Arabic]] in the 9th Century, ascribed it to the Maccabees themselves, disputed by some, since it gives dates as so many years before the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE.<ref> [http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html The Scroll of Antiochus] </ref> The Hebrew text with an English translation can be found in the [[Siddur]] of [[Philip Birnbaum]].

== The story ==
{{see also|Hasmonean}}
Around 200 BCE Jews lived as an autonomous people in the [[Land of Israel]], also referred to as [[Judea]], which at that time was controlled by the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] [[Seleucid dynasty|king of Syria]]. The Jewish people paid taxes to Syria and accepted its legal authority, and they were free to follow their own faith, maintain their own jobs, and engage in trade.

By 175 BCE [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]] ascended to the Seleucid throne. At first little changed, but under his reign, the Temple in [[Jerusalem]] was looted, Jews were massacred, and [[Judaism]] was effectively outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. As was the normal practice of the [[Ancient Greek religion|Hellenic religion]] when sacrificing to the [[Greek gods]], [[pig]]s were sacrificed on the altar to Zeus.

Many modern scholars argue that the king may have been intervening in an internal civil war between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized elite Jews in Jerusalem. These competed violently over who would be the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like [[Onias III|Onias]] overthrown by Hellenizers with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus. As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times, banned the traditional religion of a whole people.<ref>Tchrikover, Victor. ''Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews''.</ref>

Antiochus' actions proved to be a major miscalculation as they provoked a large-scale revolt. [[Mattathias]], a [[Kohen|Jewish priest]], and his five sons Jochanan, [[Simon Maccabaeus|Simeon]], [[Eleazar Maccabeus|Eleazar]], [[Jonathan Maccabaeus|Jonathan]], and [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] led a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated.
The festival of Hanukkah was instituted by [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah Maccabee]] and his brothers to celebrate this event.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#59 1 Macc. iv. 59]</ref> After recovering Jerusalem and the Temple, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. But 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 by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

[[Image:Hanukkah2.jpg|thumb|right|Hanukkah lamp unearthed near [[Jerusalem]], c. 1900.]]
The version of the story in 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, states that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was proclaimed upon rededication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of the oil.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#36 1 Macc. iv. 36]</ref> A number of historians believe that the reason for the eight day celebration was that the first Hanukkah was in effect a belated celebration of the festivals of [[Sukkot]] and [[Shemini Atzeret]].<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA10.HTM#6 Macc. x. 6] and [http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA1.HTM#9 i. 9]</ref> During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret properly; the combined festivals also last eight days, and the Sukkot festivities featured the lighting of lamps in the Temple (Suk.v. 2-4). The historian [[Josephus]]<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+12.287]
''Jewish Antiquities'' xii. 7, § 7, #323</ref> mentions the eight-day festival and its customs, but does not tell us the origin of the eight day lighting custom. Given that his audience was Hellenized Romans, perhaps his silence on the origin of the eight-day custom is due to its miraculous nature. In any event, he does report that lights were kindled in the household and the popular name of the festival was, therefore the "Festival of Lights" ("And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights").

It has also been noted that the number eight has special significance in Jewish theology, as representing transcendence and the Jewish People's special role in human history. Seven is the number of days of creation, that is, of completion of the material cosmos, and also of the classical planets. Eight, being one step beyond seven, represents the Infinite. Hence, the Eighth Day of the Assembly festival, mentioned above, is according to Jewish Law a festival for Jews only (unlike Sukkot, when all peoples were welcome in Jerusalem). Similarly, the rite of [[brit milah]] (circumcision), which brings a Jewish male into God's Covenant, is performed on the eighth day. Hence, Hanukkah's eight days (in celebration of monotheistic morality's victory over Hellenistic humanism) have great symbolic importance for practicing Jews.

==Hanukkah rituals==
[[Image:Hanukkah1.jpg|thumb|right|Various menorot used for Hanukkah. 12th through 19th century, CE]]

Hanukkah is celebrated by a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the 8-day holiday. Some are family-based and others are communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals. Hanukkah is not a "Sabbath-like" holiday, and there is no obligation to refrain from [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|activities that are forbidden on the Sabbath]], as specified in the ''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]''<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 670:1</ref> People go to work as usual, but may leave early in order to be home to kindle the lights at nightfall. There is no religious reason for schools to be closed, although, in Israel, schools close for the whole week of Hanukkah. Many families exchange gifts each night, and fried foods are eaten.

===Kindling the Hanukkah lights===
:{{seealso|Chanukkiyah}}
The primary ritual, according to [[Halakha|Jewish law and custom]], is to light a single light each night for eight nights. As a universally practiced "beautification" of the [[mitzvah]], the number of lights lit is increased by one each night.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 671:2</ref> An extra light called a ''shamash'', meaning ''guard'' or ''servant'' is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. This differs from [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] candles which are meant to be used for illumination. Hence, if one were to need extra illumination on Hanukkah, the ''shamash'' candle would be available and one would avoid using the prohibited lights. Some light the ''shamash'' candle first and then use it to light the others.<ref name = "lonorw">''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 673:1</ref> So all together, including the ''shamash'', two lights are lit on the first night, three on the second and so on, ending with nine on the last night, for a total of 44.

[[Image:Tiffany glasswork Hanukkah menora02.jpg|thumb|A modern [[Lead came and copper foil glasswork|"Tiffany"]] Hanukkah menorah]]
The lights can be candles or oil lamps.<ref name = "lonorw"/> Electric lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room. Most Jewish homes have a special [[candelabrum]] or oil lamp holder for Hanukkah, which holds eight lights plus the additional ''shamash'' light.

The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without," so that passers-by should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle. Accordingly lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street. It is customary amongst some Ashkenazim to have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), whereas most Sephardim light one for the whole household. Only when there was danger of [[Anti-Semitism|anti-semitic persecution]] were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the case in [[Iran|Persia]] under the rule of the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]], or in parts of Europe before and during World War II. However, most [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] groups, light lamps near an inside doorway, not necessarily in public view. According to this tradition, the lamps are placed on the opposite side from the ''[[mezuzah]]'', so that when one passes through the door he is surrounded by the holiness of ''mitzvoth''.

[[Image:Maurice Ascalon Menorah Pal-Bell.jpg|thumb|left|Bronze [[Pal-Bell]] oil-burning Hanukkah menorah from Israel circa 1948, by [[Maurice Ascalon]].]]

===Time of lighting===
Hanukkah lights should burn for at least one half hour after it gets dark. The custom of the [[Vilna Gaon]] observed by many residents of Jerusalem as the custom of the city, is to light at sundown, although most Hassidim light later, even in Jerusalem. Many Hasidic Rebbes light much later, because they fulfill the obligation of publicizing the miracle by the presence of their Hasidim when they kindle the lights. Inexpensive small wax candles sold for Hanukkah burn for approximately half an hour, so on most days this requirement can be met by lighting the candles when it is dark outside. Friday night presents a problem, however. Since candles may not be lit on the [[Shabbat]] itself, the candles must be lit before sunset. However, they must remain lit until the regular time - thirty minutes after nightfall - and inexpensive Hanukkah candles do not burn long enough to meet the requirement. A simple solution is to use longer candles, or the traditional oil lamps. In keeping with the above-stated prohibition, the Hanukkah menorah is lit first, followed by the Shabbat candles which signify its onset.

=== Blessings over the candles ===
[[Image:Skulen2.JPG|thumb|Grand Rabbi [[Israel Abraham Portugal]] of [[Skulen (Hasidic dynasty)|Skulen]] [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]] lighting Hanukkah lights]]
Typically three blessings (''Brachot'' singular ''Brachah'') are recited during this eight-day festival. On the first night of Hanukkah, Jews recite all three blessings, on all subsequent nights, they recite only the first two.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:1-2</ref> The blessings are said before or after the candles are lit depending on tradition. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle, lamp, or electric) is lit on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first candle and so on, proceeding from right to left each night.

For the full text of the blessings, see [[List of Jewish prayers and blessings#Hanukkah|List of Jewish prayers and blessings: Hanukkah]]

==== ''Hanerot Halalu'' ====
During or after the lights are kindled the hymn ''Hanerot Halalu'' is recited. There are several differing versions - the version presented here is recited in many Ashkenazic communities:<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:4</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan=2 | [[Ashkenazi]]c version:
|-
! Transliteration
! English
|-
| Hanneirot hallalu anachnu madlikin 'al hannissim ve'al hanniflaot 'al hatteshu'ot ve'al hammilchamot she'asita laavoteinu bayyamim haheim, (u)bazzeman hazeh 'al yedei kohanekha hakkedoshim. Vekhol-shemonat yemei Hanukkah hanneirot hallalu kodesh heim, ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtammesh baheim ella lir'otam bilvad kedei lehodot ul'halleil leshimcha haggadol 'al nissekha ve'al nifleotekha ve'al yeshu'otekha
| We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your [[Kohen|holy priests]]. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them except for to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations.
|-
|}

==== ''Maoz Tzur'' ====
{{main|Ma'oz Tzur}}
Each night after the lighting of the candles, while remaining within sight of the candles, Ashkenazim (and, in recent decades, some Sephardim and Mizrahim in Western countries) usually sing the hymn ''Ma'oz Tzur'' written in Medieval [[Germany]]. The song contains six stanzas. The first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation, and the middle four deal with events of persecution in [[Jewish history]], and praises God for survival despite these tragedies ([[the exodus]] from Egypt, the [[Babylonian captivity]], the miracle of the holiday of [[Purim]], and the [[Hasmonean]] victory).

====Other customs====
After lighting the candles and Ma'oz Tzur, singing various other Hanukkah songs is customary in many Jewish homes. Various Hasidic and Sefardic traditions have additional prayers that are recited both before and after lighting the Hanukkah lights. This includes the recitation of many Psalms, most notably Psalms 30, 67, and 91 (many Hasidim recite Psalm 91 seven times after lighting the lamps, as was taught by the [[Baal Shem Tov]]), as well as other prayers and hymns, each congregation according to its own custom. In North America it is common to exchange presents or give children presents at this time.

=== Additions to the daily prayers ===
{{quote box|align=left|width=45%|quote="We thank You also for the miraculous deeds and for the redemption and for the mighty deeds and the saving acts wrought by You, as well as for the wars which You waged for our ancestors in ancient days at this season. In the days of the Hasmonean Mattathias, son of Johanan the high priest, and his sons, when the iniquitous Greco-Syrian kingdom rose up against Your people Israel, to make them forget Your Torah and to turn them away from the ordinances of Your will, then You in your abundant mercy rose up for them in the time of their trouble, pled their cause, executed judgment, avenged their wrong, and delivered the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and insolent ones into the hands of those occupied with Your Torah. Both unto Yourself did you make a great and holy name in Thy world, and unto Your people did You achieve a great deliverance and redemption. Whereupon your children entered the sanctuary of Your house, cleansed Your temple, purified Your sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courts, and appointed these eight days of Hanukkah in order to give thanks and praises unto Your holy name."|source=Translation of ''Al ha-Nissim''}}
An addition is made to the "''hoda'ah''" (thanksgiving) benediction in the [[Amidah]], called ''Al ha-Nissim'' ("On/about the Miracles").<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 682:1</ref> This addition refers to the victory achieved over the Syrians by the Hasmonean Mattathias and his sons.

The same prayer is added to the grace after meals. In addition, the ''[[Hallel]]'' Psalms are sung during each morning service and the ''[[Tachanun]]'' penitential prayers are omitted. The Torah is read every day in the [[synagogue]], the first day beginning from [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 6:22 (According to some customs, Numbers 7:1), and the last day ending with Numbers 8:4.

Since Hanukkah lasts eight days it includes at least one, and sometimes two, [[Shabbat|Jewish Sabbaths]] (Saturdays). The weekly [[Parsha|Torah portion]] for the first Sabbath is almost always ''[[Miketz]]'', telling of [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]]'s dream and his enslavement in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]. The ''[[Haftarah]]'' reading for the first Sabbath Hanukkah is [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]] 2:14-4:7. When there is a second Sabbath on Hanukkah, the ''Haftarah'' reading is from [[I Kings]] 7:40 - 7:50.

The Hanukkah ''menorah'' is also kindled daily in the synagogue, at night with the blessings and in the morning without the blessings. The menorah is not lit on the Sabbath, but rather prior to the beginning of the Sabbath at night and not at all during the day.

During the [[Middle Ages]] "[[Megillat Antiochus]]" was read in the [[Italian Jews#Italian rite Jews|Italian]] [[synagogues]] on Hanukkah just as the [[Book of Esther]] is read on [[Purim]]. It still forms part of the liturgy of the [[Yemenite Jews]].<ref name = "pvgsyw"/>

=== ''Zot Hanukkah'' ===
The last day of Hanukkah is known as ''Zot Hanukkah'', from the verse in the Book of Numbers 7:84 "''Zot Chanukat Hamizbe'ach''" - "This was the dedication of the altar", which is read on this day in the synagogue. According to the teachings of [[Kabbalah]] and [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]], this day is the final "seal" of the High Holiday season of [[Yom Kippur]], and is considered a time to repent out of love for God. In this spirit, many Hasidic Jews wish each other "''Gmar chatimah tovah''", "may you be sealed totally for good", a traditional greeting for the Yom Kippur season. It is taught in Hasidic and Kabbalistic literature that this day is particularly auspicious for the fulfillment of prayers.

==Judith and Holofernes==
[[Image:Cristofano Allori 002.jpg|thumb|left|''Judith with the head of Holofernes'' by Cristofano Allori]]

Eating dairy foods, especially cheese, on Hanukkah is a minor custom that has its roots in the story of Judith, as related in the book of [[Judith]] (''Yehudit'' or ''Yehudis'' in Hebrew). [[Holofernes]], an Assyrian general, had surrounded the village of Bethulia as part of his campaign to conquer Judea. After intense fighting, the water supply of the Jews is cut off and the situation became desperate. Judith, a pious widow, told the city leaders that she had a plan to save the city. Judith went to the Assyrian camps and pretended to surrender. She met Holofernes, who was smitten by her beauty. She went back to his tent with him, where she plied him with cheese and wine. When he fell into a drunken sleep, Judith beheaded him and escaped from the camp, taking the severed head with her. When Holofernes' soldiers found his corpse, they were overcome with fear; the Jews, on the other hand, were emboldened, and launched a successful counterattack. The town was saved, and the Assyrians defeated.

Many argue {{who}} that Holofernes was actually Greek, placing the events in the general time-frame of Hanukkah. The longstanding tradition that Judith was the daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, and consequently a sister of Mattathias the Hasmonean and an aunt of Judah the Maccabee, is how this story came to be associated with Hanukkah. There are many depictions of Judith and Holofernes in painting.

==Interaction with modernity and with other traditions==

The classical rabbis downplayed the military and nationalistic dimensions of Hanukkah, and some even interpreted the emphasis upon the story of the miracle oil as a diversion away from the struggle with empires that had led to the disastrous downfall of Jerusalem to the Romans. With the advent of Zionism and the state of Israel, these themes were rapidly reconsidered. In modern Israel, Hanukkah was transformed into a celebration of military strength, a kind of antidote to what was perceived as the idea of the powerless [[Jewish diaspora|Diaspora Jew]] that the Zionists felt that the Jews in the State of Israel needed to psychologically overcome.

In North America especially, Hanukkah gained increased importance with many Jewish families in the latter half of the twentieth century, including large numbers of [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Jews]], who wanted a Jewish alternative to the [[Christmas]] celebrations that often overlap with Hanukkah. Though it was traditional to give "gelt" or money coins to children during Hanukkah, in many families this has changed into gifts in order to prevent Jewish children from feeling left out of the Christmas gift giving.

While Hanukkah traditionally speaking is only a minor Jewish holiday, as indicated by the lack of restrictions on work other than a few minutes after lighting the candles, Hanukkah has taken a place equal to Passover as a symbol of Jewish identity. Both the Israeli and North American versions of Hanukkah emphasize resistance, focusing on some combination of national liberation and religious freedom as the defining meaning of the holiday.

===Green Hanukkah===

Some Jews in North America and Israel have taken up environmental concerns in relation to Hanukkah's "miracle of the oil", emphasizing reflection on energy conservation and energy independence. An example of this is the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life's renewable energy campaign.<ref>[http://www.shalomctr.org/node/1315 Shalom Center on Hannukah and the environment]</ref> <ref>[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546797524&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Jerusalem Post: Green Hanukkia' campaign sparks ire]</ref> <ref>[http://www.coejl.org/climatechange/CFLceremony.php Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL): Green Hannukah ceremony]</ref>

==Hanukkah music==
{{main|Hanukkah music}}
There are several songs associated with the festival of Hanukkah. The most well known in English-speaking countries include "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" and "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah." In Israel, Hanukkah has become something of a national holiday. A large number of songs have been written on Hanukkah themes, perhaps more so than for any other Jewish holiday. Some of the most well known are "''Hanukkiah Li Yesh''" ("I Have a Hanukkah Menora"), "''Kad Katan''" ("A Small Jug"), "''S'vivon Sov Sov Sov''" ("Dreidel, Spin and Spin"), "''Mi Yimalel''" (Who can Retell") and "''Ner Li, Ner Li''" ("I have a Candle").

==Hanukkah foods==
[[Image:sufganiyah.jpeg|thumb|right|Sufganiyot with jelly]]
[[Potato pancakes]], known as [[latke]]s in [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], are traditionally associated with Hanukkah, especially among Ashkenazi families. There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil (preferably olive oil), as the original miracle of the Hanukkah menorah involved the discovery of the small flask of oil used by the Jewish High Priest, the [[Kohen Gadol]]. This small batch of olive oil was only supposed to last one day, and instead it lasted eight.

Many Sephardic families as well as [[History of Jews in Poland|Polish]] Ashkenazim and [[Israel]] have the custom of eating all kinds of fruit-filled [[doughnut]]s ({{lang-yi|פאנטשקעס ''pontshkes''}}), ([[bimuelos]], or [[sufganiyah|sufganiyot]]) which are [[Frying|deep-fried]] in oil, and of course all Kosher foods.

==Hanukkah games==
===Dreidel===
{{main|Dreidel}}
[[Image:Dreidel 001.jpg|thumb|right|Dreidel]]
The ''dreidel'', or ''sevivon'' in Hebrew, is a four-sided spinning top that children play with on Hanukkah. Each side is imprinted with a Hebrew letter. These letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words, נס גדול היה שם, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''S'''ham''—"A great miracle happened there" (referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Beit Hamikdash]]).

*נ ''([[Nun (letter)|Nun]])''
*ג ''([[Gimel (letter)|Gimel]])''
*ה ''([[He (letter)|Hey]])''
*ש ''([[Shin (letter)|Shin]])''

In [[Israel|Eretz Yisroel]], the fourth side of most dreidels is inscribed with the letter פ ''([[Pe (letter)|Pe]])'', rendering the acronym, נס גדול היה פה, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''P'''o''—"A great miracle happened here" referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel. Some stores in [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] neighbourhoods may sell the traditional ''Shin'' dreidels.

Some Jewish commentators ascribe symbolic significance to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects the four letters with the four exiles to which the nation of Israel was historically subject—Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome.<ref>[http://www.ohr.org.il/yhiy/article.php/1309 Ohr Somayach :: Chanukah :: The Secret of the Dreidel]</ref>

After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, it is customary in many homes to play the dreidel game: Each player starts out with 10 or 15 coins (real or of chocolate), nuts, raisins, candies or other markers, and places one marker in the "pot." The first player spins the dreidel, and depending on which side the dreidel falls on, either wins a marker from the pot or gives up part of his stash. The code (based on a [[Yiddish Language|Yiddish]] version of the game) is as follows:
*Nun - ''nisht'' - "nothing" - nothing happens and the next player spins
*Gimel - ''gants'' - "all" - the player takes the entire pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtel ayn'' - "put in" - the player puts one marker in the pot

Another version differs:
*Nun - ''nim'' - "take" - the player takes one from the pot
*Gimel - ''gib'' - "give" - the player puts one in the pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtil'' - "still" (as in "stillness") - nothing happens and the next player spins

The game may last until one person has won everything.

Some say the dreidel game is played to commemorate a game devised by the Jews to camouflage the fact that they were [[Torah study|studying Torah]], which was outlawed by Greeks. The Jews would gather in caves to study, posting a lookout to alert the group to the presence of Greek soldiers. If soldiers were spotted, the Jews would hide their scrolls and spin tops, so the Greeks thought they were gambling, not learning.

===Hanukkah ''gelt''===
Hanukkah ''gelt'' ([[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] for "money") is often distributed to children to enhance their enjoyment of the holiday. The amount is usually in small coins, although grandparents or other relatives may give larger sums as an official Hanukkah gift. In Israel, Hanukkah ''gelt'' is known as ''dmei Hanukkah''. Many Hasidic [[Rebbe]]s distribute coins to those who visit them during Hanukkah. Hasidic Jews consider this to be an auspicious blessing from the Rebbe, and a ''[[segulah]]'' for success.

Twentieth-century [[United States|American]] [[chocolatier]]s picked up on the gift/coin concept by creating [[chocolate money|chocolate ''gelt'']].

==Alternative spellings based on transliterating Hebrew letters==
In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], the word Hanukkah is written '''{{lang|he|חנֻכה}}''' or '''{{lang|he|חנוכה}}'''. It is most commonly transliterated to English as ''Chanukah'' or ''Hanukkah'', the latter because the sound represented by "CH" ([{{IPA|/χ/}}], similar to the [[Scots language|Scottish]] pronunciation of "[[loch]]") essentially does not exist in the modern English language. Furthermore, the letter "[[heth]]" ('''{{lang|he|ח}}'''), which is the first letter in the Hebrew spelling, is pronounced differently in modern Hebrew ([[voiceless uvular fricative]]) than in classical Hebrew ([[voiceless pharyngeal fricative]]), and neither of those sounds is unambiguously representable in English spelling. Moreover, the 'kaf' consonant is [[geminate]] in classical (but not modern) Hebrew. Adapting the classical Hebrew pronunciation with the geminate and pharyngeal Ḥeth can lead to the spelling "Hanukkah"; while adapting the modern Hebrew pronunciation with no geminate and velar Ḥeth leads to the spelling "Chanukah". Variations include:
[[Image:Hanukkah.png|right|thumb|Spelling variations are due to transliteration of Hebrew ''Chet Nun Vav Kaf Hey'']]

===Common variants===
* Hanukkah (in North America, Australia - also very common in UK)
* Chanukkah (in the UK, also common in North America)

===YIVO variant===
* Khanike ([[YIVO]] standard [[transliteration]] from the Yiddish and/or Ashkenazic [[pronunciation]] of the Hebrew)

== Background ==
===Chronology===

*198 BCE: Armies of the Seleucid King [[Antiochus III]] (Antiochus the Great) oust [[Ptolemy V Epiphanes|Ptolemy V]] from Judea and Samaria.
*175 BCE: [[Antiochus IV]] (Epiphanes) ascends the Seleucid throne.
*168 BCE: Under the reign of Antiochus IV, the Temple is looted, Jews are massacred, and [[Judaism]] is outlawed.
*167 BCE: Antiochus orders an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. Mattathias, and his five sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah lead a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah becomes known as Judah Maccabe (Judah The Hammer).
*166 BCE: Mattathias dies, and Judah takes his place as leader. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom begins; It lasts until 63 BCE
*165 BCE: The Jewish revolt against the [[Seleucid]] monarchy is successful. The Temple is liberated and rededicated (Hanukkah).
*142 BCE: Establishment of the Second Jewish Commonwealth. The Seleucids recognize Jewish autonomy. The Seleucid kings have a formal overlordship, which the Hasmoneans acknowledged. This inaugurates a period of great geographical expansion, population growth, and religious, cultural and social development.
*139 BCE: The [[Roman Senate]] recognizes Jewish autonomy.
*130 BCE: Antiochus VII besieges [[Jerusalem]], but withdraws.
*131 BCE: Antiochus VII dies. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom throws off Syrian rule completely
*96 BCE: An eight year civil war begins.
*83 BCE: Consolidation of the Kingdom in territory east of the [[Jordan River]].
*63 BCE: The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an end due to rivalry between the brothers [[Aristobulus II]] and [[Hyrcanus II]], both of whom appeal to the [[Roman Republic]] to intervene and settle the power struggle on their behalf. The Roman general [[Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus]] (Pompey the Great) is dispatched to the area. Twelve thousand Jews are massacred as Romans enter Jerusalem. The Priests of the Temple are struck down at the Altar. Rome annexes Judea.

===Battles of the Maccabean revolt===
{{main|Maccabees}}
There were a number of key battles between the Maccabees and the Seleucid Syrian-Greeks:

:''Listed alphabetically'':

*[[Battle of Adasa]] ([[Judas Maccabeus]] leads the Jews to victory against the forces of Nicanor.)
*[[Battle of Beth Horon]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the forces of Seron.)
*[[Battle of Beth-zechariah]] (Elazar the Maccabee is killed in battle. Lysias has success in battle against the Maccabess, but allows them temporary freedom of worship.)
*[[Battle of Beth Zur]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the army of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]], recapturing Jerusalem.)
*[[Dathema]] (A Jewish fortress saved by Judas Maccabeus.)
*[[Battle of Elasa]] (Judas Maccabeus dies in battle against the army of [[Demetrius I Soter|King Demetrius]] and [[Bacchides (general)|Bacchides]]. He is succeeded by [[Jonathan Maccabaeus]] and [[Simon Maccabaeus]] who continue to lead the Jews in battle.)
*[[Battle of Emmaus]] (Judas Maccabeus fights the forces of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]] and [[Gorgias (Syrian general)|Georgias]]).
*[[Battle of Wadi Haramia]].

==When Hanukkah occurs==
{{further|[[Jewish holidays 2000-2050]]}}

The dates of Hanukkah are determined by the [[Hebrew calendar]]. Hanukkah begins at the 25th day of [[Kislev]] and concludes on the 2nd or 3rd day of [[Tevet]] (Kislev can have 29 or 30 days). The Jewish day begins at sunset, whereas the [[Gregorian calendar]] begins the day at midnight. So, the first day of Hanukkah actually begins at sunset of the day immediately before the date noted on Gregorian calendars.

===Hanukkah according to the Gregorian calendar===
Hanukkah begins at sundown on the evening before the date shown.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
*[[December 22]], [[2000]]
*[[December 10]], [[2001]]
*[[November 30]], [[2002]]
*[[December 20]], [[2003]]
*[[December 8]], [[2004]]
*[[December 26]], [[2005]]
*[[December 16]], [[2006]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 5]], [[2007]]
*[[December 22]], [[2008]]
*[[December 12]], [[2009]]
*[[December 2]], [[2010]]
*[[December 21]], [[2011]]
*[[December 9]], [[2012]]
*[[November 28]], [[2013]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 17]], [[2014]]
*[[December 7]], [[2015]]
*[[December 25]], [[2016]]
*[[December 13]], [[2017]]
*[[December 3]], [[2018]]
*[[December 23]], [[2019]]
{{col-end}}

==See also==
{{portalpar|Judaism|Menora.svg}}
*[[Hasmonean]]
*[[Maccabees]]
*[[Jewish holiday]]s
*''[[County of Allegheny v. ACLU]]'' on the constitutionality of Hanukkah displays on public property in the U.S.
*[[Hanukkah bush]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{commonscat|Hanukkah}}
=== General ===
* [http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default.asp Hanukkah guide on chabad.org]
* [http://www.untitledtheater.com/Plays_About_Hanukkah.html Plays about Hanukkah]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=77|type=Shiurim}}
* [http://www.akhlah.com/holidays/hanukkah/hanukkah.php Hanukkah for Children]

=== Songs ===
* [http://liturgy.exc.com/Songsheets/Hanukah.cgi Hanukkah songsheets]
* [http://www.hebrewsongs.com/chanukah.htm Hanukkah songs]

=== Recipes ===
* [http://www.rd.com/content/cherished-hanukkah-recipes-to-share/ Traditional Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://kosherfood.about.com/od/hanukkah/Hanukkah_Recipes_Kosher_Jewish_Holiday_Food.htm About Kosher Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.wiki-recipe.org/index.php?title=Category:Hanukkah Wiki-Recipe.org Hanukkah recipes]

=== Photos ===
* [http://otzarstock.com/store/search.php?search=hanuka+hanukah+hanukka+hanukkah+chanuka+chanukah+chanukka+chanukkah+חנוכה+menorah+menorah+מנורה+dreidel+סביבון+candle+donut+סופגניה+&match_type=any Hanukkah Photos]

=== Video ===
* [http://www.aish.com/pathways/externallinks/videolink_chanukah.asp Video: Lighting Hanukkah Menorah How-To]
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3174713748168758247&q=satmar The Grand Rabbi of Satmar lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]

{{Hanukkah Footer}}
{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}


[[Category:Hanukkah| ]]
[[Category:Jewish holy days]]



[[ar:حانوكا]]
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[[ko:하누카]]
[[hi:हनुका]]
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[[id:Hari raya Pentahbisan]]
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[[ja:ハヌカー]]
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[[pl:Chanuka]]
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[[ro:Hanuka]]
[[ru:Ханука]]
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[[tl:Pista ng Pagtatalaga]]
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[[zh-yue:修殿節]]
[[zh:光明节]]

Hanukkah

2008-12-19T19:39:26Z

Dbratton: /* Not mentioned in the Mishna */ ce

{{pp-semi-vandalism|small=yes|expiry=00:00, 30 December 2008 (UTC)}}
{{for|the Khazar ruler|Hanukkah ben Obadiah}}
{{distinguish|Hanneke}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image = Chanukia.jpg
|caption = A Hanukkah [[menorah]]
|holiday_name = Hanukkah
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''חֲנֻכָּה''' or '''חנוכה''' [[English language|English]] translation: "Establishing/Dedication" (of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]])
|nickname = Festival of Lights, Festival of Dedication
|observedby = [[Jew]]s
|begins = 25 [[Kislev]]
|ends = 2 [[Tevet]] or 3 [[Tevet]]
|celebrations = Lighting [[candle]]s each night. Singing special songs, such as [[Ma'oz Tzur]]. Reciting [[Hallel]] prayer. Eating festive meals and foods fried in oil, such as [[latke]]s and [[sufganiyot]]. Playing the ''[[Hanukkah#Dreidel|dreidel]]'' game, and giving [[Hanukkah#Hanukkah gelt|Hanukkah ''gelt'']]
|type = Jewish
|significance = The [[Maccabees]] successfully rebelled against [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]]. The Temple was purified and the wicks of the menorah miraculously burned for eight days.
|relatedto = [[Purim]], as a [[rabbi]]nically decreed holiday.
|date2008 = sunset, [[December 21]] to sunset, [[December 29]] The first Day of Hanukkah is December 22.
|date2009 = sunset, [[December 11]] to sunset, [[December 19]]
|date2010 = sunset, [[December 1]] to sunset, [[December 9]]
}}
'''Hanukkah''' ({{lang-he|חנוכה}}, {{IPA-all|'χanuka}}, alt. '''Chanukah'''), also known as the '''Festival of Lights''', is an eight-day [[Jewish holiday]] commemorating the rededication of the [[Second Temple]] in [[Jerusalem]] at the time of the [[Maccabean Revolt]] of the [[2nd century BCE]]. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of [[Kislev]] according to the [[Hebrew calendar]], and may occur from late November to late December on the [[Gregorian calendar]].

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a special [[candelabrum]], the ''[[Menorah (Hanukkah)|Menorah]]'' or ''Hanukiah'', one light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a ''[[Shamash#Shamash in Judaism|shamash]]'', ([[Hebrew (language)|Hebrew]]: "guard" or "servant") is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the [[Talmud]] (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. (The shamash is used to light the other lights.)

Hanukkah is mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] or [[Biblical apocrypha|apocrypha books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

==Origins of the holiday==
"Hanukkah," from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", marks the re-dedication of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] after its desecration by the forces of [[Antiochus IV]] and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil." According to the [[Talmud]], at the re-dedication following the victory of the [[Maccabees]] over the [[Seleucid Empire]], there was only enough consecrated [[olive oil]] to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

The martyrdom of Hannah and her seven sons has also been linked to Hanukkah. According to the Talmudic story<ref>Talmud Gittin 57b tells a story of a woman and her seven sons killed by "Caesar". The name "Hannah" is not stated.</ref> and [[2 Maccabees]], a Jewish woman named Hannah and her seven sons were tortured and executed by [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes|Antiochus]] for refusing to worship an idol, which would have been a violation of [[613 Mitzvot|Jewish law]].

===Name===
The name "Hanukkah" is interpreted in many ways.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://innernet.org.il/article.php?aid=11|title=Origin of the Name Chanukah|first=Nosson|last=Scherman|publisher=ArtScroll}}</ref>
*Some scholars say the word was derived from the Hebrew verb "חנך" meaning "to dedicate" or to "educate." On Hanukkah, Jews mark the rededication of the House of the Lord.<ref>[[Maharsha]] on [[Talmud]] [[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]] 21b</ref>

*Others argue that the name can be broken down into "חנו", from the Hebrew word for encampment, and the Hebrew letters כ"ה, which stand for the 25th day of Kislev, the day on which the holiday begins: Hence, the Jews sat in their camp, that is, they rested fighting, on the 25th day of Kislev.<ref>[[Nissim of Gerona|Ran]] on [[Isaac Alfasi|Rif]] 9b</ref>

*Hanukkah is also the Hebrew [[acronym]] for "ח' נרות והלכה כבית הלל" meaning "eight candles as determined by [[Hillel the Elder|House of Hillel]]" This is a reference to the disagreement between two rabbinical schools of thought - Hillel and the [[Shammai|House of Shammai]] - on the proper way to light Hanukkah candles. Shammai said that eight candles should be lit from the start, and reduced by one candle every night, whereas Hillel argued in favor of starting with one candle and lighting an additional one every night. Jewish law adopted the position of Hillel.

== Historical sources ==

=== Mishna ===
{{see also2|[[Mishna#Omissions|Mishna Omissions]]}}

Unlike most other holidays the story of Hanukkah, along with its laws and customs, is entirely missing from the [[Mishna]] outside of a single passing reference.<ref>A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice By Isaac Klein p.227</ref> [[Nissim_Ben_Jacob|Rav Nissim Gaon]] postulates in his Hakdamah Le'mafteach Hatalmud that information on the holiday is commonplace to the point that Rabbinical explanation is unnecessary. Reuvain Margolies suggests that as the Mishnah was redacted after the Bar Kochba revolt, authors could not have included discussion of Hanukkah as the Roman occupiers would not have tolerated this such overt nationalism.

=== In the Talmud ===
The miracle of Hanukkah is described in the [[Talmud]]. The [[Gemara]], in tractate ''Shabbat 2'' focuses on [[Shabbat]] candles and moves to Hanukkah candles and says that after the forces of Antiochus IV had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was still [[seal (device)|seal]]ed by the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, and miraculously, that oil burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready). <ref>http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Talmud/shabbat2.html</ref>

The Talmud presents three options:
#The law requires only one light each night per household,
#A better practice is to light one light each night for each member of the household
#The most preferred practise is to vary the number of lights each night.
There was a dispute among the sages over how the last option was to be performed: either display eight lamps on the first night of the festival, and reduce the number on each successive night; or begin with one lamp the first night, increasing the number till the eighth night. The followers of [[Shammai]] favored the former custom; the followers of [[Hillel the Elder|Hillel]] advocated the latter. As is the case in most such disputes, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] followed Hillel. Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one's door or in the window closest to the street. [[Rashi]], in a note to ''Shabbat 21b,'' says their purpose is to publicize the miracle. Hanukkah is also mentioned in the (older) [[Mishnah]] (TB [[Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah]] 30b).

===In the Septuagint and other sources===
The story of Hanukkah is alluded to in the book of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]] of the [[Septuagint]] but Hanukkah is not specially mentioned; rather, a story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 ''et seq'' according to which the relighting of the altar fire by [[Nehemiah]] was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabeus.

The Books of Maccabees are not part of the [[Tanakh]] ([[Hebrew Bible]]), but are part of [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] historical and religious material preserved in the [[Septuagint]]. The Tanakh ends with the consequences following the events of [[Purim]], and had already been codified many centuries earlier by the [[Great Assembly|Men of the Great Assembly]] (''Anshei Knesset HaGedolah'').

Another source is the [[Megillat Antiochus]]. This work (also known as "Megillat HaHasmonaim", or "Megillat Hanukkah") is in both [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]; the Hebrew version is a literal translation from the Aramaic original. Recent scholarship dates it to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th Centuries, probably in the 2nd Century,<ref>{{cite web|first=Benjamin|last=Zvieli|title=The Scroll of Antiochus|url= http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html| accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> with the Hebrew dating to the seventh century.<ref name = "pvgsyw"> [http://customerservant.com/2006/12/16/the-scroll-of-the-hasmoneans/ The Scroll Of The Hasmoneans] </ref> It was published for the first time in [[Mantua]] in 1557. [[Saadia Gaon]], who translated it into [[Arabic language| Arabic]] in the 9th Century, ascribed it to the Maccabees themselves, disputed by some, since it gives dates as so many years before the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE.<ref> [http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html The Scroll of Antiochus] </ref> The Hebrew text with an English translation can be found in the [[Siddur]] of [[Philip Birnbaum]].

== The story ==
{{see also|Hasmonean}}
Around 200 BCE Jews lived as an autonomous people in the [[Land of Israel]], also referred to as [[Judea]], which at that time was controlled by the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] [[Seleucid dynasty|king of Syria]]. The Jewish people paid taxes to Syria and accepted its legal authority, and they were free to follow their own faith, maintain their own jobs, and engage in trade.

By 175 BCE [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]] ascended to the Seleucid throne. At first little changed, but under his reign, the Temple in [[Jerusalem]] was looted, Jews were massacred, and [[Judaism]] was effectively outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. As was the normal practice of the [[Ancient Greek religion|Hellenic religion]] when sacrificing to the [[Greek gods]], [[pig]]s were sacrificed on the altar to Zeus.

Many modern scholars argue that the king may have been intervening in an internal civil war between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized elite Jews in Jerusalem. These competed violently over who would be the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like [[Onias III|Onias]] overthrown by Hellenizers with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus. As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times, banned the traditional religion of a whole people.<ref>Tchrikover, Victor. ''Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews''.</ref>

Antiochus' actions proved to be a major miscalculation as they provoked a large-scale revolt. [[Mattathias]], a [[Kohen|Jewish priest]], and his five sons Jochanan, [[Simon Maccabaeus|Simeon]], [[Eleazar Maccabeus|Eleazar]], [[Jonathan Maccabaeus|Jonathan]], and [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] led a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated.
The festival of Hanukkah was instituted by [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah Maccabee]] and his brothers to celebrate this event.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#59 1 Macc. iv. 59]</ref> After recovering Jerusalem and the Temple, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. But 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 by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

[[Image:Hanukkah2.jpg|thumb|right|Hanukkah lamp unearthed near [[Jerusalem]], c. 1900.]]
The version of the story in 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, states that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was proclaimed upon rededication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of the oil.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#36 1 Macc. iv. 36]</ref> A number of historians believe that the reason for the eight day celebration was that the first Hanukkah was in effect a belated celebration of the festivals of [[Sukkot]] and [[Shemini Atzeret]].<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA10.HTM#6 Macc. x. 6] and [http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA1.HTM#9 i. 9]</ref> During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret properly; the combined festivals also last eight days, and the Sukkot festivities featured the lighting of lamps in the Temple (Suk.v. 2-4). The historian [[Josephus]]<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+12.287]
''Jewish Antiquities'' xii. 7, § 7, #323</ref> mentions the eight-day festival and its customs, but does not tell us the origin of the eight day lighting custom. Given that his audience was Hellenized Romans, perhaps his silence on the origin of the eight-day custom is due to its miraculous nature. In any event, he does report that lights were kindled in the household and the popular name of the festival was, therefore the "Festival of Lights" ("And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights").

It has also been noted that the number eight has special significance in Jewish theology, as representing transcendence and the Jewish People's special role in human history. Seven is the number of days of creation, that is, of completion of the material cosmos, and also of the classical planets. Eight, being one step beyond seven, represents the Infinite. Hence, the Eighth Day of the Assembly festival, mentioned above, is according to Jewish Law a festival for Jews only (unlike Sukkot, when all peoples were welcome in Jerusalem). Similarly, the rite of [[brit milah]] (circumcision), which brings a Jewish male into God's Covenant, is performed on the eighth day. Hence, Hanukkah's eight days (in celebration of monotheistic morality's victory over Hellenistic humanism) have great symbolic importance for practicing Jews.

==Hanukkah rituals==
[[Image:Hanukkah1.jpg|thumb|right|Various menorot used for Hanukkah. 12th through 19th century, CE]]

Hanukkah is celebrated by a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the 8-day holiday. Some are family-based and others are communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals. Hanukkah is not a "Sabbath-like" holiday, and there is no obligation to refrain from [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|activities that are forbidden on the Sabbath]], as specified in the ''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]''<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 670:1</ref> People go to work as usual, but may leave early in order to be home to kindle the lights at nightfall. There is no religious reason for schools to be closed, although, in Israel, schools close for the whole week of Hanukkah. Many families exchange gifts each night, and fried foods are eaten.

===Kindling the Hanukkah lights===
:{{seealso|Chanukkiyah}}
The primary ritual, according to [[Halakha|Jewish law and custom]], is to light a single light each night for eight nights. As a universally practiced "beautification" of the [[mitzvah]], the number of lights lit is increased by one each night.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 671:2</ref> An extra light called a ''shamash'', meaning ''guard'' or ''servant'' is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. This differs from [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] candles which are meant to be used for illumination. Hence, if one were to need extra illumination on Hanukkah, the ''shamash'' candle would be available and one would avoid using the prohibited lights. Some light the ''shamash'' candle first and then use it to light the others.<ref name = "lonorw">''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 673:1</ref> So all together, including the ''shamash'', two lights are lit on the first night, three on the second and so on, ending with nine on the last night, for a total of 44.

[[Image:Tiffany glasswork Hanukkah menora02.jpg|thumb|A modern [[Lead came and copper foil glasswork|"Tiffany"]] Hanukkah menorah]]
The lights can be candles or oil lamps.<ref name = "lonorw"/> Electric lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room. Most Jewish homes have a special [[candelabrum]] or oil lamp holder for Hanukkah, which holds eight lights plus the additional ''shamash'' light.

The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without," so that passers-by should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle. Accordingly lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street. It is customary amongst some Ashkenazim to have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), whereas most Sephardim light one for the whole household. Only when there was danger of [[Anti-Semitism|anti-semitic persecution]] were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the case in [[Iran|Persia]] under the rule of the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]], or in parts of Europe before and during World War II. However, most [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] groups, light lamps near an inside doorway, not necessarily in public view. According to this tradition, the lamps are placed on the opposite side from the ''[[mezuzah]]'', so that when one passes through the door he is surrounded by the holiness of ''mitzvoth''.

[[Image:Maurice Ascalon Menorah Pal-Bell.jpg|thumb|left|Bronze [[Pal-Bell]] oil-burning Hanukkah menorah from Israel circa 1948, by [[Maurice Ascalon]].]]

===Time of lighting===
Hanukkah lights should burn for at least one half hour after it gets dark. The custom of the [[Vilna Gaon]] observed by many residents of Jerusalem as the custom of the city, is to light at sundown, although most Hassidim light later, even in Jerusalem. Many Hasidic Rebbes light much later, because they fulfill the obligation of publicizing the miracle by the presence of their Hasidim when they kindle the lights. Inexpensive small wax candles sold for Hanukkah burn for approximately half an hour, so on most days this requirement can be met by lighting the candles when it is dark outside. Friday night presents a problem, however. Since candles may not be lit on the [[Shabbat]] itself, the candles must be lit before sunset. However, they must remain lit until the regular time - thirty minutes after nightfall - and inexpensive Hanukkah candles do not burn long enough to meet the requirement. A simple solution is to use longer candles, or the traditional oil lamps. In keeping with the above-stated prohibition, the Hanukkah menorah is lit first, followed by the Shabbat candles which signify its onset.

=== Blessings over the candles ===
[[Image:Skulen2.JPG|thumb|Grand Rabbi [[Israel Abraham Portugal]] of [[Skulen (Hasidic dynasty)|Skulen]] [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]] lighting Hanukkah lights]]
Typically three blessings (''Brachot'' singular ''Brachah'') are recited during this eight-day festival. On the first night of Hanukkah, Jews recite all three blessings, on all subsequent nights, they recite only the first two.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:1-2</ref> The blessings are said before or after the candles are lit depending on tradition. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle, lamp, or electric) is lit on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first candle and so on, proceeding from right to left each night.

For the full text of the blessings, see [[List of Jewish prayers and blessings#Hanukkah|List of Jewish prayers and blessings: Hanukkah]]

==== ''Hanerot Halalu'' ====
During or after the lights are kindled the hymn ''Hanerot Halalu'' is recited. There are several differing versions - the version presented here is recited in many Ashkenazic communities:<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:4</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan=2 | [[Ashkenazi]]c version:
|-
! Transliteration
! English
|-
| Hanneirot hallalu anachnu madlikin 'al hannissim ve'al hanniflaot 'al hatteshu'ot ve'al hammilchamot she'asita laavoteinu bayyamim haheim, (u)bazzeman hazeh 'al yedei kohanekha hakkedoshim. Vekhol-shemonat yemei Hanukkah hanneirot hallalu kodesh heim, ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtammesh baheim ella lir'otam bilvad kedei lehodot ul'halleil leshimcha haggadol 'al nissekha ve'al nifleotekha ve'al yeshu'otekha
| We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your [[Kohen|holy priests]]. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them except for to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations.
|-
|}

==== ''Maoz Tzur'' ====
{{main|Ma'oz Tzur}}
Each night after the lighting of the candles, while remaining within sight of the candles, Ashkenazim (and, in recent decades, some Sephardim and Mizrahim in Western countries) usually sing the hymn ''Ma'oz Tzur'' written in Medieval [[Germany]]. The song contains six stanzas. The first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation, and the middle four deal with events of persecution in [[Jewish history]], and praises God for survival despite these tragedies ([[the exodus]] from Egypt, the [[Babylonian captivity]], the miracle of the holiday of [[Purim]], and the [[Hasmonean]] victory).

====Other customs====
After lighting the candles and Ma'oz Tzur, singing various other Hanukkah songs is customary in many Jewish homes. Various Hasidic and Sefardic traditions have additional prayers that are recited both before and after lighting the Hanukkah lights. This includes the recitation of many Psalms, most notably Psalms 30, 67, and 91 (many Hasidim recite Psalm 91 seven times after lighting the lamps, as was taught by the [[Baal Shem Tov]]), as well as other prayers and hymns, each congregation according to its own custom. In North America it is common to exchange presents or give children presents at this time.

=== Additions to the daily prayers ===
{{quote box|align=left|width=45%|quote="We thank You also for the miraculous deeds and for the redemption and for the mighty deeds and the saving acts wrought by You, as well as for the wars which You waged for our ancestors in ancient days at this season. In the days of the Hasmonean Mattathias, son of Johanan the high priest, and his sons, when the iniquitous Greco-Syrian kingdom rose up against Your people Israel, to make them forget Your Torah and to turn them away from the ordinances of Your will, then You in your abundant mercy rose up for them in the time of their trouble, pled their cause, executed judgment, avenged their wrong, and delivered the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and insolent ones into the hands of those occupied with Your Torah. Both unto Yourself did you make a great and holy name in Thy world, and unto Your people did You achieve a great deliverance and redemption. Whereupon your children entered the sanctuary of Your house, cleansed Your temple, purified Your sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courts, and appointed these eight days of Hanukkah in order to give thanks and praises unto Your holy name."|source=Translation of ''Al ha-Nissim''}}
An addition is made to the "''hoda'ah''" (thanksgiving) benediction in the [[Amidah]], called ''Al ha-Nissim'' ("On/about the Miracles").<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 682:1</ref> This addition refers to the victory achieved over the Syrians by the Hasmonean Mattathias and his sons.

The same prayer is added to the grace after meals. In addition, the ''[[Hallel]]'' Psalms are sung during each morning service and the ''[[Tachanun]]'' penitential prayers are omitted. The Torah is read every day in the [[synagogue]], the first day beginning from [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 6:22 (According to some customs, Numbers 7:1), and the last day ending with Numbers 8:4.

Since Hanukkah lasts eight days it includes at least one, and sometimes two, [[Shabbat|Jewish Sabbaths]] (Saturdays). The weekly [[Parsha|Torah portion]] for the first Sabbath is almost always ''[[Miketz]]'', telling of [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]]'s dream and his enslavement in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]. The ''[[Haftarah]]'' reading for the first Sabbath Hanukkah is [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]] 2:14-4:7. When there is a second Sabbath on Hanukkah, the ''Haftarah'' reading is from [[I Kings]] 7:40 - 7:50.

The Hanukkah ''menorah'' is also kindled daily in the synagogue, at night with the blessings and in the morning without the blessings. The menorah is not lit on the Sabbath, but rather prior to the beginning of the Sabbath at night and not at all during the day.

During the [[Middle Ages]] "[[Megillat Antiochus]]" was read in the [[Italian Jews#Italian rite Jews|Italian]] [[synagogues]] on Hanukkah just as the [[Book of Esther]] is read on [[Purim]]. It still forms part of the liturgy of the [[Yemenite Jews]].<ref name = "pvgsyw"/>

=== ''Zot Hanukkah'' ===
The last day of Hanukkah is known as ''Zot Hanukkah'', from the verse in the Book of Numbers 7:84 "''Zot Chanukat Hamizbe'ach''" - "This was the dedication of the altar", which is read on this day in the synagogue. According to the teachings of [[Kabbalah]] and [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]], this day is the final "seal" of the High Holiday season of [[Yom Kippur]], and is considered a time to repent out of love for God. In this spirit, many Hasidic Jews wish each other "''Gmar chatimah tovah''", "may you be sealed totally for good", a traditional greeting for the Yom Kippur season. It is taught in Hasidic and Kabbalistic literature that this day is particularly auspicious for the fulfillment of prayers.

==Judith and Holofernes==
[[Image:Cristofano Allori 002.jpg|thumb|left|''Judith with the head of Holofernes'' by Cristofano Allori]]

Eating dairy foods, especially cheese, on Hanukkah is a minor custom that has its roots in the story of Judith, as related in the book of [[Judith]] (''Yehudit'' or ''Yehudis'' in Hebrew). [[Holofernes]], an Assyrian general, had surrounded the village of Bethulia as part of his campaign to conquer Judea. After intense fighting, the water supply of the Jews is cut off and the situation became desperate. Judith, a pious widow, told the city leaders that she had a plan to save the city. Judith went to the Assyrian camps and pretended to surrender. She met Holofernes, who was smitten by her beauty. She went back to his tent with him, where she plied him with cheese and wine. When he fell into a drunken sleep, Judith beheaded him and escaped from the camp, taking the severed head with her. When Holofernes' soldiers found his corpse, they were overcome with fear; the Jews, on the other hand, were emboldened, and launched a successful counterattack. The town was saved, and the Assyrians defeated.

Many argue {{who}} that Holofernes was actually Greek, placing the events in the general time-frame of Hanukkah. The longstanding tradition that Judith was the daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, and consequently a sister of Mattathias the Hasmonean and an aunt of Judah the Maccabee, is how this story came to be associated with Hanukkah. There are many depictions of Judith and Holofernes in painting.

==Interaction with modernity and with other traditions==

The classical rabbis downplayed the military and nationalistic dimensions of Hanukkah, and some even interpreted the emphasis upon the story of the miracle oil as a diversion away from the struggle with empires that had led to the disastrous downfall of Jerusalem to the Romans. With the advent of Zionism and the state of Israel, these themes were rapidly reconsidered. In modern Israel, Hanukkah was transformed into a celebration of military strength, a kind of antidote to what was perceived as the idea of the powerless [[Jewish diaspora|Diaspora Jew]] that the Zionists felt that the Jews in the State of Israel needed to psychologically overcome.

In North America especially, Hanukkah gained increased importance with many Jewish families in the latter half of the twentieth century, including large numbers of [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Jews]], who wanted a Jewish alternative to the [[Christmas]] celebrations that often overlap with Hanukkah. Though it was traditional to give "gelt" or money coins to children during Hanukkah, in many families this has changed into gifts in order to prevent Jewish children from feeling left out of the Christmas gift giving.

While Hanukkah traditionally speaking is only a minor Jewish holiday, as indicated by the lack of restrictions on work other than a few minutes after lighting the candles, Hanukkah has taken a place equal to Passover as a symbol of Jewish identity. Both the Israeli and North American versions of Hanukkah emphasize resistance, focusing on some combination of national liberation and religious freedom as the defining meaning of the holiday.

===Green Hanukkah===

Some Jews in North America and Israel have taken up environmental concerns in relation to Hanukkah's "miracle of the oil", emphasizing reflection on energy conservation and energy independence. An example of this is the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life's renewable energy campaign.<ref>[http://www.shalomctr.org/node/1315 Shalom Center on Hannukah and the environment]</ref> <ref>[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546797524&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Jerusalem Post: Green Hanukkia' campaign sparks ire]</ref> <ref>[http://www.coejl.org/climatechange/CFLceremony.php Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL): Green Hannukah ceremony]</ref>

==Hanukkah music==
{{main|Hanukkah music}}
There are several songs associated with the festival of Hanukkah. The most well known in English-speaking countries include "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" and "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah." In Israel, Hanukkah has become something of a national holiday. A large number of songs have been written on Hanukkah themes, perhaps more so than for any other Jewish holiday. Some of the most well known are "''Hanukkiah Li Yesh''" ("I Have a Hanukkah Menora"), "''Kad Katan''" ("A Small Jug"), "''S'vivon Sov Sov Sov''" ("Dreidel, Spin and Spin"), "''Mi Yimalel''" (Who can Retell") and "''Ner Li, Ner Li''" ("I have a Candle").

==Hanukkah foods==
[[Image:sufganiyah.jpeg|thumb|right|Sufganiyot with jelly]]
[[Potato pancakes]], known as [[latke]]s in [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], are traditionally associated with Hanukkah, especially among Ashkenazi families. There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil (preferably olive oil), as the original miracle of the Hanukkah menorah involved the discovery of the small flask of oil used by the Jewish High Priest, the [[Kohen Gadol]]. This small batch of olive oil was only supposed to last one day, and instead it lasted eight.

Many Sephardic families as well as [[History of Jews in Poland|Polish]] Ashkenazim and [[Israel]] have the custom of eating all kinds of fruit-filled [[doughnut]]s ({{lang-yi|פאנטשקעס ''pontshkes''}}), ([[bimuelos]], or [[sufganiyah|sufganiyot]]) which are [[Frying|deep-fried]] in oil, and of course all Kosher foods.

==Hanukkah games==
===Dreidel===
{{main|Dreidel}}
[[Image:Dreidel 001.jpg|thumb|right|Dreidel]]
The ''dreidel'', or ''sevivon'' in Hebrew, is a four-sided spinning top that children play with on Hanukkah. Each side is imprinted with a Hebrew letter. These letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words, נס גדול היה שם, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''S'''ham''—"A great miracle happened there" (referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Beit Hamikdash]]).

*נ ''([[Nun (letter)|Nun]])''
*ג ''([[Gimel (letter)|Gimel]])''
*ה ''([[He (letter)|Hey]])''
*ש ''([[Shin (letter)|Shin]])''

In [[Israel|Eretz Yisroel]], the fourth side of most dreidels is inscribed with the letter פ ''([[Pe (letter)|Pe]])'', rendering the acronym, נס גדול היה פה, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''P'''o''—"A great miracle happened here" referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel. Some stores in [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] neighbourhoods may sell the traditional ''Shin'' dreidels.

Some Jewish commentators ascribe symbolic significance to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects the four letters with the four exiles to which the nation of Israel was historically subject—Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome.<ref>[http://www.ohr.org.il/yhiy/article.php/1309 Ohr Somayach :: Chanukah :: The Secret of the Dreidel]</ref>

After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, it is customary in many homes to play the dreidel game: Each player starts out with 10 or 15 coins (real or of chocolate), nuts, raisins, candies or other markers, and places one marker in the "pot." The first player spins the dreidel, and depending on which side the dreidel falls on, either wins a marker from the pot or gives up part of his stash. The code (based on a [[Yiddish Language|Yiddish]] version of the game) is as follows:
*Nun - ''nisht'' - "nothing" - nothing happens and the next player spins
*Gimel - ''gants'' - "all" - the player takes the entire pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtel ayn'' - "put in" - the player puts one marker in the pot

Another version differs:
*Nun - ''nim'' - "take" - the player takes one from the pot
*Gimel - ''gib'' - "give" - the player puts one in the pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtil'' - "still" (as in "stillness") - nothing happens and the next player spins

The game may last until one person has won everything.

Some say the dreidel game is played to commemorate a game devised by the Jews to camouflage the fact that they were [[Torah study|studying Torah]], which was outlawed by Greeks. The Jews would gather in caves to study, posting a lookout to alert the group to the presence of Greek soldiers. If soldiers were spotted, the Jews would hide their scrolls and spin tops, so the Greeks thought they were gambling, not learning.

===Hanukkah ''gelt''===
Hanukkah ''gelt'' ([[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] for "money") is often distributed to children to enhance their enjoyment of the holiday. The amount is usually in small coins, although grandparents or other relatives may give larger sums as an official Hanukkah gift. In Israel, Hanukkah ''gelt'' is known as ''dmei Hanukkah''. Many Hasidic [[Rebbe]]s distribute coins to those who visit them during Hanukkah. Hasidic Jews consider this to be an auspicious blessing from the Rebbe, and a ''[[segulah]]'' for success.

Twentieth-century [[United States|American]] [[chocolatier]]s picked up on the gift/coin concept by creating [[chocolate money|chocolate ''gelt'']].

==Alternative spellings based on transliterating Hebrew letters==
In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], the word Hanukkah is written '''{{lang|he|חנֻכה}}''' or '''{{lang|he|חנוכה}}'''. It is most commonly transliterated to English as ''Chanukah'' or ''Hanukkah'', the latter because the sound represented by "CH" ([{{IPA|/χ/}}], similar to the [[Scots language|Scottish]] pronunciation of "[[loch]]") essentially does not exist in the modern English language. Furthermore, the letter "[[heth]]" ('''{{lang|he|ח}}'''), which is the first letter in the Hebrew spelling, is pronounced differently in modern Hebrew ([[voiceless uvular fricative]]) than in classical Hebrew ([[voiceless pharyngeal fricative]]), and neither of those sounds is unambiguously representable in English spelling. Moreover, the 'kaf' consonant is [[geminate]] in classical (but not modern) Hebrew. Adapting the classical Hebrew pronunciation with the geminate and pharyngeal Ḥeth can lead to the spelling "Hanukkah"; while adapting the modern Hebrew pronunciation with no geminate and velar Ḥeth leads to the spelling "Chanukah". Variations include:
[[Image:Hanukkah.png|right|thumb|Spelling variations are due to transliteration of Hebrew ''Chet Nun Vav Kaf Hey'']]

===Common variants===
* Hanukkah (in North America, Australia - also very common in UK)
* Chanukkah (in the UK, also common in North America)

===YIVO variant===
* Khanike ([[YIVO]] standard [[transliteration]] from the Yiddish and/or Ashkenazic [[pronunciation]] of the Hebrew)

== Background ==
===Chronology===

*198 BCE: Armies of the Seleucid King [[Antiochus III]] (Antiochus the Great) oust [[Ptolemy V Epiphanes|Ptolemy V]] from Judea and Samaria.
*175 BCE: [[Antiochus IV]] (Epiphanes) ascends the Seleucid throne.
*168 BCE: Under the reign of Antiochus IV, the Temple is looted, Jews are massacred, and [[Judaism]] is outlawed.
*167 BCE: Antiochus orders an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. Mattathias, and his five sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah lead a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah becomes known as Judah Maccabe (Judah The Hammer).
*166 BCE: Mattathias dies, and Judah takes his place as leader. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom begins; It lasts until 63 BCE
*165 BCE: The Jewish revolt against the [[Seleucid]] monarchy is successful. The Temple is liberated and rededicated (Hanukkah).
*142 BCE: Establishment of the Second Jewish Commonwealth. The Seleucids recognize Jewish autonomy. The Seleucid kings have a formal overlordship, which the Hasmoneans acknowledged. This inaugurates a period of great geographical expansion, population growth, and religious, cultural and social development.
*139 BCE: The [[Roman Senate]] recognizes Jewish autonomy.
*130 BCE: Antiochus VII besieges [[Jerusalem]], but withdraws.
*131 BCE: Antiochus VII dies. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom throws off Syrian rule completely
*96 BCE: An eight year civil war begins.
*83 BCE: Consolidation of the Kingdom in territory east of the [[Jordan River]].
*63 BCE: The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an end due to rivalry between the brothers [[Aristobulus II]] and [[Hyrcanus II]], both of whom appeal to the [[Roman Republic]] to intervene and settle the power struggle on their behalf. The Roman general [[Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus]] (Pompey the Great) is dispatched to the area. Twelve thousand Jews are massacred as Romans enter Jerusalem. The Priests of the Temple are struck down at the Altar. Rome annexes Judea.

===Battles of the Maccabean revolt===
{{main|Maccabees}}
There were a number of key battles between the Maccabees and the Seleucid Syrian-Greeks:

:''Listed alphabetically'':

*[[Battle of Adasa]] ([[Judas Maccabeus]] leads the Jews to victory against the forces of Nicanor.)
*[[Battle of Beth Horon]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the forces of Seron.)
*[[Battle of Beth-zechariah]] (Elazar the Maccabee is killed in battle. Lysias has success in battle against the Maccabess, but allows them temporary freedom of worship.)
*[[Battle of Beth Zur]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the army of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]], recapturing Jerusalem.)
*[[Dathema]] (A Jewish fortress saved by Judas Maccabeus.)
*[[Battle of Elasa]] (Judas Maccabeus dies in battle against the army of [[Demetrius I Soter|King Demetrius]] and [[Bacchides (general)|Bacchides]]. He is succeeded by [[Jonathan Maccabaeus]] and [[Simon Maccabaeus]] who continue to lead the Jews in battle.)
*[[Battle of Emmaus]] (Judas Maccabeus fights the forces of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]] and [[Gorgias (Syrian general)|Georgias]]).
*[[Battle of Wadi Haramia]].

==When Hanukkah occurs==
{{further|[[Jewish holidays 2000-2050]]}}

The dates of Hanukkah are determined by the [[Hebrew calendar]]. Hanukkah begins at the 25th day of [[Kislev]] and concludes on the 2nd or 3rd day of [[Tevet]] (Kislev can have 29 or 30 days). The Jewish day begins at sunset, whereas the [[Gregorian calendar]] begins the day at midnight. So, the first day of Hanukkah actually begins at sunset of the day immediately before the date noted on Gregorian calendars.

===Hanukkah according to the Gregorian calendar===
Hanukkah begins at sundown on the evening before the date shown.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
*[[December 22]], [[2000]]
*[[December 10]], [[2001]]
*[[November 30]], [[2002]]
*[[December 20]], [[2003]]
*[[December 8]], [[2004]]
*[[December 26]], [[2005]]
*[[December 16]], [[2006]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 5]], [[2007]]
*[[December 22]], [[2008]]
*[[December 12]], [[2009]]
*[[December 2]], [[2010]]
*[[December 21]], [[2011]]
*[[December 9]], [[2012]]
*[[November 28]], [[2013]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 17]], [[2014]]
*[[December 7]], [[2015]]
*[[December 25]], [[2016]]
*[[December 13]], [[2017]]
*[[December 3]], [[2018]]
*[[December 23]], [[2019]]
{{col-end}}

==See also==
{{portalpar|Judaism|Menora.svg}}
*[[Hasmonean]]
*[[Maccabees]]
*[[Jewish holiday]]s
*''[[County of Allegheny v. ACLU]]'' on the constitutionality of Hanukkah displays on public property in the U.S.
*[[Hanukkah bush]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{commonscat|Hanukkah}}
=== General ===
* [http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default.asp Hanukkah guide on chabad.org]
* [http://www.untitledtheater.com/Plays_About_Hanukkah.html Plays about Hanukkah]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=77|type=Shiurim}}
* [http://www.akhlah.com/holidays/hanukkah/hanukkah.php Hanukkah for Children]

=== Songs ===
* [http://liturgy.exc.com/Songsheets/Hanukah.cgi Hanukkah songsheets]
* [http://www.hebrewsongs.com/chanukah.htm Hanukkah songs]

=== Recipes ===
* [http://www.rd.com/content/cherished-hanukkah-recipes-to-share/ Traditional Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://kosherfood.about.com/od/hanukkah/Hanukkah_Recipes_Kosher_Jewish_Holiday_Food.htm About Kosher Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.wiki-recipe.org/index.php?title=Category:Hanukkah Wiki-Recipe.org Hanukkah recipes]

=== Photos ===
* [http://otzarstock.com/store/search.php?search=hanuka+hanukah+hanukka+hanukkah+chanuka+chanukah+chanukka+chanukkah+חנוכה+menorah+menorah+מנורה+dreidel+סביבון+candle+donut+סופגניה+&match_type=any Hanukkah Photos]

=== Video ===
* [http://www.aish.com/pathways/externallinks/videolink_chanukah.asp Video: Lighting Hanukkah Menorah How-To]
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3174713748168758247&q=satmar The Grand Rabbi of Satmar lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]

{{Hanukkah Footer}}
{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}


[[Category:Hanukkah| ]]
[[Category:Jewish holy days]]



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Hanukkah

2008-12-19T19:07:07Z

Dbratton: restored dating convention to previous format

{{pp-semi-vandalism|small=yes|expiry=00:00, 30 December 2008 (UTC)}}
{{for|the Khazar ruler|Hanukkah ben Obadiah}}
{{distinguish|Hanneke}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image = Chanukia.jpg
|caption = A Hanukkah [[menorah]]
|holiday_name = Hanukkah
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''חֲנֻכָּה''' or '''חנוכה''' [[English language|English]] translation: "Establishing/Dedication" (of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]])
|nickname = Festival of Lights, Festival of Dedication
|observedby = [[Jew]]s
|begins = 25 [[Kislev]]
|ends = 2 [[Tevet]] or 3 [[Tevet]]
|celebrations = Lighting [[candle]]s each night. Singing special songs, such as [[Ma'oz Tzur]]. Reciting [[Hallel]] prayer. Eating festive meals and foods fried in oil, such as [[latke]]s and [[sufganiyot]]. Playing the ''[[Hanukkah#Dreidel|dreidel]]'' game, and giving [[Hanukkah#Hanukkah gelt|Hanukkah ''gelt'']]
|type = Jewish
|significance = The [[Maccabees]] successfully rebelled against [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]]. The Temple was purified and the wicks of the menorah miraculously burned for eight days.
|relatedto = [[Purim]], as a [[rabbi]]nically decreed holiday.
|date2008 = sunset, [[December 21]] to sunset, [[December 29]] The first Day of Hanukkah is December 22.
|date2009 = sunset, [[December 11]] to sunset, [[December 19]]
|date2010 = sunset, [[December 1]] to sunset, [[December 9]]
}}
'''Hanukkah''' ({{lang-he|חנוכה}}, {{IPA-all|'χanuka}}, alt. '''Chanukah'''), also known as the '''Festival of Lights''', is an eight-day [[Jewish holiday]] commemorating the rededication of the [[Second Temple]] in [[Jerusalem]] at the time of the [[Maccabean Revolt]] of the [[2nd century BCE]]. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of [[Kislev]] according to the [[Hebrew calendar]], and may occur from late November to late December on the [[Gregorian calendar]].

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a special [[candelabrum]], the ''[[Menorah (Hanukkah)|Menorah]]'' or ''Hanukiah'', one light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a ''[[Shamash#Shamash in Judaism|shamash]]'', ([[Hebrew (language)|Hebrew]]: "guard" or "servant") is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the [[Talmud]] (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. (The shamash is used to light the other lights.)

Hanukkah is mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] or [[Biblical apocrypha|apocrypha books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

==Origins of the holiday==
"Hanukkah," from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", marks the re-dedication of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] after its desecration by the forces of [[Antiochus IV]] and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil." According to the [[Talmud]], at the re-dedication following the victory of the [[Maccabees]] over the [[Seleucid Empire]], there was only enough consecrated [[olive oil]] to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

The martyrdom of Hannah and her seven sons has also been linked to Hanukkah. According to the Talmudic story<ref>Talmud Gittin 57b tells a story of a woman and her seven sons killed by "Caesar". The name "Hannah" is not stated.</ref> and [[2 Maccabees]], a Jewish woman named Hannah and her seven sons were tortured and executed by [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes|Antiochus]] for refusing to worship an idol, which would have been a violation of [[613 Mitzvot|Jewish law]].

===Name===
The name "Hanukkah" is interpreted in many ways.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://innernet.org.il/article.php?aid=11|title=Origin of the Name Chanukah|first=Nosson|last=Scherman|publisher=ArtScroll}}</ref>
*Some scholars say the word was derived from the Hebrew verb "חנך" meaning "to dedicate" or to "educate." On Hanukkah, Jews mark the rededication of the House of the Lord.<ref>[[Maharsha]] on [[Talmud]] [[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]] 21b</ref>

*Others argue that the name can be broken down into "חנו", from the Hebrew word for encampment, and the Hebrew letters כ"ה, which stand for the 25th day of Kislev, the day on which the holiday begins: Hence, the Jews sat in their camp, that is, they rested fighting, on the 25th day of Kislev.<ref>[[Nissim of Gerona|Ran]] on [[Isaac Alfasi|Rif]] 9b</ref>

*Hanukkah is also the Hebrew [[acronym]] for "ח' נרות והלכה כבית הלל" meaning "eight candles as determined by [[Hillel the Elder|House of Hillel]]" This is a reference to the disagreement between two rabbinical schools of thought - Hillel and the [[Shammai|House of Shammai]] - on the proper way to light Hanukkah candles. Shammai said that eight candles should be lit from the start, and reduced by one candle every night, whereas Hillel argued in favor of starting with one candle and lighting an additional one every night. Jewish law adopted the position of Hillel.

== Historical sources ==

=== Not mentioned in the Mishna ===
Strangely, unlike any other holiday Hanukkahs story, laws and customs are entirely missing from the [[Mishna]]. The term “Hanukkah” is only mentioned once in a "by the way" manner. It is not clear the reason behind it.<ref>A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice By Isaac Klein p.227</ref>

=== In the Talmud ===
The miracle of Hanukkah is described in the [[Talmud]]. The [[Gemara]], in tractate ''Shabbat 2'' focuses on [[Shabbat]] candles and moves to Hanukkah candles and says that after the forces of Antiochus IV had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was still [[seal (device)|seal]]ed by the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, and miraculously, that oil burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready). <ref>http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Talmud/shabbat2.html</ref>

The Talmud presents three options:
#The law requires only one light each night per household,
#A better practice is to light one light each night for each member of the household
#The most preferred practise is to vary the number of lights each night.
There was a dispute among the sages over how the last option was to be performed: either display eight lamps on the first night of the festival, and reduce the number on each successive night; or begin with one lamp the first night, increasing the number till the eighth night. The followers of [[Shammai]] favored the former custom; the followers of [[Hillel the Elder|Hillel]] advocated the latter. As is the case in most such disputes, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] followed Hillel. Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one's door or in the window closest to the street. [[Rashi]], in a note to ''Shabbat 21b,'' says their purpose is to publicize the miracle. Hanukkah is also mentioned in the (older) [[Mishnah]] (TB [[Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah]] 30b).

===In the Septuagint and other sources===
The story of Hanukkah is alluded to in the book of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]] of the [[Septuagint]] but Hanukkah is not specially mentioned; rather, a story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 ''et seq'' according to which the relighting of the altar fire by [[Nehemiah]] was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabeus.

The Books of Maccabees are not part of the [[Tanakh]] ([[Hebrew Bible]]), but are part of [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] historical and religious material preserved in the [[Septuagint]]. The Tanakh ends with the consequences following the events of [[Purim]], and had already been codified many centuries earlier by the [[Great Assembly|Men of the Great Assembly]] (''Anshei Knesset HaGedolah'').

Another source is the [[Megillat Antiochus]]. This work (also known as "Megillat HaHasmonaim", or "Megillat Hanukkah") is in both [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]; the Hebrew version is a literal translation from the Aramaic original. Recent scholarship dates it to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th Centuries, probably in the 2nd Century,<ref>{{cite web|first=Benjamin|last=Zvieli|title=The Scroll of Antiochus|url= http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html| accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> with the Hebrew dating to the seventh century.<ref name = "pvgsyw"> [http://customerservant.com/2006/12/16/the-scroll-of-the-hasmoneans/ The Scroll Of The Hasmoneans] </ref> It was published for the first time in [[Mantua]] in 1557. [[Saadia Gaon]], who translated it into [[Arabic language| Arabic]] in the 9th Century, ascribed it to the Maccabees themselves, disputed by some, since it gives dates as so many years before the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE.<ref> [http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html The Scroll of Antiochus] </ref> The Hebrew text with an English translation can be found in the [[Siddur]] of [[Philip Birnbaum]].

== The story ==
{{see also|Hasmonean}}
Around 200 BCE Jews lived as an autonomous people in the [[Land of Israel]], also referred to as [[Judea]], which at that time was controlled by the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] [[Seleucid dynasty|king of Syria]]. The Jewish people paid taxes to Syria and accepted its legal authority, and they were free to follow their own faith, maintain their own jobs, and engage in trade.

By 175 BCE [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]] ascended to the Seleucid throne. At first little changed, but under his reign, the Temple in [[Jerusalem]] was looted, Jews were massacred, and [[Judaism]] was effectively outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. As was the normal practice of the [[Ancient Greek religion|Hellenic religion]] when sacrificing to the [[Greek gods]], [[pig]]s were sacrificed on the altar to Zeus.

Many modern scholars argue that the king may have been intervening in an internal civil war between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized elite Jews in Jerusalem. These competed violently over who would be the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like [[Onias III|Onias]] overthrown by Hellenizers with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus. As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times, banned the traditional religion of a whole people.<ref>Tchrikover, Victor. ''Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews''.</ref>

Antiochus' actions proved to be a major miscalculation as they provoked a large-scale revolt. [[Mattathias]], a [[Kohen|Jewish priest]], and his five sons Jochanan, [[Simon Maccabaeus|Simeon]], [[Eleazar Maccabeus|Eleazar]], [[Jonathan Maccabaeus|Jonathan]], and [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] led a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated.
The festival of Hanukkah was instituted by [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah Maccabee]] and his brothers to celebrate this event.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#59 1 Macc. iv. 59]</ref> After recovering Jerusalem and the Temple, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. But 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 by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

[[Image:Hanukkah2.jpg|thumb|right|Hanukkah lamp unearthed near [[Jerusalem]], c. 1900.]]
The version of the story in 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, states that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was proclaimed upon rededication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of the oil.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#36 1 Macc. iv. 36]</ref> A number of historians believe that the reason for the eight day celebration was that the first Hanukkah was in effect a belated celebration of the festivals of [[Sukkot]] and [[Shemini Atzeret]].<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA10.HTM#6 Macc. x. 6] and [http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA1.HTM#9 i. 9]</ref> During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret properly; the combined festivals also last eight days, and the Sukkot festivities featured the lighting of lamps in the Temple (Suk.v. 2-4). The historian [[Josephus]]<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+12.287]
''Jewish Antiquities'' xii. 7, § 7, #323</ref> mentions the eight-day festival and its customs, but does not tell us the origin of the eight day lighting custom. Given that his audience was Hellenized Romans, perhaps his silence on the origin of the eight-day custom is due to its miraculous nature. In any event, he does report that lights were kindled in the household and the popular name of the festival was, therefore the "Festival of Lights" ("And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights").

It has also been noted that the number eight has special significance in Jewish theology, as representing transcendence and the Jewish People's special role in human history. Seven is the number of days of creation, that is, of completion of the material cosmos, and also of the classical planets. Eight, being one step beyond seven, represents the Infinite. Hence, the Eighth Day of the Assembly festival, mentioned above, is according to Jewish Law a festival for Jews only (unlike Sukkot, when all peoples were welcome in Jerusalem). Similarly, the rite of [[brit milah]] (circumcision), which brings a Jewish male into God's Covenant, is performed on the eighth day. Hence, Hanukkah's eight days (in celebration of monotheistic morality's victory over Hellenistic humanism) have great symbolic importance for practicing Jews.

==Hanukkah rituals==
[[Image:Hanukkah1.jpg|thumb|right|Various menorot used for Hanukkah. 12th through 19th century, CE]]

Hanukkah is celebrated by a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the 8-day holiday. Some are family-based and others are communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals. Hanukkah is not a "Sabbath-like" holiday, and there is no obligation to refrain from [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|activities that are forbidden on the Sabbath]], as specified in the ''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]''<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 670:1</ref> People go to work as usual, but may leave early in order to be home to kindle the lights at nightfall. There is no religious reason for schools to be closed, although, in Israel, schools close for the whole week of Hanukkah. Many families exchange gifts each night, and fried foods are eaten.

===Kindling the Hanukkah lights===
:{{seealso|Chanukkiyah}}
The primary ritual, according to [[Halakha|Jewish law and custom]], is to light a single light each night for eight nights. As a universally practiced "beautification" of the [[mitzvah]], the number of lights lit is increased by one each night.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 671:2</ref> An extra light called a ''shamash'', meaning ''guard'' or ''servant'' is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. This differs from [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] candles which are meant to be used for illumination. Hence, if one were to need extra illumination on Hanukkah, the ''shamash'' candle would be available and one would avoid using the prohibited lights. Some light the ''shamash'' candle first and then use it to light the others.<ref name = "lonorw">''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 673:1</ref> So all together, including the ''shamash'', two lights are lit on the first night, three on the second and so on, ending with nine on the last night, for a total of 44.

[[Image:Tiffany glasswork Hanukkah menora02.jpg|thumb|A modern [[Lead came and copper foil glasswork|"Tiffany"]] Hanukkah menorah]]
The lights can be candles or oil lamps.<ref name = "lonorw"/> Electric lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room. Most Jewish homes have a special [[candelabrum]] or oil lamp holder for Hanukkah, which holds eight lights plus the additional ''shamash'' light.

The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without," so that passers-by should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle. Accordingly lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street. It is customary amongst some Ashkenazim to have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), whereas most Sephardim light one for the whole household. Only when there was danger of [[Anti-Semitism|anti-semitic persecution]] were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the case in [[Iran|Persia]] under the rule of the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]], or in parts of Europe before and during World War II. However, most [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] groups, light lamps near an inside doorway, not necessarily in public view. According to this tradition, the lamps are placed on the opposite side from the ''[[mezuzah]]'', so that when one passes through the door he is surrounded by the holiness of ''mitzvoth''.

[[Image:Maurice Ascalon Menorah Pal-Bell.jpg|thumb|left|Bronze [[Pal-Bell]] oil-burning Hanukkah menorah from Israel circa 1948, by [[Maurice Ascalon]].]]

===Time of lighting===
Hanukkah lights should burn for at least one half hour after it gets dark. The custom of the [[Vilna Gaon]] observed by many residents of Jerusalem as the custom of the city, is to light at sundown, although most Hassidim light later, even in Jerusalem. Many Hasidic Rebbes light much later, because they fulfill the obligation of publicizing the miracle by the presence of their Hasidim when they kindle the lights. Inexpensive small wax candles sold for Hanukkah burn for approximately half an hour, so on most days this requirement can be met by lighting the candles when it is dark outside. Friday night presents a problem, however. Since candles may not be lit on the [[Shabbat]] itself, the candles must be lit before sunset. However, they must remain lit until the regular time - thirty minutes after nightfall - and inexpensive Hanukkah candles do not burn long enough to meet the requirement. A simple solution is to use longer candles, or the traditional oil lamps. In keeping with the above-stated prohibition, the Hanukkah menorah is lit first, followed by the Shabbat candles which signify its onset.

=== Blessings over the candles ===
[[Image:Skulen2.JPG|thumb|Grand Rabbi [[Israel Abraham Portugal]] of [[Skulen (Hasidic dynasty)|Skulen]] [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]] lighting Hanukkah lights]]
Typically three blessings (''Brachot'' singular ''Brachah'') are recited during this eight-day festival. On the first night of Hanukkah, Jews recite all three blessings, on all subsequent nights, they recite only the first two.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:1-2</ref> The blessings are said before or after the candles are lit depending on tradition. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle, lamp, or electric) is lit on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first candle and so on, proceeding from right to left each night.

For the full text of the blessings, see [[List of Jewish prayers and blessings#Hanukkah|List of Jewish prayers and blessings: Hanukkah]]

==== ''Hanerot Halalu'' ====
During or after the lights are kindled the hymn ''Hanerot Halalu'' is recited. There are several differing versions - the version presented here is recited in many Ashkenazic communities:<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:4</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan=2 | [[Ashkenazi]]c version:
|-
! Transliteration
! English
|-
| Hanneirot hallalu anachnu madlikin 'al hannissim ve'al hanniflaot 'al hatteshu'ot ve'al hammilchamot she'asita laavoteinu bayyamim haheim, (u)bazzeman hazeh 'al yedei kohanekha hakkedoshim. Vekhol-shemonat yemei Hanukkah hanneirot hallalu kodesh heim, ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtammesh baheim ella lir'otam bilvad kedei lehodot ul'halleil leshimcha haggadol 'al nissekha ve'al nifleotekha ve'al yeshu'otekha
| We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your [[Kohen|holy priests]]. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them except for to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations.
|-
|}

==== ''Maoz Tzur'' ====
{{main|Ma'oz Tzur}}
Each night after the lighting of the candles, while remaining within sight of the candles, Ashkenazim (and, in recent decades, some Sephardim and Mizrahim in Western countries) usually sing the hymn ''Ma'oz Tzur'' written in Medieval [[Germany]]. The song contains six stanzas. The first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation, and the middle four deal with events of persecution in [[Jewish history]], and praises God for survival despite these tragedies ([[the exodus]] from Egypt, the [[Babylonian captivity]], the miracle of the holiday of [[Purim]], and the [[Hasmonean]] victory).

====Other customs====
After lighting the candles and Ma'oz Tzur, singing various other Hanukkah songs is customary in many Jewish homes. Various Hasidic and Sefardic traditions have additional prayers that are recited both before and after lighting the Hanukkah lights. This includes the recitation of many Psalms, most notably Psalms 30, 67, and 91 (many Hasidim recite Psalm 91 seven times after lighting the lamps, as was taught by the [[Baal Shem Tov]]), as well as other prayers and hymns, each congregation according to its own custom. In North America it is common to exchange presents or give children presents at this time.

=== Additions to the daily prayers ===
{{quote box|align=left|width=45%|quote="We thank You also for the miraculous deeds and for the redemption and for the mighty deeds and the saving acts wrought by You, as well as for the wars which You waged for our ancestors in ancient days at this season. In the days of the Hasmonean Mattathias, son of Johanan the high priest, and his sons, when the iniquitous Greco-Syrian kingdom rose up against Your people Israel, to make them forget Your Torah and to turn them away from the ordinances of Your will, then You in your abundant mercy rose up for them in the time of their trouble, pled their cause, executed judgment, avenged their wrong, and delivered the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and insolent ones into the hands of those occupied with Your Torah. Both unto Yourself did you make a great and holy name in Thy world, and unto Your people did You achieve a great deliverance and redemption. Whereupon your children entered the sanctuary of Your house, cleansed Your temple, purified Your sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courts, and appointed these eight days of Hanukkah in order to give thanks and praises unto Your holy name."|source=Translation of ''Al ha-Nissim''}}
An addition is made to the "''hoda'ah''" (thanksgiving) benediction in the [[Amidah]], called ''Al ha-Nissim'' ("On/about the Miracles").<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 682:1</ref> This addition refers to the victory achieved over the Syrians by the Hasmonean Mattathias and his sons.

The same prayer is added to the grace after meals. In addition, the ''[[Hallel]]'' Psalms are sung during each morning service and the ''[[Tachanun]]'' penitential prayers are omitted. The Torah is read every day in the [[synagogue]], the first day beginning from [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 6:22 (According to some customs, Numbers 7:1), and the last day ending with Numbers 8:4.

Since Hanukkah lasts eight days it includes at least one, and sometimes two, [[Shabbat|Jewish Sabbaths]] (Saturdays). The weekly [[Parsha|Torah portion]] for the first Sabbath is almost always ''[[Miketz]]'', telling of [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]]'s dream and his enslavement in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]. The ''[[Haftarah]]'' reading for the first Sabbath Hanukkah is [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]] 2:14-4:7. When there is a second Sabbath on Hanukkah, the ''Haftarah'' reading is from [[I Kings]] 7:40 - 7:50.

The Hanukkah ''menorah'' is also kindled daily in the synagogue, at night with the blessings and in the morning without the blessings. The menorah is not lit on the Sabbath, but rather prior to the beginning of the Sabbath at night and not at all during the day.

During the [[Middle Ages]] "[[Megillat Antiochus]]" was read in the [[Italian Jews#Italian rite Jews|Italian]] [[synagogues]] on Hanukkah just as the [[Book of Esther]] is read on [[Purim]]. It still forms part of the liturgy of the [[Yemenite Jews]].<ref name = "pvgsyw"/>

=== ''Zot Hanukkah'' ===
The last day of Hanukkah is known as ''Zot Hanukkah'', from the verse in the Book of Numbers 7:84 "''Zot Chanukat Hamizbe'ach''" - "This was the dedication of the altar", which is read on this day in the synagogue. According to the teachings of [[Kabbalah]] and [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]], this day is the final "seal" of the High Holiday season of [[Yom Kippur]], and is considered a time to repent out of love for God. In this spirit, many Hasidic Jews wish each other "''Gmar chatimah tovah''", "may you be sealed totally for good", a traditional greeting for the Yom Kippur season. It is taught in Hasidic and Kabbalistic literature that this day is particularly auspicious for the fulfillment of prayers.

==Judith and Holofernes==
[[Image:Cristofano Allori 002.jpg|thumb|left|''Judith with the head of Holofernes'' by Cristofano Allori]]

Eating dairy foods, especially cheese, on Hanukkah is a minor custom that has its roots in the story of Judith, as related in the book of [[Judith]] (''Yehudit'' or ''Yehudis'' in Hebrew). [[Holofernes]], an Assyrian general, had surrounded the village of Bethulia as part of his campaign to conquer Judea. After intense fighting, the water supply of the Jews is cut off and the situation became desperate. Judith, a pious widow, told the city leaders that she had a plan to save the city. Judith went to the Assyrian camps and pretended to surrender. She met Holofernes, who was smitten by her beauty. She went back to his tent with him, where she plied him with cheese and wine. When he fell into a drunken sleep, Judith beheaded him and escaped from the camp, taking the severed head with her. When Holofernes' soldiers found his corpse, they were overcome with fear; the Jews, on the other hand, were emboldened, and launched a successful counterattack. The town was saved, and the Assyrians defeated.

Many argue {{who}} that Holofernes was actually Greek, placing the events in the general time-frame of Hanukkah. The longstanding tradition that Judith was the daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, and consequently a sister of Mattathias the Hasmonean and an aunt of Judah the Maccabee, is how this story came to be associated with Hanukkah. There are many depictions of Judith and Holofernes in painting.

==Interaction with modernity and with other traditions==

The classical rabbis downplayed the military and nationalistic dimensions of Hanukkah, and some even interpreted the emphasis upon the story of the miracle oil as a diversion away from the struggle with empires that had led to the disastrous downfall of Jerusalem to the Romans. With the advent of Zionism and the state of Israel, these themes were rapidly reconsidered. In modern Israel, Hanukkah was transformed into a celebration of military strength, a kind of antidote to what was perceived as the idea of the powerless [[Jewish diaspora|Diaspora Jew]] that the Zionists felt that the Jews in the State of Israel needed to psychologically overcome.

In North America especially, Hanukkah gained increased importance with many Jewish families in the latter half of the twentieth century, including large numbers of [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Jews]], who wanted a Jewish alternative to the [[Christmas]] celebrations that often overlap with Hanukkah. Though it was traditional to give "gelt" or money coins to children during Hanukkah, in many families this has changed into gifts in order to prevent Jewish children from feeling left out of the Christmas gift giving.

While Hanukkah traditionally speaking is only a minor Jewish holiday, as indicated by the lack of restrictions on work other than a few minutes after lighting the candles, Hanukkah has taken a place equal to Passover as a symbol of Jewish identity. Both the Israeli and North American versions of Hanukkah emphasize resistance, focusing on some combination of national liberation and religious freedom as the defining meaning of the holiday.

===Green Hanukkah===

Some Jews in North America and Israel have taken up environmental concerns in relation to Hanukkah's "miracle of the oil", emphasizing reflection on energy conservation and energy independence. An example of this is the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life's renewable energy campaign.<ref>[http://www.shalomctr.org/node/1315 Shalom Center on Hannukah and the environment]</ref> <ref>[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546797524&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Jerusalem Post: Green Hanukkia' campaign sparks ire]</ref> <ref>[http://www.coejl.org/climatechange/CFLceremony.php Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL): Green Hannukah ceremony]</ref>

==Hanukkah music==
{{main|Hanukkah music}}
There are several songs associated with the festival of Hanukkah. The most well known in English-speaking countries include "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" and "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah." In Israel, Hanukkah has become something of a national holiday. A large number of songs have been written on Hanukkah themes, perhaps more so than for any other Jewish holiday. Some of the most well known are "''Hanukkiah Li Yesh''" ("I Have a Hanukkah Menora"), "''Kad Katan''" ("A Small Jug"), "''S'vivon Sov Sov Sov''" ("Dreidel, Spin and Spin"), "''Mi Yimalel''" (Who can Retell") and "''Ner Li, Ner Li''" ("I have a Candle").

==Hanukkah foods==
[[Image:sufganiyah.jpeg|thumb|right|Sufganiyot with jelly]]
[[Potato pancakes]], known as [[latke]]s in [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], are traditionally associated with Hanukkah, especially among Ashkenazi families. There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil (preferably olive oil), as the original miracle of the Hanukkah menorah involved the discovery of the small flask of oil used by the Jewish High Priest, the [[Kohen Gadol]]. This small batch of olive oil was only supposed to last one day, and instead it lasted eight.

Many Sephardic families as well as [[History of Jews in Poland|Polish]] Ashkenazim and [[Israel]] have the custom of eating all kinds of fruit-filled [[doughnut]]s ({{lang-yi|פאנטשקעס ''pontshkes''}}), ([[bimuelos]], or [[sufganiyah|sufganiyot]]) which are [[Frying|deep-fried]] in oil, and of course all Kosher foods.

==Hanukkah games==
===Dreidel===
{{main|Dreidel}}
[[Image:Dreidel 001.jpg|thumb|right|Dreidel]]
The ''dreidel'', or ''sevivon'' in Hebrew, is a four-sided spinning top that children play with on Hanukkah. Each side is imprinted with a Hebrew letter. These letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words, נס גדול היה שם, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''S'''ham''—"A great miracle happened there" (referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Beit Hamikdash]]).

*נ ''([[Nun (letter)|Nun]])''
*ג ''([[Gimel (letter)|Gimel]])''
*ה ''([[He (letter)|Hey]])''
*ש ''([[Shin (letter)|Shin]])''

In [[Israel|Eretz Yisroel]], the fourth side of most dreidels is inscribed with the letter פ ''([[Pe (letter)|Pe]])'', rendering the acronym, נס גדול היה פה, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''P'''o''—"A great miracle happened here" referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel. Some stores in [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] neighbourhoods may sell the traditional ''Shin'' dreidels.

Some Jewish commentators ascribe symbolic significance to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects the four letters with the four exiles to which the nation of Israel was historically subject—Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome.<ref>[http://www.ohr.org.il/yhiy/article.php/1309 Ohr Somayach :: Chanukah :: The Secret of the Dreidel]</ref>

After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, it is customary in many homes to play the dreidel game: Each player starts out with 10 or 15 coins (real or of chocolate), nuts, raisins, candies or other markers, and places one marker in the "pot." The first player spins the dreidel, and depending on which side the dreidel falls on, either wins a marker from the pot or gives up part of his stash. The code (based on a [[Yiddish Language|Yiddish]] version of the game) is as follows:
*Nun - ''nisht'' - "nothing" - nothing happens and the next player spins
*Gimel - ''gants'' - "all" - the player takes the entire pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtel ayn'' - "put in" - the player puts one marker in the pot

Another version differs:
*Nun - ''nim'' - "take" - the player takes one from the pot
*Gimel - ''gib'' - "give" - the player puts one in the pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtil'' - "still" (as in "stillness") - nothing happens and the next player spins

The game may last until one person has won everything.

Some say the dreidel game is played to commemorate a game devised by the Jews to camouflage the fact that they were [[Torah study|studying Torah]], which was outlawed by Greeks. The Jews would gather in caves to study, posting a lookout to alert the group to the presence of Greek soldiers. If soldiers were spotted, the Jews would hide their scrolls and spin tops, so the Greeks thought they were gambling, not learning.

===Hanukkah ''gelt''===
Hanukkah ''gelt'' ([[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] for "money") is often distributed to children to enhance their enjoyment of the holiday. The amount is usually in small coins, although grandparents or other relatives may give larger sums as an official Hanukkah gift. In Israel, Hanukkah ''gelt'' is known as ''dmei Hanukkah''. Many Hasidic [[Rebbe]]s distribute coins to those who visit them during Hanukkah. Hasidic Jews consider this to be an auspicious blessing from the Rebbe, and a ''[[segulah]]'' for success.

Twentieth-century [[United States|American]] [[chocolatier]]s picked up on the gift/coin concept by creating [[chocolate money|chocolate ''gelt'']].

==Alternative spellings based on transliterating Hebrew letters==
In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], the word Hanukkah is written '''{{lang|he|חנֻכה}}''' or '''{{lang|he|חנוכה}}'''. It is most commonly transliterated to English as ''Chanukah'' or ''Hanukkah'', the latter because the sound represented by "CH" ([{{IPA|/χ/}}], similar to the [[Scots language|Scottish]] pronunciation of "[[loch]]") essentially does not exist in the modern English language. Furthermore, the letter "[[heth]]" ('''{{lang|he|ח}}'''), which is the first letter in the Hebrew spelling, is pronounced differently in modern Hebrew ([[voiceless uvular fricative]]) than in classical Hebrew ([[voiceless pharyngeal fricative]]), and neither of those sounds is unambiguously representable in English spelling. Moreover, the 'kaf' consonant is [[geminate]] in classical (but not modern) Hebrew. Adapting the classical Hebrew pronunciation with the geminate and pharyngeal Ḥeth can lead to the spelling "Hanukkah"; while adapting the modern Hebrew pronunciation with no geminate and velar Ḥeth leads to the spelling "Chanukah". Variations include:
[[Image:Hanukkah.png|right|thumb|Spelling variations are due to transliteration of Hebrew ''Chet Nun Vav Kaf Hey'']]

===Common variants===
* Hanukkah (in North America, Australia - also very common in UK)
* Chanukkah (in the UK, also common in North America)

===YIVO variant===
* Khanike ([[YIVO]] standard [[transliteration]] from the Yiddish and/or Ashkenazic [[pronunciation]] of the Hebrew)

== Background ==
===Chronology===

*198 BCE: Armies of the Seleucid King [[Antiochus III]] (Antiochus the Great) oust [[Ptolemy V Epiphanes|Ptolemy V]] from Judea and Samaria.
*175 BCE: [[Antiochus IV]] (Epiphanes) ascends the Seleucid throne.
*168 BCE: Under the reign of Antiochus IV, the Temple is looted, Jews are massacred, and [[Judaism]] is outlawed.
*167 BCE: Antiochus orders an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. Mattathias, and his five sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah lead a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah becomes known as Judah Maccabe (Judah The Hammer).
*166 BCE: Mattathias dies, and Judah takes his place as leader. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom begins; It lasts until 63 BCE
*165 BCE: The Jewish revolt against the [[Seleucid]] monarchy is successful. The Temple is liberated and rededicated (Hanukkah).
*142 BCE: Establishment of the Second Jewish Commonwealth. The Seleucids recognize Jewish autonomy. The Seleucid kings have a formal overlordship, which the Hasmoneans acknowledged. This inaugurates a period of great geographical expansion, population growth, and religious, cultural and social development.
*139 BCE: The [[Roman Senate]] recognizes Jewish autonomy.
*130 BCE: Antiochus VII besieges [[Jerusalem]], but withdraws.
*131 BCE: Antiochus VII dies. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom throws off Syrian rule completely
*96 BCE: An eight year civil war begins.
*83 BCE: Consolidation of the Kingdom in territory east of the [[Jordan River]].
*63 BCE: The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an end due to rivalry between the brothers [[Aristobulus II]] and [[Hyrcanus II]], both of whom appeal to the [[Roman Republic]] to intervene and settle the power struggle on their behalf. The Roman general [[Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus]] (Pompey the Great) is dispatched to the area. Twelve thousand Jews are massacred as Romans enter Jerusalem. The Priests of the Temple are struck down at the Altar. Rome annexes Judea.

===Battles of the Maccabean revolt===
{{main|Maccabees}}
There were a number of key battles between the Maccabees and the Seleucid Syrian-Greeks:

:''Listed alphabetically'':

*[[Battle of Adasa]] ([[Judas Maccabeus]] leads the Jews to victory against the forces of Nicanor.)
*[[Battle of Beth Horon]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the forces of Seron.)
*[[Battle of Beth-zechariah]] (Elazar the Maccabee is killed in battle. Lysias has success in battle against the Maccabess, but allows them temporary freedom of worship.)
*[[Battle of Beth Zur]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the army of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]], recapturing Jerusalem.)
*[[Dathema]] (A Jewish fortress saved by Judas Maccabeus.)
*[[Battle of Elasa]] (Judas Maccabeus dies in battle against the army of [[Demetrius I Soter|King Demetrius]] and [[Bacchides (general)|Bacchides]]. He is succeeded by [[Jonathan Maccabaeus]] and [[Simon Maccabaeus]] who continue to lead the Jews in battle.)
*[[Battle of Emmaus]] (Judas Maccabeus fights the forces of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]] and [[Gorgias (Syrian general)|Georgias]]).
*[[Battle of Wadi Haramia]].

==When Hanukkah occurs==
{{further|[[Jewish holidays 2000-2050]]}}

The dates of Hanukkah are determined by the [[Hebrew calendar]]. Hanukkah begins at the 25th day of [[Kislev]] and concludes on the 2nd or 3rd day of [[Tevet]] (Kislev can have 29 or 30 days). The Jewish day begins at sunset, whereas the [[Gregorian calendar]] begins the day at midnight. So, the first day of Hanukkah actually begins at sunset of the day immediately before the date noted on Gregorian calendars.

===Hanukkah according to the Gregorian calendar===
Hanukkah begins at sundown on the evening before the date shown.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
*[[December 22]], [[2000]]
*[[December 10]], [[2001]]
*[[November 30]], [[2002]]
*[[December 20]], [[2003]]
*[[December 8]], [[2004]]
*[[December 26]], [[2005]]
*[[December 16]], [[2006]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 5]], [[2007]]
*[[December 22]], [[2008]]
*[[December 12]], [[2009]]
*[[December 2]], [[2010]]
*[[December 21]], [[2011]]
*[[December 9]], [[2012]]
*[[November 28]], [[2013]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 17]], [[2014]]
*[[December 7]], [[2015]]
*[[December 25]], [[2016]]
*[[December 13]], [[2017]]
*[[December 3]], [[2018]]
*[[December 23]], [[2019]]
{{col-end}}

==See also==
{{portalpar|Judaism|Menora.svg}}
*[[Hasmonean]]
*[[Maccabees]]
*[[Jewish holiday]]s
*''[[County of Allegheny v. ACLU]]'' on the constitutionality of Hanukkah displays on public property in the U.S.
*[[Hanukkah bush]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{commonscat|Hanukkah}}
=== General ===
* [http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default.asp Hanukkah guide on chabad.org]
* [http://www.untitledtheater.com/Plays_About_Hanukkah.html Plays about Hanukkah]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=77|type=Shiurim}}
* [http://www.akhlah.com/holidays/hanukkah/hanukkah.php Hanukkah for Children]

=== Songs ===
* [http://liturgy.exc.com/Songsheets/Hanukah.cgi Hanukkah songsheets]
* [http://www.hebrewsongs.com/chanukah.htm Hanukkah songs]

=== Recipes ===
* [http://www.rd.com/content/cherished-hanukkah-recipes-to-share/ Traditional Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://kosherfood.about.com/od/hanukkah/Hanukkah_Recipes_Kosher_Jewish_Holiday_Food.htm About Kosher Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.wiki-recipe.org/index.php?title=Category:Hanukkah Wiki-Recipe.org Hanukkah recipes]

=== Photos ===
* [http://otzarstock.com/store/search.php?search=hanuka+hanukah+hanukka+hanukkah+chanuka+chanukah+chanukka+chanukkah+חנוכה+menorah+menorah+מנורה+dreidel+סביבון+candle+donut+סופגניה+&match_type=any Hanukkah Photos]

=== Video ===
* [http://www.aish.com/pathways/externallinks/videolink_chanukah.asp Video: Lighting Hanukkah Menorah How-To]
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3174713748168758247&q=satmar The Grand Rabbi of Satmar lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]

{{Hanukkah Footer}}
{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}


[[Category:Hanukkah| ]]
[[Category:Jewish holy days]]



[[ar:حانوكا]]
[[bg:Ханука]]
[[ca:Hanukà]]
[[cs:Chanuka]]
[[da:Chanukka]]
[[de:Chanukka]]
[[es:Jánuca]]
[[eo:Ĥanuka]]
[[fa:حنوکا]]
[[fr:Hanoucca]]
[[gl:Hanuka]]
[[ko:하누카]]
[[hi:हनुका]]
[[hr:Hanuka]]
[[id:Hari raya Pentahbisan]]
[[it:Chanukah]]
[[he:חנוכה]]
[[la:Encaenia]]
[[hu:Hanuka]]
[[ms:Hanukkah]]
[[nl:Chanoeka]]
[[ja:ハヌカー]]
[[no:Hanukka]]
[[nn:Hanukká]]
[[oc:Khanuca]]
[[pl:Chanuka]]
[[pt:Chanucá]]
[[ro:Hanuka]]
[[ru:Ханука]]
[[sk:Chanuka]]
[[sr:Ханука]]
[[fi:Hanukka]]
[[sv:Chanukka]]
[[tl:Pista ng Pagtatalaga]]
[[vi:Hanukkah]]
[[tr:Hanuka]]
[[uk:Ханука]]
[[yi:חנוכה]]
[[zh-yue:修殿節]]
[[zh:光明节]]

Hanukkah

2008-12-19T09:41:02Z

Dbratton: Revert to revision 258903297 dated 2008-12-19 02:38:25 by Mendaliv using popups

{{for|the Khazar ruler|Hanukkah ben Obadiah}}
{{distinguish|Hanneke}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image = Chanukia.jpg
|caption = A Hanukkah [[menorah]]
|holiday_name = Hanukkah
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''חֲנֻכָּה''' or '''חנוכה''' [[English language|English]] translation: "Establishing/Dedication" (of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]])
|nickname = Festival of Lights, Festival of Dedication
|observedby = [[Jew]]s
|begins = 25 [[Kislev]]
|ends = 2 [[Tevet]] or 3 [[Tevet]]
|celebrations = Lighting [[candle]]s each night. Singing special songs, such as [[Ma'oz Tzur]]. Reciting [[Hallel]] prayer. Eating festive meals and foods fried in oil, such as [[latke]]s and [[sufganiyot]]. Playing the ''[[Hanukkah#Dreidel|dreidel]]'' game, and giving [[Hanukkah#Hanukkah gelt|Hanukkah ''gelt'']]
|type = Jewish
|significance = The [[Maccabees]] successfully rebelled against [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]]. The Temple was purified and the wicks of the menorah miraculously burned for eight days.
|relatedto = [[Purim]], as a [[rabbi]]nically decreed holiday.
|date2008 = sunset, [[December 21]] to sunset, [[December 29]] The first Day of Hanukkah is December 22.
|date2009 = sunset, [[December 11]] to sunset, [[December 19]]
|date2010 = sunset, [[December 1]] to sunset, [[December 9]]
}}
'''Hanukkah''' ({{lang-he|חנוכה}}, {{IPA-all|'χanuka}}, alt. '''Chanukah'''), also known as the '''Festival of Lights''', is an eight-day [[Jewish holiday]] commemorating the rededication of the [[Second Temple]] in [[Jerusalem]] at the time of the [[Maccabean Revolt]] of the [[2nd century BCE]]. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of [[Kislev]] according to the [[Hebrew calendar]], and may occur from late November to late December on the [[Gregorian calendar]].

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a special [[candelabrum]], the ''[[Menorah (Hanukkah)|Menorah]]'' or ''Hanukiah'', one light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a ''[[Shamash#Shamash in Judaism|shamash]]'', ([[Hebrew (language)|Hebrew]]: "guard" or "servant") is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the [[Talmud]] (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. (The shamash is used to light the other lights.)

Hanukkah is mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] or [[Biblical apocrypha|apocrypha books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

==Origins of the holiday==
"Hanukkah," from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", marks the re-dedication of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] after its desecration by the forces of [[Antiochus IV]] and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil." According to the [[Talmud]], at the re-dedication following the victory of the [[Maccabees]] over the [[Seleucid Empire]], there was only enough consecrated [[olive oil]] to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

The martyrdom of Hannah and her seven sons has also been linked to Hanukkah. According to the Talmudic story<ref>Talmud Gittin 57b tells a story of a woman and her seven sons killed by "Caesar". The name "Hannah" is not stated.</ref> and [[2 Maccabees]], a Jewish woman named Hannah and her seven sons were tortured and executed by [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes|Antiochus]] for refusing to worship an idol, which would have been a violation of [[613 Mitzvot|Jewish law]].

===Name===
The name "Hanukkah" is interpreted in many ways.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://innernet.org.il/article.php?aid=11|title=Origin of the Name Chanukah|first=Nosson|last=Scherman|publisher=ArtScroll}}</ref>
*Some scholars say the word was derived from the Hebrew verb "חנך" meaning "to dedicate" or to "educate." On Hanukkah, Jews mark the rededication of the House of the Lord.<ref>[[Maharsha]] on [[Talmud]] [[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]] 21b</ref>

*Others argue that the name can be broken down into "חנו", from the Hebrew word for encampment, and the Hebrew letters כ"ה, which stand for the 25th day of Kislev, the day on which the holiday begins: Hence, the Jews sat in their camp, that is, they rested fighting, on the 25th day of Kislev.<ref>[[Nissim of Gerona|Ran]] on [[Isaac Alfasi|Rif]] 9b</ref>

*Hanukkah is also the Hebrew [[acronym]] for "ח' נרות והלכה כבית הלל" meaning "eight candles as determined by [[Hillel the Elder|House of Hillel]]" This is a reference to the disagreement between two rabbinical schools of thought - Hillel and the [[Shammai|House of Shammai]] - on the proper way to light Hanukkah candles. Shammai said that eight candles should be lit from the start, and reduced by one candle every night, whereas Hillel argued in favor of starting with one candle and lighting an additional one every night. Jewish law adopted the position of Hillel.

== Historical sources ==

=== Not mentioned in the Mishna ===
Strangely, unlike any other holiday Hanukkahs story, laws and customs are entirely missing from the [[Mishna]]. The term “Hanukkah” is only mentioned once in a "by the way" manner. It is not clear the reason behind it.<ref>A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice By Isaac Klein p.227</ref>

=== In the Talmud ===
The miracle of Hanukkah is described in the [[Talmud]]. The [[Gemara]], in tractate ''Shabbat 2'' focuses on [[Shabbat]] candles and moves to Hanukkah candles and says that after the forces of Antiochus IV had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was still [[seal (device)|seal]]ed by the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, and miraculously, that oil burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready). <ref>http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Talmud/shabbat2.html</ref>

The Talmud presents three options:
#The law requires only one light each night per household,
#A better practice is to light one light each night for each member of the household
#The most preferred practise is to vary the number of lights each night.
There was a dispute among the sages over how the last option was to be performed: either display eight lamps on the first night of the festival, and reduce the number on each successive night; or begin with one lamp the first night, increasing the number till the eighth night. The followers of [[Shammai]] favored the former custom; the followers of [[Hillel the Elder|Hillel]] advocated the latter. As is the case in most such disputes, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] followed Hillel. Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one's door or in the window closest to the street. [[Rashi]], in a note to ''Shabbat 21b,'' says their purpose is to publicize the miracle. Hanukkah is also mentioned in the (older) [[Mishnah]] (TB [[Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah]] 30b).

===In the Septuagint and other sources===
The story of Hanukkah is alluded to in the book of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]] of the [[Septuagint]] but Hanukkah is not specially mentioned; rather, a story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 ''et seq'' according to which the relighting of the altar fire by [[Nehemiah]] was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabeus.

The Books of Maccabees are not part of the [[Tanakh]] ([[Hebrew Bible]]), but are part of [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] historical and religious material preserved in the [[Septuagint]]. The Tanakh ends with the consequences following the events of [[Purim]], and had already been codified many centuries earlier by the [[Great Assembly|Men of the Great Assembly]] (''Anshei Knesset HaGedolah'').

Another source is the [[Megillat Antiochus]]. This work (also known as "Megillat HaHasmonaim", or "Megillat Hanukkah") is in both [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]; the Hebrew version is a literal translation from the Aramaic original. Recent scholarship dates it to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th Centuries, probably in the 2nd Century,<ref>{{cite web|first=Benjamin|last=Zvieli|title=The Scroll of Antiochus|url= http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html| accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> with the Hebrew dating to the seventh century.<ref name = "pvgsyw"> [http://customerservant.com/2006/12/16/the-scroll-of-the-hasmoneans/ The Scroll Of The Hasmoneans] </ref> It was published for the first time in [[Mantua]] in 1557. [[Saadia Gaon]], who translated it into [[Arabic language| Arabic]] in the 9th Century, ascribed it to the Maccabees themselves, disputed by some, since it gives dates as so many years before the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE.<ref> [http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html The Scroll of Antiochus] </ref> The Hebrew text with an English translation can be found in the [[Siddur]] of [[Philip Birnbaum]].

== The story ==
{{see also|Hasmonean}}
Around 200 BC Jews lived as an autonomous people in the [[Land of Israel]], also referred to as [[Judea]], which at that time was controlled by the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] [[Seleucid dynasty|king of Syria]]. The Jewish people paid taxes to Syria and accepted its legal authority, and they were free to follow their own faith, maintain their own jobs, and engage in trade.

By 175 BC [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]] ascended to the Seleucid throne. At first little changed, but under his reign, the Temple in [[Jerusalem]] was looted, Jews were massacred, and [[Judaism]] was effectively outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. As was the normal practice of the [[Ancient Greek religion|Hellenic religion]] when sacrificing to the [[Greek gods]], [[pig]]s were sacrificed on the altar to Zeus.

Many modern scholars argue that the king may have been intervening in an internal civil war between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized elite Jews in Jerusalem. These competed violently over who would be the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like [[Onias III|Onias]] overthrown by Hellenizers with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus. As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times, banned the traditional religion of a whole people.<ref>Tchrikover, Victor. ''Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews''.</ref>

Antiochus' actions proved to be a major miscalculation as they provoked a large-scale revolt. [[Mattathias]], a [[Kohen|Jewish priest]], and his five sons Jochanan, [[Simon Maccabaeus|Simeon]], [[Eleazar Maccabeus|Eleazar]], [[Jonathan Maccabaeus|Jonathan]], and [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] led a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BC Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated.
The festival of Hanukkah was instituted by [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah Maccabee]] and his brothers to celebrate this event.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#59 1 Macc. iv. 59]</ref> After recovering Jerusalem and the Temple, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. But 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 by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

[[Image:Hanukkah2.jpg|thumb|right|Hanukkah lamp unearthed near [[Jerusalem]], c. 1900.]]
The version of the story in 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, states that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was proclaimed upon rededication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of the oil.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#36 1 Macc. iv. 36]</ref> A number of historians believe that the reason for the eight day celebration was that the first Hanukkah was in effect a belated celebration of the festivals of [[Sukkot]] and [[Shemini Atzeret]].<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA10.HTM#6 Macc. x. 6] and [http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA1.HTM#9 i. 9]</ref> During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret properly; the combined festivals also last eight days, and the Sukkot festivities featured the lighting of lamps in the Temple (Suk.v. 2-4). The historian [[Josephus]]<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+12.287]
''Jewish Antiquities'' xii. 7, § 7, #323</ref> mentions the eight-day festival and its customs, but does not tell us the origin of the eight day lighting custom. Given that his audience was Hellenized Romans, perhaps his silence on the origin of the eight-day custom is due to its miraculous nature. In any event, he does report that lights were kindled in the household and the popular name of the festival was, therefore the "Festival of Lights" ("And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights").

It has also been noted that the number eight has special significance in Jewish theology, as representing transcendence and the Jewish People's special role in human history. Seven is the number of days of creation, that is, of completion of the material cosmos, and also of the classical planets. Eight, being one step beyond seven, represents the Infinite. Hence, the Eighth Day of the Assembly festival, mentioned above, is according to Jewish Law a festival for Jews only (unlike Sukkot, when all peoples were welcome in Jerusalem). Similarly, the rite of [[brit milah]] (circumcision), which brings a Jewish male into God's Covenant, is performed on the eighth day. Hence, Hanukkah's eight days (in celebration of monotheistic morality's victory over Hellenistic humanism) have great symbolic importance for practicing Jews.

==Hanukkah rituals==
[[Image:Hanukkah1.jpg|thumb|right|Various menorot used for Hanukkah. 12th through 19th century, CE]]

Hanukkah is celebrated by a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the 8-day holiday. Some are family-based and others are communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals. Hanukkah is not a "Sabbath-like" holiday, and there is no obligation to refrain from [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|activities that are forbidden on the Sabbath]], as specified in the ''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]''<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 670:1</ref> People go to work as usual, but may leave early in order to be home to kindle the lights at nightfall. There is no religious reason for schools to be closed, although, in Israel, schools close for the whole week of Hanukkah. Many families exchange gifts each night, and fried foods are eaten.

===Kindling the Hanukkah lights===
:{{seealso|Chanukkiyah}}
The primary ritual, according to [[Halakha|Jewish law and custom]], is to light a single light each night for eight nights. As a universally practiced "beautification" of the [[mitzvah]], the number of lights lit is increased by one each night.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 671:2</ref> An extra light called a ''shamash'', meaning ''guard'' or ''servant'' is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. This differs from [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] candles which are meant to be used for illumination. Hence, if one were to need extra illumination on Hanukkah, the ''shamash'' candle would be available and one would avoid using the prohibited lights. Some light the ''shamash'' candle first and then use it to light the others.<ref name = "lonorw">''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 673:1</ref> So all together, including the ''shamash'', two lights are lit on the first night, three on the second and so on, ending with nine on the last night, for a total of 44.

[[Image:Tiffany glasswork Hanukkah menora02.jpg|thumb|A modern [[Lead came and copper foil glasswork|"Tiffany"]] Hanukkah menorah]]
The lights can be candles or oil lamps.<ref name = "lonorw"/> Electric lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room. Most Jewish homes have a special [[candelabrum]] or oil lamp holder for Hanukkah, which holds eight lights plus the additional ''shamash'' light.

The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without," so that passers-by should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle. Accordingly lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street. It is customary amongst some Ashkenazim to have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), whereas most Sephardim light one for the whole household. Only when there was danger of [[Anti-Semitism|anti-semitic persecution]] were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the case in [[Iran|Persia]] under the rule of the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]], or in parts of Europe before and during World War II. However, most [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] groups, light lamps near an inside doorway, not necessarily in public view. According to this tradition, the lamps are placed on the opposite side from the ''[[mezuzah]]'', so that when one passes through the door he is surrounded by the holiness of ''mitzvoth''.

[[Image:Maurice Ascalon Menorah Pal-Bell.jpg|thumb|left|Bronze [[Pal-Bell]] oil-burning Hanukkah menorah from Israel circa 1948, by [[Maurice Ascalon]].]]

===Time of lighting===
Hanukkah lights should burn for at least one half hour after it gets dark. The custom of the [[Vilna Gaon]] observed by many residents of Jerusalem as the custom of the city, is to light at sundown, although most Hassidim light later, even in Jerusalem. Many Hasidic Rebbes light much later, because they fulfill the obligation of publicizing the miracle by the presence of their Hasidim when they kindle the lights. Inexpensive small wax candles sold for Hanukkah burn for approximately half an hour, so on most days this requirement can be met by lighting the candles when it is dark outside. Friday night presents a problem, however. Since candles may not be lit on the [[Shabbat]] itself, the candles must be lit before sunset. However, they must remain lit until the regular time - thirty minutes after nightfall - and inexpensive Hanukkah candles do not burn long enough to meet the requirement. A simple solution is to use longer candles, or the traditional oil lamps. In keeping with the above-stated prohibition, the Hanukkah menorah is lit first, followed by the Shabbat candles which signify its onset.

=== Blessings over the candles ===
[[Image:Skulen2.JPG|thumb|Grand Rabbi [[Israel Abraham Portugal]] of [[Skulen (Hasidic dynasty)|Skulen]] [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]] lighting Hanukkah lights]]
Typically three blessings (''Brachot'' singular ''Brachah'') are recited during this eight-day festival. On the first night of Hanukkah, Jews recite all three blessings, on all subsequent nights, they recite only the first two.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:1-2</ref> The blessings are said before or after the candles are lit depending on tradition. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle, lamp, or electric) is lit on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first candle and so on, proceeding from right to left each night.

For the full text of the blessings, see [[List of Jewish prayers and blessings#Hanukkah|List of Jewish prayers and blessings: Hanukkah]]

==== ''Hanerot Halalu'' ====
During or after the lights are kindled the hymn ''Hanerot Halalu'' is recited. There are several differing versions - the version presented here is recited in many Ashkenazic communities:<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:4</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan=2 | [[Ashkenazi]]c version:
|-
! Transliteration
! English
|-
| Hanneirot hallalu anachnu madlikin 'al hannissim ve'al hanniflaot 'al hatteshu'ot ve'al hammilchamot she'asita laavoteinu bayyamim haheim, (u)bazzeman hazeh 'al yedei kohanekha hakkedoshim. Vekhol-shemonat yemei Hanukkah hanneirot hallalu kodesh heim, ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtammesh baheim ella lir'otam bilvad kedei lehodot ul'halleil leshimcha haggadol 'al nissekha ve'al nifleotekha ve'al yeshu'otekha
| We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your [[Kohen|holy priests]]. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them except for to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations.
|-
|}

==== ''Maoz Tzur'' ====
{{main|Ma'oz Tzur}}
Each night after the lighting of the candles, while remaining within sight of the candles, Ashkenazim (and, in recent decades, some Sephardim and Mizrahim in Western countries) usually sing the hymn ''Ma'oz Tzur'' written in Medieval [[Germany]]. The song contains six stanzas. The first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation, and the middle four deal with events of persecution in [[Jewish history]], and praises God for survival despite these tragedies ([[the exodus]] from Egypt, the [[Babylonian captivity]], the miracle of the holiday of [[Purim]], and the [[Hasmonean]] victory).

====Other customs====
After lighting the candles and Ma'oz Tzur, singing various other Hanukkah songs is customary in many Jewish homes. Various Hasidic and Sefardic traditions have additional prayers that are recited both before and after lighting the Hanukkah lights. This includes the recitation of many Psalms, most notably Psalms 30, 67, and 91 (many Hasidim recite Psalm 91 seven times after lighting the lamps, as was taught by the [[Baal Shem Tov]]), as well as other prayers and hymns, each congregation according to its own custom. In North America it is common to exchange presents or give children presents at this time.

=== Additions to the daily prayers ===
{{quote box|align=left|width=45%|quote="We thank You also for the miraculous deeds and for the redemption and for the mighty deeds and the saving acts wrought by You, as well as for the wars which You waged for our ancestors in ancient days at this season. In the days of the Hasmonean Mattathias, son of Johanan the high priest, and his sons, when the iniquitous Greco-Syrian kingdom rose up against Your people Israel, to make them forget Your Torah and to turn them away from the ordinances of Your will, then You in your abundant mercy rose up for them in the time of their trouble, pled their cause, executed judgment, avenged their wrong, and delivered the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and insolent ones into the hands of those occupied with Your Torah. Both unto Yourself did you make a great and holy name in Thy world, and unto Your people did You achieve a great deliverance and redemption. Whereupon your children entered the sanctuary of Your house, cleansed Your temple, purified Your sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courts, and appointed these eight days of Hanukkah in order to give thanks and praises unto Your holy name."|source=Translation of ''Al ha-Nissim''}}
An addition is made to the "''hoda'ah''" (thanksgiving) benediction in the [[Amidah]], called ''Al ha-Nissim'' ("On/about the Miracles").<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 682:1</ref> This addition refers to the victory achieved over the Syrians by the Hasmonean Mattathias and his sons.

The same prayer is added to the grace after meals. In addition, the ''[[Hallel]]'' Psalms are sung during each morning service and the ''[[Tachanun]]'' penitential prayers are omitted. The Torah is read every day in the [[synagogue]], the first day beginning from [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 6:22 (According to some customs, Numbers 7:1), and the last day ending with Numbers 8:4.

Since Hanukkah lasts eight days it includes at least one, and sometimes two, [[Shabbat|Jewish Sabbaths]] (Saturdays). The weekly [[Parsha|Torah portion]] for the first Sabbath is almost always ''[[Miketz]]'', telling of [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]]'s dream and his enslavement in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]. The ''[[Haftarah]]'' reading for the first Sabbath Hanukkah is [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]] 2:14-4:7. When there is a second Sabbath on Hanukkah, the ''Haftarah'' reading is from [[I Kings]] 7:40 - 7:50.

The Hanukkah ''menorah'' is also kindled daily in the synagogue, at night with the blessings and in the morning without the blessings. The menorah is not lit on the Sabbath, but rather prior to the beginning of the Sabbath at night and not at all during the day.

During the [[Middle Ages]] "[[Megillat Antiochus]]" was read in the [[Italian Jews#Italian rite Jews|Italian]] [[synagogues]] on Hanukkah just as the [[Book of Esther]] is read on [[Purim]]. It still forms part of the liturgy of the [[Yemenite Jews]].<ref name = "pvgsyw"/>

=== ''Zot Hanukkah'' ===
The last day of Hanukkah is known as ''Zot Hanukkah'', from the verse in the Book of Numbers 7:84 "''Zot Chanukat Hamizbe'ach''" - "This was the dedication of the altar", which is read on this day in the synagogue. According to the teachings of [[Kabbalah]] and [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]], this day is the final "seal" of the High Holiday season of [[Yom Kippur]], and is considered a time to repent out of love for God. In this spirit, many Hasidic Jews wish each other "''Gmar chatimah tovah''", "may you be sealed totally for good", a traditional greeting for the Yom Kippur season. It is taught in Hasidic and Kabbalistic literature that this day is particularly auspicious for the fulfillment of prayers.

==Judith and Holofernes==
[[Image:Cristofano Allori 002.jpg|thumb|left|''Judith with the head of Holofernes'' by Cristofano Allori]]

Eating dairy foods, especially cheese, on Hanukkah is a minor custom that has its roots in the story of Judith, as related in the book of [[Judith]] (''Yehudit'' or ''Yehudis'' in Hebrew). [[Holofernes]], an Assyrian general, had surrounded the village of Bethulia as part of his campaign to conquer Judea. After intense fighting, the water supply of the Jews is cut off and the situation became desperate. Judith, a pious widow, told the city leaders that she had a plan to save the city. Judith went to the Assyrian camps and pretended to surrender. She met Holofernes, who was smitten by her beauty. She went back to his tent with him, where she plied him with cheese and wine. When he fell into a drunken sleep, Judith beheaded him and escaped from the camp, taking the severed head with her. When Holofernes' soldiers found his corpse, they were overcome with fear; the Jews, on the other hand, were emboldened, and launched a successful counterattack. The town was saved, and the Assyrians defeated.

Many argue {{who}} that Holofernes was actually Greek, placing the events in the general time-frame of Hanukkah. The longstanding tradition that Judith was the daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, and consequently a sister of Mattathias the Hasmonean and an aunt of Judah the Maccabee, is how this story came to be associated with Hanukkah. There are many depictions of Judith and Holofernes in painting.

==Interaction with modernity and with other traditions==

The classical rabbis downplayed the military and nationalistic dimensions of Hanukkah, and some even interpreted the emphasis upon the story of the miracle oil as a diversion away from the struggle with empires that had led to the disastrous downfall of Jerusalem to the Romans. With the advent of Zionism and the state of Israel, these themes were rapidly reconsidered. In modern Israel, Hanukkah was transformed into a celebration of military strength, a kind of antidote to what was perceived as the idea of the powerless [[Jewish diaspora|Diaspora Jew]] that the Zionists felt that the Jews in the State of Israel needed to psychologically overcome.

In North America especially, Hanukkah gained increased importance with many Jewish families in the latter half of the twentieth century, including large numbers of [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Jews]], who wanted a Jewish alternative to the [[Christmas]] celebrations that often overlap with Hanukkah. Though it was traditional to give "gelt" or money coins to children during Hanukkah, in many families this has changed into gifts in order to prevent Jewish children from feeling left out of the Christmas gift giving.

While Hanukkah traditionally speaking is only a minor Jewish holiday, as indicated by the lack of restrictions on work other than a few minutes after lighting the candles, Hanukkah has taken a place equal to Passover as a symbol of Jewish identity. Both the Israeli and North American versions of Hanukkah emphasize resistance, focusing on some combination of national liberation and religious freedom as the defining meaning of the holiday.

===Green Hanukkah===

Some Jews in North America and Israel have taken up environmental concerns in relation to Hanukkah's "miracle of the oil", emphasizing reflection on energy conservation and energy independence. An example of this is the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life's renewable energy campaign.<ref>[http://www.shalomctr.org/node/1315 Shalom Center on Hannukah and the environment]</ref> <ref>[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546797524&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Jerusalem Post: Green Hanukkia' campaign sparks ire]</ref> <ref>[http://www.coejl.org/climatechange/CFLceremony.php Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL): Green Hannukah ceremony]</ref>

==Hanukkah music==
{{main|Hanukkah music}}
There are several songs associated with the festival of Hanukkah. The most well known in English-speaking countries include "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" and "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah." In Israel, Hanukkah has become something of a national holiday. A large number of songs have been written on Hanukkah themes, perhaps more so than for any other Jewish holiday. Some of the most well known are "''Hanukkiah Li Yesh''" ("I Have a Hanukkah Menora"), "''Kad Katan''" ("A Small Jug"), "''S'vivon Sov Sov Sov''" ("Dreidel, Spin and Spin"), "''Mi Yimalel''" (Who can Retell") and "''Ner Li, Ner Li''" ("I have a Candle").

==Hanukkah foods==
[[Image:sufganiyah.jpeg|thumb|right|Sufganiyot with jelly]]
[[Potato pancakes]], known as [[latke]]s in [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], are traditionally associated with Hanukkah, especially among Ashkenazi families. There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil (preferably olive oil), as the original miracle of the Hanukkah menorah involved the discovery of the small flask of oil used by the Jewish High Priest, the [[Kohen Gadol]]. This small batch of olive oil was only supposed to last one day, and instead it lasted eight.

Many Sephardic families as well as [[History of Jews in Poland|Polish]] Ashkenazim and [[Israel]] have the custom of eating all kinds of fruit-filled [[doughnut]]s ({{lang-yi|פאנטשקעס ''pontshkes''}}), ([[bimuelos]], or [[sufganiyah|sufganiyot]]) which are [[Frying|deep-fried]] in oil, and of course all Kosher foods.

==Hanukkah games==
===Dreidel===
{{main|Dreidel}}
[[Image:Dreidel 001.jpg|thumb|right|Dreidel]]
The ''dreidel'', or ''sevivon'' in Hebrew, is a four-sided spinning top that children play with on Hanukkah. Each side is imprinted with a Hebrew letter. These letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words, נס גדול היה שם, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''S'''ham''—"A great miracle happened there" (referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Beit Hamikdash]]).

*נ ''([[Nun (letter)|Nun]])''
*ג ''([[Gimel (letter)|Gimel]])''
*ה ''([[He (letter)|Hey]])''
*ש ''([[Shin (letter)|Shin]])''

In [[Israel|Eretz Yisroel]], the fourth side of most dreidels is inscribed with the letter פ ''([[Pe (letter)|Pe]])'', rendering the acronym, נס גדול היה פה, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''P'''o''—"A great miracle happened here" referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel. Some stores in [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] neighbourhoods may sell the traditional ''Shin'' dreidels.

Some Jewish commentators ascribe symbolic significance to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects the four letters with the four exiles to which the nation of Israel was historically subject—Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome.<ref>[http://www.ohr.org.il/yhiy/article.php/1309 Ohr Somayach :: Chanukah :: The Secret of the Dreidel]</ref>

After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, it is customary in many homes to play the dreidel game: Each player starts out with 10 or 15 coins (real or of chocolate), nuts, raisins, candies or other markers, and places one marker in the "pot." The first player spins the dreidel, and depending on which side the dreidel falls on, either wins a marker from the pot or gives up part of his stash. The code (based on a [[Yiddish Language|Yiddish]] version of the game) is as follows:
*Nun - ''nisht'' - "nothing" - nothing happens and the next player spins
*Gimel - ''gants'' - "all" - the player takes the entire pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtel ayn'' - "put in" - the player puts one marker in the pot

Another version differs:
*Nun - ''nim'' - "take" - the player takes one from the pot
*Gimel - ''gib'' - "give" - the player puts one in the pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtil'' - "still" (as in "stillness") - nothing happens and the next player spins

The game may last until one person has won everything.

Some say the dreidel game is played to commemorate a game devised by the Jews to camouflage the fact that they were [[Torah study|studying Torah]], which was outlawed by Greeks. The Jews would gather in caves to study, posting a lookout to alert the group to the presence of Greek soldiers. If soldiers were spotted, the Jews would hide their scrolls and spin tops, so the Greeks thought they were gambling, not learning.

===Hanukkah ''gelt''===
Hanukkah ''gelt'' ([[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] for "money") is often distributed to children to enhance their enjoyment of the holiday. The amount is usually in small coins, although grandparents or other relatives may give larger sums as an official Hanukkah gift. In Israel, Hanukkah ''gelt'' is known as ''dmei Hanukkah''. Many Hasidic [[Rebbe]]s distribute coins to those who visit them during Hanukkah. Hasidic Jews consider this to be an auspicious blessing from the Rebbe, and a ''[[segulah]]'' for success.

Twentieth-century [[United States|American]] [[chocolatier]]s picked up on the gift/coin concept by creating [[chocolate money|chocolate ''gelt'']].

==Alternative spellings based on transliterating Hebrew letters==
In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], the word Hanukkah is written '''{{lang|he|חנֻכה}}''' or '''{{lang|he|חנוכה}}'''. It is most commonly transliterated to English as ''Chanukah'' or ''Hanukkah'', the latter because the sound represented by "CH" ([{{IPA|/χ/}}], similar to the [[Scots language|Scottish]] pronunciation of "[[loch]]") essentially does not exist in the modern English language. Furthermore, the letter "[[heth]]" ('''{{lang|he|ח}}'''), which is the first letter in the Hebrew spelling, is pronounced differently in modern Hebrew ([[voiceless uvular fricative]]) than in classical Hebrew ([[voiceless pharyngeal fricative]]), and neither of those sounds is unambiguously representable in English spelling. Moreover, the 'kaf' consonant is [[geminate]] in classical (but not modern) Hebrew. Adapting the classical Hebrew pronunciation with the geminate and pharyngeal Ḥeth can lead to the spelling "Hanukkah"; while adapting the modern Hebrew pronunciation with no geminate and velar Ḥeth leads to the spelling "Chanukah". Variations include:
[[Image:Hanukkah.png|right|thumb|Spelling variations are due to transliteration of Hebrew ''Chet Nun Vav Kaf Hey'']]

===Common variants===
* Hanukkah (in North America, Australia - also very common in UK)
* Chanukkah (in the UK, also common in North America)

===YIVO variant===
* Khanike ([[YIVO]] standard [[transliteration]] from the Yiddish and/or Ashkenazic [[pronunciation]] of the Hebrew)

== Background ==
===Chronology===

*198 BCE: Armies of the Seleucid King [[Antiochus III]] (Antiochus the Great) oust [[Ptolemy V Epiphanes|Ptolemy V]] from Judea and Samaria.
*175 BCE: [[Antiochus IV]] (Epiphanes) ascends the Seleucid throne.
*168 BCE: Under the reign of Antiochus IV, the Temple is looted, Jews are massacred, and [[Judaism]] is outlawed.
*167 BCE: Antiochus orders an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. Mattathias, and his five sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah lead a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah becomes known as Judah Maccabe (Judah The Hammer).
*166 BCE: Mattathias dies, and Judah takes his place as leader. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom begins; It lasts until 63 BCE
*165 BCE: The Jewish revolt against the [[Seleucid]] monarchy is successful. The Temple is liberated and rededicated (Hanukkah).
*142 BCE: Establishment of the Second Jewish Commonwealth. The Seleucids recognize Jewish autonomy. The Seleucid kings have a formal overlordship, which the Hasmoneans acknowledged. This inaugurates a period of great geographical expansion, population growth, and religious, cultural and social development.
*139 BCE: The [[Roman Senate]] recognizes Jewish autonomy.
*130 BCE: Antiochus VII besieges [[Jerusalem]], but withdraws.
*131 BCE: Antiochus VII dies. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom throws off Syrian rule completely
*96 BCE: An eight year civil war begins.
*83 BCE: Consolidation of the Kingdom in territory east of the [[Jordan River]].
*63 BCE: The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an end due to rivalry between the brothers [[Aristobulus II]] and [[Hyrcanus II]], both of whom appeal to the [[Roman Republic]] to intervene and settle the power struggle on their behalf. The Roman general [[Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus]] (Pompey the Great) is dispatched to the area. Twelve thousand Jews are massacred as Romans enter Jerusalem. The Priests of the Temple are struck down at the Altar. Rome annexes Judea.

===Battles of the Maccabean revolt===
{{main|Maccabees}}
There were a number of key battles between the Maccabees and the Seleucid Syrian-Greeks:

:''Listed alphabetically'':

*[[Battle of Adasa]] ([[Judas Maccabeus]] leads the Jews to victory against the forces of Nicanor.)
*[[Battle of Beth Horon]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the forces of Seron.)
*[[Battle of Beth-zechariah]] (Elazar the Maccabee is killed in battle. Lysias has success in battle against the Maccabess, but allows them temporary freedom of worship.)
*[[Battle of Beth Zur]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the army of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]], recapturing Jerusalem.)
*[[Dathema]] (A Jewish fortress saved by Judas Maccabeus.)
*[[Battle of Elasa]] (Judas Maccabeus dies in battle against the army of [[Demetrius I Soter|King Demetrius]] and [[Bacchides (general)|Bacchides]]. He is succeeded by [[Jonathan Maccabaeus]] and [[Simon Maccabaeus]] who continue to lead the Jews in battle.)
*[[Battle of Emmaus]] (Judas Maccabeus fights the forces of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]] and [[Gorgias (Syrian general)|Georgias]]).
*[[Battle of Wadi Haramia]].

==When Hanukkah occurs==
{{further|[[Jewish holidays 2000-2050]]}}

The dates of Hanukkah are determined by the [[Hebrew calendar]]. Hanukkah begins at the 25th day of [[Kislev]] and concludes on the 2nd or 3rd day of [[Tevet]] (Kislev can have 29 or 30 days). The Jewish day begins at sunset, whereas the [[Gregorian calendar]] begins the day at midnight. So, the first day of Hanukkah actually begins at sunset of the day immediately before the date noted on Gregorian calendars.

===Hanukkah according to the Gregorian calendar===
Hanukkah begins at sundown on the evening before the date shown.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
*[[December 22]], [[2000]]
*[[December 10]], [[2001]]
*[[November 30]], [[2002]]
*[[December 20]], [[2003]]
*[[December 8]], [[2004]]
*[[December 26]], [[2005]]
*[[December 16]], [[2006]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 5]], [[2007]]
*[[December 22]], [[2008]]
*[[December 12]], [[2009]]
*[[December 2]], [[2010]]
*[[December 21]], [[2011]]
*[[December 9]], [[2012]]
*[[November 28]], [[2013]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 17]], [[2014]]
*[[December 7]], [[2015]]
*[[December 25]], [[2016]]
*[[December 13]], [[2017]]
*[[December 3]], [[2018]]
*[[December 23]], [[2019]]
{{col-end}}

==See also==
{{portalpar|Judaism|Menora.svg}}
*[[Hasmonean]]
*[[Maccabees]]
*[[Jewish holiday]]s
*''[[County of Allegheny v. ACLU]]'' on the constitutionality of Hanukkah displays on public property in the U.S.
*[[Hanukkah bush]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{commonscat|Hanukkah}}
=== General ===
* [http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default.asp Hanukkah guide on chabad.org]
* [http://www.untitledtheater.com/Plays_About_Hanukkah.html Plays about Hanukkah]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=77|type=Shiurim}}
* [http://www.akhlah.com/holidays/hanukkah/hanukkah.php Hanukkah for Children]

=== Songs ===
* [http://liturgy.exc.com/Songsheets/Hanukah.cgi Hanukkah songsheets]
* [http://www.hebrewsongs.com/chanukah.htm Hanukkah songs]

=== Recipes ===
* [http://www.rd.com/content/cherished-hanukkah-recipes-to-share/ Traditional Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://kosherfood.about.com/od/hanukkah/Hanukkah_Recipes_Kosher_Jewish_Holiday_Food.htm About Kosher Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.wiki-recipe.org/index.php?title=Category:Hanukkah Wiki-Recipe.org Hanukkah recipes]

=== Photos ===
* [http://otzarstock.com/store/search.php?search=hanuka+hanukah+hanukka+hanukkah+chanuka+chanukah+chanukka+chanukkah+חנוכה+menorah+menorah+מנורה+dreidel+סביבון+candle+donut+סופגניה+&match_type=any Hanukkah Photos]

=== Video ===
* [http://www.aish.com/pathways/externallinks/videolink_chanukah.asp Video: Lighting Hanukkah Menorah How-To]
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3174713748168758247&q=satmar The Grand Rabbi of Satmar lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]

{{Hanukkah Footer}}
{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}


[[Category:Hanukkah| ]]
[[Category:Jewish holy days]]



[[ar:حانوكا]]
[[bg:Ханука]]
[[ca:Hanukà]]
[[cs:Chanuka]]
[[da:Chanukka]]
[[de:Chanukka]]
[[es:Jánuca]]
[[eo:Ĥanuka]]
[[fa:حنوکا]]
[[fr:Hanoucca]]
[[gl:Hanuka]]
[[ko:하누카]]
[[hi:हनुका]]
[[hr:Hanuka]]
[[id:Hari raya Pentahbisan]]
[[it:Chanukah]]
[[he:חנוכה]]
[[la:Encaenia]]
[[hu:Hanuka]]
[[ms:Hanukkah]]
[[nl:Chanoeka]]
[[ja:ハヌカー]]
[[no:Hanukka]]
[[nn:Hanukká]]
[[oc:Khanuca]]
[[pl:Chanuka]]
[[pt:Chanucá]]
[[ro:Hanuka]]
[[ru:Ханука]]
[[sk:Chanuka]]
[[sr:Ханука]]
[[fi:Hanukka]]
[[sv:Chanukka]]
[[tl:Pista ng Pagtatalaga]]
[[vi:Hanukkah]]
[[tr:Hanuka]]
[[uk:Ханука]]
[[yi:חנוכה]]
[[zh-yue:修殿節]]
[[zh:光明节]]

Yom Kippur

2008-12-18T00:44:39Z

Dbratton: Revert to revision 257537515 dated 2008-12-12 18:24:51 by Rockower using popups

{{redirect|Day of Atonement}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image = Gottlieb-Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur.jpg
|caption = Yom Kippur in the synagogue, painting by [[Maurycy Gottlieb]] (1878)
|holiday_name = Yom Kippur
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''יוֹם כִּפּוּר''' or '''יום הכיפורים'''
|nickname =
|observedby = [[Jew]]s
|date = 10th day of [[Tishrei]]
|observances = [[Fasting]], [[prayer]], abstaining from physical pleasures, refraining from [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|work]]
|type = Jewish
|significance = Soul-searching and repentance
|related to = [[Rosh Hashanah]], which precedes Yom Kippur
|date2008 = Sunset, October 8 – nightfall, October 9
|date2009 = Sunset, September 27 – nightfall, September 28
|date2010 = Sunset, September 17 – nightfall, September 18
|date2011 = Sunset, October 7 – nightfall, October 8
}}'''Yom Kippur''' ({{lang-he|יוֹם כִּפּוּר}}, {{IPA2|ˈjɔm kiˈpur}}), also known in English as the ''Day of Atonement'', is the most solemn and important of the [[Jewish holiday]]s. Its central themes are [[Atonement in Judaism|atonement]] and [[Repentance in Judaism|repentance]]. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of [[Ta'anit|fasting]] and intensive [[Jewish services|prayer]], often spending most of the day in [[synagogue]] services.

Yom Kippur is the tenth and final day of the [[Ten Days of Repentance]] which begin with [[Rosh Hashanah]]. According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year into a "book" on Rosh Hashanah and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict. During the Ten Days of Repentance, a Jew tries to amend his behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God (''bein adam leMakom'') and against his fellow man (''bein adam lechavero''). The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and private petitions and confessions of guilt (''[[Vidui]]''). At the end of Yom Kippur, one considers himself absolved by God.

The Yom Kippur prayer service includes several unique aspects. One is the actual number of prayer services. Unlike a regular day, which has three prayer services (''Ma'ariv'', the evening prayer; ''Shacharit'', the morning prayer; and ''Mincha'', the afternoon prayer), or a [[Shabbat]] or [[Yom Tov]], which have four prayer services (''Ma'ariv''; ''Shacharit''; ''Musaf'', the additional prayer; and ''Mincha''), Yom Kippur has five prayer services (''Ma'ariv''; ''Shacharit''; ''Musaf''; ''Mincha''; and ''Ne'ilah'', the closing prayer). The prayer services also include a public confession of sins (''[[Vidui]]'') and a reenactment of the special Yom Kippur ''avodah'' (service) of the [[Kohen Gadol]] in the [[Holy Temple in Jerusalem]].

==Date==
Yom Kippur is the climax of the ''[[Yamim Noraim]]'' (“Days of Awe”), and with [[Rosh Hashanah]] forms the Jewish [[High Holy Days]]. In accordance with {{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:27|HE}} the date of Yom Kippur is the 10th day of [[Tishrei]] (“the tenth day of the seventh month”) on the [[Hebrew calendar]].

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Yom Kippur
!Starts (at sundown)
!Ends (at night)
|-

|-
|align="center"|5768
|[[2007]]-[[09-21]]
|[[2007]]-[[09-22]]
|-
|align="center"|5769
|[[2008]]-[[10-08]]
|[[2008]]-[[10-09]]
|-
|align="center"|5770
|[[2009]]-[[09-27]]
|[[2009]]-[[09-28]]
|-
|align="center"|5771
|[[2010]]-[[09-17]]
|[[2010]]-[[09-18]]
|-
|align="center"|5772
|[[2011]]-[[09-07]]
|[[2011]]-[[09-08]]
|-
|align="center"|5773
|[[2012]]-[[09-25]]
|[[2012]]-[[09-26]]
|-
|}

==Observances==
===General observances===
{{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:27|HE}} decrees that Yom Kippur is a strict day of rest and of fasting.

Five additional prohibitions are traditionally observed, as detailed in the [[Oral Torah|Jewish oral tradition]] (''[[Mishnah]]'' tractate ''[[Yoma]]'' 8:1):

#Eating and drinking
#Wearing leather shoes
#Bathing/washing
#Anointing oneself with perfumes or lotions
#Sexual relations

Total abstention from food and drink usually begins 30 minutes before sundown (called ''tosefet Yom Kippur'', lit. "Addition to Yom Kippur"), and ends after nightfall the following day. Although the fast is required of all healthy adults, it is waived in the case of certain medical conditions. Virtually all Jewish holidays involve a ritual feast, but since Yom Kippur involves fasting, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] requires one to eat a large and festive meal on the afternoon before Yom Kippur, after the ''[[Mincha]]'' afternoon prayer. Wearing white clothing is traditional to symbolize one’s purity on this day. Many [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] men immerse themselves in a ''[[mikvah]]'' on the day before Yom Kippur.<ref name=OU>{{cite web |url=http://www.ou.org/chagim/yomkippur/ykcustoms.htm |title=OU Customs for Erev Yom Kippur |accessdate=2008-09-21}}</ref>

===Eve of Yom Kippur ===
{{main|Kol Nidre}}

'''Erev Yom Kippur''' (lit. "eve of day of atonement") is the day preceding Yom Kippur, corresponding to the ninth day of the Hebrew month of [[Tishrei]]. This day is commemorated with two festive meals, the giving of charity, and asking others for forgiveness.<ref>http://www.divreinavon.com/pdf/ErevYomKippur.pdf Erev Yom Kippur - The purpose of the day as seen through Talmudic anecdotes</ref>

Before sunset on Yom Kippur eve, worshippers gather in the [[synagogue]]. The [[Ark (synagogue)|Ark]] is opened and two people take from it two [[Sefer Torah|Sifrei Torah]] (Torah scrolls). Then they take their places, one on each side of the [[Hazzan|cantor]], and the three recite:
<blockquote>In the tribunal of Heaven and the tribunal of earth, by the permission of God—praised be He—and by the permission of this holy congregation, we hold it lawful to pray with transgressors."</blockquote>

The cantor then chants the [[Kol Nidre]] prayer (Hebrew: '''כל נדרי''') in [[Aramaic]], not [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]. Its name is taken from the opening words, meaning “All vows”:

<blockquote>All personal vows we are likely to make, all personal oaths and pledges we are likely to take between this Yom Kippur and the next Yom Kippur, we publicly renounce. Let them all be relinquished and abandoned, null and void, neither firm nor established. Let our personal vows, pledges and oaths be considered neither vows nor pledges nor oaths.<ref>Translation of Philip Birnbaum, from ''High Holyday Prayer Book'', Hebrew Publishing Company, NY, 1951</ref></blockquote>

The leader and the congregation then say together three times “May all the people of Israel be forgiven, including all the strangers who live in their midst, for all the people are in fault.” The Torah scrolls are then replaced, and the customary [[Jewish services|evening service]] begins.

===Prayer services===
Many married men wear a ''[[kittel]]'', a white robe-like garment for evening prayers on Yom Kippur.<ref name=JVL_yk>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/holiday4.html |title=Jewish Virtual Library — Yom Kippur |accessdate=2008-09-21}}</ref> They also wear a [[tallit]], the only evening service of the year in which this is done.<ref name=MJL>{{cite web |url=http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Yom_Kippur/Overview_Yom_Kippur_Community/Prayer_Services.htm |title=My Jewish Learning — Prayer Services |accessdate=2008-09-21 |author=Rabbi Daniel Kohn}}</ref> Prayer services begin with the prayer known as “[[Kol Nidre]],” which must be recited before sunset, and continue with the evening prayers (''Ma'ariv'' or ''Arvith''), which includes an extended [[Selichot]] service.

The morning prayer service is preceded by litanies and petitions of forgiveness called ''selichot''; on Yom Kippur, many ''selichot'' are woven into the [[liturgy]]. The morning prayers are followed by an added prayer (''Musaf'') as on all other holidays. This is followed by ''Mincha'' (the afternoon prayer) which includes a reading ([[Haftarah]]) of the [[Book of Jonah]], which has as its theme the story of God's willingness to forgive those who repent. The service concludes with the ''Ne'ilah'' prayer, which begins shortly before sunset, when the "gates of prayer" will be closed. Yom Kippur comes to an end with a recitation of ''[[Shema Yisrael]]'' and the blowing of the ''[[shofar]]'', which marks the conclusion of the fast.<ref name=MJL />
{{Teshuva}}

===The ''Avodah'': Remembering the Temple service===
A recitation of the sacrificial service of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] traditionally features prominently in both the liturgy and the religious thought of the holiday. Specifically, the ''Avodah'' (“service”) in the ''musaf'' prayer recounts the sacrificial ceremonies in great detail.

This traditional prominence is rooted in the [[Babylonian Talmud]]’s description of how to attain atonement following the destruction of the Temple. According to Talmud tractate [[Yoma]], in the absence of a Temple, Jews are obligated to study the High Priest’s ritual on Yom Kippur, and this study helps achieve atonement for those who are unable to benefit from its actual performance. In [[Orthodox Judaism]], accordingly, studying the Temple ritual on Yom Kippur represents a positive [[mitzvah#rabbinical mitzvot|rabbinically-ordained obligation]] which Jews seeking atonement are required to fulfill.

In Orthodox, most [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]], and some [[Progressive Judaism|progressive]]<ref>An abbreviated version of the Seder Avodah is used in Yom Kippur services at the [[Hebrew Union College]] Jerusalem campus</ref> synagogues a detailed description of the Temple ritual is recited on the day. In most Orthodox and some Conservative synagogues, the entire congregation [[prostration|prostrates]] themselves at each point in the recitation where the [[Kohen Gadol]] (High Priest) would pronounce the [[Tetragrammaton]] (God’s holiest name, according to Judaism).

The main section of the Avodah is a threefold recitation of the High Priest’s actions regarding expiation in the [[Holy of Holies]]. Performing the sacrificial acts and reciting [[Leviticus]] 16:30, “for on this day atonement shall be made for you, to atone for you for all your sins, before God…” (he would recite the Tetragrammaton at this point, to which the people would prostrate to the ground) and after extending the Name, he would finish the verse “…you shall be purified.” He would first ask for forgiveness for himself and his family (“Your pious man”), then for the priestly caste (“Your holy people”), and finally for all of Israel (“Your upright children”). (These three times, plus in some congregations the ''Alenu'' prayer during the [[Musaf]] [[Amidah]] on Yom Kippur and [[Rosh Hashanah]], are the only times in [[Jewish services]] when Jews engage in complete full-body prostration, with the exception of some [[Yemenite Jews]] and ''talmedhei haRambam'' who may prostrate themselves on other occasions during the year). A variety of liturgical poems are added, including a poem recounting the radiance of the countenance of the [[Kohen Gadol]] after exiting the Holy of Holies, traditionally believed to emit palpable light in a manner echoing the [[Bible]]'s account of the countenance of [[Moses]] after descending from [[Mount Sinai]], as well as prayers for the speedy rebuilding of the [[Third Temple|Temple]] and the restoration of [[korban|sacrificial worship]]. There are a variety of other customs, such as hand gestures to mime the sprinkling of blood (one sprinkling upwards and seven downwards per set of eight).

Orthodox liturgies include prayers lamenting the inability to perform the Temple service and petitioning for its restoration, which Conservative synagogues generally omit. In some Conservative synagogues, only the ''[[Hazzan]]'' engages in full prostration. Some Conservative synagogues abridge the recitation of the Avodah service to varying degrees, and some omit it entirely. Many [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] and [[Reconstructionist Judaism|Reconstructionist]] services omit the entire service as inconsistent with modern sensibilities.

=== Observance among secular Jews ===
Yom Kippur is considered one of the holiest of Jewish holidays, and it is observed by many [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Jews]] who may not observe other holidays. Many secular Jews fast and attend synagogue on Yom Kippur, where the number of worshippers attending is often double or triple the normal attendance.

===Yom Kippur in Israel ===
[[Image:Yom Kippur on Highway 20 Tel-Aviv.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Ayalon Highway, Tel-Aviv, in Yom Kippur 2007. Empty of cars.]]
Yom Kippur is a legal holiday in the modern state of Israel. There are no radio or television broadcasts, airports are shut down, there is no public transportation, and all shops and businesses are closed.<ref>[http://web.israelinsider.com/Views/6829.htm "Sounds of The City", article from [[Israel Insider]], October 14, 2005]</ref> In 1973, an air raid siren was sounded on the afternoon of Yom Kippur and radio broadcasts were resumed to alert the public to the surprise attack that launched the [[Yom Kippur War]].

In 2008, 63% percent of the Jewish people of [[Israel]] said that they were intending to fast on Yom Kippur.<ref>http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3606861,00.html</ref> This may be the reason that it is very common in [[Israel]] to wish "Tsom Kal" (an easy fast) to everyone before Yom Kippur, even if you don't know whether they will fast or not.

It is considered "bad form" to eat in public on Yom Kippur or to drive a motor vehicle. There is no legal prohibition on driving or eating in public, and from the strict legal point of view any person has the right to do so — but in practice such actions are frowned upon. Allowance is made for ambulances and emergency vehicles, but there have been incidents where even they are not tolerated.<ref>"Youths hurl rocks at Magen David paramedics in Acre, Haifa" ([[Haaretz]], October 11, 2008[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027741.html]</ref>

Over the last few decades, bicycle-riding on the empty streets has become a new “tradition” among [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Israeli]] youngsters, especially on the eve of Yom Kippur.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3310235,00.html
|title=Yom Kippur: Nearly 2,000 injured
|publisher=Ynetnews
|year=2006
|accessdate=2006-10-02}}</ref> In consequence, Yom Kippur is jocularly referred to as the “Festival of Bicycles.”<ref>See for instance uses at [http://www.doctors.co.il/xID-4096,xCT-0,xCN-printer,m-Doctors,a-Article.html], [http://www.tapuz.co.il/blog/ViewEntry.asp?EntryId=801794&passok=yes]</ref> Bicycle sales rise in the weeks before Yom Kippur, and companies have taken to advertising children’s bicycles as “Yom Kippur specials.”

==Yom Kippur in the Bible==
The [[Torah]] calls the day ''Yom HaKippurim'' (יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים) and in {{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:27|}} decrees a strict prohibition of work and affliction of the soul upon the tenth day of the seventh month, later known as [[Tishrei]]. The rites for Yom Kippur are set forth in the sixteenth chapter of [[Leviticus]] (cf. [[Exodus]] 30:10; Leviticus 23:27–31, 25:9; [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 29:7–11). It is described as a solemn fast, on which no food or drink could be consumed, and on which all work is forbidden.

=== Midrashic interpretation ===
''The midrashim described in this section need sources cited from Midrashic literature''

Traditionally, Yom Kippur is considered the date on which [[Moses]] received the second set of [[Ten Commandments]]. It occurred following the completion of the second 40 days of instructions from God. At this same time, the [[Israelites]] were granted atonement for the sin of the [[Golden Calf]]; hence, its designation as the Day of Atonement.<ref>Spiro, Rabbi Ken. [http://www.aish.edu/literacy/jewishhistory/Crash_Course_in_Jewish_History_Part_12_—_The_Golden_Calf.asp Crash Course in Jewish History Part 12 — The Golden Calf]. [[Aish HaTorah]]. accessed April 29, 2007</ref>

===View of contemporary Biblical scholarship===
According to [[textual criticism|textual scholars]], the biblical regulations covering Yom Kippur are spliced together from multiple source texts,<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref><ref>Cheyne and Black, ''[[Encyclopedia Biblica]]''</ref> as indicated by evidence such as with the [[doublet|duplication]] of the confession over the bullock,<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:6|}} and {{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:6|}}</ref> and the incongruity in one verse stating that the high priest should not enter the Holy of Holies (with the inference that there are exceptions for certain explicitly identified festivals),<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:2|}}</ref> and the next verse indicating that they can enter whenever they wish (as long as a specific ritual is carried out first).<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref> Although [[Rashi]] tried to find a harmonistic explanation for this incongruity, the [[Leviticus Rabbah]] maintains that it was indeed the case that the high priest could enter at any time if these rituals were carried out.<ref>''Leviticus Rabbah'' 21</ref> Textual scholars argue that the ritual is composed from three sources, and a couple of redactional additions:<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref><ref>Cheyne and Black, ''[[Encyclopedia Biblica]]''</ref>
*prerequisite rituals before the high priest can enter the Holy of Holies (on any occasion), namely a sin offering and a whole offering, followed by the filling of the Holy of Holies with a cloud of incense while wearing linen garments<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:1|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:3–4|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:12–13|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:34|}} (b)</ref>
*regulations which establish an annual day of fasting and rest, during which the sanctuary and people are purified, without stating the ritual for doing so;<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:29–34|}} (a)</ref> this regulation is very similar to the one in the Holiness Code<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:27–31|}}</ref>
*later elaborations of the ceremony,<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:5|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:7–10|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:14–28|}}</ref> which include the sprinkling of the blood on the ''mercy seat'', and the use of a scapegoat sent to Azazel; the same source also being responsible for small alterations to related regulations<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|30:10|}}, {{bibleverse||Leviticus|25:9|}}</ref>
*the redactional additions<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:2|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:6|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:11|}}</ref>

According to [[biblical criticism|biblical scholars]], the original ceremony was simply the ritual purification of the sanctuary from any accidental ritual impurity, at the start of each new year, as seen in the [[Book of Ezekiel]],<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Day of Atonement''</ref> which textual scholars date to before the [[priestly source]], but after [[JE]].<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Priestly Source''</ref><ref>[[Richard Elliott Friedman]], ''Who wrote the Bible''</ref> According to the Book of Ezekiel, the sanctuary was to be cleansed by the sprinkling of bullock's blood, on the first day of the first and of the seventh months<ref>{{bibleverse||Ezekiel|45:18–20|}}</ref> — near the start of the Civil year and of the Ecclesiastical year, respectively; although the [[masoretic text]] of the Book of Ezekiel has the second of these cleansings on the seventh of the first month, biblical scholars regard the [[Septuagint]], which has the second cleaning as being the first of the seventh month, as being more accurate here.<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Day of Atonement''</ref> It appears that during the period that the Holiness Code and the Book of Ezekiel were written, the new year began on the tenth day of the seventh month,<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|25:9|}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse||Ezekiel|40:1|}}</ref> and thus biblical scholars believe that by the time the Priestly Code was compiled, the date of the new year and of the day of atonement had swapped around.<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref>

== Yom Kippur in Mishnaic and Talmudic literature ==
===The Temple service ===
The following summary of the Temple service is based on the traditional Jewish religious account described in [[Mishnah]] tractate [[Yoma]], appearing in contemporary traditional Jewish prayerbooks for Yom Kippur, and studied as part of a traditional Jewish Yom Kippur worship service.<ref name=kasirer>Arnold Lustiger, Michael Taubes, [[Menachem Genack]], and [[Hershel Schacter]], ''Kasirer Edition Yom Kippur Machzor With Commentary Adapted from the Teachings of Rabbi [[Joseph B. Soloveitchik]]''. New York: K'hal Publishing, 2006. pp. 588–589 (summary); 590–618.</ref>

While the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple]] was standing in [[Jerusalem]] (from Biblical times through 70 C.E.), the [[Kohen Gadol]] (High Priest) performed a complex set of special services and sacrifices for Yom Kippur. These services were considered to be the most important parts of Yom Kippur, as through them the Kohen Gadol made atonement for all Jews in the world. During the service, the Kohen Gadol entered the [[Holy of Holies]] in the center of the Temple, the only time of the year that anyone went inside. Doing so required special purification and preparation, including five immersions in a ''[[mikvah]]'' (ritual bath), and four changes of clothing.

Seven days prior to Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol was sequestered in the [[Parhedrin chamber]] in the Temple, where he reviewed the service with the Temple sages, and was sprinkled with spring water containing ashes of the [[Red Heifer]] as purification. The [[Talmud]] (Tractate [[Yoma]]) also reports that he practiced the incense offering ritual in the [[Avitnas chamber]].

On the day of Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol had to follow a precise order of services, sacrifices, and purifications:
{{Judaism}}
*'''Morning (Tamid) Offering''' The Kohen Gadol first performed the regular daily (''Tamid'') offering — usually performed by ordinary priests — in special golden garments, after immersing in a ''[[mikvah]]'' and washing his hands and feet.
*'''Garment Change 1''' The Kohen Gadol immersed in a special ''mikvah'' in the Temple courtyard and changed into special linen garments, and washed his hands and feet twice, once after removing the golden garments and once before putting on the linen garments.
* '''Bull as Personal Sin-Offering''' The Kohen Gadol leaned (performed ''[[Semicha in sacrifices|Semikha]])'' and made a confession over the bull on behalf of himself and his household, pronouncing the [[Tetragrammaton]]. The people prostrated themselves when they heard. He then slaughtered the bull as a ''chatat'' (sin-offering) and received its blood in a bowl.
* '''Lottery of the goats''' At the Eastern (Nikanor) gate, the Kohen Gadol drew lots from a lottery box over two [[goat]]s. One was selected “for the Lord,” and one “for [[Azazel]].” The Kohen Gadol tied a red band around the horns of the goat “for Azazel.”
* '''Incense Preparation''' The Kohen Gadol ascended the ''[[mizbeach]]'' (altar) and took a shovel full of [[ember]]s with a special shovel. He was brought [[incense]]. He filled his hands and placed it in a vessel. (The ''[[Talmud]]'' considered this the most physically difficult part of the service, as the Kohen Gadol had to keep the shovelful of glowing [[coal]]s balanced and prevent its contents from dropping, using his armpit or teeth, while filling his hands with the incense).
* '''Incense Offering''' Holding the shovel and the vessel, he entered the [[Kadosh Hakadashim]], the Temple’s [[Holy of Holies]]. In the days of the [[Solomon’s Temple|First Temple]], he placed the shovel between the poles of the [[Ark of the Covenant]]. In the days of the [[Second Temple]], he put the shovel where the Ark would have been. He waited until the chamber filled with smoke and left.
*'''Sprinkling of Blood in the Holy of Holies''' The Kohen Gadol took the bowl with the bull’s blood and entered the Most Holy Place again. He sprinkled the bull’s blood with his finger eight times, before the Ark in the days of the First Temple, where it would have been in the days of the Second. The Kohen Gadol then left the Holy of Holies, putting the bowl on a stand in front of the [[Parochet]] (curtain separating the Holy from the Holy of Holies).
*'''Goat for the Lord as Sin-Offering for [[Kohen|Kohanim]]''' The Kohen Gadol went to the eastern end of the Israelite courtyard near the Nikanor Gate, laid his hands (''[[Semicha in sacrifices|semikha]]'') on the goat “for the Lord,” and pronounced [[confession]] on behalf of the Kohanim (priests). The people prostrated themselves when he pronounced the Tetragrammaton. He then slaughtered the goat, and received its blood in another bowl.
*'''Sprinkling of blood in the Holy''' Standing in the ''[[Hekhal]]'' (Holy), on the other side of the Parochet from the Holy of Holies, the Kohen Gadol took the bull's blood from the stand and sprinkled it with his finger eight times in the direction of the Parochet. He then took the bowl with the goat's blood and sprinkled it eight times in the same manner, putting it back on the stand.
*'''Smearing of blood on the Golden (Incense) Altar''' The Kohen Gadol removed the goat’s blood from the stand and mixed it with the bull's blood. Starting at the northeast corner, he then smeared the mixture of blood on each of the four corners of the Golden (Incense) altar in the Haichal. He then sprinkled the blood eight times on the altar.
*'''Goat for Azazel''' The Kohen Gadol left the Haichal and walked to the east side of the ''[[Azarah]]'' (Israelite courtyard). Near the Nikanor Gate, he leaned his hands (Semikha) on the goat “for Azazel” and confessed the sins of the entire people of Israel. The people prostrated themselves when he pronounced the Tetragrammaton. While he made a general confession, individuals in the crowd at the Temple would confess privately. The Kohen Gadol then sent the goat off “to the wilderness.” In practice, to prevent its return to human habitation, the goat was led to a cliff outside Jerusalem and pushed off its edge.
*'''Preparation of sacrificial animals''' While the goat “for Azazel” was being led to the cliff, the Kohen Gadol removed the insides of the bull, and intertwined the bodies of the bull and goat. Other people took the bodies to the ''Beit HaDeshen'' (place of the ashes). They were burned there after it was confirmed that the goat “for Azazel” had reached the wilderness.
*'''Reading the Torah''' After it was confirmed that the goat “for Azazzel” had been pushed off the cliff, the Kohen Gadol passed through the Nikanor Gate into the ''Ezrat Nashim'' (Women’s Courtyard) and read sections of the ''Torah'' describing Yom Kippur and its [[Korban|sacrifice]]s.
*'''Garment change 2''' The Kohen Gadol removed his linen garments, immersed in the ''mikvah'' in the Temple courtyard, and changed into a second set of special golden garments. He washed his hands and feet both before removing the linen garments and after putting on the golden ones.
*'''Offering of Rams''' The Kohen Gadol offered two rams as an ''olah'' offering, slaughtering them on the north side of the ''mizbeach'' (outer altar), receiving their blood in a bowl, carrying the bowl to the outer altar, and dashing the blood on the northeast and southwest corners of the Outer Altar. He dismembered the rams and burned the parts entirely on the outer altar. He then offered the accompanying ''[[mincha]]'' (grain) offerings and ''nesachim'' (wine-libations).
*'''Musaf Offering''' The Kohen Gadol then offered the ''[[Musaf]]'' offering.
*'''Burning of Innards''' The Kohen Gadol placed the insides of the bull and goat on the outer altar and burned them entirely.
*'''*Garment change 3''' The Kohen Gadol removed his golden garments, immersed in the ''mikvah'', and changed to a new set of linen garments, again washing his hands and feet twice.
*'''Removal of Incense from the [[Kadosh Hakadashim|Holy of Holies]]''' The Kohen Gadol returned to the Holy of Holies and removed the bowl of incense and the shovel.
*'''Garment Change 4''' The Kohen Gadol removed his linen garments, immersed in the ''mikvah'', and changed into a third set of golden garments, again washing his hands and feet twice.
*'''Evening (Tamid) Offering''' The Kohen Gadol completed the afternoon portion of the regular (''tamid'') daily offering in the special golden garments. He washed his hands and feet a tenth time.

The Kohen Gadol wore five sets of garments (three golden and two white linen), immersed in the ''mikvah'' five times, and washed his hands and feet ten times. Sacrifices included two (daily) lambs, one bull, two goats, and two rams, with accompanying ''mincha'' (meal) offerings, wine libations, and three incense offerings (the regular two daily and an additional one for Yom Kippur). The Kohen Gadol entered the Holy of Holies three times. The Tetragrammaton was pronounced three times, once for each confession.<ref name=kasirer />

== Yom Kippur and the Bnai Noah ==

Yom Kippur is one of the Holy Days observed by the [[B’nei Noah]], gentiles who adhere to the [[Seven Laws of Noah]] and are under the knowledgeable guidance of [[Orthodox Judaism]].{{fact|date=September 2008}}

==Christians and Yom Kippur==
{{main|Day of Atonement (Christian holiday)}}
In [[Christianity]] the phrase ''Day of Atonement'' is usually taken to refer to a more singular [[eschatology|eschatological]] event also known as ''[[Judgment Day]]'', and most Christians ignore Yom Kippur as they do not consider it to be part of the ''[[New Covenant]]''. However, many [[Christian theology|Christian theologians]] and scholars acknowledge that there is a strong connection between the two days; for example, one Christian theologian argues that Yom Kippur is the foreshadowing pre-text of [[Christos pantocrator|Christ's future judgment]] of mankind.<ref>Sausa, Diego D. ''Kippur — the Final Judgment: Apocalyptic Secrets of the Hebrew Sanctuary'', Fort Myers, FL: The Vision Press, 2006. ISBN 0-9788346-1-5.</ref>

In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], the [[Fast Day]] of the [[Exaltation of the Holy Cross]] is observed on September 14 in the [[Julian Calendar]], roughly coinciding with Yom Kippur (which oscillates with respect to the Julian and [[Gregorian Calendar]]s). One Orthodox priest – Rev. Patrick Reardon – argues that it is obviously derived from Yom Kippur, and that everyone realizes this.<ref>[http://www.ancientfaithradio.com/specials/allsaints/ Welcome — Ancient Faith Radio]</ref> The [[Amish]] Christians also observe a Fast Day on October 11 in the Gregorian Calendar, which similarly coincides roughly with Yom Kippur.<ref>[http://www.dutchcrafters.com/aboutamish.aspx About The Amish]</ref>

However, Yom Kippur is most comparable to the Christian holy day of [[Good Friday]]. As Yom Kippur is seen as the day for atonement of sins, so is Good Friday depicted as the event which [[Christ]] granted humanity atonement through his death and resurrection.

==Yom Kippur in Islamic tradition==
According to [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] tradition, when [[Muhammad]] arrived in [[Medina]] in 622 CE, he found that the Jews there fasted on the 10th day of [[Muharram]] and asked them the reason for their fasting on this day. They said, “This is a blessed day. On this day God saved the Children of Israel from their enemy (in Egypt) and so Moses fasted on this day giving thanks to God.” Muhammad said, “We are closer to Musa than you are" (meaning that unlike the followers of Muhammed and Moses, the Medina Jewish community was settled and established). He fasted on that day and commanded Muslims to fast on this day.<ref>Al-Bukhari</ref> This day is known as [[Ashura]].

The fasting suggests Yom Kippur while the Exodus story suggests [[Passover]]. Later, Muhammad mentioned that Muslims would have their sins forgiven if they repented sincerely and fasted on Ashura. There are conflicting accounts as to whether it corresponds with Passover or with Yom Kippur. Furthermore, Ashura no longer generally coincides with either days, since the [[Quran]] prohibited [[intercalary month|intercalation]] into the lunar calendar,<ref>Qu'ran 9:36</ref> resulting in the gradual shift of the start of the 354 day [[Islamic Calendar|Islamic year]] with respect to the solar year, while the lunisolar [[Hebrew Calendar]] retains intercalation.

==See also==
*[[Break fast]]
*[[Kol Nidre]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.aish.com/hhYomK/hhYomKDefault/ABCs_of_Yom_Kippur.asp]
*[http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=4687 Yom Kippur guide] at [[Chabad.org]]
*[http://www.mavensearch.com/content/YomKippur.asp Yom Kippur Info] at MavenSearch
*[http://www.pizmonim.com Yom Kippur Prayers for Sephardic Jews]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=73|type=Shiurim}}
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/eng/?cat=104|type=Q&A}}

{{Jewish holidays}}
{{High Holidays}}

[[Category:Yom Kippur| ]]

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Sabbath

2008-12-16T03:29:20Z

Dbratton: Undid revision 258256398 by 121.54.33.51 (talk)

{{other|Sabbath (disambiguation)}}
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Unreferenced|date=November 2008}}
{{Synthesis|date=November 2008}}
A '''Sabbat''' or '''sabbath''' is generally a weekly day of [[leisure|rest]] and/or time of [[worship]] that is observed in any of several faiths. The term derives from the Hebrew ''[[shabbat]]'' (שבת), "to cease", which was first used in the [[Bible|Biblical]] account of the [[seventh day]] of [[Creation according to Genesis|Creation]]. Observation and remembrance of the Sabbath is one of the [[Ten Commandments]] (the fourth in the original [[Jewish]], the [[Eastern Orthodox]], and most [[Protestant]] traditions, the third in [[Roman Catholic]] and [[Lutheran]] traditions). Many viewpoints and definitions have arisen over the millennia. The term has been used to describe a similar weekly observance in any of several other faiths; the new moon; any of seven annual festivals in [[Judaism]] and some [[Christian]] traditions; any of eight annual festivals in [[Wicca]] (usually "[[Wheel of the Year|sabbat]]"); and a year of rest in religious or secular usage, originally every seventh year.

==Jewish tradition==
The Jewish weekly Sabbath and [[High Sabbaths]] are also observed by a minority of Christians.

===Weekly Sabbath===
{{details|Shabbat}}
The original Sabbath (''shabbat'', ''shabbos'', ''shabbes'', ''shobos'', etc.) is a weekly day of rest for everyone, now observed from sundown on [[Friday]] until the appearance of three stars in the sky on [[Saturday]] night. Most Sabbath-keepers regard this seventh-day Sabbath to have been instituted as a "perpetual covenant [for] the people" (Exodus 31:13-17), a sign in respect for the day during which God rested after having completed the Creation in six days (Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus 20:8-11); Isaiah extends the term to include even corrupted rest-day traditions (1:13). (Some prominent rabbis believe the Sabbath was originally kept according to the four phases of the [[moon]], every seven or eight days.) Sabbath desecration was officially punishable by death (Exodus 31:15); thirty-nine prohibited categories of work are listed in Tractate [[Shabbat (Talmud)]]. Customarily, Shabbat is ushered in by lighting [[candle]]s shortly before sunset, at [[halakhic]]ally calculated times that change from week to week and from place to place. Several times a year, the weekly Sabbath is designated as one of the [[Special Sabbaths]], such as ''Shabbat Teshuvah'', the Sabbath of Repentance prior to [[Yom Kippur]]. (In a distinct minority, some European [[Reform movement in Judaism|Reform Jews]] have moved Sabbath observances to [[Sunday]].)

===Sabbath as week===
{{details|Week}}
By [[synecdoche]] (naming a part for the whole), the term "Sabbath" also came to mean simply "week" in Jewish sources by the time of the [[Septuagint]]. [[Jesus]]'s parable of the [[Pharisee and the Publican]] describes the [[Pharisee]] as fasting "twice a week" (''dis tou sabbatou''), literally, "twice of the Sabbath".

===Annual Sabbaths===
{{details|High Sabbaths}}
Seven annual Biblical festivals, called by the name ''shabbaton'' in Hebrew and "High Sabbath" in English, serve as supplmental testimonies to the plan of the weekly Sabbath. These are recorded in the books of [[Exodus]] and [[Deuteronomy]] and do not necessarily occur on the weekly Sabbath. They include the first and seventh days of Unleavened Bread or Passover ([[Pesach]]); Pentecost ([[Shavuot]]); Trumpets ([[Rosh Hashanah]]); Atonement ([[Yom Kippur]], the "Sabbath of the Sabbaths"); and the first and eighth days of Tabernacles ([[Sukkoth]]).
{{details|Shabbaton}}
The modern Hebrew term ''shabbaton'' or ''shaboson'' also means a retreat or program for education, and usually celebration, that is held on a weekly Jewish Sabbath or over a weekend with special focus on the Sabbath.

===Seventh-year Sabbath===
{{details|Shmita}}
The year of ''Shmita'' (Hebrew: שמיטה, literally "release"), also called the Sabbatical Year, is the seventh year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by the [[Torah]] for the [[Land of Israel]]. During ''Shmita'', the land is left to lie fallow and all agricultural activity—including plowing, planting, pruning, and harvesting—is forbidden by Torah law. Other cultivation techniques—such as watering, fertilizing, weeding, spraying, trimming, and mowing—may be performed as preventative measures only, not to improve the growth of trees or plants. Additionally, any fruits which grow of their own accord are deemed ownerless and may be picked by anyone. A variety of laws also apply to the sale, consumption and disposal of ''Shmita'' produce. A second aspect of ''Shmita'' concerns debts and loans: when the year ends, personal debts are considered nullified and forgiven. In similar fashion, the Torah required a slave who had worked for six years to go free in the seventh year.

==Christian tradition==
In Christianity, both those who observe the [[seventh day]] as Sabbath and those who observe the [[Sunday|first day]] as Sabbath lay claim to the names "Sabbatarian" for themselves and "Lord's Day" for the Sabbath, each group believing its position to be taught by the Bible; similarly for others who hold to a strong Sabbath principle.

===First-day Sabbath===
{{details|Sabbath in Christianity}}
In the majority of Christendom ([[Roman Catholicism]] and much [[Eastern Orthodoxy]] and [[Protestantism]]), "Sabbath" is a synonym of "[[Lord's Day]]" ([[Sunday]]), which is kept in commemoration of the [[resurrection of Christ]]. It is often the [[day of rest]], and usually the day of communal worship. The Lord's Day is considered both the first day and the "eighth day" of the seven-day week (or, in some calendars, Sunday is designated the seventh day of the week). Relatively few Christians regard first-day observance as entailing all of the ordinances of the Jewish Sabbath. The related [[Latter Day Saint]] movement generally follows the stronger Christian Sabbatarian traditions, avoiding shopping, leisure activities, and idleness on the first day, and avoiding work unless absolutely necessary. Sometimes the Lord's Day is observed by those who believe the Sabbath corresponds to Saturday but is obsolete; and in [[Oriental Orthodoxy]], the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]] has observed both a Sunday Lord's Day and a Saturday Sabbath for several centuries. As another minority view, some modern Christians uphold a Sabbath but do not limit its observance to either Saturday or Sunday, instead advocating rest on any chosen day of the week, or advocating the Sabbath as instead a symbolic metaphor for rest in Christ.

===Seventh-day Sabbath===
{{details|Sabbath in Seventh-day Adventism}}
In several Christian denominations, the Sabbath is kept in similar manner as in Judaism, but observance ends at Saturday sunset instead of Saturday nightfall. [[Seventh Day Baptist]]s have found the Sabbath an important part of their beliefs and practices since the mid-17th century, also informing the doctrine of the similar but larger [[Seventh-day Adventist]] group in the mid-19th century. They and others believe that keeping the seventh-day Sabbath is a moral obligation arising out of the Ten Commandments that honors God as Creator and Deliverer. They also use "Lord's Day" to mean the seventh day, based on Scriptures in which God calls it "my day" and "of the {{LORD}}". Adventists originally formally identified the problem of defining Sabbath worldwide on a round earth; some seventh-day Sabbatarians make use of the [[International Date Line]], while others (such as some [[Alaskan]] Adventists) observe Sabbath according to [[Jerusalem]] time instead of local time. Many of the [[Lemba]] in [[southern Africa]], like some other African tribes, are Christians yet claim common descent from the [[Jew]]ish people, keep one day a week holy like the Jewish Sabbath, and have many beliefs and practices linked to Judaism.

===Monthly Sabbath===
{{details|New moon}}
The new moon, occurring every 29 or 30 days, is an important separately sanctioned occasion in Judaism and some other faiths. It is not widely regarded as a Sabbath, but some native [[Hebrew Roots|messianic]] [[Pentecostal]]s, such as the New Israelites of Peru, do keep the day of the new moon as a Sabbath of rest, from dusk to dusk. Their new moon services can last all day.

===Annual Sabbath===
{{details|Day of the Vow}}
In [[South Africa]], Christian [[Boer]]s have celebrated [[December 16]], now called the [[Day of Reconciliation]], as an annual Sabbath (a holy day of thanksgiving) since 1838. Commemorating a famous Boer victory over the [[Zulu]], the anniversary and its commemoration are intimately connected with various streams of [[Afrikaner]] and South African nationalism.

===Millennial Sabbath===
{{details|Millennialism}}
Since [[Hippolytus of Rome]] in the early third century, Christians have often considered that a thousand-year Sabbath, expected to begin six thousand years after Creation, might be identical with the [[millennialism|millennium]] described in the [[Book of Revelation]]. This view was also popular among 19th and 20th century [[dispensational]] [[premillenialist]]s. The term "Sabbatism" or "Sabbatizing" (Greek ''sabbatismos''), which generically means any literal or spiritual Sabbath-keeping, has also been taken in Hebrews 4:9 to have special reference to this definition.

==Other traditions==
===Buddhism===
{{details|Uposatha}}
The ''Uposatha'' has been observed since [[Gautama Buddha]]'s time (500 BC), and is still being kept today in [[Theravada Buddhist]] countries. It occurs every seven or eight days, in accordance with the four phases of the moon. Buddha taught that ''Uposatha'' is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind", resulting in inner calm and joy. On this day, [[disciple]]s and [[monk]]s intensify their practice, deepen their knowledge, and express communal commitment through millennia-old acts of lay-monastic reciprocity.

===Islam===
{{details|Jumu'ah}}
''Jumu'ah'' (Arabic: جمعة ), also known as "Friday prayer", is a congregational prayer (''[[salat]]'') that Muslims hold every Friday, just after noon, in place of the otherwise daily ''[[dhuhr]]'' prayer. The [[Quran]] states: "O ye who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday [the Day of Assembly], hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business [and traffic]: That is best for you if ye but knew" (62:9). It is an obligation for men (and is recommended for women) to perform ''jumu'ah'' in congregation (''jama'ah'') at a mosque (or else to pray a regular ''dhuhr'' prayer).

===Unification Church===
{{details|Ahn Shi Il}}
The [[Unification Church]] has a regular day of worship on Sunday, but also has a [[Family Pledge]] service every eight days on the day of Ahn Shi Il, considered as a Sabbath that cycles among the weekdays. The Family Pledge, formerly recited at 5:00 a.m. on Sundays, was moved to Ahn Shi Il in 1994. The pledge recited at this event includes eight verses containing the phrase "by centering on true love".

===Wicca===
{{details|Wheel of the Year}}
The annual cycle of the Earth's seasons is called the [[Wheel of the Year]] in [[Wicca]] and [[neopagan]]ism. Eight sabbats (occasionally "sabbaths") are spaced at approximately even intervals throughout the year. [[Samhain]], which coincides with [[Halloween]], is considered the first sabbat of the year.

{{details|Esbat}}
An esbat is a ritual observance of the [[full moon]] in Wicca and neopaganism. Some groups extend the esbat to include the dark moon and the first and last quarters. "Esbat" and "sabbat" are distinct and are probably not [[cognate]] terms.

{{details|Witches' Sabbath}}
European records from the [[Middle Ages]] to the 17th century or later also place [[Witches' Sabbath]]s on similar dates to the sabbats in modern Wicca, but with some disagreement; medieval reports of sabbat activity are generally not firsthand and may be imaginative, but many persons were accused of, or tried for, taking part in sabbats.

===Secular===
{{details|Sabbatical}}
From the Biblical Sabbatical Year came the modern concept of a sabbatical, a prolonged, often one-year, hiatus in the career of an individual. Such a period is often taken in order to fulfill some goal such as writing a book or traveling extensively for research. Some universities and other institutional employers of scientists, physicians, or academics offer a paid sabbatical as an employee benefit, called "sabbatical leave"; some companies offer an unpaid sabbatical for people wanting to take career breaks.

{{details|Saturday}}
Another secularism is the colloquial use of "Sabbath" as a simple synonym of "Saturday", which is a simplification of its use in religious contexts, where the two do not coincide.

{{details|Blue law}}
Secular use of "Sabbath" for "Sunday", by contrast, while it refers to the same period of time as the majority Christian use of "Sabbath", is often stated to refer to different purposes for the rest day. In ''[[McGowan v. Maryland]]'' (1961), the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] held that contemporary Maryland [[blue law]]s were intended to promote the secular values of "health, safety, recreation, and general well-being" through a common day of rest, and that this day coinciding with the majority Christian Sabbath neither reduces its effectiveness for secular purposes nor prevents adherents of other religions from observing their own holy days. The [[Supreme Court of Canada]], in ''[[R. v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd.]]'' (1985) and ''[[R. v. Edwards Books and Art Ltd.]]'' (1986), found some blue laws invalid for having no legitimate secular purpose, but others valid because they had no religious purpose.

{{details|Calendar reform}}
Among many calendar reform proposals that eliminate the constant seven-day [[week]] in exchange for simplified calculation of [[days of the week]] and other calendrical data, some retain Sabbatical influences. The [[International Fixed Calendar]] and [[World Calendar]] both consist of 364-day years containing exactly 52 weeks (each starting on a day designated as Sunday), with an additional one or two [[intercalary]] days not designated as part of any week (Year Day and Leap Day in the International Fixed Calendar; Worldsday and Leapyear Day in the World Calendar). Reform supporters sought to accommodate Sabbatical observance by retaining the modified week and designating the intercalary days as additional Sabbaths or [[holidays]]; however, religious leaders held that such days disrupt the traditional seven-day weekly cycle. This unresolved issue contributed to the cessation of reform activities in the 1930s (International Fixed Calendar) and again in 1955 (World Calendar), though supporters of both proposals remain.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Biblical phrases]]
[[Category:Working time]]

[[he:שבת]]
[[de:Sabbat (Begriffsklärung)]]
[[fr:Sabbat chrétien]]
[[ko:안식일]]
[[nl:Sabbat]]
[[ja:安息日]]
[[pt:Sabá]]
[[sv:Sabbat]]

Tabernacle

2008-12-11T11:27:05Z

Dbratton: Undid revision 257171178 by 76.127.153.189 (talk)

{{dablink|For other meanings see [[Tabernacle (disambiguation)]].}}
The '''Tabernacle''' is known in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] as the '''''Mishkan''''' ( משכן "Residence" or "Dwelling Place"). It was a [[portable]] dwelling place for the divine presence from the time of the Hebrew [[Exodus]] from [[Egypt]] through the conquering of the land of [[Canaan]]. Its elements were made part of the final [[Temple in Jerusalem]] about the [[10th century BC]].

The English word "tabernacle" is derived from the [[Latin]] word ''tabernaculum'' meaning "tent." ''Tabernaculum'' itself is a diminutive form of the word ''taberna'', meaning "hut, booth, tavern." The word '''[[sanctuary]]''' is also used as its name, as well as the phrase the "'''tent of meeting'''".

[[Image:Tabernakel 536x282.jpg|thumb|240px|The Tabernacle (reconstruction)]]

==Hebrew ''mishkan''==

The Hebrew word, however, points to a different meaning. '''''Mishkan''''' is related to the Hebrew word to "dwell", "rest", or "to live in", referring to the "[In-dwelling] Presence of God", the '''''[[Shekhina]]''''' (or '''''Shechina''''') (based on the same Hebrew root word as '''''Mishkan'''''), that dwelled or rested within this divinely ordained mysterious structure.

The Hebrew word for a "neighbor" is '''''shakhen''''' from the same root as '''''mishkan.''''' The [[Mitzvah|commandments]] for its construction are taken from the words in the [[Book of Exodus]] when God says to [[Moses]]: "They shall make me a sanctuary, and I will dwell (''ve-'''shakhan'''-ti'') among them. You must make the tabernacle ('''''mishkan''''') and all its furnishings following the plan that I am showing you." (Exodus 25:8-10). Thus the idea is that God wants this structure built so that it may be a "dwelling", so to speak, for his presence within the [[Children of Israel]] following the [[Exodus]].

It is a crucial component for understanding many of the foundations of [[Judaism]], such as the [[Shabbat]] (Jewish Sabbath), the [[Kohen|Jewish priesthood]] who were commanded to serve in it, and the meaning and [[atonement]] of the sin of the [[Golden calf]].

==Contents==

The detailed outlines for the Tabernacle and its leaders are enumerated in the [[Book of Exodus]]:
*Chapter 25 [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=25] : Materials needed, the Ark, the table for 12 showbread, the Menorah.
*Chapter 26 [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=26] : The Tabernacle, the beams, partitions.
*Chapter 27 [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=27] : The copper altar, the enclosure, oil.
*Chapter 28 [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=28] : Vestments for the priests, ''ephod'' garment, ring settings, the breastplate, robe, head-plate, tunic, turban, sashes, pants.
*Chapter 29 [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=29] : Consecration of priests and altar.
*Chapter 30 [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=30] : Incense altar, washstand, anointing oil, incense.

==Builders==

In chapter 31 [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=31] the main builder and architects are specified:
:"God spoke to Moses, saying: I have selected [[Bezalel]] son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, by name. I have filled him with a divine spirit, with wisdom, understanding and knowledge, and with all types of craftsmanship. He will be able to devise plans as well as work in gold, silver and copper, cut stones to be set, carve wood, and do other work. I have also given him [[Oholiab]] son of Achisamakh of the tribe of Dan. I have placed wisdom in the heart of every naturally talented person. They will thus make all that I have ordered, the Communion Tent, the [[Ark of the Covenant]], the ark cover to go on it, all the utensils for the tent, the table and its utensils, the pure menorah and all its utensils, the [[incense]] altar, the sacrificial altar and all its utensils, the washstand and its base, the packing cloths, the sacred vestments for Aaron the priest, the vestments that his sons wear to serve, the anointing oil, and the incense for the sanctuary. They will thus do all that I command." (Exodus 31:1-11)

==Organization==

The tabernacle of the Hebrews, during the Exodus, was a portable worship facility comprised of a tent draped with colorful curtains (see [http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/tanach/mishkan/1.htm diagram]).
It had a rectangular, [[perimeter fence]] of fabric, poles and staked cords. This rectangle was always erected when they would camp, oriented to the east. In the center of this enclosure was a rectangular sanctuary draped with goats'-hair curtains, with the roof made from rams' skiinins, (see [http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/tanach/mishkan/2.htm diagram]).
Inside, it was divided into two areas, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place (see [http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/tanach/mishkan/3.htm diagram]). These two compartments were separated by a curtain or veil. Entering the first space, one would see 3 pieces of sacred furniture: a seven-branched oil lampstand on the left (south), a table for twelve loaves of show bread on the right (north) and straight ahead before the dividing curtain (west) was an altar for incense-burning. Beyond this curtain was the cube-shaped inner room known as the (''[[Holy of Holies]]'') or (''[[Kodesh Hakodashim]]''). This sacred space contained a single article called the [[Ark of the Covenant]] (''aron habrit'') (see [http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/tanach/mishkan/10.htm diagram]).

==Incorporated into Temple in Jerusalem==
According to the Bible, when the Israelites settled in [[Canaan]] they set up the Tabernacle on Mount [[Shiloh (Bible)|Shiloh]]. There it stayed until God requested a stationary abode: ''"And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came unto Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in? Whereas I have not dwelt in [any] house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle"'' ([[2 Samuel]] 7:4-6). Although King David himself was not allowed to build this temple, because he was a man of war, God promised that his son would build it. After King [[David]] died at [[Jerusalem]] his son King [[Solomon]] built the first temple known as [[Solomon's Temple]], incorporating all the elements of the Tabernacle into the newly built Temple in Jerusalem.

==Significance for Sabbath==

The concluding instructions for the Tabernacle's construction are stated at the end of the [[Book of Exodus]], chapter 31 [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=31], and in that same chapter, immediately following the words about the Tabernacle, God reminds Moses about the importance of the [[Shabbat|Jewish Sabbath]]:
:"God told Moses to speak to the Israelites and say to them: You must still keep my sabbaths. It is a sign between me and you for all generations, to make you realize that I, God, am making you holy. Keep the Sabbath as something sacred to you. Anyone doing work shall be cut off spiritually from his people, and therefore, anyone violating it shall be put to death. Do your work during the six week days, but keep Saturday as a Sabbath of sabbaths, holy to God. Whoever does any work on Saturday shall be put to death. The Israelites shall thus keep the Sabbath, making it a day of rest for all generations, as an eternal covenant. It is a sign between me and the Israelites that during the six weekdays God made heaven and earth, but on Saturday, he ceased working and rested." (Exodus: 31: 12-17). [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=31]
The rabbis of the [[Mishna]] derive from this juxtaposition of subject-matter, the fact that the commandment to rest on the Sabbath day, as stated in Genesis 2:1-3 "Heaven and earth, and all their components, were completed. With the seventh day, God finished all the work that He had done. He ceased on the seventh day from all the work that he had been doing. God blessed the seventh day, and he declared it to be holy, for it was on this day that God ceased from all the work that he
had been creating to function." [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=1&CHAPTER=2] is not pushed aside by the commandments to construct the Tabernacle. Not only that, but the very definition of what constitutes "work" or "activity" that must not be done by any Israelite, on pain of death (only when there was a [[Sanhedrin]], and only with acceptable witnesses present), is defined by the [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|39 categories of activity]] needed for the construction of the Tabernacle and for its functioning as the center of the sacrifices enumerated in the [[Book of Leviticus]].

==Relationship to the Golden Calf==

Some rabbis have commented on the proximity of the narrative of the Tabernacle with that of the episode known as the sin of the [[Golden Calf]] which begins in the [[Book of Exodus]] 32:1-6 [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=32]. [[Maimonides]] asserts that the Tabernacle and its accoutrements, such as the golden [[Ark of the Covenant]] and the golden [[Menorah (Temple)|Menorah]] were meant as "alternates" to the human weakness and needs for physical idols as seen in the Golden Calf episode. Other scholars, such as [[Nachmanides]] disagree and maintain that the Tabernacle's meaning is not tied in with the Golden Calf but instead symbolizes higher mystical lessons that symbolize God's constant closeness to the Children of Israel.

==Blueprint for synagogues==
[[Image:YarmulkeAndMenorah.jpg|right|thumb|A modern Menorah replica (right)]]
[[Synagogue]] construction over the last two thousand years has followed the outlines of the original Tabernacle, which was of course also the outline for the temples in Jerusalem until they were destroyed. Every synagogue has at its front an ark, ''aron kodesh'', containing the [[Torah]] scrolls comparable to the [[Ark of the Covenant]] which contained the tablets with [[Ten Commandments]]. This is the holiest spot in a synagogue equivalent to the [[Holy of Holies]].

There is also usually a constantly lighted lamp, ''ner tamid'', or a candelabrum lighted during services, near this spot similar to the original [[Menorah (Temple)|Menorah]]. At the center of the synagogue is a large elevated area, known as the ''bimah'' where the Torah is read. This is equivalent to the Tabernacle's altars upon which incense and animal sacrifices were offered. On the main holidays the [[Kohen|priests]], ''kohanim'', gather at the front of the synagogue to bless the congregation as did their priestly ancestors in the Tabernacle from [[Aaron]] onwards.

==Prayer in the Tabernacle==

Twice a day, a priest would stand in front of the golden prayer altar and burn fragrant incense. Other procedures were also carried out in the Tabernacle.

==Other uses==
[[Image:ChurchTabernacle.JPG‎ |thumb|240px|A Roman Catholic Style church tabernacle.]]
Within [[Anglicanism]], [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholicism]] and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]], a tabernacle is a box-like receptacle for the exclusive reservation of the Blessed [[Sacrament]] of consecrated bread and wine which the faithful believe to be the True Body and Blood of Jesus Christ after the manner of a sacrament. In it, it is believed He is truly present, but not materially or locally (St. Thomas Aquinas). The sacrament is Jesus's instrument and means of grace: it is not intrinsic to him like our bodily organs, but extrinsic. The sacrament is distributed during the rite of [[Holy Communion]] in lieu of the celebration of the Eucharist itself or taken to the sick or homebound. In the [[Early Church|Early Christian]] times such tabernacles containing the ''sacred species'' were kept within private houses where [[Christianity|Christians]] met for church, for fear of persecution. In the Roman and Western rite Catholic Church these tabernacles are traditionally covered by a covering known as a [[conopaeum]]. These may be tent-like in appearance or they may resemble curtains, depending on whether the Tabernacle is recessed into the wall or free-standing, as in the illustration here. These conopaeae are coloured in the [[Liturgical colour]] of the day or the season. This practice is now optional. A conopaeum covering a tabernacle is a symbol of the indwelling of the Body of Christ, much in the same way as the Spirit of God dwelled within the Tabernacle in the Desert in the five books of Moses. This covering also helps represent the nature of the tabernacle as a Tent. And like the original Tabernacle, the Christian Tabernacle is closed, often taking the form of a strongbox.

Catholics and Orthodox alike also refer to the [[Blessed Virgin Mary]] as the Tabernacle in their devotions (such as the [[Akathist Hymn]] or Catholic [[Litany of Loreto|Litanies]] dedicated to Mary), as she carried within her the body of Christ (The Word Incarnate in Christian Theology) in her role as [[Theotokos]], just as a Church tabernacle does today.

The Tabernacle is also seen in some Christian circles as being [[Typology (theology)|typical]] of [[Jesus Christ]] (see C.H. Raven, ''God's Sanctuary''<ref>Raven, CH, ''God's Sanctuary'', John Ritchie Ltd., 1991 ISBN 9780946351312</ref> for overview).

In [[Seventh-day Adventist theology]], emphasis is placed on understanding the sanctuary as a symbol or [[Typology (theology)|type]] illustrating God's plan of salvation to make believers righteous and to cleanse the universe of sin.

[[Image:Mormon_Tabernacle_1870s.jpg|thumb|240px|The [[Salt Lake Tabernacle]], Home of the [[Mormon Tabernacle Choir]] ca. 1870]]In the [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], the tabernacle was used as a multipurpose religious edifice, both for services, Church conferences, and community centers, although today the stake center has taken the place of the tabernacle for services and community centers. The largest such tabernacle is in [[Salt Lake City]] on [[Temple Square]]. Other tabernacles, located throughout Utah in more than half a dozen communities and a few built elsewhere including one in Hawaii, are today still used as ecclesiastical cultural centers, for other religious purposes and even community cultural activities.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://gospelhall.org/teaching--preaching/sunday-school-lessons-and-activities-for-kids/sunday-school-lesson-219-the-tabernacle-in-the-wilderness.html Full color, 3d, printable model of the tabernacle]
*[http://www.watton.org/studies&stories/tab/ A study of the Tabernacle]
*[http://www.watton.org/studies&stories/feasts/ The offerings of the Tabernacle]
*[http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/tanach/mishkan/mishkan.htm The Tabernacle and its Contents] with many diagrams '''(in Hebrew)'''
*[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=3&letter=T Jewish Encyclopedia article]
*[http://koti.phnet.fi/petripaavola/Tabernacle Tabernacle model Christian Perspective]
*[http://www.the-tabernacle-place.com Tabernacle Model and Free Tabernacle Lessons]
*[http://www.plymouthbrethren.org/series.asp?series_id=25 Tabernacle from a Christian Perspective - Thomas Newberry editor of the Newberry Reference Bible]
*[http://www.glencairnmuseum.org/tabernacle/ The Tabernacle model at Glencaírn museum]
*[http://www.tabernacleshadows.com/ "Tabernacle Shadows"]
*[http://www.aiwaz.net/TABERNACLE/c32 Symbolic Tabernacle]
*[http://www.tekhelet.com Blue Dye used in Curtains & Preistly Garments]

{{Jews and Judaism}}

[[Category:Tabernacle and Jerusalem Temples| ]]

[[da:Tabernaklet]]
[[de:Tabernakel (Judentum)]]
[[es:Tabernáculo]]
[[eo:Tabernaklo]]
[[fr:Tabernacle (Bible)]]
[[he: המשכן ]]{{Link FA|he}}
[[id:Kemah Suci]]
[[lb:Tabernakel]]
[[li:Tabernakel]]
[[nl:Tabernakel]]
[[ja:幕屋]]
[[no:Tabernakel]]
[[pl:Przybytek Mojżeszowy]]
[[pt:Tabernáculo]]
[[ru:Скиния]]{{Link FA|ru}}
[[sr:Табернакл]]
[[fi:Ilmestysmaja]]
[[sv:Tabernakel]]

Yom Kippur

2008-12-09T21:59:10Z

Dbratton: removed popular culture section, doesn't provide any useful information about the subject

{{redirect|Day of Atonement}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image = Gottlieb-Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur.jpg
|caption = Yom Kippur in the synagogue, painting by [[Maurycy Gottlieb]] (1878)
|holiday_name = Yom Kippur
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''יוֹם כִּפּוּר''' or '''יום הכיפורים'''
|nickname =
|observedby = [[Jew]]s
|date = 10th day of [[Tishrei]]
|observances = [[Fasting]], [[prayer]], abstaining from physical pleasures, refraining from [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|work]]
|type = Jewish
|significance = Soul-searching and repentance
|related to = [[Rosh Hashanah]], which precedes Yom Kippur
|date2008 = Sunset, October 8 – nightfall, October 9
|date2009 = Sunset, September 27 – nightfall, September 28
|date2010 = Sunset, September 17 – nightfall, September 18
|date2011 = Sunset, October 7 – nightfall, October 8
}}'''Yom Kippur''' ({{lang-he|יוֹם כִּפּוּר}}, {{IPA2|ˈjɔm kiˈpur}}), also known in English as the ''Day of Atonement'', is the most solemn and important of the [[Jewish holiday]]s. Its central themes are [[Atonement in Judaism|atonement]] and [[Repentance in Judaism|repentance]]. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of [[Ta'anit|fasting]] and intensive [[Jewish services|prayer]], often spending most of the day in [[synagogue]] services.

Yom Kippur is the tenth and final day of the [[Ten Days of Repentance]] which begin with [[Rosh Hashanah]]. According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year into a "book" on Rosh Hashanah and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict. During the Ten Days of Repentance, a Jew tries to amend his behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God (''bein adam leMakom'') and against his fellow man (''bein adam lechavero''). The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and private petitions and confessions of guilt (''[[Vidui]]''). At the end of Yom Kippur, one considers himself absolved by God.

The Yom Kippur prayer service includes several unique aspects. One is the actual number of prayer services. Unlike a regular day, which has three prayer services (''Ma'ariv'', the evening prayer; ''Shacharit'', the morning prayer; and ''Mincha'', the afternoon prayer), or a [[Shabbat]] or [[Yom Tov]], which have four prayer services (''Ma'ariv''; ''Shacharit''; ''Musaf'', the additional prayer; and ''Mincha''), Yom Kippur has five prayer services (''Ma'ariv''; ''Shacharit''; ''Musaf''; ''Mincha''; and ''Ne'ilah'', the closing prayer). The prayer services also include a public confession of sins (''[[Vidui]]'') and a reenactment of the special Yom Kippur ''avodah'' (service) of the [[Kohen Gadol]] in the [[Holy Temple in Jerusalem]].

==Date==
Yom Kippur is the climax of the ''[[Yamim Noraim]]'' (“Days of Awe”), and with [[Rosh Hashanah]] forms the Jewish [[High Holy Days]]. In accordance with {{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:27|HE}} the date of Yom Kippur is the 10th day of [[Tishrei]] (“the tenth day of the seventh month”) on the [[Hebrew calendar]].

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Yom Kippur
!Starts (at sundown)
!Ends (at night)
|-

|-
|align="center"|5768
|[[2007]]-[[09-21]]
|[[2007]]-[[09-22]]
|-
|align="center"|5769
|[[2008]]-[[10-08]]
|[[2008]]-[[10-09]]
|-
|align="center"|5770
|[[2009]]-[[09-27]]
|[[2009]]-[[09-28]]
|-
|align="center"|5771
|[[2010]]-[[09-17]]
|[[2010]]-[[09-18]]
|-
|}

==Observances==
===General observances===
{{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:27|HE}} decrees that Yom Kippur is a strict day of rest and of fasting.

Five additional prohibitions are traditionally observed, as detailed in the [[Oral Torah|Jewish oral tradition]] (''[[Mishnah]]'' tractate ''[[Yoma]]'' 8:1):

#Eating and drinking
#Wearing leather shoes
#Bathing/washing
#Anointing oneself with perfumes or lotions
#Sexual relations

Total abstention from food and drink usually begins 30 minutes before sundown (called ''tosefet Yom Kippur'', lit. "Addition to Yom Kippur"), and ends after nightfall the following day. Although the fast is required of all healthy adults, it is waived in the case of certain medical conditions. Virtually all Jewish holidays involve a ritual feast, but since Yom Kippur involves fasting, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] requires one to eat a large and festive meal on the afternoon before Yom Kippur, after the ''[[Mincha]]'' afternoon prayer. Wearing white clothing is traditional to symbolize one’s purity on this day. Many [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] men immerse themselves in a ''[[mikvah]]'' on the day before Yom Kippur.<ref name=OU>{{cite web |url=http://www.ou.org/chagim/yomkippur/ykcustoms.htm |title=OU Customs for Erev Yom Kippur |accessdate=2008-09-21}}</ref>

===Eve of Yom Kippur ===
{{main|Kol Nidre}}

'''Erev Yom Kippur''' (lit. "eve of day of atonement") is the day preceding Yom Kippur, corresponding to the ninth day of the Hebrew month of [[Tishrei]]. This day is commemorated with two festive meals, the giving of charity, and asking others for forgiveness.<ref>http://www.divreinavon.com/pdf/ErevYomKippur.pdf Erev Yom Kippur - The purpose of the day as seen through Talmudic anecdotes</ref>

Before sunset on Yom Kippur eve, worshippers gather in the [[synagogue]]. The [[Ark (synagogue)|Ark]] is opened and two people take from it two [[Sefer Torah|Sifrei Torah]] (Torah scrolls). Then they take their places, one on each side of the [[Hazzan|cantor]], and the three recite:
<blockquote>In the tribunal of Heaven and the tribunal of earth, by the permission of God—praised be He—and by the permission of this holy congregation, we hold it lawful to pray with transgressors."</blockquote>

The cantor then chants the [[Kol Nidre]] prayer (Hebrew: '''כל נדרי''') in [[Aramaic]], not [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]. Its name is taken from the opening words, meaning “All vows”:

<blockquote>All personal vows we are likely to make, all personal oaths and pledges we are likely to take between this Yom Kippur and the next Yom Kippur, we publicly renounce. Let them all be relinquished and abandoned, null and void, neither firm nor established. Let our personal vows, pledges and oaths be considered neither vows nor pledges nor oaths.<ref>Translation of Philip Birnbaum, from ''High Holyday Prayer Book'', Hebrew Publishing Company, NY, 1951</ref></blockquote>

The leader and the congregation then say together three times “May all the people of Israel be forgiven, including all the strangers who live in their midst, for all the people are in fault.” The Torah scrolls are then replaced, and the customary [[Jewish services|evening service]] begins.

===Prayer services===
Many married men wear a ''[[kittel]]'', a white robe-like garment for evening prayers on Yom Kippur.<ref name=JVL_yk>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/holiday4.html |title=Jewish Virtual Library — Yom Kippur |accessdate=2008-09-21}}</ref> They also wear a [[tallit]], the only evening service of the year in which this is done.<ref name=MJL>{{cite web |url=http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Yom_Kippur/Overview_Yom_Kippur_Community/Prayer_Services.htm |title=My Jewish Learning — Prayer Services |accessdate=2008-09-21 |author=Rabbi Daniel Kohn}}</ref> Prayer services begin with the prayer known as “[[Kol Nidre]],” which must be recited before sunset, and continue with the evening prayers (''Ma'ariv'' or ''Arvith''), which includes an extended [[Selichot]] service.

The morning prayer service is preceded by litanies and petitions of forgiveness called ''selichot''; on Yom Kippur, many ''selichot'' are woven into the [[liturgy]]. The morning prayers are followed by an added prayer (''Musaf'') as on all other holidays. This is followed by ''Mincha'' (the afternoon prayer) which includes a reading ([[Haftarah]]) of the [[Book of Jonah]], which has as its theme the story of God's willingness to forgive those who repent. The service concludes with the ''Ne'ilah'' prayer, which begins shortly before sunset, when the "gates of prayer" will be closed. Yom Kippur comes to an end with a recitation of ''[[Shema Yisrael]]'' and the blowing of the ''[[shofar]]'', which marks the conclusion of the fast.<ref name=MJL />
{{Teshuva}}

===The ''Avodah'': Remembering the Temple service===
A recitation of the sacrificial service of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] traditionally features prominently in both the liturgy and the religious thought of the holiday. Specifically, the ''Avodah'' (“service”) in the ''musaf'' prayer recounts the sacrificial ceremonies in great detail.

This traditional prominence is rooted in the [[Babylonian Talmud]]’s description of how to attain atonement following the destruction of the Temple. According to Talmud tractate [[Yoma]], in the absence of a Temple, Jews are obligated to study the High Priest’s ritual on Yom Kippur, and this study helps achieve atonement for those who are unable to benefit from its actual performance. In [[Orthodox Judaism]], accordingly, studying the Temple ritual on Yom Kippur represents a positive [[mitzvah#rabbinical mitzvot|rabbinically-ordained obligation]] which Jews seeking atonement are required to fulfill.

In Orthodox, most [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]], and some [[Progressive Judaism|progressive]]<ref>An abbreviated version of the Seder Avodah is used in Yom Kippur services at the [[Hebrew Union College]] Jerusalem campus</ref> synagogues a detailed description of the Temple ritual is recited on the day. In most Orthodox and some Conservative synagogues, the entire congregation [[prostration|prostrates]] themselves at each point in the recitation where the [[Kohen Gadol]] (High Priest) would pronounce the [[Tetragrammaton]] (God’s holiest name, according to Judaism).

The main section of the Avodah is a threefold recitation of the High Priest’s actions regarding expiation in the [[Holy of Holies]]. Performing the sacrificial acts and reciting [[Leviticus]] 16:30, “for on this day atonement shall be made for you, to atone for you for all your sins, before God…” (he would recite the Tetragrammaton at this point, to which the people would prostrate to the ground) and after extending the Name, he would finish the verse “…you shall be purified.” He would first ask for forgiveness for himself and his family (“Your pious man”), then for the priestly caste (“Your holy people”), and finally for all of Israel (“Your upright children”). (These three times, plus in some congregations the ''Alenu'' prayer during the [[Musaf]] [[Amidah]] on Yom Kippur and [[Rosh Hashanah]], are the only times in [[Jewish services]] when Jews engage in complete full-body prostration, with the exception of some [[Yemenite Jews]] and ''talmedhei haRambam'' who may prostrate themselves on other occasions during the year). A variety of liturgical poems are added, including a poem recounting the radiance of the countenance of the [[Kohen Gadol]] after exiting the Holy of Holies, traditionally believed to emit palpable light in a manner echoing the [[Bible]]'s account of the countenance of [[Moses]] after descending from [[Mount Sinai]], as well as prayers for the speedy rebuilding of the [[Third Temple|Temple]] and the restoration of [[korban|sacrificial worship]]. There are a variety of other customs, such as hand gestures to mime the sprinkling of blood (one sprinkling upwards and seven downwards per set of eight).

Orthodox liturgies include prayers lamenting the inability to perform the Temple service and petitioning for its restoration, which Conservative synagogues generally omit. In some Conservative synagogues, only the ''[[Hazzan]]'' engages in full prostration. Some Conservative synagogues abridge the recitation of the Avodah service to varying degrees, and some omit it entirely. Many [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] and [[Reconstructionist Judaism|Reconstructionist]] services omit the entire service as inconsistent with modern sensibilities.

=== Observance among secular Jews ===
Yom Kippur is considered one of the holiest of Jewish holidays, and it is observed by many [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Jews]] who may not observe other holidays. Many secular Jews fast and attend synagogue on Yom Kippur, where the number of worshippers attending is often double or triple the normal attendance.

===Yom Kippur in Israel ===
[[Image:Yom Kippur on Highway 20 Tel-Aviv.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Ayalon Highway, Tel-Aviv, in Yom Kippur 2007. Empty of cars.]]
Yom Kippur is a legal holiday in the modern state of Israel. There are no radio or television broadcasts, airports are shut down, there is no public transportation, and all shops and businesses are closed.<ref>[http://web.israelinsider.com/Views/6829.htm "Sounds of The City", article from [[Israel Insider]], October 14, 2005]</ref> In 1973, an air raid siren was sounded on the afternoon of Yom Kippur and radio broadcasts were resumed to alert the public to the surprise attack that launched the [[Yom Kippur War]].

In 2008, 63% percent of the Jewish people of [[Israel]] said that they were intending to fast on Yom Kippur.<ref>http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3606861,00.html</ref> This may be the reason that it is very common in [[Israel]] to wish "Tsom Kal" (an easy fast) to everyone before Yom Kippur, even if you don't know whether they will fast or not.

It is considered "bad form" to eat in public on Yom Kippur or to drive a motor vehicle. There is no legal prohibition on driving or eating in public, and from the strict legal point of view any person has the right to do so — but in practice such actions are frowned upon. Allowance is made for ambulances and emergency vehicles, but there have been incidents where even they are not tolerated.<ref>"Youths hurl rocks at Magen David paramedics in Acre, Haifa" ([[Haaretz]], October 11, 2008[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027741.html]</ref>

Over the last few decades, bicycle-riding on the empty streets has become a new “tradition” among [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Israeli]] youngsters, especially on the eve of Yom Kippur.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3310235,00.html
|title=Yom Kippur: Nearly 2,000 injured
|publisher=Ynetnews
|year=2006
|accessdate=2006-10-02}}</ref> In consequence, Yom Kippur is jocularly referred to as the “Festival of Bicycles.”<ref>See for instance uses at [http://www.doctors.co.il/xID-4096,xCT-0,xCN-printer,m-Doctors,a-Article.html], [http://www.tapuz.co.il/blog/ViewEntry.asp?EntryId=801794&passok=yes]</ref> Bicycle sales rise in the weeks before Yom Kippur, and companies have taken to advertising children’s bicycles as “Yom Kippur specials.”

==Yom Kippur in the Bible==
The [[Torah]] calls the day ''Yom HaKippurim'' (יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים) and in {{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:27|}} decrees a strict prohibition of work and affliction of the soul upon the tenth day of the seventh month, later known as [[Tishrei]]. The rites for Yom Kippur are set forth in the sixteenth chapter of [[Leviticus]] (cf. [[Exodus]] 30:10; Leviticus 23:27–31, 25:9; [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 29:7–11). It is described as a solemn fast, on which no food or drink could be consumed, and on which all work is forbidden.

=== Midrashic interpretation ===
''The midrashim described in this section need sources cited from Midrashic literature''

Traditionally, Yom Kippur is considered the date on which [[Moses]] received the second set of [[Ten Commandments]]. It occurred following the completion of the second 40 days of instructions from God. At this same time, the [[Israelites]] were granted atonement for the sin of the [[Golden Calf]]; hence, its designation as the Day of Atonement.<ref>Spiro, Rabbi Ken. [http://www.aish.edu/literacy/jewishhistory/Crash_Course_in_Jewish_History_Part_12_—_The_Golden_Calf.asp Crash Course in Jewish History Part 12 — The Golden Calf]. [[Aish HaTorah]]. accessed April 29, 2007</ref>

===View of contemporary Biblical scholarship===
According to [[textual criticism|textual scholars]], the biblical regulations covering Yom Kippur are spliced together from multiple source texts,<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref><ref>Cheyne and Black, ''[[Encyclopedia Biblica]]''</ref> as indicated by evidence such as with the [[doublet|duplication]] of the confession over the bullock,<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:6|}} and {{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:6|}}</ref> and the incongruity in one verse stating that the high priest should not enter the Holy of Holies (with the inference that there are exceptions for certain explicitly identified festivals),<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:2|}}</ref> and the next verse indicating that they can enter whenever they wish (as long as a specific ritual is carried out first).<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref> Although [[Rashi]] tried to find a harmonistic explanation for this incongruity, the [[Leviticus Rabbah]] maintains that it was indeed the case that the high priest could enter at any time if these rituals were carried out.<ref>''Leviticus Rabbah'' 21</ref> Textual scholars argue that the ritual is composed from three sources, and a couple of redactional additions:<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref><ref>Cheyne and Black, ''[[Encyclopedia Biblica]]''</ref>
*prerequisite rituals before the high priest can enter the Holy of Holies (on any occasion), namely a sin offering and a whole offering, followed by the filling of the Holy of Holies with a cloud of incense while wearing linen garments<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:1|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:3–4|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:12–13|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:34|}} (b)</ref>
*regulations which establish an annual day of fasting and rest, during which the sanctuary and people are purified, without stating the ritual for doing so;<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:29–34|}} (a)</ref> this regulation is very similar to the one in the Holiness Code<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:27–31|}}</ref>
*later elaborations of the ceremony,<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:5|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:7–10|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:14–28|}}</ref> which include the sprinkling of the blood on the ''mercy seat'', and the use of a scapegoat sent to Azazel; the same source also being responsible for small alterations to related regulations<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|30:10|}}, {{bibleverse||Leviticus|25:9|}}</ref>
*the redactional additions<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:2|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:6|}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|16:11|}}</ref>

According to [[biblical criticism|biblical scholars]], the original ceremony was simply the ritual purification of the sanctuary from any accidental ritual impurity, at the start of each new year, as seen in the [[Book of Ezekiel]],<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Day of Atonement''</ref> which textual scholars date to before the [[priestly source]], but after [[JE]].<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Priestly Source''</ref><ref>[[Richard Elliott Friedman]], ''Who wrote the Bible''</ref> According to the Book of Ezekiel, the sanctuary was to be cleansed by the sprinkling of bullock's blood, on the first day of the first and of the seventh months<ref>{{bibleverse||Ezekiel|45:18–20|}}</ref> — near the start of the Civil year and of the Ecclesiastical year, respectively; although the [[masoretic text]] of the Book of Ezekiel has the second of these cleansings on the seventh of the first month, biblical scholars regard the [[Septuagint]], which has the second cleaning as being the first of the seventh month, as being more accurate here.<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Day of Atonement''</ref> It appears that during the period that the Holiness Code and the Book of Ezekiel were written, the new year began on the tenth day of the seventh month,<ref>{{bibleverse||Leviticus|25:9|}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse||Ezekiel|40:1|}}</ref> and thus biblical scholars believe that by the time the Priestly Code was compiled, the date of the new year and of the day of atonement had swapped around.<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref>

== Yom Kippur in Mishnaic and Talmudic literature ==
===The Temple service ===
The following summary of the Temple service is based on the traditional Jewish religious account described in [[Mishnah]] tractate [[Yoma]], appearing in contemporary traditional Jewish prayerbooks for Yom Kippur, and studied as part of a traditional Jewish Yom Kippur worship service.<ref name=kasirer>Arnold Lustiger, Michael Taubes, [[Menachem Genack]], and [[Hershel Schacter]], ''Kasirer Edition Yom Kippur Machzor With Commentary Adapted from the Teachings of Rabbi [[Joseph B. Soloveitchik]]''. New York: K'hal Publishing, 2006. pp. 588–589 (summary); 590–618.</ref>

While the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple]] was standing in [[Jerusalem]] (from Biblical times through 70 C.E.), the [[Kohen Gadol]] (High Priest) performed a complex set of special services and sacrifices for Yom Kippur. These services were considered to be the most important parts of Yom Kippur, as through them the Kohen Gadol made atonement for all Jews in the world. During the service, the Kohen Gadol entered the [[Holy of Holies]] in the center of the Temple, the only time of the year that anyone went inside. Doing so required special purification and preparation, including five immersions in a ''[[mikvah]]'' (ritual bath), and four changes of clothing.

Seven days prior to Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol was sequestered in the [[Parhedrin chamber]] in the Temple, where he reviewed the service with the Temple sages, and was sprinkled with spring water containing ashes of the [[Red Heifer]] as purification. The [[Talmud]] (Tractate [[Yoma]]) also reports that he practiced the incense offering ritual in the [[Avitnas chamber]].

On the day of Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol had to follow a precise order of services, sacrifices, and purifications:
{{Judaism}}
*'''Morning (Tamid) Offering''' The Kohen Gadol first performed the regular daily (''Tamid'') offering — usually performed by ordinary priests — in special golden garments, after immersing in a ''[[mikvah]]'' and washing his hands and feet.
*'''Garment Change 1''' The Kohen Gadol immersed in a special ''mikvah'' in the Temple courtyard and changed into special linen garments, and washed his hands and feet twice, once after removing the golden garments and once before putting on the linen garments.
* '''Bull as Personal Sin-Offering''' The Kohen Gadol leaned (performed ''[[Semicha in sacrifices|Semikha]])'' and made a confession over the bull on behalf of himself and his household, pronouncing the [[Tetragrammaton]]. The people prostrated themselves when they heard. He then slaughtered the bull as a ''chatat'' (sin-offering) and received its blood in a bowl.
* '''Lottery of the goats''' At the Eastern (Nikanor) gate, the Kohen Gadol drew lots from a lottery box over two [[goat]]s. One was selected “for the Lord,” and one “for [[Azazel]].” The Kohen Gadol tied a red band around the horns of the goat “for Azazel.”
* '''Incense Preparation''' The Kohen Gadol ascended the ''[[mizbeach]]'' (altar) and took a shovel full of [[ember]]s with a special shovel. He was brought [[incense]]. He filled his hands and placed it in a vessel. (The ''[[Talmud]]'' considered this the most physically difficult part of the service, as the Kohen Gadol had to keep the shovelful of glowing [[coal]]s balanced and prevent its contents from dropping, using his armpit or teeth, while filling his hands with the incense).
* '''Incense Offering''' Holding the shovel and the vessel, he entered the [[Kadosh Hakadashim]], the Temple’s [[Holy of Holies]]. In the days of the [[Solomon’s Temple|First Temple]], he placed the shovel between the poles of the [[Ark of the Covenant]]. In the days of the [[Second Temple]], he put the shovel where the Ark would have been. He waited until the chamber filled with smoke and left.
*'''Sprinkling of Blood in the Holy of Holies''' The Kohen Gadol took the bowl with the bull’s blood and entered the Most Holy Place again. He sprinkled the bull’s blood with his finger eight times, before the Ark in the days of the First Temple, where it would have been in the days of the Second. The Kohen Gadol then left the Holy of Holies, putting the bowl on a stand in front of the [[Parochet]] (curtain separating the Holy from the Holy of Holies).
*'''Goat for the Lord as Sin-Offering for [[Kohen|Kohanim]]''' The Kohen Gadol went to the eastern end of the Israelite courtyard near the Nikanor Gate, laid his hands (''[[Semicha in sacrifices|semikha]]'') on the goat “for the Lord,” and pronounced [[confession]] on behalf of the Kohanim (priests). The people prostrated themselves when he pronounced the Tetragrammaton. He then slaughtered the goat, and received its blood in another bowl.
*'''Sprinkling of blood in the Holy''' Standing in the ''[[Hekhal]]'' (Holy), on the other side of the Parochet from the Holy of Holies, the Kohen Gadol took the bull's blood from the stand and sprinkled it with his finger eight times in the direction of the Parochet. He then took the bowl with the goat's blood and sprinkled it eight times in the same manner, putting it back on the stand.
*'''Smearing of blood on the Golden (Incense) Altar''' The Kohen Gadol removed the goat’s blood from the stand and mixed it with the bull's blood. Starting at the northeast corner, he then smeared the mixture of blood on each of the four corners of the Golden (Incense) altar in the Haichal. He then sprinkled the blood eight times on the altar.
*'''Goat for Azazel''' The Kohen Gadol left the Haichal and walked to the east side of the ''[[Azarah]]'' (Israelite courtyard). Near the Nikanor Gate, he leaned his hands (Semikha) on the goat “for Azazel” and confessed the sins of the entire people of Israel. The people prostrated themselves when he pronounced the Tetragrammaton. While he made a general confession, individuals in the crowd at the Temple would confess privately. The Kohen Gadol then sent the goat off “to the wilderness.” In practice, to prevent its return to human habitation, the goat was led to a cliff outside Jerusalem and pushed off its edge.
*'''Preparation of sacrificial animals''' While the goat “for Azazel” was being led to the cliff, the Kohen Gadol removed the insides of the bull, and intertwined the bodies of the bull and goat. Other people took the bodies to the ''Beit HaDeshen'' (place of the ashes). They were burned there after it was confirmed that the goat “for Azazel” had reached the wilderness.
*'''Reading the Torah''' After it was confirmed that the goat “for Azazzel” had been pushed off the cliff, the Kohen Gadol passed through the Nikanor Gate into the ''Ezrat Nashim'' (Women’s Courtyard) and read sections of the ''Torah'' describing Yom Kippur and its [[Korban|sacrifice]]s.
*'''Garment change 2''' The Kohen Gadol removed his linen garments, immersed in the ''mikvah'' in the Temple courtyard, and changed into a second set of special golden garments. He washed his hands and feet both before removing the linen garments and after putting on the golden ones.
*'''Offering of Rams''' The Kohen Gadol offered two rams as an ''olah'' offering, slaughtering them on the north side of the ''mizbeach'' (outer altar), receiving their blood in a bowl, carrying the bowl to the outer altar, and dashing the blood on the northeast and southwest corners of the Outer Altar. He dismembered the rams and burned the parts entirely on the outer altar. He then offered the accompanying ''[[mincha]]'' (grain) offerings and ''nesachim'' (wine-libations).
*'''Musaf Offering''' The Kohen Gadol then offered the ''[[Musaf]]'' offering.
*'''Burning of Innards''' The Kohen Gadol placed the insides of the bull and goat on the outer altar and burned them entirely.
*'''*Garment change 3''' The Kohen Gadol removed his golden garments, immersed in the ''mikvah'', and changed to a new set of linen garments, again washing his hands and feet twice.
*'''Removal of Incense from the [[Kadosh Hakadashim|Holy of Holies]]''' The Kohen Gadol returned to the Holy of Holies and removed the bowl of incense and the shovel.
*'''Garment Change 4''' The Kohen Gadol removed his linen garments, immersed in the ''mikvah'', and changed into a third set of golden garments, again washing his hands and feet twice.
*'''Evening (Tamid) Offering''' The Kohen Gadol completed the afternoon portion of the regular (''tamid'') daily offering in the special golden garments. He washed his hands and feet a tenth time.

The Kohen Gadol wore five sets of garments (three golden and two white linen), immersed in the ''mikvah'' five times, and washed his hands and feet ten times. Sacrifices included two (daily) lambs, one bull, two goats, and two rams, with accompanying ''mincha'' (meal) offerings, wine libations, and three incense offerings (the regular two daily and an additional one for Yom Kippur). The Kohen Gadol entered the Holy of Holies three times. The Tetragrammaton was pronounced three times, once for each confession.<ref name=kasirer />

== Yom Kippur and the Bnai Noah ==

Yom Kippur is one of the Holy Days observed by the [[B’nei Noah]], gentiles who adhere to the [[Seven Laws of Noah]] and are under the knowledgeable guidance of [[Orthodox Judaism]].{{fact|date=September 2008}}

==Christians and Yom Kippur==
{{main|Day of Atonement (Christian holiday)}}
In [[Christianity]] the phrase ''Day of Atonement'' is usually taken to refer to a more singular [[eschatology|eschatological]] event also known as ''[[Judgment Day]]'', and most Christians ignore Yom Kippur as they do not consider it to be part of the ''[[New Covenant]]''. However, many [[Christian theology|Christian theologians]] and scholars acknowledge that there is a strong connection between the two days; for example, one Christian theologian argues that Yom Kippur is the foreshadowing pre-text of [[Christos pantocrator|Christ's future judgment]] of mankind.<ref>Sausa, Diego D. ''Kippur — the Final Judgment: Apocalyptic Secrets of the Hebrew Sanctuary'', Fort Myers, FL: The Vision Press, 2006. ISBN 0-9788346-1-5.</ref>

In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], the [[Fast Day]] of the [[Exaltation of the Holy Cross]] is observed on September 14 in the [[Julian Calendar]], roughly coinciding with Yom Kippur (which oscillates with respect to the Julian and [[Gregorian Calendar]]s). One Orthodox priest – Rev. Patrick Reardon – argues that it is obviously derived from Yom Kippur, and that everyone realizes this.<ref>[http://www.ancientfaithradio.com/specials/allsaints/ Welcome — Ancient Faith Radio]</ref> The [[Amish]] Christians also observe a Fast Day on October 11 in the Gregorian Calendar, which similarly coincides roughly with Yom Kippur.<ref>[http://www.dutchcrafters.com/aboutamish.aspx About The Amish]</ref>

However, Yom Kippur is most comparable to the Christian holy day of [[Good Friday]]. As Yom Kippur is seen as the day for atonement of sins, so is Good Friday depicted as the event which [[Christ]] granted humanity atonement through his death and resurrection.

==Yom Kippur in Islamic tradition==
According to [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] tradition, when [[Muhammad]] arrived in [[Medina]] in 622 CE, he found that the Jews there fasted on the 10th day of [[Muharram]] and asked them the reason for their fasting on this day. They said, “This is a blessed day. On this day God saved the Children of Israel from their enemy (in Egypt) and so Moses fasted on this day giving thanks to God.” Muhammad said, “We are closer to Musa than you are" (meaning that unlike the followers of Muhammed and Moses, the Medina Jewish community was settled and established). He fasted on that day and commanded Muslims to fast on this day.<ref>Al-Bukhari</ref> This day is known as [[Ashura]].

The fasting suggests Yom Kippur while the Exodus story suggests [[Passover]]. Later, Muhammad mentioned that Muslims would have their sins forgiven if they repented sincerely and fasted on Ashura. There are conflicting accounts as to whether it corresponds with Passover or with Yom Kippur. Furthermore, Ashura no longer generally coincides with either days, since the [[Quran]] prohibited [[intercalary month|intercalation]] into the lunar calendar,<ref>Qu'ran 9:36</ref> resulting in the gradual shift of the start of the 354 day [[Islamic Calendar|Islamic year]] with respect to the solar year, while the lunisolar [[Hebrew Calendar]] retains intercalation.

==See also==
*[[Break fast]]
*[[Kol Nidre]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.aish.com/hhYomK/hhYomKDefault/ABCs_of_Yom_Kippur.asp]
*[http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=4687 Yom Kippur guide] at [[Chabad.org]]
*[http://www.mavensearch.com/content/YomKippur.asp Yom Kippur Info] at MavenSearch
*[http://www.pizmonim.com Yom Kippur Prayers for Sephardic Jews]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=73|type=Shiurim}}
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/eng/?cat=104|type=Q&A}}

{{Jewish holidays}}
{{High Holidays}}

[[Category:Yom Kippur| ]]

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[[jv:Yom Kippur]]
[[he:יום הכיפורים]]
[[ka:იომ-კიპური]]
[[la:Dies Expiationis]]
[[lt:Jom Kipuras]]
[[hu:Jom kippur]]
[[nl:Jom Kipoer]]
[[ja:ヨム・キプル]]
[[no:Jom kippúr]]
[[nn:Jom kippúr]]
[[pl:Jom Kippur]]
[[pt:Yom Kipur]]
[[ro:Iom Kipur]]
[[ru:Йом-Кипур]]
[[sk:Jom kipur]]
[[sr:Јом кипур]]
[[fi:Jom kippur]]
[[sv:Jom kippur]]
[[tl:Araw ng Pagbabayad-puri]]
[[ta:யோம் கிப்பூர்]]
[[tr:Yom Kippur]]
[[uk:Йом-Кіпур]]
[[ur:یوم کِپور]]
[[yi:יום כיפור]]
[[zh:贖罪日]]

Sabbath

2008-12-08T16:23:03Z

Dbratton: removed some recent unnecessary/bad edits

Tabernacle

2008-12-05T14:41:14Z

Dbratton: Revert to revision 255972365 dated 2008-12-05 03:10:38 by 71.247.11.196 using popups

User talk:76.234.248.254

2008-12-04T15:11:11Z

Dbratton: vandal4

== February 2008 ==
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== March 2008 ==
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==December 2008==

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Tabernacle

2008-12-04T15:10:25Z

Dbratton: Revert to revision 255349165 dated 2008-12-02 03:35:59 by NawlinWiki using popups

{{dablink|For other meanings see [[Tabernacle (disambiguation)]].}}
The '''Tabernacle''' is known in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] as the '''''Mishkan''''' ( משכן "Residence" or "Dwelling Place"). It was a [[portable]] dwelling place for the divine presence from the time of the Hebrew [[Exodus]] from [[Egypt]] through the conquering of the land of [[Canaan]]. Its elements were made part of the final [[Temple in Jerusalem]] about the [[10th century BC]].

The English word "tabernacle" is derived from the [[Latin]] word ''tabernaculum'' meaning "tent." ''Tabernaculum'' itself is a diminutive form of the word ''taberna'', meaning "hut, booth, tavern." The word '''[[sanctuary]]''' is also used as its name, as well as the phrase the "'''tent of meeting'''".

[[Image:Tabernakel 536x282.jpg|thumb|240px|The Tabernacle (reconstruction)]]

==Hebrew ''mishkan''==

The Hebrew word, however, points to a different meaning. '''''Mishkan''''' is related to the Hebrew word to "dwell", "rest", or "to live in", referring to the "[In-dwelling] Presence of God", the '''''[[Shekhina]]''''' (or '''''Shechina''''') (based on the same Hebrew root word as '''''Mishkan'''''), that dwelled or rested within this divinely ordained mysterious structure.

The Hebrew word for a "neighbor" is '''''shakhen''''' from the same root as '''''mishkan.''''' The [[Mitzvah|commandments]] for its construction are taken from the words in the [[Book of Exodus]] when God says to [[Moses]]: "They shall make me a sanctuary, and I will dwell (''ve-'''shakhan'''-ti'') among them. You must make the tabernacle ('''''mishkan''''') and all its furnishings following the plan that I am showing you." (Exodus 25:8-10). Thus the idea is that God wants this structure built so that it may be a "dwelling", so to speak, for his presence within the [[Children of Israel]] following the [[Exodus]].

It is a crucial component for understanding many of the foundations of [[Judaism]], such as the [[Shabbat]] (Jewish Sabbath), the [[Kohen|Jewish priesthood]] who were commanded to serve in it, and the meaning and [[atonement]] of the sin of the [[Golden calf]].

==Contents==

The detailed outlines for the Tabernacle and its leaders are enumerated in the [[Book of Exodus]]:
*Chapter 25 [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=25] : Materials needed, the Ark, the table for 12 showbread, the Menorah.
*Chapter 26 [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=26] : The Tabernacle, the beams, partitions.
*Chapter 27 [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=27] : The copper altar, the enclosure, oil.
*Chapter 28 [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=28] : Vestments for the priests, ''ephod'' garment, ring settings, the breastplate, robe, head-plate, tunic, turban, sashes, pants.
*Chapter 29 [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=29] : Consecration of priests and altar.
*Chapter 30 [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=30] : Incense altar, washstand, anointing oil, incense.

==Builders==

In chapter 31 [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=31] the main builder and architects are specified:
:"God spoke to Moses, saying: I have selected [[Bezalel]] son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, by name. I have filled him with a divine spirit, with wisdom, understanding and knowledge, and with all types of craftsmanship. He will be able to devise plans as well as work in gold, silver and copper, cut stones to be set, carve wood, and do other work. I have also given him [[Oholiab]] son of Achisamakh of the tribe of Dan. I have placed wisdom in the heart of every naturally talented person. They will thus make all that I have ordered, the Communion Tent, the [[Ark of the Covenant]], the ark cover to go on it, all the utensils for the tent, the table and its utensils, the pure menorah and all its utensils, the [[incense]] altar, the sacrificial altar and all its utensils, the washstand and its base, the packing cloths, the sacred vestments for Aaron the priest, the vestments that his sons wear to serve, the anointing oil, and the incense for the sanctuary. They will thus do all that I command." (Exodus 31:1-11)

==Organization==

The tabernacle of the Hebrews, during the Exodus, was a portable worship facility comprised of a tent draped with colorful curtains (see [http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/tanach/mishkan/1.htm diagram]).
It had a rectangular, [[perimeter fence]] of fabric, poles and staked cords. This rectangle was always erected when they would camp, oriented to the east. In the center of this enclosure was a rectangular sanctuary draped with goats'-hair curtains, with the roof made from rams' skiinins, (see [http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/tanach/mishkan/2.htm diagram]).
Inside, it was divided into two areas, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place (see [http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/tanach/mishkan/3.htm diagram]). These two compartments were separated by a curtain or veil. Entering the first space, one would see 3 pieces of sacred furniture: a seven-branched oil lampstand on the left (south), a table for twelve loaves of show bread on the right (north) and straight ahead before the dividing curtain (west) was an altar for incense-burning. Beyond this curtain was the cube-shaped inner room known as the (''[[Holy of Holies]]'') or (''[[Kodesh Hakodashim]]''). This sacred space contained a single article called the [[Ark of the Covenant]] (''aron habrit'') (see [http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/tanach/mishkan/10.htm diagram]).

==Incorporated into Temple in Jerusalem==
According to the Bible, when the Israelites settled in [[Canaan]] they set up the Tabernacle on Mount [[Shiloh (Bible)|Shiloh]]. There it stayed until God requested a stationary abode: ''"And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came unto Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in? Whereas I have not dwelt in [any] house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle"'' ([[2 Samuel]] 7:4-6). Although King David himself was not allowed to build this temple, because he was a man of war, God promised that his son would build it. After King [[David]] died at [[Jerusalem]] his son King [[Solomon]] built the first temple known as [[Solomon's Temple]], incorporating all the elements of the Tabernacle into the newly built Temple in Jerusalem.

==Significance for Sabbath==

The concluding instructions for the Tabernacle's construction are stated at the end of the [[Book of Exodus]], chapter 31 [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=31], and in that same chapter, immediately following the words about the Tabernacle, God reminds Moses about the importance of the [[Shabbat|Jewish Sabbath]]:
:"God told Moses to speak to the Israelites and say to them: You must still keep my sabbaths. It is a sign between me and you for all generations, to make you realize that I, God, am making you holy. Keep the Sabbath as something sacred to you. Anyone doing work shall be cut off spiritually from his people, and therefore, anyone violating it shall be put to death. Do your work during the six week days, but keep Saturday as a Sabbath of sabbaths, holy to God. Whoever does any work on Saturday shall be put to death. The Israelites shall thus keep the Sabbath, making it a day of rest for all generations, as an eternal covenant. It is a sign between me and the Israelites that during the six weekdays God made heaven and earth, but on Saturday, he ceased working and rested." (Exodus: 31: 12-17). [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=31]
The rabbis of the [[Mishna]] derive from this juxtaposition of subject-matter, the fact that the commandment to rest on the Sabbath day, as stated in Genesis 2:1-3 "Heaven and earth, and all their components, were completed. With the seventh day, God finished all the work that He had done. He ceased on the seventh day from all the work that he had been doing. God blessed the seventh day, and he declared it to be holy, for it was on this day that God ceased from all the work that he
had been creating to function." [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=1&CHAPTER=2] is not pushed aside by the commandments to construct the Tabernacle. Not only that, but the very definition of what constitutes "work" or "activity" that must not be done by any Israelite, on pain of death (only when there was a [[Sanhedrin]], and only with acceptable witnesses present), is defined by the [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|39 categories of activity]] needed for the construction of the Tabernacle and for its functioning as the center of the sacrifices enumerated in the [[Book of Leviticus]].

==Relationship to the Golden Calf==

Some rabbis have commented on the proximity of the narrative of the Tabernacle with that of the episode known as the sin of the [[Golden Calf]] which begins in the [[Book of Exodus]] 32:1-6 [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=32]. [[Maimonides]] asserts that the Tabernacle and its accoutrements, such as the golden [[Ark of the Covenant]] and the golden [[Menorah (Temple)|Menorah]] were meant as "alternates" to the human weakness and needs for physical idols as seen in the Golden Calf episode. Other scholars, such as [[Nachmanides]] disagree and maintain that the Tabernacle's meaning is not tied in with the Golden Calf but instead symbolizes higher mystical lessons that symbolize God's constant closeness to the Children of Israel.

==Blueprint for synagogues==
[[Image:YarmulkeAndMenorah.jpg|right|thumb|A modern Menorah replica (right)]]
[[Synagogue]] construction over the last two thousand years has followed the outlines of the original Tabernacle, which was of course also the outline for the temples in Jerusalem until they were destroyed. Every synagogue has at its front an ark, ''aron kodesh'', containing the [[Torah]] scrolls comparable to the [[Ark of the Covenant]] which contained the tablets with [[Ten Commandments]]. This is the holiest spot in a synagogue equivalent to the [[Holy of Holies]].

There is also usually a constantly lighted lamp, ''ner tamid'', or a candelabrum lighted during services, near this spot similar to the original [[Menorah (Temple)|Menorah]]. At the center of the synagogue is a large elevated area, known as the ''bimah'' where the Torah is read. This is equivalent to the Tabernacle's altars upon which incense and animal sacrifices were offered. On the main holidays the [[Kohen|priests]], ''kohanim'', gather at the front of the synagogue to bless the congregation as did their priestly ancestors in the Tabernacle from [[Aaron]] onwards.

==Prayer in the Tabernacle==

Twice a day, a priest would stand in front of the golden prayer altar and burn fragrant incense. Other procedures were also carried out in the Tabernacle.

==Other uses==
[[Image:ChurchTabernacle.JPG‎ |thumb|240px|A Roman Catholic Style church tabernacle.]]
Within [[Anglicanism]], [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholicism]] and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]], a tabernacle is a box-like receptacle for the exclusive reservation of the Blessed [[Sacrament]] of consecrated bread and wine which the faithful believe to be the True Body and Blood of Jesus Christ after the manner of a sacrament. In it, it is believed He is truly present, but not materially or locally (St. Thomas Aquinas). The sacrament is Jesus's instrument and means of grace: it is not intrinsic to him like our bodily organs, but extrinsic. The sacrament is distributed during the rite of [[Holy Communion]] in lieu of the celebration of the Eucharist itself or taken to the sick or homebound. In the [[Early Church|Early Christian]] times such tabernacles containing the ''sacred species'' were kept within private houses where [[Christianity|Christians]] met for church, for fear of persecution. In the Roman and Western rite Catholic Church these tabernacles are traditionally covered by a covering known as a [[conopaeum]]. These may be tent-like in appearance or they may resemble curtains, depending on whether the Tabernacle is recessed into the wall or free-standing, as in the illustration here. These conopaeae are coloured in the [[Liturgical colour]] of the day or the season. This practice is now optional. A conopaeum covering a tabernacle is a symbol of the indwelling of the Body of Christ, much in the same way as the Spirit of God dwelled within the Tabernacle in the Desert in the five books of Moses. This covering also helps represent the nature of the tabernacle as a Tent. And like the original Tabernacle, the Christian Tabernacle is closed, often taking the form of a strongbox.

Catholics and Orthodox alike also refer to the [[Blessed Virgin Mary]] as the Tabernacle in their devotions (such as the [[Akathist Hymn]] or Catholic [[Litany of Loreto|Litanies]] dedicated to Mary), as she carried within her the body of Christ (The Word Incarnate in Christian Theology) in her role as [[Theotokos]], just as a Church tabernacle does today.

The Tabernacle is also seen in some Christian circles as being [[Typology (theology)|typical]] of [[Jesus Christ]] (see C.H. Raven, ''God's Sanctuary''<ref>Raven, CH, ''God's Sanctuary'', John Ritchie Ltd., 1991 ISBN 9780946351312</ref> for overview).

In [[Seventh-day Adventist theology]], emphasis is placed on understanding the sanctuary as a symbol or [[Typology (theology)|type]] illustrating God's plan of salvation to make believers righteous and to cleanse the universe of sin.

[[Image:Mormon_Tabernacle_1870s.jpg|thumb|240px|The [[Salt Lake Tabernacle]], Home of the [[Mormon Tabernacle Choir]] ca. 1870]]In the [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], the tabernacle was used as a multipurpose religious edifice, both for services, Church conferences, and community centers, although today the stake center has taken the place of the tabernacle for services and community centers. The largest such tabernacle is in [[Salt Lake City]] on [[Temple Square]]. Other tabernacles, located throughout Utah in more than half a dozen communities and a few built elsewhere including one in Hawaii, are today still used as ecclesiastical cultural centers, for other religious purposes and even community cultural activities.

A [[French language|French]] derivative, ''tabarnac'' (shortened from ''tabernacle'') is among the ''[[Quebec French profanity|sacres]]'' widely used by [[Joual]] [[Francophone]]s in [[Quebec]], [[Canada]] as a swear word, roughly equivalent to "[[shit]]".<ref>{{cite book | last = Freed | first = Josh | title = The Anglo Guide to Survival in Québec | publisher = Eden Press | location = Montreal | year = 1983 | isbn = 0920792332 | pages = pg 32 | oclc = 10558074 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://gospelhall.org/teaching--preaching/sunday-school-lessons-and-activities-for-kids/sunday-school-lesson-219-the-tabernacle-in-the-wilderness.html Full color, 3d, printable model of the tabernacle]
*[http://www.watton.org/studies&stories/tab/ A study of the Tabernacle]
*[http://www.watton.org/studies&stories/feasts/ The offerings of the Tabernacle]
*[http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/tanach/mishkan/mishkan.htm The Tabernacle and its Contents] with many diagrams '''(in Hebrew)'''
*[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=3&letter=T Jewish Encyclopedia article]
*[http://koti.phnet.fi/petripaavola/Tabernacle Tabernacle model Christian Perspective]
*[http://www.the-tabernacle-place.com Tabernacle Model and Free Tabernacle Lessons]
*[http://www.plymouthbrethren.org/series.asp?series_id=25 Tabernacle from a Christian Perspective - Thomas Newberry editor of the Newberry Reference Bible]
*[http://www.glencairnmuseum.org/tabernacle/ The Tabernacle model at Glencaírn museum]
*[http://www.tabernacleshadows.com/ "Tabernacle Shadows"]
*[http://www.aiwaz.net/TABERNACLE/c32 Symbolic Tabernacle]
*[http://www.tekhelet.com Blue Dye used in Curtains & Preistly Garments]

{{Jews and Judaism}}

[[Category:Tabernacle and Jerusalem Temples| ]]

[[da:Tabernaklet]]
[[de:Tabernakel (Judentum)]]
[[es:Tabernáculo]]
[[eo:Tabernaklo]]
[[fr:Tabernacle (Bible)]]
[[he: המשכן ]]{{Link FA|he}}
[[id:Kemah Suci]]
[[lb:Tabernakel]]
[[li:Tabernakel]]
[[nl:Tabernakel]]
[[ja:幕屋]]
[[no:Tabernakel]]
[[pl:Przybytek Mojżeszowy]]
[[pt:Tabernáculo]]
[[ru:Скиния]]{{Link FA|ru}}
[[sr:Табернакл]]
[[fi:Ilmestysmaja]]
[[sv:Tabernakel]]

Hanukkah

2008-12-03T21:27:56Z

Dbratton: Undid revision 255708502 by 68.39.179.219 (talk)

{{for|the Khazar ruler|Hanukkah ben Obadiah}}
{{distinguish|Hanneke}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image =
|caption = Several Menorot on the eighth night of the festival.
|holiday_name = Hanukkah
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''חֲנֻכָּה''' or '''חנוכה''' [[English language|English]] translation: "Establishing/Dedication" (of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]])
|nickname = Festival of Lights, Festival of Dedication
|observedby = [[Jew]]s
|begins = 25 [[Kislev]]
|ends = 2 [[Tevet]] or 3 [[Tevet]]
|celebrations = Lighting [[candle]]s each night. Singing special songs, such as [[Ma'oz Tzur]]. Reciting [[Hallel]] prayer. Eating festive meals and foods fried in oil, such as [[latke]]s and [[sufganiyot]]. Playing the ''[[Hanukkah#Dreidel|dreidel]]'' game, and giving [[Hanukkah#Hanukkah gelt|Hanukkah ''gelt'']]
|type = Jewish
|significance = The [[Maccabees]] successfully rebelled against [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]]. The Temple was purified and the wicks of the menorah miraculously burned for eight days.
|relatedto = [[Purim]], as a [[rabbi]]nically decreed holiday.
|date2008 = sunset, [[December 21]] to sunset, [[December 29]] The first Day of Hanukkah is December 22.
|date2009 = sunset, [[December 11]] to sunset, [[December 19]]
|date2010 = sunset, [[December 1]] to sunset, [[December 9]]
}}
[[Image:Skulen2.JPG|thumb|Grand Rabbi [[Israel Abraham Portugal]] of [[Skulen (Hasidic dynasty)|Skulen]] [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]] lighting Hanukkah lights]]

'''Hanukkah''' ({{lang-he|חנוכה}}, alt. '''Chanukah'''), also known as the '''Festival of Lights''', is an eight-day [[Jewish holiday]] commemorating the rededication of the [[Second Temple]] in [[Jerusalem]] at the time of the [[Maccabean Revolt]] of the [[2nd century BCE]]. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of [[Kislev]] according to the [[Hebrew calendar]], and may occur from late November to late December on the [[Gregorian calendar]].

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a special [[candelabrum]], the ''[[Menorah (Hanukkah)|Menorah]]'' or ''Hanukiah'', one light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a ''[[Shamash#Shamash in Judaism|shamash]]'', ([[Hebrew (language)|Hebrew]]: "guard" or "servant") is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the [[Talmud]] (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. (The shamash is used to light the other lights.)

Hanukkah is mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] or [[Biblical apocrypha|apocrypha books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

==Origins of the holiday==
"Hanukkah," from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", marks the re-dedication of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] after its desecration by the forces of [[Antiochus IV]] and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil." According to the [[Talmud]], at the re-dedication following the victory of the [[Maccabees]] over the [[Seleucid Empire]], there was only enough consecrated [[olive oil]] to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

The martyrdom of Hannah and her seven sons has also been linked to Hanukkah. According to the Talmudic story<ref>Talmud Gittin 57b tells a story of a woman and her seven sons killed by "Caesar". The name "Hannah" is not stated.</ref> and [[2 Maccabees]], a Jewish woman named Hannah and her seven sons were tortured and executed by [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes|Antiochus]] for refusing to worship an idol, which would have been a violation of [[613 Mitzvot|Jewish law]].

===Name===
The name "Hanukkah" is interpreted in many ways.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://innernet.org.il/article.php?aid=11|title=Origin of the Name Chanukah|first=Nosson|last=Scherman|publisher=ArtScroll}}</ref>
*Some scholars say the word was derived from the Hebrew verb "חנך" meaning "to dedicate" or to "educate." On Hanukkah, Jews mark the rededication of the House of the Lord.<ref>[[Maharsha]] on [[Talmud]] [[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]] 21b</ref>

*Others argue that the name can be broken down into "חנו", from the Hebrew word for encampment, and the Hebrew letters כ"ה, which stand for the 25th day of Kislev, the day on which the holiday begins: Hence, the Jews sat in their camp, that is, they rested fighting, on the 25th day of Kislev.<ref>[[Nissim of Gerona|Ran]] on [[Isaac Alfasi|Rif]] 9b</ref>

*Hanukkah is also the Hebrew [[acronym]] for "ח' נרות והלכה כבית הלל" meaning "eight candles as determined by [[Hillel the Elder|House of Hillel]]" This is a reference to the disagreement between two rabbinical schools of thought - Hillel and the [[Shammai|House of Shammai]] - on the proper way to light Hanukkah candles. Shammai said that eight candles should be lit from the start, and reduced by one candle every night, whereas Hillel argued in favor of starting with one candle and lighting an additional one every night. Jewish law adopted the position of Hillel.

== Historical sources ==
=== In the Talmud ===
The miracle of Hanukkah is described in the [[Talmud]]. The [[Gemara]], in tractate ''Shabbat 21b'' focuses on [[Shabbat]] candles and moves to Hanukkah candles and says that after the forces of Antiochus IV had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was still [[seal (device)|seal]]ed by the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, and miraculously, that oil burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready).

The Talmud presents three options:
#The law requires only one light each night per household,
#A better practice is to light one light each night for each member of the household
#The most preferred practise is to vary the number of lights each night.
There was a dispute among the sages over how the last option was to be performed: either display eight lamps on the first night of the festival, and reduce the number on each successive night; or begin with one lamp the first night, increasing the number till the eighth night. The followers of [[Shammai]] favored the former custom; the followers of [[Hillel the Elder|Hillel]] advocated the latter. As is the case in most such disputes, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] followed Hillel. Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one's door or in the window closest to the street. [[Rashi]], in a note to ''Shabbat 21b,'' says their purpose is to publicize the miracle. Hanukkah is also mentioned in the (older) [[Mishnah]] (TB [[Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah]] 30b).

===In the Septuagint and other sources===
The story of Hanukkah is alluded to in the book of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]] of the [[Septuagint]] but Hanukkah is not specially mentioned; rather, a story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 ''et seq'' according to which the relighting of the altar fire by [[Nehemiah]] was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabeus.

The Books of Maccabees are not part of the [[Tanakh]] ([[Hebrew Bible]]), but are part of [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] historical and religious material preserved in the [[Septuagint]]. The Tanakh ends with the consequences following the events of [[Purim]], and had already been codified many centuries earlier by the [[Great Assembly|Men of the Great Assembly]] (''Anshei Knesset HaGedolah'').

Another source is the [[Megillat Antiochus]]. This work (also known as "Megillat HaHasmonaim", or "Megillat Hanukkah") is in both [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]; the Hebrew version is a literal translation from the Aramaic original. Recent scholarship dates it to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th Centuries, probably in the 2nd Century,<ref>{{cite web|first=Benjamin|last=Zvieli|title=The Scroll of Antiochus|url= http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html| accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> with the Hebrew dating to the seventh century.<ref name = "pvgsyw"> [http://customerservant.com/2006/12/16/the-scroll-of-the-hasmoneans/ The Scroll Of The Hasmoneans] </ref> It was published for the first time in [[Mantua]] in 1557. [[Saadia Gaon]], who translated it into [[Arabic language| Arabic]] in the 9th Century, ascribed it to the Maccabees themselves, disputed by some, since it gives dates as so many years before the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE.<ref> [http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html The Scroll of Antiochus] </ref> The Hebrew text with an English translation can be found in the [[Siddur]] of [[Philip Birnbaum]].

== The story ==
{{see also|Hasmonean}}
Around 200 BCE Jews lived as an autonomous people in the [[Land of Israel]], also referred to as [[Judea]], which at that time was controlled by the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] [[Seleucid dynasty|king of Syria]]. The Jewish people paid taxes to Syria and accepted its legal authority, and they were free to follow their own faith, maintain their own jobs, and engage in trade.

By 175 BCE [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]] ascended to the Seleucid throne. At first little changed, but under his reign, the Temple in [[Jerusalem]] was looted, Jews were massacred, and [[Judaism]] was effectively outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple.

Many modern scholars argue that the king may have been intervening in an internal civil war between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized elite Jews in Jerusalem. These competed violently over who would be the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like [[Onias III|Onias]] overthrown by Hellenizers with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus. As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times, banned the traditional religion of a whole people.<ref>Tchrikover, Victor. ''Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews''.</ref>

Antiochus' actions proved to be a major miscalculation as they provoked a large-scale revolt. [[Mattathias]], a [[Kohen|Jewish priest]], and his five sons Jochanan, [[Simon Maccabaeus|Simeon]], [[Eleazar Maccabeus|Eleazar]], [[Jonathan Maccabaeus|Jonathan]], and [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] led a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated.
The festival of Hanukkah was instituted by [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah Maccabee]] and his brothers to celebrate this event.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#59 1 Macc. iv. 59]</ref> After recovering Jerusalem and the Temple, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. But 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 by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

[[Image:Hanukkah2.jpg|thumb|right|Hanukkah lamp unearthed near [[Jerusalem]], c. 1900.]]
The version of the story in 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, states that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was proclaimed upon rededication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of the oil.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#36 1 Macc. iv. 36]</ref> A number of historians believe that the reason for the eight day celebration was that the first Hanukkah was in effect a belated celebration of the festivals of [[Sukkot]] and [[Shemini Atzeret]].<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA10.HTM#6 Macc. x. 6] and [http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA1.HTM#9 i. 9]</ref> During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret properly; the combined festivals also last eight days, and the Sukkot festivities featured the lighting of lamps in the Temple (Suk.v. 2-4). The historian [[Josephus]]<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+12.287]
''Jewish Antiquities'' xii. 7, § 7, #323</ref> mentions the eight-day festival and its customs, but does not tell us the origin of the eight day lighting custom. Given that his audience was Hellenized Romans, perhaps his silence on the origin of the eight-day custom is due to its miraculous nature. In any event, he does report that lights were kindled in the household and the popular name of the festival was, therefore the "Festival of Lights" ("And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights").

It has also been noted that the number eight has special significance in Jewish theology, as representing transcendence and the Jewish People's special role in human history. Seven is the number of days of creation, that is, of completion of the material cosmos, and also of the classical planets. Eight, being one step beyond seven, represents the Infinite. Hence, the Eighth Day of the Assembly festival, mentioned above, is according to Jewish Law a festival for Jews only (unlike Sukkot, when all peoples were welcome in Jerusalem). Similarly, the rite of [[brit milah]] (circumcision), which brings a Jewish male into God's Covenant, is performed on the eighth day. Hence, Hanukkah's eight days (in celebration of monotheistic morality's victory over Hellenistic humanism) have great symbolic importance for practicing Jews.

==Hanukkah rituals==
[[Image:Hanukkah1.jpg|thumb|right|Various menorot used for Hanukkah. 12th through 19th century, CE]]

Hanukkah is celebrated by a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the 8-day holiday. Some are family-based and others are communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals. Hanukkah is not a "Sabbath-like" holiday, and there is no obligation to refrain from [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|activities that are forbidden on the Sabbath]], as specified in the ''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]''<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 670:1</ref> People go to work as usual, but may leave early in order to be home to kindle the lights at nightfall. There is no religious reason for schools to be closed, although, in Israel, schools close for the whole week of Hanukkah. Many families exchange gifts each night, and fried foods are eaten.

===Kindling the Hanukkah lights===
:{{seealso|Chanukkiyah}}
The primary ritual, according to [[Halakha|Jewish law and custom]], is to light a single light each night for eight nights. As a universally practiced "beautification" of the [[mitzvah]], the number of lights lit is increased by one each night.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 671:2</ref> An extra light called a ''shamash'', meaning ''guard'' or ''servant'' is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. This differs from [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] candles which are meant to be used for illumination. Hence, if one were to need extra illumination on Hanukkah, the ''shamash'' candle would be available and one would avoid using the prohibited lights. Some light the ''shamash'' candle first and then use it to light the others.<ref name = "lonorw">''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 673:1</ref> So all together, including the ''shamash'', two lights are lit on the first night, three on the second and so on, ending with nine on the last night, for a total of 44.

[[Image:Tiffany glasswork Hanukkah menora02.jpg|thumb|A modern [[Lead came and copper foil glasswork|"Tiffany"]] Hanukkah menorah]]
The lights can be candles or oil lamps.<ref name = "lonorw"/> Electric lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room. Most Jewish homes have a special [[candelabrum]] or oil lamp holder for Hanukkah, which holds eight lights plus the additional ''shamash'' light.

The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without," so that passers-by should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle. Accordingly lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street. It is customary amongst some Ashkenazim to have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), whereas most Sephardim light one for the whole household. Only when there was danger of [[Anti-Semitism|anti-semitic persecution]] were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the case in [[Iran|Persia]] under the rule of the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]], or in parts of Europe before and during World War II. However, most [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] groups, light lamps near an inside doorway, not necessarily in public view. According to this tradition, the lamps are placed on the opposite side from the ''[[mezuzah]]'', so that when one passes through the door he is surrounded by the holiness of ''mitzvoth''.

[[Image:Maurice Ascalon Menorah Pal-Bell.jpg|thumb|left|Bronze [[Pal-Bell]] oil-burning Hanukkah menorah from Israel circa 1948, by [[Maurice Ascalon]].]]

===Time of lighting===
Hanukkah lights should burn for at least one half hour after it gets dark. The custom of the [[Vilna Gaon]] observed by many residents of Jerusalem as the custom of the city, is to light at sundown, although most Hassidim light later, even in Jerusalem. Many Hasidic Rebbes light much later, because they fulfill the obligation of publicizing the miracle by the presence of their Hasidim when they kindle the lights. Inexpensive small wax candles sold for Hanukkah burn for approximately half an hour, so on most days this requirement can be met by lighting the candles when it is dark outside. Friday night presents a problem, however. Since candles may not be lit on the [[Shabbat]] itself, the candles must be lit before sunset. However, they must remain lit until the regular time - thirty minutes after nightfall - and inexpensive Hanukkah candles do not burn long enough to meet the requirement. A simple solution is to use longer candles, or the traditional oil lamps. In keeping with the above-stated prohibition, the Hanukkah menorah is lit first, followed by the Shabbat candles which signify its onset.

=== Blessings over the candles ===
[[Image:Menorah two candles.jpg|thumb|A menorah with two lit candles]]
Typically three blessings (''Brachot'' singular ''Brachah'') are recited during this eight-day festival. On the first night of Hanukkah, Jews recite all three blessings, on all subsequent nights, they recite only the first two.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:1-2</ref> The blessings are said before or after the candles are lit depending on tradition. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle, lamp, or electric) is lit on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first candle and so on, proceeding from right to left each night.

For the full text of the blessings, see [[List of Jewish prayers and blessings#Hanukkah|List of Jewish prayers and blessings: Hanukkah]]

==== ''Hanerot Halalu'' ====
During or after the lights are kindled the hymn ''Hanerot Halalu'' is recited. There are several differing versions - the version presented here is recited in many Ashkenazic communities:<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:4</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan=2 | [[Ashkenazi]]c version:
|-
! Transliteration
! English
|-
| Hanneirot hallalu anachnu madlikin 'al hannissim ve'al hanniflaot 'al hatteshu'ot ve'al hammilchamot she'asita laavoteinu bayyamim haheim, (u)bazzeman hazeh 'al yedei kohanekha hakkedoshim. Vekhol-shemonat yemei Hanukkah hanneirot hallalu kodesh heim, ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtammesh baheim ella lir'otam bilvad kedei lehodot ul'halleil leshimcha haggadol 'al nissekha ve'al nifleotekha ve'al yeshu'otekha
| We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your [[Kohen|holy priests]]. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them except for to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations.
|-
|}

==== ''Maoz Tzur'' ====
{{main|Ma'oz Tzur}}
Each night after the lighting of the candles, while remaining within sight of the candles, Ashkenazim (and, in recent decades, some Sephardim and Mizrahim in Western countries) usually sing the hymn ''Ma'oz Tzur'' written in Medieval [[Germany]]. The song contains six stanzas. The first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation, and the middle four deal with events of persecution in [[Jewish history]], and praises God for survival despite these tragedies ([[the exodus]] from Egypt, the [[Babylonian captivity]], the miracle of the holiday of [[Purim]], and the [[Hasmonean]] victory).

====Other customs====
After lighting the candles and Ma'oz Tzur, singing various other Hanukkah songs is customary in many Jewish homes. Various Hasidic and Sefardic traditions have additional prayers that are recited both before and after lighting the Hanukkah lights. This includes the recitation of many Psalms, most notably Psalms 30, 67, and 91 (many Hasidim recite Psalm 91 seven times after lighting the lamps, as was taught by the [[Baal Shem Tov]]), as well as other prayers and hymns, each congregation according to its own custom. In North America it is common to exchange presents or give children presents at this time.

=== Additions to the daily prayers ===
{{quote box|align=left|width=45%|quote="We thank You also for the miraculous deeds and for the redemption and for the mighty deeds and the saving acts wrought by You, as well as for the wars which You waged for our ancestors in ancient days at this season. In the days of the Hasmonean Mattathias, son of Johanan the high priest, and his sons, when the iniquitous Greco-Syrian kingdom rose up against Your people Israel, to make them forget Your Torah and to turn them away from the ordinances of Your will, then You in your abundant mercy rose up for them in the time of their trouble, pled their cause, executed judgment, avenged their wrong, and delivered the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and insolent ones into the hands of those occupied with Your Torah. Both unto Yourself did you make a great and holy name in Thy world, and unto Your people did You achieve a great deliverance and redemption. Whereupon your children entered the sanctuary of Your house, cleansed Your temple, purified Your sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courts, and appointed these eight days of Hanukkah in order to give thanks and praises unto Your holy name."|source=Translation of ''Al ha-Nissim''}}
An addition is made to the "''hoda'ah''" (thanksgiving) benediction in the [[Amidah]], called ''Al ha-Nissim'' ("On/about the Miracles").<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 682:1</ref> This addition refers to the victory achieved over the Syrians by the Hasmonean Mattathias and his sons.

The same prayer is added to the grace after meals. In addition, the ''[[Hallel]]'' Psalms are sung during each morning service and the ''[[Tachanun]]'' penitential prayers are omitted. The Torah is read every day in the [[synagogue]], the first day beginning from [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 6:22 (According to some customs, Numbers 7:1), and the last day ending with Numbers 8:4.

Since Hanukkah lasts eight days it includes at least one, and sometimes two, [[Shabbat|Jewish Sabbaths]] (Saturdays). The weekly [[Parsha|Torah portion]] for the first Sabbath is almost always ''[[Miketz]]'', telling of [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]]'s dream and his enslavement in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]. The ''[[Haftarah]]'' reading for the first Sabbath Hanukkah is [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]] 2:14-4:7. When there is a second Sabbath on Hanukkah, the ''Haftarah'' reading is from [[I Kings]] 7:40 - 7:50.

The Hanukkah ''menorah'' is also kindled daily in the synagogue, at night with the blessings and in the morning without the blessings. The menorah is not lit on the Sabbath, but rather prior to the beginning of the Sabbath at night and not at all during the day.

During the [[Middle Ages]] "[[Megillat Antiochus]]" was read in the [[Italian Jews#Italian rite Jews|Italian]] [[synagogues]] on Hanukkah just as the [[Book of Esther]] is read on [[Purim]]. It still forms part of the liturgy of the [[Yemenite Jews]].<ref name = "pvgsyw"/>

=== ''Zot Hanukkah'' ===
The last day of Hanukkah is known as ''Zot Hanukkah'', from the verse in the Book of Numbers 7:84 "''Zot Chanukat Hamizbe'ach''" - "This was the dedication of the altar", which is read on this day in the synagogue. According to the teachings of [[Kabbalah]] and [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]], this day is the final "seal" of the High Holiday season of [[Yom Kippur]], and is considered a time to repent out of love for God. In this spirit, many Hasidic Jews wish each other "''Gmar chatimah tovah''", "may you be sealed totally for good", a traditional greeting for the Yom Kippur season. It is taught in Hasidic and Kabbalistic literature that this day is particularly auspicious for the fulfillment of prayers.

==Judith and Holofernes==
[[Image:Cristofano Allori 002.jpg|thumb|left|''Judith with the head of Holofernes'' by Cristofano Allori]]

Eating dairy foods, especially cheese, on Hanukkah is a minor custom that has its roots in the story of Judith, as related in the book of [[Judith]] (''Yehudit'' or ''Yehudis'' in Hebrew). [[Holofernes]], an Assyrian general, had surrounded the village of Bethulia as part of his campaign to conquer Judea. After intense fighting, the water supply of the Jews is cut off and the situation became desperate. Judith, a pious widow, told the city leaders that she had a plan to save the city. Judith went to the Assyrian camps and pretended to surrender. She met Holofernes, who was smitten by her beauty. She went back to his tent with him, where she plied him with cheese and wine. When he fell into a drunken sleep, Judith beheaded him and escaped from the camp, taking the severed head with her. When Holofernes' soldiers found his corpse, they were overcome with fear; the Jews, on the other hand, were emboldened, and launched a successful counterattack. The town was saved, and the Assyrians defeated.

Many argue {{who}} that Holofernes was actually Greek, placing the events in the general time-frame of Hanukkah. The longstanding tradition that Judith was the daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, and consequently a sister of Mattathias the Hasmonean and an aunt of Judah the Maccabee, is how this story came to be associated with Hanukkah. There are many depictions of Judith and Holofernes in painting.

==Interaction with modernity and with other traditions==

The classical rabbis downplayed the military and nationalistic dimensions of Hanukkah, and some even interpreted the emphasis upon the story of the miracle oil as a diversion away from the struggle with empires that had led to the disastrous downfall of Jerusalem to the Romans. With the advent of Zionism and the state of Israel, these themes were rapidly reconsidered. In modern Israel, Hanukkah was transformed into a celebration of military strength, a kind of antidote to what was perceived as the idea of the powerless [[Jewish diaspora|Diaspora Jew]] that the Zionists felt that the Jews in the State of Israel needed to psychologically overcome.

In North America especially, Hanukkah gained increased importance with many Jewish families in the latter half of the twentieth century, including large numbers of [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Jews]], who wanted a Jewish alternative to the [[Christmas]] celebrations that often overlap with Hanukkah. Though it was traditional to give "gelt" or money coins to children during Hanukkah, in many families this has changed into gifts in order to prevent Jewish children from feeling left out of the Christmas gift giving.

While Hanukkah traditionally speaking is only a minor Jewish holiday, as indicated by the lack of restrictions on work other than a few minutes after lighting the candles, Hanukkah has taken a place equal to Passover as a symbol of Jewish identity. Both the Israeli and North American versions of Hanukkah emphasize resistance, focusing on some combination of national liberation and religious freedom as the defining meaning of the holiday.

===Green Hanukkah===

Some Jews in North America and Israel have taken up environmental concerns in relation to Hanukkah's "miracle of the oil", emphasizing reflection on energy conservation and energy independence. An example of this is the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life's renewable energy campaign.<ref>[http://www.shalomctr.org/node/1315 Shalom Center on Hannukah and the environment]</ref> <ref>[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546797524&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Jerusalem Post: Green Hanukkia' campaign sparks ire]</ref> <ref>[http://www.coejl.org/climatechange/CFLceremony.php Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL): Green Hannukah ceremony]</ref>

==Hanukkah music==
{{main|Hanukkah music}}
There are several songs associated with the festival of Hanukkah. The most well known in English-speaking countries include "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" and "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah." In Israel, Hanukkah has become something of a national holiday. A large number of songs have been written on Hanukkah themes, perhaps more so than for any other Jewish holiday. Some of the most well known are "''Hanukkiah Li Yesh''" ("I Have a Hanukkah Menora"), "''Kad Katan''" ("A Small Jug"), "''S'vivon Sov Sov Sov''" ("Dreidel, Spin and Spin"), "''Mi Yimalel''" (Who can Retell") and "''Ner Li, Ner Li''" ("I have a Candle").

==Hanukkah foods==
[[Image:sufganiyah.jpeg|thumb|right|Sufganiyot with jelly]]
[[Potato pancakes]], known as [[latke]]s in [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], are traditionally associated with Hanukkah, especially among Ashkenazi families. There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil (preferably olive oil), as the original miracle of the Hanukkah menorah involved the discovery of the small flask of oil used by the Jewish High Priest, the [[Kohen Gadol]]. This small batch of olive oil was only supposed to last one day, and instead it lasted eight.

Many Sephardic families as well as [[History of Jews in Poland|Polish]] Ashkenazim and [[Israel]] have the custom of eating all kinds of fruit-filled [[doughnut]]s ({{lang-yi|פאנטשקעס ''pontshkes''}}), ([[bimuelos]], or [[sufganiyah|sufganiyot]]) which are [[Frying|deep-fried]] in oil, and of course all Kosher foods.

==Hanukkah games==
===Dreidel===
{{main|Dreidel}}
[[Image:Dreidel 001.jpg|thumb|right|Dreidel]]
The ''dreidel'', or ''sevivon'' in Hebrew, is a four-sided spinning top that children play with on Hanukkah. Each side is imprinted with a Hebrew letter. These letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words, נס גדול היה שם, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''S'''ham''—"A great miracle happened there" (referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Beit Hamikdash]]).

*נ ''([[Nun (letter)|Nun]])''
*ג ''([[Gimel (letter)|Gimel]])''
*ה ''([[He (letter)|Hey]])''
*ש ''([[Shin (letter)|Shin]])''

In [[Israel|Eretz Yisroel]], the fourth side of most dreidels is inscribed with the letter פ ''([[Pe (letter)|Pe]])'', rendering the acronym, נס גדול היה פה, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''P'''o''—"A great miracle happened here" referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel. Some stores in [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] neighbourhoods may sell the traditional ''Shin'' dreidels.

Some Jewish commentators ascribe symbolic significance to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects the four letters with the four exiles to which the nation of Israel was historically subject—Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome.<ref>[http://www.ohr.org.il/yhiy/article.php/1309 Ohr Somayach :: Chanukah :: The Secret of the Dreidel]</ref>

After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, it is customary in many homes to play the dreidel game: Each player starts out with 10 or 15 coins (real or of chocolate), nuts, raisins, candies or other markers, and places one marker in the "pot." The first player spins the dreidel, and depending on which side the dreidel falls on, either wins a marker from the pot or gives up part of his stash. The code (based on a [[Yiddish Language|Yiddish]] version of the game) is as follows:
*Nun - ''nisht'' - "nothing" - nothing happens and the next player spins
*Gimel - ''gants'' - "all" - the player takes the entire pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtel ayn'' - "put in" - the player puts one marker in the pot

Another version differs:
*Nun - ''nim'' - "take" - the player takes one from the pot
*Gimel - ''gib'' - "give" - the player puts one in the pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtil'' - "still" (as in "stillness") - nothing happens and the next player spins

The game may last until one person has won everything.

Some say the dreidel game is played to commemorate a game devised by the Jews to camouflage the fact that they were [[Torah study|studying Torah]], which was outlawed by Greeks. The Jews would gather in caves to study, posting a lookout to alert the group to the presence of Greek soldiers. If soldiers were spotted, the Jews would hide their scrolls and spin tops, so the Greeks thought they were gambling, not learning.

===Hanukkah ''gelt''===
Hanukkah ''gelt'' ([[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] for "money") is often distributed to children to enhance their enjoyment of the holiday. The amount is usually in small coins, although grandparents or other relatives may give larger sums as an official Hanukkah gift. In Israel, Hanukkah ''gelt'' is known as ''dmei Hanukkah''. Many Hasidic [[Rebbe]]s distribute coins to those who visit them during Hanukkah. Hasidic Jews consider this to be an auspicious blessing from the Rebbe, and a ''[[segulah]]'' for success.

Twentieth-century [[United States|American]] [[chocolatier]]s picked up on the gift/coin concept by creating [[chocolate money|chocolate ''gelt'']].

==Alternative spellings based on transliterating Hebrew letters==
In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], the word Hanukkah is written '''{{lang|he|חנֻכה}}''' or '''{{lang|he|חנוכה}}'''. It is most commonly transliterated to English as ''Chanukah'' or ''Hanukkah'', the latter because the sound represented by "CH" ([{{IPA|/x/}}], as in the [[Scots language|Scottish]] pronunciation of "[[loch]]") essentially does not exist in the modern English language. Furthermore, the letter "[[heth]]" ('''{{lang|he|ח}}'''), which is the first letter in the Hebrew spelling, is pronounced differently in modern Hebrew ([[voiceless velar fricative]]) than in classical Hebrew ([[voiceless pharyngeal fricative]]), and neither of those sounds is unambiguously representable in English spelling. Moreover, the 'kaf' consonant is [[geminate]] in classical (but not modern) Hebrew. Adapting the classical Hebrew pronunciation with the geminate and pharyngeal Ḥeth can lead to the spelling "Hanukkah"; while adapting the modern Hebrew pronunciation with no geminate and velar Ḥeth leads to the spelling "Chanukah". Variations include:
[[Image:Hanukkah.png|right|thumb|Spelling variations are due to transliteration of Hebrew ''Chet Nun Vav Kaf Hey'']]

===Common variants===
* Hanukkah (in North America, Australia - also very common in UK)
* Chanukkah (in the UK, also common in North America)

===YIVO variant===
* Khanike ([[YIVO]] standard [[transliteration]] from the Yiddish and/or Ashkenazic [[pronunciation]] of the Hebrew)

== Background ==
===Chronology===

*198 BCE: Armies of the Seleucid King [[Antiochus III]] (Antiochus the Great) oust [[Ptolemy V Epiphanes|Ptolemy V]] from Judea and Samaria.
*175 BCE: [[Antiochus IV]] (Epiphanes) ascends the Seleucid throne.
*168 BCE: Under the reign of Antiochus IV, the Temple is looted, Jews are massacred, and [[Judaism]] is outlawed.
*167 BCE: Antiochus orders an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. Mattathias, and his five sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah lead a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah becomes known as Judah Maccabe (Judah The Hammer).
*166 BCE: Mattathias dies, and Judah takes his place as leader. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom begins; It lasts until 63 BCE
*165 BCE: The Jewish revolt against the [[Seleucid]] monarchy is successful. The Temple is liberated and rededicated (Hanukkah).
*142 BCE: Establishment of the Second Jewish Commonwealth. The Seleucids recognize Jewish autonomy. The Seleucid kings have a formal overlordship, which the Hasmoneans acknowledged. This inaugurates a period of great geographical expansion, population growth, and religious, cultural and social development.
*139 BCE: The [[Roman Senate]] recognizes Jewish autonomy.
*130 BCE: Antiochus VII besieges [[Jerusalem]], but withdraws.
*131 BCE: Antiochus VII dies. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom throws off Syrian rule completely
*96 BCE: An eight year civil war begins.
*83 BCE: Consolidation of the Kingdom in territory east of the [[Jordan River]].
*63 BCE: The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an end due to rivalry between the brothers [[Aristobulus II]] and [[Hyrcanus II]], both of whom appeal to the [[Roman Republic]] to intervene and settle the power struggle on their behalf. The Roman general [[Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus]] (Pompey the Great) is dispatched to the area. Twelve thousand Jews are massacred as Romans enter Jerusalem. The Priests of the Temple are struck down at the Altar. Rome annexes Judea.

===Battles of the Maccabean revolt===
{{main|Maccabees}}
There were a number of key battles between the Maccabees and the Seleucid Syrian-Greeks:

:''Listed alphabetically'':

*[[Battle of Adasa]] ([[Judas Maccabeus]] leads the Jews to victory against the forces of Nicanor.)
*[[Battle of Beth Horon]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the forces of Seron.)
*[[Battle of Beth-zechariah]] (Elazar the Maccabee is killed in battle. Lysias has success in battle against the Maccabess, but allows them temporary freedom of worship.)
*[[Battle of Beth Zur]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the army of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]], recapturing Jerusalem.)
*[[Dathema]] (A Jewish fortress saved by Judas Maccabeus.)
*[[Battle of Elasa]] (Judas Maccabeus dies in battle against the army of [[Demetrius I Soter|King Demetrius]] and [[Bacchides (general)|Bacchides]]. He is succeeded by [[Jonathan Maccabaeus]] and [[Simon Maccabaeus]] who continue to lead the Jews in battle.)
*[[Battle of Emmaus]] (Judas Maccabeus fights the forces of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]] and [[Gorgias (Syrian general)|Georgias]]).
*[[Battle of Wadi Haramia]].

==When Hanukkah occurs==
{{further|[[Jewish holidays 2000-2050]]}}

The dates of Hanukkah are determined by the [[Hebrew calendar]]. Hanukkah begins at the 25th day of [[Kislev]] and concludes on the 2nd or 3rd day of [[Tevet]] (Kislev can have 29 or 30 days). The Jewish day begins at sunset, whereas the [[Gregorian calendar]] begins the day at midnight. So, the first day of Hanukkah actually begins at sunset of the day immediately before the date noted on Gregorian calendars.

===Hanukkah according to the Gregorian calendar===
Hanukkah begins at sundown on the evening before the date shown.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
*[[December 22]], [[2000]]
*[[December 10]], [[2001]]
*[[November 30]], [[2002]]
*[[December 20]], [[2003]]
*[[December 8]], [[2004]]
*[[December 26]], [[2005]]
*[[December 16]], [[2006]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 5]], [[2007]]
*[[December 22]], [[2008]]
*[[December 12]], [[2009]]
*[[December 2]], [[2010]]
*[[December 21]], [[2011]]
*[[December 9]], [[2012]]
*[[November 28]], [[2013]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 17]], [[2014]]
*[[December 7]], [[2015]]
*[[December 25]], [[2016]]
*[[December 13]], [[2017]]
*[[December 3]], [[2018]]
*[[December 23]], [[2019]]
{{col-end}}

==See also==
{{portalpar|Judaism|Menora.svg}}
*[[Hasmonean]]
*[[Maccabees]]
*[[Jewish holiday]]s
*[[Temple in Jerusalem]]
*''[[County of Allegheny v. ACLU]]'' on the constitutionality of Hanukkah displays on public property in the U.S.
*[[Short-lived recurring characters on Saturday Night Live#Hanukkah Harry|Hanukkah Harry]]
*[[Hanukkah bush]]
*''[[Hanukkah Rocks]]'' - 2005 album by [[The LeeVees]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{commonscat|Hanukkah}}
=== General ===
* [http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default.asp Complete Hanukkah Guide, with how-to's, songs, stories and children's activities on chabad.org]
* [http://www.aish.com/holidays/chanukah/ Chanukah - Aish.com - how to light, stories, children's activities]
* [http://www.midrash.org/halakha/hanukkah.html Midrash Hanukkah with Sephardic traditions and history]
* [http://www.coejl.org/Hanukkah COEJL's "Let there be renewable light" campaign]
* [http://www.untitledtheater.com/Plays_About_Hanukkah.html Plays about Hanukkah]
* [http://www.oztorah.com/feature/archive/chanukah.php OzTorah - insights on Chanukah]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=77|type=Shiurim}}
* [http://www.akhlah.com/holidays/hanukkah/hanukkah.php Hanukkah for Children]

=== Songs ===
* [http://judaism.about.com/od/chanukah/a/hanukahanerot.htm Hanerot Hallalu ("These Candles")]
* [http://judaism.about.com/od/chanukah/a/hanukamaoztzur.htm Maoz Tzur ("Rock of Ages")]
* [http://liturgy.exc.com/Songsheets/Hanukah.cgi Hanukkah songsheets]
* [http://www.hebrewsongs.com/chanukah.htm Hanukkah songs]

=== Recipes ===
* [http://www.rd.com/content/cherished-hanukkah-recipes-to-share/ Traditional Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://kosherfood.about.com/od/hanukkah/Hanukkah_Recipes_Kosher_Jewish_Holiday_Food.htm About Kosher Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.wiki-recipe.org/index.php?title=Category:Hanukkah Wiki-Recipe.org Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.hanukkahsite.com/latkerecipes.php The Largest Latke Recipe Database On The Web]

=== Video ===
* [http://www.aish.com/pathways/externallinks/videolink_chanukah.asp Video: Lighting Hanukkah Menorah How-To]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3174713748168758247&q=satmar The Grand Rabbi of Satmar lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5575698843335939574&q=hannukkah The Grand Rabbi of Bobov lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6632688275970858151&q=hanukkah The Grand Rabbi of Bobov leading his Hassidim in the singing of a Hanukkah hymn composed by his father after the Holocaust]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3703256978822489433&q=hanukah The Grand Rabbi of Klausenberg from America lighting the Hannukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6750102222090781896&q=hannukah The Grand Rabbi of Pittsburgh from Ashdod, E. Israel, leading his followers in the celebration of Hannukkah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4852503510504559495&q=hanukah The Grand Rabbi of Nadvorna from Safed, E. Israel, leading his followers in the celebration of Hannukah]

{{Hanukkah Footer}}
{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}


[[Category:Hanukkah| ]]
[[Category:Jewish holy days]]



[[ar:حانوكا]]
[[bg:Ханука]]
[[ca:Hanukà]]
[[cs:Chanuka]]
[[da:Chanukka]]
[[de:Chanukka]]
[[es:Jánuca]]
[[eo:Ĥanuka]]
[[fa:حنوکا]]
[[fr:Hanoucca]]
[[gl:Hanuka]]
[[ko:하누카]]
[[hi:हनुका]]
[[hr:Hanuka]]
[[id:Hari raya Pentahbisan]]
[[it:Chanukah]]
[[he:חנוכה]]
[[la:Encaenia]]
[[hu:Hanuka]]
[[ms:Hanukkah]]
[[nl:Chanoeka]]
[[ja:ハヌカー]]
[[no:Hanukka]]
[[nn:Hanukká]]
[[oc:Khanuca]]
[[pl:Chanuka]]
[[pt:Chanucá]]
[[ro:Hanuka]]
[[ru:Ханука]]
[[sk:Chanuka]]
[[sr:Ханука]]
[[fi:Hanukka]]
[[sv:Chanukka]]
[[tl:Pista ng Pagtatalaga]]
[[vi:Hanukkah]]
[[tr:Hanuka]]
[[uk:Ханука]]
[[yi:חנוכה]]
[[zh-yue:修殿節]]
[[zh:光明节]]

Jewish-American princess stereotype

2008-12-02T23:33:35Z

Dbratton: fact tag on wouk coinage

'''Jewish-American Princess''' or '''JAP''' is a [[pejorative]] characterization of a subtype of [[Jewish-American]] women. The term implies [[materialism|materialistic]] and [[selfish]] tendencies, attributed to a pampered background. The term was coined by [[Herman Wouk]].{{fact}}

==Antisemitism==

The stereotype is often though not always the basis for [[anti-Semitism|anti-Semitic]] jokes both [[self-hating Jew|inside]] and outside the Jewish community.<ref>Alperin, Mimi. “JAP Jokes: Hateful Humor.” Humor: International Journal of Humor Research 2 (1989) 412-416.
.</Ref> In recent years the term has been re-appropriated by some Jewish women as a term of cultural identity, especially in areas with high density Jewish populations. The term "JAP" has been used by some women in order to be identified as privileged but this manner can be offensive as it attempts to reinforce the stereotype.

==Sexism and violence==
The term "Jewish-American Princess" centers on deprecating sexism,{{Fact|date=October 2008}} and pejoratively brands young adult Jewish-American women as spoiled, whining, manipulative, narcissistic, materialistic, overbearing, shallow, egocentric, scatterbrained, uninterested in sex with a false sense of entitlement<ref>Whitney Dibo: 'That girl is such a JAP'.</ref> While the full phrase and acronym is occasionally used wryly by Jews of both sexes as a term of Judaism, the acronym itself is considered at best fashionably vulgar if not degrading. T-shirts with the message "SLAP-A-JAP" and the stereotypical image of ethnically Jewish-American women may have been considered briefly fashionable in the early 90s.<ref>Bigots in the Ivory Tower, Nancy Gibbs, Time Magazine, May 7, 1990</ref> in the late 80s a Syracuse professor of sociology, Dr. Gary Spencer, noted areas on his campus that students declared "JAP-free zones." He also noted a sporting incident on campus where fans heckled women by yelling "JAP! JAP! JAP!"<ref>Spencer, Gary “An Analysis of JAP-Baiting Humor on the College Campus." International Journal of Humor Research 2 (1989) 329-348</ref> Spencer also mentions the "verbal violence" against Jewish women during a college fair at [[Cornell University]] where signs read, "Make her prove she's not a JAP, make her swallow." In the Cornell University student newspaper, a cartoon went on to offer advice on how to "exterminate" JAPs.<ref>Beck, Evelyn Torton (1992) From 'Kike to Jap': How misogyny, anti-semitism, and racism construct the Jewish American Princess. In Margaret Andersen & Patricia Hill Collins (Eds.) Race, Class, and Gender. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 87-95.</ref>

==Discrimination==

When researching the stereotype Jill Gregorie noted significant prejudicial and discriminatory actions toward Jewish women who fit the "JAP" stereotype, noting one woman on a college campus who went so far as to avoid contact with perceived JAPs at all. Gregorie cites one college student as saying: "If I see them in an elevator, I always wait for the next one."<ref>Jill Gregorie. [http://www.subboard.com/generation/articles/113201236459285.asp "Princess Bitch: The public perception of the maligned"], "Generation"</ref> Alana Newhouse of the Boston Globe also noted housing ads on college campuses that warned ''No JAPs''<ref>The return of the JAP, By Alana Newhouse, March 13, 2005.</ref>

==Prevalence==
Research has found significant levels of JAP-baiting in educational settings throughout the US.<ref> Student Attitudes toward "JAPs": The New Anti-Semitism. Research Report #9-89, Schwalb, Susan J.; Sedlacek, William E.</ref> Still almost all identified incidents have fallen short of the legal definition of a hate crime.<ref> Hate Crimes: Criminal Law & Identity Politics By James B. Jacobs, Kimberly Potter.</ref> There also seems to be a lesser degree of data and research-driven knowledge concerning the extent of its usage within the broader public sphere.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

==See also==
* [[List of ethnic slurs|Ethnic slurs]]
* [[Jewish mother stereotype]]
* [[Black American Princess]]
* [[Materialism]]
* [[Jewish feminism]]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=jewish+american+princess Dictionary definition]
* [http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2005/03/13/the_return_of_the_jap/ The Return of the JAP]
* [http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/1998/10/06feature2.html Monica Lewinsky]
* [http://www.amazon.ca/Jewish-American-Princess-Other-Myths/dp/1561710822 The Jewish American Princess and Other Myths: The Many Faces of Self-Hatred (Hardcover)]
* [http://www.michigandaily.com/content/whitney-dibo-girl-such-jap This girl is such a Jap.]
* [http://jewschool.com/2007/02/20/can-we-please-not-revive-that-ugly-stereotype/ Can we please not revive that ugly stereotype?]
* [http://condor.depaul.edu/~mwilson/multicult/jap.html From 'Kike to Jap': How misogyny, anti-semitism, and racism construct the Jewish American Princess. Beck, Evelyn Torton, Margaret Andersen & Patricia Hill Collins (Eds.) Race, Class, and Gender. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 87-95. 1992 ]
* [http://www.utoronto.ca/wjudaism/journal/vol1n1/v1n1gold.htm Celebrating the Lives of Jewish Women: Patterns in a Feminist Sampler,Canadian Jewish Women and their Experiences of Antisemitism and Sexism, by NORA GOLD, edited by Rachel Josefowitz Siegel & Ellen Cole (Haworth, 1997).]
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6049722273734911626 JAP RAP]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEFD61239F934A35755C0A967958260 JAP FOR A DAY]
* [http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/casting/2004_Oct_27_jap_squad Style Network Casts for "JAP Squad."]
* [http://www.beth-elsa.org/be_s1120.htm When Jokes are not funny]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEEDF1138F934A3575AC0A961948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 Jewish Women Campaign Against 'Princess' New York Times,September 7,1987]

[[Category:Ethnic and religious slurs]]
[[Category:Judaism and women]]
[[Category:Stereotypes]]
[[Category:Stock characters]]

Menorah

2008-12-02T21:13:37Z

Dbratton: Undid revision 255463817 by 192.234.141.17 (talk)

{{wiktionary|menorah}}
'''Menorah''' may refer to:
*[[Menorah (Hanukkah)]], a nine-branched candelabrum used on Hanukkah
*[[Menorah (Temple)]], a seven branched candelabrum used in the Temple in Jerusalem
*[[Menorah Medical Center]], an acute care hospital
*[[Kfar HaOranim]], an Israeli settlement in the West Bank also known as Menorah

==See also==
*[[Menorah Gardens]]

{{disambig}}

User talk:67.34.125.74

2008-12-01T22:10:37Z

Dbratton: welcome / vandal1

==December 2008==
[[Image:Information.svg|25px]] Welcome to Wikipedia. Although everyone is welcome to make constructive contributions to Wikipedia, at least one of your recent edits{{#if:Hanukkah|, such as the one you made to [[:Hanukkah]],}} did not appear to be constructive and has been reverted. Please use [[Wikipedia:Sandbox|the sandbox]] for any test edits you would like to make, and read the [[Wikipedia:Welcoming committee/Welcome to Wikipedia|welcome page]] to learn more about contributing constructively to this encyclopedia. {{#if:|{{{2}}}|Thank you.}}[[User:Dbratton|Daniel]][[Special:Contributions/Dbratton|C]]/[[User talk:Dbratton|T]][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Dbratton&action=edit&section=new +] 22:10, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

Sabbath

2008-12-01T20:26:29Z

Dbratton: Undid revision 255256454 by 83.216.136.168 (talk)

{{other|Sabbath (disambiguation)}}
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Unreferenced|date=November 2008}}
{{Synthesis|date=November 2008}}
A '''Sabbat''' or '''sabbath''' is generally a weekly day of [[leisure|rest]] and/or time of [[worship]] that is observed in any of several faiths. The term derives from the Hebrew ''[[shabbat]]'' (שבת), "to cease", which was first used in the [[Bible|Biblical]] account of the [[seventh day]] of [[Creation according to Genesis|Creation]]. Observation and remembrance of the Sabbath is one of the [[Ten Commandments]] (the fourth in the original [[Jewish]], the [[Eastern Orthodox]], and most [[Protestant]] traditions, the third in [[Roman Catholic]] and [[Lutheran]] traditions). Many viewpoints and definitions have arisen over the millennia. The term has been used to describe a similar weekly observance in any of several other faiths; the new moon; any of seven annual festivals in [[Judaism]] and some [[Christian]] traditions; any of eight annual festivals in [[Wicca]] (usually "[[Wheel of the Year|sabbat]]"); and a year of rest in religious or secular usage, originally every seventh year.

==Jewish tradition==
The Jewish weekly Sabbath and [[High Sabbaths]] are also observed by a minority of Christians.

===Weekly Sabbath===
{{details|Shabbat}}
The original Sabbath, which actually means Saturday (''shabbat'', ''shabbos'', ''shabbes'', ''shobos'', etc.) is a weekly day of rest for everyone, now observed from sundown on [[Friday]] until the appearance of three stars in the sky on [[Saturday]] night. Most Sabbath-keepers regard this seventh-day Sabbath to have been instituted as a "perpetual covenant [for] the people" (Exodus 31:13-17), a sign in respect for the day during which God rested after having completed the Creation in six days (Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus 20:8-11); Isaiah extends the term to include even corrupted rest-day traditions (1:13). (Some prominent rabbis believe the Sabbath was originally kept according to the four phases of the [[moon]], every seven or eight days.) Sabbath desecration was officially punishable by death (Exodus 31:15); thirty-nine prohibited categories of work are listed in Tractate [[Shabbat (Talmud)]]. Customarily, Shabbat is ushered in by lighting [[candle]]s shortly before sunset, at [[halakhic]]ally calculated times that change from week to week and from place to place. Several times a year, the weekly Sabbath is designated as one of the [[Special Sabbaths]], such as ''Shabbat Teshuvah'', the Sabbath of Repentance prior to [[Yom Kippur]]. (In a distinct minority, some European [[Reform movement in Judaism|Reform Jews]] have moved Sabbath observances to [[Sunday]].)

===Sabbath as week===
{{details|Week}}
By [[synecdoche]] (naming a part for the whole), the term "Sabbath" also came to mean simply "week" in Jewish sources by the time of the [[Septuagint]]. [[Jesus]]'s parable of the [[Pharisee and the Publican]] describes the [[Pharisee]] as fasting "twice a week" (''dis tou sabbatou''), literally, "twice of the Sabbath".

===Annual Sabbaths===
{{details|High Sabbaths}}
Seven annual Biblical festivals, called by the name ''shabbaton'' in Hebrew and "High Sabbath" in English, serve as supplmental testimonies to the plan of the weekly Sabbath. These are recorded in the books of [[Exodus]] and [[Deuteronomy]] and do not necessarily occur on the weekly Sabbath. They include the first and seventh days of Unleavened Bread or Passover ([[Pesach]]); Pentecost ([[Shavuot]]); Trumpets ([[Rosh Hashanah]]); Atonement ([[Yom Kippur]], the "Sabbath of the Sabbaths"); and the first and eighth days of Tabernacles ([[Sukkoth]]).
{{details|Shabbaton}}
The modern Hebrew term ''shabbaton'' or ''shaboson'' also means a retreat or program for education, and usually celebration, that is held on a weekly Jewish Sabbath or over a weekend with special focus on the Sabbath.

===Seventh-year Sabbath===
{{details|Shmita}}
The year of ''Shmita'' (Hebrew: שמיטה, literally "release"), also called the Sabbatical Year, is the seventh year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by the [[Torah]] for the [[Land of Israel]]. During ''Shmita'', the land is left to lie fallow and all agricultural activity—including plowing, planting, pruning, and harvesting—is forbidden by Torah law. Other cultivation techniques—such as watering, fertilizing, weeding, spraying, trimming, and mowing—may be performed as preventative measures only, not to improve the growth of trees or plants. Additionally, any fruits which grow of their own accord are deemed ownerless and may be picked by anyone. A variety of laws also apply to the sale, consumption and disposal of ''Shmita'' produce. A second aspect of ''Shmita'' concerns debts and loans: when the year ends, personal debts are considered nullified and forgiven. In similar fashion, the Torah required a slave who had worked for six years to go free in the seventh year.

==Christian tradition==
In Christianity, both those who observe the [[seventh day]] as Sabbath and those who observe the [[Sunday|first day]] as Sabbath lay claim to the names "Sabbatarian" for themselves and "Lord's Day" for the Sabbath, each group believing its position to be taught by the Bible; similarly for others who hold to a strong Sabbath principle.

===First-day Sabbath===
{{details|Sabbath in Christianity}}
In the majority of Christendom ([[Roman Catholicism]] and much [[Eastern Orthodoxy]] and [[Protestantism]]), "Sabbath" is a synonym of "[[Lord's Day]]" ([[Sunday]]), which is kept in commemoration of the [[resurrection of Christ]]. It is often the [[day of rest]], and usually the day of communal worship. The Lord's Day is considered both the first day and the "eighth day" of the seven-day week (or, in some calendars, Sunday is designated the seventh day of the week). Relatively few Christians regard first-day observance as entailing all of the ordinances of the Jewish Sabbath. The related [[Latter Day Saint]] movement generally follows the stronger Christian Sabbatarian traditions, avoiding shopping, leisure activities, and idleness on the first day, and avoiding work unless absolutely necessary. Sometimes the Lord's Day is observed by those who believe the Sabbath corresponds to Saturday but is obsolete; and in [[Oriental Orthodoxy]], the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]] has observed both a Sunday Lord's Day and a Saturday Sabbath for several centuries. As another minority view, some modern Christians uphold a Sabbath but do not limit its observance to either Saturday or Sunday, instead advocating rest on any chosen day of the week, or advocating the Sabbath as instead a symbolic metaphor for rest in Christ.

===Seventh-day Sabbath===
{{details|Sabbath in Seventh-day Adventism}}
In several Christian denominations, the Sabbath is kept in similar manner as in Judaism, but observance ends at Saturday sunset instead of Saturday nightfall. [[Seventh Day Baptist]]s have found the Sabbath an important part of their beliefs and practices since the mid-17th century, also informing the doctrine of the similar but larger [[Seventh-day Adventist]] group in the mid-19th century. They and others believe that keeping the seventh-day Sabbath is a moral obligation arising out of the Ten Commandments that honors God as Creator and Deliverer. They also use "Lord's Day" to mean the seventh day, based on Scriptures in which God calls it "my day" and "of the {{LORD}}". Adventists originally formally identified the problem of defining Sabbath worldwide on a round earth; some seventh-day Sabbatarians make use of the [[International Date Line]], while others (such as some [[Alaskan]] Adventists) observe Sabbath according to [[Jerusalem]] time instead of local time. Many of the [[Lemba]] in [[southern Africa]], like some other African tribes, are Christians yet claim common descent from the [[Jew]]ish people, keep one day a week holy like the Jewish Sabbath, and have many beliefs and practices linked to Judaism.

===Monthly Sabbath===
{{details|New moon}}
The new moon, occurring every 29 or 30 days, is an important separately sanctioned occasion in Judaism and some other faiths. It is not widely regarded as a Sabbath, but some native [[Hebrew Roots|messianic]] [[Pentecostal]]s, such as the New Israelites of Peru, do keep the day of the new moon as a Sabbath of rest, from dusk to dusk. Their new moon services can last all day.

===Annual Sabbath===
{{details|Day of the Vow}}
In [[South Africa]], Christian [[Boer]]s have celebrated [[December 16]], now called the [[Day of Reconciliation]], as an annual Sabbath (a holy day of thanksgiving) since 1838. Commemorating a famous Boer victory over the [[Zulu]], the anniversary and its commemoration are intimately connected with various streams of [[Afrikaner]] and South African nationalism.

===Millennial Sabbath===
{{details|Millennialism}}
Since [[Hippolytus of Rome]] in the early third century, Christians have often considered that a thousand-year Sabbath, expected to begin six thousand years after Creation, might be identical with the [[millennialism|millennium]] described in the [[Book of Revelation]]. This view was also popular among 19th and 20th century [[dispensational]] [[premillenialist]]s. The term "Sabbatism" or "Sabbatizing" (Greek ''sabbatismos''), which generically means any literal or spiritual Sabbath-keeping, has also been taken in Hebrews 4:9 to have special reference to this definition.

==Other traditions==
===Buddhism===
{{details|Uposatha}}
The ''Uposatha'' has been observed since [[Gautama Buddha]]'s time (500 BC), and is still being kept today in [[Theravada Buddhist]] countries. It occurs every seven or eight days, in accordance with the four phases of the moon. Buddha taught that ''Uposatha'' is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind", resulting in inner calm and joy. On this day, [[disciple]]s and [[monk]]s intensify their practice, deepen their knowledge, and express communal commitment through millennia-old acts of lay-monastic reciprocity.

===Islam===
{{details|Jumu'ah}}
''Jumu'ah'' (Arabic: جمعة ), also known as "Friday prayer", is a congregational prayer (''[[salat]]'') that Muslims hold every Friday, just after noon, in place of the otherwise daily ''[[dhuhr]]'' prayer. The [[Quran]] states: "O ye who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday [the Day of Assembly], hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business [and traffic]: That is best for you if ye but knew" (62:9). It is an obligation for men (and is recommended for women) to perform ''jumu'ah'' in congregation (''jama'ah'') at a mosque (or else to pray a regular ''dhuhr'' prayer).

===Unification Church===
{{details|Ahn Shi Il}}
The [[Unification Church]] has a regular day of worship on Sunday, but also has a [[Family Pledge]] service every eight days on the day of Ahn Shi Il, considered as a Sabbath that cycles among the weekdays. The Family Pledge, formerly recited at 5:00 a.m. on Sundays, was moved to Ahn Shi Il in 1994. The pledge recited at this event includes eight verses containing the phrase "by centering on true love".

===Wicca===
{{details|Wheel of the Year}}
The annual cycle of the Earth's seasons is called the [[Wheel of the Year]] in [[Wicca]] and [[neopagan]]ism. Eight sabbats (occasionally "sabbaths") are spaced at approximately even intervals throughout the year. [[Samhain]], which coincides with [[Halloween]], is considered the first sabbat of the year.

{{details|Esbat}}
An esbat is a ritual observance of the [[full moon]] in Wicca and neopaganism. Some groups extend the esbat to include the dark moon and the first and last quarters. "Esbat" and "sabbat" are distinct and are probably not [[cognate]] terms.

{{details|Witches' Sabbath}}
European records from the [[Middle Ages]] to the 17th century or later also place [[Witches' Sabbath]]s on similar dates to the sabbats in modern Wicca, but with some disagreement; medieval reports of sabbat activity are generally not firsthand and may be imaginative, but many persons were accused of, or tried for, taking part in sabbats.

===Secular===
{{details|Sabbatical}}
From the Biblical Sabbatical Year came the modern concept of a sabbatical, a prolonged, often one-year, hiatus in the career of an individual. Such a period is often taken in order to fulfill some goal such as writing a book or traveling extensively for research. Some universities and other institutional employers of scientists, physicians, or academics offer a paid sabbatical as an employee benefit, called "sabbatical leave"; some companies offer an unpaid sabbatical for people wanting to take career breaks.

{{details|Saturday}}
Another secularism is the colloquial use of "Sabbath" as a simple synonym of "Saturday", which is a simplification of its use in religious contexts, where the two do not coincide.

{{details|Blue law}}
Secular use of "Sabbath" for "Sunday", by contrast, while it refers to the same period of time as the majority Christian use of "Sabbath", is often stated to refer to different purposes for the rest day. In ''[[McGowan v. Maryland]]'' (1961), the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] held that contemporary Maryland [[blue law]]s were intended to promote the secular values of "health, safety, recreation, and general well-being" through a common day of rest, and that this day coinciding with the majority Christian Sabbath neither reduces its effectiveness for secular purposes nor prevents adherents of other religions from observing their own holy days. The [[Supreme Court of Canada]], in ''[[R. v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd.]]'' (1985) and ''[[R. v. Edwards Books and Art Ltd.]]'' (1986), found some blue laws invalid for having no legitimate secular purpose, but others valid because they had no religious purpose.

{{details|Calendar reform}}
Among many calendar reform proposals that eliminate the constant seven-day [[week]] in exchange for simplified calculation of [[days of the week]] and other calendrical data, some retain Sabbatical influences. The [[International Fixed Calendar]] and [[World Calendar]] both consist of 364-day years containing exactly 52 weeks (each starting on a day designated as Sunday), with an additional one or two [[intercalary]] days not designated as part of any week (Year Day and Leap Day in the International Fixed Calendar; Worldsday and Leapyear Day in the World Calendar). Reform supporters sought to accommodate Sabbatical observance by retaining the modified week and designating the intercalary days as additional Sabbaths or [[holidays]]; however, religious leaders held that such days disrupt the traditional seven-day weekly cycle. This unresolved issue contributed to the cessation of reform activities in the 1930s (International Fixed Calendar) and again in 1955 (World Calendar), though supporters of both proposals remain.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Biblical phrases]]
[[Category:Working time]]

[[de:Sabbat (Begriffsklärung)]]
[[fr:Sabbat chrétien]]
[[ko:안식일]]
[[nl:Sabbat]]
[[ja:安息日]]
[[pt:Sabá]]
[[sv:Sabbat]]

Hanukkah

2008-11-27T21:41:27Z

Dbratton: Revert to revision 254486231 dated 2008-11-27 21:01:36 by Nn123645 using popups

{{for|the Khazar ruler|Hanukkah ben Obadiah}}
{{distinguish|Hanneke}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image =
|caption = Several Menorot on the eighth night of the festival.
|holiday_name = Hanukkah
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''חֲנֻכָּה''' or '''חנוכה''' [[English language|English]] translation: "Establishing/Dedication" (of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]])
|nickname = Festival of Lights, Festival of Dedication
|observedby = [[Jew]]s
|begins = 25 [[Kislev]]
|ends = 2 [[Tevet]] or 3 [[Tevet]]
|celebrations = Lighting [[candle]]s each night. Singing special songs, such as [[Ma'oz Tzur]]. Reciting [[Hallel]] prayer. Eating festive meals and foods fried in oil, such as [[latke]]s and [[sufganiyot]]. Playing the ''[[Hanukkah#Dreidel|dreidel]]'' game, and giving [[Hanukkah#Hanukkah gelt|Hanukkah ''gelt'']]
|type = Jewish
|significance = The [[Maccabees]] successfully rebelled against [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]]. The Temple was purified and the wicks of the menorah miraculously burned for eight days.
|relatedto = [[Purim]], as a [[rabbi]]nically decreed holiday.
|date2008 = sunset, [[December 21]] to sunset, [[December 29]] The first Day of Hanukkah is December 22.
|date2009 = sunset, [[December 11]] to sunset, [[December 19]]
|date2010 = sunset, [[December 1]] to sunset, [[December 9]]
}}
[[Image:Skulen2.JPG|thumb|Grand Rabbi [[Israel Abraham Portugal]] of [[Skulen (Hasidic dynasty)|Skulen]] [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]] lighting Hanukkah lights]]

'''Hanukkah''' ({{lang-he|חנוכה}}, alt. '''Chanukah'''), also known as the '''Festival of Lights''', is an eight-day [[Jewish holiday]] commemorating the rededication of the [[Second Temple]] in [[Jerusalem]] at the time of the [[Maccabean Revolt]] of the [[2nd century BCE]]. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of [[Kislev]] according to the [[Hebrew calendar]], and may occur from late November to late December on the [[Gregorian calendar]].

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a special [[candelabrum]], the ''[[Menorah (Hanukkah)|Menorah]]'' or ''Hanukiah'', one light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a ''[[Shamash#Shamash in Judaism|shamash]]'', ([[Hebrew (language)|Hebrew]]: "guard" or "servant") is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the [[Talmud]] (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. (The shamash is used to light the other lights.)

Hanukkah is mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] or [[Biblical apocrypha|apocrypha books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

==Origins of the holiday==
"Hanukkah," from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", marks the re-dedication of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] after its desecration by the forces of [[Antiochus IV]] and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil." According to the [[Talmud]], at the re-dedication following the victory of the [[Maccabees]] over the [[Seleucid Empire]], there was only enough consecrated [[olive oil]] to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

The martyrdom of Hannah and her seven sons has also been linked to Hanukkah. According to the Talmudic story<ref>Talmud Gittin 57b tells a story of a woman and her seven sons killed by "Caesar". The name "Hannah" is not stated.</ref> and [[2 Maccabees]], a Jewish woman named Hannah and her seven sons were tortured and executed by [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes|Antiochus]] for refusing to worship an idol, which would have been a violation of [[613 Mitzvot|Jewish law]].

===Name===
The name "Hanukkah" is interpreted in many ways.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://innernet.org.il/article.php?aid=11|title=Origin of the Name Chanukah|first=Nosson|last=Scherman|publisher=ArtScroll}}</ref>
*Some scholars say the word was derived from the Hebrew verb "חנך" meaning "to dedicate" or to "educate." On Hanukkah, Jews mark the rededication of the House of the Lord.<ref>[[Maharsha]] on [[Talmud]] [[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]] 21b</ref>

*Others argue that the name can be broken down into "חנו", from the Hebrew word for encampment, and the Hebrew letters כ"ה, which stand for the 25th day of Kislev, the day on which the holiday begins: Hence, the Jews sat in their camp, that is, they rested fighting, on the 25th day of Kislev.<ref>[[Nissim of Gerona|Ran]] on [[Isaac Alfasi|Rif]] 9b</ref>

*Hanukkah is also the Hebrew [[acronym]] for "ח' נרות והלכה כבית הלל" meaning "eight candles as determined by [[Hillel the Elder|House of Hillel]]" This is a reference to the disagreement between two rabbinical schools of thought - Hillel and the [[Shammai|House of Shammai]] - on the proper way to light Hanukkah candles. Shammai said that eight candles should be lit from the start, and reduced by one candle every night, whereas Hillel argued in favor of starting with one candle and lighting an additional one every night. Jewish law adopted the position of Hillel.

== Historical sources ==
=== In the Talmud ===
The miracle of Hanukkah is described in the [[Talmud]]. The [[Gemara]], in tractate ''Shabbat 21b'' focuses on [[Shabbat]] candles and moves to Hanukkah candles and says that after the forces of Antiochus IV had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was still [[seal (device)|seal]]ed by the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, and miraculously, that oil burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready).

The Talmud presents three options:
#The law requires only one light each night per household,
#A better practice is to light one light each night for each member of the household
#The most preferred practise is to vary the number of lights each night.
There was a dispute among the sages over how the last option was to be performed: either display eight lamps on the first night of the festival, and reduce the number on each successive night; or begin with one lamp the first night, increasing the number till the eighth night. The followers of [[Shammai]] favored the former custom; the followers of [[Hillel the Elder|Hillel]] advocated the latter. As is the case in most such disputes, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] followed Hillel. Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one's door or in the window closest to the street. [[Rashi]], in a note to ''Shabbat 21b,'' says their purpose is to publicize the miracle. Hanukkah is also mentioned in the (older) [[Mishnah]] (TB [[Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah]] 30b).

===In the Septuagint and other sources===
The story of Hanukkah is alluded to in the book of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]] of the [[Septuagint]] but Hanukkah is not specially mentioned; rather, a story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 ''et seq'' according to which the relighting of the altar fire by [[Nehemiah]] was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabeus.

The Books of Maccabees are not part of the [[Tanakh]] ([[Hebrew Bible]]), but are part of [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] historical and religious material preserved in the [[Septuagint]]. The Tanakh ends with the consequences following the events of [[Purim]], and had already been codified many centuries earlier by the [[Great Assembly|Men of the Great Assembly]] (''Anshei Knesset HaGedolah'').

Another source is the [[Megillat Antiochus]]. This work (also known as "Megillat HaHasmonaim", or "Megillat Hanukkah") is in both [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]; the Hebrew version is a literal translation from the Aramaic original. Recent scholarship dates it to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th Centuries, probably in the 2nd Century,<ref>{{cite web|first=Benjamin|last=Zvieli|title=The Scroll of Antiochus|url= http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html| accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> with the Hebrew dating to the seventh century.<ref name = "pvgsyw"> [http://customerservant.com/2006/12/16/the-scroll-of-the-hasmoneans/ The Scroll Of The Hasmoneans] </ref> It was published for the first time in [[Mantua]] in 1557. [[Saadia Gaon]], who translated it into [[Arabic language| Arabic]] in the 9th Century, ascribed it to the Maccabees themselves, disputed by some, since it gives dates as so many years before the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE.<ref> [http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html The Scroll of Antiochus] </ref> The Hebrew text with an English translation can be found in the [[Siddur]] of [[Philip Birnbaum]].

== The story ==
{{see also|Hasmonean}}
Around 200 BCE Jews lived as an autonomous people in the [[Land of Israel]], also referred to as [[Judea]], which at that time was controlled by the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] [[Seleucid dynasty|king of Syria]]. The Jewish people paid taxes to Syria and accepted its legal authority, and they were free to follow their own faith, maintain their own jobs, and engage in trade.

By 175 BCE [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]] ascended to the Seleucid throne. At first little changed, but under his reign, the Temple in [[Jerusalem]] was looted, Jews were massacred, and [[Judaism]] was effectively outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple.

Many modern scholars argue that the king may have been intervening in an internal civil war between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized elite Jews in Jerusalem. These competed violently over who would be the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like [[Onias III|Onias]] overthrown by Hellenizers with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus. As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times, banned the traditional religion of a whole people.<ref>Tchrikover, Victor. ''Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews''.</ref>

Antiochus' actions proved to be a major miscalculation as they provoked a large-scale revolt. [[Mattathias]], a [[Kohen|Jewish priest]], and his five sons Jochanan, [[Simon Maccabaeus|Simeon]], [[Eleazar Maccabeus|Eleazar]], [[Jonathan Maccabaeus|Jonathan]], and [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] led a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated.
The festival of Hanukkah was instituted by [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah Maccabee]] and his brothers to celebrate this event.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#59 1 Macc. iv. 59]</ref> After recovering Jerusalem and the Temple, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. But 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 by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

[[Image:Hanukkah2.jpg|thumb|right|Hanukkah lamp unearthed near [[Jerusalem]], c. 1900.]]
The version of the story in 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, states that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was proclaimed upon rededication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of the oil.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#36 1 Macc. iv. 36]</ref> A number of historians believe that the reason for the eight day celebration was that the first Hanukkah was in effect a belated celebration of the festivals of [[Sukkot]] and [[Shemini Atzeret]].<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA10.HTM#6 Macc. x. 6] and [http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA1.HTM#9 i. 9]</ref> During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret properly; the combined festivals also last eight days, and the Sukkot festivities featured the lighting of lamps in the Temple (Suk.v. 2-4). The historian [[Josephus]]<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+12.287]
''Jewish Antiquities'' xii. 7, § 7, #323</ref> mentions the eight-day festival and its customs, but does not tell us the origin of the eight day lighting custom. Given that his audience was Hellenized Romans, perhaps his silence on the origin of the eight-day custom is due to its miraculous nature. In any event, he does report that lights were kindled in the household and the popular name of the festival was, therefore the "Festival of Lights" ("And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights").

It has also been noted that the number eight has special significance in Jewish theology, as representing transcendence and the Jewish People's special role in human history. Seven is the number of days of creation, that is, of completion of the material cosmos, and also of the classical planets. Eight, being one step beyond seven, represents the Infinite. Hence, the Eighth Day of the Assembly festival, mentioned above, is according to Jewish Law a festival for Jews only (unlike Sukkot, when all peoples were welcome in Jerusalem). Similarly, the rite of [[brit milah]] (circumcision), which brings a Jewish male into God's Covenant, is performed on the eighth day. Hence, Hanukkah's eight days (in celebration of monotheistic morality's victory over Hellenistic humanism) have great symbolic importance for practicing Jews.

==Hanukkah rituals==
[[Image:Hanukkah1.jpg|thumb|right|Various menorot used for Hanukkah. 12th through 19th century, CE]]

Hanukkah is celebrated by a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the 8-day holiday. Some are family-based and others are communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals. Hanukkah is not a "Sabbath-like" holiday, and there is no obligation to refrain from [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|activities that are forbidden on the Sabbath]], as specified in the ''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]''<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 670:1</ref> People go to work as usual, but may leave early in order to be home to kindle the lights at nightfall. There is no religious reason for schools to be closed, although, in Israel, schools close for the whole week of Hanukkah. Many families exchange gifts each night, and fried foods are eaten.

===Kindling the Hanukkah lights===
:{{seealso|Chanukkiyah}}
The primary ritual, according to [[Halakha|Jewish law and custom]], is to light a single light each night for eight nights. As a universally practiced "beautification" of the [[mitzvah]], the number of lights lit is increased by one each night.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 671:2</ref> An extra light called a ''shamash'', meaning ''guard'' or ''servant'' is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. This differs from [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] candles which are meant to be used for illumination. Hence, if one were to need extra illumination on Hanukkah, the ''shamash'' candle would be available and one would avoid using the prohibited lights. Some light the ''shamash'' candle first and then use it to light the others.<ref name = "lonorw">''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 673:1</ref> So all together, including the ''shamash'', two lights are lit on the first night, three on the second and so on, ending with nine on the last night, for a total of 44.

[[Image:Tiffany glasswork Hanukkah menora02.jpg|thumb|A modern [[Lead came and copper foil glasswork|"Tiffany"]] Hanukkah menorah]]
The lights can be candles or oil lamps.<ref name = "lonorw"/> Electric lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room. Most Jewish homes have a special [[candelabrum]] or oil lamp holder for Hanukkah, which holds eight lights plus the additional ''shamash'' light.

The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without," so that passers-by should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle. Accordingly lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street. It is customary amongst some Ashkenazim to have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), whereas most Sephardim light one for the whole household. Only when there was danger of [[Anti-Semitism|anti-semitic persecution]] were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the case in [[Iran|Persia]] under the rule of the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]], or in parts of Europe before and during World War II. However, most [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] groups, light lamps near an inside doorway, not necessarily in public view. According to this tradition, the lamps are placed on the opposite side from the ''[[mezuzah]]'', so that when one passes through the door he is surrounded by the holiness of ''mitzvoth''.

[[Image:Maurice Ascalon Menorah Pal-Bell.jpg|thumb|left|Bronze [[Pal-Bell]] oil-burning Hanukkah menorah from Israel circa 1948, by [[Maurice Ascalon]].]]
 
===Time of lighting===
Hanukkah lights should burn for at least one half hour after it gets dark. The custom of the [[Vilna Gaon]] observed by many residents of Jerusalem as the custom of the city, is to light at sundown, although most Hassidim light later, even in Jerusalem. Many Hasidic Rebbes light much later, because they fulfill the obligation of publicizing the miracle by the presence of their Hasidim when they kindle the lights. Inexpensive small wax candles sold for Hanukkah burn for approximately half an hour, so on most days this requirement can be met by lighting the candles when it is dark outside. Friday night presents a problem, however. Since candles may not be lit on the [[Shabbat]] itself, the candles must be lit before sunset. However, they must remain lit until the regular time - thirty minutes after nightfall - and inexpensive Hanukkah candles do not burn long enough to meet the requirement. A simple solution is to use longer candles, or the traditional oil lamps. In keeping with the above-stated prohibition, the Hanukkah menorah is lit first, followed by the Shabbat candles which signify its onset.

=== Blessings over the candles ===
[[Image:Menorah two candles.jpg|thumb|A menorah with two lit candles]]
Typically three blessings (''Brachot'' singular ''Brachah'') are recited during this eight-day festival. On the first night of Hanukkah, Jews recite all three blessings, on all subsequent nights, they recite only the first two.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:1-2</ref> The blessings are said before or after the candles are lit depending on tradition. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle, lamp, or electric) is lit on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first candle and so on, proceeding from right to left each night.

For the full text of the blessings, see [[List of Jewish prayers and blessings#Hanukkah|List of Jewish prayers and blessings: Hanukkah]]

==== ''Hanerot Halalu'' ====
During or after the lights are kindled the hymn ''Hanerot Halalu'' is recited. There are several differing versions - the version presented here is recited in many Ashkenazic communities:<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:4</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan=2 | [[Ashkenazi]]c version:
|-
! Transliteration
! English
|-
| Hanneirot hallalu anachnu madlikin 'al hannissim ve'al hanniflaot 'al hatteshu'ot ve'al hammilchamot she'asita laavoteinu bayyamim haheim, (u)bazzeman hazeh 'al yedei kohanekha hakkedoshim. Vekhol-shemonat yemei Hanukkah hanneirot hallalu kodesh heim, ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtammesh baheim ella lir'otam bilvad kedei lehodot ul'halleil leshimcha haggadol 'al nissekha ve'al nifleotekha ve'al yeshu'otekha
| We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your [[Kohen|holy priests]]. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them except for to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations.
|-
|}

==== ''Maoz Tzur'' ====
{{main|Ma'oz Tzur}}
Each night after the lighting of the candles, while remaining within sight of the candles, Ashkenazim (and, in recent decades, some Sephardim and Mizrahim in Western countries) usually sing the hymn ''Ma'oz Tzur'' written in Medieval [[Germany]]. The song contains six stanzas. The first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation, and the middle four deal with events of persecution in [[Jewish history]], and praises God for survival despite these tragedies ([[the exodus]] from Egypt, the [[Babylonian captivity]], the miracle of the holiday of [[Purim]], and the [[Hasmonean]] victory).

====Other customs====
After lighting the candles and Ma'oz Tzur, singing various other Hanukkah songs is customary in many Jewish homes. Various Hasidic and Sefardic traditions have additional prayers that are recited both before and after lighting the Hanukkah lights. This includes the recitation of many Psalms, most notably Psalms 30, 67, and 91 (many Hasidim recite Psalm 91 seven times after lighting the lamps, as was taught by the [[Baal Shem Tov]]), as well as other prayers and hymns, each congregation according to its own custom. In North America it is common to exchange presents or give children presents at this time.

=== Additions to the daily prayers ===
{{quote box|align=left|width=45%|quote="We thank You also for the miraculous deeds and for the redemption and for the mighty deeds and the saving acts wrought by You, as well as for the wars which You waged for our ancestors in ancient days at this season. In the days of the Hasmonean Mattathias, son of Johanan the high priest, and his sons, when the iniquitous Greco-Syrian kingdom rose up against Your people Israel, to make them forget Your Torah and to turn them away from the ordinances of Your will, then You in your abundant mercy rose up for them in the time of their trouble, pled their cause, executed judgment, avenged their wrong, and delivered the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and insolent ones into the hands of those occupied with Your Torah. Both unto Yourself did you make a great and holy name in Thy world, and unto Your people did You achieve a great deliverance and redemption. Whereupon your children entered the sanctuary of Your house, cleansed Your temple, purified Your sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courts, and appointed these eight days of Hanukkah in order to give thanks and praises unto Your holy name."|source=Translation of ''Al ha-Nissim''}}
An addition is made to the "''hoda'ah''" (thanksgiving) benediction in the [[Amidah]], called ''Al ha-Nissim'' ("On/about the Miracles").<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 682:1</ref> This addition refers to the victory achieved over the Syrians by the Hasmonean Mattathias and his sons.

The same prayer is added to the grace after meals. In addition, the ''[[Hallel]]'' Psalms are sung during each morning service and the ''[[Tachanun]]'' penitential prayers are omitted. The Torah is read every day in the [[synagogue]], the first day beginning from [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 6:22 (According to some customs, Numbers 7:1), and the last day ending with Numbers 8:4.

Since Hanukkah lasts eight days it includes at least one, and sometimes two, [[Shabbat|Jewish Sabbaths]] (Saturdays). The weekly [[Parsha|Torah portion]] for the first Sabbath is almost always ''[[Miketz]]'', telling of [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]]'s dream and his enslavement in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]. The ''[[Haftarah]]'' reading for the first Sabbath Hanukkah is [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]] 2:14-4:7. When there is a second Sabbath on Hanukkah, the ''Haftarah'' reading is from [[I Kings]] 7:40 - 7:50.

The Hanukkah ''menorah'' is also kindled daily in the synagogue, at night with the blessings and in the morning without the blessings. The menorah is not lit on the Sabbath, but rather prior to the beginning of the Sabbath at night and not at all during the day.

During the [[Middle Ages]] "[[Megillat Antiochus]]" was read in the [[Italian Jews#Italian rite Jews|Italian]] [[synagogues]] on Hanukkah just as the [[Book of Esther]] is read on [[Purim]]. It still forms part of the liturgy of the [[Yemenite Jews]].<ref name = "pvgsyw"/>

=== ''Zot Hanukkah'' ===
The last day of Hanukkah is known as ''Zot Hanukkah'', from the verse in the Book of Numbers 7:84 "''Zot Chanukat Hamizbe'ach''" - "This was the dedication of the altar", which is read on this day in the synagogue. According to the teachings of [[Kabbalah]] and [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]], this day is the final "seal" of the High Holiday season of [[Yom Kippur]], and is considered a time to repent out of love for God. In this spirit, many Hasidic Jews wish each other "''Gmar chatimah tovah''", "may you be sealed totally for good", a traditional greeting for the Yom Kippur season. It is taught in Hasidic and Kabbalistic literature that this day is particularly auspicious for the fulfillment of prayers.

==Judith and Holofernes==
[[Image:Cristofano Allori 002.jpg|thumb|left|''Judith with the head of Holofernes'' by Cristofano Allori]]

Eating dairy foods, especially cheese, on Hanukkah is a minor custom that has its roots in the story of Judith, as related in the book of [[Judith]] (''Yehudit'' or ''Yehudis'' in Hebrew). [[Holofernes]], an Assyrian general, had surrounded the village of Bethulia as part of his campaign to conquer Judea. After intense fighting, the water supply of the Jews is cut off and the situation became desperate. Judith, a pious widow, told the city leaders that she had a plan to save the city. Judith went to the Assyrian camps and pretended to surrender. She met Holofernes, who was smitten by her beauty. She went back to his tent with him, where she plied him with cheese and wine. When he fell into a drunken sleep, Judith beheaded him and escaped from the camp, taking the severed head with her. When Holofernes' soldiers found his corpse, they were overcome with fear; the Jews, on the other hand, were emboldened, and launched a successful counterattack. The town was saved, and the Assyrians defeated.

Many argue {{who}} that Holofernes was actually Greek, placing the events in the general time-frame of Hanukkah. The longstanding tradition that Judith was the daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, and consequently a sister of Mattathias the Hasmonean and an aunt of Judah the Maccabee, is how this story came to be associated with Hanukkah. There are many depictions of Judith and Holofernes in painting.

==Interaction with modernity and with other traditions==

The classical rabbis downplayed the military and nationalistic dimensions of Hanukkah, and some even interpreted the emphasis upon the story of the miracle oil as a diversion away from the struggle with empires that had led to the disastrous downfall of Jerusalem to the Romans. With the advent of Zionism and the state of Israel, these themes were rapidly reconsidered. In modern Israel, Hanukkah was transformed into a celebration of military strength, a kind of antidote to what was perceived as the idea of the powerless [[Jewish diaspora|Diaspora Jew]] that the Zionists felt that the Jews in the State of Israel needed to psychologically overcome.

In North America especially, Hanukkah gained increased importance with many Jewish families in the latter half of the twentieth century, including large numbers of [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Jews]], who wanted a Jewish alternative to the [[Christmas]] celebrations that often overlap with Hanukkah. Though it was traditional to give "gelt" or money coins to children during Hanukkah, in many families this has changed into gifts in order to prevent Jewish children from feeling left out of the Christmas gift giving.

While Hanukkah traditionally speaking is only a minor Jewish holiday, as indicated by the lack of restrictions on work other than a few minutes after lighting the candles, Hanukkah has taken a place equal to Passover as a symbol of Jewish identity. Both the Israeli and North American versions of Hanukkah emphasize resistance, focusing on some combination of national liberation and religious freedom as the defining meaning of the holiday.

===Green Hanukkah===

Some Jews in North America and Israel have taken up environmental concerns in relation to Hanukkah's "miracle of the oil", emphasizing reflection on energy conservation and energy independence. An example of this is the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life's renewable energy campaign.<ref>[http://www.shalomctr.org/node/1315 Shalom Center on Hannukah and the environment]</ref> <ref>[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546797524&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Jerusalem Post: Green Hanukkia' campaign sparks ire]</ref> <ref>[http://www.coejl.org/climatechange/CFLceremony.php Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL): Green Hannukah ceremony]</ref>

==Hanukkah music==
{{main|Hanukkah music}}
There are several songs associated with the festival of Hanukkah. The most well known in English-speaking countries include "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" and "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah." In Israel, Hanukkah has become something of a national holiday. A large number of songs have been written on Hanukkah themes, perhaps more so than for any other Jewish holiday. Some of the most well known are "''Hanukkiah Li Yesh''" ("I Have a Hanukkah Menora"), "''Kad Katan''" ("A Small Jug"), "''S'vivon Sov Sov Sov''" ("Dreidel, Spin and Spin"), "''Mi Yimalel''" (Who can Retell") and "''Ner Li, Ner Li''" ("I have a Candle").

==Hanukkah foods==
[[Image:sufganiyah.jpeg|thumb|right|Sufganiyot with jelly]]
[[Potato pancakes]], known as [[latke]]s in [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], are traditionally associated with Hanukkah, especially among Ashkenazi families. There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil (preferably olive oil), as the original miracle of the Hanukkah menorah involved the discovery of the small flask of oil used by the Jewish High Priest, the [[Kohen Gadol]]. This small batch of olive oil was only supposed to last one day, and instead it lasted eight.

Many Sephardic families as well as [[History of Jews in Poland|Polish]] Ashkenazim and [[Israel]] have the custom of eating all kinds of fruit-filled [[doughnut]]s ({{lang-yi|פאנטשקעס ''pontshkes''}}), ([[bimuelos]], or [[sufganiyah|sufganiyot]]) which are [[Frying|deep-fried]] in oil, and of course all Kosher foods.

==Hanukkah games==
===Dreidel===
{{main|Dreidel}}
[[Image:Dreidel 001.jpg|thumb|right|Dreidel]]
The ''dreidel'', or ''sevivon'' in Hebrew, is a four-sided spinning top that children play with on Hanukkah. Each side is imprinted with a Hebrew letter. These letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words, נס גדול היה שם, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''S'''ham''—"A great miracle happened there" (referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Beit Hamikdash]]).

*נ ''([[Nun (letter)|Nun]])''
*ג ''([[Gimel (letter)|Gimel]])''
*ה ''([[He (letter)|Hey]])''
*ש ''([[Shin (letter)|Shin]])''

In [[Israel|Eretz Yisroel]], the fourth side of most dreidels is inscribed with the letter פ ''([[Pe (letter)|Pe]])'', rendering the acronym, נס גדול היה פה, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''P'''o''—"A great miracle happened here" referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel. Some stores in [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] neighbourhoods may sell the traditional ''Shin'' dreidels.

Some Jewish commentators ascribe symbolic significance to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects the four letters with the four exiles to which the nation of Israel was historically subject—Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome.<ref>[http://www.ohr.org.il/yhiy/article.php/1309 Ohr Somayach :: Chanukah :: The Secret of the Dreidel]</ref>

After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, it is customary in many homes to play the dreidel game: Each player starts out with 10 or 15 coins (real or of chocolate), nuts, raisins, candies or other markers, and places one marker in the "pot." The first player spins the dreidel, and depending on which side the dreidel falls on, either wins a marker from the pot or gives up part of his stash. The code (based on a [[Yiddish Language|Yiddish]] version of the game) is as follows:
*Nun - ''nisht'' - "nothing" - nothing happens and the next player spins
*Gimel - ''gants'' - "all" - the player takes the entire pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtel ayn'' - "put in" - the player puts one marker in the pot

Another version differs:
*Nun - ''nim'' - "take" - the player takes one from the pot
*Gimel - ''gib'' - "give" - the player puts one in the pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtil'' - "still" (as in "stillness") - nothing happens and the next player spins

The game may last until one person has won everything.

Some say the dreidel game is played to commemorate a game devised by the Jews to camouflage the fact that they were [[Torah study|studying Torah]], which was outlawed by Greeks. The Jews would gather in caves to study, posting a lookout to alert the group to the presence of Greek soldiers. If soldiers were spotted, the Jews would hide their scrolls and spin tops, so the Greeks thought they were gambling, not learning.

===Hanukkah ''gelt''===
Hanukkah ''gelt'' ([[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] for "money") is often distributed to children to enhance their enjoyment of the holiday. The amount is usually in small coins, although grandparents or other relatives may give larger sums as an official Hanukkah gift. In Israel, Hanukkah ''gelt'' is known as ''dmei Hanukkah''. Many Hasidic [[Rebbe]]s distribute coins to those who visit them during Hanukkah. Hasidic Jews consider this to be an auspicious blessing from the Rebbe, and a ''[[segulah]]'' for success.

Twentieth-century [[United States|American]] [[chocolatier]]s picked up on the gift/coin concept by creating [[chocolate money|chocolate ''gelt'']].

==Alternative spellings based on transliterating Hebrew letters==
In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], the word Hanukkah is written '''{{lang|he|חנֻכה}}''' or '''{{lang|he|חנוכה}}'''. It is most commonly transliterated to English as ''Chanukah'' or ''Hanukkah'', the latter because the sound represented by "CH" ([{{IPA|/x/}}], as in the [[Scots language|Scottish]] pronunciation of "[[loch]]") essentially does not exist in the modern English language. Furthermore, the letter "[[heth]]" ('''{{lang|he|ח}}'''), which is the first letter in the Hebrew spelling, is pronounced differently in modern Hebrew ([[voiceless velar fricative]]) than in classical Hebrew ([[voiceless pharyngeal fricative]]), and neither of those sounds is unambiguously representable in English spelling. Moreover, the 'kaf' consonant is [[geminate]] in classical (but not modern) Hebrew. Adapting the classical Hebrew pronunciation with the geminate and pharyngeal Ḥeth can lead to the spelling "Hanukkah"; while adapting the modern Hebrew pronunciation with no geminate and velar Ḥeth leads to the spelling "Chanukah". Variations include:
[[Image:Hanukkah.png|right|thumb|Spelling variations are due to transliteration of Hebrew ''Chet Nun Vav Kaf Hey'']]

===Common variants===
* Hanukkah (in North America, Australia - also very common in UK)
* Chanukkah (in the UK, also common in North America)

===YIVO variant===
* Khanike ([[YIVO]] standard [[transliteration]] from the Yiddish and/or Ashkenazic [[pronunciation]] of the Hebrew)

== Background ==
===Chronology===

*198 BCE: Armies of the Seleucid King [[Antiochus III]] (Antiochus the Great) oust [[Ptolemy V Epiphanes|Ptolemy V]] from Judea and Samaria.
*175 BCE: [[Antiochus IV]] (Epiphanes) ascends the Seleucid throne.
*168 BCE: Under the reign of Antiochus IV, the Temple is looted, Jews are massacred, and [[Judaism]] is outlawed.
*167 BCE: Antiochus orders an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. Mattathias, and his five sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah lead a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah becomes known as Judah Maccabe (Judah The Hammer).
*166 BCE: Mattathias dies, and Judah takes his place as leader. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom begins; It lasts until 63 BCE
*165 BCE: The Jewish revolt against the [[Seleucid]] monarchy is successful. The Temple is liberated and rededicated (Hanukkah).
*142 BCE: Establishment of the Second Jewish Commonwealth. The Seleucids recognize Jewish autonomy. The Seleucid kings have a formal overlordship, which the Hasmoneans acknowledged. This inaugurates a period of great geographical expansion, population growth, and religious, cultural and social development.
*139 BCE: The [[Roman Senate]] recognizes Jewish autonomy.
*130 BCE: Antiochus VII besieges [[Jerusalem]], but withdraws.
*131 BCE: Antiochus VII dies. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom throws off Syrian rule completely
*96 BCE: An eight year civil war begins.
*83 BCE: Consolidation of the Kingdom in territory east of the [[Jordan River]].
*63 BCE: The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an end due to rivalry between the brothers [[Aristobulus II]] and [[Hyrcanus II]], both of whom appeal to the [[Roman Republic]] to intervene and settle the power struggle on their behalf. The Roman general [[Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus]] (Pompey the Great) is dispatched to the area. Twelve thousand Jews are massacred as Romans enter Jerusalem. The Priests of the Temple are struck down at the Altar. Rome annexes Judea.

===Battles of the Maccabean revolt===
{{main|Maccabees}}
There were a number of key battles between the Maccabees and the Seleucid Syrian-Greeks:

:''Listed alphabetically'':

*[[Battle of Adasa]] ([[Judas Maccabeus]] leads the Jews to victory against the forces of Nicanor.)
*[[Battle of Beth Horon]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the forces of Seron.)
*[[Battle of Beth-zechariah]] (Elazar the Maccabee is killed in battle. Lysias has success in battle against the Maccabess, but allows them temporary freedom of worship.)
*[[Battle of Beth Zur]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the army of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]], recapturing Jerusalem.)
*[[Dathema]] (A Jewish fortress saved by Judas Maccabeus.)
*[[Battle of Elasa]] (Judas Maccabeus dies in battle against the army of [[Demetrius I Soter|King Demetrius]] and [[Bacchides (general)|Bacchides]]. He is succeeded by [[Jonathan Maccabaeus]] and [[Simon Maccabaeus]] who continue to lead the Jews in battle.)
*[[Battle of Emmaus]] (Judas Maccabeus fights the forces of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]] and [[Gorgias (Syrian general)|Georgias]]).
*[[Battle of Wadi Haramia]].

==When Hanukkah occurs==
{{further|[[Jewish holidays 2000-2050]]}}

The dates of Hanukkah are determined by the [[Hebrew calendar]]. Hanukkah begins at the 25th day of [[Kislev]] and concludes on the 2nd or 3rd day of [[Tevet]] (Kislev can have 29 or 30 days). The Jewish day begins at sunset, whereas the [[Gregorian calendar]] begins the day at midnight. So, the first day of Hanukkah actually begins at sunset of the day immediately before the date noted on Gregorian calendars.

===Hanukkah according to the Gregorian calendar===
Hanukkah begins at sundown on the evening before the date shown.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
*[[December 22]], [[2000]]
*[[December 10]], [[2001]]
*[[November 30]], [[2002]]
*[[December 20]], [[2003]]
*[[December 8]], [[2004]]
*[[December 26]], [[2005]]
*[[December 16]], [[2006]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 5]], [[2007]]
*[[December 22]], [[2008]]
*[[December 12]], [[2009]]
*[[December 2]], [[2010]]
*[[December 21]], [[2011]]
*[[December 9]], [[2012]]
*[[November 28]], [[2013]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 17]], [[2014]]
*[[December 7]], [[2015]]
*[[December 25]], [[2016]]
*[[December 13]], [[2017]]
*[[December 3]], [[2018]]
*[[December 23]], [[2019]]
{{col-end}}

==See also==
{{portalpar|Judaism|Menora.svg}}
*[[Hasmonean]]
*[[Maccabees]]
*[[Jewish holiday]]s
*[[Temple in Jerusalem]]
*''[[County of Allegheny v. ACLU]]'' on the constitutionality of Hanukkah displays on public property in the U.S.
*[[Short-lived recurring characters on Saturday Night Live#Hanukkah Harry|Hanukkah Harry]]
*[[Hanukkah bush]]
*''[[Hanukkah Rocks]]'' - 2005 album by [[The LeeVees]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{commonscat|Hanukkah}}
=== General ===
* [http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default.asp Complete Hanukkah Guide, with how-to's, songs, stories and children's activities on chabad.org]
* [http://www.aish.com/holidays/chanukah/ Chanukah - Aish.com - how to light, stories, children's activities]
* [http://www.midrash.org/halakha/hanukkah.html Midrash Hanukkah with Sephardic traditions and history]
* [http://www.coejl.org/Hanukkah COEJL's "Let there be renewable light" campaign]
* [http://www.oztorah.com/feature/archive/chanukah.php OzTorah - insights on Chanukah]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=77|type=Shiurim}}

=== Songs ===
* [http://judaism.about.com/od/chanukah/a/hanukahanerot.htm Hanerot Hallalu ("These Candles")]
* [http://judaism.about.com/od/chanukah/a/hanukamaoztzur.htm Maoz Tzur ("Rock of Ages")]
* [http://liturgy.exc.com/Songsheets/Hanukah.cgi Hanukkah songsheets]
* [http://www.hebrewsongs.com/chanukah.htm Hanukkah songs]

=== Recipes ===
* [http://www.rd.com/content/cherished-hanukkah-recipes-to-share/ Traditional Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://kosherfood.about.com/od/hanukkah/Hanukkah_Recipes_Kosher_Jewish_Holiday_Food.htm About Kosher Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.wiki-recipe.org/index.php?title=Category:Hanukkah Wiki-Recipe.org Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.hanukkahsite.com/latkerecipes.php The Largest Latke Recipe Database On The Web]

=== Video ===
* [http://www.aish.com/pathways/externallinks/videolink_chanukah.asp Video: Lighting Hanukkah Menorah How-To]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3174713748168758247&q=satmar The Grand Rabbi of Satmar lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5575698843335939574&q=hannukkah The Grand Rabbi of Bobov lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6632688275970858151&q=hanukkah The Grand Rabbi of Bobov leading his Hassidim in the singing of a Hanukkah hymn composed by his father after the Holocaust]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3703256978822489433&q=hanukah The Grand Rabbi of Klausenberg from America lighting the Hannukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6750102222090781896&q=hannukah The Grand Rabbi of Pittsburgh from Ashdod, E. Israel, leading his followers in the celebration of Hannukkah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4852503510504559495&q=hanukah The Grand Rabbi of Nadvorna from Safed, E. Israel, leading his followers in the celebration of Hannukah]

 
{{Hanukkah Footer}}
{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}


[[Category:Hanukkah| ]]
[[Category:Jewish holy days]]



[[ar:حانوكا]]
[[bg:Ханука]]
[[ca:Hanukà]]
[[cs:Chanuka]]
[[da:Chanukka]]
[[de:Chanukka]]
[[es:Jánuca]]
[[eo:Ĥanuka]]
[[fa:حنوکا]]
[[fr:Hanoucca]]
[[gl:Hanuka]]
[[ko:하누카]]
[[hi:हनुका]]
[[hr:Hanuka]]
[[id:Hari raya Pentahbisan]]
[[it:Chanukah]]
[[he:חנוכה]]
[[la:Encaenia]]
[[hu:Hanuka]]
[[ms:Hanukkah]]
[[nl:Chanoeka]]
[[ja:ハヌカー]]
[[no:Hanukka]]
[[nn:Hanukká]]
[[oc:Khanuca]]
[[pl:Chanuka]]
[[pt:Chanucá]]
[[ro:Hanuka]]
[[ru:Ханука]]
[[sk:Chanuka]]
[[sr:Ханука]]
[[fi:Hanukka]]
[[sv:Chanukka]]
[[tl:Pista ng Pagtatalaga]]
[[vi:Hanukkah]]
[[tr:Hanuka]]
[[uk:Ханука]]
[[yi:חנוכה]]
[[zh-yue:修殿節]]
[[zh:光明节]]

Passover

2008-11-27T17:43:58Z

Dbratton: Revert to revision 254145046 dated 2008-11-26 02:17:26 by Willking1979 using popups

{{otheruses4|the Jewish holiday}}
{{redirect3|Pasch|Pasch could also refer to the mathematician, [[Moritz Pasch]], and the [[Pasch (surname)|surname]]}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image = Machine-made Shmura Matzo.jpg
|caption = Machine-made [[matzo]], the traditional substitute for bread eaten on Passover.
|holiday_name = Passover
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''פסח''' (''Pesach'')
|observedby = [[Judaism|Jew]]s, [[Samaritan]]s
|begins = 15th day of [[Nisan]]
|ends = 21st day of [[Nisan]] in [[Israel]], and among some liberal [[Jewish diaspora|Diaspora Jews]]; 22nd day of [[Nisan]] outside of [[Israel]] among more traditional Diaspora Jews.
|celebrations = In Jewish practice, one or two festive [[Passover Seder|Seder]] meals - first two nights; in the times of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]], the [[Korban]] Pesach. In Samaritan practice, men gather for a religious ceremony on Mount Gerizim that includes the ancient Passover Sacrifice.
|date2006 = sunset of 12 April to nightfall of 19 April / 20 April
|date2007 = sunset of April 2 to nightfall of 9 April / 10 April
|date2008 = sunset of April 19 to nightfall of 26 April / 27 April
|date2009 = sunset of April 8 to nightfall of 15 April / 16 April
|type = One of the [[Three Pilgrim Festivals]]
|significance = Celebrates the [[Exodus]], the freedom from [[slavery]] of the [[Children of Israel]] from [[History of ancient Egypt|ancient Egypt]] that followed the [[Ten Plagues]]. 
Beginning of the 49 days of [[Counting of the Omer]]
|relatedto = [[Shavuot]] ("Festival [of] Weeks") which follows 49 days from the second night of Passover.
}}
{{Jews and Judaism sidebar}}

'''Passover''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]]: פֶּסַח, '''Pesach''', [[Tiberian Hebrew|Tiberian]]: {{IPA|pɛsaħ}}, [[Hebrew language|Israeli]]: '''Pesah''', '''Pesakh''', Yiddish: '''Peysekh''') is a [[Jew]]ish and [[Samaritan]] holy day and festival commemorating God sparing the Jews when He killed the first born of Egypt. Followed by the seven day Feast of the Unleavened Bread commemorating [[the Exodus]] from [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] and the liberation of the [[Israelite]]s from [[Judaism and slavery|slavery]].<ref>{{bibleverse||Lev|23:6|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Num|28:17|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Num|33:3|HE}}</ref>

Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of [[Nisan]], the [[full moon]] of that month, the first month of the [[Hebrew calendar|Hebrew calendar's]] festival year according to the [[Hebrew Bible]].<ref name="Lev-23-4">({{bibleverse||Lev|23:4|HE}}; {{bibleverse||Num|9:3,5|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Num|28:16|HE}})</ref>

In the story of [[the Exodus]], the Bible tells that God inflicted [[Ten Plagues|ten plagues]] upon the Egyptians before Pharaoh would release his Israelite slaves, with the tenth plague being the killing of firstborn sons. However, the Israelites were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a spring lamb, and upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord passed over these homes, hence the term "passover".<ref>Exodus 12:12: "On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn—both men and animals—and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am יהוה (the LORD)."</ref> When Pharaoh freed the Israelites, it is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread to rise. In commemoration, for the duration of Passover, no [[leaven|leavened bread]] is eaten, for which reason it is also called "The Festival of the Unleavened Bread".<ref>{{bibleverse||Lev|23:6|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Num|28:17|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Num|33:3|HE}}</ref> ''[[Matza]]'' (unleavened bread) is the primary symbol of the holiday.

Together with [[Shavuot]] ("Pentecost") and [[Sukkot]] ("Tabernacles"), Passover is one of the [[three pilgrim festivals]] (''Shalosh Regalim'') during which the entire Jewish populace historically made a pilgrimage to the [[Temple in Jerusalem]]. Samaritans still make this pilgrimage to Mount Gerizim, but only men participate in public worship.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3394699,00.html |date=2007-05-02 |last=K'fir |first=Amnon |title=The Samaritans' Passover sacrifice |publisher=ynet news |accessdate=2008-10-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/854549.html |newspaper=Haaretz |title=Ancient Samaritan sect marks Passover sacrifice near Nablus |date=2007-01-05 |accessdate=2008-10-10}}</ref>

==Date in the spring and length==
Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of [[Nisan]], which corresponds to the [[full moon]] of Nisan, the first month of the [[Hebrew calendar]], in accordance with the [[Hebrew Bible]].<ref name="Lev-23-4"/> Passover is a spring festival, so the 15th of Nisan begins on the night of a full moon after the [[vernal equinox]]. To ensure that Passover did not start before spring, the tradition in ancient Israel held that the 1st of Nisan would not start until the barley is ripe, being the test for the onset of spring.<ref>The barley had to be "eared out" (ripe) in order to have a wave-sheaf offering of the first fruits according to the Law. {{cite book |title=Secrets of Time |last=Jones |first=Stephen |year=1996}} This also presupposes that the cycle is based on the northern hemisphere seasons.</ref> If the barley was not ripe an [[Intercalation|intercalary month]] ([[Adar II]]) would be added. However, since at least the 12th century, the date has been determined mathematically.

In [[Land of Israel|Israel]], Passover is the seven-day holiday of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, with the first and last days observed as legal holidays and as holy days involving abstention from work, special prayer services, and holiday meals; the intervening days are known as [[Chol HaMoed]] ("festival days"). Diaspora Jews historically observed the festival for eight days, and most still do. [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] and [[Reconstructionist Judaism|Reconstructionst Jews]] and Israeli Jews, wherever they are, usually observe the holiday over seven days. The reason for this extra day is not known. It is thought by many scholars that Jews outside of Israel could not be certain if their local calendars fully conformed to practice of the temple at Jerusalem, so they added an extra day. But as this practice only attaches to certain (major) holy days, others posit the extra day may have been added to accommodate people who had to travel long distances to participate in communal worship and ritual practices; or the practice may have evolved as a compromise between conflicting interpretations of Jewish Law regarding the calendar; or it may have evolved as a safety measure in areas where Jews were commonly in danger, so that their enemies could not be certain on which day to attack.<ref>De Lange, Nicholas (2000). An Introduction to Judaism. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press. p. 97</ref>

==Origins of the festival==
{{see also|The Exodus}}

Passover is a biblically-mandated holiday:

<blockquote>In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month between the two evenings is the LORD'S Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD; seven days ye shall eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work. And ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days; in the seventh day is a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work. ({{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:5|HE}})</blockquote>

By late second-Temple times, "between the two evenings" was interpreted to mean "in the afternoon." [[Josephus]] says that, when the [[Temple]] was still in existence, an unblemished lamb was set aside on Nisan 10 and then publicly killed in the Temple on the afternoon of the preparation day, the 14th.<ref>Josephus, ''Jewish War'' 6.423-428, in ''Josephus III, The Jewish War, Book IV-VII'', Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1979.</ref> Then the lambs would be prepared and eaten (along with the matzo, or unleavened bread) that evening, the 15th, with nothing of it to remain by morning. All leavening was removed from their houses on the 14th, the preparation day, as well.

The Biblical commandments concerning the Passover (and the Feast of Unleavened Bread) stress the importance of remembering:

<blockquote>And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt; and thou shalt observe and do these statutes." ({{Bibleverse||Deuteronomy|16:12|HE}}) </blockquote>

{{Bibleverse||Exodus|12:14|HE}} commands, in reference to God's sparing of the firstborn from the [[Ten Plagues|Tenth Plague]]:

<blockquote>And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.</blockquote>

{{Bibleverse||Exodus|13:3|HE}} repeats the command to remember:

<blockquote>Remember this day, in which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, for by strength the hand of the LORD brought you out from this place.</blockquote>

===Origin of the name===
[[Image:The Jews Passover.jpg|left|thumb|"The Jews' Passover"—facsimile of a miniature from a 15th century [[missal]], ornamented with paintings of the School of Van Eyck]]

The verb "''pasàch''" ({{lang-he|פָּסַח}}) is first mentioned in the [[Torah]] account of [[the Exodus]] from Egypt ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:23|HE}}), and there is some debate about its exact meaning: the commonly-held assumption that it means "He passed over", in reference to God "passing over" the houses of the Israelites during the final of the Ten [[Plagues of Egypt]], stems from the translation provided in the [[Septuagint]] (''παρελευσεται'' in {{bibleverse||Exodus|12:23|HE}}, and ''εσκεπασεν'' in {{bibleverse||Exodus|12:27|HE}}). Judging from other instances of the verb, and instances of [[Parallelism (rhetoric)|parallelism,]] a more faithful translation may be "he hovered over, guarding." Indeed, this is the image used by [[Isaiah]] by his use of this verb in Isaiah. 31:5: "As birds hovering, so will the Lord of hosts protect Jerusalem; He will deliver it as He protecteth it, He will rescue it as He ''passeth over''" (כְּצִפֳּרִים עָפוֹת—כֵּן יָגֵן יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, עַל-יְרוּשָׁלִָם; גָּנוֹן וְהִצִּיל, פָּסֹחַ וְהִמְלִיט.) ({{bibleverse||Isaiah|31:5|HE}})
The English term "Passover" came into the [[English language]] through [[William Tyndale]]'s translation of the Bible, and later appeared in the [[King James Version of the Bible|King James Version]] as well.

The term ''Pesach'' ({{lang-he|פֶּסַח}}) may also refer to the [[Domestic sheep|lamb]] or [[Domestic goat|kid]] which was designated as the Passover sacrifice (called the ''[[Korban]] Pesach'' in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]). Four days before the Exodus, the Israelites were commanded to set aside a lamb or kid ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:3|HE}}) and inspect it daily for blemishes. During the day on the 14th of Nisan, they were to slaughter the animal and use its blood to mark their lintels and door posts. Up until midnight on the 15th of Nisan, they were to consume the lamb. Each family (or group of families) gathered together to eat a meal that included the meat of the ''Korban Pesach'' while the Tenth Plague ravaged Egypt.

In subsequent years, during the existence of the [[Tabernacle (Judaism)|Tabernacle]] and later the [[Temple in Jerusalem]], the ''Korban Pesach'' was eaten during the [[Passover Seder]] on the 15th of Nisan. However, following the destruction of the Temple, no sacrifices may be offered or eaten. The ''Seder Korban Pesach'', a set of scriptural and Rabbinic passages dealing with the Passover sacrifice, is customarily recited during or after the [[Jewish services|''Mincha'']] (afternoon prayer) service on the 14th on Nisan.<ref> Eliyahu Kitov, ''The Book of Our Heritage: The Jewish Year and Its Days of Significance,'' Feldheim, 1997, p. 562.</ref> The story of the ''Korban Pesach'' is also retold at the Passover Seder, and the symbolic food which represents it on the [[Passover Seder Plate|Seder Plate]] is usually a roasted lamb [[wiktionary:shank|shankbone]], chicken wing, or chicken neck.

===Historic offering, "''Korban Pesach''"===
{{main|Korban Pesach}}
When the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] was standing, the focus of the Passover festival was the ''[[Korban]] Pesach'' (lit. "Pesach sacrifice," also known as the "Paschal Lamb"). Every family large enough to completely consume a young lamb or [[Wild Goat]] was required to offer one for sacrifice at the Jewish Temple on the afternoon of the 14th day of Nisan,<ref>{{bibleverse||Num|9:11|HE}})</ref> and eat it that night, which was the 15th of Nisan.<ref>({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:6|NIV}})</ref> If the family was too small to finish eating the entire offering in one sitting, an offering was made for a group of families. The offering could not be slaughtered while one was in possession of leaven,<ref>({{bibleverse||Exodus|23:18|HE}})</ref> and had to be roasted, without its head, feet, or inner organs being removed<ref>({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:9|HE}})</ref> and eaten together with [[matzo]] (unleavened bread) and [[maror]] (bitter herbs).<ref>({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:9|HE}})</ref> One had to be careful not to break any bones from the offering,<ref>({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:46|HE}})</ref> and none of the meat could be left over by morning.<ref>({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:10|HE}}{{bibleverse||Exodus|23:18|HE}})</ref>

Because of the ''Korban Pesach'''s status as a sacred offering, the only people allowed to eat it were those who have the obligation to bring the offering. Among those who can not offer or eat the ''Korban Pesach'' are: An [[apostate]] ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:43|HE}}), a [[Indentured servant|servant]] ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:45|HE}}), an [[Brit milah|uncircumcised man]] ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:48|HE}}), a person in a state of [[Tohorot|ritual impurity]], except when a majority of Jews are in such a state (''[[Pesahim]]'' 66b). The offering must be made before a [[quorum]] of 30 (''[[Pesahim]]'' 64b). In the Temple, the [[Levites]] sing [[Hallel]] while the [[Kohen|Kohanim]] perform the sacrificial service. Men and women are equally obligated regarding the ''Korban Pesach'' (''[[Pesahim]]'' 91b).

Women were obligated, as men, to perform the Korban Pesach and to participate in a Seder.

Today, in the absence of the Temple, the [[mitzvah]] of the ''Korban Pesach'' is memorialized in the ''Seder Korban Pesach'', recited in the afternoon of Nisan 14, and in the form of symbolic food placed on the [[Passover Seder Plate]], which is usually a roasted [[humerus|shankbone]]. Many [[Sephardic]] Jews, however, have the opposite custom of eating lamb or goat meat during the Seder in memory of the ''Korban Pesach''

==Modern observance and preparation==
Many Jews observe the positive [[Torah]] [[Mitzvah|commandment]] of eating matzo on the first night of Passover at the [[Passover Seder]], as well as the Torah prohibition against eating [[chametz]] - certain leavening and fermenting agents, and things made with them, such as yeast breads, certain types of cake and biscuit, and certain alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages—but wine is an essential component of Passover, notwithstanding it is a fermented, yeast-bearing beverage. [[Karaite]] Jews are not bound by the oral law, under which "chametz" includes not only leavening agents but the grains from which bread is commonly made. Specifically, five grains, and products made from them, may not be used during Passover—wheat, rye, barley, oats, and spelt—except for making matzo, which ''must'' be made from one of these five grains. This is because the oral law decrees they begin to ferment within eighteen minutes of contact with water. So, despite pasta not being a leavened product, macaroni products cannot be owned or used during Passover under this interpretation of Jewish Law. Ashkenazic rabbinical tradition also forbids the use of rice, most legumes and new world grains like maize (unknown to the old world when the Bible was written), because they might be made into bread (such as cornbread). Sephardic and other rabbinical traditions do not have this prohibition.

===Chametz===
{{main|Chametz}}
''Chametz'' (חמץ, "leavening") refers either to a grain product that is already [[fermentation|fermented]] (e.g. yeast [[bread]]s, certain types of [[cake]], and most alcoholic beverages) or a substance that can cause fermentation (e.g. [[yeast]] or [[sourdough]]). The specific definition varies between religious and ethno-cultural traditions. The consumption of chametz and, under the oral law, its possession, are forbidden during Passover in most Jewish traditions.

In Ashkenazic and certain Sephardic applications of Jewish Law, "chametz" does not include [[baking soda]], [[baking powder]] or like products. Although these are leavening agents, they leaven by chemical reaction whereas the prohibition against chametz is understood to apply only to fermentation. Thus, bagels, waffles and pancakes made with baking soda and matzo meal are considered permissible, while bagels made with yeast, sourdough pancakes and waffles, and the like, are prohibited. Karaite Jews and many non-Ashkenazic Jewish traditions do not observe a distinction between chemical leavening and leavening by fermentation.

The Torah commandments regarding ''chametz'' are:

*To remove all ''chametz'' from one's home, including things made with chametz, before the first day of Passover. ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:15|HE}}). It may be simply used up, thrown out (historically, destroyed by burning, since there was no weekly garbage pickup in ancient times), or given or sold to non-Jews (or non-Samaritans, as the case may be).

*To refrain from eating ''chametz'' or mixtures containing ''chametz'' during Passover. ({{bibleverse||Exodus|13:3|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Exodus|12:20|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|16:3|HE}}).

*Not to possess ''chametz'' in one's domain (i.e. home, office, car, etc.) during Passover ({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:19|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|16:4|HE}}).

====Spring Mega-Cleaning====

Observant Jews typically spend the weeks before Passover in a flurry of thorough housecleaning, to remove every morsel of ''[[chametz]]'' from every part of the home. The oral Jewish law ([[Halakha]]) requires the elimination of [[olive]]-sized or larger quantities of leavening from one's possession, but most housekeeping goes beyond this. Even the cracks of kitchen counters are thoroughly scrubbed, for example, to remove any traces of flour and yeast, however small.

Traditionally, Jews do a formal search for remaining chametz ("''bedikat chametz''") after nightfall on the evening before Passover (which is also the evening that precedes the Fast of the Firstborn). A blessing is read (על ביעור חמץ - ''al biyur chametz'', "on the removal of chametz") and one or more members of the household proceed from room to room to ensure no crumbs remain in any corner. In very traditional families, the search may be conducted by the head of the household; in more modern families, the children may be the ones who do the search, under the careful supervision of their parents.

It is customary to turn off the lights and conduct the search by [[candle]]light, using a feather and a wooden spoon: candlelight effectively illuminates corners without casting shadows; the feather can dust crumbs out of their hiding places; and the wooden spoon which collects the crumbs can be burned the next day with the ''chametz''.

Because the house is assumed to have been thoroughly cleaned by the night before Passover, there is some concern that making a blessing over the search for chametz will be for nought ("''bracha l'vatala''") if nothing is found. Thus, ten pieces of bread smaller than the size of an olive are hidden throughout the house in order to ensure that there is chametz to be found.

====Sale of Chametz====
''Chametz'' may be sold rather than discarded, especially in the case of relatively valuable forms such as [[liquor]] [[distillation|distilled]] from wheat, with the products being re-purchased afterward. In some cases, they may never leave the house, instead being formally sold while remaining in the original owners possession in a locked cabinet until they can be repurchased after the holiday. Although this practice dates back many years, some contemporary rabbinical authorities have come to regard it with disdain - since the supposed "new owner" never takes actual possession of the goods.

The sale of chametz may also be conducted communally via the [[rabbi]], who becomes the "agent" for all the community's Jews through a halakhic procedure called a "''[[kinyan]]''" (acquisition). Each householder must put aside all the ''chametz'' he is selling into a box or cupboard, and the rabbi enters into a contract to sell all the ''chametz'' to a non-Jewish person (who is not obligated to observe the commandments) in exchange for a small [[down payment]] (''e.g.'' $1.00), with the remainder due after Passover. This sale is considered completely binding according to Halakha, and at any time during the holiday, the buyer may come to take or partake of his property. The rabbi then re-purchases the goods for less than they were sold at the end of the holiday.<ref>[http://www.torahlearningcenter.com/jhq/question169.html Pesach questions and answers] by the Torah Learning Center.</ref>

Observant Jewish store owners who stock leavened food products sell everything in their storeroom in this fashion with the full knowledge that the new owner is entitled to claim the property. In [[Eastern Europe]]an [[shtetl]]s, Jewish [[tavern]]keepers, would sell their alcoholic ''chametz'' and risk having their neighbors enter their [[wine cellar|cellars]] to drink the liquor.{{Fact|date=March 2008}}

====Burning====
Following the formal search for ''chametz'', any leavened products that were found during the search, along with 10 morsels of bread, are burned (''s'rayfat chametz''). The head of the household declares any ''chametz'' that may not have been found to be null and void "as the dust of the earth" (''biyur chametz''). Should more ''chametz'' actually be found in the house during the Passover holiday, it must be burnt.

Unlike ''chametz'', which can be eaten any day of the year except during Passover, kosher for Passover foodstuffs can be eaten on Passover and year-round. They need not be burnt or otherwise discarded after the holiday ends. The sole exception is the historic sacrificial lamb, which is almost never part of the modern Jewish holiday but is still a principal feature of Samaritan observance. The meat of this lamb, which is slaughtered and cooked on the evening of Passover, must be completely consumed before the morning.({{bibleverse||Exodus|12:15|HE}})

===Matzo===
====Commandments and symbolism====
{{main|Matzo}}[[Image:Matzo.jpg|thumb|250px|Machine-made [[matzo]], the "official" food of Passover]]
The Torah contains a divine commandment to eat matzo on the first night of Passover and to eat only unleavened bread (i.e. matzo) during the week of Passover.<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|12:18|HE}}</ref> Accordingly, the eating of matzo figures prominently in the [[Passover Seder]]. There are several explanations for this.

The Torah says that it is because the Hebrews left Egypt with such haste that there was no time to allow baked bread to rise; thus, flat bread, matzo, is a reminder of the rapid departure of the Exodus.<ref>[http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=107&o=60495} Thought For Food: An Overview of the Seder | AskMoses.com - Judaism, Ask a Rabbi - Live]</ref>. Other scholars teach that in the time of the Exodus, matzo was commonly baked for the purpose of traveling because it preserved well and was light to carry, suggesting that matzo was baked intentionally for the long journey ahead.

Matzo has also been called ''Lechem Oni'' (Hebrew: "poor man's bread"). There is an attendant explanation that matzo serves as a symbol to remind Jews what it is like to be a poor slave and to promote humility, appreciate freedom, and avoid the inflated ego symbolized by leavened bread.<ref>[http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=107&o=450 What is the kabbalistic view on chametz?] by Rabbi Yossi Marcus</ref>

====Matzo baking====
[[Image:Shmura Matzo.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Handmade ''shmura matzo'']]In the weeks before Passover, matzos are prepared for holiday consumption. In [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] communities, men traditionally gather in groups ("''chaburas''") to bake a special version of handmade matzo called "''shmura matzo''", or "guarded matzo", for use at the Seder. These are made from wheat that is guarded from contamination by chametz from the time of summer [[harvest]] to its baking into matzos five to ten months later.<ref>These Matzos are often begun to be produced in early November.[http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/050422/matzo.shtml]</ref> ''Shmura matzo'' dough is rolled by hand, resulting in a large and round matzo. ''Chaburas'' also work together in machine-made matzo factories, which produce the typically square-shaped matzo sold in stores.

The baking of ''shmura matzo'' is labor-intensive, as only 18-22 minutes is permitted between the mixing of flour and water to the conclusion of baking and removal from the oven; however, most are completed by 5 minutes after first being kneaded.<ref>[http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/050422/matzo.shtml Making matzo: A time-honored tradition]</ref> Consequently, only a small amount of matzos can be baked at one time, and the ''chabura'' members are enjoined to work the dough constantly so that it is not allowed to ferment and rise. A special cutting tool is run over the dough just before baking to keep the matzos flat while baking; this creates the familiar dotted holes in the matzo.

After the matzos come out of the oven, the entire work area is scrubbed down and swept to make sure that no pieces of old, potentially leavened dough remain, as any stray pieces are now ''chametz'', and can contaminate the next batch of matzo.

===Passover dishes===
Due to the strict separation between matzo products and ''chametz'' during Passover, observant families typically own complete sets of serving dishes, glassware and silverware for use only during Passover. Under certain circumstances, some ''chametz'' utensils can be immersed in boiling water (''hagalat keilim'') to purge them of any traces of ''chametz'' may have accumulated during the year. Many [[Sephardic]] families thoroughly wash their year-round glassware and then use it for Passover, as the Sephardic position is that [[glass]] does not absorb enough traces of food to present a problem.

===Fasting===
{{main|Fast of the firstborn}}

On the morning before Passover, the [[fast of the firstborn]] takes place. This fast commemorates the salvation of the Israelite firstborns during the [[Plagues of Egypt#The plagues|Plague of the Firstborn]] (according to the Book of [[Exodus]], the tenth of ten plagues wrought upon [[ancient Egypt]] prior to the Exodus of the [[Children of Israel]]), when, according to Exodus (12:29): ''"...God struck every firstborn in the Land of Mitzrayim (ancient Egypt)...."'' Many authorities, including the [[Rema]], note the custom that fathers of firstborn sons are required to observe the fast if their son has not yet reached the age of [[Bar Mitzvah]]. In practice, however, most firstborns only fast until the end of the morning prayer service in synagogue. This is due to the widespread custom for a member of the congregation to conduct a ''[[siyum]]'' (ceremony marking the completion of a section of [[Torah]] learning) right after services and invite everyone to partake in a celebratory meal. According to widespread custom, partaking of this meal removes one's obligation to fast.
If the first born is a boy in a Jewish family, that boy will have to fast after he has his Bar Mitzva.

==The Passover seder==
[[Image:Sedertable.jpg|thumb|250px|Table set for the Passover Seder]]
{{main|Passover seder}}

It is traditional for Jewish families to gather on the first night of Passover (first two nights in Orthodox and Conservative communities outside the land of Israel) for a special dinner called a [[Passover seder|seder]] (סדר—derived from the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word for "order", referring to the very specific order of the ritual). The table is set with the finest china and silverware to reflect the importance of this meal. During this meal, the story of the Exodus from Egypt is retold using a special text called the [[Haggadah]]. Four cups of wine are consumed at various stages in the narrative. The Haggadah divides the night's procedure into 14 parts:

#''Kadeish'' קדש - recital of [[Kiddush]] blessing and drinking of the first cup of wine
#''Urchatz'' ורחץ - the washing of the hands - without blessing
#''Karpas'' כרפס - dipping of the ''[[karpas]]'' in salt water
#''Yachatz'' יחץ - breaking the middle matzo; the larger piece becomes the ''[[afikoman]]'' which is eaten later during the ritual of ''Tzafun''
#''Maggid'' מגיד - retelling the Passover story, including the recital of "[[the four questions]]" and drinking of the second cup of wine
#''Rachtzah'' רחצה - second washing of the hands - with blessing
#''Motzi''-''Matzo'' מוציא-מצה - traditional blessing before eating [[bread]] products followed by the blessing before eating [[matzo]]
#''Maror'' מרור - eating of the [[maror]]
#''Koreich'' כורך - eating of a sandwich made of matzo and maror
#''Shulchan oreich'' שולחן עורך - lit. "set table"—the serving of the holiday meal
#''Tzafun'' צפון - eating of the ''[[afikoman]]''
#''Bareich'' ברך - blessing after the meal and drinking of the third cup of wine
#''[[Hallel]]'' הלל - recital of the Hallel, traditionally recited on festivals; drinking of the fourth cup of wine
#''Nirtzah'' נירצה - conclusion

[[Image:Maurice Ascalon Pal-Bell Seder Plate.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Bronze [[matzo]] plate inscribed "''"Ha Lachma Anya"'' ("This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]],") the opening words of the "''Maggid''" (Retelling). Design: [[Maurice Ascalon]].]]

The seder is replete with questions, answers, and unusual practices (e.g. the recital of [[Kiddush]] which is not immediately followed by the blessing over bread, which is the traditional procedure for all other holiday meals) to arouse the interest and curiosity of the children at the table. The children are also rewarded with nuts and candies when they ask questions and participate in the discussion of the Exodus and its aftermath. Likewise, they are encouraged to search for the ''[[afikoman]]'', the piece of matzo which is the last thing eaten at the seder. The child or children who discover the hiding place of the ''afikoman'' are rewarded with a prize or money. Audience participation and interaction is the rule, and many families' seders last long into the night with animated discussions and much singing. The seder concludes with additional songs of praise and faith printed in the Haggadah, including ''[[Chad Gadya]]'' ("One Kid Goat").

===''Maror''===
{{Main|Maror}}
[[Image:3TypesMaror.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Maror, one disallowed type and two acceptable kinds (L to R): "''chrein''" ([[Yiddish language|Yiddish]])- grated [[horseradish]] with cooked beets and sugar, not acceptable [[maror]] due to its sweetness; [[romaine lettuce]]; and whole horseradish root, often served grated.]]A commandment to eat ''Maror,'' bitter herbs (typically, [[horseradish]] or [[romaine lettuce]]), together with matzo and the Passover [[korban|sacrifice]] {{bibleverse||Exodus|12:8|HE}}. In the absence of the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple]], Jews cannot bring the Passover sacrifice. This commandment is fulfilled today by the eating of ''Maror'' both by itself and together with matzo in a ''Koreich''-sandwich during the Passover seder.

===Recounting the Exodus===
On the first night of Passover (first two nights in Orthodox and Conservative communities outside [[Land of Israel|Israel]]), a Jew is required to recount the story of [[the Exodus]] from Egypt. This commandment is performed during the Passover seder.

===The four cups of wine===
There is a Rabbinic requirement that four cups of wine (or grape juice) are to be drunk during the seder. This applies to both men and women. The Mishnah says (Pes. 10:1) that even the poorest man in Israel has an obligation to drink. Each cup is connected to a different part of the seder: the first cup is for Kiddush, the second cup is connected with the recounting of [[the Exodus]], the drinking of the third cup concludes [[Birkat Hamazon]] and the fourth cup is associated with Hallel.

===Children in Passover===
{{see also|The four questions}}

Children have a very important role in the Passover seder. Traditionally the youngest child is prompted to ask questions about the Passover seder. The questions encourage the gathering to discuss the significance of the symbols in the meal. The questions asked by the child are:

:Why is this night different from all other nights?
:Why tonight do we eat only unleavened bread?
:Why tonight do we eat bitter herbs?
:Why tonight do we dip them twice?
:Why tonight do we all recline?

Often the leader of the seder and the other adults at the meal will use prompted responses from the Haggadha, which begin, “We must obey the command to talk about the Exodus from Egypt. The more one talks about it the more praiseworthy it is.” Many readings, prayers, and stories are used to recount the story of the Exodus. Many households add their own commentary and interpretation and often the story of the Jews is related to theme of liberation and its implications worldwide. Originally the Seder meal was eaten before the questions were asked, but today most families recount the story of the Exodus before the meal.

The [[afikoman]] is another part of the seder meal that is used to engage children at Passover. In the beginning to the meal, the leader takes the second piece of matzah and breaks it. The larger portion is put away as afikoman, which will be the last piece of food eaten during the evening as a reminder of the paschal sacrifice. Traditions vary in different areas, but in many homes, the afikoman is hidden and at a certain point in the meal, Zafun, children will be sent to search for the afikoman with an offer of a reward. This encourages children to stay awake for the whole seder.

In some communities, such as the Ashkenazi, the children try during the meal to “steal” the afikoman from the leader of the seder. The leader will hide the afikoman from the children. If the children are able to steal the afikoman, they will offer it back with a “ransom” of presents. They are promised the presents after the seder, again being encouraged to stay awake for the whole celebration.

After the Hallel, the fourth glass of wine the hymn is recited that ends in “next year in Jerusalem!” Following this, a sing-a-long ensues that consists of many cheerful and fun Hebrew songs. This part of the celebration is a reward for children who have stayed awake through the whole seder.<ref>Afikoman. Dov Noy and Joseph Tabory. Encyclopaedia Judaica. Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. Vol. 1. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. p434.</ref><ref>De Lange, Nicholas (2000). An Introduction to Judaism. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.</ref>

== Holiday week and related celebrations ==
In [[Land of Israel|Israel]], Passover lasts for seven days with the first and last days being major [[Jewish holidays|holidays]]. In [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] and [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] communities, no work is performed on those days, with most of rules relating to the observances of [[Shabbat]] being applied. A seder is held on the first day.

Outside Israel, in [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] and [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] communities, the holiday lasts for eight days with the first two days and last two days being major holidays. A seder is conducted twice, on both the first and second days. In the intermediate days necessary work can be performed. [[Reform Judaism]] observes Passover over seven days, with the first day being a major holiday when a seder is held.

Like the holiday of [[Sukkot]], the intermediary days of Passover are known as [[Chol HaMoed]] (festival weekdays) and are imbued with a semi-festive status. It is a time for family outings and picnic lunches of matzo, hardboiled eggs, fruits and vegetables, and Passover treats such as [[macaroon]]s and homemade candies.

The prohibition against eating leavened food products and regular flour during Passover results in the increased consumption of potatoes, eggs and oil in addition to fresh milk and cheeses, fresh meat and chicken, and fresh fruit and vegetables. To make a "Passover cake," recipes call for [[Starch#Starch_in_food|potato starch]] or "Passover cake flour" (made from finely granulated matzo) instead of regular flour, and a large amount of eggs (8 and over) to achieve fluffiness. Cookie recipes use [[matzo farfel]] (broken bits of matzo) or ground nuts as the base. For families with [[Eastern Europe]]an backgrounds, [[borsht]], a soup made with [[beet]]s, is a Passover tradition.

Some [[hotel]]s, [[resort]]s, and even [[cruise ship]]s across [[United States|America]], [[Europe]] and [[Israel]] also undergo a thorough housecleaning to make their premises "[[kosher]] for Pesach" to cater for observant Jews.

===Counting of the Omer===
{{main|Counting of the Omer}}
Beginning on the second night of Passover, the 16th day of Nissan,<ref>[[Karaite]] Jews begin the count on the Sunday within the holiday week. This leads to Shavuot for the Karaites always falling on a Sunday.</ref> Jews begin the practice of the [[Counting of the Omer]], a nightly reminder of the approach of the holiday of [[Shavuot]] 50 days hence. Each night after the evening prayer service, men and women recite a special blessing and then enumerate the day of the Omer. On the first night, for example, they say, "Today is the first day in (or, to) the Omer"; on the second night, "Today is the second day in the Omer." The counting also involves weeks; thus, the seventh day is commemorated, "Today is the seventh day, which is one week in the Omer." The eighth day is marked, "Today is the eighth day, which is one week and one day in the Omer," etc.

When the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple stood in Jerusalem]], a sheaf of new-cut barley was presented before the altar on the second day of Unleavened Bread. Josephus writes<blockquote>
On the second day of unleavened bread, that is to say the sixteenth, our people partake of the crops which they have reaped and which have not been touched till then, and esteeming it right first to do homage to God, to whom they owe the abundance of these gifts, they offer to him the first-fruits of the barley in the following way. After parching and crushing the little sheaf of ears and purifying the barley for grinding, they bring to the altar an ''assaron'' for God, and, having flung a handful thereof on the altar, they leave the rest for the use of the priests. Thereafter all are permitted, publicly or individually, to begin harvest.<ref>Josephus, Antiquities 3.250-251, in Josephus IV Jewish Antiquities Books I-IV, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1930, pp. 437-439.</ref></blockquote> Since the destruction of the Temple, this offering is brought in word rather than deed.

One explanation for the Counting of the Omer is that it shows the connection between Passover and Shavuot. The physical freedom that the Israelites achieved at the Exodus from Egypt was only the beginning of a process that climaxed with the spiritual freedom they gained at the giving of the Torah at [[Biblical Mount Sinai|Mount Sinai]]. Another explanation is that the newborn nation which emerged after the Exodus needed time to learn their new responsibilities vis-a-vis Torah and [[mitzvot]] before accepting God's law. The distinction between the Omer offering—a measure of barley, typically animal fodder—and the Shavuot offering—two loaves of wheat bread, human food—symbolizes the transition process.

===Seventh day of Passover===

''Shvi'i shel Pesach'' (שביעי של פסח "seventh [day] of Passover") is another full [[Jewish holiday]], with special prayer services and festive meals. Outside the [[Land of Israel]] in the [[Jewish diaspora]], ''Shvi'i shel Pesach'' is celebrated on both the seventh and eighth days of Passover. This holiday commemorates the day the [[Children of Israel]] reached the [[Red Sea]] and witnessed both the miraculous "Splitting of the Sea," the drowning of all the Egyptian chariots, horses and soldiers that pursued them, and the [[Passage of the Red Sea]]. According to the [[Midrash]], only [[Pharaoh]] was spared to give testimony to the miracle that occurred.

[[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] [[Rebbe]]s traditionally hold a ''[[Tish (Hasidic celebration)|tish]]'' on the night of ''Shvi'i shel Pesach'' and place a cup or bowl of water on the table before them. They use this opportunity to speak about the Splitting of the Sea to their disciples, and sing songs of praise to God.

=== Second Passover ===
{{main|Pesach Sheni}}
The "Second Passover" (''Pesach Sheni'') on the 14th of Iyar in the [[Hebrew Calendar]] is mentioned in the [[Hebrew Bible]] ([[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 9:6-13) as a make-up day for people who were unable to offer the pesach sacrifice at the appropriate time due to ritual impurity or distance from [[Jerusalem]]. Just as on the first Pesach night, breaking bones from the second Paschal offering (Numbers 9:12) or leaving meat over until morning (Numbers 9:12) were prohibited.

Today, Pesach Sheni on the 14th of Iyar has the status of a very minor holiday (so much so that many of the Jewish people have never even heard of it, and it essentially does not exist outside of [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] and traditional [[Conservative Judaism]]). There are not really any special prayers or observances that are considered Jewish law. The only change in the liturgy is that in some communities ''[[Tachanun]]'', a penitential prayer omitted on holidays, is not said. There is a custom, though not Jewish law, to eat just one piece of Matzah on that night.<ref>[http://www.torah.org/learning/yomtov/omer/5755/vol1no21.html Pesach Sheini]</ref>

==Influence in other religions==
According to Sunni [[Muslim]] tradition the fast of [[Ashura]] commemorates the [[The Exodus|liberation of Israelites from Egypt]]. It takes place on the [[10th]] day of [[Muharram]] in the [[Islamic Calendar]]. The start date of the actual fast varies from the [[9th]] of [[Muharram]] to the [[10th]], or from the [[10th]] to the [[11th]].

The [[Christian]] holiday of [[Easter]] is related to Passover. The holy day is actually called "Passover" (or a derivative) in most languages other than English, and its central theme is that Christ was the paschal lamb in human form.( {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|5:7-8|KJV}}) Additionally, the Synoptic Gospels relate that [[Christ]]'s [[Last Supper]] was a Passover ''seder''. ({{bibleverse||Luke|22:15-16|KJV}})

With a few sectarian exceptions, the date of Easter was always determined by taking into account the same lunisolar cycles that of the Hebrew calendar. Since the 4th-5th centuries CE, the most approved method has used a 19-year cycle of lunar months to set Easter to the first Sunday following the first full moon falling on or after the spring equinox, the full moon being reckoned functionally as the 14th of the lunar month, and the equinox being reckoned functionally as March 21. Because of the drift of the seasons and lunations under the [[Julian calendar]], over the centuries the Easter cycle fell out of synchronization with the sun and moon. But the [[Gregorian calendar|Gregorian reforms]] restored the equinox to March 21 and corrected the tabulated lunar cycles, so that the Gregorian calendar's Easter is almost always the same as would be computed by more precise astronomical computations. Gregorian Easter usually falls up to seven days after Passover, but in years 8, 11, and 19 of the Hebrew calendar's 19-year cycle, (corresponding respectively to years 11, and 14, and 3 of the Christian 19-year cycle) Passover falls about a month after Gregorian Easter. The Gregorian calendar, though it too uses the Metonic cycle, adjusts its intercalations to keep Easter close to the vernal equinox. Similarly, because the solar year of the Julian calendar is too long compared to the spring equinox year, Orthodox Easter occurs about a month after Gregorian Easter in years 3, 8, 11, 14 and 19 of the Christian 19-year cycle. Three of these years (3, 11, and 14) correspond to years in which Passover is about a month after Gregorian Easter. So in these years (years 19, 8, and 11 of the Hebrew calendar's cycle) Passover will occur in the same lunation as Julian (Eastern Orthodox) Easter. However, because the Julian calendar's tabulated lunar months are now 3 to 5 days behind the astronomical facts, Passover even in these years will always precede Orthodox Easter. In years 8 and 19 of the Christian cycle (corresponding to years 5 and 16 of the Hebrew calendar's cycle), Passover and Gregorian Easter will be in the same lunation, and Julian Easter will be a lunation later. This state of affairs will continue until 2199, after which the Gregorian epacts will shift. Beginning in 2200, Passover will be a month after Gregorian Easter in four years out of nineteen - in years 3, 8, 11, and 19 of the Jewish cycle (corresponding respectively to years 6, 11, 14, and 3 of the Gregorian cycle).

Jehovah's Witnesses are one of a few (usually) Western churches that do not observe Easter but, instead, observe only the [[Last Supper]] on the first evening of Passover; they do not necessarily use the same date as the modern Jewish calendar, but it sometimes corresponds with the same full moon as the festival of [[Purim]].<ref>Passover. Louis Jacobs, Ernst Kutsch, Rela M. Geffen, and Abram Kanof. Encyclopaedia Judaica. Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. Vol. 15. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. p678-683.</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Passover Seder]]
* [[Passover Seder Plate]]
* [[Kitniyot]]
* [[Fast of the Firstborn]]
* [[Haggadah of Pesach]]
* [[Passover (Christian holiday)]]

== Footnotes ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== External links ==
{{commonscat|Passover}}
*[http://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/default.asp Complete Guide to Passover] by [[Chabad.org]]
*[http://www.aish.com/holidays/passover/default.asp Complete Guide to Passover] by [[Aish HaTorah]]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=103|type=Shiurim}}
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/eng/default.aspx?cat=126|type=Q&A}}

*{{CathEncy|wstitle=Pasch or Passover}}

 
{{Passover Footer}}
{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}
{{Time in religion and mythology}}


[[Category:Passover| ]]
[[Category:Jewish holy days]]
[[Category:Spring holidays]]



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Hanukkah

2008-11-27T11:51:18Z

Dbratton: Undid revision 254355556 by 74.74.112.106 (talk)

{{for|the Khazar ruler|Hanukkah ben Obadiah}}
{{distinguish|Hanneke}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image =
|caption = Several Menorot on the eighth night of the festival.
|holiday_name = Hanukkah
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''חֲנֻכָּה''' or '''חנוכה''' [[English language|English]] translation: "Establishing/Dedication" (of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]])
|nickname = Festival of Lights, Festival of Dedication
|observedby = [[Jew]]s
|begins = 25 [[Kislev]]
|ends = 2 [[Tevet]] or 3 [[Tevet]]
|celebrations = Lighting [[candle]]s each night. Singing special songs, such as [[Ma'oz Tzur]]. Reciting [[Hallel]] prayer. Eating festive meals and foods fried in oil, such as [[latke]]s and [[sufganiyot]]. Playing the ''[[Hanukkah#Dreidel|dreidel]]'' game, and giving [[Hanukkah#Hanukkah gelt|Hanukkah ''gelt'']]
|type = Jewish
|significance = The [[Maccabees]] successfully rebelled against [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]]. The Temple was purified and the wicks of the menorah miraculously burned for eight days.
|relatedto = [[Purim]], as a [[rabbi]]nically decreed holiday.
|date2008 = sunset, [[December 21]] to sunset, [[December 29]] The first Day of Hanukkah is December 22.
|date2009 = sunset, [[December 11]] to sunset, [[December 19]]
|date2010 = sunset, [[December 1]] to sunset, [[December 9]]
}}
[[Image:Skulen2.JPG|thumb|Grand Rabbi [[Israel Abraham Portugal]] of [[Skulen (Hasidic dynasty)|Skulen]] [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]] lighting Hanukkah lights]]

'''Hanukkah''' ({{lang-he|חנוכה}}, alt. '''Chanukah'''), also known as the '''Festival of Lights''', is an eight-day [[Jewish holiday]] commemorating the rededication of the [[Second Temple]] in [[Jerusalem]] at the time of the [[Maccabean Revolt]] of the [[2nd century BCE]]. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of [[Kislev]] according to the [[Hebrew calendar]], and may occur from late November to late December on the [[Gregorian calendar]].

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a special [[candelabrum]], the ''[[Menorah (Hanukkah)|Menorah]]'' or ''Hanukiah'', one light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a ''[[Shamash#Shamash in Judaism|shamash]]'', ([[Hebrew (language)|Hebrew]]: "guard" or "servant") is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the [[Talmud]] (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. (The shamash is used to light the other lights.)

Hanukkah is mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] or [[Biblical apocrypha|apocrypha books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

==Origins of the holiday==
"Hanukkah," from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", marks the re-dedication of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] after its desecration by the forces of [[Antiochus IV]] and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil." According to the [[Talmud]], at the re-dedication following the victory of the [[Maccabees]] over the [[Seleucid Empire]], there was only enough consecrated [[olive oil]] to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

The martyrdom of Hannah and her seven sons has also been linked to Hanukkah. According to the Talmudic story<ref>Talmud Gittin 57b tells a story of a woman and her seven sons killed by "Caesar". The name "Hannah" is not stated.</ref> and [[2 Maccabees]], a Jewish woman named Hannah and her seven sons were tortured and executed by [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes|Antiochus]] for refusing to worship an idol, which would have been a violation of [[613 Mitzvot|Jewish law]].

===Name===
The name "Hanukkah" is interpreted in many ways.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://innernet.org.il/article.php?aid=11|title=Origin of the Name Chanukah|first=Nosson|last=Scherman|publisher=ArtScroll}}</ref>
*Some scholars say the word was derived from the Hebrew verb "חנך" meaning "to dedicate" or to "educate." On Hanukkah, Jews mark the rededication of the House of the Lord.<ref>[[Maharsha]] on [[Talmud]] [[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]] 21b</ref>

*Others argue that the name can be broken down into "חנו", from the Hebrew word for encampment, and the Hebrew letters כ"ה, which stand for the 25th day of Kislev, the day on which the holiday begins: Hence, the Jews sat in their camp, that is, they rested fighting, on the 25th day of Kislev.<ref>[[Nissim of Gerona|Ran]] on [[Isaac Alfasi|Rif]] 9b</ref>

*Hanukkah is also the Hebrew [[acronym]] for "ח' נרות והלכה כבית הלל" meaning "eight candles as determined by [[Hillel the Elder|House of Hillel]]" This is a reference to the disagreement between two rabbinical schools of thought - Hillel and the [[Shammai|House of Shammai]] - on the proper way to light Hanukkah candles. Shammai said that eight candles should be lit from the start, and reduced by one candle every night, whereas Hillel argued in favor of starting with one candle and lighting an additional one every night. Jewish law adopted the position of Hillel.

== Historical sources ==
=== In the Talmud ===
The miracle of Hanukkah is described in the [[Talmud]]. The [[Gemara]], in tractate ''Shabbat 21b'' focuses on [[Shabbat]] candles and moves to Hanukkah candles and says that after the forces of Antiochus IV had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was still [[seal (device)|seal]]ed by the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, and miraculously, that oil burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready).

The Talmud presents three options:
#The law requires only one light each night per household,
#A better practice is to light one light each night for each member of the household
#The most preferred practise is to vary the number of lights each night.
There was a dispute among the sages over how the last option was to be performed: either display eight lamps on the first night of the festival, and reduce the number on each successive night; or begin with one lamp the first night, increasing the number till the eighth night. The followers of [[Shammai]] favored the former custom; the followers of [[Hillel the Elder|Hillel]] advocated the latter. As is the case in most such disputes, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] followed Hillel. Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one's door or in the window closest to the street. [[Rashi]], in a note to ''Shabbat 21b,'' says their purpose is to publicize the miracle. Hanukkah is also mentioned in the (older) [[Mishnah]] (TB [[Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah]] 30b).

===In the Septuagint and other sources===
The story of Hanukkah is alluded to in the book of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]] of the [[Septuagint]] but Hanukkah is not specially mentioned; rather, a story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 ''et seq'' according to which the relighting of the altar fire by [[Nehemiah]] was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabeus.

The Books of Maccabees are not part of the [[Tanakh]] ([[Hebrew Bible]]), but are part of [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] historical and religious material preserved in the [[Septuagint]]. The Tanakh ends with the consequences following the events of [[Purim]], and had already been codified many centuries earlier by the [[Great Assembly|Men of the Great Assembly]] (''Anshei Knesset HaGedolah'').

Another source is the [[Megillat Antiochus]]. This work (also known as "Megillat HaHasmonaim", or "Megillat Hanukkah") is in both [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]; the Hebrew version is a literal translation from the Aramaic original. Recent scholarship dates it to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th Centuries, probably in the 2nd Century,<ref>{{cite web|first=Benjamin|last=Zvieli|title=The Scroll of Antiochus|url= http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html| accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> with the Hebrew dating to the seventh century.<ref name = "pvgsyw"> [http://customerservant.com/2006/12/16/the-scroll-of-the-hasmoneans/ The Scroll Of The Hasmoneans] </ref> It was published for the first time in [[Mantua]] in 1557. [[Saadia Gaon]], who translated it into [[Arabic language| Arabic]] in the 9th Century, ascribed it to the Maccabees themselves, disputed by some, since it gives dates as so many years before the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE.<ref> [http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html The Scroll of Antiochus] </ref> The Hebrew text with an English translation can be found in the [[Siddur]] of [[Philip Birnbaum]].

== The story ==
{{see also|Hasmonean}}
Around 200 BCE Jews lived as an autonomous people in the [[Land of Israel]], also referred to as [[Judea]], which at that time was controlled by the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] [[Seleucid dynasty|king of Syria]]. The Jewish people paid taxes to Syria and accepted its legal authority, and they were free to follow their own faith, maintain their own jobs, and engage in trade.

By 175 BCE [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]] ascended to the Seleucid throne. At first little changed, but under his reign, the Temple in [[Jerusalem]] was looted, Jews were massacred, and [[Judaism]] was effectively outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple.

Many modern scholars argue that the king may have been intervening in an internal civil war between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized elite Jews in Jerusalem. These competed violently over who would be the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like [[Onias III|Onias]] overthrown by Hellenizers with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus. As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times, banned the traditional religion of a whole people.<ref>Tchrikover, Victor. ''Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews''.</ref>

Antiochus' actions proved to be a major miscalculation as they provoked a large-scale revolt. [[Mattathias]], a [[Kohen|Jewish priest]], and his five sons Jochanan, [[Simon Maccabaeus|Simeon]], [[Eleazar Maccabeus|Eleazar]], [[Jonathan Maccabaeus|Jonathan]], and [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] led a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated.
The festival of Hanukkah was instituted by [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah Maccabee]] and his brothers to celebrate this event.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#59 1 Macc. iv. 59]</ref> After recovering Jerusalem and the Temple, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. But 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 by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

[[Image:Hanukkah2.jpg|thumb|right|Hanukkah lamp unearthed near [[Jerusalem]], c. 1900.]]
The version of the story in 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, states that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was proclaimed upon rededication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of the oil.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#36 1 Macc. iv. 36]</ref> A number of historians believe that the reason for the eight day celebration was that the first Hanukkah was in effect a belated celebration of the festivals of [[Sukkot]] and [[Shemini Atzeret]].<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA10.HTM#6 Macc. x. 6] and [http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA1.HTM#9 i. 9]</ref> During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret properly; the combined festivals also last eight days, and the Sukkot festivities featured the lighting of lamps in the Temple (Suk.v. 2-4). The historian [[Josephus]]<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+12.287]
''Jewish Antiquities'' xii. 7, § 7, #323</ref> mentions the eight-day festival and its customs, but does not tell us the origin of the eight day lighting custom. Given that his audience was Hellenized Romans, perhaps his silence on the origin of the eight-day custom is due to its miraculous nature. In any event, he does report that lights were kindled in the household and the popular name of the festival was, therefore the "Festival of Lights" ("And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights").

It has also been noted that the number eight has special significance in Jewish theology, as representing transcendence and the Jewish People's special role in human history. Seven is the number of days of creation, that is, of completion of the material cosmos, and also of the classical planets. Eight, being one step beyond seven, represents the Infinite. Hence, the Eighth Day of the Assembly festival, mentioned above, is according to Jewish Law a festival for Jews only (unlike Sukkot, when all peoples were welcome in Jerusalem). Similarly, the rite of [[brit milah]] (circumcision), which brings a Jewish male into God's Covenant, is performed on the eighth day. Hence, Hanukkah's eight days (in celebration of monotheistic morality's victory over Hellenistic humanism) have great symbolic importance for practicing Jews.

==Hanukkah rituals==
[[Image:Hanukkah1.jpg|thumb|right|Various menorot used for Hanukkah. 12th through 19th century, CE]]

Hanukkah is celebrated by a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the 8-day holiday. Some are family-based and others are communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals. Hanukkah is not a "Sabbath-like" holiday, and there is no obligation to refrain from [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|activities that are forbidden on the Sabbath]], as specified in the ''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]''<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 670:1</ref> People go to work as usual, but may leave early in order to be home to kindle the lights at nightfall. There is no religious reason for schools to be closed, although, in Israel, schools close for the whole week of Hanukkah. Many families exchange gifts each night, and fried foods are eaten.

===Kindling the Hanukkah lights===
:{{seealso|Chanukkiyah}}
The primary ritual, according to [[Halakha|Jewish law and custom]], is to light a single light each night for eight nights. As a universally practiced "beautification" of the [[mitzvah]], the number of lights lit is increased by one each night.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 671:2</ref> An extra light called a ''shamash'', meaning ''guard'' or ''servant'' is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. This differs from [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] candles which are meant to be used for illumination. Hence, if one were to need extra illumination on Hanukkah, the ''shamash'' candle would be available and one would avoid using the prohibited lights. Some light the ''shamash'' candle first and then use it to light the others.<ref name = "lonorw">''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 673:1</ref> So all together, including the ''shamash'', two lights are lit on the first night, three on the second and so on, ending with nine on the last night, for a total of 44.

[[Image:Tiffany glasswork Hanukkah menora02.jpg|thumb|A modern [[Lead came and copper foil glasswork|"Tiffany"]] Hanukkah menorah]]
The lights can be candles or oil lamps.<ref name = "lonorw"/> Electric lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room. Most Jewish homes have a special [[candelabrum]] or oil lamp holder for Hanukkah, which holds eight lights plus the additional ''shamash'' light.

The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without," so that passers-by should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle. Accordingly lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street. It is customary amongst some Ashkenazim to have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), whereas most Sephardim light one for the whole household. Only when there was danger of [[Anti-Semitism|anti-semitic persecution]] were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the case in [[Iran|Persia]] under the rule of the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]], or in parts of Europe before and during World War II. However, most [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] groups, light lamps near an inside doorway, not necessarily in public view. According to this tradition, the lamps are placed on the opposite side from the ''[[mezuzah]]'', so that when one passes through the door he is surrounded by the holiness of ''mitzvoth''.

[[Image:Maurice Ascalon Menorah Pal-Bell.jpg|thumb|left|Bronze [[Pal-Bell]] oil-burning Hanukkah menorah from Israel circa 1948, by [[Maurice Ascalon]].]]
 
===Time of lighting===
Hanukkah lights should burn for at least one half hour after it gets dark. The custom of the [[Vilna Gaon]] observed by many residents of Jerusalem as the custom of the city, is to light at sundown, although most Hassidim light later, even in Jerusalem. Many Hasidic Rebbes light much later, because they fulfill the obligation of publicizing the miracle by the presence of their Hasidim when they kindle the lights. Inexpensive small wax candles sold for Hanukkah burn for approximately half an hour, so on most days this requirement can be met by lighting the candles when it is dark outside. Friday night presents a problem, however. Since candles may not be lit on the [[Shabbat]] itself, the candles must be lit before sunset. However, they must remain lit until the regular time - thirty minutes after nightfall - and inexpensive Hanukkah candles do not burn long enough to meet the requirement. A simple solution is to use longer candles, or the traditional oil lamps. In keeping with the above-stated prohibition, the Hanukkah menorah is lit first, followed by the Shabbat candles which signify its onset.

=== Blessings over the candles ===
[[Image:Menorah two candles.jpg|thumb|A menorah with two lit candles]]
Typically three blessings (''Brachot'' singular ''Brachah'') are recited during this eight-day festival. On the first night of Hanukkah, Jews recite all three blessings, on all subsequent nights, they recite only the first two.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:1-2</ref> The blessings are said before or after the candles are lit depending on tradition. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle, lamp, or electric) is lit on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first candle and so on, proceeding from right to left each night.

For the full text of the blessings, see [[List of Jewish prayers and blessings#Hanukkah|List of Jewish prayers and blessings: Hanukkah]]

==== ''Hanerot Halalu'' ====
During or after the lights are kindled the hymn ''Hanerot Halalu'' is recited. There are several differing versions - the version presented here is recited in many Ashkenazic communities:<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:4</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan=2 | [[Ashkenazi]]c version:
|-
! Transliteration
! English
|-
| Hanneirot hallalu anachnu madlikin 'al hannissim ve'al hanniflaot 'al hatteshu'ot ve'al hammilchamot she'asita laavoteinu bayyamim haheim, (u)bazzeman hazeh 'al yedei kohanekha hakkedoshim. Vekhol-shemonat yemei Hanukkah hanneirot hallalu kodesh heim, ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtammesh baheim ella lir'otam bilvad kedei lehodot ul'halleil leshimcha haggadol 'al nissekha ve'al nifleotekha ve'al yeshu'otekha
| We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your [[Kohen|holy priests]]. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them except for to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations.
|-
|}

==== ''Maoz Tzur'' ====
{{main|Ma'oz Tzur}}
Each night after the lighting of the candles, while remaining within sight of the candles, Ashkenazim (and, in recent decades, some Sephardim and Mizrahim in Western countries) usually sing the hymn ''Ma'oz Tzur'' written in Medieval [[Germany]]. The song contains six stanzas. The first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation, and the middle four deal with events of persecution in [[Jewish history]], and praises God for survival despite these tragedies ([[the exodus]] from Egypt, the [[Babylonian captivity]], the miracle of the holiday of [[Purim]], and the [[Hasmonean]] victory).

====Other customs====
After lighting the candles and Ma'oz Tzur, singing various other Hanukkah songs is customary in many Jewish homes. Various Hasidic and Sefardic traditions have additional prayers that are recited both before and after lighting the Hanukkah lights. This includes the recitation of many Psalms, most notably Psalms 30, 67, and 91 (many Hasidim recite Psalm 91 seven times after lighting the lamps, as was taught by the [[Baal Shem Tov]]), as well as other prayers and hymns, each congregation according to its own custom. In North America it is common to exchange presents or give children presents at this time.

=== Additions to the daily prayers ===
{{quote box|align=left|width=45%|quote="We thank You also for the miraculous deeds and for the redemption and for the mighty deeds and the saving acts wrought by You, as well as for the wars which You waged for our ancestors in ancient days at this season. In the days of the Hasmonean Mattathias, son of Johanan the high priest, and his sons, when the iniquitous Greco-Syrian kingdom rose up against Your people Israel, to make them forget Your Torah and to turn them away from the ordinances of Your will, then You in your abundant mercy rose up for them in the time of their trouble, pled their cause, executed judgment, avenged their wrong, and delivered the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and insolent ones into the hands of those occupied with Your Torah. Both unto Yourself did you make a great and holy name in Thy world, and unto Your people did You achieve a great deliverance and redemption. Whereupon your children entered the sanctuary of Your house, cleansed Your temple, purified Your sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courts, and appointed these eight days of Hanukkah in order to give thanks and praises unto Your holy name."|source=Translation of ''Al ha-Nissim''}}
An addition is made to the "''hoda'ah''" (thanksgiving) benediction in the [[Amidah]], called ''Al ha-Nissim'' ("On/about the Miracles").<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 682:1</ref> This addition refers to the victory achieved over the Syrians by the Hasmonean Mattathias and his sons.

The same prayer is added to the grace after meals. In addition, the ''[[Hallel]]'' Psalms are sung during each morning service and the ''[[Tachanun]]'' penitential prayers are omitted. The Torah is read every day in the [[synagogue]], the first day beginning from [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 6:22 (According to some customs, Numbers 7:1), and the last day ending with Numbers 8:4.

Since Hanukkah lasts eight days it includes at least one, and sometimes two, [[Shabbat|Jewish Sabbaths]] (Saturdays). The weekly [[Parsha|Torah portion]] for the first Sabbath is almost always ''[[Miketz]]'', telling of [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]]'s dream and his enslavement in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]. The ''[[Haftarah]]'' reading for the first Sabbath Hanukkah is [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]] 2:14-4:7. When there is a second Sabbath on Hanukkah, the ''Haftarah'' reading is from [[I Kings]] 7:40 - 7:50.

The Hanukkah ''menorah'' is also kindled daily in the synagogue, at night with the blessings and in the morning without the blessings. The menorah is not lit on the Sabbath, but rather prior to the beginning of the Sabbath at night and not at all during the day.

During the [[Middle Ages]] "[[Megillat Antiochus]]" was read in the [[Italian Jews#Italian rite Jews|Italian]] [[synagogues]] on Hanukkah just as the [[Book of Esther]] is read on [[Purim]]. It still forms part of the liturgy of the [[Yemenite Jews]].<ref name = "pvgsyw"/>

=== ''Zot Hanukkah'' ===
The last day of Hanukkah is known as ''Zot Hanukkah'', from the verse in the Book of Numbers 7:84 "''Zot Chanukat Hamizbe'ach''" - "This was the dedication of the altar", which is read on this day in the synagogue. According to the teachings of [[Kabbalah]] and [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]], this day is the final "seal" of the High Holiday season of [[Yom Kippur]], and is considered a time to repent out of love for God. In this spirit, many Hasidic Jews wish each other "''Gmar chatimah tovah''", "may you be sealed totally for good", a traditional greeting for the Yom Kippur season. It is taught in Hasidic and Kabbalistic literature that this day is particularly auspicious for the fulfillment of prayers.

==Judith and Holofernes==
[[Image:Cristofano Allori 002.jpg|thumb|left|''Judith with the head of Holofernes'' by Cristofano Allori]]

Eating dairy foods, especially cheese, on Hanukkah is a minor custom that has its roots in the story of Judith, as related in the book of [[Judith]] (''Yehudit'' or ''Yehudis'' in Hebrew). [[Holofernes]], an Assyrian general, had surrounded the village of Bethulia as part of his campaign to conquer Judea. After intense fighting, the water supply of the Jews is cut off and the situation became desperate. Judith, a pious widow, told the city leaders that she had a plan to save the city. Judith went to the Assyrian camps and pretended to surrender. She met Holofernes, who was smitten by her beauty. She went back to his tent with him, where she plied him with cheese and wine. When he fell into a drunken sleep, Judith beheaded him and escaped from the camp, taking the severed head with her. When Holofernes' soldiers found his corpse, they were overcome with fear; the Jews, on the other hand, were emboldened, and launched a successful counterattack. The town was saved, and the Assyrians defeated.

Many argue {{who}} that Holofernes was actually Greek, placing the events in the general time-frame of Hanukkah. The longstanding tradition that Judith was the daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, and consequently a sister of Mattathias the Hasmonean and an aunt of Judah the Maccabee, is how this story came to be associated with Hanukkah. There are many depictions of Judith and Holofernes in painting.

==Interaction with modernity and with other traditions==

The classical rabbis downplayed the military and nationalistic dimensions of Hanukkah, and some even interpreted the emphasis upon the story of the miracle oil as a diversion away from the struggle with empires that had led to the disastrous downfall of Jerusalem to the Romans. With the advent of Zionism and the state of Israel, these themes were rapidly reconsidered. In modern Israel, Hanukkah was transformed into a celebration of military strength, a kind of antidote to what was perceived as the idea of the powerless [[Jewish diaspora|Diaspora Jew]] that the Zionists felt that the Jews in the State of Israel needed to psychologically overcome.

In North America especially, Hanukkah gained increased importance with many Jewish families in the latter half of the twentieth century, including large numbers of [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Jews]], who wanted a Jewish alternative to the [[Christmas]] celebrations that often overlap with Hanukkah. Though it was traditional to give "gelt" or money coins to children during Hanukkah, in many families this has changed into gifts in order to prevent Jewish children from feeling left out of the Christmas gift giving.

While Hanukkah traditionally speaking is only a minor Jewish holiday, as indicated by the lack of restrictions on work other than a few minutes after lighting the candles, Hanukkah has taken a place equal to Passover as a symbol of Jewish identity. Both the Israeli and North American versions of Hanukkah emphasize resistance, focusing on some combination of national liberation and religious freedom as the defining meaning of the holiday.

===Green Hanukkah===

Some Jews in North America and Israel have taken up environmental concerns in relation to Hanukkah's "miracle of the oil", emphasizing reflection on energy conservation and energy independence. An example of this is the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life's renewable energy campaign.<ref>[http://www.shalomctr.org/node/1315 Shalom Center on Hannukah and the environment]</ref> <ref>[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546797524&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Jerusalem Post: Green Hanukkia' campaign sparks ire]</ref> <ref>[http://www.coejl.org/climatechange/CFLceremony.php Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL): Green Hannukah ceremony]</ref>

==Hanukkah music==
{{main|Hanukkah music}}
There are several songs associated with the festival of Hanukkah. The most well known in English-speaking countries include "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" and "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah." In Israel, Hanukkah has become something of a national holiday. A large number of songs have been written on Hanukkah themes, perhaps more so than for any other Jewish holiday. Some of the most well known are "''Hanukkiah Li Yesh''" ("I Have a Hanukkah Menora"), "''Kad Katan''" ("A Small Jug"), "''S'vivon Sov Sov Sov''" ("Dreidel, Spin and Spin"), "''Mi Yimalel''" (Who can Retell") and "''Ner Li, Ner Li''" ("I have a Candle").

==Hanukkah foods==
[[Image:sufganiyah.jpeg|thumb|right|Sufganiyot with jelly]]
[[Potato pancakes]], known as [[latke]]s in [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], are traditionally associated with Hanukkah, especially among Ashkenazi families. There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil (preferably olive oil), as the original miracle of the Hanukkah menorah involved the discovery of the small flask of oil used by the Jewish High Priest, the [[Kohen Gadol]]. This small batch of olive oil was only supposed to last one day, and instead it lasted eight.

Many Sephardic families as well as [[History of Jews in Poland|Polish]] Ashkenazim and [[Israel]] have the custom of eating all kinds of fruit-filled [[doughnut]]s ({{lang-yi|פאנטשקעס ''pontshkes''}}), ([[bimuelos]], or [[sufganiyah|sufganiyot]]) which are [[Frying|deep-fried]] in oil, and of course all Kosher foods.

==Hanukkah games==
===Dreidel===
{{main|Dreidel}}
[[Image:Dreidel 001.jpg|thumb|right|Dreidel]]
The ''dreidel'', or ''sevivon'' in Hebrew, is a four-sided spinning top that children play with on Hanukkah. Each side is imprinted with a Hebrew letter. These letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words, נס גדול היה שם, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''S'''ham''—"A great miracle happened there" (referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Beit Hamikdash]]).

*נ ''([[Nun (letter)|Nun]])''
*ג ''([[Gimel (letter)|Gimel]])''
*ה ''([[He (letter)|Hey]])''
*ש ''([[Shin (letter)|Shin]])''

In [[Israel|Eretz Yisroel]], the fourth side of most dreidels is inscribed with the letter פ ''([[Pe (letter)|Pe]])'', rendering the acronym, נס גדול היה פה, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''P'''o''—"A great miracle happened here" referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel. Some stores in [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] neighbourhoods may sell the traditional ''Shin'' dreidels.

Some Jewish commentators ascribe symbolic significance to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects the four letters with the four exiles to which the nation of Israel was historically subject—Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome.<ref>[http://www.ohr.org.il/yhiy/article.php/1309 Ohr Somayach :: Chanukah :: The Secret of the Dreidel]</ref>

After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, it is customary in many homes to play the dreidel game: Each player starts out with 10 or 15 coins (real or of chocolate), nuts, raisins, candies or other markers, and places one marker in the "pot." The first player spins the dreidel, and depending on which side the dreidel falls on, either wins a marker from the pot or gives up part of his stash. The code (based on a [[Yiddish Language|Yiddish]] version of the game) is as follows:
*Nun - ''nisht'' - "nothing" - nothing happens and the next player spins
*Gimel - ''gants'' - "all" - the player takes the entire pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtel ayn'' - "put in" - the player puts one marker in the pot

Another version differs:
*Nun - ''nim'' - "take" - the player takes one from the pot
*Gimel - ''gib'' - "give" - the player puts one in the pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtil'' - "still" (as in "stillness") - nothing happens and the next player spins

The game may last until one person has won everything.

Some say the dreidel game is played to commemorate a game devised by the Jews to camouflage the fact that they were [[Torah study|studying Torah]], which was outlawed by Greeks. The Jews would gather in caves to study, posting a lookout to alert the group to the presence of Greek soldiers. If soldiers were spotted, the Jews would hide their scrolls and spin tops, so the Greeks thought they were gambling, not learning.

===Hanukkah ''gelt''===
Hanukkah ''gelt'' ([[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] for "money") is often distributed to children to enhance their enjoyment of the holiday. The amount is usually in small coins, although grandparents or other relatives may give larger sums as an official Hanukkah gift. In Israel, Hanukkah ''gelt'' is known as ''dmei Hanukkah''. Many Hasidic [[Rebbe]]s distribute coins to those who visit them during Hanukkah. Hasidic Jews consider this to be an auspicious blessing from the Rebbe, and a ''[[segulah]]'' for success.

Twentieth-century [[United States|American]] [[chocolatier]]s picked up on the gift/coin concept by creating [[chocolate money|chocolate ''gelt'']].

==Alternative spellings based on transliterating Hebrew letters==
In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], the word Hanukkah is written '''{{lang|he|חנֻכה}}''' or '''{{lang|he|חנוכה}}'''. It is most commonly transliterated to English as ''Chanukah'' or ''Hanukkah'', the latter because the sound represented by "CH" ([{{IPA|/x/}}], as in the [[Scots language|Scottish]] pronunciation of "[[loch]]") essentially does not exist in the modern English language. Furthermore, the letter "[[heth]]" ('''{{lang|he|ח}}'''), which is the first letter in the Hebrew spelling, is pronounced differently in modern Hebrew ([[voiceless velar fricative]]) than in classical Hebrew ([[voiceless pharyngeal fricative]]), and neither of those sounds is unambiguously representable in English spelling. Moreover, the 'kaf' consonant is [[geminate]] in classical (but not modern) Hebrew. Adapting the classical Hebrew pronunciation with the geminate and pharyngeal Ḥeth can lead to the spelling "Hanukkah"; while adapting the modern Hebrew pronunciation with no geminate and velar Ḥeth leads to the spelling "Chanukah". Variations include:
[[Image:Hanukkah.png|right|thumb|Spelling variations are due to transliteration of Hebrew ''Chet Nun Vav Kaf Hey'']]

===Common variants===
* Hanukkah (in North America, Australia - also very common in UK)
* Chanukkah (in the UK, also common in North America)

===YIVO variant===
* Khanike ([[YIVO]] standard [[transliteration]] from the Yiddish and/or Ashkenazic [[pronunciation]] of the Hebrew)

== Background ==
===Chronology===

*198 BCE: Armies of the Seleucid King [[Antiochus III]] (Antiochus the Great) oust [[Ptolemy V Epiphanes|Ptolemy V]] from Judea and Samaria.
*175 BCE: [[Antiochus IV]] (Epiphanes) ascends the Seleucid throne.
*168 BCE: Under the reign of Antiochus IV, the Temple is looted, Jews are massacred, and [[Judaism]] is outlawed.
*167 BCE: Antiochus orders an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. Mattathias, and his five sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah lead a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah becomes known as Judah Maccabe (Judah The Hammer).
*166 BCE: Mattathias dies, and Judah takes his place as leader. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom begins; It lasts until 63 BCE
*165 BCE: The Jewish revolt against the [[Seleucid]] monarchy is successful. The Temple is liberated and rededicated (Hanukkah).
*142 BCE: Establishment of the Second Jewish Commonwealth. The Seleucids recognize Jewish autonomy. The Seleucid kings have a formal overlordship, which the Hasmoneans acknowledged. This inaugurates a period of great geographical expansion, population growth, and religious, cultural and social development.
*139 BCE: The [[Roman Senate]] recognizes Jewish autonomy.
*130 BCE: Antiochus VII besieges [[Jerusalem]], but withdraws.
*131 BCE: Antiochus VII dies. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom throws off Syrian rule completely
*96 BCE: An eight year civil war begins.
*83 BCE: Consolidation of the Kingdom in territory east of the [[Jordan River]].
*63 BCE: The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an end due to rivalry between the brothers [[Aristobulus II]] and [[Hyrcanus II]], both of whom appeal to the [[Roman Republic]] to intervene and settle the power struggle on their behalf. The Roman general [[Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus]] (Pompey the Great) is dispatched to the area. Twelve thousand Jews are massacred as Romans enter Jerusalem. The Priests of the Temple are struck down at the Altar. Rome annexes Judea.

===Battles of the Maccabean revolt===
{{main|Maccabees}}
There were a number of key battles between the Maccabees and the Seleucid Syrian-Greeks:

:''Listed alphabetically'':

*[[Battle of Adasa]] ([[Judas Maccabeus]] leads the Jews to victory against the forces of Nicanor.)
*[[Battle of Beth Horon]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the forces of Seron.)
*[[Battle of Beth-zechariah]] (Elazar the Maccabee is killed in battle. Lysias has success in battle against the Maccabess, but allows them temporary freedom of worship.)
*[[Battle of Beth Zur]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the army of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]], recapturing Jerusalem.)
*[[Dathema]] (A Jewish fortress saved by Judas Maccabeus.)
*[[Battle of Elasa]] (Judas Maccabeus dies in battle against the army of [[Demetrius I Soter|King Demetrius]] and [[Bacchides (general)|Bacchides]]. He is succeeded by [[Jonathan Maccabaeus]] and [[Simon Maccabaeus]] who continue to lead the Jews in battle.)
*[[Battle of Emmaus]] (Judas Maccabeus fights the forces of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]] and [[Gorgias (Syrian general)|Georgias]]).
*[[Battle of Wadi Haramia]].

==When Hanukkah occurs==
{{further|[[Jewish holidays 2000-2050]]}}

The dates of Hanukkah are determined by the [[Hebrew calendar]]. Hanukkah begins at the 25th day of [[Kislev]] and concludes on the 2nd or 3rd day of [[Tevet]] (Kislev can have 29 or 30 days). The Jewish day begins at sunset, whereas the [[Gregorian calendar]] begins the day at midnight. So, the first day of Hanukkah actually begins at sunset of the day immediately before the date noted on Gregorian calendars.

===Hanukkah according to the Gregorian calendar===
Hanukkah begins at sundown on the evening before the date shown.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
*[[December 22]], [[2000]]
*[[December 10]], [[2001]]
*[[November 30]], [[2002]]
*[[December 20]], [[2003]]
*[[December 8]], [[2004]]
*[[December 26]], [[2005]]
*[[December 16]], [[2006]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 5]], [[2007]]
*[[December 22]], [[2008]]
*[[December 12]], [[2009]]
*[[December 2]], [[2010]]
*[[December 21]], [[2011]]
*[[December 9]], [[2012]]
*[[November 28]], [[2013]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 17]], [[2014]]
*[[December 7]], [[2015]]
*[[December 25]], [[2016]]
*[[December 13]], [[2017]]
*[[December 3]], [[2018]]
*[[December 23]], [[2019]]
{{col-end}}

==See also==
{{portalpar|Judaism|Menora.svg}}
*[[Hasmonean]]
*[[Maccabees]]
*[[Jewish holiday]]s
*[[Temple in Jerusalem]]
*''[[County of Allegheny v. ACLU]]'' on the constitutionality of Hanukkah displays on public property in the U.S.
*[[Short-lived recurring characters on Saturday Night Live#Hanukkah Harry|Hanukkah Harry]]
*[[Hanukkah bush]]
*''[[Hanukkah Rocks]]'' - 2005 album by [[The LeeVees]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{commonscat|Hanukkah}}
=== General ===
* [http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default.asp Complete Hanukkah Guide, with how-to's, songs, stories and children's activities on chabad.org]
* [http://www.aish.com/holidays/chanukah/ Chanukah - Aish.com - how to light, stories, children's activities]
* [http://www.midrash.org/halakha/hanukkah.html Midrash Hanukkah with Sephardic traditions and history]
* [http://www.coejl.org/Hanukkah COEJL's "Let there be renewable light" campaign]
* [http://www.oztorah.com/feature/archive/chanukah.php OzTorah - insights on Chanukah]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=77|type=Shiurim}}

=== Songs ===
* [http://judaism.about.com/od/chanukah/a/hanukahanerot.htm Hanerot Hallalu ("These Candles")]
* [http://judaism.about.com/od/chanukah/a/hanukamaoztzur.htm Maoz Tzur ("Rock of Ages")]
* [http://liturgy.exc.com/Songsheets/Hanukah.cgi Hanukkah songsheets]
* [http://www.hebrewsongs.com/chanukah.htm Hanukkah songs]

=== Recipes ===
* [http://www.rd.com/content/cherished-hanukkah-recipes-to-share/ Traditional Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://kosherfood.about.com/od/hanukkah/Hanukkah_Recipes_Kosher_Jewish_Holiday_Food.htm About Kosher Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.wiki-recipe.org/index.php?title=Category:Hanukkah Wiki-Recipe.org Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.hanukkahsite.com/latkerecipes.php The Largest Latke Recipe Database On The Web]

=== Video ===
* [http://www.aish.com/pathways/externallinks/videolink_chanukah.asp Video: Lighting Hanukkah Menorah How-To]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3174713748168758247&q=satmar The Grand Rabbi of Satmar lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5575698843335939574&q=hannukkah The Grand Rabbi of Bobov lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6632688275970858151&q=hanukkah The Grand Rabbi of Bobov leading his Hassidim in the singing of a Hanukkah hymn composed by his father after the Holocaust]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3703256978822489433&q=hanukah The Grand Rabbi of Klausenberg from America lighting the Hannukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6750102222090781896&q=hannukah The Grand Rabbi of Pittsburgh from Ashdod, E. Israel, leading his followers in the celebration of Hannukkah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4852503510504559495&q=hanukah The Grand Rabbi of Nadvorna from Safed, E. Israel, leading his followers in the celebration of Hannukah]

 
{{Hanukkah Footer}}
{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}


[[Category:Hanukkah| ]]
[[Category:Jewish holy days]]



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[[ko:하누카]]
[[hi:हनुका]]
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[[id:Hari raya Pentahbisan]]
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Hanukkah

2008-11-26T18:38:44Z

Dbratton: rv most changes back to eekster

{{for|the Khazar ruler|Hanukkah ben Obadiah}}
{{distinguish|Hanneke}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image =
|caption = Several Menorot on the eighth night of the festival.
|holiday_name = Hanukkah
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''חֲנֻכָּה''' or '''חנוכה''' [[English language|English]] translation: "Establishing/Dedication" (of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]])
|nickname = Festival of Lights, Festival of Dedication
|observedby = [[Jew]]s
|begins = 25 [[Kislev]]
|ends = 2 [[Tevet]] or 3 [[Tevet]]
|celebrations = Lighting [[candle]]s each night. Singing special songs, such as [[Ma'oz Tzur]]. Reciting [[Hallel]] prayer. Eating festive meals and foods fried in oil, such as [[latke]]s and [[sufganiyot]]. Playing the ''[[Hanukkah#Dreidel|dreidel]]'' game, and giving [[Hanukkah#Hanukkah gelt|Hanukkah ''gelt'']]
|type = Jewish
|significance = The [[Maccabees]] successfully rebelled against [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]]. The Temple was purified and the wicks of the menorah miraculously burned for eight days.
|relatedto = [[Purim]], as a [[rabbi]]nically decreed holiday.
|date2008 = sunset, [[December 21]] to sunset, [[December 29]] The first Day of Hanukkah is December 22.
|date2009 = sunset, [[December 11]] to sunset, [[December 19]]
|date2010 = sunset, [[December 1]] to sunset, [[December 9]]
}}
[[Image:Skulen2.JPG|thumb|Grand Rabbi [[Israel Abraham Portugal]] of [[Skulen (Hasidic dynasty)|Skulen]] [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]] lighting Hanukkah lights]]

'''Hanukkah''' ({{lang-he|חנוכה}}, alt. '''Chanukah'''), also known as the '''Festival of Lights''', is an eight-day [[Jewish holiday]] commemorating the rededication of the [[Second Temple]] in [[Jerusalem]] at the time of the [[Maccabean Revolt]] of the [[2nd century BCE]]. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of [[Kislev]] according to the [[Hebrew calendar]], and may occur from late November to late December on the [[Gregorian calendar]].

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a special [[candelabrum]], the ''[[Menorah (Hanukkah)|Menorah]]'' or ''Hanukiah'', one light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a ''[[Shamash#Shamash in Judaism|shamash]]'', ([[Hebrew (language)|Hebrew]]: "guard" or "servant") is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the [[Talmud]] (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. (The shamash is used to light the other lights.)

Hanukkah is mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] or [[Biblical apocrypha|apocrypha books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

==Origins of the holiday==
"Hanukkah," from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", marks the re-dedication of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] after its desecration by the forces of [[Antiochus IV]] and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil." According to the [[Talmud]], at the re-dedication following the victory of the [[Maccabees]] over the [[Seleucid Empire]], there was only enough consecrated [[olive oil]] to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

The martyrdom of Hannah and her seven sons has also been linked to Hanukkah. According to the Talmudic story<ref>Talmud Gittin 57b tells a story of a woman and her seven sons killed by "Caesar". The name "Hannah" is not stated.</ref> and [[2 Maccabees]], a Jewish woman named Hannah and her seven sons were tortured and executed by [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes|Antiochus]] for refusing to worship an idol, which would have been a violation of [[613 Mitzvot|Jewish law]].

===Name===
The name "Hanukkah" is interpreted in many ways.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://innernet.org.il/article.php?aid=11|title=Origin of the Name Chanukah|first=Nosson|last=Scherman|publisher=ArtScroll}}</ref>
*Some scholars say the word was derived from the Hebrew verb "חנך" meaning "to dedicate" or to "educate." On Hanukkah, Jews mark the rededication of the House of the Lord.<ref>[[Maharsha]] on [[Talmud]] [[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]] 21b</ref>

*Others argue that the name can be broken down into "חנו", from the Hebrew word for encampment, and the Hebrew letters כ"ה, which stand for the 25th day of Kislev, the day on which the holiday begins: Hence, the Jews sat in their camp, that is, they rested fighting, on the 25th day of Kislev.<ref>[[Nissim of Gerona|Ran]] on [[Isaac Alfasi|Rif]] 9b</ref>

*Hanukkah is also the Hebrew [[acronym]] for "ח' נרות והלכה כבית הלל" meaning "eight candles as determined by [[Hillel the Elder|House of Hillel]]" This is a reference to the disagreement between two rabbinical schools of thought - Hillel and the [[Shammai|House of Shammai]] - on the proper way to light Hanukkah candles. Shammai said that eight candles should be lit from the start, and reduced by one candle every night, whereas Hillel argued in favor of starting with one candle and lighting an additional one every night. Jewish law adopted the position of Hillel.

== Historical sources ==
=== In the Talmud ===
The miracle of Hanukkah is described in the [[Talmud]]. The [[Gemara]], in tractate ''Shabbat 21b'' focuses on [[Shabbat]] candles and moves to Hanukkah candles and says that after the forces of Antiochus IV had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was still [[seal (device)|seal]]ed by the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, and miraculously, that oil burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready).

The Talmud presents three options:
#The law requires only one light each night per household,
#A better practice is to light one light each night for each member of the household
#The most preferred practise is to vary the number of lights each night.
There was a dispute among the sages over how the last option was to be performed: either display eight lamps on the first night of the festival, and reduce the number on each successive night; or begin with one lamp the first night, increasing the number till the eighth night. The followers of [[Shammai]] favored the former custom; the followers of [[Hillel the Elder|Hillel]] advocated the latter. As is the case in most such disputes, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] followed Hillel. Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one's door or in the window closest to the street. [[Rashi]], in a note to ''Shabbat 21b,'' says their purpose is to publicize the miracle. Hanukkah is also mentioned in the (older) [[Mishnah]] (TB [[Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah]] 30b).

===In the Septuagint and other sources===
The story of Hanukkah is alluded to in the book of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]] of the [[Septuagint]] but Hanukkah is not specially mentioned; rather, a story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 ''et seq'' according to which the relighting of the altar fire by [[Nehemiah]] was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabeus.

The Books of Maccabees are not part of the [[Tanakh]] ([[Hebrew Bible]]), but are part of [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] historical and religious material preserved in the [[Septuagint]]. The Tanakh ends with the consequences following the events of [[Purim]], and had already been codified many centuries earlier by the [[Great Assembly|Men of the Great Assembly]] (''Anshei Knesset HaGedolah'').

Another source is the [[Megillat Antiochus]]. This work (also known as "Megillat HaHasmonaim", or "Megillat Hanukkah") is in both [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]; the Hebrew version is a literal translation from the Aramaic original. Recent scholarship dates it to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th Centuries, probably in the 2nd Century,<ref>{{cite web|first=Benjamin|last=Zvieli|title=The Scroll of Antiochus|url= http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html| accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> with the Hebrew dating to the seventh century.<ref name = "pvgsyw"> [http://customerservant.com/2006/12/16/the-scroll-of-the-hasmoneans/ The Scroll Of The Hasmoneans] </ref> It was published for the first time in [[Mantua]] in 1557. [[Saadia Gaon]], who translated it into [[Arabic language| Arabic]] in the 9th Century, ascribed it to the Maccabees themselves, disputed by some, since it gives dates as so many years before the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE.<ref> [http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html The Scroll of Antiochus] </ref> The Hebrew text with an English translation can be found in the [[Siddur]] of [[Philip Birnbaum]].

== The story ==
{{see also|Hasmonean}}
Around 200 BCE Jews lived as an autonomous people in the [[Land of Israel]], also referred to as [[Judea]], which at that time was controlled by the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] [[Seleucid dynasty|king of Syria]]. The Jewish people paid taxes to Syria and accepted its legal authority, and they were free to follow their own faith, maintain their own jobs, and engage in trade.

By 175 BCE [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]] ascended to the Seleucid throne. At first little changed, but under his reign, the Temple in [[Jerusalem]] was looted, Jews were massacred, and [[Judaism]] was effectively outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple.

Many modern scholars argue that the king may have been intervening in an internal civil war between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized elite Jews in Jerusalem. These competed violently over who would be the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like [[Onias III|Onias]] overthrown by Hellenizers with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus. As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times, banned the traditional religion of a whole people.<ref>Tchrikover, Victor. ''Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews''.</ref>

Antiochus' actions proved to be a major miscalculation as they provoked a large-scale revolt. [[Mattathias]], a [[Kohen|Jewish priest]], and his five sons Jochanan, [[Simon Maccabaeus|Simeon]], [[Eleazar Maccabeus|Eleazar]], [[Jonathan Maccabaeus|Jonathan]], and [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] led a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated.
The festival of Hanukkah was instituted by [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah Maccabee]] and his brothers to celebrate this event.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#59 1 Macc. iv. 59]</ref> After recovering Jerusalem and the Temple, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. But 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 by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

[[Image:Hanukkah2.jpg|thumb|right|Hanukkah lamp unearthed near [[Jerusalem]], c. 1900.]]
The version of the story in 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, states that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was proclaimed upon rededication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of the oil.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#36 1 Macc. iv. 36]</ref> A number of historians believe that the reason for the eight day celebration was that the first Hanukkah was in effect a belated celebration of the festivals of [[Sukkot]] and [[Shemini Atzeret]].<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA10.HTM#6 Macc. x. 6] and [http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA1.HTM#9 i. 9]</ref> During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret properly; the combined festivals also last eight days, and the Sukkot festivities featured the lighting of lamps in the Temple (Suk.v. 2-4). The historian [[Josephus]]<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+12.287]
''Jewish Antiquities'' xii. 7, § 7, #323</ref> mentions the eight-day festival and its customs, but does not tell us the origin of the eight day lighting custom. Given that his audience was Hellenized Romans, perhaps his silence on the origin of the eight-day custom is due to its miraculous nature. In any event, he does report that lights were kindled in the household and the popular name of the festival was, therefore the "Festival of Lights" ("And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights").

It has also been noted that the number eight has special significance in Jewish theology, as representing transcendence and the Jewish People's special role in human history. Seven is the number of days of creation, that is, of completion of the material cosmos, and also of the classical planets. Eight, being one step beyond seven, represents the Infinite. Hence, the Eighth Day of the Assembly festival, mentioned above, is according to Jewish Law a festival for Jews only (unlike Sukkot, when all peoples were welcome in Jerusalem). Similarly, the rite of [[brit milah]] (circumcision), which brings a Jewish male into God's Covenant, is performed on the eighth day. Hence, Hanukkah's eight days (in celebration of monotheistic morality's victory over Hellenistic humanism) have great symbolic importance for practicing Jews.

==Hanukkah rituals==
[[Image:Hanukkah1.jpg|thumb|right|Various menorot used for Hanukkah. 12th through 19th century, CE]]

Hanukkah is celebrated by a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the 8-day holiday. Some are family-based and others are communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals. Hanukkah is not a "Sabbath-like" holiday, and there is no obligation to refrain from [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|activities that are forbidden on the Sabbath]], as specified in the ''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]''<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 670:1</ref> People go to work as usual, but may leave early in order to be home to kindle the lights at nightfall. There is no religious reason for schools to be closed, although, in Israel, schools close for the whole week of Hanukkah. Many families exchange gifts each night, and fried foods are eaten.

===Kindling the Hanukkah lights===
:{{seealso|Chanukkiyah}}
The primary ritual, according to [[Halakha|Jewish law and custom]], is to light a single light each night for eight nights. As a universally practiced "beautification" of the [[mitzvah]], the number of lights lit is increased by one each night.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 671:2</ref> An extra light called a ''shamash'', meaning ''guard'' or ''servant'' is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. This differs from [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] candles which are meant to be used for illumination. Hence, if one were to need extra illumination on Hanukkah, the ''shamash'' candle would be available and one would avoid using the prohibited lights. Some light the ''shamash'' candle first and then use it to light the others.<ref name = "lonorw">''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 673:1</ref> So all together, including the ''shamash'', two lights are lit on the first night, three on the second and so on, ending with nine on the last night, for a total of 44.

[[Image:Tiffany glasswork Hanukkah menora02.jpg|thumb|A modern [[Lead came and copper foil glasswork|"Tiffany"]] Hanukkah menorah]]
The lights can be candles or oil lamps.<ref name = "lonorw"/> Electric lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room. Most Jewish homes have a special [[candelabrum]] or oil lamp holder for Hanukkah, which holds eight lights plus the additional ''shamash'' light.

The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without," so that passers-by should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle. Accordingly lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street. It is customary amongst some Ashkenazim to have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), whereas most Sephardim light one for the whole household. Only when there was danger of [[Anti-Semitism|anti-semitic persecution]] were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the case in [[Iran|Persia]] under the rule of the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]], or in parts of Europe before and during World War II. However, most [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] groups, light lamps near an inside doorway, not necessarily in public view. According to this tradition, the lamps are placed on the opposite side from the ''[[mezuzah]]'', so that when one passes through the door he is surrounded by the holiness of ''mitzvoth''.

[[Image:Maurice Ascalon Menorah Pal-Bell.jpg|thumb|left|Bronze [[Pal-Bell]] oil-burning Hanukkah menorah from Israel circa 1948, by [[Maurice Ascalon]].]]
 
===Time of lighting===
Hanukkah lights should burn for at least one half hour after it gets dark. The custom of the [[Vilna Gaon]] observed by many residents of Jerusalem as the custom of the city, is to light at sundown, although most Hassidim light later, even in Jerusalem. Many Hasidic Rebbes light much later, because they fulfill the obligation of publicizing the miracle by the presence of their Hasidim when they kindle the lights. Inexpensive small wax candles sold for Hanukkah burn for approximately half an hour, so on most days this requirement can be met by lighting the candles when it is dark outside. Friday night presents a problem, however. Since candles may not be lit on the [[Shabbat]] itself, the candles must be lit before sunset. However, they must remain lit until the regular time - thirty minutes after nightfall - and inexpensive Hanukkah candles do not burn long enough to meet the requirement. A simple solution is to use longer candles, or the traditional oil lamps. In keeping with the above-stated prohibition, the Hanukkah menorah is lit first, followed by the Shabbat candles which signify its onset.

=== Blessings over the candles ===
[[Image:Menorah two candles.jpg|thumb|A menorah with two lit candles]]
Typically three blessings (''Brachot'' singular ''Brachah'') are recited during this eight-day festival. On the first night of Hanukkah, Jews recite all three blessings, on all subsequent nights, they recite only the first two.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:1-2</ref> The blessings are said before or after the candles are lit depending on tradition. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle, lamp, or electric) is lit on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first candle and so on, proceeding from right to left each night.

For the full text of the blessings, see [[List of Jewish prayers and blessings#Hanukkah|List of Jewish prayers and blessings: Hanukkah]]

==== ''Hanerot Halalu'' ====
During or after the lights are kindled the hymn ''Hanerot Halalu'' is recited. There are several differing versions - the version presented here is recited in many Ashkenazic communities:<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:4</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan=2 | [[Ashkenazi]]c version:
|-
! Transliteration
! English
|-
| Hanneirot hallalu anachnu madlikin 'al hannissim ve'al hanniflaot 'al hatteshu'ot ve'al hammilchamot she'asita laavoteinu bayyamim haheim, (u)bazzeman hazeh 'al yedei kohanekha hakkedoshim. Vekhol-shemonat yemei Hanukkah hanneirot hallalu kodesh heim, ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtammesh baheim ella lir'otam bilvad kedei lehodot ul'halleil leshimcha haggadol 'al nissekha ve'al nifleotekha ve'al yeshu'otekha
| We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your [[Kohen|holy priests]]. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them except for to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations.
|-
|}

==== ''Maoz Tzur'' ====
{{main|Ma'oz Tzur}}
Each night after the lighting of the candles, while remaining within sight of the candles, Ashkenazim (and, in recent decades, some Sephardim and Mizrahim in Western countries) usually sing the hymn ''Ma'oz Tzur'' written in Medieval [[Germany]]. The song contains six stanzas. The first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation, and the middle four deal with events of persecution in [[Jewish history]], and praises God for survival despite these tragedies ([[the exodus]] from Egypt, the [[Babylonian captivity]], the miracle of the holiday of [[Purim]], and the [[Hasmonean]] victory).

====Other customs====
After lighting the candles and Ma'oz Tzur, singing various other Hanukkah songs is customary in many Jewish homes. Various Hasidic and Sefardic traditions have additional prayers that are recited both before and after lighting the Hanukkah lights. This includes the recitation of many Psalms, most notably Psalms 30, 67, and 91 (many Hasidim recite Psalm 91 seven times after lighting the lamps, as was taught by the [[Baal Shem Tov]]), as well as other prayers and hymns, each congregation according to its own custom. In North America it is common to exchange presents or give children presents at this time.

=== Additions to the daily prayers ===
{{quote box|align=left|width=45%|quote="We thank You also for the miraculous deeds and for the redemption and for the mighty deeds and the saving acts wrought by You, as well as for the wars which You waged for our ancestors in ancient days at this season. In the days of the Hasmonean Mattathias, son of Johanan the high priest, and his sons, when the iniquitous Greco-Syrian kingdom rose up against Your people Israel, to make them forget Your Torah and to turn them away from the ordinances of Your will, then You in your abundant mercy rose up for them in the time of their trouble, pled their cause, executed judgment, avenged their wrong, and delivered the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and insolent ones into the hands of those occupied with Your Torah. Both unto Yourself did you make a great and holy name in Thy world, and unto Your people did You achieve a great deliverance and redemption. Whereupon your children entered the sanctuary of Your house, cleansed Your temple, purified Your sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courts, and appointed these eight days of Hanukkah in order to give thanks and praises unto Your holy name."|source=Translation of ''Al ha-Nissim''}}
An addition is made to the "''hoda'ah''" (thanksgiving) benediction in the [[Amidah]], called ''Al ha-Nissim'' ("On/about the Miracles").<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 682:1</ref> This addition refers to the victory achieved over the Syrians by the Hasmonean Mattathias and his sons.

The same prayer is added to the grace after meals. In addition, the ''[[Hallel]]'' Psalms are sung during each morning service and the ''[[Tachanun]]'' penitential prayers are omitted. The Torah is read every day in the [[synagogue]], the first day beginning from [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 6:22 (According to some customs, Numbers 7:1), and the last day ending with Numbers 8:4.

Since Hanukkah lasts eight days it includes at least one, and sometimes two, [[Shabbat|Jewish Sabbaths]] (Saturdays). The weekly [[Parsha|Torah portion]] for the first Sabbath is almost always ''[[Miketz]]'', telling of [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]]'s dream and his enslavement in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]. The ''[[Haftarah]]'' reading for the first Sabbath Hanukkah is [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]] 2:14-4:7. When there is a second Sabbath on Hanukkah, the ''Haftarah'' reading is from [[I Kings]] 7:40 - 7:50.

The Hanukkah ''menorah'' is also kindled daily in the synagogue, at night with the blessings and in the morning without the blessings. The menorah is not lit on the Sabbath, but rather prior to the beginning of the Sabbath at night and not at all during the day.

During the [[Middle Ages]] "[[Megillat Antiochus]]" was read in the [[Italian Jews#Italian rite Jews|Italian]] [[synagogues]] on Hanukkah just as the [[Book of Esther]] is read on [[Purim]]. It still forms part of the liturgy of the [[Yemenite Jews]].<ref name = "pvgsyw"/>

=== ''Zot Hanukkah'' ===
The last day of Hanukkah is known as ''Zot Hanukkah'', from the verse in the Book of Numbers 7:84 "''Zot Chanukat Hamizbe'ach''" - "This was the dedication of the altar", which is read on this day in the synagogue. According to the teachings of [[Kabbalah]] and [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]], this day is the final "seal" of the High Holiday season of [[Yom Kippur]], and is considered a time to repent out of love for God. In this spirit, many Hasidic Jews wish each other "''Gmar chatimah tovah''", "may you be sealed totally for good", a traditional greeting for the Yom Kippur season. It is taught in Hasidic and Kabbalistic literature that this day is particularly auspicious for the fulfillment of prayers.

==Judith and Holofernes==
[[Image:Cristofano Allori 002.jpg|thumb|left|''Judith with the head of Holofernes'' by Cristofano Allori]]

Eating dairy foods, especially cheese, on Hanukkah is a minor custom that has its roots in the story of Judith, as related in the book of [[Judith]] (''Yehudit'' or ''Yehudis'' in Hebrew). [[Holofernes]], an Assyrian general, had surrounded the village of Bethulia as part of his campaign to conquer Judea. After intense fighting, the water supply of the Jews is cut off and the situation became desperate. Judith, a pious widow, told the city leaders that she had a plan to save the city. Judith went to the Assyrian camps and pretended to surrender. She met Holofernes, who was smitten by her beauty. She went back to his tent with him, where she plied him with cheese and wine. When he fell into a drunken sleep, Judith beheaded him and escaped from the camp, taking the severed head with her. When Holofernes' soldiers found his corpse, they were overcome with fear; the Jews, on the other hand, were emboldened, and launched a successful counterattack. The town was saved, and the Assyrians defeated.

Many argue {{who}} that Holofernes was actually Greek, placing the events in the general time-frame of Hanukkah. The longstanding tradition that Judith was the daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, and consequently a sister of Mattathias the Hasmonean and an aunt of Judah the Maccabee, is how this story came to be associated with Hanukkah. There are many depictions of Judith and Holofernes in painting.

==Interaction with modernity and with other traditions==

The classical rabbis downplayed the military and nationalistic dimensions of Hanukkah, and some even interpreted the emphasis upon the story of the miracle oil as a diversion away from the struggle with empires that had led to the disastrous downfall of Jerusalem to the Romans. With the advent of Zionism and the state of Israel, these themes were rapidly reconsidered. In modern Israel, Hanukkah was transformed into a celebration of military strength, a kind of antidote to what was perceived as the idea of the powerless [[Jewish diaspora|Diaspora Jew]] that the Zionists felt that the Jews in the State of Israel needed to psychologically overcome.

In North America especially, Hanukkah gained increased importance with many Jewish families in the latter half of the twentieth century, including large numbers of [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Jews]], who wanted a Jewish alternative to the [[Christmas]] celebrations that often overlap with Hanukkah. Though it was traditional to give "gelt" or money coins to children during Hanukkah, in many families this has changed into gifts in order to prevent Jewish children from feeling left out of the Christmas gift giving.

While Hanukkah traditionally speaking is only a minor Jewish holiday, as indicated by the lack of restrictions on work other than a few minutes after lighting the candles, Hanukkah has taken a place equal to Passover as a symbol of Jewish identity. Both the Israeli and North American versions of Hanukkah emphasize resistance, focusing on some combination of national liberation and religious freedom as the defining meaning of the holiday.

===Green Hanukkah===

Some Jews in North America and Israel have taken up environmental concerns in relation to Hanukkah's "miracle of the oil", emphasizing reflection on energy conservation and energy independence. An example of this is the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life's renewable energy campaign.<ref>[http://www.shalomctr.org/node/1315 Shalom Center on Hannukah and the environment]</ref> <ref>[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546797524&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Jerusalem Post: Green Hanukkia' campaign sparks ire]</ref> <ref>[http://www.coejl.org/climatechange/CFLceremony.php Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL): Green Hannukah ceremony]</ref>

==Hanukkah music==
{{main|Hanukkah music}}
There are several songs associated with the festival of Hanukkah. The most well known in English-speaking countries include "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" and "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah." In Israel, Hanukkah has become something of a national holiday. A large number of songs have been written on Hanukkah themes, perhaps more so than for any other Jewish holiday. Some of the most well known are "''Hanukkiah Li Yesh''" ("I Have a Hanukkah Menora"), "''Kad Katan''" ("A Small Jug"), "''S'vivon Sov Sov Sov''" ("Dreidel, Spin and Spin"), "''Mi Yimalel''" (Who can Retell") and "''Ner Li, Ner Li''" ("I have a Candle").

==Hanukkah foods==
[[Image:sufganiyah.jpeg|thumb|right|Sufganiyot with jelly]]
[[Potato pancakes]], known as [[latke]]s in [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], are traditionally associated with Hanukkah, especially among Ashkenazi families. There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil (preferably olive oil), as the original miracle of the Hanukkah menorah involved the discovery of the small flask of oil used by the Jewish High Priest, the [[Kohen Gadol]]. This small batch of olive oil was only supposed to last one day, and instead it lasted eight.

Many Sephardic families as well as [[History of Jews in Poland|Polish]] Ashkenazim and [[Israel]] have the custom of eating all kinds of fruit-filled [[doughnut]]s ({{lang-yi|פאנטשקעס ''pontshkes''}}), ([[bimuelos]], or [[sufganiyah|sufganiyot]]) which are [[Frying|deep-fried]] in oil, and of course all Kosher foods.

==Hanukkah games==
===Dreidel===
{{main|Dreidel}}
[[Image:Dreidel 001.jpg|thumb|right|Dreidel]]
The ''dreidel'', or ''sevivon'' in Hebrew, is a four-sided spinning top that children play with on Hanukkah. Each side is imprinted with a Hebrew letter. These letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words, נס גדול היה שם, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''S'''ham''—"A great miracle happened there" (referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Beit Hamikdash]]).

*נ ''([[Nun (letter)|Nun]])''
*ג ''([[Gimel (letter)|Gimel]])''
*ה ''([[He (letter)|Hey]])''
*ש ''([[Shin (letter)|Shin]])''

In [[Israel|Eretz Yisroel]], the fourth side of most dreidels is inscribed with the letter פ ''([[Pe (letter)|Pe]])'', rendering the acronym, נס גדול היה פה, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''P'''o''—"A great miracle happened here" referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel. Some stores in [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] neighbourhoods may sell the traditional ''Shin'' dreidels.

Some Jewish commentators ascribe symbolic significance to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects the four letters with the four exiles to which the nation of Israel was historically subject—Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome.<ref>[http://www.ohr.org.il/yhiy/article.php/1309 Ohr Somayach :: Chanukah :: The Secret of the Dreidel]</ref>

After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, it is customary in many homes to play the dreidel game: Each player starts out with 10 or 15 coins (real or of chocolate), nuts, raisins, candies or other markers, and places one marker in the "pot." The first player spins the dreidel, and depending on which side the dreidel falls on, either wins a marker from the pot or gives up part of his stash. The code (based on a [[Yiddish Language|Yiddish]] version of the game) is as follows:
*Nun - ''nisht'' - "nothing" - nothing happens and the next player spins
*Gimel - ''gants'' - "all" - the player takes the entire pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtel ayn'' - "put in" - the player puts one marker in the pot

Another version differs:
*Nun - ''nim'' - "take" - the player takes one from the pot
*Gimel - ''gib'' - "give" - the player puts one in the pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtil'' - "still" (as in "stillness") - nothing happens and the next player spins

The game may last until one person has won everything.

Some say the dreidel game is played to commemorate a game devised by the Jews to camouflage the fact that they were [[Torah study|studying Torah]], which was outlawed by Greeks. The Jews would gather in caves to study, posting a lookout to alert the group to the presence of Greek soldiers. If soldiers were spotted, the Jews would hide their scrolls and spin tops, so the Greeks thought they were gambling, not learning.

===Hanukkah ''gelt''===
Hanukkah ''gelt'' ([[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] for "money") is often distributed to children to enhance their enjoyment of the holiday. The amount is usually in small coins, although grandparents or other relatives may give larger sums as an official Hanukkah gift. In Israel, Hanukkah ''gelt'' is known as ''dmei Hanukkah''. Many Hasidic [[Rebbe]]s distribute coins to those who visit them during Hanukkah. Hasidic Jews consider this to be an auspicious blessing from the Rebbe, and a ''[[segulah]]'' for success.

Twentieth-century [[United States|American]] [[chocolatier]]s picked up on the gift/coin concept by creating [[chocolate money|chocolate ''gelt'']].

==Alternative spellings based on transliterating Hebrew letters==
In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], the word Hanukkah is written '''{{lang|he|חנֻכה}}''' or '''{{lang|he|חנוכה}}'''. It is most commonly transliterated to English as ''Chanukah'' or ''Hanukkah'', the latter because the sound represented by "CH" ([{{IPA|/x/}}], as in the [[Scots language|Scottish]] pronunciation of "[[loch]]") essentially does not exist in the modern English language. Furthermore, the letter "[[heth]]" ('''{{lang|he|ח}}'''), which is the first letter in the Hebrew spelling, is pronounced differently in modern Hebrew ([[voiceless velar fricative]]) than in classical Hebrew ([[voiceless pharyngeal fricative]]), and neither of those sounds is unambiguously representable in English spelling. Moreover, the 'kaf' consonant is [[geminate]] in classical (but not modern) Hebrew. Adapting the classical Hebrew pronunciation with the geminate and pharyngeal Ḥeth can lead to the spelling "Hanukkah"; while adapting the modern Hebrew pronunciation with no geminate and velar Ḥeth leads to the spelling "Chanukah". Variations include:
[[Image:Hanukkah.png|right|thumb|Spelling variations are due to transliteration of Hebrew ''Chet Nun Vav Kaf Hey'']]

===Common variants===
* Hanukkah (in North America, Australia - also very common in UK)
* Chanukkah (in the UK, also common in North America)

===YIVO variant===
* Khanike ([[YIVO]] standard [[transliteration]] from the Yiddish and/or Ashkenazic [[pronunciation]] of the Hebrew)

== Background ==
===Chronology===

*198 BCE: Armies of the Seleucid King [[Antiochus III]] (Antiochus the Great) oust [[Ptolemy V Epiphanes|Ptolemy V]] from Judea and Samaria.
*175 BCE: [[Antiochus IV]] (Epiphanes) ascends the Seleucid throne.
*168 BCE: Under the reign of Antiochus IV, the Temple is looted, Jews are massacred, and [[Judaism]] is outlawed.
*167 BCE: Antiochus orders an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. Mattathias, and his five sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah lead a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah becomes known as Judah Maccabe (Judah The Hammer).
*166 BCE: Mattathias dies, and Judah takes his place as leader. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom begins; It lasts until 63 BCE
*165 BCE: The Jewish revolt against the [[Seleucid]] monarchy is successful. The Temple is liberated and rededicated (Hanukkah).
*142 BCE: Establishment of the Second Jewish Commonwealth. The Seleucids recognize Jewish autonomy. The Seleucid kings have a formal overlordship, which the Hasmoneans acknowledged. This inaugurates a period of great geographical expansion, population growth, and religious, cultural and social development.
*139 BCE: The [[Roman Senate]] recognizes Jewish autonomy.
*130 BCE: Antiochus VII besieges [[Jerusalem]], but withdraws.
*131 BCE: Antiochus VII dies. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom throws off Syrian rule completely
*96 BCE: An eight year civil war begins.
*83 BCE: Consolidation of the Kingdom in territory east of the [[Jordan River]].
*63 BCE: The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an end due to rivalry between the brothers [[Aristobulus II]] and [[Hyrcanus II]], both of whom appeal to the [[Roman Republic]] to intervene and settle the power struggle on their behalf. The Roman general [[Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus]] (Pompey the Great) is dispatched to the area. Twelve thousand Jews are massacred as Romans enter Jerusalem. The Priests of the Temple are struck down at the Altar. Rome annexes Judea.

===Battles of the Maccabean revolt===
{{main|Maccabees}}
There were a number of key battles between the Maccabees and the Seleucid Syrian-Greeks:

:''Listed alphabetically'':

*[[Battle of Adasa]] ([[Judas Maccabeus]] leads the Jews to victory against the forces of Nicanor.)
*[[Battle of Beth Horon]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the forces of Seron.)
*[[Battle of Beth-zechariah]] (Elazar the Maccabee is killed in battle. Lysias has success in battle against the Maccabess, but allows them temporary freedom of worship.)
*[[Battle of Beth Zur]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the army of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]], recapturing Jerusalem.)
*[[Dathema]] (A Jewish fortress saved by Judas Maccabeus.)
*[[Battle of Elasa]] (Judas Maccabeus dies in battle against the army of [[Demetrius I Soter|King Demetrius]] and [[Bacchides (general)|Bacchides]]. He is succeeded by [[Jonathan Maccabaeus]] and [[Simon Maccabaeus]] who continue to lead the Jews in battle.)
*[[Battle of Emmaus]] (Judas Maccabeus fights the forces of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]] and [[Gorgias (Syrian general)|Georgias]]).
*[[Battle of Wadi Haramia]].

==When Hanukkah occurs==
{{further|[[Jewish holidays 2000-2050]]}}

The dates of Hanukkah are determined by the [[Hebrew calendar]]. Hanukkah begins at the 25th day of [[Kislev]] and concludes on the 2nd or 3rd day of [[Tevet]] (Kislev can have 29 or 30 days). The Jewish day begins at sunset, whereas the [[Gregorian calendar]] begins the day at midnight. So, the first day of Hanukkah actually begins at sunset of the day immediately before the date noted on Gregorian calendars.

===Hanukkah according to the Gregorian calendar===
Hanukkah begins at sundown on the evening before the date shown.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
*[[December 22]], [[2000]]
*[[December 10]], [[2001]]
*[[November 30]], [[2002]]
*[[December 20]], [[2003]]
*[[December 8]], [[2004]]
*[[December 26]], [[2005]]
*[[December 16]], [[2006]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 5]], [[2007]]
*[[December 22]], [[2008]]
*[[December 12]], [[2009]]
*[[December 2]], [[2010]]
*[[December 21]], [[2011]]
*[[December 9]], [[2012]]
*[[November 28]], [[2013]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 17]], [[2014]]
*[[December 7]], [[2015]]
*[[December 25]], [[2016]]
*[[December 13]], [[2017]]
*[[December 3]], [[2018]]
*[[December 23]], [[2019]]
{{col-end}}

==See also==
{{portalpar|Judaism|Menora.svg}}
*[[Hasmonean]]
*[[Maccabees]]
*[[Jewish holiday]]s
*[[Temple in Jerusalem]]
*''[[County of Allegheny v. ACLU]]'' on the constitutionality of Hanukkah displays on public property in the U.S.
*[[Short-lived recurring characters on Saturday Night Live#Hanukkah Harry|Hanukkah Harry]]
*[[Hanukkah bush]]
*''[[Hanukkah Rocks]]'' - 2005 album by [[The LeeVees]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{commonscat|Hanukkah}}
=== General ===
* [http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default.asp Complete Hanukkah Guide, with how-to's, songs, stories and children's activities on chabad.org]
* [http://www.aish.com/holidays/chanukah/ Chanukah - Aish.com - how to light, stories, children's activities]
* [http://www.midrash.org/halakha/hanukkah.html Midrash Hanukkah with Sephardic traditions and history]
* [http://www.coejl.org/Hanukkah COEJL's "Let there be renewable light" campaign]
* [http://www.oztorah.com/feature/archive/chanukah.php OzTorah - insights on Chanukah]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=77|type=Shiurim}}

=== Songs ===
* [http://judaism.about.com/od/chanukah/a/hanukahanerot.htm Hanerot Hallalu ("These Candles")]
* [http://judaism.about.com/od/chanukah/a/hanukamaoztzur.htm Maoz Tzur ("Rock of Ages")]
* [http://liturgy.exc.com/Songsheets/Hanukah.cgi Hanukkah songsheets]
* [http://www.hebrewsongs.com/chanukah.htm Hanukkah songs]

=== Recipes ===
* [http://www.rd.com/content/cherished-hanukkah-recipes-to-share/ Traditional Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://kosherfood.about.com/od/hanukkah/Hanukkah_Recipes_Kosher_Jewish_Holiday_Food.htm About Kosher Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.wiki-recipe.org/index.php?title=Category:Hanukkah Wiki-Recipe.org Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.hanukkahsite.com/latkerecipes.php The Largest Latke Recipe Database On The Web]

=== Video ===
* [http://www.aish.com/pathways/externallinks/videolink_chanukah.asp Video: Lighting Hanukkah Menorah How-To]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3174713748168758247&q=satmar The Grand Rabbi of Satmar lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5575698843335939574&q=hannukkah The Grand Rabbi of Bobov lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6632688275970858151&q=hanukkah The Grand Rabbi of Bobov leading his Hassidim in the singing of a Hanukkah hymn composed by his father after the Holocaust]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3703256978822489433&q=hanukah The Grand Rabbi of Klausenberg from America lighting the Hannukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6750102222090781896&q=hannukah The Grand Rabbi of Pittsburgh from Ashdod, E. Israel, leading his followers in the celebration of Hannukkah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4852503510504559495&q=hanukah The Grand Rabbi of Nadvorna from Safed, E. Israel, leading his followers in the celebration of Hannukah]

 
{{Hanukkah Footer}}
{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}


[[Category:Hanukkah| ]]
[[Category:Jewish holy days]]



[[ar:حانوكا]]
[[bg:Ханука]]
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[[es:Jánuca]]
[[eo:Ĥanuka]]
[[fa:حنوکا]]
[[fr:Hanoucca]]
[[gl:Hanuka]]
[[ko:하누카]]
[[hi:हनुका]]
[[hr:Hanuka]]
[[id:Hari raya Pentahbisan]]
[[it:Chanukah]]
[[he:חנוכה]]
[[la:Encaenia]]
[[hu:Hanuka]]
[[ms:Hanukkah]]
[[nl:Chanoeka]]
[[ja:ハヌカー]]
[[no:Hanukka]]
[[nn:Hanukká]]
[[oc:Khanuca]]
[[pl:Chanuka]]
[[pt:Chanucá]]
[[ro:Hanuka]]
[[ru:Ханука]]
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[[sr:Ханука]]
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[[sv:Chanukka]]
[[tl:Pista ng Pagtatalaga]]
[[vi:Hanukkah]]
[[tr:Hanuka]]
[[uk:Ханука]]
[[yi:חנוכה]]
[[zh-yue:修殿節]]
[[zh:光明节]]

Bereavement in Judaism

2008-11-26T13:22:11Z

Dbratton: Undid revision 254218619 by Joelgoschalk (talk)

{{Judaism}}
'''Bereavement in Judaism''' ({{Hebrew Name 1|אבלות|aveilut|mourning}}) is a combination of [[minhag]] (traditional custom) and [[mitzvot]] (good deeds or religious obligation) derived from [[Judaism]]'s classical [[Torah]] and [[Rabbinical literature|rabbinic]] texts. The details of observance and practice vary according to each [[Jew]]ish community.

==Upon receiving news of the passing==
Upon receiving the news of the passing, the following blessing is recited:

{{Hebrew paragraph|ברוך אתה [[Tetragrammaton|ה']] [[Elohim|א‑לוהינו]] מלך העולם, דיין האמת.
‏}}

:Transliteration: ''Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha'olam, dayan ha-emet.''

:Translation: "Blessed are You, {{LORD}}, our God, King of the universe, the True Judge."

There is also a custom of rending one's clothes at the moment one hears news of a passing. Orthodox men will cut the lapel of their suit on the left side, over the heart. Non-orthodox practice may be to cut a necktie or to wear a button with a torn black ribbon.

==Chevra kadisha==
{{main|Chevra kadisha}}
The ''chevra kadisha'' (חברה קדישא "holy group") is a Jewish [[burial]] society usually consisting of volunteers, men and women, who prepare the deceased for proper Jewish burial. Their job is to ensure that the body of the deceased is shown proper respect, ritually cleansed and dressed in shrouds.

Many local ''chevra kadishas'' in urban areas are affiliated with local [[synagogue]]s, and they often own their own burial plots in various local cemeteries. Some Jews pay an annual token membership fee to the ''chevra kadisha'' of their choice, so that when the time comes, the society will not only attend to the body of the deceased as befits Jewish law, but will also ensure burial in a plot that it controls at an appropriate nearby [[Jewish cemetery]].

If no [[gravedigger]]s are available, then it is additionally the function of the male society members to ensure that graves are dug. In [[Israel]], members of ''chevra kadishas'' consider it an honor to not only to prepare the body for burial but also to dig the grave for a fellow Jew's body, particularly if the deceased was known to be a righteous person.

Many burial societies hold one or two annual fast days and organize regular study sessions to remain up to date with the relevant articles of Jewish law. In addition, most burial societies also support families during the ''[[Shiva (Judaism)|shiva]]'' (traditional week of mourning) by arranging [[Jewish services|prayer services]], preparing meals, and providing other services for the mourners.

===Preparing the body — Taharah===
There are three major stages to preparing the body for burial: washing (''rechitzah''), ritual purification (''taharah''), and dressing (''halbashah''). The term ''taharah'' is used to refer both to the overall process of burial preparation, and to the specific step of ritual purification.

The general sequence of steps for performing ''taharah'' is as follows. Blessings, prayers, and readings from Torah, [[Psalms]]hia there and other Jewish scripture may be recited at several points:

# The body (''guf'') is uncovered. (It has been covered with a sheet awaiting ''taharah''.)
# The body is washed carefully. As all blood must be buried along with the deceased, any open bleeding is stopped. The body is thoroughly cleaned of dirt, body fluids and solids, and anything else that may be on the skin. All jewelry is removed.
# The body is purified with water, either by immersion in a ''[[mikvah]]'' or by pouring a continuous stream in a prescribed manner.
# The body is dried (according to most customs).
# The body is dressed in traditional burial clothing (''[[tachrichim]]''). A sash (''avnet'') is wrapped around the clothing and tied in the form of the Hebrew letter "shin," representing one of the names of God.
# The coffin (''aron'') (if there is a coffin) is prepared by removing any linings or other embellishments. A sheet (''sovev'') is laid into the coffin. Outside the Land of Israel, if the person wore a prayer shawl (''[[tallit]]'') during their life, one is laid in the coffin for wrapping the body once it is placed there. One of the corner fringes (''[[tzitzit]]'') is removed from the shawl to signify that it will no longer be used for prayer in life.
# The body is then lifted into the coffin and wrapped in the prayer shawl and sheet. Soil from [[Israel]] (''afar''), if available, is placed over various parts of the body and sprinkled in the coffin.
# The coffin is closed.

Once the body is dressed, the [[coffin]] is sealed. Unlike other religions, in Judaism there is no viewing of the body and no "open casket" at the funeral, though the immediate family is allowed a visitation right prior to the coffin being sealed to pay their final respects.
In [[Israel]] caskets are not used at all, with the exception of military and state funerals. The body is carried to the grave wrapped in a ''tallit.''

Once the coffin is closed, the ''chevra'' then asks for forgiveness from the deceased for anything that they may have done to offend them or not show proper respect during the ''taharah''. If the body is not taken immediately for burial, guards or watchers (''shomrim'') sit with the coffin until it is taken for burial. It is traditional to recite [[Psalms]] during this time.

==Funeral service==
In Israel the Jewish funeral service will usually commence at the burial ground. In the [[United States]] and [[Canada]], the funeral service will usually commence at a [[funeral home]] (and occasionally a [[synagogue]] or [[temple]]) for an ordinary Jew, and from there the mourners and their entourage proceed to a Jewish cemetery for the burial. In the case of a more prominent person, such as a well-known communal leader, [[rabbi]], [[rebbe]], or ''[[rosh yeshiva]]'', the entire service with eulogies can be held at the [[synagogue]] or ''[[yeshiva]]'' that the deceased was affiliated with.

===Eulogies===
A ''hesped'' is a [[eulogy]], and it is common that several people speak at the start of the ceremony at the funeral home, as well as prior to burial at the gravesite, though some people specify in their wills that nothing should be said about them. On certain days, such as on ''[[Chol HaMo'ed]]'' ("intermediate days" of [[Jewish holiday]]s), eulogies are forbidden.

==Burial==
''Kevura'', or burial, should take place as soon as possible after death. The ''[[Torah]]'' requires burial as soon as possible, even for executed criminals.<ref>[[Deuteronomy]] 21:23</ref> This means that burial will usually take place on the same day as death, or, if not possible, the next day. Some Reform and other congregations delay burial to allow more time for far flung family to come to the funeral and participate in the other post burial rituals.

This custom may have originated from the fact that [[Israel]] was, and is, a country with a hot climate. In Biblical times, there were few ways of keeping the dead body from [[decomposing]]. Not only would this be generally undesirable, but allowing the dead body of any person to decompose would be showing that person great disrespect. Decomposition would have occurred especially quickly in Israel due to the constant heat. Thus, the custom of burying the body as soon as possible. (Although the practice of [[embalming]] and [[Mummy|mummification]] had advanced to a high level in [[Egypt]], this, too, is considered disrespectful, since it involves a great deal of manipulation and the removal of bodily organs.) In addition, respect for the dead can be seen from many examples in the ''[[Torah]]'' and ''[[Tanakh]]''. For example, one of the last events in the ''Torah'' is the death of [[Moses]] when [[Names of God in Judaism|God himself]] buries him: "[God] buried him in the depression in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor. No man knows the place that he was buried, even to this day." ([[Deuteronomy]] 34:6) <ref>http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=5&CHAPTER=34</ref>

Typically, when the funeral service has ended, the mourners come forward to fill the grave. Symbolically, this gives the mourners closure as they observe the grave being filled in. One custom is for people present at the funeral to take a spade or shovel, held pointing down instead of up, to show the antithesis of [[death]] to [[life]] and that this use of the shovel is different from all other uses, to throw three shovelfuls of dirt into the grave. When someone is finished, they put the shovel back in the ground, rather than handing it to the next person, to avoid passing along their [[grief]] to other mourners.

==Mourning==

===''Keriah'' and ''shiva''===
{{main|Shiva (Judaism)}}

The mourners traditionally make a tear (''keriah'' קריעה) in an outer garment either before the funeral or immediately after it. The tear should be on the left side for a parent (over the heart and clearly visible) and on the right side for brothers, sisters, children and spouses (and does not need to be visible).

If a son or daughter of the deceased needs to change clothes during the ''[[Shiva (Judaism)|shiva]]'' period, he or she must tear the changed clothes. No other family member is required to rend changed clothes during ''[[Shiva (Judaism)|shiva]]''. Neither son nor daughter may ever sew the rent clothes, but any other mourner may mend the clothing 30 days after the burial. [http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=281558]

When they get home, the mourners do not shower or bath for a week, do not wear leather shoes and/or jewelry, men do not shave, and in many communities large wall mirrors in the mourners' home are covered. It is customary for the mourners to sit on low stools or even the floor, symbolic of the emotional reality of being "brought low" by the grief. The meal of consolation ([[Seudah#Seudat Havraah|''seudat havra'ah'']]), the first meal eaten on returning from the funeral, traditionally consists of hard boiled [[egg (food)|eggs]] and other round or oblong foods. This is often credited to the Biblical story of [[Jacob]] purchasing the birthright from [[Esau]] with stewed [[lentils]]; it is traditionally stated that Jacob was cooking the [[lentils]] soon after the death of his grandfather, [[Abraham]].

During this time distant family and friends come to visit or call the mourners to comfort them via "''shiva'' calls".

===Commencing and calculating the seven days of mourning===
If the mourner returns from the cemetery after the burial before sundown then the day of the funeral is counted as the first of the seven days of mourning. Mourning generally concludes in the morning of the seventh day. No mourning may occur on [[Shabbat]] (the Jewish Sabbath), nor may the burial take place on Shabbat, but the day of Shabbat does count as one of the seven days. If a [[Jewish holiday]] occurs after the first day, that curtails the mourning period. If the funeral occurs during a festival, the start of the mourning period awaits the end of the festival. Some holidays, such as [[Rosh Hashanah]], cancel the mourning period completely.

==Stages of mourning==
=== ''Aninut'' ===
The first stage of mourning is ''aninut'', or "[intense] mourning." An ''onen'' (a person in ''aninut'') is considered to be in a state of total shock and disorientation. Thus the ''onen'' is exempt from performing [[Mitzvah|mitzvot]] that require action (and attention), such as [[List of Jewish prayers and blessings|praying and reciting blessings]], wearing ''[[tefillin]]'' (phylacteries), in order to be able to tend unhindered to the funeral arrangements.

''Aninut'' lasts until the burial is over, or, if a mourner is unable to attend the funeral, from the moment he is no longer involved with the funeral itself.

=== ''Avelut'' ===
''Aninut'' is immediately followed by ''avelut'' ("mourning"). An ''avel'' ("mourner") does not listen to [[music]] or go to [[concert]]s, and does not attend any joyous events or parties such as [[Jewish view of marriage|marriages]] or [[B'nai Mitzvah|Bar or Bat Mitzvahs]], unless absolutely necessary. (If the date for such an event has already been set prior to the death, it is strictly forbidden for it to be postponed or canceled.)

''Avelut'' consists of three distinct periods.

==== ''Shiva'' – Seven days ====
{{main|Shiva (Judaism)}}
The first stage of ''avelut'' is ''shiva'' ({{Hebrew Name 1|שבעה||"seven"|nobold}}), a week-long period of grief and [[mourning]]. Observance of ''shiva'' is referred to by [[Jewish English languages|English-speaking Jews]] as "sitting ''shiva''". During this period, mourners traditionally gather in one home and receive visitors.

It is considered a great ''[[mitzvah]]'' (commandment) of kindness and compassion to pay a home visit to the mourners. Traditionally, no greetings are exchanged and visitors wait for the mourners to initiate conversation. The mourner is under no obligation to engage in conversation and may, in fact, completely ignore his visitors.

There are various customs as to what to say when taking leave of the mourner(s). One of the most common is to say to them:

:''המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שער אבילי ציון וירושלים''

:''Hamakom y'nachem etkhem b'tokh sha'ar avelei tziyon viyrushalayim'':

:"[[Names of God in Judaism|The Omnipresent]] will comfort you (pl.) among the mourners of [[Zion]] and [[Jerusalem]]"

Depending on their community's customs, others may also add such wishes as: "You should have no more ''tza'ar'' ('pain')" or "You should have only ''simchas'' ('celebrations')" or "we should hear only good news (''besorot tovot'') from each other" or "I wish you long life".

Traditionally, [[Jewish services|prayer services]] are organised in the house of mourning. It is customary for the family to lead the services themselves.

==== ''Shloshim'' – Thirty days ====
The thirty-day period following the death (including ''shiva'') is known as ''shloshim'' ({{Hebrew Name 1|שלושים||"thirty"|nobold}}). During ''shloshim'', a mourner is forbidden to marry or to attend a ''[[seudat mitzvah]]'' ("religious festive meal"). Men do not shave or get haircuts during this time.

Since Judaism teaches that a deceased person can still benefit from the merit of ''[[Mitzvah|mitzvot]]'' (deeds commanded by God) done in their memory, it is considered a special privilege to bring merit to the departed by [[Torah study|learning Torah]] in their name. A popular custom is to coordinate a group of people who will jointly study the complete [[Mishnah]] during the ''shloshim'' period.

==== ''Shneim asar chodesh'' – Twelve months ====
Those mourning a parent additionally observe a twelve-month period ({{Hebrew Name 1|שנים עשר חודש|shneim asar chodesh|"twelve months"|nobold}}), counted from the day of death. During this period, most activity returns to normal, although the mourners continue to recite the mourner's [[kaddish]] as part of synagogue services for eleven months, and there remain restrictions on attending festive occasions and large gatherings, especially where live music is played.

==''Matzevah'' (Unveiling of the tombstone)==
A [[headstone]] (tombstone) is known as a ''matzevah'' ("monument"). Although there is no Halakhic obligation to hold an unveiling ceremony, the ritual became popular in many communities toward the end of the 19th century. There are varying customs about when it should be placed on the grave. Most communities have an unveiling ceremony a year after the death. Some communities have it earlier, even a week after the burial. In Israel it is done after the "sheloshim", the first thirty days of mourning. There is no restriction about the timing, other than the unveiling cannot be held during certain periods such as [[Passover]] or [[Chol HaMoed|Chol Ha'Moed]].

At the end of the ceremony, a cloth or shroud covering that has been placed on the headstone is removed, customarily by close family members. Services include reading of several psalms (1, 24, 23, 103), Mourners Kaddish (if a [[minyan]] is available), and the prayer "El Malei Rachamim." The service may include a brief eulogy for the deceased.

==Annual remembrances==
===Yahrtzeit, Nahala===
[[Image:Yahrtzeit candle.JPG|thumb|A yahrtzeit candle lit in memory of a loved one on the anniversary of the death]]
''Yahrtzeit'', יאָרצײַט, means ''"Time (of) Year"'' in [[Yiddish]] [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=139&letter=J]. (Alternative spellings include ''yortsayt'' (using the [[YIVO]] standard [[Yiddish orthography]]), ''Yohr Tzeit'', ''yahrzeit,'' and ''yartzeit.'') The word is also used by non-Yiddish-speaking [[Ashkenazi Jews]], and refers to the annual anniversary of the day of death of a relative. Yahrtzeit literally means "time of [one] year".

The commemoration is known in [[Ladino language|Ladino]] as ''nahala''. It is widely observed, and based on the Jewish tradition that mourners are required to commemorate the death of a relative.

Mourners required to fulfill this observance are the children, siblings, spouses and parents of the deceased. The [[minhag|custom]] is first discussed in detail in ''Sefer HaMinhagim'' (pub. 1566) by [[Rabbi]] [[Isaac Tyrnau]].

The ''Yahrtzeit'' falls annually on the Hebrew date of the deceased relative's death according to the [[Hebrew calendar]].

The main ''halakhic'' obligation is to recite the mourner's version of the ''[[Kaddish]]'' prayer three times (evening, morning, and afternoon), and many attend synagogue for the evening, morning, and afternoon services on this day. (During the morning prayer service the mourner's Kaddish is recited at least four times.) As a widely practiced [[Minhag|custom]], mourners also light a special candle that burns for 24 hours, called a "''Yahrzeit'' candle".

Lighting a yahrtzeit candle in memory of a loved one is a ''minhag'' ("custom") that is deeply ingrained in Jewish life honoring the memory and souls of the deceased.

Strict Jewish law requires that one should fast on the day of a parent's Yahrzeit, although this is not required, some people do observe the custom of fasting on the day of the ''Yahrtzeit''. Among many [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] Jews it has become customary to make a [[siyum]] by completing a tractate of [[Talmud]] or a volume of the [[Mishnah]] on the day prior to the ''Yahrtzeit'', in the honor of the deceased. A ''halakha'' requiring a ''siyum'' ("celebratory meal"), upon the completion of such a study, overrides the requirement to fast.

Jewish mourners are required to commemorate the death of a first-relative: mother, father, brother, or sister. The main ''[[Halakha|halakhic]]'' obligation is to recite the mourner's version of the ''[[Kaddish]]'' prayer at least three times, ''Maariv'' at the evening services, ''Shacharit'' at [[Jewish services|morning services]], and ''Mincha'' at the afternoon services.

Many synagogues will have lights on a special memorial plaque on one of the synagogue's walls, with names of synagogue members who have died. Each of these lights will be lit for individuals on their ''Yahrzeit'', and all the lights will be lit for a ''[[Bereavement in Judaism#Yizkor|Yizkor]]'' service. Some synagogues will also turn on all the lights for memorial days, such as ''[[Yom Ha'Shoah]]''.

===Visiting the gravesite===
[[Image:OaklandCemetery-RoobinHeadstone.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Tombstone in the "new Jewish section" of [[Oakland Cemetery (Atlanta, Georgia)|Oakland Cemetery]] in Atlanta, GA.]]
Some have a custom to visit the cemetery on fast days ([[Shulchan Aruch]] Orach Chayim 559:10) and before [[Rosh Hashanah]] and [[Yom Kippur]] (581:4, 605), when possible, and for a ''Yahrzeit.''

Even when visiting Jewish graves of someone that the visitor never knew, he or she may place a small stone at the graveside. This shows that someone visited the graveside, and represents permanence. Leaving flowers is not a traditional Jewish practice. Another reason for leaving stones is tending the grave. In Biblical times, gravestones were not used; graves were marked with mounds of stones, so by placing (or replacing) them, one perpetuated the existence of the site. This was also helpful for [[Kohen|Cohanim]], who needed to avoid spiritual impurity that could be passed on by corpses/graves.<ref>Talmud Bavli, Masechet Moe'ed Katan</ref>

==Memorial through prayer==
===Mourner's Kaddish===
{{main|Kaddish}}
Kaddish Yatom (''[[Hebrew Language|heb.]]'' [[w:he:קדיש יתום|קדיש יתום]] ''lit. "Orphan's Kaddish"'') or the "Mourner's" Kaddish, is said at all [[Jewish services|prayer services]], as well as at funerals and memorials. Customs for reciting the Mourner's Kaddish vary markedly among various communities. In most [[Ashkenazi]] synagogues, particularly [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] ones, it is customary that everyone in the synagogue stands. In [[Sephardi]] synagogues, the custom is that only the mourners themselves stand and chant, while the rest of the congregation sits, chanting only responsively. 

===Yizkor===
''Yizkor'' ("remembrance") prayers are recited by those that have lost either one or both of their parents. There is a custom that those who do not recite the ''Yizkor'' prayers leave the synagogue until the completion of Yizkor; the symbolic reason for this is to respect the life of one's living parents. Some rabbinic authorities regard this custom as a superstition.

The ''Yizkor'' prayers are recited four times a year, and are intended to be recited in a synagogue with a [[minyan]]; if one is unable be with a minyan, one can recite it without one. These four ''Yizkor'' services are held on [[Yom Kippur]], [[Shmini Atzeret]], on the eighth day of [[Passover]] in most of the world (in [[Israel]] on the seventh), and on the second day of [[Shavuot]] (in Israel on the only day of Shavuot). In the ''Yizkor'' prayers God is asked to remember and grant [[wiktionary:repose|repose]] to the souls of the departed.

In [[Sephardic Judaism|Sephardic]] custom there is no Yizkor prayer, but ''Hashkabóth'' are recited on [[Yom Kippur]] for all members of the community who have died during the last year. A person called up to the Torah may also request the reader to recite ''Hashkabah'' for his deceased parents.

===Av HaRachamim===
{{main|Av HaRachamim}}
[[Av Harachamim]] is a Jewish memorial prayer that was written in the late 11th or early 12th Century, after the destruction of the Ashkenazi communities around the Rhine River by Christian crusaders during the [[First Crusade]].

==Communal responses to death==
===''Zihui Korbanot Asson'' (ZAKA)===
{{main|ZAKA}}
ZAKA ([[Hebrew language|heb.]] [[w:he:זק"א|זק"א]] ''abbr. for Zihui Korbanot Asson lit. "Identifying Victims of Disaster"'' – [[w:he:חסד של אמת|חסד של אמת]] ''Hessed shel Emet lit. "True Kindness"'' – [[w:he:איתור חילוץ והצלה|איתור חילוץ והצלה]]), is a [[community emergency response team]] in the State of [[Israel]], officially recognized by the government. The organization was founded in 1989. Members of ZAKA, most of whom are [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]], assist [[ambulance]] crews, identify the victims of [[Palestinian political violence|terrorism]], road accidents and other disasters and, where necessary, gather body parts and spilled [[blood]] for proper burial. They also provide [[first aid]] and [[rescue]] services, and help with the search for missing persons. In the past they have responded in the aftermath of disasters around the world.

===''Hebrew Free Burial Association'' (HFBA)===
{{main|Hebrew Free Burial Association}}
The Hebrew Free Burial Association is a non-profit agency whose mission is to ensure that all Jews receive a proper Jewish burial, regardless of their financial ability. Since 1888, more than 55,000 Jews have been buried by HFBA in their cemeteries located on [[Staten Island, New York]], Silver Lake Cemetery and Mount Richmond Cemetery.

==Controversy following death==
===Donating organs===
Being an [[organ donor]] is permitted according to all [[Jewish denominations]] once death has been clearly established, provided that instructions have been left in a written [[living will]]. [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] and [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] Jews consult their rabbis before making the final choice and decision. In Israel many traditional Jews have not allowed the harvesting of deceased relatives' organs in the mistaken belief that this is forbidden to Jews. Jewish law does not, however, permit donation of organs that are vital for survival from a donor who is in a near-dead state but not yet declared dead. {{Fact|date=January 2008}}

===Jewish view of cremation===
[[Halakha]] (Jewish law) forbids [[cremation]]. Burial is considered the only proper form of disposal for a Jewish person who has died (and is the only method used in the [[Tanakh]]), and is seen in Judaism as providing a final measure of atonement for the deceased.

From a [[philosophy|philosophical]] and [[ritual]] standpoint, as with a ''[[geneza]]'', Jews bury things as an honorable "[[burial|interment]]," and would only burn things as a means of destruction. Exceptions to this rule exist, particularly among those who adhere to Reform customs.

===Suicide===
:''See the section on Judaism on the main article, [[Religious views of suicide#Judaism|Religious views of suicide]]. ''

Judaism considers [[suicide]] to be a form of "self-[[murder]]" and thus a Jew who commits suicide is denied some important after-death privileges: no eulogies should be held for that person, and burial in the main section of the Jewish cemetery is normally not allowed.

However, in recent times, most people who commit suicide have been deemed to be the unfortunate victims of [[Clinical depression|depression]] or of a serious [[mental illness]]. Under this interpretation, their act of "self-murder" is not deemed to be a voluntary act of self-destruction, but rather the result of an involuntary condition. They have therefore been looked upon as having died of causes beyond their control.

Additionally, the [[Talmud]] (in Semakhot, one of the [[minor tractates]]) recognizes that many elements of the mourning ritual exist as much for the living survivors as for the dead, and that these elements ought to be carried out even in the case of the suicide. Furthermore, if reasonable doubt exists that the death may not have been suicide (e.g. if it is unknown whether the victim fell or jumped off a building), the benefit of the doubt is given and regular burial and mourning rituals take place. Lastly, the suicide of a [[Minor (law)|minor]] is considered a result of a lack of understanding ("da'at"), and in such a case, regular mourning is observed.

===Tattoos===
While [[Halakha]] (Jewish law) forbids [[tattoo]]s, there is a common myth that Jews with tattoos are not permitted to be buried in Jewish cemeteries. This is not true, and a Jew with a tattoo will receive a normal funeral service. <ref>http://ohr.edu/ask_db/ask_main.php/275/Q4/ Ohr Somayach — Ask The Rabbi / Tattoo and Jewish Burial</ref>

===Death of an apostate Jew===
There is no mourning for an [[Jews in apostasy|Apostate Jew]] according to Jewish law. (See that article for a discussion of precisely what actions and motivations render a Jew an "apostate.")

In the past several centuries, the custom developed among [[Ashkenazic]] [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jews]] (including [[Hassidic]] and [[Haredi]] Jews), that the family would "[[Shiva (Judaism)|sit shiva]]" if and when one of their relatives would leave the fold of traditional Judaism. The definition of "leaving the fold" varies within communities; some would sit ''shiva'' if a family member married a non-Jew; others would only sit ''shiva'' if the individual actually converted to another faith, and even then, some would make a distinction between those who chose to do so of their own will, and those who were pressured into conversion. (In [[Sholom Aleichem]]'s [[Tevye]], when the title character's daughter converts to [[Christianity]] to marry a [[Christian]], Tevye sits ''shiva'' for her and generally refers to her as "dead.") At the height of the [[Mitnagdim]] (anti-[[Hassidic]]) movement, in the early-to-mid nineteenth century, some [[Mitnagdim]] even sat ''shiva'' if a family member joined [[Hassidism]]. (It is said that when [[Leibel Eiger]] joined Hassidism, his father, Rabbi [[Shlomo Eiger]] sat ''shiva'', but his grandfather, the famed Rabbi [[Akiva Eiger]], did not.) By the mid-twentieth century, however, [[Hassidism]] was clearly recognized by everyone as a valid form of [[Orthodox Judaism]], and thus the (controversial) practice of sitting ''shiva'' for those who realign to [[Hassidism]] ceased to exist.

Today, some [[Orthodox Jews]], particularly the more traditional ones (such as many [[Haredi]] and [[Hassidic]] communities), continue the practice of sitting ''shiva'' for a family member who has left the religious community. Many centrist and left-wing Orthodox Jews, however, question and may not observe the practice for three reasons. Firstly, declaring the family member "dead" is a very harsh act that could make it much more difficult for the family member to return to traditional practice if/when s/he would consider doing so. Secondly, the definition of actively "leaving the fold" is rather vague today, especially as the majority of [[Jews]] today are not strictly observant [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jews]]. Thirdly, recent scholarship has shown that the source of the original custom, a story published in the twelfth century by Rabbi [[Isaac ben Moses of Vienna]] in ''Or Zarua'' regarding Rabbi [[Gershom ben Judah]], contained a [[typo]] and was thus misunderstood. Rabbi Gershom had a son who had converted to [[Christianity]]. A text that had been read as, "Rabbi Gershom sat ''shiva'' for his son ''when he converted'' [Heb. ''k'she-nishtamed'']", turned out to have been "Rabbi Gershom sat ''shiva'' for his son ''who had converted'' [Heb. ''she-nishtamed'']", when the son actually died years later of natural causes.<ref>Alfred J. Kolatch, ''The Second Jewish Book of Why'', Jonathan David Publishers, 1995, pp. 137–138.</ref>

===Death of an infant===
For a child under the age of 30 days, there is no ''shiva.'' This is because in times past with [[infant mortality]] being what it was, a child under the age of 30 days was not yet considered viable.{{Fact|date=July 2007}}

Stricter communities hold that the child cannot{{Fact|date=July 2007}} be mourned in a traditional manner of sitting ''shiva''. Understandably, this is very difficult for the family (although at the time it was meant to ease the burden on the family), and is not followed by less traditional Jewish sects.

==After death in Judaism==
* Honorifics for the dead in Judaism
{{main|Honorifics for the dead in Judaism}}
* The afterlife according to Judaism
{{main|Jewish eschatology}}
* The final redemption according to Judaism
{{main|Jewish Messiah}}

==Days of remembrance==
* Tisha B'Av
{{main|Tisha B'Av}} (Day of mourning for the destruction of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] and other events.)

* [[Yom Kippur]], [[Shemini Atzeret]], Final day of [[Pesach]], [[Shavuot]]
(the four days on which Yizkor is recited)

* [[Tenth of Tevet]]
{{main|Tisha B'Av}}(a fast day on which it has become a custom for some to say Kaddish for those whose yahrzeits are unknown or died in the Holocaust

* [[Yom HaShoah]]
{{main|Yom HaShoah}} (national day of remembrance in Israel (and by many Jews worldwide) for those murdered in [[the Holocaust]] as well as righteous gentiles)

* [[Yom Hazikaron]]
{{main|Yom Hazikaron}} (national day of remembrance to those who died in service of Israel or killed in terrorist attacks)

==The Holocaust==
{{main|The Holocaust}}
During [[the Holocaust]], massive crematoria were constructed and operated round-the-clock by the [[Nazis]] within their [[concentration camp|concentration]] and [[extermination camp]]s to dispose of the bodies of thousands of Jews and others. The bodies of thousands of Jews were thus disposed of in a manner deeply offensive to Judaism. Since then, cremation has carried an extremely negative connotation for many Jews, even more so than it had previously.

==See also==
*[[Honorifics in Judaism]]
*[[El male rachamim]]

==References==
<div class="references-small"><references/></div>

==External links==
*[http://www.chabad.org/generic_cdo/aid/266275/jewish/Death-Mourning.htm Web portal on Death, Mourning and Hope in Jewish Tradition & Practice]
*[http://judaism.about.com/od/deathandmournin1/ About.com]
*[http://torah.org/qanda/kbdmp.php?rootid=32 Torah.org]
*[http://www.yarzheit.com Yarzheit.com]
*[http://www.aish.com/literacy/lifecycle/The_Stages_of_Jewish_Mourning.asp The Stages of Jewish Mourning]
*[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=972&letter=M Jewish Encyclopedia article on Mourning]
*[http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/281541/jewish/The-Jewish-Way-in-Death-and-Mourning.htm The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning] By Maurice Lamm
*[http://www.mazornet.com/deathandmourning/ Orthodox, Conservative and Reform perspectives] from Mazornet.com
*[http://www.chabad.org/calendar/yahrtzeit.asp?AID=6229 Yahrtzeit Calculator]
{{Yeshiva site |link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/eng/?cat=269|type=Q&A}}

 {{Jewish life}}
{{Jews and Judaism}}



[[Category:Bereavement in Judaism| ]]
[[Category:Death]]


[[cs:Židovský způsob pohřbívání]]
[[fr:Deuil dans le judaïsme]]
[[he:אבלות (יהדות)]]
[[pt:Morte no judaísmo]]

Hanukkah

2008-11-24T23:34:29Z

Dbratton: Undid revision 253886087 by 192.234.141.17 (talk)

{{for|the Khazar ruler|Hanukkah ben Obadiah}}
{{distinguish|Hanneke}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image =
|caption = Several Menorot on the eighth night of the festival.
|holiday_name = Hanukkah
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''חֲנֻכָּה''' or '''חנוכה''' [[English language|English]] translation: "Establishing/Dedication" (of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]])
|nickname = Festival of Lights, Festival of Dedication
|observedby = [[Jew]]s
|begins = 25 [[Kislev]]
|ends = 2 [[Tevet]] or 3 [[Tevet]]
|celebrations = Lighting [[candle]]s each night. Singing special songs, such as [[Ma'oz Tzur]]. Reciting [[Hallel]] prayer. Eating festive meals and foods fried in oil, such as [[latke]]s and [[sufganiyot]]. Playing the ''[[Hanukkah#Dreidel|dreidel]]'' game, and giving [[Hanukkah#Hanukkah gelt|Hanukkah ''gelt'']]
|type = Jewish
|significance = The [[Maccabees]] successfully rebelled against [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]]. The Temple was purified and the wicks of the menorah miraculously burned for eight days.
|relatedto = [[Purim]], as a [[rabbi]]nically decreed holiday.
|date2008 = sunset, [[December 21]] to sunset, [[December 29]] The first Day of Hanukkah is December 22.
|date2009 = sunset, [[December 11]] to sunset, [[December 19]]
|date2010 = sunset, [[December 1]] to sunset, [[December 9]]
}}
[[Image:Skulen2.JPG|thumb|Grand Rabbi [[Israel Abraham Portugal]] of [[Skulen (Hasidic dynasty)|Skulen]] [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]] lighting Hanukkah lights]]

'''Hanukkah''' ({{lang-he|חנוכה}}, alt. '''Chanukah'''), also known as the '''Festival of Lights''', is an eight-day [[Jewish holiday]] commemorating the rededication of the [[Second Temple]] in [[Jerusalem]] at the time of the [[Maccabean Revolt]] of the [[2nd century BCE]]. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of [[Kislev]] according to the [[Hebrew calendar]], and may occur from late November to late December on the [[Gregorian calendar]].

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a special [[candelabrum]], the ''[[Menorah (Hanukkah)|Menorah]]'' or ''Hanukiah'', one light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a ''[[Shamash#Shamash in Judaism|shamash]]'', ([[Hebrew (language)|Hebrew]]: "guard" or "servant") is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the [[Talmud]] (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. (The shamash is used to light the other lights.)

Hanukkah is mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] or [[Biblical apocrypha|apocrypha books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

==Origins of the holiday==
"Hanukkah," from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", marks the re-dedication of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] after its desecration by the forces of [[Antiochus IV]] and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil." According to the [[Talmud]], at the re-dedication following the victory of the [[Maccabees]] over the [[Seleucid Empire]], there was only enough consecrated [[olive oil]] to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

The martyrdom of Hannah and her seven sons has also been linked to Hanukkah. According to the Talmudic story<ref>Talmud Gittin 57b tells a story of a woman and her seven sons killed by "Caesar". The name "Hannah" is not stated.</ref> and [[2 Maccabees]], a Jewish woman named Hannah and her seven sons were tortured and executed by [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes|Antiochus]] for refusing to worship an idol, which would have been a violation of [[613 Mitzvot|Jewish law]].

===Name===
The name "Hanukkah" is interpreted in many ways.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://innernet.org.il/article.php?aid=11|title=Origin of the Name Chanukah|first=Nosson|last=Scherman|publisher=ArtScroll}}</ref>
*Some scholars say the word was derived from the Hebrew verb "חנך" meaning "to dedicate" or to "educate." On Hanukkah, Jews mark the rededication of the House of the Lord.<ref>[[Maharsha]] on [[Talmud]] [[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]] 21b</ref>

*Others argue that the name can be broken down into "חנו", from the Hebrew word for encampment, and the Hebrew letters כ"ה, which stand for the 25th day of Kislev, the day on which the holiday begins: Hence, the Jews sat in their camp, that is, they rested fighting, on the 25th day of Kislev.<ref>[[Nissim of Gerona|Ran]] on [[Isaac Alfasi|Rif]] 9b</ref>

*Hanukkah is also the Hebrew [[acronym]] for "ח' נרות והלכה כבית הלל" meaning "eight candles as determined by [[Hillel the Elder|House of Hillel]]" This is a reference to the disagreement between two rabbinical schools of thought - Hillel and the [[Shammai|House of Shammai]] - on the proper way to light Hanukkah candles. Shammai said that eight candles should be lit from the start, and reduced by one candle every night, whereas Hillel argued in favor of starting with one candle and lighting an additional one every night. Jewish law adopted the position of Hillel.

== Historical sources ==
=== In the Talmud ===
The miracle of Hanukkah is described in the [[Talmud]]. The [[Gemara]], in tractate ''Shabbat 21b'' focuses on [[Shabbat]] candles and moves to Hanukkah candles and says that after the forces of Antiochus IV had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was still [[seal (device)|seal]]ed by the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, and miraculously, that oil burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready).

The Talmud presents three options:
#The law requires only one light each night per household,
#A better practice is to light one light each night for each member of the household
#The most preferred practise is to vary the number of lights each night.
There was a dispute among the sages over how the last option was to be performed: either display eight lamps on the first night of the festival, and reduce the number on each successive night; or begin with one lamp the first night, increasing the number till the eighth night. The followers of [[Shammai]] favored the former custom; the followers of [[Hillel the Elder|Hillel]] advocated the latter. As is the case in most such disputes, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] followed Hillel. Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one's door or in the window closest to the street. [[Rashi]], in a note to ''Shabbat 21b,'' says their purpose is to publicize the miracle. Hanukkah is also mentioned in the (older) [[Mishnah]] (TB [[Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah]] 30b).

===In the Septuagint and other sources===
The story of Hanukkah is alluded to in the book of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]] of the [[Septuagint]] but Hanukkah is not specially mentioned; rather, a story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 ''et seq'' according to which the relighting of the altar fire by [[Nehemiah]] was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabeus.

The Books of Maccabees are not part of the [[Tanakh]] ([[Hebrew Bible]]), but are part of [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] historical and religious material preserved in the [[Septuagint]]. The Tanakh ends with the consequences following the events of [[Purim]], and had already been codified many centuries earlier by the [[Great Assembly|Men of the Great Assembly]] (''Anshei Knesset HaGedolah'').

Another source is the [[Megillat Antiochus]]. This work (also known as "Megillat HaHasmonaim", or "Megillat Hanukkah") is in both [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]; the Hebrew version is a literal translation from the Aramaic original. Recent scholarship dates it to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th Centuries, probably in the 2nd Century,<ref>{{cite web|first=Benjamin|last=Zvieli|title=The Scroll of Antiochus|url= http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html| accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> with the Hebrew dating to the seventh century.<ref name = "pvgsyw"> [http://customerservant.com/2006/12/16/the-scroll-of-the-hasmoneans/ The Scroll Of The Hasmoneans] </ref> It was published for the first time in [[Mantua]] in 1557. [[Saadia Gaon]], who translated it into [[Arabic language| Arabic]] in the 9th Century, ascribed it to the Maccabees themselves, disputed by some, since it gives dates as so many years before the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE.<ref> [http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html The Scroll of Antiochus] </ref> The Hebrew text with an English translation can be found in the [[Siddur]] of [[Philip Birnbaum]].

== The story ==
{{see also|Hasmonean}}
Around 200 BCE Jews lived as an autonomous people in the [[Land of Israel]], also referred to as [[Judea]], which at that time was controlled by the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] [[Seleucid dynasty|king of Syria]]. The Jewish people paid taxes to Syria and accepted its legal authority, and they were free to follow their own faith, maintain their own jobs, and engage in trade.

By 175 BCE [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]] ascended to the Seleucid throne. At first little changed, but under his reign, the Temple in [[Jerusalem]] was looted, Jews were massacred, and [[Judaism]] was effectively outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple.

Many modern scholars argue that the king may have been intervening in an internal civil war between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized elite Jews in Jerusalem. These competed violently over who would be the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like [[Onias III|Onias]] overthrown by Hellenizers with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus. As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times, banned the traditional religion of a whole people.<ref>Tchrikover, Victor. ''Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews''.</ref>

Antiochus' actions proved to be a major miscalculation as they provoked a large-scale revolt. [[Mattathias]], a [[Kohen|Jewish priest]], and his five sons Jochanan, [[Simon Maccabaeus|Simeon]], [[Eleazar Maccabeus|Eleazar]], [[Jonathan Maccabaeus|Jonathan]], and [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] led a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated.
The festival of Hanukkah was instituted by [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah Maccabee]] and his brothers to celebrate this event.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#59 1 Macc. iv. 59]</ref> After recovering Jerusalem and the Temple, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. But 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 by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

[[Image:Hanukkah2.jpg|thumb|right|Hanukkah lamp unearthed near [[Jerusalem]], c. 1900.]]
The version of the story in 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, states that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was proclaimed upon rededication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of the oil.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#36 1 Macc. iv. 36]</ref> A number of historians believe that the reason for the eight day celebration was that the first Hanukkah was in effect a belated celebration of the festivals of [[Sukkot]] and [[Shemini Atzeret]].<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA10.HTM#6 Macc. x. 6] and [http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA1.HTM#9 i. 9]</ref> During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret properly; the combined festivals also last eight days, and the Sukkot festivities featured the lighting of lamps in the Temple (Suk.v. 2-4). The historian [[Josephus]]<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+12.287]
''Jewish Antiquities'' xii. 7, § 7, #323</ref> mentions the eight-day festival and its customs, but does not tell us the origin of the eight day lighting custom. Given that his audience was Hellenized Romans, perhaps his silence on the origin of the eight-day custom is due to its miraculous nature. In any event, he does report that lights were kindled in the household and the popular name of the festival was, therefore the "Festival of Lights" ("And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights").

It has also been noted that the number eight has special significance in Jewish theology, as representing transcendence and the Jewish People's special role in human history. Seven is the number of days of creation, that is, of completion of the material cosmos, and also of the classical planets. Eight, being one step beyond seven, represents the Infinite. Hence, the Eighth Day of the Assembly festival, mentioned above, is according to Jewish Law a festival for Jews only (unlike Sukkot, when all peoples were welcome in Jerusalem). Similarly, the rite of [[brit milah]] (circumcision), which brings a Jewish male into God's Covenant, is performed on the eighth day. Hence, Hanukkah's eight days (in celebration of monotheistic morality's victory over Hellenistic humanism) have great symbolic importance for practicing Jews.

==Hanukkah rituals==
[[Image:Hanukkah1.jpg|thumb|right|Various menorot used for Hanukkah. 12th through 19th century, CE]]

Hanukkah is celebrated by a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the 8-day holiday. Some are family-based and others are communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals. Hanukkah is not a "Sabbath-like" holiday, and there is no obligation to refrain from [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|activities that are forbidden on the Sabbath]], as specified in the ''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]''<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 670:1</ref> People go to work as usual, but may leave early in order to be home to kindle the lights at nightfall. There is no religious reason for schools to be closed, although, in Israel, schools close for the whole week of Hanukkah. Many families exchange gifts each night, and fried foods are eaten.

===Kindling the Hanukkah lights===
:{{seealso|Chanukkiyah}}
The primary ritual, according to [[Halakha|Jewish law and custom]], is to light a single light each night for eight nights. As a universally practiced "beautification" of the [[mitzvah]], the number of lights lit is increased by one each night.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 671:2</ref> An extra light called a ''shamash'', meaning ''guard'' or ''servant'' is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. This differs from [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] candles which are meant to be used for illumination. Hence, if one were to need extra illumination on Hanukkah, the ''shamash'' candle would be available and one would avoid using the prohibited lights. Some light the ''shamash'' candle first and then use it to light the others.<ref name = "lonorw">''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 673:1</ref> So all together, including the ''shamash'', two lights are lit on the first night, three on the second and so on, ending with nine on the last night, for a total of 44.

[[Image:Tiffany glasswork Hanukkah menora02.jpg|thumb|A modern [[Lead came and copper foil glasswork|"Tiffany"]] Hanukkah menorah]]
The lights can be candles or oil lamps.<ref name = "lonorw"/> Electric lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room. Most Jewish homes have a special [[candelabrum]] or oil lamp holder for Hanukkah, which holds eight lights plus the additional ''shamash'' light.

The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without," so that passers-by should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle. Accordingly lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street. It is customary amongst some Ashkenazim to have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), whereas most Sephardim light one for the whole household. Only when there was danger of [[Anti-Semitism|anti-semitic persecution]] were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the case in [[Iran|Persia]] under the rule of the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]], or in parts of Europe before and during World War II. However, most [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] groups, light lamps near an inside doorway, not necessarily in public view. According to this tradition, the lamps are placed on the opposite side from the ''[[mezuzah]]'', so that when one passes through the door he is surrounded by the holiness of ''mitzvoth''.

[[Image:Maurice Ascalon Menorah Pal-Bell.jpg|thumb|left|Bronze [[Pal-Bell]] oil-burning Hanukkah menorah from Israel circa 1948, by [[Maurice Ascalon]].]]
 
===Time of lighting===
Hanukkah lights should burn for at least one half hour after it gets dark. The custom of the [[Vilna Gaon]] observed by many residents of Jerusalem as the custom of the city, is to light at sundown, although most Hassidim light later, even in Jerusalem. Many Hasidic Rebbes light much later, because they fulfill the obligation of publicizing the miracle by the presence of their Hasidim when they kindle the lights. Inexpensive small wax candles sold for Hanukkah burn for approximately half an hour, so on most days this requirement can be met by lighting the candles when it is dark outside. Friday night presents a problem, however. Since candles may not be lit on the [[Shabbat]] itself, the candles must be lit before sunset. However, they must remain lit until the regular time - thirty minutes after nightfall - and inexpensive Hanukkah candles do not burn long enough to meet the requirement. A simple solution is to use longer candles, or the traditional oil lamps. In keeping with the above-stated prohibition, the Hanukkah menorah is lit first, followed by the Shabbat candles which signify its onset.

=== Blessings over the candles ===
[[Image:Menorah two candles.jpg|thumb|A menorah with two lit candles]]
Typically three blessings (''Brachot'' singular ''Brachah'') are recited during this eight-day festival. On the first night of Hanukkah, Jews recite all three blessings, on all subsequent nights, they recite only the first two.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:1-2</ref> The blessings are said before or after the candles are lit depending on tradition. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle, lamp, or electric) is lit on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first candle and so on, proceeding from right to left each night.

For the full text of the blessings, see [[List of Jewish prayers and blessings#Hanukkah|List of Jewish prayers and blessings: Hanukkah]]

==== ''Hanerot Halalu'' ====
During or after the lights are kindled the hymn ''Hanerot Halalu'' is recited. There are several differing versions - the version presented here is recited in many Ashkenazic communities:<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:4</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan=2 | [[Ashkenazi]]c version:
|-
! Transliteration
! English
|-
| Hanneirot hallalu anachnu madlikin 'al hannissim ve'al hanniflaot 'al hatteshu'ot ve'al hammilchamot she'asita laavoteinu bayyamim haheim, (u)bazzeman hazeh 'al yedei kohanekha hakkedoshim. Vekhol-shemonat yemei Hanukkah hanneirot hallalu kodesh heim, ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtammesh baheim ella lir'otam bilvad kedei lehodot ul'halleil leshimcha haggadol 'al nissekha ve'al nifleotekha ve'al yeshu'otekha
| We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your [[Kohen|holy priests]]. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them except for to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations.
|-
|}

==== ''Maoz Tzur'' ====
{{main|Ma'oz Tzur}}
Each night after the lighting of the candles, while remaining within sight of the candles, Ashkenazim (and, in recent decades, some Sephardim and Mizrahim in Western countries) usually sing the hymn ''Ma'oz Tzur'' written in Medieval [[Germany]]. The song contains six stanzas. The first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation, and the middle four deal with events of persecution in [[Jewish history]], and praises God for survival despite these tragedies ([[the exodus]] from Egypt, the [[Babylonian captivity]], the miracle of the holiday of [[Purim]], and the [[Hasmonean]] victory).

====Other customs====
After lighting the candles and Ma'oz Tzur, singing various other Hanukkah songs is customary in many Jewish homes. Various Hasidic and Sefardic traditions have additional prayers that are recited both before and after lighting the Hanukkah lights. This includes the recitation of many Psalms, most notably Psalms 30, 67, and 91 (many Hasidim recite Psalm 91 seven times after lighting the lamps, as was taught by the [[Baal Shem Tov]]), as well as other prayers and hymns, each congregation according to its own custom. In North America it is common to exchange presents or give children presents at this time.

=== Additions to the daily prayers ===
{{quote box|align=left|width=45%|quote="We thank You also for the miraculous deeds and for the redemption and for the mighty deeds and the saving acts wrought by You, as well as for the wars which You waged for our ancestors in ancient days at this season. In the days of the Hasmonean Mattathias, son of Johanan the high priest, and his sons, when the iniquitous Greco-Syrian kingdom rose up against Your people Israel, to make them forget Your Torah and to turn them away from the ordinances of Your will, then You in your abundant mercy rose up for them in the time of their trouble, pled their cause, executed judgment, avenged their wrong, and delivered the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and insolent ones into the hands of those occupied with Your Torah. Both unto Yourself did you make a great and holy name in Thy world, and unto Your people did You achieve a great deliverance and redemption. Whereupon your children entered the sanctuary of Your house, cleansed Your temple, purified Your sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courts, and appointed these eight days of Hanukkah in order to give thanks and praises unto Your holy name."|source=Translation of ''Al ha-Nissim''}}
An addition is made to the "''hoda'ah''" (thanksgiving) benediction in the [[Amidah]], called ''Al ha-Nissim'' ("On/about the Miracles").<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 682:1</ref> This addition refers to the victory achieved over the Syrians by the Hasmonean Mattathias and his sons.

The same prayer is added to the grace after meals. In addition, the ''[[Hallel]]'' Psalms are sung during each morning service and the ''[[Tachanun]]'' penitential prayers are omitted. The Torah is read every day in the [[synagogue]], the first day beginning from [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 6:22 (According to some customs, Numbers 7:1), and the last day ending with Numbers 8:4.

Since Hanukkah lasts eight days it includes at least one, and sometimes two, [[Shabbat|Jewish Sabbaths]] (Saturdays). The weekly [[Parsha|Torah portion]] for the first Sabbath is almost always ''[[Miketz]]'', telling of [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]]'s dream and his enslavement in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]. The ''[[Haftarah]]'' reading for the first Sabbath Hanukkah is [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]] 2:14-4:7. When there is a second Sabbath on Hanukkah, the ''Haftarah'' reading is from [[I Kings]] 7:40 - 7:50.

The Hanukkah ''menorah'' is also kindled daily in the synagogue, at night with the blessings and in the morning without the blessings. The menorah is not lit on the Sabbath, but rather prior to the beginning of the Sabbath at night and not at all during the day.

During the [[Middle Ages]] "[[Megillat Antiochus]]" was read in the [[Italian Jews#Italian rite Jews|Italian]] [[synagogues]] on Hanukkah just as the [[Book of Esther]] is read on [[Purim]]. It still forms part of the liturgy of the [[Yemenite Jews]].<ref name = "pvgsyw"/>

=== ''Zot Hanukkah'' ===
The last day of Hanukkah is known as ''Zot Hanukkah'', from the verse in the Book of Numbers 7:84 "''Zot Chanukat Hamizbe'ach''" - "This was the dedication of the altar", which is read on this day in the synagogue. According to the teachings of [[Kabbalah]] and [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]], this day is the final "seal" of the High Holiday season of [[Yom Kippur]], and is considered a time to repent out of love for God. In this spirit, many Hasidic Jews wish each other "''Gmar chatimah tovah''", "may you be sealed totally for good", a traditional greeting for the Yom Kippur season. It is taught in Hasidic and Kabbalistic literature that this day is particularly auspicious for the fulfillment of prayers.

==Judith and Holofernes==
[[Image:Cristofano Allori 002.jpg|thumb|left|''Judith with the head of Holofernes'' by Cristofano Allori]]

Eating dairy foods, especially cheese, on Hanukkah is a minor custom that has its roots in the story of Judith, as related in the book of [[Judith]] (''Yehudit'' or ''Yehudis'' in Hebrew). [[Holofernes]], an Assyrian general, had surrounded the village of Bethulia as part of his campaign to conquer Judea. After intense fighting, the water supply of the Jews is cut off and the situation became desperate. Judith, a pious widow, told the city leaders that she had a plan to save the city. Judith went to the Assyrian camps and pretended to surrender. She met Holofernes, who was smitten by her beauty. She went back to his tent with him, where she plied him with cheese and wine. When he fell into a drunken sleep, Judith beheaded him and escaped from the camp, taking the severed head with her. When Holofernes' soldiers found his corpse, they were overcome with fear; the Jews, on the other hand, were emboldened, and launched a successful counterattack. The town was saved, and the Assyrians defeated.

Many argue {{who}} that Holofernes was actually Greek, placing the events in the general time-frame of Hanukkah. The longstanding tradition that Judith was the daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, and consequently a sister of Mattathias the Hasmonean and an aunt of Judah the Maccabee, is how this story came to be associated with Hanukkah. There are many depictions of Judith and Holofernes in painting.

==Interaction with modernity and with other traditions==

The classical rabbis downplayed the military and nationalistic dimensions of Hanukkah, and some even interpreted the emphasis upon the story of the miracle oil as a diversion away from the struggle with empires that had led to the disastrous downfall of Jerusalem to the Romans. With the advent of Zionism and the state of Israel, these themes were rapidly reconsidered. In modern Israel, Hanukkah was transformed into a celebration of military strength, a kind of antidote to what was perceived as the idea of the powerless [[Jewish diaspora|Diaspora Jew]] that the Zionists felt that the Jews in the State of Israel needed to psychologically overcome.

In North America especially, Hanukkah gained increased importance with many Jewish families in the latter half of the twentieth century, including large numbers of [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Jews]], who wanted a Jewish alternative to the [[Christmas]] celebrations that often overlap with Hanukkah. Though it was traditional to give "gelt" or money coins to children during Hanukkah, in many families this has changed into gifts in order to prevent Jewish children from feeling left out of the Christmas gift giving.

While Hanukkah traditionally speaking is only a minor Jewish holiday, as indicated by the lack of restrictions on work other than a few minutes after lighting the candles, Hanukkah has taken a place equal to Passover as a symbol of Jewish identity. Both the Israeli and North American versions of Hanukkah emphasize resistance, focusing on some combination of national liberation and religious freedom as the defining meaning of the holiday.

===Green Hanukkah===

Some Jews in North America and Israel have taken up environmental concerns in relation to Hanukkah's "miracle of the oil", emphasizing reflection on energy conservation and energy independence. An example of this is the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life's renewable energy campaign.<ref>[http://www.shalomctr.org/node/1315 Shalom Center on Hannukah and the environment]</ref> <ref>[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546797524&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Jerusalem Post: Green Hanukkia' campaign sparks ire]</ref> <ref>[http://www.coejl.org/climatechange/CFLceremony.php Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL): Green Hannukah ceremony]</ref>

==Hanukkah music==
{{main|Hanukkah music}}
There are several songs associated with the festival of Hanukkah. The most well known in English-speaking countries include "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" and "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah." In Israel, Hanukkah has become something of a national holiday. A large number of songs have been written on Hanukkah themes, perhaps more so than for any other Jewish holiday. Some of the most well known are "''Hanukkiah Li Yesh''" ("I Have a Hanukkah Menora"), "''Kad Katan''" ("A Small Jug"), "''S'vivon Sov Sov Sov''" ("Dreidel, Spin and Spin"), "''Mi Yimalel''" (Who can Retell") and "''Ner Li, Ner Li''" ("I have a Candle").

==Hanukkah foods==
[[Image:sufganiyah.jpeg|thumb|right|Sufganiyot with jelly]]
[[Potato pancakes]], known as [[latke]]s in [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], are traditionally associated with Hanukkah, especially among Ashkenazi families. There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil (preferably olive oil), as the original miracle of the Hanukkah menorah involved the discovery of the small flask of oil used by the Jewish High Priest, the [[Kohen Gadol]]. This small batch of olive oil was only supposed to last one day, and instead it lasted eight.

Many Sephardic families as well as [[History of Jews in Poland|Polish]] Ashkenazim and [[Israel]] have the custom of eating all kinds of fruit-filled [[doughnut]]s ({{lang-yi|פאנטשקעס ''pontshkes''}}), ([[bimuelos]], or [[sufganiyah|sufganiyot]]) which are [[Frying|deep-fried]] in oil, and of course all Kosher foods.

==Hanukkah games==
===Dreidel===
{{main|Dreidel}}
[[Image:Dreidel 001.jpg|thumb|right|Dreidel]]
The ''dreidel'', or ''sevivon'' in Hebrew, is a four-sided spinning top that children play with on Hanukkah. Each side is imprinted with a Hebrew letter. These letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words, נס גדול היה שם, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''S'''ham''—"A great miracle happened there" (referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Beit Hamikdash]]).

*נ ''([[Nun (letter)|Nun]])''
*ג ''([[Gimel (letter)|Gimel]])''
*ה ''([[He (letter)|Hey]])''
*ש ''([[Shin (letter)|Shin]])''

In [[Israel|Eretz Yisroel]], the fourth side of most dreidels is inscribed with the letter פ ''([[Pe (letter)|Pe]])'', rendering the acronym, נס גדול היה פה, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''P'''o''—"A great miracle happened here" referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel. Some stores in [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] neighbourhoods may sell the traditional ''Shin'' dreidels.

Some Jewish commentators ascribe symbolic significance to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects the four letters with the four exiles to which the nation of Israel was historically subject—Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome.<ref>[http://www.ohr.org.il/yhiy/article.php/1309 Ohr Somayach :: Chanukah :: The Secret of the Dreidel]</ref>

After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, it is customary in many homes to play the dreidel game: Each player starts out with 10 or 15 coins (real or of chocolate), nuts, raisins, candies or other markers, and places one marker in the "pot." The first player spins the dreidel, and depending on which side the dreidel falls on, either wins a marker from the pot or gives up part of his stash. The code (based on a [[Yiddish Language|Yiddish]] version of the game) is as follows:
*Nun - ''nisht'' - "nothing" - nothing happens and the next player spins
*Gimel - ''gants'' - "all" - the player takes the entire pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtel ayn'' - "put in" - the player puts one marker in the pot

Another version differs:
*Nun - ''nim'' - "take" - the player takes one from the pot
*Gimel - ''gib'' - "give" - the player puts one in the pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtil'' - "still" (as in "stillness") - nothing happens and the next player spins

The game may last until one person has won everything.

Some say the dreidel game is played to commemorate a game devised by the Jews to camouflage the fact that they were [[Torah study|studying Torah]], which was outlawed by Greeks. The Jews would gather in caves to study, posting a lookout to alert the group to the presence of Greek soldiers. If soldiers were spotted, the Jews would hide their scrolls and spin tops, so the Greeks thought they were gambling, not learning.

===Hanukkah ''gelt''===
Hanukkah ''gelt'' ([[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] for "money") is often distributed to children to enhance their enjoyment of the holiday. The amount is usually in small coins, although grandparents or other relatives may give larger sums as an official Hanukkah gift. In Israel, Hanukkah ''gelt'' is known as ''dmei Hanukkah''. Many Hasidic [[Rebbe]]s distribute coins to those who visit them during Hanukkah. Hasidic Jews consider this to be an auspicious blessing from the Rebbe, and a ''[[segulah]]'' for success.

Twentieth-century [[United States|American]] [[chocolatier]]s picked up on the gift/coin concept by creating [[chocolate money|chocolate ''gelt'']].

==Alternative spellings based on transliterating Hebrew letters==
In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], the word Hanukkah is written '''{{lang|he|חנֻכה}}''' or '''{{lang|he|חנוכה}}'''. It is most commonly transliterated to English as ''Chanukah'' or ''Hanukkah'', the latter because the sound represented by "CH" ([{{IPA|/x/}}], as in the [[Scots language|Scottish]] pronunciation of "[[loch]]") essentially does not exist in the modern English language. Furthermore, the letter "[[heth]]" ('''{{lang|he|ח}}'''), which is the first letter in the Hebrew spelling, is pronounced differently in modern Hebrew ([[voiceless velar fricative]]) than in classical Hebrew ([[voiceless pharyngeal fricative]]), and neither of those sounds is unambiguously representable in English spelling. Moreover, the 'kaf' consonant is [[geminate]] in classical (but not modern) Hebrew. Adapting the classical Hebrew pronunciation with the geminate and pharyngeal Ḥeth can lead to the spelling "Hanukkah"; while adapting the modern Hebrew pronunciation with no geminate and velar Ḥeth leads to the spelling "Chanukah". Variations include:
[[Image:Hanukkah.png|right|thumb|Spelling variations are due to transliteration of Hebrew ''Chet Nun Vav Kaf Hey'']]

===Common variants===
* Hanukkah (in North America, Australia - also very common in UK)
* Chanukkah (in the UK, also common in North America)

===YIVO variant===
* Khanike ([[YIVO]] standard [[transliteration]] from the Yiddish and/or Ashkenazic [[pronunciation]] of the Hebrew)

== Background ==
===Chronology===

*198 BCE: Armies of the Seleucid King [[Antiochus III]] (Antiochus the Great) oust [[Ptolemy V Epiphanes|Ptolemy V]] from Judea and Samaria.
*175 BCE: [[Antiochus IV]] (Epiphanes) ascends the Seleucid throne.
*168 BCE: Under the reign of Antiochus IV, the Temple is looted, Jews are massacred, and [[Judaism]] is outlawed.
*167 BCE: Antiochus orders an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. Mattathias, and his five sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah lead a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah becomes known as Judah Maccabe (Judah The Hammer).
*166 BCE: Mattathias dies, and Judah takes his place as leader. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom begins; It lasts until 63 BCE
*165 BCE: The Jewish revolt against the [[Seleucid]] monarchy is successful. The Temple is liberated and rededicated (Hanukkah).
*142 BCE: Establishment of the Second Jewish Commonwealth. The Seleucids recognize Jewish autonomy. The Seleucid kings have a formal overlordship, which the Hasmoneans acknowledged. This inaugurates a period of great geographical expansion, population growth, and religious, cultural and social development.
*139 BCE: The [[Roman Senate]] recognizes Jewish autonomy.
*130 BCE: Antiochus VII besieges [[Jerusalem]], but withdraws.
*131 BCE: Antiochus VII dies. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom throws off Syrian rule completely
*96 BCE: An eight year civil war begins.
*83 BCE: Consolidation of the Kingdom in territory east of the [[Jordan River]].
*63 BCE: The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an end due to rivalry between the brothers [[Aristobulus II]] and [[Hyrcanus II]], both of whom appeal to the [[Roman Republic]] to intervene and settle the power struggle on their behalf. The Roman general [[Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus]] (Pompey the Great) is dispatched to the area. Twelve thousand Jews are massacred as Romans enter Jerusalem. The Priests of the Temple are struck down at the Altar. Rome annexes Judea.

===Battles of the Maccabean revolt===
{{main|Maccabees}}
There were a number of key battles between the Maccabees and the Seleucid Syrian-Greeks:

:''Listed alphabetically'':

*[[Battle of Adasa]] ([[Judas Maccabeus]] leads the Jews to victory against the forces of Nicanor.)
*[[Battle of Beth Horon]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the forces of Seron.)
*[[Battle of Beth-zechariah]] (Elazar the Maccabee is killed in battle. Lysias has success in battle against the Maccabess, but allows them temporary freedom of worship.)
*[[Battle of Beth Zur]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the army of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]], recapturing Jerusalem.)
*[[Dathema]] (A Jewish fortress saved by Judas Maccabeus.)
*[[Battle of Elasa]] (Judas Maccabeus dies in battle against the army of [[Demetrius I Soter|King Demetrius]] and [[Bacchides (general)|Bacchides]]. He is succeeded by [[Jonathan Maccabaeus]] and [[Simon Maccabaeus]] who continue to lead the Jews in battle.)
*[[Battle of Emmaus]] (Judas Maccabeus fights the forces of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]] and [[Gorgias (Syrian general)|Georgias]]).
*[[Battle of Wadi Haramia]].

==When Hanukkah occurs==
{{further|[[Jewish holidays 2000-2050]]}}

The dates of Hanukkah are determined by the [[Hebrew calendar]]. Hanukkah begins at the 25th day of [[Kislev]] and concluding on the 2nd or 3rd day of [[Tevet]] (Kislev can have 29 or 30 days). The Jewish day begins at sunset, whereas the [[Gregorian calendar]] begins the day at midnight. So, the first day of Hanukkah actually begins at sunset of the day immediately before the date noted on Gregorian calendars.

===Hanukkah according to the Gregorian calendar===
Hanukkah begins at sundown on the evening before the date shown.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
*[[December 22]], [[2000]]
*[[December 10]], [[2001]]
*[[November 30]], [[2002]]
*[[December 20]], [[2003]]
*[[December 8]], [[2004]]
*[[December 26]], [[2005]]
*[[December 16]], [[2006]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 5]], [[2007]]
*[[December 22]], [[2008]]
*[[December 12]], [[2009]]
*[[December 2]], [[2010]]
*[[December 21]], [[2011]]
*[[December 9]], [[2012]]
*[[November 28]], [[2013]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 17]], [[2014]]
*[[December 7]], [[2015]]
*[[December 25]], [[2016]]
*[[December 13]], [[2017]]
*[[December 3]], [[2018]]
*[[December 23]], [[2019]]
{{col-end}}

==See also==
{{portalpar|Judaism|Menora.svg}}
*[[Hasmonean]]
*[[Maccabees]]
*[[Jewish holiday]]s
*[[Temple in Jerusalem]]
*''[[County of Allegheny v. ACLU]]'' on the constitutionality of Hanukkah displays on public property in the U.S.
*[[Short-lived recurring characters on Saturday Night Live#Hanukkah Harry|Hanukkah Harry]]
*[[Hanukkah bush]]
*''[[Hanukkah Rocks]]'' - 2005 album by [[The LeeVees]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{commonscat|Hanukkah}}
=== General ===
* [http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default.asp Complete Hanukkah Guide, with how-to's, songs, stories and children's activities on chabad.org]
* [http://www.aish.com/holidays/chanukah/ Chanukah - Aish.com - how to light, stories, children's activities]
* [http://www.midrash.org/halakha/hanukkah.html Midrash Hanukkah with Sephardic traditions and history]
* [http://www.coejl.org/Hanukkah COEJL's "Let there be renewable light" campaign]
* [http://www.oztorah.com/feature/archive/chanukah.php OzTorah - insights on Chanukah]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=77|type=Shiurim}}

=== Songs ===
* [http://judaism.about.com/od/chanukah/a/hanukahanerot.htm Hanerot Hallalu ("These Candles")]
* [http://judaism.about.com/od/chanukah/a/hanukamaoztzur.htm Maoz Tzur ("Rock of Ages")]
* [http://liturgy.exc.com/Songsheets/Hanukah.cgi Hanukkah songsheets]
* [http://www.hebrewsongs.com/chanukah.htm Hanukkah songs]

=== Recipes ===
* [http://www.rd.com/content/cherished-hanukkah-recipes-to-share/ Traditional Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://kosherfood.about.com/od/hanukkah/Hanukkah_Recipes_Kosher_Jewish_Holiday_Food.htm About Kosher Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.wiki-recipe.org/index.php?title=Category:Hanukkah Wiki-Recipe.org Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.hanukkahsite.com/latkerecipes.php The Largest Latke Recipe Database On The Web]

=== Video ===
* [http://www.aish.com/pathways/externallinks/videolink_chanukah.asp Video: Lighting Hanukkah Menorah How-To]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3174713748168758247&q=satmar The Grand Rabbi of Satmar lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5575698843335939574&q=hannukkah The Grand Rabbi of Bobov lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6632688275970858151&q=hanukkah The Grand Rabbi of Bobov leading his Hassidim in the singing of a Hanukkah hymn composed by his father after the Holocaust]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3703256978822489433&q=hanukah The Grand Rabbi of Klausenberg from America lighting the Hannukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6750102222090781896&q=hannukah The Grand Rabbi of Pittsburgh from Ashdod, E. Israel, leading his followers in the celebration of Hannukkah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4852503510504559495&q=hanukah The Grand Rabbi of Nadvorna from Safed, E. Israel, leading his followers in the celebration of Hannukah]

 
{{Hanukkah Footer}}
{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}


[[Category:Hanukkah| ]]
[[Category:Jewish holy days]]



[[ar:حانوكا]]
[[bg:Ханука]]
[[ca:Hanukà]]
[[cs:Chanuka]]
[[da:Chanukka]]
[[de:Chanukka]]
[[es:Jánuca]]
[[eo:Ĥanuka]]
[[fa:حنوکا]]
[[fr:Hanoucca]]
[[gl:Hanuka]]
[[ko:하누카]]
[[hi:हनुका]]
[[hr:Hanuka]]
[[id:Hari raya Pentahbisan]]
[[it:Chanukah]]
[[he:חנוכה]]
[[la:Encaenia]]
[[hu:Hanuka]]
[[ms:Hanukkah]]
[[nl:Chanoeka]]
[[ja:ハヌカー]]
[[no:Hanukka]]
[[nn:Hanukká]]
[[oc:Khanuca]]
[[pl:Chanuka]]
[[pt:Chanucá]]
[[ro:Hanuka]]
[[ru:Ханука]]
[[sk:Chanuka]]
[[sr:Ханука]]
[[fi:Hanukka]]
[[sv:Chanukka]]
[[tl:Pista ng Pagtatalaga]]
[[vi:Hanukkah]]
[[tr:Hanuka]]
[[uk:Ханука]]
[[yi:חנוכה]]
[[zh-yue:修殿節]]
[[zh:光明节]]

User talk:Eli123456

2008-11-24T16:57:28Z

Dbratton: vandalism warning - level 2

==November 2008==

[[Image:Information.svg|25px]] Please refrain from making unconstructive edits to Wikipedia{{#if:Hannukah|, as you did to [[:Hannukah]]}}. Your edits appear to constitute [[Wikipedia:Vandalism|vandalism]] and have been [[Help:Reverting|reverted]]. If you would like to experiment, please use the [[Wikipedia:Sandbox|sandbox]]. {{#if:|{{{2}}}|Thank you.}} [[User:Dbratton|Daniel]][[Special:Contributions/Dbratton|C]]/[[User talk:Dbratton|T]][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Dbratton&action=edit&section=new +] 16:57, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

Hanukkah

2008-11-24T16:56:20Z

Dbratton: and the rest

{{for|the Khazar ruler|Hanukkah ben Obadiah}}
{{distinguish|Hanneke}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image =
|caption = Several Menorot on the eighth night of the festival.
|holiday_name = Hanukkah
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''חֲנֻכָּה''' or '''חנוכה''' [[English language|English]] translation: "Establishing/Dedication" (of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]])
|nickname = Festival of Lights, Festival of Dedication
|observedby = [[Jew]]s
|begins = 25 [[Kislev]]
|ends = 2 [[Tevet]] or 3 [[Tevet]]
|celebrations = Lighting [[candle]]s each night. Singing special songs, such as [[Ma'oz Tzur]]. Reciting [[Hallel]] prayer. Eating festive meals and foods fried in oil, such as [[latke]]s and [[sufganiyot]]. Playing the ''[[Hanukkah#Dreidel|dreidel]]'' game, and giving [[Hanukkah#Hanukkah gelt|Hanukkah ''gelt'']]
|type = Jewish
|significance = The [[Maccabees]] successfully rebelled against [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]]. The Temple was purified and the wicks of the menorah miraculously burned for eight days.
|relatedto = [[Purim]], as a [[rabbi]]nically decreed holiday.
|date2008 = sunset, [[December 21]] to sunset, [[December 29]] The first Day of Hanukkah is December 22.
|date2009 = sunset, [[December 11]] to sunset, [[December 19]]
|date2010 = sunset, [[December 1]] to sunset, [[December 9]]
}}
[[Image:Skulen2.JPG|thumb|Grand Rabbi [[Israel Abraham Portugal]] of [[Skulen (Hasidic dynasty)|Skulen]] [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]] lighting Hanukkah lights]]

'''Hanukkah''' ({{lang-he|חנוכה}}, alt. '''Chanukah'''), also known as the '''Festival of Lights''', is an eight-day [[Jewish holiday]] commemorating the rededication of the [[Second Temple]] in [[Jerusalem]] at the time of the [[Maccabean Revolt]] of the [[2nd century BCE]]. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of [[Kislev]] according to the [[Hebrew calendar]], and may occur from late November to late December on the [[Gregorian calendar]].

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a special [[candelabrum]], the ''[[Menorah (Hanukkah)|Menorah]]'' or ''Hanukiah'', one light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a ''[[Shamash#Shamash in Judaism|shamash]]'', ([[Hebrew (language)|Hebrew]]: "guard" or "servant") is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the [[Talmud]] (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. (The shamash is used to light the other lights.)

Hanukkah is mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] or [[Biblical apocrypha|apocrypha books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

==Origins of the holiday==
"Hanukkah," from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", marks the re-dedication of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] after its desecration by the forces of [[Antiochus IV]] and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil." According to the [[Talmud]], at the re-dedication following the victory of the [[Maccabees]] over the [[Seleucid Empire]], there was only enough consecrated [[olive oil]] to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

The martyrdom of Hannah and her seven sons has also been linked to Hanukkah. According to the Talmudic story<ref>Talmud Gittin 57b tells a story of a woman and her seven sons killed by "Caesar". The name "Hannah" is not stated.</ref> and [[2 Maccabees]], a Jewish woman named Hannah and her seven sons were tortured and executed by [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes|Antiochus]] for refusing to worship an idol, which would have been a violation of [[613 Mitzvot|Jewish law]].

===Name===
The name "Hanukkah" is interpreted in many ways.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://innernet.org.il/article.php?aid=11|title=Origin of the Name Chanukah|first=Nosson|last=Scherman|publisher=ArtScroll}}</ref>
*Some scholars say the word was derived from the Hebrew verb "חנך" meaning "to dedicate" or to "educate." On Hanukkah, Jews mark the rededication of the House of the Lord.<ref>[[Maharsha]] on [[Talmud]] [[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]] 21b</ref>

*Others argue that the name can be broken down into "חנו", from the Hebrew word for encampment, and the Hebrew letters כ"ה, which stand for the 25th day of Kislev, the day on which the holiday begins: Hence, the Jews sat in their camp, that is, they rested fighting, on the 25th day of Kislev.<ref>[[Nissim of Gerona|Ran]] on [[Isaac Alfasi|Rif]] 9b</ref>

*Hanukkah is also the Hebrew [[acronym]] for "ח' נרות והלכה כבית הלל" meaning "eight candles as determined by [[Hillel the Elder|House of Hillel]]" This is a reference to the disagreement between two rabbinical schools of thought - Hillel and the [[Shammai|House of Shammai]] - on the proper way to light Hanukkah candles. Shammai said that eight candles should be lit from the start, and reduced by one candle every night, whereas Hillel argued in favor of starting with one candle and lighting an additional one every night. Jewish law adopted the position of Hillel.

== Historical sources ==
=== In the Talmud ===
The miracle of Hanukkah is described in the [[Talmud]]. The [[Gemara]], in tractate ''Shabbat 21b'' focuses on [[Shabbat]] candles and moves to Hanukkah candles and says that after the forces of Antiochus IV had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was still [[seal (device)|seal]]ed by the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, and miraculously, that oil burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready).

The Talmud presents three options:
#The law requires only one light each night per household,
#A better practice is to light one light each night for each member of the household
#The most preferred practise is to vary the number of lights each night.
There was a dispute among the sages over how the last option was to be performed: either display eight lamps on the first night of the festival, and reduce the number on each successive night; or begin with one lamp the first night, increasing the number till the eighth night. The followers of [[Shammai]] favored the former custom; the followers of [[Hillel the Elder|Hillel]] advocated the latter. As is the case in most such disputes, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] followed Hillel. Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one's door or in the window closest to the street. [[Rashi]], in a note to ''Shabbat 21b,'' says their purpose is to publicize the miracle. Hanukkah is also mentioned in the (older) [[Mishnah]] (TB [[Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah]] 30b).

===In the Septuagint and other sources===
The story of Hanukkah is alluded to in the book of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]] of the [[Septuagint]] but Hanukkah is not specially mentioned; rather, a story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 ''et seq'' according to which the relighting of the altar fire by [[Nehemiah]] was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabeus.

The Books of Maccabees are not part of the [[Tanakh]] ([[Hebrew Bible]]), but are part of [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] historical and religious material preserved in the [[Septuagint]]. The Tanakh ends with the consequences following the events of [[Purim]], and had already been codified many centuries earlier by the [[Great Assembly|Men of the Great Assembly]] (''Anshei Knesset HaGedolah'').

Another source is the [[Megillat Antiochus]]. This work (also known as "Megillat HaHasmonaim", or "Megillat Hanukkah") is in both [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]; the Hebrew version is a literal translation from the Aramaic original. Recent scholarship dates it to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th Centuries, probably in the 2nd Century,<ref>{{cite web|first=Benjamin|last=Zvieli|title=The Scroll of Antiochus|url= http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html| accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> with the Hebrew dating to the seventh century.<ref name = "pvgsyw"> [http://customerservant.com/2006/12/16/the-scroll-of-the-hasmoneans/ The Scroll Of The Hasmoneans] </ref> It was published for the first time in [[Mantua]] in 1557. [[Saadia Gaon]], who translated it into [[Arabic language| Arabic]] in the 9th Century, ascribed it to the Maccabees themselves, disputed by some, since it gives dates as so many years before the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE.<ref> [http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html The Scroll of Antiochus] </ref> The Hebrew text with an English translation can be found in the [[Siddur]] of [[Philip Birnbaum]].

== The story ==
{{see also|Hasmonean}}
Around 200 BCE Jews lived as an autonomous people in the [[Land of Israel]], also referred to as [[Judea]], which at that time was controlled by the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] [[Seleucid dynasty|king of Syria]]. The Jewish people paid taxes to Syria and accepted its legal authority, and they were free to follow their own faith, maintain their own jobs, and engage in trade.

By 175 BCE [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]] ascended to the Seleucid throne. At first little changed, but under his reign, the Temple in [[Jerusalem]] was looted, Jews were massacred, and [[Judaism]] was effectively outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple.

Many modern scholars argue that the king may have been intervening in an internal civil war between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized elite Jews in Jerusalem. These competed violently over who would be the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like [[Onias III|Onias]] overthrown by Hellenizers with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus. As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times, banned the traditional religion of a whole people.<ref>Tchrikover, Victor. ''Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews''.</ref>

Antiochus' actions proved to be a major miscalculation as they provoked a large-scale revolt. [[Mattathias]], a [[Kohen|Jewish priest]], and his five sons Jochanan, [[Simon Maccabaeus|Simeon]], [[Eleazar Maccabeus|Eleazar]], [[Jonathan Maccabaeus|Jonathan]], and [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] led a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated.
The festival of Hanukkah was instituted by [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah Maccabee]] and his brothers to celebrate this event.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#59 1 Macc. iv. 59]</ref> After recovering Jerusalem and the Temple, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. But 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 by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

[[Image:Hanukkah2.jpg|thumb|right|Hanukkah lamp unearthed near [[Jerusalem]], c. 1900.]]
The version of the story in 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, states that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was proclaimed upon rededication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of the oil.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#36 1 Macc. iv. 36]</ref> A number of historians believe that the reason for the eight day celebration was that the first Hanukkah was in effect a belated celebration of the festivals of [[Sukkot]] and [[Shemini Atzeret]].<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA10.HTM#6 Macc. x. 6] and [http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA1.HTM#9 i. 9]</ref> During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret properly; the combined festivals also last eight days, and the Sukkot festivities featured the lighting of lamps in the Temple (Suk.v. 2-4). The historian [[Josephus]]<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+12.287]
''Jewish Antiquities'' xii. 7, § 7, #323</ref> mentions the eight-day festival and its customs, but does not tell us the origin of the eight day lighting custom. Given that his audience was Hellenized Romans, perhaps his silence on the origin of the eight-day custom is due to its miraculous nature. In any event, he does report that lights were kindled in the household and the popular name of the festival was, therefore the "Festival of Lights" ("And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights").

It has also been noted that the number eight has special significance in Jewish theology, as representing transcendence and the Jewish People's special role in human history. Seven is the number of days of creation, that is, of completion of the material cosmos, and also of the classical planets. Eight, being one step beyond seven, represents the Infinite. Hence, the Eighth Day of the Assembly festival, mentioned above, is according to Jewish Law a festival for Jews only (unlike Sukkot, when all peoples were welcome in Jerusalem). Similarly, the rite of [[brit milah]] (circumcision), which brings a Jewish male into God's Covenant, is performed on the eighth day. Hence, Hanukkah's eight days (in celebration of monotheistic morality's victory over Hellenistic humanism) have great symbolic importance for practicing Jews.

==Hanukkah rituals==
[[Image:Hanukkah1.jpg|thumb|right|Various menorot used for Hanukkah. 12th through 19th century, CE]]

Hanukkah is celebrated by a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the 8-day holiday. Some are family-based and others are communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals. Hanukkah is not a "Sabbath-like" holiday, and there is no obligation to refrain from [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|activities that are forbidden on the Sabbath]], as specified in the ''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]''<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 670:1</ref> People go to work as usual, but may leave early in order to be home to kindle the lights at nightfall. There is no religious reason for schools to be closed, although, in Israel, schools close for the whole week of Hanukkah. Many families exchange gifts each night, and fried foods are eaten.

===Kindling the Hanukkah lights===
:{{seealso|Chanukkiyah}}
The primary ritual, according to [[Halakha|Jewish law and custom]], is to light a single light each night for eight nights. As a universally practiced "beautification" of the [[mitzvah]], the number of lights lit is increased by one each night.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 671:2</ref> An extra light called a ''shamash'', meaning ''guard'' or ''servant'' is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. This differs from [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] candles which are meant to be used for illumination. Hence, if one were to need extra illumination on Hanukkah, the ''shamash'' candle would be available and one would avoid using the prohibited lights. Some light the ''shamash'' candle first and then use it to light the others.<ref name = "lonorw">''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 673:1</ref> So all together, including the ''shamash'', two lights are lit on the first night, three on the second and so on, ending with nine on the last night, for a total of 44.

[[Image:Tiffany glasswork Hanukkah menora02.jpg|thumb|A modern [[Lead came and copper foil glasswork|"Tiffany"]] Hanukkah menorah]]
The lights can be candles or oil lamps.<ref name = "lonorw"/> Electric lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room. Most Jewish homes have a special [[candelabrum]] or oil lamp holder for Hanukkah, which holds eight lights plus the additional ''shamash'' light.

The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without," so that passers-by should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle. Accordingly lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street. It is customary amongst some Ashkenazim to have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), whereas most Sephardim light one for the whole household. Only when there was danger of [[Anti-Semitism|anti-semitic persecution]] were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the case in [[Iran|Persia]] under the rule of the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]], or in parts of Europe before and during World War II. However, most [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] groups, light lamps near an inside doorway, not necessarily in public view. According to this tradition, the lamps are placed on the opposite side from the ''[[mezuzah]]'', so that when one passes through the door he is surrounded by the holiness of ''mitzvoth''.

[[Image:Maurice Ascalon Menorah Pal-Bell.jpg|thumb|left|Bronze [[Pal-Bell]] oil-burning Hanukkah menorah from Israel circa 1948, by [[Maurice Ascalon]].]]
 
===Time of lighting===
Hanukkah lights should burn for at least one half hour after it gets dark. The custom of the [[Vilna Gaon]] observed by many residents of Jerusalem as the custom of the city, is to light at sundown, although most Hassidim light later, even in Jerusalem. Many Hasidic Rebbes light much later, because they fulfill the obligation of publicizing the miracle by the presence of their Hasidim when they kindle the lights. Inexpensive small wax candles sold for Hanukkah burn for approximately half an hour, so on most days this requirement can be met by lighting the candles when it is dark outside. Friday night presents a problem, however. Since candles may not be lit on the [[Shabbat]] itself, the candles must be lit before sunset. However, they must remain lit until the regular time - thirty minutes after nightfall - and inexpensive Hanukkah candles do not burn long enough to meet the requirement. A simple solution is to use longer candles, or the traditional oil lamps. In keeping with the above-stated prohibition, the Hanukkah menorah is lit first, followed by the Shabbat candles which signify its onset.

=== Blessings over the candles ===
[[Image:Menorah two candles.jpg|thumb|A menorah with two lit candles]]
Typically three blessings (''Brachot'' singular ''Brachah'') are recited during this eight-day festival. On the first night of Hanukkah, Jews recite all three blessings, on all subsequent nights, they recite only the first two.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:1-2</ref> The blessings are said before or after the candles are lit depending on tradition. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle, lamp, or electric) is lit on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first candle and so on, proceeding from right to left each night.

For the full text of the blessings, see [[List of Jewish prayers and blessings#Hanukkah|List of Jewish prayers and blessings: Hanukkah]]

==== ''Hanerot Halalu'' ====
During or after the lights are kindled the hymn ''Hanerot Halalu'' is recited. There are several differing versions - the version presented here is recited in many Ashkenazic communities:<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:4</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan=2 | [[Ashkenazi]]c version:
|-
! Transliteration
! English
|-
| Hanneirot hallalu anachnu madlikin 'al hannissim ve'al hanniflaot 'al hatteshu'ot ve'al hammilchamot she'asita laavoteinu bayyamim haheim, (u)bazzeman hazeh 'al yedei kohanekha hakkedoshim. Vekhol-shemonat yemei Hanukkah hanneirot hallalu kodesh heim, ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtammesh baheim ella lir'otam bilvad kedei lehodot ul'halleil leshimcha haggadol 'al nissekha ve'al nifleotekha ve'al yeshu'otekha
| We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your [[Kohen|holy priests]]. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them except for to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations.
|-
|}

==== ''Maoz Tzur'' ====
{{main|Ma'oz Tzur}}
Each night after the lighting of the candles, while remaining within sight of the candles, Ashkenazim (and, in recent decades, some Sephardim and Mizrahim in Western countries) usually sing the hymn ''Ma'oz Tzur'' written in Medieval [[Germany]]. The song contains six stanzas. The first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation, and the middle four deal with events of persecution in [[Jewish history]], and praises God for survival despite these tragedies ([[the exodus]] from Egypt, the [[Babylonian captivity]], the miracle of the holiday of [[Purim]], and the [[Hasmonean]] victory).

====Other customs====
After lighting the candles and Ma'oz Tzur, singing various other Hanukkah songs is customary in many Jewish homes. Various Hasidic and Sefardic traditions have additional prayers that are recited both before and after lighting the Hanukkah lights. This includes the recitation of many Psalms, most notably Psalms 30, 67, and 91 (many Hasidim recite Psalm 91 seven times after lighting the lamps, as was taught by the [[Baal Shem Tov]]), as well as other prayers and hymns, each congregation according to its own custom. In North America it is common to exchange presents or give children presents at this time.

=== Additions to the daily prayers ===
{{quote box|align=left|width=45%|quote="We thank You also for the miraculous deeds and for the redemption and for the mighty deeds and the saving acts wrought by You, as well as for the wars which You waged for our ancestors in ancient days at this season. In the days of the Hasmonean Mattathias, son of Johanan the high priest, and his sons, when the iniquitous Greco-Syrian kingdom rose up against Your people Israel, to make them forget Your Torah and to turn them away from the ordinances of Your will, then You in your abundant mercy rose up for them in the time of their trouble, pled their cause, executed judgment, avenged their wrong, and delivered the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and insolent ones into the hands of those occupied with Your Torah. Both unto Yourself did you make a great and holy name in Thy world, and unto Your people did You achieve a great deliverance and redemption. Whereupon your children entered the sanctuary of Your house, cleansed Your temple, purified Your sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courts, and appointed these eight days of Hanukkah in order to give thanks and praises unto Your holy name."|source=Translation of ''Al ha-Nissim''}}
An addition is made to the "''hoda'ah''" (thanksgiving) benediction in the [[Amidah]], called ''Al ha-Nissim'' ("On/about the Miracles").<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 682:1</ref> This addition refers to the victory achieved over the Syrians by the Hasmonean Mattathias and his sons.

The same prayer is added to the grace after meals. In addition, the ''[[Hallel]]'' Psalms are sung during each morning service and the ''[[Tachanun]]'' penitential prayers are omitted. The Torah is read every day in the [[synagogue]], the first day beginning from [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 6:22 (According to some customs, Numbers 7:1), and the last day ending with Numbers 8:4.

Since Hanukkah lasts eight days it includes at least one, and sometimes two, [[Shabbat|Jewish Sabbaths]] (Saturdays). The weekly [[Parsha|Torah portion]] for the first Sabbath is almost always ''[[Miketz]]'', telling of [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]]'s dream and his enslavement in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]. The ''[[Haftarah]]'' reading for the first Sabbath Hanukkah is [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]] 2:14-4:7. When there is a second Sabbath on Hanukkah, the ''Haftarah'' reading is from [[I Kings]] 7:40 - 7:50.

The Hanukkah ''menorah'' is also kindled daily in the synagogue, at night with the blessings and in the morning without the blessings. The menorah is not lit on the Sabbath, but rather prior to the beginning of the Sabbath at night and not at all during the day.

During the [[Middle Ages]] "[[Megillat Antiochus]]" was read in the [[Italian Jews#Italian rite Jews|Italian]] [[synagogues]] on Hanukkah just as the [[Book of Esther]] is read on [[Purim]]. It still forms part of the liturgy of the [[Yemenite Jews]].<ref name = "pvgsyw"/>

=== ''Zot Hanukkah'' ===
The last day of Hanukkah is known as ''Zot Hanukkah'', from the verse in the Book of Numbers 7:84 "''Zot Chanukat Hamizbe'ach''" - "This was the dedication of the altar", which is read on this day in the synagogue. According to the teachings of [[Kabbalah]] and [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]], this day is the final "seal" of the High Holiday season of [[Yom Kippur]], and is considered a time to repent out of love for God. In this spirit, many Hasidic Jews wish each other "''Gmar chatimah tovah''", "may you be sealed totally for good", a traditional greeting for the Yom Kippur season. It is taught in Hasidic and Kabbalistic literature that this day is particularly auspicious for the fulfillment of prayers.

==Judith and Holofernes==
[[Image:Cristofano Allori 002.jpg|thumb|left|''Judith with the head of Holofernes'' by Cristofano Allori]]

Eating dairy foods, especially cheese, on Hanukkah is a minor custom that has its roots in the story of Judith, as related in the book of [[Judith]] (''Yehudit'' or ''Yehudis'' in Hebrew). [[Holofernes]], an Assyrian general, had surrounded the village of Bethulia as part of his campaign to conquer Judea. After intense fighting, the water supply of the Jews is cut off and the situation became desperate. Judith, a pious widow, told the city leaders that she had a plan to save the city. Judith went to the Assyrian camps and pretended to surrender. She met Holofernes, who was smitten by her beauty. She went back to his tent with him, where she plied him with cheese and wine. When he fell into a drunken sleep, Judith beheaded him and escaped from the camp, taking the severed head with her. When Holofernes' soldiers found his corpse, they were overcome with fear; the Jews, on the other hand, were emboldened, and launched a successful counterattack. The town was saved, and the Assyrians defeated.

Many argue {{who}} that Holofernes was actually Greek, placing the events in the general time-frame of Hanukkah. The longstanding tradition that Judith was the daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, and consequently a sister of Mattathias the Hasmonean and an aunt of Judah the Maccabee, is how this story came to be associated with Hanukkah. There are many depictions of Judith and Holofernes in painting.

==Interaction with modernity and with other traditions==

The classical rabbis downplayed the military and nationalistic dimensions of Hanukkah, and some even interpreted the emphasis upon the story of the miracle oil as a diversion away from the struggle with empires that had led to the disastrous downfall of Jerusalem to the Romans. With the advent of Zionism and the state of Israel, these themes were rapidly reconsidered. In modern Israel, Hanukkah was transformed into a celebration of military strength, a kind of antidote to what was perceived as the idea of the powerless [[Jewish diaspora|Diaspora Jew]] that the Zionists felt that the Jews in the State of Israel needed to psychologically overcome.

In North America especially, Hanukkah gained increased importance with many Jewish families in the latter half of the twentieth century, including large numbers of [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Jews]], who wanted a Jewish alternative to the [[Christmas]] celebrations that often overlap with Hanukkah. Though it was traditional to give "gelt" or money coins to children during Hanukkah, in many families this has changed into gifts in order to prevent Jewish children from feeling left out of the Christmas gift giving.

While Hanukkah traditionally speaking is only a minor Jewish holiday, as indicated by the lack of restrictions on work other than a few minutes after lighting the candles, Hanukkah has taken a place equal to Passover as a symbol of Jewish identity. Both the Israeli and North American versions of Hanukkah emphasize resistance, focusing on some combination of national liberation and religious freedom as the defining meaning of the holiday.

===Green Hanukkah===

Some Jews in North America and Israel have taken up environmental concerns in relation to Hanukkah's "miracle of the oil", emphasizing reflection on energy conservation and energy independence. An example of this is the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life's renewable energy campaign.<ref>[http://www.shalomctr.org/node/1315 Shalom Center on Hannukah and the environment]</ref> <ref>[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546797524&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Jerusalem Post: Green Hanukkia' campaign sparks ire]</ref> <ref>[http://www.coejl.org/climatechange/CFLceremony.php Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL): Green Hannukah ceremony]</ref>

==Hanukkah music==
{{main|Hanukkah music}}
There are several songs associated with the festival of Hanukkah. The most well known in English-speaking countries include "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" and "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah." In Israel, Hanukkah has become something of a national holiday. A large number of songs have been written on Hanukkah themes, perhaps more so than for any other Jewish holiday. Some of the most well known are "''Hanukkiah Li Yesh''" ("I Have a Hanukkah Menora"), "''Kad Katan''" ("A Small Jug"), "''S'vivon Sov Sov Sov''" ("Dreidel, Spin and Spin"), "''Mi Yimalel''" (Who can Retell") and "''Ner Li, Ner Li''" ("I have a Candle").

==Hanukkah foods==
[[Image:sufganiyah.jpeg|thumb|right|Sufganiyot with jelly]]
[[Potato pancakes]], known as [[latke]]s in [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], are traditionally associated with Hanukkah, especially among Ashkenazi families. There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil (preferably olive oil), as the original miracle of the Hanukkah menorah involved the discovery of the small flask of oil used by the Jewish High Priest, the [[Kohen Gadol]]. This small batch of olive oil was only supposed to last one day, and instead it lasted eight.

Many Sephardic families as well as [[History of Jews in Poland|Polish]] Ashkenazim and [[Israel]] have the custom of eating all kinds of fruit-filled [[doughnut]]s ({{lang-yi|פאנטשקעס ''pontshkes''}}), ([[bimuelos]], or [[sufganiyah|sufganiyot]]) which are [[Frying|deep-fried]] in oil, and of course all Kosher foods.

==Hanukkah games==
===Dreidel===
{{main|Dreidel}}
[[Image:Dreidel 001.jpg|thumb|right|Dreidel]]
The ''dreidel'', or ''sevivon'' in Hebrew, is a four-sided spinning top that children play with on Hanukkah. Each side is imprinted with a Hebrew letter. These letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words, נס גדול היה שם, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''S'''ham''—"A great miracle happened there" (referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Beit Hamikdash]]).

*נ ''([[Nun (letter)|Nun]])''
*ג ''([[Gimel (letter)|Gimel]])''
*ה ''([[He (letter)|Hey]])''
*ש ''([[Shin (letter)|Shin]])''

In [[Israel|Eretz Yisroel]], the fourth side of most dreidels is inscribed with the letter פ ''([[Pe (letter)|Pe]])'', rendering the acronym, נס גדול היה פה, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''P'''o''—"A great miracle happened here" referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel. Some stores in [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] neighbourhoods may sell the traditional ''Shin'' dreidels.

Some Jewish commentators ascribe symbolic significance to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects the four letters with the four exiles to which the nation of Israel was historically subject—Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome.<ref>[http://www.ohr.org.il/yhiy/article.php/1309 Ohr Somayach :: Chanukah :: The Secret of the Dreidel]</ref>

After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, it is customary in many homes to play the dreidel game: Each player starts out with 10 or 15 coins (real or of chocolate), nuts, raisins, candies or other markers, and places one marker in the "pot." The first player spins the dreidel, and depending on which side the dreidel falls on, either wins a marker from the pot or gives up part of his stash. The code (based on a [[Yiddish Language|Yiddish]] version of the game) is as follows:
*Nun - ''nisht'' - "nothing" - nothing happens and the next player spins
*Gimel - ''gants'' - "all" - the player takes the entire pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtel ayn'' - "put in" - the player puts one marker in the pot

Another version differs:
*Nun - ''nim'' - "take" - the player takes one from the pot
*Gimel - ''gib'' - "give" - the player puts one in the pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtil'' - "still" (as in "stillness") - nothing happens and the next player spins

The game may last until one person has won everything.

Some say the dreidel game is played to commemorate a game devised by the Jews to camouflage the fact that they were [[Torah study|studying Torah]], which was outlawed by Greeks. The Jews would gather in caves to study, posting a lookout to alert the group to the presence of Greek soldiers. If soldiers were spotted, the Jews would hide their scrolls and spin tops, so the Greeks thought they were gambling, not learning.

===Hanukkah ''gelt''===
Hanukkah ''gelt'' ([[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] for "money") is often distributed to children to enhance their enjoyment of the holiday. The amount is usually in small coins, although grandparents or other relatives may give larger sums as an official Hanukkah gift. In Israel, Hanukkah ''gelt'' is known as ''dmei Hanukkah''. Many Hasidic [[Rebbe]]s distribute coins to those who visit them during Hanukkah. Hasidic Jews consider this to be an auspicious blessing from the Rebbe, and a ''[[segulah]]'' for success.

Twentieth-century [[United States|American]] [[chocolatier]]s picked up on the gift/coin concept by creating [[chocolate money|chocolate ''gelt'']].

==Alternative spellings based on transliterating Hebrew letters==
In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], the word Hanukkah is written '''{{lang|he|חנֻכה}}''' or '''{{lang|he|חנוכה}}'''. It is most commonly transliterated to English as ''Chanukah'' or ''Hanukkah'', the latter because the sound represented by "CH" ([{{IPA|/x/}}], as in the [[Scots language|Scottish]] pronunciation of "[[loch]]") essentially does not exist in the modern English language. Furthermore, the letter "[[heth]]" ('''{{lang|he|ח}}'''), which is the first letter in the Hebrew spelling, is pronounced differently in modern Hebrew ([[voiceless velar fricative]]) than in classical Hebrew ([[voiceless pharyngeal fricative]]), and neither of those sounds is unambiguously representable in English spelling. Moreover, the 'kaf' consonant is [[geminate]] in classical (but not modern) Hebrew. Adapting the classical Hebrew pronunciation with the geminate and pharyngeal Ḥeth can lead to the spelling "Hanukkah"; while adapting the modern Hebrew pronunciation with no geminate and velar Ḥeth leads to the spelling "Chanukah". Variations include:
[[Image:Hanukkah.png|right|thumb|Spelling variations are due to transliteration of Hebrew ''Chet Nun Vav Kaf Hey'']]

===Common variants===
* Hanukkah (in North America, Australia - also very common in UK)
* Chanukkah (in the UK, also common in North America)

===YIVO variant===
* Khanike ([[YIVO]] standard [[transliteration]] from the Yiddish and/or Ashkenazic [[pronunciation]] of the Hebrew)

== Background ==
===Chronology===

*198 BCE: Armies of the Seleucid King [[Antiochus III]] (Antiochus the Great) oust [[Ptolemy V Epiphanes|Ptolemy V]] from Judea and Samaria.
*175 BCE: [[Antiochus IV]] (Epiphanes) ascends the Seleucid throne.
*168 BCE: Under the reign of Antiochus IV, the Temple is looted, Jews are massacred, and [[Judaism]] is outlawed.
*167 BCE: Antiochus orders an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. Mattathias, and his five sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah lead a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah becomes known as Judah Maccabe (Judah The Hammer).
*166 BCE: Mattathias dies, and Judah takes his place as leader. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom begins; It lasts until 63 BCE
*165 BCE: The Jewish revolt against the [[Seleucid]] monarchy is successful. The Temple is liberated and rededicated (Hanukkah).
*142 BCE: Establishment of the Second Jewish Commonwealth. The Seleucids recognize Jewish autonomy. The Seleucid kings have a formal overlordship, which the Hasmoneans acknowledged. This inaugurates a period of great geographical expansion, population growth, and religious, cultural and social development.
*139 BCE: The [[Roman Senate]] recognizes Jewish autonomy.
*130 BCE: Antiochus VII besieges [[Jerusalem]], but withdraws.
*131 BCE: Antiochus VII dies. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom throws off Syrian rule completely
*96 BCE: An eight year civil war begins.
*83 BCE: Consolidation of the Kingdom in territory east of the [[Jordan River]].
*63 BCE: The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an end due to rivalry between the brothers [[Aristobulus II]] and [[Hyrcanus II]], both of whom appeal to the [[Roman Republic]] to intervene and settle the power struggle on their behalf. The Roman general [[Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus]] (Pompey the Great) is dispatched to the area. Twelve thousand Jews are massacred as Romans enter Jerusalem. The Priests of the Temple are struck down at the Altar. Rome annexes Judea.

===Battles of the Maccabean revolt===
{{main|Maccabees}}
There were a number of key battles between the Maccabees and the Seleucid Syrian-Greeks:

:''Listed alphabetically'':

*[[Battle of Adasa]] ([[Judas Maccabeus]] leads the Jews to victory against the forces of Nicanor.)
*[[Battle of Beth Horon]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the forces of Seron.)
*[[Battle of Beth-zechariah]] (Elazar the Maccabee is killed in battle. Lysias has success in battle against the Maccabess, but allows them temporary freedom of worship.)
*[[Battle of Beth Zur]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the army of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]], recapturing Jerusalem.)
*[[Dathema]] (A Jewish fortress saved by Judas Maccabeus.)
*[[Battle of Elasa]] (Judas Maccabeus dies in battle against the army of [[Demetrius I Soter|King Demetrius]] and [[Bacchides (general)|Bacchides]]. He is succeeded by [[Jonathan Maccabaeus]] and [[Simon Maccabaeus]] who continue to lead the Jews in battle.)
*[[Battle of Emmaus]] (Judas Maccabeus fights the forces of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]] and [[Gorgias (Syrian general)|Georgias]]).
*[[Battle of Wadi Haramia]].

==When Hanukkah occurs==
{{further|[[Jewish holidays 2000-2050]]}}

The dates of Hanukkah are determined by the [[Hebrew calendar]]. Hanukkah begins at the 25th day of [[Kislev]] and concluding on the 2nd or 3rd day of [[Tevet]] (Kislev can have 29 or 30 days). The Jewish day begins at sunset, whereas the [[Gregorian calendar]] begins the day at midnight. So, the first day of Hanukkah actually begins at sunset of the day immediately before the date noted on Gregorian calendars.

===Hanukkah according to the Gregorian calendar===
Hanukkah begins at sundown on the evening before the date shown.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
*[[December 22]], [[2000]]
*[[December 10]], [[2001]]
*[[November 30]], [[2002]]
*[[December 20]], [[2003]]
*[[December 8]], [[2004]]
*[[December 26]], [[2005]]
*[[December 16]], [[2006]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 5]], [[2007]]
*[[December 22]], [[2008]]
*[[December 12]], [[2009]]
*[[December 2]], [[2010]]
*[[December 21]], [[2011]]
*[[December 9]], [[2012]]
*[[November 28]], [[2013]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 17]], [[2014]]
*[[December 7]], [[2015]]
*[[December 25]], [[2016]]
*[[December 13]], [[2017]]
*[[December 3]], [[2018]]
*[[December 23]], [[2019]]
{{col-end}}

==See also==
{{portalpar|Judaism|Menora.svg}}
*[[Hasmonean]]
*[[Maccabees]]
*[[Jewish holiday]]s
*[[Temple in Jerusalem]]
*''[[County of Allegheny v. ACLU]]'' on the constitutionality of Hanukkah displays on public property in the U.S.
*[[Short-lived recurring characters on Saturday Night Live#Hanukkah Harry|Hanukkah Harry]]
*[[Hanukkah bush]]
*''[[Hanukkah Rocks]]'' - 2005 album by [[The LeeVees]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{commonscat|Hanukkah}}
=== General ===
* [http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default.asp Complete Hanukkah Guide, with how-to's, songs, stories and children's activities on chabad.org]
* [http://www.aish.com/holidays/chanukah/ Chanukah - Aish.com - how to light, stories, children's activities]
* [http://www.midrash.org/halakha/hanukkah.html Midrash Hanukkah with Sephardic traditions and history]
* [http://www.coejl.org/Hanukkah COEJL's "Let there be renewable light" campaign]
* [http://www.oztorah.com/feature/archive/chanukah.php OzTorah - insights on Chanukah]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=77|type=Shiurim}}

=== Songs ===
* [http://judaism.about.com/od/chanukah/a/hanukahanerot.htm Hanerot Hallalu ("These Candles")]
* [http://judaism.about.com/od/chanukah/a/hanukamaoztzur.htm Maoz Tzur ("Rock of Ages")]
* [http://liturgy.exc.com/Songsheets/Hanukah.cgi Hanukkah songsheets]
* [http://www.hebrewsongs.com/chanukah.htm Hanukkah songs]

=== Recipes ===
* [http://www.rd.com/content/cherished-hanukkah-recipes-to-share/ Traditional Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://kosherfood.about.com/od/hanukkah/Hanukkah_Recipes_Kosher_Jewish_Holiday_Food.htm About Kosher Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.wiki-recipe.org/index.php?title=Category:Hanukkah Wiki-Recipe.org Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.hanukkahsite.com/latkerecipes.php The Largest Latke Recipe Database On The Web]

=== Video ===
* [http://www.aish.com/pathways/externallinks/videolink_chanukah.asp Video: Lighting Hanukkah Menorah How-To]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3174713748168758247&q=satmar The Grand Rabbi of Satmar lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5575698843335939574&q=hannukkah The Grand Rabbi of Bobov lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6632688275970858151&q=hanukkah The Grand Rabbi of Bobov leading his Hassidim in the singing of a Hanukkah hymn composed by his father after the Holocaust]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3703256978822489433&q=hanukah The Grand Rabbi of Klausenberg from America lighting the Hannukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6750102222090781896&q=hannukah The Grand Rabbi of Pittsburgh from Ashdod, E. Israel, leading his followers in the celebration of Hannukkah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4852503510504559495&q=hanukah The Grand Rabbi of Nadvorna from Safed, E. Israel, leading his followers in the celebration of Hannukah]

 
{{Hanukkah Footer}}
{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}


[[Category:Hanukkah| ]]
[[Category:Jewish holy days]]



[[ar:حانوكا]]
[[bg:Ханука]]
[[ca:Hanukà]]
[[cs:Chanuka]]
[[da:Chanukka]]
[[de:Chanukka]]
[[es:Jánuca]]
[[eo:Ĥanuka]]
[[fa:حنوکا]]
[[fr:Hanoucca]]
[[gl:Hanuka]]
[[ko:하누카]]
[[hi:हनुका]]
[[hr:Hanuka]]
[[id:Hari raya Pentahbisan]]
[[it:Chanukah]]
[[he:חנוכה]]
[[la:Encaenia]]
[[hu:Hanuka]]
[[ms:Hanukkah]]
[[nl:Chanoeka]]
[[ja:ハヌカー]]
[[no:Hanukka]]
[[nn:Hanukká]]
[[oc:Khanuca]]
[[pl:Chanuka]]
[[pt:Chanucá]]
[[ro:Hanuka]]
[[ru:Ханука]]
[[sk:Chanuka]]
[[sr:Ханука]]
[[fi:Hanukka]]
[[sv:Chanukka]]
[[tl:Pista ng Pagtatalaga]]
[[vi:Hanukkah]]
[[tr:Hanuka]]
[[uk:Ханука]]
[[yi:חנוכה]]
[[zh-yue:修殿節]]
[[zh:光明节]]

Shabbat

2008-11-24T16:55:27Z

Dbratton: Undid revision 253809384 by SAD 4 L4E (talk)

{{otheruses4|the rest day in Judaism|the Talmud tractate|Shabbat (Talmud)|other uses|Sabbath}}
[[Image:ShabbatableS.jpg|250px|thumb|Table set for Friday night meal]]
{{Judaism}}
'''Shabbat''' or '''Shabbos''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''שַׁבָּת''', ''shabbāt'', ''shabbes'', "rest/inactivity"), is the [[week]]ly [[Sabbath]] or [[day of rest]] in [[Judaism]], symbolizing the seventh day in [[Genesis]], after the six days of creation. Though it is commonly said to be the [[Saturday]] of each week, it is observed from sundown on [[Friday]] until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact time therefore differs from week to week and from place to place, depending on the time of the sunset.

Shabbat is observed both by positive observances, such as three festive meals (Friday-night dinner, Saturday lunch, and a Saturday-evening meal), and restrictions. [[Activities prohibited on Shabbat|Activities forbidden on the Shabbat]] derive from thirty-nine basic actions (''melachot'', loosely translated as "work") that are derived by the [[Talmud]] from Biblical sources.

==Etymology==
The Hebrew word ''Shabbat'' comes from the Hebrew verb ''shavat'', which literally means "to cease." Although ''Shabbat'' (or its anglicized version, "Sabbath") is almost universally translated as "rest" or a "period of rest," a more literal translation would be "ceasing", with the implication of "ceasing from work." Thus, ''Shabbat'' is the day of ceasing from work; while resting is implied, it is not a necessary denotation of the word itself. For example, the Hebrew word for "[[Strike action|strike]]" (as in work stoppage) is ''shevita'', which comes from the same Hebrew root as ''Shabbat'', and has the same implication, namely that striking workers actively abstain from work, rather than passively.

Some people ask why [[Names of God in Judaism|God]] needed to "rest" on the seventh day of [[Creation according to Genesis]]. If the meaning of the word is understood as "ceasing from labor" rather than "rested," this is more consistent with the biblical view of an [[Omnipotence|omnipotent]] God.

''Shabbat'' is the source for the [[English language|English]] term [[wikt:sabbath|Sabbath]], and for the word denoting this day of the week in many languages. The word "[[sabbatical]]" - referring to the sabbatical year in the Bible, or a year that one takes off from work, mainly in the academic world, also comes from this root.

==Biblical source==
The special status of Shabbat as a holy day is contained in {{bibleverse||Genesis|2:3|HE}} of the [[Tanakh]] (the [[Hebrew Bible]]):

:And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it He rested from all His work which God in creating had made.

Though the holy status of the day is indicated in Genesis 2:3, no obligation arises directly from that status. The actual commandment to observe the Sabbath is mentioned many times in the [[Tanakh]], all of these arise after [[the Exodus]] from Egypt. The first commandment relating to the Sabbath is the fourth of the [[Ten Commandments]] ({{bibleverse||Exodus|20:8-10|HE}} and {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|5:12-14|HE}}):

: Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. For six days you shall labour and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work... For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.

The first appearance of the commandment is in fact earlier, in {{bibleverse||Exodus|16:26|HE}}, where Moses commands the Israelites to leave off the gathering of manna on the seventh day, the Sabbath:

:Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.

Other instances are {{bibleverse||Exodus|31:12-17|HE}} and {{bibleverse||Exodus|35:2-3|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Leviticus|19:3|HE}} {{bibleverse||Leviticus|19:30|HE}} and {{bibleverse||Leviticus|23:3|HE}} and {{bibleverse||Numbers|28:9-10|HE}} (the [[Korban|sacrifices]] offered on the Shabbat). It is referred to directly by the prophets {{bibleverse||Isaiah|56:4,6|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Ezekiel|20:13|HE}} {{bibleverse||Ezekiel|22:8|HE}} {{bibleverse||Ezekiel|23:38|HE}} and {{bibleverse||Nehemiah|9:14|HE}}.

==Status as a holy day==
[[Image:Shabbat table setting.jpg|thumb|250px|The Shabbat table is set: two covered [[challot]], a [[kiddush]] cup, two candles, and flowers.]]
The Tanakh and [[siddur]] (Jewish prayer book) describe Shabbat as having three purposes:
# A commemoration of the Israelites' [[the Exodus|redemption from slavery]] in [[ancient Egypt]];
# A commemoration of [[Names of God in Judaism|God's]] [[Creation according to Genesis|creations of the universe]]; on the seventh day God rested from (or ceased) his work;
# A taste of the world in [[Messianic Age|Messianic times]].

Judaism accords Shabbat the status of a joyous holy day. In many ways, Jewish law gives Shabbat the status of being the most important holy day in the Jewish calendar:
* It is the first holy day mentioned in the Bible, and God was the first to observe it with the cessation of [[Creation according to Genesis|Creation]] (Genesis 2:1-3).
* [[Jewish services|Jewish liturgy]] treats the Sabbath as a "bride" and "queen."
* The [[Sefer Torah]] is read during the [[Torah reading]] which is part of the Saturday morning services, with a longer reading than during the week. The Torah is read over a yearly cycle of 54 ''[[Parsha|parshiot]]'', one for each Shabbat (sometimes they are doubled). On Shabbat the reading is divided into seven sections, more than on any other holy day, including [[Yom Kippur]]. Then, the [[Haftarah]] reading from the Hebrew prophets is read.
* A tradition states that the [[Jewish Messiah]] will come if every Jew properly observes two consecutive Sabbaths.<ref>[[Talmud]], tractate Shabbat 118</ref>
* The punishment in ancient times for desecrating Shabbat ([[stoning]]) is the most severe punishment in [[Jewish law]].<ref>See e.g. Numbers 15:32-36.</ref>

==Shabbat rituals==
[[Image:Shabbat Challos.jpg|right|275px|thumb|Two homemade [[whole wheat flour|whole-wheat]] challahs covered by a traditional [[embroidery|embroidered]] Shabbat [[challah cover]]]]
Shabbat is a day of celebration as well as one of [[Jewish services|prayer]]. It is customary to eat three festive meals on Shabbat. These include dinner on Friday night, lunch on Saturday and another meal before the conclusion of Shabbat later in the afternoon.

Many Jews attend synagogue services on Shabbat even if they do not do so during the week. Services are held on Friday night and Saturday morning.

With the exception of [[Yom Kippur]], which is referred to in the Torah as the "Sabbath of the Sabbaths," days of public fasting are postponed or advanced if they coincide with Shabbat. Mourners sitting ''[[shivah]]'' (week of mourning subsequent to the death of a spouse or first-degree relative) outwardly conduct themselves normally for the duration of the day and are forbidden to express public signs of mourning.

[[Image:Maurice Ascalon Shabbat Candle Sticks.jpg|200px|right|thumb|An example of a bronze Shabbat candlestick holder made in Israel in the 1940s.]]
According to [[Rabbinic literature]], God via the Torah commands Jews to ''observe'' (refrain from forbidden activity) and ''remember'' (with words, thoughts, and actions) the Shabbat, and these two actions are symbolized by [[Shabbat candles]] late Friday afternoon (in most communities, eighteen minutes before sunset is customary) by Jewish women, usually the mother/wife, though men who live alone are required to do so themselves. It is customary to light two candles, although some families light more, sometimes in accordance with the number of children.<ref>Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim chapter 261.</ref>

Although most Shabbat laws are restrictive (see below), the fourth of the [[Ten Commandments]] in [[Exodus]] is taken by the [[Talmud]] to allude to the ''positive'' commandments of the Shabbat. These include:
* Recitation of ''[[kiddush]]'', or "sanctification," over a cup of [[kosher wine|wine]] at the beginning of Shabbat before the first meal and after the conclusion of morning prayers (see [[list of Jewish prayers and blessings]])
* Eating three festive meals (''shalosh seudot''). Meals begin with a blessing over two loaves of bread (''lechem mishneh''), usually a braided [[challah]], which is symbolic of the double portion of manna God gave the Jewish people on Fridays during their time in the desert after the exodus from Egypt. It is customary to serve meat or fish, and sometimes both, for Friday night dinner and Shabbat lunch. The third meal, eaten late Saturday afternoon, is called ''[[Seudah Shlishit]]'' (literally, "third meal"). This is generally a light meal and may be [[parve]] or [[dairy]].
* Recitation of ''[[Havdalah]]'', or "separation," at the conclusion on Saturday night (over a cup of wine, and with the use of fragrant spices and a candle)
* Enjoying Shabbat (''Oneg Shabbat''). Engaging in pleasurable activities such as eating, singing, spending time with the family and marital relations.
* Honouring Shabbat (''Kavod Shabbat'') Preparing for the upcoming Shabbat by bathing, having a haircut, and cleaning and beautifying the home (with flowers, for example), or on Shabbat itself, wearing festive clothing and refraining from unpleasant conversation.

It is customary to avoid talk about money or business matters on Shabbat.<ref>Derived from Isaiah 48:13</ref>

==Prohibited activities==
===The 39 categories===
{{main|Activities prohibited on Shabbat}}
[[Halakha|Jewish law (halakha)]] prohibits doing any form of ''melachah'' (מְלָאכָה, plural ''melachot'') on Shabbat, with some exceptions. Though ''melachah'' is commonly translated as "work" in [[English language|English]], a better definition is "deliberate activity" or "skill and craftmanship". There are 39 categories of prohibited activities (''melachot'') listed in [[Mishnah]] [[Shabbat (Talmud)|Tractate Shabbat]] Chapter 7, Mishna 2).

Different streams of Judaism view the prohibition on work in different ways. Observant [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] and [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] Jews refrain from performing the prohibited activities. These prohibited activities are [[exegesis|exegetically]] derived - based on juxtaposition of corresponding Biblical passages - from the kinds of work that were necessary for the construction of the [[Tabernacle (Judaism)|Tabernacle]]. They are not directly listed in the Torah; elsewhere, the Mishnah observes that "the laws of the Sabbath [...] are like mountains hanging by a hair, for they are little Scripture but many laws" (Hagigah 1:8). Many [[Rabbinic literature|religious scholars]] have pointed out that these labors have in common activity that is "creative," or that exercises control or dominion over one's [[environment (biophysical)|environment]].

The 39 categories of ''melachah'' are ploughing earth, sowing, reaping, binding sheaves, threshing, winnowing, selecting, grinding, sifting, kneading, baking, shearing wool, washing wool, beating wool, dyeing wool, spinning, weaving, making two loops, weaving two threads, separating two threads, tying, untying, sewing stitches, tearing, trapping, slaughtering, flaying, tanning, scraping hide, marking hides, cutting hide to shape, writing two or more letters, erasing two or more letters, building, demolishing, extinguishing a fire, kindling a fire, putting the finishing touch on an object and transporting an object between the private domain and the public domain, or for a distance of 4 [[cubit]]s within the public domain.

Each ''melachah'' has derived prohibitions of various kinds. There are, therefore, many more forbidden activities on the Shabbat; all are traced back to one of the 39 above principal ''melachot''.

Given the above, the 39 ''melachot'' are not so much activities as "categories of activity." For example, while "winnowing" usually refers exclusively to the separation of [[chaff]] from [[cereal|grain]], and "selecting" refers exclusively to the separation of debris from grain, they refer in the Talmudic sense to any separation of intermixed materials which renders edible that which was inedible. Thus, filtering undrinkable [[water]] to make it drinkable falls under this category, as does picking small bones from [[fish]]. (''[[Gefilte fish]]'' is one solution to this problem.)

===Use of electricity===
{{Main|Electricity on Shabbat}}
Orthodox and some Conservative authorities rule that it is prohibited to turn [[electricity|electric]] devices on or off as falling under one of the "39 categories of work (''melachot'')". However, the authorities are not in agreement about exactly which category (or categories) this would fall under. One view is that tiny sparks are created in a switch when the circuit is closed, and this would constitute "lighting a fire" (category 37). If the appliance is one whose purpose is for light or heat (such as an incandescent lightbulb or electric oven) then the lighting or heating elements may be considered as a type of fire; if so, then turning them on constitutes both "lighting a fire" (category 37) and "cooking" (a form of baking, category 11), and turning them off would be "extinguishing a fire" (category 36).

Another view is that a device which is plugged into an electrical outlet of a wall becomes part of the building, but is nonfunctional while the switch is off; turning it on would then constitute "building" and turning it off would be "demolishing" (categories 35 and 34). Some schools of thought consider the use of electricity to be forbidden only by [[Mitzvah#Rabbinical mitzvot|rabbinic injunction]], rather than because it violates of one of the original categories.

A common solution to the problem of electricity involves pre-set timers ([[Shabbat clock]]s) for electric appliances, to turn them on and off automatically, with no human intervention on Shabbat itself. Some Conservative authorities<ref>Neulander, Arthur. "The Use of Electricity on the Sabbath." ''Proceedings of the Rabbinical Assembly'' 14 (1950) 165-171</ref><ref>Adler, Morris; Agus, Jacob; and Friedman, Theodore. "Responsum on the Sabbath." ''Proceedings of the Rabbinical Assembly'' 14 (1950), 112-137</ref><ref>Klein, Isaac. ''A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice.'' The Jewish Theological Seminary of America: New York, 1979.</ref> reject altogether the arguments for prohibiting the use of electricity.

=== Automobiles ===
{{main|Driving during Shabbat}}
Orthodox and many Conservative authorities completely prohibit the use of automobiles on Shabbat as a violation of multiple categories include "igniting a fire" (category 37), "extinguishing a fire" (category 36) and "transferring between domains" (category 39). However, the Conservative movement's [[Committee on Jewish Law and Standards]] permits driving to a synagogue on Shabbat, as an emergency measure, on the grounds that if Jews lost contact with synagogue life they would become lost to the Jewish people.

A halachically-authorized [[Shabbat module]] added to an [[Amigo]] power operated vehicle may be used on the observance of Shabbat for those with walking limitations. Manufactured by Zomet Institute in Israel, each Shabbat module application is individually inspected and certified by a Zomet representative. Intended only for individuals whose limited mobility is dependent on a POV/scooter or automobile consistently throughout the week.

===Shomer Shabbat===
{{Main|Shomer Shabbat}}
The term ''shomer shabbat'' is used for a person (or organization) who adheres to Shabbat laws consistently. The ''shomer shabbat'' is an archetype mentioned in Jewish songs (e.g., ''Baruch El Elyon'') and the intended audience for various treatises on Jewish law and practice for the Sabbath day (e.g., ''Shmirat Shabbat ke-Hilkhata'').

===Extenuating circumstances===
In the event that a human [[life]] is in danger (''[[pikuach nefesh]]''), a Jew is not only allowed, but required, to violate any Shabbat law that stands in the way of saving that person. (In fact, any law in Judaism, excluding murder, idolatry, and forbidden sexual acts, must be broken if doing so will help save the life of one who is in grave danger.) The concept of life being in danger is interpreted broadly: for example, it is mandated that one violate Shabbat to bring a woman in active labor to a hospital. Lesser, rabbinic restrictions are often violated under much less urgent circumstances (a patient who is ill but not critically so).

Various other legal principles closely delineate which activities constitute desecration of the Shabbat. Examples of these include the principle of ''shinui'' ("change" or "deviation") - a severe violation becomes a non-severe one if the prohibited act was performed in a way that would be considered abnormal on a weekday. Examples include writing with one's non-dominant hand (according to many rabbinic authorities). This legal principle operates ''bedi'avad'' (''[[ex post facto]]'') and does not cause a forbidden activity to be permitted barring extenuating circumstances.

===Technology in the service of Shabbat===
When there is an urgent human or medical need which is not life-threatening, it is possible to perform seemingly "forbidden" acts by modifying the relevant technology to such an extent that no law is actually violated. An example is the "[[Sabbath elevator]]". In this mode, an elevator will stop automatically at every floor, allowing people to step on and off without anyone having to press any buttons, which would normally be needed to work. ([[dynamic braking|Dynamic braking]] is also disabled if it is normally used, shunting energy collected from downward travel, and thus the gravitational potential energy of passengers, into a [[resistor]] network.) This prevents "violation" of the Sabbath prohibition against doing "useful work." Many rabbinical authorities consider the use of such elevators by those who are otherwise capable as a "violation" of the Sabbath, with such workarounds being for the benefit of the frail and handicapped and not being in the spirit of the day.

Many observant Jews avoid the prohibition of "carrying" in the absence of an [[eruv]] by making their [[Key (lock)|keys]] into a [[tie bar]], or part of a [[Belt (clothing)|belt]] buckle or [[brooch]]. The key thereby becomes a legitimate article of [[clothing]] or [[Jewellery|jewelry]], which may be worn, rather than carried.

In recent years, the [[Shabbat lamp]] has been developed to allow a light in a room to be turned on/off at will while the electricity remains on. A special mechanism blocks out the light when the off position is desired without violating Shabbat.

===Reform and Reconstructionist views===
Adherents of [[Reform Judaism]] and [[Reconstructionist Judaism]], generally speaking, believe that it is up to the individual Jew to determine whether to follow those prohibitions on Shabbat or not. For example, some Jews might find writing or other activities (such as cooking) for leisure and enjoyment purposes to be an enjoyable activity that enhances Shabbat and its holiness, and therefore encourage such practices. Many Reform Jews believe that what constitutes "work" is different for each person; thus only what the person considers "work" is forbidden. [http://www.shamash.org/lists/scj-faq/HTML/faq/18-04-17.html]

On the more rabbinically traditional side of Reform and Reconstructionism, it is believed that these halakhot in general may be valid, but it is up to each individual to decide how and when to apply said laws. Thus one can find a small fraction of Jews in the Progressive Jewish community who accept these laws in much the same way that Orthodox Jews do.

==Permitted activities==
The following activities are encouraged on Shabbat among all [[Jewish denominations]]:
*Spending Shabbat together with other Jews;
*[[Synagogue]] attendance for [[Jewish services|prayers]];
*Socializing with family and friends;
*Hosting guests for Shabbat meals (''hachnasat orchim'', "hospitality");
*Singing ''[[zemirot]]'', special songs for the Shabbat meal (commonly sung during or after a meal).
*Reading, studying and discussing [[Torah]] and commentary, [[Mishnah]] and [[Talmud]], learning some [[Halakha]] and [[Midrash]].
*Sexual relations between husband and wife, particularly on Friday night. (The [[Shulkhan Arukh]] describes this as a "double [[mitzvah]]," as it combines [[procreation]] with enjoyment of Shabbat, both of which are considered to be mandated by the Torah.)
*Taking Shabbat naps

==Special Sabbaths==
{{main|Special Sabbaths}}

The [[Special Sabbaths]] are associated with important [[Jewish holiday]]s that they precede: For example, Shabbat Hagadol, which is the Shabbat before Passover, Shabbat Zachor is the Shabbat before Purim, and Shabbat Teshuva is the Shabbat before Yom Kippur.

==Adaptation by other religions==
The principle of a weekly day of prayer and rest, derived from Shabbat, was eventually adopted and instituted by other religions as well. The majority of [[Christianity]] does not celebrate the Sabbath by what they perceive as a command of God through the Apostle Paul (Colossians 2:14-17) but does observe a weekly day of worship on Sunday, sometimes called "the Lord's Day", to commemorate the resurrection of Christ from the dead on the first day of the week. Many first century Christians observed the Sabbath in the Synagogue and the Lord's Day with their local church. The [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]] and the [[True Jesus Church]] observe the Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset as mentioned in Bible, as do "Seventh-Day" factions of other Christian denominations, such as [[Seventh Day Baptist]]s and [[Church of God|Churches of God]]. None of these religions currently keep Shabbat in the Jewish way.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} .

==See also==
*[[Baqashot]]
*[[Jewish holidays]]
*[[Jewish services#Shabbat|Jewish services for the Sabbath]]
*[[Moed]]
*[[Sabbath breaking]]
*[[Sabbath in Christianity]]
*[[Sabbath mode]]
*[[Shabbos goy]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*''The Modern Jewish Mom's Guide to Shabbat" [[Meredith Jacobs]],HarperCollins Publishers
*''The Sabbath'' [[Abraham Joshua Heschel]]
*''The Sabbath: A Guide to Its Understandings and Observance'' Dayan [[Isadore Grunfeld]], Philipp Feldheim Inc.
*''A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice'' [[Isaac Klein]], Ktav, 1992
*''The [[Artscroll]] Siddur'' Ed. [[Nosson Scherman]], Mesorah Publications
*''The [[Encyclopaedia Judaica]],'' entry on "Shabbat", Keter Publishing House Ltd
*''[[Siddur Sim Shalom]] for Shabbat and Festivals'' Ed. Leonard S. Cahan, The [[Rabbinical Assembly]] and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
*''[[Siddur Sim Shalom]]'' Ed. [[Jules Harlow]], The [[Rabbinical Assembly]] and the [[United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism]]
*''Sabbath - Day of Eternity'' by Rabbi [[Aryeh Kaplan]] - [http://www.ou.org/publications/kaplan/shabbat/default.htm online version].
*''The Laws of Shabbat (A 37-part self study course)'' Rabbi Daniel Schloss - [http://www.aish.com/shabbatlaws/selfstudycourse/default.asp here]

==External links==
{{commonscat|Shabbat}}
*[http://www.aish.com/pathways/externallinks/videolink_shabbatcandles.asp Video: Lighting Shabbat Candles How-To]
*[http://www.chabad.org/generic.asp?AID=253215 Online Shabbat Guide]
*[http://shamash.org/lists/scj-faq/HTML/faq/07-index.html FAQ about Shabbat] shamash.org
*[http://www.askmoses.com/qa_list.html?h=201 FAQ about Shabbat] askmoses.com
*[http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=6226 Candle Lighting Times for Shabbat World Wide]
*[http://molad.palmcrust.com/ Molad] - [[Freeware]] Jewish Calendar with Shabbat candle lighting times for [[Mobiles]].
*[http://www.ou.org/chagim/shabbat/ Information on Shabbat from the Union of Orthodox Congregations]
*[http://www.torah.org/advanced/shulchan-aruch/ocarchives.html a more detailed summary of the laws of Shabbat] from Torah.org, based on the [[Shulchan Aruch]]
*[http://www.aish.com/shabbatlaws/selfstudycourse/default.asp The Laws of Shabbat (A 37-part self study course) by Rabbi Daniel Schloss]
*[http://www.shemayisrael.co.il/publicat/schwartz/a15.htm Honoring Shabbat]
*[http://www.aish.com/pathways/externallinks/videolink_shabbatcandles.asp Shabbat Candle Lighting Instructions]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=274|type=Shiurim}}
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/eng/?cat=100|type=Q&A}}
*[http://www.timetolight.com/Default.aspx Shabbat Candle Lighting Times]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/calendar/eng/|desc=Hebrew calendar showing Shabbat times around the world}}

 {{Jewish holidays}}
{{Time in religion and mythology}}


[[Category:Shabbat| ]]
[[Category:Working time]]



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Talk:Tabernacle

2008-11-23T14:56:43Z

Dbratton: Revert to revision 201052069 dated 2008-03-26 13:30:56 by Postoak using popups

{{WikiProject Judaism | class= B | importance= high }}

what about the tabernacle in the Chatholic Religion?

* Since this page is Tabernacle (Judaism), perhaps a new page should be made Tabernacle (Catholocism) and the Catholic part of this page moved to it? The Catholic Tabernacle,a saint place, while having roots in the structure in the OT account, should not be on a Judaism page.

If the Catholic Tabernacle has it's roots in the OT why would you want to disassociate it from Judaism? [[User:Drewdafis|Drewdafis]] 19:41, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

It's just as much a part of the history of Christianity as it is of the history of Judaism. I am renaming this article back to "Tabernacle". A person searching for that word is most likely going to want this page. [[User:StAnselm|StAnselm]] 06:04, 8 May 2007 (UTC)
:*Excpet that I can't. It needs an admin. So what do people think? [[User:StAnselm|StAnselm]] 06:10, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

==Requested move==
<div class="boilerplate" style="background-color: #efe; margin: 2em 0 0 0; padding: 0 10px 0 10px; border: 1px dotted #aaa;">
:''The following discussion is an archived discussion of the {{{type|proposal}}}. '''Please do not modify it.''' Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section. ''

*The Tabernacle is as much a part of the history of Christianity as it is of the history of Judaism.
*A person searching for the word "Tabernacle" is most likely going to want this page. [[User:StAnselm|StAnselm]] 06:38, 8 May 2007 (UTC)
**StAnselm: This is not about "history of Judaism" but about the facts of a ''living'' [[Judaism]] ''[[wikt:per se|per se]]'' as it was practiced! The Tabernacle as understood in this article is not "part" of ''anything'' real in Christianity simply because there were no "christians" at the time the Tabernacle existed (and it's contents and rituals were then also incorporated into and used for four hundred years during the [[Solomon's Temple|First Temple]] and the four hundred years of the [[Second Temple]]) and used by the Jews and by the Jews only as part of what the [[Torah]] requires in the [[613 Mitzvot]]. The use of your argument would mean that everything in Judaism could be linked to Christianity because one way or another most things in Judaism are part of "the history of Christianity" so please try to avoid [[Supersessionism|supersessionist]] and falacious arguments. [[User:IZAK|IZAK]] 07:38, 9 May 2007 (UTC)
*'''Oppose'''. [[Tabernacle]] is a disambig page which links to several related articles which, while not quite as notable as this one, still need to be available to users who may not know the exact title they're searching for. The ''(Judaism)'' part of the title of this article is simply to differentiate this article from the others, and is reasonable - the tabernacle was a product of Judaism and was wholly contained within the religion. I see 3 uncited sentences mentioning the significance to christianity, which is hardly justification for a move on your first point. [[User:Dbratton|Daniel]][[Special:Contributions/Dbratton|C]]/[[User talk:Dbratton|T]][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Dbratton&action=edit&section=new +] 10:50, 8 May 2007 (UTC)
**Of course you're not going to see many references to Christianity if the title excludes it. The fact is, the tabernacle is not "wholly contained within the religion of Judaism," and so as it stands, the title is extremely biased. [[User:StAnselm|StAnselm]] 12:40, 8 May 2007 (UTC)
:'''agree''' This article is the primary topic and would be want the vast majority of people would want if they searched, and most wikilinked <nowiki>[[Tabernacle]]</nowiki> should go here. see [[Wikipedia:Disambiguation#Primary topic]]:
::"When there is a well known primary meaning for a term or phrase, much more used than any other (this may be indicated by a majority of links in existing articles or by consensus of the editors of those articles that it will be significantly more commonly searched for and read than other meanings), then that topic may be used for the title of the main article, with a disambiguation link at the top. Where there is no such clearly dominant usage there is no primary topic page."
:POV issue in the article should be address separately. [[User:Jon513|Jon513]] 14:14, 8 May 2007 (UTC)
:Why not start [[Tabernacle (Christianity)]]? A search for "Tabernacle" would find it! Best, --[[User:Shirahadasha|Shirahadasha]] 14:18, 8 May 2007 (UTC) An alternative would be to call the Biblical tabernacle [[Tabernacle (bible)]]. Best, --[[User:Shirahadasha|Shirahadasha]] 14:43, 8 May 2007 (UTC)
::This article is already (or should be) about [[Tabernacle (bible)]]. unfortunately [[User:StAnselm|StAnselm]] has confused two separate issues. One is that this articles deals with the primary meaning of the word tabernacle and should simply be name [[tabernacle]] and the disambig page should be [[Tabernacle (disambiguation)]] (per [Wikipedia:Disambiguation#Primary topic]]). Another separate issue is that this article is needlessly focused on Judaism's view where is should be focused on the bible and various interpretations of it. As it stands now the title is encouraging editors to only focus on part of the commentaries. There are no other articles on "scholarly views of the tabernacle", and "Christian views of the tabernacle" and there shouldn't be. They all belong is one article. Once the article becomes overly large ''then'' we can consider branching into smaller sub-articles. Of course changing the name of the article does magic change its POV, but hopefully that will happen some day. [[User:Jon513|Jon513]] 15:35, 8 May 2007 (UTC)
:::Well, it's a bit unfair to say I've confused two separate issues - they are ''both'' reasons for making the move. As far as the first reason goes, I'd be happy with [[Tabernacle (Bible)]]. [[User:StAnselm|StAnselm]] 01:21, 9 May 2007 (UTC)
*'''Oppose''' (and agree with [[User:Dbratton|User:Daniel]]) because the Tabernacle first existed on its own and then its contents and rituals became the foundation for the two [[Jew]]ish [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temples in Jerusalem]], ''all'' of which covers about 1500 years before Jesus. In fact, Christianity was created hundreds of years AFTER the [[Second Temple]] was destroyed, so User:StAnselm's "argument" is based on false logic as I have explained above. [[User:IZAK|IZAK]] 07:38, 9 May 2007 (UTC)
**This is does not represent a neutral point of view. Just because it was 1500 years before Jesus, it doesn't mean that it isn't part of Christianity. You're entitled to your own opinions about Christianity, but not everybody shares them. [[User:StAnselm|StAnselm]] 07:48, 9 May 2007 (UTC)
***IZAK, Even if you feel that this article should only talk about the Jewish view this article is still the primary meaning of the word and should get the title [[Tabernacle]] with [[Tabernacle (disambiguation)]] being on the side. [[User:Jon513|Jon513]] 15:20, 9 May 2007 (UTC)
*'''Note''': This debate has been included in the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Judaism|list of Judaism-related deletions]]. [[User:IZAK|IZAK]] 07:46, 9 May 2007 (UTC)
*'''Comment''': I think the whole business about whether the Tabernacle is more Jewish or more Christian is irrelevant. The question is: Why does this article need to be disambiguated at all? The alternates at [[Tabernacle]] fall into two classes; those which are unimportant compared to the subject of this article, and those which (like [[Mormon Tabernacle]] and [[Tabernacle Township, New Jersey]]) are already disambiguated from it, by English usage. [[User:Pmanderson|Septentrionalis]] [[User talk:Pmanderson|PMAnderson]] 03:23, 11 May 2007 (UTC)

:''The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the {{{type|proposal}}}. '''Please do not modify it.''' Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.</div>
''It is unfortunate that the discussion got side-tracked into questions of whether the tabernacle is Christian, Jewish, both or neither, which are entirely beside the point. It is clear to me from the above that this is the primary meaning of "tabernacle", and must therefore be at [[tabernacle]]. Determining the best disambiguating term would only be necessary if that were not the case.'' ''This article has been renamed {{{{{subst|}}}#if:Tabernacle (Judaism)|from [[Tabernacle (Judaism)]] to [[Tabernacle]]}} as the result of a [[wikipedia:requested moves|move request]].'' ''I have also moved the current disambiguation page back to [[tabernacle (disambiguation)]], where it belongs.'' --[[User:Stemonitis|Stemonitis]] 10:54, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

== Christian Churches/Chapels in Wales ==

Ok, it seems the whole disambig, Xtian vs Judaism, etc, debate above has already covered the fact that the article misses out some sort of Christian meaning of Tabernacle.

Just to add some background that might be useful, here in Wales "Tabernacle" is used both as a preferable term for church or chapel by Protestant, Baptist, and other Xtian sects, as in [http://www.brackla-tabernacle.org/|Brackla Tabernacle], or [[The Tabernacle, Machynlleth]]. It is also sometimes used as a descriptive or honorific term as in [http://www.archivesnetworkwales.info/cgi-bin/anw/fulldesc_nofr?inst_id=33&coll_id=2067&expand=| Tabernacle English Baptist Church]

Just [http://www.google.com/search?q=Tabernacle%20wales&sourceid=mozilla2&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8| google [Tabernacle + Wales<nowiki>]</nowiki>] and you get a picture of how common it is. --[[User:Myfanwy|Myfanwy]] 11:54, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

Hanukkah

2008-11-21T19:25:39Z

Dbratton: Revert to revision 253189725 dated 2008-11-21 14:21:11 by Deor using popups

{{for|the Khazar ruler|Hanukkah ben Obadiah}}
{{distinguish|Hanneke}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image =
|caption = Several Menorot on the eighth night of the festival.
|holiday_name = Hanukkah
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''חֲנֻכָּה''' or '''חנוכה''' [[English language|English]] translation: "Establishing/Dedication" (of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]])
|nickname = Festival of Lights, Festival of Dedication
|observedby = [[Jew]]s
|begins = 25 [[Kislev]]
|ends = 2 [[Tevet]] or 3 [[Tevet]]
|celebrations = Lighting [[candle]]s each night. Singing special songs, such as [[Ma'oz Tzur]]. Reciting [[Hallel]] prayer. Eating festive meals and foods fried in oil, such as [[latke]]s and [[sufganiyot]]. Playing the ''[[Hanukkah#Dreidel|dreidel]]'' game, and giving [[Hanukkah#Hanukkah gelt|Hanukkah ''gelt'']]
|type = Jewish
|significance = The [[Maccabees]] successfully rebelled against [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]]. The Temple was purified and the wicks of the menorah miraculously burned for eight days.
|relatedto = [[Purim]], as a [[rabbi]]nically decreed holiday.
|date2008 = sunset, [[December 21]] to sunset, [[December 29]] The first Day of Hanukkah is December 22.
|date2009 = sunset, [[December 11]] to sunset, [[December 19]]
|date2010 = sunset, [[December 1]] to sunset, [[December 9]]
}}
[[Image:Skulen2.JPG|thumb|Grand Rabbi [[Israel Abraham Portugal]] of [[Skulen (Hasidic dynasty)|Skulen]] [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]] lighting Hanukkah lights]]

'''Hanukkah''' ({{lang-he|חנוכה}}, alt. '''Chanukah'''), also known as the '''Festival of Lights''', is an eight-day [[Jewish holiday]] commemorating the rededication of the [[Second Temple]] in [[Jerusalem]] at the time of the [[Maccabean Revolt]] of the [[2nd century BCE]]. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of [[Kislev]] according to the [[Hebrew calendar]], and may occur from late November to late December on the [[Gregorian calendar]].

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a special [[candelabrum]], the ''[[Menorah (Hanukkah)|Menorah]]'' or ''Hanukiah'', one light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a ''[[Shamash#Shamash in Judaism|shamash]]'', ([[Hebrew (language)|Hebrew]]: "guard" or "servant") is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the [[Talmud]] (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. (The shamash is used to light the other lights.)

Hanukkah is mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] or [[Biblical apocrypha|apocrypha books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

==Origins of the holiday==
"Hanukkah," from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", marks the re-dedication of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] after its desecration by the forces of [[Antiochus IV]] and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil." According to the [[Talmud]], at the re-dedication following the victory of the [[Maccabees]] over the [[Seleucid Empire]], there was only enough consecrated [[olive oil]] to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

The martyrdom of Hannah and her seven sons has also been linked to Hanukkah. According to the Talmudic story<ref>Talmud Gittin 57b tells a story of a woman and her seven sons killed by "Caesar". The name "Hannah" is not stated.</ref> and [[2 Maccabees]], a Jewish woman named Hannah and her seven sons were tortured and executed by [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes|Antiochus]] for refusing to worship an idol, which would have been a violation of [[613 Mitzvot|Jewish law]].

===Name===
The name "Hanukkah" is interpreted in many ways.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://innernet.org.il/article.php?aid=11|title=Origin of the Name Chanukah|first=Nosson|last=Scherman|publisher=ArtScroll}}</ref>
*Some scholars say the word was derived from the Hebrew verb "חנך" meaning "to dedicate" or to "educate." On Hanukkah, Jews mark the rededication of the House of the Lord.<ref>[[Maharsha]] on [[Talmud]] [[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]] 21b</ref>

*Others argue that the name can be broken down into "חנו", from the Hebrew word for encampment, and the Hebrew letters כ"ה, which stand for the 25th day of Kislev, the day on which the holiday begins: Hence, the Jews sat in their camp, that is, they rested fighting, on the 25th day of Kislev.<ref>[[Nissim of Gerona|Ran]] on [[Isaac Alfasi|Rif]] 9b</ref>

*Hanukkah is also the Hebrew [[acronym]] for "ח' נרות והלכה כבית הלל" meaning "eight candles as determined by [[Hillel the Elder|House of Hillel]]" This is a reference to the disagreement between two rabbinical schools of thought - Hillel and the [[Shammai|House of Shammai]] - on the proper way to light Hanukkah candles. Shammai said that eight candles should be lit from the start, and reduced by one candle every night, whereas Hillel argued in favor of starting with one candle and lighting an additional one every night. Jewish law adopted the position of Hillel.

== Historical sources ==
=== In the Talmud ===
The miracle of Hanukkah is described in the [[Talmud]]. The [[Gemara]], in tractate ''Shabbat 21b'' focuses on [[Shabbat]] candles and moves to Hanukkah candles and says that after the occupiers had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was still [[seal (device)|seal]]ed by the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, and miraculously, that oil burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready).

The Talmud presents three options:
#The law requires only one light each night per household,
#A better practice is to light one light each night for each member of the household
#The most preferred practise is to vary the number of lights each night.
There was a dispute among the sages over how the last option was to be performed: either display eight lamps on the first night of the festival, and reduce the number on each successive night; or begin with one lamp the first night, increasing the number till the eighth night. The followers of [[Shammai]] favored the former custom; the followers of [[Hillel the Elder|Hillel]] advocated the latter. As is the case in most such disputes, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] followed Hillel. Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one's door or in the window closest to the street. [[Rashi]], in a note to ''Shabbat 21b,'' says their purpose is to publicize the miracle. Hanukkah is also mentioned in the (older) [[Mishnah]] (TB [[Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah]] 30b).

===In the Septuagint and other sources===
The story of Hanukkah is alluded to in the book of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]] of the [[Septuagint]] but Hanukkah is not specially mentioned; rather, a story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 ''et seq'' according to which the relighting of the altar fire by [[Nehemiah]] was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabeus.

The Books of Maccabees are not part of the [[Tanakh]] ([[Hebrew Bible]]), but are part of [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] historical and religious material preserved in the [[Septuagint]]. The Tanakh ends with the consequences following the events of [[Purim]], and had already been codified many centuries earlier by the [[Great Assembly|Men of the Great Assembly]] (''Anshei Knesset HaGedolah'').

Another source is the [[Megillat Antiochus]]. This work (also known as "Megillat HaHasmonaim", or "Megillat Hanukkah") is in both [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]; the Hebrew version is a literal translation from the Aramaic original. Recent scholarship dates it to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th Centuries, probably in the 2nd Century,<ref>{{cite web|first=Benjamin|last=Zvieli|title=The Scroll of Antiochus|url= http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html| accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> with the Hebrew dating to the seventh century.<ref name = "pvgsyw"> [http://customerservant.com/2006/12/16/the-scroll-of-the-hasmoneans/ The Scroll Of The Hasmoneans] </ref> It was published for the first time in [[Mantua]] in 1557. [[Saadia Gaon]], who translated it into [[Arabic language| Arabic]] in the 9th Century, ascribed it to the Maccabees themselves, disputed by some, since it gives dates as so many years before the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE.<ref> [http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html The Scroll of Antiochus] </ref> The Hebrew text with an English translation can be found in the [[Siddur]] of [[Philip Birnbaum]].

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the [[New Testament]], where in the [[Gospel of John]] it is referred to as the Feast of the Dedication ({{bibleverse||John|10:22|KJV}}).

== The story ==
{{see also|Hasmonean}}
Around 200 BCE Jews lived as an autonomous people in the [[Land of Israel]], also referred to as [[Judea]], which at that time was controlled by the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] [[Seleucid dynasty|king of Syria]]. The Jewish people paid taxes to Syria and accepted its legal authority, and they were free to follow their own faith, maintain their own jobs, and engage in trade.

By 175 BCE [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]] ascended to the Seleucid throne. At first little changed, but under his reign, the Temple in [[Jerusalem]] was looted, Jews were massacred, and [[Judaism]] was effectively outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple.

Many modern scholars argue that the king may have been intervening in an internal civil war between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized elite Jews in Jerusalem. These competed violently over who would be the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like [[Onias III|Onias]] overthrown by Hellenizers with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus. As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times, banned the traditional religion of a whole people.<ref>Tchrikover, Victor. ''Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews''.</ref>

Antiochus' actions proved to be a major miscalculation as they provoked a large-scale revolt. [[Mattathias]], a [[Kohen|Jewish priest]], and his five sons Jochanan, [[Simon Maccabaeus|Simeon]], [[Eleazar Maccabeus|Eleazar]], [[Jonathan Maccabaeus|Jonathan]], and [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] led a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated.
The festival of Hanukkah was instituted by [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah Maccabee]] and his brothers to celebrate this event.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#59 1 Macc. iv. 59]</ref> After recovering Jerusalem and the Temple, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. But 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 by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

[[Image:Hanukkah2.jpg|thumb|right|Hanukkah lamp unearthed near [[Jerusalem]], c. 1900.]]
The version of the story in 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, states that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was proclaimed upon rededication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of the oil.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#36 1 Macc. iv. 36]</ref> A number of historians believe that the reason for the eight day celebration was that the first Hanukkah was in effect a belated celebration of the festivals of [[Sukkot]] and [[Shemini Atzeret]].<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA10.HTM#6 Macc. x. 6] and [http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA1.HTM#9 i. 9]</ref> During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret properly; the combined festivals also last eight days, and the Sukkot festivities featured the lighting of lamps in the Temple (Suk.v. 2-4). The historian [[Josephus]]<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+12.287]
''Jewish Antiquities'' xii. 7, § 7, #323</ref> mentions the eight-day festival and its customs, but does not tell us the origin of the eight day lighting custom. Given that his audience was Hellenized Romans, perhaps his silence on the origin of the eight-day custom is due to its miraculous nature. In any event, he does report that lights were kindled in the household and the popular name of the festival was, therefore the "Festival of Lights" ("And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights").

It has also been noted that the number eight has special significance in Jewish theology, as representing transcendence and the Jewish People's special role in human history. Seven is the number of days of creation, that is, of completion of the material cosmos, and also of the classical planets. Eight, being one step beyond seven, represents the Infinite. Hence, the Eighth Day of the Assembly festival, mentioned above, is according to Jewish Law a festival for Jews only (unlike Sukkot, when all peoples were welcome in Jerusalem). Similarly, the rite of [[brit milah]] (circumcision), which brings a Jewish male into God's Covenant, is performed on the eighth day. Hence, Hanukkah's eight days (in celebration of monotheistic morality's victory over Hellenistic humanism) have great symbolic importance for practicing Jews.

==Hanukkah rituals==
[[Image:Hanukkah1.jpg|thumb|right|Various menorot used for Hanukkah. 12th through 19th century, CE]]

Hanukkah is celebrated by a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the 8-day holiday. Some are family-based and others are communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals. Hanukkah is not a "Sabbath-like" holiday, and there is no obligation to refrain from [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|activities that are forbidden on the Sabbath]], as specified in the ''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]''<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 670:1</ref> People go to work as usual, but may leave early in order to be home to kindle the lights at nightfall. There is no religious reason for schools to be closed, although, in Israel, schools close for the whole week of Hanukkah. Many families exchange gifts each night, and fried foods are eaten.

===Kindling the Hanukkah lights===
:{{seealso|Chanukkiyah}}
The primary ritual, according to [[Halakha|Jewish law and custom]], is to light a single light each night for eight nights. As a universally practiced "beautification" of the [[mitzvah]], the number of lights lit is increased by one each night.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 671:2</ref> An extra light called a ''shamash'', meaning ''guard'' or ''servant'' is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. This differs from [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] candles which are meant to be used for illumination. Hence, if one were to need extra illumination on Hanukkah, the ''shamash'' candle would be available and one would avoid using the prohibited lights. Some light the ''shamash'' candle first and then use it to light the others.<ref name = "lonorw">''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 673:1</ref> So all together, including the ''shamash'', two lights are lit on the first night, three on the second and so on, ending with nine on the last night, for a total of 44.

[[Image:Tiffany glasswork Hanukkah menora02.jpg|thumb|A modern [[Lead came and copper foil glasswork|"Tiffany"]] Hanukkah menorah]]
The lights can be candles or oil lamps.<ref name = "lonorw"/> Electric lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room. Most Jewish homes have a special [[candelabrum]] or oil lamp holder for Hanukkah, which holds eight lights plus the additional ''shamash'' light.

The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without," so that passers-by should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle. Accordingly lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street. It is customary amongst some Ashkenazim to have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), whereas most Sephardim light one for the whole household. Only when there was danger of [[Anti-Semitism|anti-semitic persecution]] were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the case in [[Iran|Persia]] under the rule of the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]], or in parts of Europe before and during World War II. However, most [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] groups, light lamps near an inside doorway, not necessarily in public view. According to this tradition, the lamps are placed on the opposite side from the ''[[mezuzah]]'', so that when one passes through the door he is surrounded by the holiness of ''mitzvoth''.

[[Image:Maurice Ascalon Menorah Pal-Bell.jpg|thumb|left|Bronze [[Pal-Bell]] oil-burning Hanukkah menorah from Israel circa 1948, by [[Maurice Ascalon]].]]
 
===Time of lighting===
Hanukkah lights should burn for at least one half hour after it gets dark. The custom of the [[Vilna Gaon]] observed by many residents of Jerusalem as the custom of the city, is to light at sundown, although most Hassidim light later, even in Jerusalem. Many Hasidic Rebbes light much later, because they fulfill the obligation of publicizing the miracle by the presence of their Hasidim when they kindle the lights. Inexpensive small wax candles sold for Hanukkah burn for approximately half an hour, so on most days this requirement can be met by lighting the candles when it is dark outside. Friday night presents a problem, however. Since candles may not be lit on the [[Shabbat]] itself, the candles must be lit before sunset. However, they must remain lit until the regular time - thirty minutes after nightfall - and inexpensive Hanukkah candles do not burn long enough to meet the requirement. A simple solution is to use longer candles, or the traditional oil lamps. In keeping with the above-stated prohibition, the Hanukkah menorah is lit first, followed by the Shabbat candles which signify its onset.

=== Blessings over the candles ===
[[Image:Menorah two candles.jpg|thumb|A menorah with two lit candles]]
Typically three blessings (''Brachot'' singular ''Brachah'') are recited during this eight-day festival. On the first night of Hanukkah, Jews recite all three blessings, on all subsequent nights, they recite only the first two.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:1-2</ref> The blessings are said before or after the candles are lit depending on tradition. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle, lamp, or electric) is lit on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first candle and so on, proceeding from right to left each night.

For the full text of the blessings, see [[List of Jewish prayers and blessings#Hanukkah|List of Jewish prayers and blessings: Hanukkah]]

==== ''Hanerot Halalu'' ====
During or after the lights are kindled the hymn ''Hanerot Halalu'' is recited. There are several differing versions - the version presented here is recited in many Ashkenazic communities:<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:4</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan=2 | [[Ashkenazi]]c version:
|-
! Transliteration
! English
|-
| Hanneirot hallalu anachnu madlikin 'al hannissim ve'al hanniflaot 'al hatteshu'ot ve'al hammilchamot she'asita laavoteinu bayyamim haheim, (u)bazzeman hazeh 'al yedei kohanekha hakkedoshim. Vekhol-shemonat yemei Hanukkah hanneirot hallalu kodesh heim, ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtammesh baheim ella lir'otam bilvad kedei lehodot ul'halleil leshimcha haggadol 'al nissekha ve'al nifleotekha ve'al yeshu'otekha
| We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your [[Kohen|holy priests]]. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them except for to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations.
|-
|}

==== ''Maoz Tzur'' ====
{{main|Ma'oz Tzur}}
Each night after the lighting of the candles, while remaining within sight of the candles, Ashkenazim (and, in recent decades, some Sephardim and Mizrahim in Western countries) usually sing the hymn ''Ma'oz Tzur'' written in Medieval [[Germany]]. The song contains six stanzas. The first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation, and the middle four deal with events of persecution in [[Jewish history]], and praises God for survival despite these tragedies ([[the exodus]] from Egypt, the [[Babylonian captivity]], the miracle of the holiday of [[Purim]], and the [[Hasmonean]] victory).

====Other customs====
After lighting the candles and Ma'oz Tzur, singing various other Hanukkah songs is customary in many Jewish homes. Various Hasidic and Sefardic traditions have additional prayers that are recited both before and after lighting the Hanukkah lights. This includes the recitation of many Psalms, most notably Psalms 30, 67, and 91 (many Hasidim recite Psalm 91 seven times after lighting the lamps, as was taught by the [[Baal Shem Tov]]), as well as other prayers and hymns, each congregation according to its own custom. In North America it is common to exchange presents or give children presents at this time.

=== Additions to the daily prayers ===
{{quote box|align=left|width=45%|quote="We thank You also for the miraculous deeds and for the redemption and for the mighty deeds and the saving acts wrought by You, as well as for the wars which You waged for our ancestors in ancient days at this season. In the days of the Hasmonean Mattathias, son of Johanan the high priest, and his sons, when the iniquitous Greco-Syrian kingdom rose up against Your people Israel, to make them forget Your Torah and to turn them away from the ordinances of Your will, then You in your abundant mercy rose up for them in the time of their trouble, pled their cause, executed judgment, avenged their wrong, and delivered the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and insolent ones into the hands of those occupied with Your Torah. Both unto Yourself did you make a great and holy name in Thy world, and unto Your people did You achieve a great deliverance and redemption. Whereupon your children entered the sanctuary of Your house, cleansed Your temple, purified Your sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courts, and appointed these eight days of Hanukkah in order to give thanks and praises unto Your holy name."|source=Translation of ''Al ha-Nissim''}}
An addition is made to the "''hoda'ah''" (thanksgiving) benediction in the [[Amidah]], called ''Al ha-Nissim'' ("On/about the Miracles").<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 682:1</ref> This addition refers to the victory achieved over the Syrians by the Hasmonean Mattathias and his sons.

The same prayer is added to the grace after meals. In addition, the ''[[Hallel]]'' Psalms are sung during each morning service and the ''[[Tachanun]]'' penitential prayers are omitted. The Torah is read every day in the [[synagogue]], the first day beginning from [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 6:22 (According to some customs, Numbers 7:1), and the last day ending with Numbers 8:4.

Since Hanukkah lasts eight days it includes at least one, and sometimes two, [[Shabbat|Jewish Sabbaths]] (Saturdays). The weekly [[Parsha|Torah portion]] for the first Sabbath is almost always ''[[Miketz]]'', telling of [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]]'s dream and his enslavement in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]. The ''[[Haftarah]]'' reading for the first Sabbath Hanukkah is [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]] 2:14-4:7. When there is a second Sabbath on Hanukkah, the ''Haftarah'' reading is from [[I Kings]] 7:40 - 7:50.

The Hanukkah ''menorah'' is also kindled daily in the synagogue, at night with the blessings and in the morning without the blessings. The menorah is not lit on the Sabbath, but rather prior to the beginning of the Sabbath at night and not at all during the day.

During the [[Middle Ages]] "[[Megillat Antiochus]]" was read in the [[Italian Jews#Italian rite Jews|Italian]] [[synagogues]] on Hanukkah just as the [[Book of Esther]] is read on [[Purim]]. It still forms part of the liturgy of the [[Yemenite Jews]].<ref name = "pvgsyw"/>

=== ''Zot Hanukkah'' ===
The last day of Hanukkah is known as ''Zot Hanukkah'', from the verse in the Book of Numbers 7:84 "''Zot Chanukat Hamizbe'ach''" - "This was the dedication of the altar", which is read on this day in the synagogue. According to the teachings of [[Kabbalah]] and [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]], this day is the final "seal" of the High Holiday season of [[Yom Kippur]], and is considered a time to repent out of love for God. In this spirit, many Hasidic Jews wish each other "''Gmar chatimah tovah''", "may you be sealed totally for good", a traditional greeting for the Yom Kippur season. It is taught in Hasidic and Kabbalistic literature that this day is particularly auspicious for the fulfillment of prayers.

==Judith and Holofernes==
[[Image:Cristofano Allori 002.jpg|thumb|left|''Judith with the head of Holofernes'' by Cristofano Allori]]

Eating dairy foods, especially cheese, on Hanukkah is a minor custom that has its roots in the story of Judith, as related in the book of [[Judith]] (''Yehudit'' or ''Yehudis'' in Hebrew). [[Holofernes]], an Assyrian general, had surrounded the village of Bethulia as part of his campaign to conquer Judea. After intense fighting, the water supply of the Jews is cut off and the situation became desperate. Judith, a pious widow, told the city leaders that she had a plan to save the city. Judith went to the Assyrian camps and pretended to surrender. She met Holofernes, who was smitten by her beauty. She went back to his tent with him, where she plied him with cheese and wine. When he fell into a drunken sleep, Judith beheaded him and escaped from the camp, taking the severed head with her. When Holofernes' soldiers found his corpse, they were overcome with fear; the Jews, on the other hand, were emboldened, and launched a successful counterattack. The town was saved, and the Assyrians defeated.

Many argue {{who}} that Holofernes was actually Greek, placing the events in the general time-frame of Hanukkah. The longstanding tradition that Judith was the daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, and consequently a sister of Mattathias the Hasmonean and an aunt of Judah the Maccabee, is how this story came to be associated with Hanukkah. There are many depictions of Judith and Holofernes in painting.

==Interaction with modernity and with other traditions==

The classical rabbis downplayed the military and nationalistic dimensions of Hanukkah, and some even interpreted the emphasis upon the story of the miracle oil as a diversion away from the struggle with empires that had led to the disastrous downfall of Jerusalem to the Romans. With the advent of Zionism and the state of Israel, these themes were rapidly reconsidered. In modern Israel, Hanukkah was transformed into a celebration of military strength, a kind of antidote to what was perceived as the idea of the powerless [[Jewish diaspora|Diaspora Jew]] that the Zionists felt that the Jews in the State of Israel needed to psychologically overcome.

In North America especially, Hanukkah gained increased importance with many Jewish families in the latter half of the twentieth century, including large numbers of [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Jews]], who wanted a Jewish alternative to the [[Christmas]] celebrations that often overlap with Hanukkah. Though it was traditional to give "gelt" or money coins to children during Hanukkah, in many families this has changed into gifts in order to prevent Jewish children from feeling left out of the Christmas gift giving.

While Hanukkah traditionally speaking is only a minor Jewish holiday, as indicated by the lack of restrictions on work other than a few minutes after lighting the candles, Hanukkah has taken a place equal to Passover as a symbol of Jewish identity. Both the Israeli and North American versions of Hanukkah emphasize resistance, focusing on some combination of national liberation and religious freedom as the defining meaning of the holiday.

===Green Hanukkah===

Some Jews in North America and Israel have taken up environmental concerns in relation to Hanukkah's "miracle of the oil", emphasizing reflection on energy conservation and energy independence. An example of this is the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life's renewable energy campaign.<ref>[http://www.shalomctr.org/node/1315 Shalom Center on Hannukah and the environment]</ref> <ref>[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546797524&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Jerusalem Post: Green Hanukkia' campaign sparks ire]</ref> <ref>[http://www.coejl.org/climatechange/CFLceremony.php Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL): Green Hannukah ceremony]</ref>

==Hanukkah music==
{{main|Hanukkah music}}
There are several songs associated with the festival of Hanukkah. The most well known in English-speaking countries include "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" and "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah." In Israel, Hanukkah has become something of a national holiday. A large number of songs have been written on Hanukkah themes, perhaps more so than for any other Jewish holiday. Some of the most well known are "''Hanukkiah Li Yesh''" ("I Have a Hanukkah Menora"), "''Kad Katan''" ("A Small Jug"), "''S'vivon Sov Sov Sov''" ("Dreidel, Spin and Spin"), "''Mi Yimalel''" (Who can Retell") and "''Ner Li, Ner Li''" ("I have a Candle").

==Hanukkah foods==
[[Image:sufganiyah.jpeg|thumb|right|Sufganiyot with jelly]]
[[Potato pancakes]], known as [[latke]]s in [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], are traditionally associated with Hanukkah, especially among Ashkenazi families. There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil (preferably olive oil), as the original miracle of the Hanukkah menorah involved the discovery of the small flask of oil used by the Jewish High Priest, the [[Kohen Gadol]]. This small batch of olive oil was only supposed to last one day, and instead it lasted eight.

Many Sephardic families as well as [[History of Jews in Poland|Polish]] Ashkenazim and [[Israel]] have the custom of eating all kinds of fruit-filled [[doughnut]]s ({{lang-yi|פאנטשקעס ''pontshkes''}}), ([[bimuelos]], or [[sufganiyah|sufganiyot]]) which are [[Frying|deep-fried]] in oil, and of course all Kosher foods.

==Hanukkah games==
===Dreidel===
{{main|Dreidel}}
[[Image:Dreidel 001.jpg|thumb|right|Dreidel]]
The ''dreidel'', or ''sevivon'' in Hebrew, is a four-sided spinning top that children play with on Hanukkah. Each side is imprinted with a Hebrew letter. These letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words, נס גדול היה שם, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''S'''ham''—"A great miracle happened there" (referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Beit Hamikdash]]).

*נ ''([[Nun (letter)|Nun]])''
*ג ''([[Gimel (letter)|Gimel]])''
*ה ''([[He (letter)|Hey]])''
*ש ''([[Shin (letter)|Shin]])''

In [[Israel|Eretz Yisroel]], the fourth side of most dreidels is inscribed with the letter פ ''([[Pe (letter)|Pe]])'', rendering the acronym, נס גדול היה פה, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''P'''o''—"A great miracle happened here" referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel. Some stores in [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] neighbourhoods may sell the traditional ''Shin'' dreidels.

Some Jewish commentators ascribe symbolic significance to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects the four letters with the four exiles to which the nation of Israel was historically subject—Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome.<ref>[http://www.ohr.org.il/yhiy/article.php/1309 Ohr Somayach :: Chanukah :: The Secret of the Dreidel]</ref>

After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, it is customary in many homes to play the dreidel game: Each player starts out with 10 or 15 coins (real or of chocolate), nuts, raisins, candies or other markers, and places one marker in the "pot." The first player spins the dreidel, and depending on which side the dreidel falls on, either wins a marker from the pot or gives up part of his stash. The code (based on a [[Yiddish Language|Yiddish]] version of the game) is as follows:
*Nun - ''nisht'' - "nothing" - nothing happens and the next player spins
*Gimel - ''gants'' - "all" - the player takes the entire pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtel ayn'' - "put in" - the player puts one marker in the pot

Another version differs:
*Nun - ''nim'' - "take" - the player takes one from the pot
*Gimel - ''gib'' - "give" - the player puts one in the pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtil'' - "still" (as in "stillness") - nothing happens and the next player spins

The game may last until one person has won everything.

Some say the dreidel game is played to commemorate a game devised by the Jews to camouflage the fact that they were [[Torah study|studying Torah]], which was outlawed by Greeks. The Jews would gather in caves to study, posting a lookout to alert the group to the presence of Greek soldiers. If soldiers were spotted, the Jews would hide their scrolls and spin tops, so the Greeks thought they were gambling, not learning.

===Hanukkah ''gelt''===
Hanukkah ''gelt'' ([[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] for "money") is often distributed to children to enhance their enjoyment of the holiday. The amount is usually in small coins, although grandparents or other relatives may give larger sums as an official Hanukkah gift. In Israel, Hanukkah ''gelt'' is known as ''dmei Hanukkah''. Many Hasidic [[Rebbe]]s distribute coins to those who visit them during Hanukkah. Hasidic Jews consider this to be an auspicious blessing from the Rebbe, and a ''[[segulah]]'' for success.

Twentieth-century [[United States|American]] [[chocolatier]]s picked up on the gift/coin concept by creating [[chocolate money|chocolate ''gelt'']].

==Alternative spellings based on transliterating Hebrew letters==
In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], the word Hanukkah is written '''{{lang|he|חנֻכה}}''' or '''{{lang|he|חנוכה}}'''. It is most commonly transliterated to English as ''Chanukah'' or ''Hanukkah'', the latter because the sound represented by "CH" ([{{IPA|/x/}}], as in the [[Scots language|Scottish]] pronunciation of "[[loch]]") essentially does not exist in the modern English language. Furthermore, the letter "[[heth]]" ('''{{lang|he|ח}}'''), which is the first letter in the Hebrew spelling, is pronounced differently in modern Hebrew ([[voiceless velar fricative]]) than in classical Hebrew ([[voiceless pharyngeal fricative]]), and neither of those sounds is unambiguously representable in English spelling. Moreover, the 'kaf' consonant is [[geminate]] in classical (but not modern) Hebrew. Adapting the classical Hebrew pronunciation with the geminate and pharyngeal Ḥeth can lead to the spelling "Hanukkah"; while adapting the modern Hebrew pronunciation with no geminate and velar Ḥeth leads to the spelling "Chanukah". Variations include:
[[Image:Hanukkah.png|right|thumb|Spelling variations are due to transliteration of Hebrew ''Chet Nun Vav Kaf Hey'']]

===Common variants===
* Hanukkah (in North America, Australia - also very common in UK)
* Chanukkah (in the UK, also common in North America)

===YIVO variant===
* Khanike ([[YIVO]] standard [[transliteration]] from the Yiddish and/or Ashkenazic [[pronunciation]] of the Hebrew)

== Background ==
===Chronology===

*198 BCE: Armies of the Seleucid King [[Antiochus III]] (Antiochus the Great) oust [[Ptolemy V Epiphanes|Ptolemy V]] from Judea and Samaria.
*175 BCE: [[Antiochus IV]] (Epiphanes) ascends the Seleucid throne.
*168 BCE: Under the reign of Antiochus IV, the Temple is looted, Jews are massacred, and [[Judaism]] is outlawed.
*167 BCE: Antiochus orders an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. Mattathias, and his five sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah lead a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah becomes known as Judah Maccabe (Judah The Hammer).
*166 BCE: Mattathias dies, and Judah takes his place as leader. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom begins; It lasts until 63 BCE
*165 BCE: The Jewish revolt against the [[Seleucid]] monarchy is successful. The Temple is liberated and rededicated (Hanukkah).
*142 BCE: Establishment of the Second Jewish Commonwealth. The Seleucids recognize Jewish autonomy. The Seleucid kings have a formal overlordship, which the Hasmoneans acknowledged. This inaugurates a period of great geographical expansion, population growth, and religious, cultural and social development.
*139 BCE: The [[Roman Senate]] recognizes Jewish autonomy.
*130 BCE: Antiochus VII besieges [[Jerusalem]], but withdraws.
*131 BCE: Antiochus VII dies. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom throws off Syrian rule completely
*96 BCE: An eight year civil war begins.
*83 BCE: Consolidation of the Kingdom in territory east of the [[Jordan River]].
*63 BCE: The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an end due to rivalry between the brothers [[Aristobulus II]] and [[Hyrcanus II]], both of whom appeal to the [[Roman Republic]] to intervene and settle the power struggle on their behalf. The Roman general [[Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus]] (Pompey the Great) is dispatched to the area. Twelve thousand Jews are massacred as Romans enter Jerusalem. The Priests of the Temple are struck down at the Altar. Rome annexes Judea.

===Battles of the Maccabean revolt===
{{main|Maccabees}}
There were a number of key battles between the Maccabees and the Seleucid Syrian-Greeks:

:''Listed alphabetically'':

*[[Battle of Adasa]] ([[Judas Maccabeus]] leads the Jews to victory against the forces of Nicanor.)
*[[Battle of Beth Horon]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the forces of Seron.)
*[[Battle of Beth-zechariah]] (Elazar the Maccabee is killed in battle. Lysias has success in battle against the Maccabess, but allows them temporary freedom of worship.)
*[[Battle of Beth Zur]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the army of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]], recapturing Jerusalem.)
*[[Dathema]] (A Jewish fortress saved by Judas Maccabeus.)
*[[Battle of Elasa]] (Judas Maccabeus dies in battle against the army of [[Demetrius I Soter|King Demetrius]] and [[Bacchides (general)|Bacchides]]. He is succeeded by [[Jonathan Maccabaeus]] and [[Simon Maccabaeus]] who continue to lead the Jews in battle.)
*[[Battle of Emmaus]] (Judas Maccabeus fights the forces of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]] and [[Gorgias (Syrian general)|Georgias]]).
*[[Battle of Wadi Haramia]].

==When Hanukkah occurs==
{{further|[[Jewish holidays 2000-2050]]}}

The dates of Hanukkah are determined by the [[Hebrew calendar]]. Hanukkah begins at the 25th day of [[Kislev]] and concluding on the 2nd or 3rd day of [[Tevet]] (Kislev can have 29 or 30 days). The Jewish day begins at sunset, whereas the [[Gregorian calendar]] begins the day at midnight. So, the first day of Hanukkah actually begins at sunset of the day immediately before the date noted on Gregorian calendars.

===Hanukkah according to the Gregorian calendar===
Hanukkah begins at sundown on the evening before the date shown.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
*[[December 22]], [[2000]]
*[[December 10]], [[2001]]
*[[November 30]], [[2002]]
*[[December 20]], [[2003]]
*[[December 8]], [[2004]]
*[[December 26]], [[2005]]
*[[December 16]], [[2006]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 5]], [[2007]]
*[[December 22]], [[2008]]
*[[December 12]], [[2009]]
*[[December 2]], [[2010]]
*[[December 21]], [[2011]]
*[[December 9]], [[2012]]
*[[November 28]], [[2013]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 17]], [[2014]]
*[[December 7]], [[2015]]
*[[December 25]], [[2016]]
*[[December 13]], [[2017]]
*[[December 3]], [[2018]]
*[[December 23]], [[2019]]
{{col-end}}

==See also==
{{portalpar|Judaism|Menora.svg}}
*[[Hasmonean]]
*[[Maccabees]]
*[[Jewish holiday]]s
*[[Temple in Jerusalem]]
*''[[County of Allegheny v. ACLU]]'' on the constitutionality of Hanukkah displays on public property in the U.S.
*[[Short-lived recurring characters on Saturday Night Live#Hanukkah Harry|Hanukkah Harry]]
*[[Hanukkah bush]]
*''[[Hanukkah Rocks]]'' - 2005 album by [[The LeeVees]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{commonscat|Hanukkah}}
=== General ===
* [http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default.asp Complete Hanukkah Guide, with how-to's, songs, stories and children's activities on chabad.org]
* [http://www.aish.com/holidays/chanukah/ Chanukah - Aish.com - how to light, stories, children's activities]
* [http://www.midrash.org/halakha/hanukkah.html Midrash Hanukkah with Sephardic traditions and history]
* [http://www.coejl.org/Hanukkah COEJL's "Let there be renewable light" campaign]
* [http://www.oztorah.com/feature/archive/chanukah.php OzTorah - insights on Chanukah]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=77|type=Shiurim}}

=== Songs ===
* [http://judaism.about.com/od/chanukah/a/hanukahanerot.htm Hanerot Hallalu ("These Candles")]
* [http://judaism.about.com/od/chanukah/a/hanukamaoztzur.htm Maoz Tzur ("Rock of Ages")]
* [http://liturgy.exc.com/Songsheets/Hanukah.cgi Hanukkah songsheets]
* [http://www.hebrewsongs.com/chanukah.htm Hanukkah songs]

=== Recipes ===
* [http://www.rd.com/content/cherished-hanukkah-recipes-to-share/ Traditional Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://kosherfood.about.com/od/hanukkah/Hanukkah_Recipes_Kosher_Jewish_Holiday_Food.htm About Kosher Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.wiki-recipe.org/index.php?title=Category:Hanukkah Wiki-Recipe.org Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.hanukkahsite.com/latkerecipes.php The Largest Latke Recipe Database On The Web]

=== Video ===
* [http://www.aish.com/pathways/externallinks/videolink_chanukah.asp Video: Lighting Hanukkah Menorah How-To]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3174713748168758247&q=satmar The Grand Rabbi of Satmar lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5575698843335939574&q=hannukkah The Grand Rabbi of Bobov lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6632688275970858151&q=hanukkah The Grand Rabbi of Bobov leading his Hassidim in the singing of a Hanukkah hymn composed by his father after the Holocaust]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3703256978822489433&q=hanukah The Grand Rabbi of Klausenberg from America lighting the Hannukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6750102222090781896&q=hannukah The Grand Rabbi of Pittsburgh from Ashdod, E. Israel, leading his followers in the celebration of Hannukkah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4852503510504559495&q=hanukah The Grand Rabbi of Nadvorna from Safed, E. Israel, leading his followers in the celebration of Hannukah]

 
{{Hanukkah Footer}}
{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}


[[Category:Hanukkah| ]]
[[Category:Jewish holy days]]



[[ar:حانوكا]]
[[bg:Ханука]]
[[ca:Hanukà]]
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[[da:Chanukka]]
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[[es:Jánuca]]
[[eo:Ĥanuka]]
[[fa:حنوکا]]
[[fr:Hanoucca]]
[[gl:Hanuka]]
[[ko:하누카]]
[[hi:हनुका]]
[[hr:Hanuka]]
[[id:Hari raya Pentahbisan]]
[[it:Chanukah]]
[[he:חנוכה]]
[[la:Encaenia]]
[[hu:Hanuka]]
[[ms:Hanukkah]]
[[nl:Chanoeka]]
[[ja:ハヌカー]]
[[no:Hanukka]]
[[nn:Hanukká]]
[[oc:Khanuca]]
[[pl:Chanuka]]
[[pt:Chanucá]]
[[ro:Hanuka]]
[[ru:Ханука]]
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[[sr:Ханука]]
[[fi:Hanukka]]
[[sv:Chanukka]]
[[tl:Pista ng Pagtatalaga]]
[[vi:Hanukkah]]
[[tr:Hanuka]]
[[uk:Ханука]]
[[yi:חנוכה]]
[[zh-yue:修殿節]]
[[zh:光明节]]

Hanukkah

2008-11-18T18:25:56Z

Dbratton: Revert to revision 252474027 dated 2008-11-18 00:21:37 by PinchasC using popups

{{for|the Khazar ruler|Hanukkah ben Obadiah}}
{{distinguish|Hanneke}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image =
|caption = Several Menorot on the eighth night of the festival.
|holiday_name = Hanukkah
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''חֲנֻכָּה''' or '''חנוכה''' [[English language|English]] translation: "Establishing/Dedication" (of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]])
|nickname = Festival of Lights, Festival of Dedication
|observedby = [[Jew]]s
|begins = 25 [[Kislev]]
|ends = 2 [[Tevet]] or 3 [[Tevet]]
|celebrations = Lighting [[candle]]s each night. Singing special songs, such as [[Ma'oz Tzur]]. Reciting [[Hallel]] prayer. Eating festive meals and foods fried in oil, such as [[latke]]s and [[sufganiyot]]. Playing the ''[[Hanukkah#Dreidel|dreidel]]'' game, and giving [[Hanukkah#Hanukkah gelt|Hanukkah ''gelt'']]
|type = Jewish
|significance = The [[Maccabees]] successfully rebelled against [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]]. The Temple was purified and the wicks of the menorah miraculously burned for eight days.
|relatedto = [[Purim]], as a [[rabbi]]nically decreed holiday.
|date2008 = sunset, [[December 21]] to sunset, [[December 29]] The first Day of Hanukkah is December 22.
|date2009 = sunset, [[December 11]] to sunset, [[December 19]]
|date2010 = sunset, [[December 1]] to sunset, [[December 9]]
}}
[[Image:Skulen2.JPG|thumb|Grand Rabbi [[Israel Abraham Portugal]] of [[Skulen (Hasidic dynasty)|Skulen]] [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]] lighting Hanukkah lights]]

'''Hanukkah''' ({{lang-he|חנוכה}}, alt. '''Chanukah'''), also known as the '''Festival of Lights''', is an eight-day [[Jewish holiday]] commemorating the rededication of the [[Second Temple]] in [[Jerusalem]] at the time of the [[Maccabean Revolt]] of the [[2nd century BCE]]. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of [[Kislev]] according to the [[Hebrew calendar]], and may occur from late November to late December on the [[Gregorian calendar]].

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a special [[candelabrum]], the ''[[Menorah (Hanukkah)|Menorah]]'' or ''Hanukiah'', one light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a ''[[Shamash#Shamash in Judaism|shamash]]'', ([[Hebrew (language)|Hebrew]]: "guard" or "servant") is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the [[Talmud]] (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. (The shamash is used to light the other lights.)

Hanukkah is mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] or [[Biblical apocrypha|apocrypha books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

==Origins of the holiday==
"Hanukkah," from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", marks the re-dedication of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] after its desecration by the forces of [[Antiochus IV]] and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil." According to the [[Talmud]], at the re-dedication following the victory of the [[Maccabees]] over the [[Seleucid Empire]], there was only enough consecrated [[olive oil]] to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

The martyrdom of Hannah and her seven sons has also been linked to Hanukkah. According to the Talmudic story<ref>Talmud Gittin 57b tells a story of a woman and her seven sons killed by "Caesar". The name "Hannah" is not stated.</ref> and [[2 Maccabees]], a Jewish woman named Hannah and her seven sons were tortured and executed by [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes|Antiochus]] for refusing to worship an idol, which would have been a violation of [[613 Mitzvot|Jewish law]].

===Name===
The name "Hanukkah" is interpreted in many ways.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://innernet.org.il/article.php?aid=11|title=Origin of the Name Chanukah|first=Nosson|last=Scherman|publisher=ArtScroll}}</ref>
*Some scholars say the word was derived from the Hebrew verb "חנך" meaning "to dedicate" or to "educate." On Hanukkah, Jews mark the rededication of the House of the Lord.<ref>[[Maharsha]] on [[Talmud]] [[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]] 21b</ref>

*Others argue that the name can be broken down into "חנו", from the Hebrew word for encampment, and the Hebrew letters כ"ה, which stand for the 25th day of Kislev, the day on which the holiday begins: Hence, the Jews sat in their camp, that is, they rested fighting, on the 25th day of Kislev.<ref>[[Nissim of Gerona|Ran]] on [[Isaac Alfasi|Rif]] 9b</ref>

*Hanukkah is also the Hebrew [[acronym]] for "ח' נרות והלכה כבית הלל" meaning "eight candles as determined by [[Hillel the Elder|House of Hillel]]" This is a reference to the disagreement between two rabbinical schools of thought - Hillel and the [[Shammai|House of Shammai]] - on the proper way to light Hanukkah candles. Shammai said that eight candles should be lit from the start, and reduced by one candle every night, whereas Hillel argued in favor of starting with one candle and lighting an additional one every night. Jewish law adopted the position of Hillel.

== Historical sources ==
=== In the Talmud ===
The miracle of Hanukkah is described in the [[Talmud]]. The [[Gemara]], in tractate ''Shabbat 21b'' focuses on [[Shabbat]] candles and moves to Hanukkah candles and says that after the occupiers had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was still [[seal (device)|seal]]ed by the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, and miraculously, that oil burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready).

The Talmud presents three options:
#The law requires only one light each night per household,
#A better practice is to light one light each night for each member of the household
#The most preferred practise is to vary the number of lights each night.
There was a dispute among the sages over how the last option was to be performed: either display eight lamps on the first night of the festival, and reduce the number on each successive night; or begin with one lamp the first night, increasing the number till the eighth night. The followers of [[Shammai]] favored the former custom; the followers of [[Hillel the Elder|Hillel]] advocated the latter. As is the case in most such disputes, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] followed Hillel. Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one's door or in the window closest to the street. [[Rashi]], in a note to ''Shabbat 21b,'' says their purpose is to publicize the miracle. Hanukkah is also mentioned in the (older) [[Mishnah]] (TB [[Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah]] 30b).

===In the Septuagint and other sources===
The story of Hanukkah is alluded to in the books of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]] of the [[Septuagint]] but Hanukkah is not specially mentioned; rather, a story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 ''et seq'' according to which the relighting of the altar fire by [[Nehemiah]] was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabeus.

The Books of Maccabees are not part of the [[Tanakh]] ([[Hebrew Bible]]), but are part of [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] historical and religious material preserved in the [[Septuagint]]. The Tanakh ends with the consequences following the events of [[Purim]], and had already been codified many centuries earlier by the [[Great Assembly|Men of the Great Assembly]] (''Anshei Knesset HaGedolah'').

Another source is the [[Megillat Antiochus]]. This work (also known as "Megillat HaHasmonaim", or "Megillat Hanukkah") is in both [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]; the Hebrew version is a literal translation from the Aramaic original. Recent scholarship dates it to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th Centuries, probably in the 2nd Century,<ref>{{cite web|first=Benjamin|last=Zvieli|title=The Scroll of Antiochus|url= http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html| accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> with the Hebrew dating to the seventh century.<ref name = "pvgsyw"> [http://customerservant.com/2006/12/16/the-scroll-of-the-hasmoneans/ The Scroll Of The Hasmoneans] </ref> It was published for the first time in [[Mantua]] in 1557. [[Saadia Gaon]], who translated it into [[Arabic language| Arabic]] in the 9th Century, ascribed it to the Maccabees themselves, disputed by some, since it gives dates as so many years before the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE.<ref> [http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html The Scroll of Antiochus] </ref> The Hebrew text with an English translation can be found in the [[Siddur]] of [[Philip Birnbaum]].

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the [[New Testament]], where in the [[Gospel of John]] it is referred to as the Feast of the Dedication ({{bibleverse||John|10:22|KJV}}).

== The story ==
{{see also|Hasmonean}}
Around 200 BCE Jews lived as an autonomous people in the [[Land of Israel]], also referred to as [[Judea]], which at that time was controlled by the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] [[Seleucid dynasty|king of Syria]]. The Jewish people paid taxes to Syria and accepted its legal authority, and they were free to follow their own faith, maintain their own jobs, and engage in trade.

By 175 BCE [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]] ascended to the Seleucid throne. At first little changed, but under his reign, the Temple in [[Jerusalem]] was looted, Jews were massacred, and [[Judaism]] was effectively outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple.

Many modern scholars argue that the king may have been intervening in an internal civil war between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized elite Jews in Jerusalem. These competed violently over who would be the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like [[Onias III|Onias]] overthrown by Hellenizers with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus. As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times, banned the traditional religion of a whole people.<ref>Tchrikover, Victor. ''Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews''.</ref>

Antiochus' actions proved to be a major miscalculation as they provoked a large-scale revolt. [[Mattathias]], a [[Kohen|Jewish priest]], and his five sons Jochanan, [[Simon Maccabaeus|Simeon]], [[Eleazar Maccabeus|Eleazar]], [[Jonathan Maccabaeus|Jonathan]], and [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] led a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated.
The festival of Hanukkah was instituted by [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah Maccabee]] and his brothers to celebrate this event.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#59 1 Macc. iv. 59]</ref> After recovering Jerusalem and the Temple, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. But 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 by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

[[Image:Hanukkah2.jpg|thumb|right|Hanukkah lamp unearthed near [[Jerusalem]], c. 1900.]]
The version of the story in 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, states that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was proclaimed upon rededication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of the oil.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#36 1 Macc. iv. 36]</ref> A number of historians believe that the reason for the eight day celebration was that the first Hanukkah was in effect a belated celebration of the festivals of [[Sukkot]] and [[Shemini Atzeret]].<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA10.HTM#6 Macc. x. 6] and [http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA1.HTM#9 i. 9]</ref> During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret properly; the combined festivals also last eight days, and the Sukkot festivities featured the lighting of lamps in the Temple (Suk.v. 2-4). The historian [[Josephus]]<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+12.287]
''Jewish Antiquities'' xii. 7, § 7, #323</ref> mentions the eight-day festival and its customs, but does not tell us the origin of the eight day lighting custom. Given that his audience was Hellenized Romans, perhaps his silence on the origin of the eight-day custom is due to its miraculous nature. In any event, he does report that lights were kindled in the household and the popular name of the festival was, therefore the "Festival of Lights" ("And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights").

It has also been noted that the number eight has special significance in Jewish theology, as representing transcendence and the Jewish People's special role in human history. Seven is the number of days of creation, that is, of completion of the material cosmos, and also of the classical planets. Eight, being one step beyond seven, represents the Infinite. Hence, the Eighth Day of the Assembly festival, mentioned above, is according to Jewish Law a festival for Jews only (unlike Sukkot, when all peoples were welcome in Jerusalem). Similarly, the rite of [[brit milah]] (circumcision), which brings a Jewish male into God's Covenant, is performed on the eighth day. Hence, Hanukkah's eight days (in celebration of monotheistic morality's victory over Hellenistic humanism) have great symbolic importance for practicing Jews.

==Hanukkah rituals==
[[Image:Hanukkah1.jpg|thumb|right|Various menorot used for Hanukkah. 12th through 19th century, CE]]

Hanukkah is celebrated by a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the 8-day holiday. Some are family-based and others are communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals. Hanukkah is not a "Sabbath-like" holiday, and there is no obligation to refrain from [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|activities that are forbidden on the Sabbath]], as specified in the ''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]''<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 670:1</ref> People go to work as usual, but may leave early in order to be home to kindle the lights at nightfall. There is no religious reason for schools to be closed, although, in Israel, schools close for the whole week of Hanukkah. Many families exchange gifts each night, and fried foods are eaten.

===Kindling the Hanukkah lights===
:{{seealso|Chanukkiyah}}
The primary ritual, according to [[Halakha|Jewish law and custom]], is to light a single light each night for eight nights. As a universally practiced "beautification" of the [[mitzvah]], the number of lights lit is increased by one each night.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 671:2</ref> An extra light called a ''shamash'', meaning ''guard'' or ''servant'' is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. This differs from [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] candles which are meant to be used for illumination. Hence, if one were to need extra illumination on Hanukkah, the ''shamash'' candle would be available and one would avoid using the prohibited lights. Some light the ''shamash'' candle first and then use it to light the others.<ref name = "lonorw">''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 673:1</ref> So all together, including the ''shamash'', two lights are lit on the first night, three on the second and so on, ending with nine on the last night, for a total of 44.

[[Image:Tiffany glasswork Hanukkah menora02.jpg|thumb|A modern [[Lead came and copper foil glasswork|"Tiffany"]] Hanukkah menorah]]
The lights can be candles or oil lamps.<ref name = "lonorw"/> Electric lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room. Most Jewish homes have a special [[candelabrum]] or oil lamp holder for Hanukkah, which holds eight lights plus the additional ''shamash'' light.

The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without," so that passers-by should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle. Accordingly lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street. It is customary amongst some Ashkenazim to have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), whereas most Sephardim light one for the whole household. Only when there was danger of [[Anti-Semitism|anti-semitic persecution]] were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the case in [[Iran|Persia]] under the rule of the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]], or in parts of Europe before and during World War II. However, most [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] groups, light lamps near an inside doorway, not necessarily in public view. According to this tradition, the lamps are placed on the opposite side from the ''[[mezuzah]]'', so that when one passes through the door he is surrounded by the holiness of ''mitzvoth''.

[[Image:Maurice Ascalon Menorah Pal-Bell.jpg|thumb|left|Bronze [[Pal-Bell]] oil-burning Hanukkah menorah from Israel circa 1948, by [[Maurice Ascalon]].]]
 
===Time of lighting===
Hanukkah lights should burn for at least one half hour after it gets dark. The custom of the [[Vilna Gaon]] observed by many residents of Jerusalem as the custom of the city, is to light at sundown, although most Hassidim light later, even in Jerusalem. Many Hasidic Rebbes light much later, because they fulfill the obligation of publicizing the miracle by the presence of their Hasidim when they kindle the lights. Inexpensive small wax candles sold for Hanukkah burn for approximately half an hour, so on most days this requirement can be met by lighting the candles when it is dark outside. Friday night presents a problem, however. Since candles may not be lit on the [[Shabbat]] itself, the candles must be lit before sunset. However, they must remain lit until the regular time - thirty minutes after nightfall - and inexpensive Hanukkah candles do not burn long enough to meet the requirement. A simple solution is to use longer candles, or the traditional oil lamps. In keeping with the above-stated prohibition, the Hanukkah menorah is lit first, followed by the Shabbat candles which signify its onset.

=== Blessings over the candles ===
[[Image:Menorah two candles.jpg|thumb|A menorah with two lit candles]]
Typically three blessings (''Brachot'' singular ''Brachah'') are recited during this eight-day festival. On the first night of Hanukkah, Jews recite all three blessings, on all subsequent nights, they recite only the first two.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:1-2</ref> The blessings are said before or after the candles are lit depending on tradition. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle, lamp, or electric) is lit on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first candle and so on, proceeding from right to left each night.

For the full text of the blessings, see [[List of Jewish prayers and blessings#Hanukkah|List of Jewish prayers and blessings: Hanukkah]]

==== ''Hanerot Halalu'' ====
During or after the lights are kindled the hymn ''Hanerot Halalu'' is recited. There are several differing versions - the version presented here is recited in many Ashkenazic communities:<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:4</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan=2 | [[Ashkenazi]]c version:
|-
! Transliteration
! English
|-
| Hanneirot hallalu anachnu madlikin 'al hannissim ve'al hanniflaot 'al hatteshu'ot ve'al hammilchamot she'asita laavoteinu bayyamim haheim, (u)bazzeman hazeh 'al yedei kohanekha hakkedoshim. Vekhol-shemonat yemei Hanukkah hanneirot hallalu kodesh heim, ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtammesh baheim ella lir'otam bilvad kedei lehodot ul'halleil leshimcha haggadol 'al nissekha ve'al nifleotekha ve'al yeshu'otekha
| We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your [[Kohen|holy priests]]. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them except for to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations.
|-
|}

==== ''Maoz Tzur'' ====
{{main|Ma'oz Tzur}}
Each night after the lighting of the candles, while remaining within sight of the candles, Ashkenazim (and, in recent decades, some Sephardim and Mizrahim in Western countries) usually sing the hymn ''Ma'oz Tzur'' written in Medieval [[Germany]]. The song contains six stanzas. The first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation, and the middle four deal with events of persecution in [[Jewish history]], and praises God for survival despite these tragedies ([[the exodus]] from Egypt, the [[Babylonian captivity]], the miracle of the holiday of [[Purim]], and the [[Hasmonean]] victory).

====Other customs====
After lighting the candles and Ma'oz Tzur, singing various other Hanukkah songs is customary in many Jewish homes. Various Hasidic and Sefardic traditions have additional prayers that are recited both before and after lighting the Hanukkah lights. This includes the recitation of many Psalms, most notably Psalms 30, 67, and 91 (many Hasidim recite Psalm 91 seven times after lighting the lamps, as was taught by the [[Baal Shem Tov]]), as well as other prayers and hymns, each congregation according to its own custom. In North America it is common to exchange presents or give children presents at this time.

=== Additions to the daily prayers ===
{{quote box|align=left|width=45%|quote="We thank You also for the miraculous deeds and for the redemption and for the mighty deeds and the saving acts wrought by You, as well as for the wars which You waged for our ancestors in ancient days at this season. In the days of the Hasmonean Mattathias, son of Johanan the high priest, and his sons, when the iniquitous Greco-Syrian kingdom rose up against Your people Israel, to make them forget Your Torah and to turn them away from the ordinances of Your will, then You in your abundant mercy rose up for them in the time of their trouble, pled their cause, executed judgment, avenged their wrong, and delivered the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and insolent ones into the hands of those occupied with Your Torah. Both unto Yourself did you make a great and holy name in Thy world, and unto Your people did You achieve a great deliverance and redemption. Whereupon your children entered the sanctuary of Your house, cleansed Your temple, purified Your sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courts, and appointed these eight days of Hanukkah in order to give thanks and praises unto Your holy name."|source=Translation of ''Al ha-Nissim''}}
An addition is made to the "''hoda'ah''" (thanksgiving) benediction in the [[Amidah]], called ''Al ha-Nissim'' ("On/about the Miracles").<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 682:1</ref> This addition refers to the victory achieved over the Syrians by the Hasmonean Mattathias and his sons.

The same prayer is added to the grace after meals. In addition, the ''[[Hallel]]'' Psalms are sung during each morning service and the ''[[Tachanun]]'' penitential prayers are omitted. The Torah is read every day in the [[synagogue]], the first day beginning from [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 6:22 (According to some customs, Numbers 7:1), and the last day ending with Numbers 8:4.

Since Hanukkah lasts eight days it includes at least one, and sometimes two, [[Shabbat|Jewish Sabbaths]] (Saturdays). The weekly [[Parsha|Torah portion]] for the first Sabbath is almost always ''[[Miketz]]'', telling of [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]]'s dream and his enslavement in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]. The ''[[Haftarah]]'' reading for the first Sabbath Hanukkah is [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]] 2:14-4:7. When there is a second Sabbath on Hanukkah, the ''Haftarah'' reading is from [[I Kings]] 7:40 - 7:50.

The Hanukkah ''menorah'' is also kindled daily in the synagogue, at night with the blessings and in the morning without the blessings. The menorah is not lit on the Sabbath, but rather prior to the beginning of the Sabbath at night and not at all during the day.

During the [[Middle Ages]] "[[Megillat Antiochus]]" was read in the [[Italian Jews#Italian rite Jews|Italian]] [[synagogues]] on Hanukkah just as the [[Book of Esther]] is read on [[Purim]]. It still forms part of the liturgy of the [[Yemenite Jews]].<ref name = "pvgsyw"/>

=== ''Zot Hanukkah'' ===
The last day of Hanukkah is known as ''Zot Hanukkah'', from the verse in the Book of Numbers 7:84 "''Zot Chanukat Hamizbe'ach''" - "This was the dedication of the altar", which is read on this day in the synagogue. According to the teachings of [[Kabbalah]] and [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]], this day is the final "seal" of the High Holiday season of [[Yom Kippur]], and is considered a time to repent out of love for God. In this spirit, many Hasidic Jews wish each other "''Gmar chatimah tovah''", "may you be sealed totally for good", a traditional greeting for the Yom Kippur season. It is taught in Hasidic and Kabbalistic literature that this day is particularly auspicious for the fulfillment of prayers.

==Judith and Holofernes==
[[Image:Cristofano Allori 002.jpg|thumb|left|''Judith with the head of Holofernes'' by Cristofano Allori]]

Eating dairy foods, especially cheese, on Hanukkah is a minor custom that has its roots in the story of Judith, as related in the book of [[Judith]] (''Yehudit'' or ''Yehudis'' in Hebrew). [[Holofernes]], an Assyrian general, had surrounded the village of Bethulia as part of his campaign to conquer Judea. After intense fighting, the water supply of the Jews is cut off and the situation became desperate. Judith, a pious widow, told the city leaders that she had a plan to save the city. Judith went to the Assyrian camps and pretended to surrender. She met Holofernes, who was smitten by her beauty. She went back to his tent with him, where she plied him with cheese and wine. When he fell into a drunken sleep, Judith beheaded him and escaped from the camp, taking the severed head with her. When Holofernes' soldiers found his corpse, they were overcome with fear; the Jews, on the other hand, were emboldened, and launched a successful counterattack. The town was saved, and the Assyrians defeated.

Many argue {{who}} that Holofernes was actually Greek, placing the events in the general time-frame of Hanukkah. The longstanding tradition that Judith was the daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, and consequently a sister of Mattathias the Hasmonean and an aunt of Judah the Maccabee, is how this story came to be associated with Hanukkah. There are many depictions of Judith and Holofernes in painting.

==Interaction with modernity and with other traditions==

The classical rabbis downplayed the military and nationalistic dimensions of Hanukkah, and some even interpreted the emphasis upon the story of the miracle oil as a diversion away from the struggle with empires that had led to the disastrous downfall of Jerusalem to the Romans. With the advent of Zionism and the state of Israel, these themes were rapidly reconsidered. In modern Israel, Hanukkah was transformed into a celebration of military strength, a kind of antidote to what was perceived as the idea of the powerless [[Jewish diaspora|Diaspora Jew]] that the Zionists felt that the Jews in the State of Israel needed to psychologically overcome.

In North America especially, Hanukkah gained increased importance with many Jewish families in the latter half of the twentieth century, including large numbers of [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Jews]], who wanted a Jewish alternative to the [[Christmas]] celebrations that often overlap with Hanukkah. Though it was traditional to give "gelt" or money coins to children during Hanukkah, in many families this has changed into gifts in order to prevent Jewish children from feeling left out of the Christmas gift giving.

While Hanukkah traditionally speaking is only a minor Jewish holiday, as indicated by the lack of restrictions on work other than a few minutes after lighting the candles, Hanukkah has taken a place equal to Passover as a symbol of Jewish identity. Both the Israeli and North American versions of Hanukkah emphasize resistance, focusing on some combination of national liberation and religious freedom as the defining meaning of the holiday.

===Green Hanukkah===

Some Jews in North America and Israel have taken up environmental concerns in relation to Hanukkah's "miracle of the oil", emphasizing reflection on energy conservation and energy independence. An example of this is the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life's renewable energy campaign.<ref>[http://www.shalomctr.org/node/1315 Shalom Center on Hannukah and the environment]</ref> <ref>[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546797524&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Jerusalem Post: Green Hanukkia' campaign sparks ire]</ref> <ref>[http://www.coejl.org/climatechange/CFLceremony.php Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL): Green Hannukah ceremony]</ref>

==Hanukkah music==
{{main|Hanukkah music}}
There are several songs associated with the festival of Hanukkah. The most well known in English-speaking countries include "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" and "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah." In Israel, Hanukkah has become something of a national holiday. A large number of songs have been written on Hanukkah themes, perhaps more so than for any other Jewish holiday. Some of the most well known are "''Hanukkiah Li Yesh''" ("I Have a Hanukkah Menora"), "''Kad Katan''" ("A Small Jug"), "''S'vivon Sov Sov Sov''" ("Dreidel, Spin and Spin"), "''Mi Yimalel''" (Who can Retell") and "''Ner Li, Ner Li''" ("I have a Candle").

==Hanukkah foods==
[[Image:sufganiyah.jpeg|thumb|right|Sufganiyot with jelly]]
[[Potato pancakes]], known as [[latke]]s in [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], are traditionally associated with Hanukkah, especially among Ashkenazi families. There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil (preferably olive oil), as the original miracle of the Hanukkah menorah involved the discovery of the small flask of oil used by the Jewish High Priest, the [[Kohen Gadol]]. This small batch of olive oil was only supposed to last one day, and instead it lasted eight.

Many Sephardic families as well as [[History of Jews in Poland|Polish]] Ashkenazim and [[Israel]] have the custom of eating all kinds of fruit-filled [[doughnut]]s ({{lang-yi|פאנטשקעס ''pontshkes''}}), ([[bimuelos]], or [[sufganiyah|sufganiyot]]) which are [[Frying|deep-fried]] in oil, and of course all Kosher foods.

==Hanukkah games==
===Dreidel===
{{main|Dreidel}}
[[Image:Dreidel 001.jpg|thumb|right|Dreidel]]
The ''dreidel'', or ''sevivon'' in Hebrew, is a four-sided spinning top that children play with on Hanukkah. Each side is imprinted with a Hebrew letter. These letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words, נס גדול היה שם, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''S'''ham''—"A great miracle happened there" (referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Beit Hamikdash]]).

*נ ''([[Nun (letter)|Nun]])''
*ג ''([[Gimel (letter)|Gimel]])''
*ה ''([[He (letter)|Hey]])''
*ש ''([[Shin (letter)|Shin]])''

In [[Israel|Eretz Yisroel]], the fourth side of most dreidels is inscribed with the letter פ ''([[Pe (letter)|Pe]])'', rendering the acronym, נס גדול היה פה, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''P'''o''—"A great miracle happened here" referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel. Some stores in [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] neighbourhoods may sell the traditional ''Shin'' dreidels.

Some Jewish commentators ascribe symbolic significance to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects the four letters with the four exiles to which the nation of Israel was historically subject—Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome.<ref>[http://www.ohr.org.il/yhiy/article.php/1309 Ohr Somayach :: Chanukah :: The Secret of the Dreidel]</ref>

After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, it is customary in many homes to play the dreidel game: Each player starts out with 10 or 15 coins (real or of chocolate), nuts, raisins, candies or other markers, and places one marker in the "pot." The first player spins the dreidel, and depending on which side the dreidel falls on, either wins a marker from the pot or gives up part of his stash. The code (based on a [[Yiddish Language|Yiddish]] version of the game) is as follows:
*Nun - ''nisht'' - "nothing" - nothing happens and the next player spins
*Gimel - ''gants'' - "all" - the player takes the entire pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtel ayn'' - "put in" - the player puts one marker in the pot

Another version differs:
*Nun - ''nim'' - "take" - the player takes one from the pot
*Gimel - ''gib'' - "give" - the player puts one in the pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtil'' - "still" (as in "stillness") - nothing happens and the next player spins

The game may last until one person has won everything.

Some say the dreidel game is played to commemorate a game devised by the Jews to camouflage the fact that they were [[Torah study|studying Torah]], which was outlawed by Greeks. The Jews would gather in caves to study, posting a lookout to alert the group to the presence of Greek soldiers. If soldiers were spotted, the Jews would hide their scrolls and spin tops, so the Greeks thought they were gambling, not learning.

===Hanukkah ''gelt''===
Hanukkah ''gelt'' ([[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] for "money") is often distributed to children to enhance their enjoyment of the holiday. The amount is usually in small coins, although grandparents or other relatives may give larger sums as an official Hanukkah gift. In Israel, Hanukkah ''gelt'' is known as ''dmei Hanukkah''. Many Hasidic [[Rebbe]]s distribute coins to those who visit them during Hanukkah. Hasidic Jews consider this to be an auspicious blessing from the Rebbe, and a ''[[segulah]]'' for success.

Twentieth-century [[United States|American]] [[chocolatier]]s picked up on the gift/coin concept by creating [[chocolate money|chocolate ''gelt'']].

==Alternative spellings based on transliterating Hebrew letters==
In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], the word Hanukkah is written '''{{lang|he|חנֻכה}}''' or '''{{lang|he|חנוכה}}'''. It is most commonly transliterated to English as ''Chanukah'' or ''Hanukkah'', the latter because the sound represented by "CH" ([{{IPA|/x/}}], as in the [[Scots language|Scottish]] pronunciation of "[[loch]]") essentially does not exist in the modern English language. Furthermore, the letter "[[heth]]" ('''{{lang|he|ח}}'''), which is the first letter in the Hebrew spelling, is pronounced differently in modern Hebrew ([[voiceless velar fricative]]) than in classical Hebrew ([[voiceless pharyngeal fricative]]), and neither of those sounds is unambiguously representable in English spelling. Moreover, the 'kaf' consonant is [[geminate]] in classical (but not modern) Hebrew. Adapting the classical Hebrew pronunciation with the geminate and pharyngeal Ḥeth can lead to the spelling "Hanukkah"; while adapting the modern Hebrew pronunciation with no geminate and velar Ḥeth leads to the spelling "Chanukah". Variations include:
[[Image:Hanukkah.png|right|thumb|Spelling variations are due to transliteration of Hebrew ''Chet Nun Vav Kaf Hey'']]

===Common variants===
* Hanukkah (in North America, Australia - also very common in UK)
* Chanukkah (in the UK, also common in North America)

===YIVO variant===
* Khanike ([[YIVO]] standard [[transliteration]] from the Yiddish and/or Ashkenazic [[pronunciation]] of the Hebrew)

== Background ==
===Chronology===

*198 BCE: Armies of the Seleucid King [[Antiochus III]] (Antiochus the Great) oust [[Ptolemy V Epiphanes|Ptolemy V]] from Judea and Samaria.
*175 BCE: [[Antiochus IV]] (Epiphanes) ascends the Seleucid throne.
*168 BCE: Under the reign of Antiochus IV, the Temple is looted, Jews are massacred, and [[Judaism]] is outlawed.
*167 BCE: Antiochus orders an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. Mattathias, and his five sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah lead a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah becomes known as Judah Maccabe (Judah The Hammer).
*166 BCE: Mattathias dies, and Judah takes his place as leader. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom begins; It lasts until 63 BCE
*165 BCE: The Jewish revolt against the [[Seleucid]] monarchy is successful. The Temple is liberated and rededicated (Hanukkah).
*142 BCE: Establishment of the Second Jewish Commonwealth. The Seleucids recognize Jewish autonomy. The Seleucid kings have a formal overlordship, which the Hasmoneans acknowledged. This inaugurates a period of great geographical expansion, population growth, and religious, cultural and social development.
*139 BCE: The [[Roman Senate]] recognizes Jewish autonomy.
*130 BCE: Antiochus VII besieges [[Jerusalem]], but withdraws.
*131 BCE: Antiochus VII dies. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom throws off Syrian rule completely
*96 BCE: An eight year civil war begins.
*83 BCE: Consolidation of the Kingdom in territory east of the [[Jordan River]].
*63 BCE: The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an end due to rivalry between the brothers [[Aristobulus II]] and [[Hyrcanus II]], both of whom appeal to the [[Roman Republic]] to intervene and settle the power struggle on their behalf. The Roman general [[Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus]] (Pompey the Great) is dispatched to the area. Twelve thousand Jews are massacred as Romans enter Jerusalem. The Priests of the Temple are struck down at the Altar. Rome annexes Judea.

===Battles of the Maccabean revolt===
{{main|Maccabees}}
There were a number of key battles between the Maccabees and the Seleucid Syrian-Greeks:

:''Listed alphabetically'':

*[[Battle of Adasa]] ([[Judas Maccabeus]] leads the Jews to victory against the forces of Nicanor.)
*[[Battle of Beth Horon]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the forces of Seron.)
*[[Battle of Beth-zechariah]] (Elazar the Maccabee is killed in battle. Lysias has success in battle against the Maccabess, but allows them temporary freedom of worship.)
*[[Battle of Beth Zur]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the army of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]], recapturing Jerusalem.)
*[[Dathema]] (A Jewish fortress saved by Judas Maccabeus.)
*[[Battle of Elasa]] (Judas Maccabeus dies in battle against the army of [[Demetrius I Soter|King Demetrius]] and [[Bacchides (general)|Bacchides]]. He is succeeded by [[Jonathan Maccabaeus]] and [[Simon Maccabaeus]] who continue to lead the Jews in battle.)
*[[Battle of Emmaus]] (Judas Maccabeus fights the forces of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]] and [[Gorgias (Syrian general)|Georgias]]).
*[[Battle of Wadi Haramia]].

==When Hanukkah occurs==
{{further|[[Jewish holidays 2000-2050]]}}

The dates of Hanukkah are determined by the [[Hebrew calendar]]. Hanukkah begins at the 25th day of [[Kislev]] and concluding on the 2nd or 3rd day of [[Tevet]] (Kislev can have 29 or 30 days). The Jewish day begins at sunset, whereas the [[Gregorian calendar]] begins the day at midnight. So, the first day of Hanukkah actually begins at sunset of the day immediately before the date noted on Gregorian calendars.

===Hanukkah according to the Gregorian calendar===
Hanukkah begins at sundown on the evening before the date shown.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
*[[December 22]], [[2000]]
*[[December 10]], [[2001]]
*[[November 30]], [[2002]]
*[[December 20]], [[2003]]
*[[December 8]], [[2004]]
*[[December 26]], [[2005]]
*[[December 16]], [[2006]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 5]], [[2007]]
*[[December 22]], [[2008]]
*[[December 12]], [[2009]]
*[[December 2]], [[2010]]
*[[December 21]], [[2011]]
*[[December 9]], [[2012]]
*[[November 28]], [[2013]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 17]], [[2014]]
*[[December 7]], [[2015]]
*[[December 25]], [[2016]]
*[[December 13]], [[2017]]
*[[December 3]], [[2018]]
*[[December 23]], [[2019]]
{{col-end}}

==See also==
{{portalpar|Judaism|Menora.svg}}
*[[Hasmonean]]
*[[Maccabees]]
*[[Jewish holiday]]s
*[[Temple in Jerusalem]]
*''[[County of Allegheny v. ACLU]]'' on the constitutionality of Hanukkah displays on public property in the U.S.
*[[Short-lived recurring characters on Saturday Night Live#Hanukkah Harry|Hanukkah Harry]]
*[[Hanukkah bush]]
*''[[Hanukkah Rocks]]'' - 2005 album by [[The LeeVees]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{commonscat|Hanukkah}}
=== General ===
* [http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default.asp Complete Hanukkah Guide, with how-to's, songs, stories and children's activities on chabad.org]
* [http://www.aish.com/holidays/chanukah/ Chanukah - Aish.com - how to light, stories, children's activities]
* [http://www.midrash.org/halakha/hanukkah.html Midrash Hanukkah with Sephardic traditions and history]
* [http://www.coejl.org/Hanukkah COEJL's "Let there be renewable light" campaign]
* [http://www.oztorah.com/feature/archive/chanukah.php OzTorah - insights on Chanukah]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=77|type=Shiurim}}

=== Songs ===
* [http://judaism.about.com/od/chanukah/a/hanukahanerot.htm Hanerot Hallalu ("These Candles")]
* [http://judaism.about.com/od/chanukah/a/hanukamaoztzur.htm Maoz Tzur ("Rock of Ages")]
* [http://liturgy.exc.com/Songsheets/Hanukah.cgi Hanukkah songsheets]
* [http://www.hebrewsongs.com/chanukah.htm Hanukkah songs]

=== Recipes ===
* [http://www.rd.com/content/cherished-hanukkah-recipes-to-share/ Traditional Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://kosherfood.about.com/od/hanukkah/Hanukkah_Recipes_Kosher_Jewish_Holiday_Food.htm About Kosher Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.wiki-recipe.org/index.php?title=Category:Hanukkah Wiki-Recipe.org Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.hanukkahsite.com/latkerecipes.php The Largest Latke Recipe Database On The Web]

=== Video ===
* [http://www.aish.com/pathways/externallinks/videolink_chanukah.asp Video: Lighting Hanukkah Menorah How-To]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3174713748168758247&q=satmar The Grand Rabbi of Satmar lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5575698843335939574&q=hannukkah The Grand Rabbi of Bobov lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6632688275970858151&q=hanukkah The Grand Rabbi of Bobov leading his Hassidim in the singing of a Hanukkah hymn composed by his father after the Holocaust]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3703256978822489433&q=hanukah The Grand Rabbi of Klausenberg from America lighting the Hannukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6750102222090781896&q=hannukah The Grand Rabbi of Pittsburgh from Ashdod, E. Israel, leading his followers in the celebration of Hannukkah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4852503510504559495&q=hanukah The Grand Rabbi of Nadvorna from Safed, E. Israel, leading his followers in the celebration of Hannukah]

 
{{Hanukkah Footer}}
{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}


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[[Category:Jewish holy days]]



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Jewish views on Jesus

2008-11-18T12:47:09Z

Dbratton: Revert to revision 251586793 dated 2008-11-13 17:21:03 by Gaius Cornelius using popups

{{Jesus}}

While '''Judaism''' has no special or particular '''view of Jesus''', and very few texts in [[Judaism]] directly refer to or take note of [[Jesus]], Judaism takes a strong stand against many views expressed by [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Christian theology|theology]]. One of the most important [[Jewish principles of faith]] is the belief in [[Jewish principles of faith#God is One|one God and one God only]] with no partnership of any kind,<ref>[http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=9970 Devarim (Deuteronomy) 6:4]</ref> and belief in Jesus as deity, part of a deity, son of God, or Christ, is incompatible with Judaism.<ref name=incompat>A belief in the divinity of Jesus is incompatible with Judaism:
*"The point is this: that the whole Christology of the Church - the whole complex of doctrines about the Son of God who died on the Cross to save humanity from sin and death - is incompatible with Judaism, and indeed in discontinuity with the Hebraism that preceded it." Rayner, John D. ''A Jewish Understanding of the World'', Berghahn Books, 1998, p. 187. ISBN 1-57181-974-6
*"Aside from its belief in Jesus as the Messiah, Christianity has altered many of the most fundamental concepts of Judaism." [[Aryeh Kaplan|Kaplan, Aryeh]]. ''The Aryeh Kaplan Anthology: Volume 1, Illuminating Expositions on Jewish Thought and Practice'', Mesorah Publication, 1991, p. 264. ISBN 0-89906-866-9
*"...the doctrine of Christ was and will remain alien to Jewish religious thought." Wylen, Stephen M. ''Settings of Silver: An Introduction to Judaism'', Paulist Press, 2000, p. 75. ISBN 0-8091-3960-X
*"For a Jew, however, any form of shituf is tantamount to idolatry in the fullest sense of the word. There is then no way that a Jew can ever accept Jesus as a deity, mediator or savior (messiah), or even as a prophet, without betraying Judaism." Schochet, Rabbi J. Immanuel. [http://www.cjnews.com/pastissues/99/july29-99/feature/feature2.htm "Judaism has no place for those who betray their roots"], ''[[Canadian Jewish News]]'', July 29, 1999.
*[http://foundationstone.com.au/HtmlSupport/WebPage/Missionaries/missionariesAndCults.html Judaism and Jesus Don't Mix] (foundationstone.com)
*"If you believe Jesus is the messiah, died for anyone else's sins, is God's chosen son, or any other dogma of Christian belief, you are not Jewish. You are Christian. Period." (''[http://www.beliefnet.com/blogs/virtualtalmud/2006/08/jews-for-jesus-whos-who-whats-what.html Jews for Jesus: Who's Who & What's What]'' by Rabbi Susan Grossman (beliefnet - virtualtalmud) August 28, 2006)
*"For two thousand years, Jews rejected the claim that Jesus fulfilled the messianic prophecies of the Hebrew Bible, as well as the dogmatic claims about him made by the church fathers - that he was born of a virgin, the son of God, part of a divine Trinity, and was resurrected after his death. ... For two thousand years, a central wish of Christianity was to be the object of desire by Jews, whose conversion would demonstrate their acceptance that Jesus has fulfilled their own biblical prophecies." (''Jewish Views of Jesus'' by Susannah Heschel, in ''Jesus In The World's Faiths: Leading Thinkers From Five Faiths Reflect On His Meaning'' by Gregory A. Barker, editor. (Orbis Books, 2005) ISBN 1-57075-573-6. p.149)
*"No Jew accepts Jesus as the Messiah. When someone makes that faith commitment, they become Christian. It is not possible for someone to be both Christian and Jewish." (''[http://judaism.about.com/library/3_askrabbi_c/bl_jesus.htm Why don't Jews accept Jesus as the Messiah?]'' by Rabbi Barry Dov Lerner)
</ref> For this reason, related issues such as the [[Historicity of Jesus|historical existence of Jesus]] and whatever his life involved, are likewise not considered relevant in Judaism.

[[Jewish eschatology]] holds that the coming of the [[Jewish Messiah|Messiah]] will be associated with a specific series of events that have not yet occurred, including the return of Jews to their homeland and the rebuilding of [[The Third Temple|The Temple]], an [[Messianic Age|era of peace]]<ref>({{bibleverse||Isaiah|2:4|HE}})</ref> and understanding during which "the knowledge of God" fills the earth.<ref>({{bibleverse||Isaiah|11:9|HE}})</ref>

==Background==
{{main|Christianity and Judaism}}
[[Image:Disputation.jpg|thumb|Woodcut carved by Johann von Armssheim (1483). Portays a disputation between Christian and Jewish scholars]]
The belief that [[Jesus]] is [[God]], part of the [[Trinity]], the [[Messiah]], or a [[prophet]] of God are incompatible with traditional Jewish tenets. The idea of the [[Jewish Messiah]] is different from the [[Christian]] [[Christ]] because Jews believe Jesus did not fulfill Jewish [[Messianic prophecies]] that establish the criteria for the coming of the Messiah.<ref name=notmessiah>Rabbi [[Shraga Simmons]], {{cite web|url=http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/jewishsociety/Why_Jews_Dont_Believe_In_Jesus.asp|title= "Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus"|accessdate=2006-03-14}}, [http://ohr.edu/ask_db/ask_main.php/2637/Q1/ "Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus"], [[Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem|Ohr Samayach]] - ''Ask the Rabbi'', accessed March 14, 2006; [http://www.askmoses.com/qa_detail.html?h=120&o=350 "Why don't Jews believe that Jesus was the messiah?"], [[AskMoses.com]], accessed March 14, 2006.</ref> [[Judaism's view of Jesus#Authoritative texts of Judaism that mention Jesus|Authoritative texts]] of [[Judaism]] reject Jesus as God, Divine Being, intermediary between humans and God, Messiah or saint.

The belief in the [[Trinity]], as with many other central Christian doctrines,<ref>Examples of other beliefs central to many forms of Christianity, which contradict Judaic thought, include:
* that God has a son in human form;
* that there are intermediaries between man and God
* that one person can be saved or otherwise through the death or blood of another
* that belief in the divinity of Jesus will save a person from damnation
* that the laws of the Torah can be (or have been) revoked by their giver.</ref> is also held to be incompatible with Judaism.

==Judaism's worldview and Jesus==
===Indivisibility of God===
In Judaism, the idea of God as a [[dualism|duality]] or [[trinity]] is heretical — it is considered a deviation from strict [[monotheism]] and is akin to [[polytheism]].<ref>The concept of Trinity is incompatible with Judaism:
*[http://www.jewsforjudaism.org/web/faq/faq-tr.html Response - Reference Center - FAQ - Proof Texts - Trinity] (Jews for Judaism)
*[http://www.outreachjudaism.org/trinity.html The Trinity in the Shema?] by Rabbi Singer (outreachjudaism.org)
*[http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/beliefs/trinity.htm The Doctrine of the Trinity] (religionfacts.com)</ref>
According to Judaic beliefs, the [[Torah]] rules out a trinitarian God in [[Deuteronomy]] (6:4): "Hear Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one." See also [[Shema Yisrael]].

In his book ''A History of the Jews'', [[Paul Johnson (writer)|Paul Johnson]] describes the [[Schisms among the Jews#Break-offs: Samaritans and Christians|schism between Jews and Christians]] caused by a divergence from this principle:
<blockquote>
To the question, Was Jesus God or man?, the Christians therefore answered: both. After 70 AD, their answer was unanimous and increasingly emphatic. This made a complete breach with Judaism inevitable.<ref>{{cite book
|author=[[Paul Johnson (writer)|Johnson, Paul]]
|title=A History of the Jews
|year=1987
|pages=p.144
|publisher=HarperCollins
|id=ISBN 0-06-091533-1
}}</ref></blockquote>

Fundamentally, Judaism believes that God, as the creator of time, space, energy and matter, is beyond them, and cannot be born or die, or have a son. Judaism teaches that it is heretical for any man to claim to be God, part of God, or the literal son of God. The [[Jerusalem Talmud]] ([[Ta'anit (Talmud)|Ta'anit]] 2:1) states explicitly: "if a man claims to be God, he is a liar."

In the 12th century, the preeminent Jewish scholar [[Maimonides]] elucidated the core principles of Judaism, writing "[God], the Cause of all, is one. This does not mean one as in one of a pair, nor one like a species (which encompasses many individuals), nor one as in an object that is made up of many elements, nor as a single simple object that is infinitely divisible. Rather, God is a unity unlike any other possible unity."<ref> [[Maimonides]], [[Mishneh Torah]] ''Madda'' ''Yesodei ha-Torah'' 1:5</ref>

Some Jewish scholars note that though Jesus is said to have used the phrase "my Father in Heaven" (cf. [[Lord's Prayer]]), this common poetic Jewish expression may have been misinterpreted as literal.<ref>{{cite book |last= Kaplan|first= Aryeh|authorlink=Aryeh Kaplan|title= THE REAL MESSIAH? A Jewish Response to Missionaries |publisher=[[Jews for Judaism]] |year= 2004|pages=17-18 |url=http://www.jewsforjudaism.org/web/pdf/RealMessiahBookPages_v4ab.pdf |format=PDF|id= ISBN 1879016117| quote =During his lifetime, Jesus often spoke of G-d as "my Father in Heaven." For the Jews, this was a common poetic expression, and one that is still used in Jewish prayers. For the pagan gentiles, however, it had a much more literal connotation.}}</ref>

===Judaism's view of the Messiah===
{{Main|Messiah|Jewish Messiah}}

Judaism's view of the Messiah differs substantially from the Christian idea of the Messiah. In the Jewish account, the Messiah's task is to bring in the Messianic age, a one-time event, and a presumed messiah who dies before completing the task (i.e., compelling all of Israel to walk in the way of Torah, repairing the breaches in observance, fighting the wars of God, building the Temple in its place, gathering in the dispersed exiles of Israel) is not the Messiah. Maimonides states, "But if he did not succeed in all this or was killed, he is definitely not the Moshiach promised in the Torah... and God only appointed him in order to test the masses."<ref name=HilchosMelachim>Maimonides, ''Hilchos Melachim'' 11:4-5.</ref>

Jews believe that the Messiah will fulfill the messianic prophecies of the Prophets [[Isaiah]] and [[Ezekiel]].<ref name=nachmanides2>[[Nahmanides]] in his dispute with [[Pablo Christiani]] in 1263 paragraph 49.</ref><ref name=simmons>[[Shraga Simmons|Simmons, Rabbi Shraga]], [http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/jewishsociety/Why_Jews_Dont_Believe_In_Jesus.asp "Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus"], accessed March 14, 2006.</ref><ref name=ohr>[http://ohr.edu/ask_db/ask_main.php/2637/Q1/ "Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus"], [[Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem|Ohr Samayach]] - ''Ask the Rabbi'', accessed March 14, 2006.</ref><ref name=askmoses>[http://www.askmoses.com/qa_detail.html?h=120&o=350 "Why don't Jews believe that Jesus was the messiah?"], [[AskMoses.com]], accessed March 14, 2006.</ref> According to Isaiah, the Messiah will be a paternal descendant of King David<ref>({{bibleverse||Isaiah|11:1|HE}})</ref> via King Solomon.<ref>({{bibleverse|1|Chronicles|22:8-10|HE}})</ref> He is expected to return the Jews to their homeland and [[The Third Temple|rebuild the Temple]], reign as King, and usher in an [[Messianic Age|era of peace]]<ref>({{bibleverse||Isaiah|2:4|HE}})</ref> and understanding where "the knowledge of God" fills the earth,<ref>({{bibleverse||Isaiah|11:9|HE}})</ref> leading the nations to "end up recognizing the wrongs they did Israel".<ref>({{bibleverse||Isaiah|52:13-53:5|HE}})</ref> Ezekiel states the Messiah will redeem the Jews.<ref>({{bibleverse||Ezekiel|16:55|HE}})</ref>

Therefore, any Judaic view of Jesus ''per se'' is influenced by the fact that Jesus lived while the [[Second Temple]] was standing, and not while the Jews were exiled. He never reigned as King, and there was no subsequent era of peace or great knowledge. Jesus died without completing or even accomplishing part of any of the messianic tasks, instead promising a [[second coming]]. Rather than being redeemed, the Jews were subsequently exiled from Israel. These discrepancies were noted by Jewish scholars who were contemporaries of Jesus, as later pointed out by [[Nahmanides]], who in 1263 observed that Jesus was rejected as the Messiah by the rabbis of his time.<ref>[[Nahmanides]] in the [[Disputation of Barcelona]] with [[Pablo Christiani]] in 1263 paragraph 103.</ref>

Further, according to common beliefs of Judaism, Christian claims that Jesus is the textual messiah of the [[Hebrew Bible]] are based on mistranslations<ref>[http://judaism.about.com/library/3_askrabbi_o/bl_simmons_messiah3.htm Why did the majority of the Jewish world reject Jesus as the Messiah, and why did the first Christians accept Jesus as the Messiah?] by Rabbi [[Shraga Simmons]] (about.com)</ref><ref>{{cite book
|author=Michoel Drazin
|title=Their Hollow Inheritance. A Comprehensive Refutation of Christian Missionaries
|year=1990
|publisher=Gefen Publishing House, Ltd.
|id=ISBN 965-229-070-X
|url=http://www.drazin.com
}}</ref><ref>Troki, Isaac. [http://faithstrengthened.org/FS_TOC.html "Faith Strengthened"].</ref> and Jesus did not fulfill the [[Jewish Messiah#Textual requirements|qualifications for Jewish Messiah]].

===Prophecy and Jesus===
{{Main|Prophet|False prophet}}

According to the [[Torah]] ({{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|13:1-5|HE}} and {{bibleverse-nb||Deuteronomy|18:18-22|HE}}), the criteria for a person to be considered a [[prophet]] or speak for God in Judaism are that they must follow the God of Israel (and no other God), they must not describe God differently than he is known to be from [[Hebrew scripture|Scripture]], they must not advocate change to God's word or state that God has changed his mind and wishes things that contradict his already-stated eternal word, and the things they do speak of must come to pass.<ref>[[Mishneh Torah]] ''Madah'' Yeshodai HaTorah 8:7-9</ref>

Additionally, there are two types of "false prophet" recognized in the Hebrew Bible ([[Tanakh]]): the one who claims to be a prophet in the name of [[idolatry]], and the one who claims to be a prophet in the name of the God of Israel, but declares that any word or commandment ([[mitzvah]]) which God has said [[Antinomianism|no longer applies]], or makes false statements in the name of God.<ref> A source for these is [[Deuteronomy]] 18:20, which refers to false prophets who claim to speak in the name of God.</ref> As Judaism believes that God's word is true eternally, one who claims to speak in God's name but diverges in any way from what God himself has said, logically cannot be inspired by divine authority. Deuteronomy 13:1 states simply, "Be careful to observe only that which I enjoin upon you; neither add to it nor take away from it."<ref name=jewfaq>Rich, Tracey, [http://www.jewfaq.org/prophet.htm "Prophets and Prophecy"], ''Judaism 101'', accessed March 14, 2006.</ref><ref name=ou>Frankel, Rabbi Pinchas, [http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/history.htm "Covenant of History: A Fools Prophecy"], [[Orthodox Union|Orthodox Union of Jewish Congregations of America]], accessed March 14, 2006.</ref><ref name=urj>Edwards, Laurence, [http://urj.org/Articles/index.cfm?id=2819&pge_prg_id=26382&pge_id=3453 "Torat Hayim - Living Torah: No Rest(s) for the Wicked"], [[Union for Reform Judaism|Union of American Hebrew Congregations]], accessed March 14, 2006.</ref>

Even if someone who appears to be a prophet can perform supernatural acts or signs, no prophet or dreamer can contradict the laws already stated in the Bible.<ref>({{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|13:1-5|HE}} and {{bibleverse-nb||Deuteronomy|18:18-22|HE}})</ref><ref name=buchwald>[[Ephraim Buchwald|Buchwald, Rabbi Ephraim]], [http://www.njop.org/html/REEH5764-2004.html "Parashat Re'eh 5764-2004: Identifying a True Prophet"], [[National Jewish Outreach Program]], accessed March 14, 2006</ref>

Thus, any divergence from the tenets of Biblical Judaism espoused by Jesus would disqualify him from being considered a prophet in Judaism. This was the view adopted by Jesus' contemporaries, as according to rabbinical tradition as stated in the [[Talmud]] ([[Nashim|Sotah]] 48b) "when [[Malachi]] died the Prophecy departed from Israel." As Malachi lived centuries before Jesus it is clear that the rabbis of Talmudic times did not view Jesus as a divinely-inspired prophet.

===Jesus and salvation===
{{seealso|Salvation}}
Judaism does not believe that [[salvation]] or [[repentance]] from sin can be achieved through sacrifice on another's behalf, ("The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers; every man shall be put to death for his own sin.")<ref>{{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|24:16|HE}}</ref> and is instead focused on the requirements of personal repentance.<ref>({{bibleverse||Ezekiel|33:11|HE}},{{bibleverse-nb||Ezekiel|33:19|HE}}, and {{bibleverse||Jeremiah|36:3|HE}}).</ref>

In addition, Judaism focuses on understanding how one may live a sacred life according to God's will in this world, rather than the hope of or methods for finding spiritual salvation in a future one. Judaism views Jews' [[Jews as a chosen people|divine obligation]] to be living as a "holy people" in full accordance with Divine will, as a "light unto the nations," and Judaism does not purport to offer the exclusive path to salvation or "the one path to God." Accordingly, the implications of the Christian conception of Jesus massively diverge from the Jewish worldview.

==Jesus' life==
[[Image:Jesusinjosephus.jpg|300px|thumb|Woodcut of the Crucifixion from an edition of [[William Whiston]]'s translation of [[Flavius Josephus]]]]
While there is no particular view of Jesus mandated by Judaism some Rabbis have speculated about his life. [[Maimonides]] in his [[Epistle to Yemen]] writes that Jesus was a heretic who sought to annul the [[Torah]]. American rabbi and author [[Milton Steinberg]] (1903 – 1949) wrote that Jews saw the historical Jesus as a noble and loving Jewish teacher."<ref>To Jews, that Jesus appears as an extraordinarily beautiful and noble spirit, aglow with love and pity for men, especially for the unfortunate and lost, deep in piety, of keen insight into human nature, endowed with a brilliant gift of parable and epigram, an ardent Jew moreover, a firm believer in the faith of his people; all in all, a dedicated teacher of the principles, religious and ethical, of Judaism. M. Steinberg, 1975 ''Basic Judaism'' pp. 106-107, New York: Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich</ref> Rabbi [[Shmuley Boteach]] (b. 1966) sees reason to believe that Jesus was a rabbi based on some of the statements in the [[New Testament|Christian scriptures]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Shmuley|last=Boteach |authorlink=Shmuley Boteach |author= |coauthors= |title=Jesus was Jewish |url= |format= |work= |publisher=Jerusalem Post |id= |pages= |page=13 |date=2007-10-22 |accessdate=2007-11-08 |language= |quote=Paul, of course, portrayed Jesus as a religious reformer whose mission it was to abrogate Judaism and begin a new faith. But the gospels themselves rebut this conclusion. Jesus derived all his principal teachings from Judaism. His aphorisms are restatements of earlier biblical verses, and his allegories are mostly teachings of the rabbis that are found in the Talmud. |archiveurl=http://www.shmuley.com/articles.php?id=550 |archivedate=2007-10-22 }}</ref>

==Authoritative texts of Judaism that mention Jesus==
===The Talmud and "Yeshu"===
{{main|Yeshu}}
The name ''Yeshu'' (alt: ''Jeshu'', ''Yeishu'', Heb: {{lang|he|יש"ו}}) appears in various works of classical Jewish rabbinic literature including the Babylonian [[Talmud]] (redacted roughly before 600 CE) and the classical [[midrash]] literature written between 250 CE and 700 CE. Scholars have debated the meaning of the name, which has been used as an [[acronym]] for the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] expression {{lang|he|ימח שמו וזכרו}} (''yemach shemo vezichro'' – "May his name and memory be obliterated"). The word is similar to, and may be a wordplay on, ''[[Yeshua (name)|Yeshua]]'',{{Fact|date=November 2007}} believed by many to be the original [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] or [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] name of [[Jesus]]. Due to this fact, along with the occurrence in several manuscripts of the Babylonian Talmud of the appellation ''Ha-Notzri'', which has been variously understood as person from Nazareth or a person belonging to a group called [[Notzrim]] (Guardians, or watchmen) and some similarities between the stories of the two figures, some or many of the references to Yeshu have been traditionally understood to refer to the Jesus of Christianity. Conversely, others have criticized this view,<ref>In the 13th century Jehiel ben Joseph of Paris wrote that the Yeshu in rabbinic literature was a disciple of Joshua ben Perachiah, and not to be confused with Jesus the Nazarene (''Vikkuah Rabbenu Yehiel mi-Paris''). [[Nahmanides]] too makes this point, and [[Rabbi]]s Jacob ben Meir ([[Rabbeinu Tam]]) (12th century) and Jehiel Heilprin (17th century) also belong to this school. Likewise the comments of Rabbi [[Jacob Emden]] cannot be reconciled with the collective identification. In addition, the information cited from the [[Munich]], [[Florence]] and other manuscripts in support of the identification are late comments written centuries after the original redaction of the Talmud.</ref> citing discrepancies between events mentioned in association with ''Yeshu'' and the time of Jesus' life,<ref> The oppression by King Janneus mentioned in the Talmud occurred about 87 BCE, which would put the events of the story about a century before Jesus. The Yeshu who taught Jacob of Sechania would have lived a century after Jesus.</ref> and differences between accounts of the deaths of ''Yeshu'' and Jesus.<ref>The forty day waiting period before execution is absent from the [[Christian]] tradition and moreover Jesus did not have connections with the government. Jesus was crucified not stoned. Jesus was executed in [[Jerusalem]] not [[Lod]]. Jesus did not burn his food in public and moreover the Yeshu who did this corresponds to [[Manasseh of Judah]] in the [[Shulkhan Arukh]]. Jesus did not make incisions in his flesh, nor was he caught by hidden observers.</ref>

In all cases of its use, the references are to individuals who (whether real or not) are associated with acts or behaviour that are seen as leading Jews away from Judaism to ''[[minuth]]'' (a term usually translated as "heresy" or "apostasy"). Therefore, whether ''Yeshu'' equates with "Jesus" has historically been a delicate question, as "Yeshu" is portrayed in a negative light, and negative portrayals of Jesus in Jewish literature might incite, or be used as an excuse for, [[antisemitism]] among some Christians.

Some argue that there is no relationship between Yeshu and the historical Jesus; some argue that Yeshu refers to the historical Jesus; some argue that Yeshu is a literary device used by Rabbis to comment on their relationship to and with early Christians. Some rabbis<ref>[[Nahmanides]] in his dispute with Pablo Christiani in 1263 paragraph 22. ''Vikuach HaRamban'' found in ''Otzar Havikuchim'' by J. D. Eisenstein, Hebrew Publishing Society, 1915 and ''Kitvey HaRamban'' by Rabbi Charles D. Chavel, Mosad Horav Kook, 1963; Also "The [[Kuzari]]" by Rabbi [[Yehuda Halevi]] Section 3 paragraph 65.</ref> understood these references as referring to Jesus and based on them believed that Jesus lived 130 years prior to the date that [[Christian]]s believe he lived, contradicting the [[Gospel]]s' account regarding the [[chronology of Jesus]].

====Examples====
The primary references to Yeshu are found in [[censorship|uncensored]] texts of the [[Babylonian Talmud]] and the [[Tosefta]]. The Vatican's [[papal bull]] issued in 1554 censored the Talmud and other Jewish texts, resulting in the removal of references to Yeshu. No known manuscript of the [[Jerusalem Talmud]] makes mention of the name although one translation (Herford) has added it to ''[[Avodah Zarah (tractate)|Avodah Zarah]] 2:2'' to align it with similar text of ''Chullin 2:22'' in the Tosefta. All later usages of the term Yeshu are derived from these primary references. In the [[Munich]] (1342 CE), [[Paris]], and [[Jewish Theological Seminary]] manuscripts of the Talmud, the appellation ''Ha-Notzri'' is added to the last mention of Yeshu in ''[[Sanhedrin (Talmud)|Sanhedrin]] 107b'' and ''Sotah 47a'' as well as to the occurrences in ''Sanhedrin 43a'', ''Sanhedrin 103a'', ''[[Zeraim|Berachot]] 17b'' and ''Avodah Zarah'' 16b-17a. [[Gil Student|Student]],<ref>http://talmud.faithweb.com/articles/jesusnarr.html</ref> Zindler and McKinsey<ref>http://skeptically.org/bible/id4.html</ref> note that ''Ha-Notzri'' is not found in other early pre-censorship partial manuscripts (the [[Florence]], [[Hamburg]] and [[Karlsruhe]]) where these cover the passages in question.

Although ''Notzri'' does not appear in the Tosefta, by the time the Babylonian Talmud was produced, ''Notzri'' had become the standard [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word for [[Christian]] and ''Yeshu Ha-Notzri'' had become the conventional rendition of "Jesus the Nazarene" in Hebrew. For example, by 1180 CE the term ''Yeshu Ha-Notzri'' can be found in the [[Maimonides]]' ''[[Mishneh Torah]]'' (''Hilchos Melachim'' 11:4, uncensored version). Although the word ''Ha-Notzri'' literally means ''the nezarene'' (''the one who was born in Nazareth''), Maimonides' reference is clearly intended to indicate [[Jesus]].

To explain the dearth of references to Jesus in the Talmud, it has been argued that
*The Talmud was subject to [[censorship]]. During the medieval period in Europe, Jewish texts were often placed on the ''[[Index of Forbidden Books]]'' and passages deemed insulting to the Church were expurgated as of 1264 (The entire Talmud was placed on the ''Index'' by [[Pope Paul IV]] in 1559).
*Although restoring these passages still produces only a few mentions of Yeshu, the [[Mishnah]], which forms the skeleton of the Talmud, was written at a time when Christianity was first emerging. The Christians were just one, apparently usual, sect with which the authors contended (others included [[Sadducee]]s, [[Samaritan]]s, and [[Gnosticism|Gnostics]]).
*The final redaction of the Talmud, the Babylonian Talmud was created in [[Babylonia]], where Christianity did not have the same impact as it did in the [[Mediterranean]] Basin. As such, it was not perceived of as a particularly notable religion.
*Although it is generally comprehensive, the Talmud is also prone to instances of self-censorship, particularly in response to controversial Jewish factionalism and the fear of [[antisemitic]] reaction (e.g. [[Hanukkah]], a celebration of Jewish rebellion against pagan Syrian-Greek rule, is only mentioned in passing in the Talmud, possibly for these reasons).
*The Talmud may mention Jesus and Christianity in coded terms, such as ''min'' (מין, sometimes translated "apostate" or "heretic"), though this term refers to various sectarian groups. In terms of labeling Christians as ''minim'' it is important to note the adage of Rav Nahman in the name of Rava bar Avuha in Tractate ''Chullin 13b'': ''There are no ''minim'' among the gentiles,'' i.e., the appellation could only be applied to converts from Judaism.
*The Talmud was essentially the writing down of the basics of the [[Oral Torah|Oral Law]] - despite its great size, it is still a very condensed form compared to the knowledge that existed originally, therefore, due to the limited space, only the necessities were discussed that might otherwise be forgotten.

===Maimonides' Mishneh Torah===
[[Image:Rambam.jpg|frame|[[Maimonides]]]]
[[Maimonides]] (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon) lamented the pains that Jews felt as a result of new faiths that attempted to supplant Judaism, specifically Christianity and Islam. Referring to Jesus, he wrote:

<blockquote>"Even Jesus the Nazarene who imagined that he would be [[Jewish Messiah|Messiah]] and was killed by the court, was already prophesied by [[Daniel]]. So that it was said, “And the members of the outlaws of your nation would be carried to make a (prophetic) vision stand. And they stumbled” (Daniel 11.14). Because, is there a greater stumbling-block than this one? So that all of the [[prophet]]s spoke that the Messiah redeems Israel, and saves them, and gathers their banished ones, and strengthens their commandments. And this one caused (nations) to destroy Israel by sword, and to scatter their remnant, and to humiliate them, and to exchange the Torah, and to make the majority of the world err to serve a divinity besides God."</blockquote>

Nonetheless, Maimonides continued, <blockquote>"And all these things of Jesus the Nazarene, and of ([[Muhammad]]) the [[Ishmael]]ite who stood after him – there is no (purpose) but to straighten out the way for the King Messiah, and to restore all the world to serve God together. So that it is said, “Because then I will turn toward the nations (giving them) a clear lip, to call all of them in the name of God and to serve God (shoulder to shoulder as) one shoulder.” ([[Book of Zephaniah|Zephaniah]] 3:9). Look how all the world already becomes full of the things of the Messiah, and the things of the [[Torah]], and the things of the commandments! And these things spread among the far islands and among the many nations uncircumcized of heart.(''Hilkhot Melakhim'' 11:10–12.)</blockquote>

===Maimonides' Epistle to Yemen===
Jesus is mentioned in [[Maimonides]]' [[The Yemen Epistle|Epistle to Yemen]], written about 1172 to Rabbi [[Jacob ben Nathanael|Jacob ben Netan'el al-Fayyumi]], head of the [[Yemenite Jews|Yemen Jewish community]] during a time when Jews of that country were passing through a crisis, namely a forced conversion to Islam, inaugurated about 1165 by 'Abd-al-Nabi ibn Mahdi, and a campaign conducted by a recent convert to win them to his new faith. The context of Maimonides' mention of Jesus is during a portion retelling the history of those who tried to destroy Judaism 1) by the sword, 2) by controversies, and 3) by both conquest and controversy. The latter category begins with Jesus, and goes on to mention [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]], and then [[Muhammad]] (who is referred to in the text as "the Madman").

<blockquote>
Ever since the [[Shavuot|time of Revelation]], every despot or slave that has attained to power, be he violent or ignoble, has made it his first aim and his final purpose to destroy our law, and to vitiate our religion, by means of the sword, by violence, or by brute force, such as [[Amalek]], [[Sisera]], [[Sennacherib]], [[Nebuchadnezzar]], [[Titus]], [[Hadrian]], may their bones be ground to dust, and others like them. This is one of the two classes which attempt to foil the Divine will. 

The second class consists of the most intelligent and educated among the nations, such as the [[Syrian]]s, [[Persians]], and [[Ancient Greece|Greek]]s. These also endeavor to demolish our law and to vitiate it by means of arguments which they invent, and by means of controversies which they institute....

After that there arose a new sect which combined the two methods, namely, conquest and controversy, into one, because it believed that this procedure would be more effective in wiping out every trace of the Jewish nation and religion. It, therefore, resolved to lay claim to prophecy and to found a new faith, contrary to our Divine religion, and to contend that it was equally God-given. Thereby it hoped to raise doubts and to create confusion, since one is opposed to the other and both supposedly emanate from a Divine source, which would lead to the destruction of both religions. For such is the remarkable plan contrived by a man who is envious and querulous. He will strive to kill his enemy and to save his own life, but when he finds it impossible to attain his objective, he will devise a scheme whereby they both will be slain.

The first one to have adopted this plan was Jesus the Nazarene, may his bones be ground to dust. He was a Jew because his mother was a Jewess although his father was a [[Gentile]]. For in accordance with the principles of our law, a child born of a Jewess and a Gentile, or of a Jewess and a slave, is legitimate. ([[Nashim|Yebamot]] 45a). Jesus is only figuratively termed an illegitimate child. He impelled people to believe that he was a prophet sent by God to clarify perplexities in the Torah, and that he was the Messiah that was predicted by each and every seer. He interpreted the Torah and its precepts in such a fashion as to lead to their total annulment, to the abolition of all its commandments and to the violation of its prohibitions. The sages, of blessed memory, having become aware of his plans before his reputation spread among our people, meted out fitting punishment to him. 

''[[Daniel]] had already alluded to him when he presaged the downfall of a wicked one and a heretic among the Jews who would endeavor to destroy the Law, claim prophecy for himself, make pretenses to miracles, and allege that he is the Messiah, as it is written, "Also the children of the impudent among thy people shall make bold to claim prophecy, but they shall fall." ([[Book of Daniel|Daniel]] 11:14).''<ref name=Halkin>Halkin, Abraham S., ed., and Cohen, Boaz, trans. ''Moses Maimonides' Epistle to Yemen: The Arabic Original and the Three Hebrew Versions,'' American Academy for Jewish Research, 1952, [[s:Epistle to Yemen/III|pp. iii-iv]].</ref>
</blockquote>

In the context of refuting the claims of a contemporary in Yemen purporting to be the Messiah, Maimonides mentions Jesus again:
<blockquote>"You know that the Christians falsely ascribe marvelous powers to Jesus the Nazarene, may his bones be ground to dust, such as the resurrection of the dead and other miracles. Even if we would grant them for the sake of argument, we should not be convinced by their reasoning that Jesus is the Messiah. For we can bring a thousand proofs or so from the Scripture that it is not so even from their point of view. Indeed, will anyone arrogate this rank to himself unless he wishes to make himself a laughing stock?<ref name=Halkin2>Halkin, Abraham S., ed., and Cohen, Boaz, trans. ''Moses Maimonides' Epistle to Yemen: The Arabic Original and the Three Hebrew Versions,'' American Academy for Jewish Research, 1952, [[s:Epistle to Yemen/XVII|p. xvii]].</ref></blockquote>

===Nahmanides' disputation at Barcelona===
{{main|Disputation of Barcelona}}
In 1263, [[Nahmanides]], rabbi of [[Girona]] and later chief rabbi of [[Catalonia]], was ordered by King [[James I of Aragon]] to take part in a public disputation with [[Pablo Christiani]], a Jewish convert to Catholicism.

Christiani had been trying to make the Jews of [[Provence]] abandon Judaism and convert to Christianity. Relying upon the reserve his adversary would be forced to maintain through fear of wounding the feelings of the Christian dignitaries, Pablo assured the King that he could prove the truth of Christianity from the Talmud and other rabbinical writings. Nahmanides complied with the order of the King, but stipulated that complete [[freedom of speech]] should be granted, and for four days (July 20-24) debated with Pablo Christiani in the presence of the King, the court, and many ecclesiastical dignitaries.

The subjects discussed were:

# whether the [[Messiah]] had appeared;
# whether the Messiah announced by the Prophets was to be considered as divine or as a man born of human parents;
# whether the Jews or the Christians were in possession of the true faith.

Christiani argued, based upon several [[Midrash|aggadic]] passages, that the [[Pharisee]] sages believed that the Messiah had lived during the Talmudic period, and that they ostensibly believed that the Messiah was therefore [[Jesus]]. Nahmanides countered that Christiani's interpretations were per-se distortions; the rabbis would not hint that Jesus was Messiah while, at the same time, explicitly opposing him as such. Nahmanides proceeded to provide context for the proof-texts cited by Christiani, showing that they were most clearly understood differently than as proposed by Christiani. Furthermore, Nahmanides demonstrated from numerous biblical and talmudic sources that traditional Jewish belief ran contrary to Christiani's postulates.

Nahmanides went on to show that the Biblical prophets regarded the future messiah as a human, a person of flesh and blood, and not as a [[divinity]], in the way that Christians view Jesus. He noted that their promises of a reign of universal peace and justice had not yet been fulfilled. On the contrary, since the appearance of Jesus, the world had been filled with violence and injustice, see also [[But to bring a sword]], and among all denominations the Christians were the most warlike.

He noted that questions of the Messiah are of less dogmatic importance to Jews than most Christians imagine. The reason given by him for this bold statement is that it is more meritorious for the Jews to observe the precepts under a Christian ruler, while in exile and suffering humiliation and abuse, than under the rule of the Messiah, when every one would perforce act in accordance with the Law.

==See also==
* [[Early Christianity]]
* [[Rejection of Jesus]]
* [[Shituf]]
* [[Christianity and Judaism]]
* [[Judaism's view of Muhammad]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.jewsforjudaism.com Jews for Judaism]
*[http://www.nishma.org/articles/insight/spark5756-22.html The False Prophet]
*[http://www.aish.com/spirituality/philosophy/Why_Dont_Jews_Believe_In_Jesus$.asp Why Don't Jews Believe in Jesus]
*{{PDFlink|[http://www.jewsforjudaism.org/web/pdf/RealMessiahBookPages_v4ab.pdf The Real Messiah? A Jewish Response to Missionaries.]}} by [[Aryeh Kaplan]]

[[Category:Judeo-Christian topics]]
[[Category:Perspectives on Jesus]]
[[Category:Jewish views]]
[[Category:Jews and Judaism-related controversies]]

[[fr:Point de vue du judaïsme sur Jésus de Nazareth]]
[[ia:Vista del judaismo de Jesus]]
[[it:Gesù nell'Ebraismo]]
[[nl:Joodse visies op het christendom]]
[[pl:Jezus w judaizmie]]

Hanukkah

2008-11-17T22:11:45Z

Dbratton: /* Alternative spellings based on transliterating Hebrew letters */ cut spelling permutations

{{for|the Khazar ruler|Hanukkah ben Obadiah}}
{{distinguish|Hanneke}}
{{Infobox Holiday
|image =
|caption = Several Menorot on the eighth night of the festival.
|holiday_name = Hanukkah
|official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''חֲנֻכָּה''' or '''חנוכה''' [[English language|English]] translation: "Establishing/Dedication" (of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]])
|nickname = Festival of Lights, Festival of Dedication
|observedby = [[Jew]]s
|begins = 25 [[Kislev]]
|ends = 2 [[Tevet]] or 3 [[Tevet]]
|celebrations = Lighting [[candle]]s each night. Singing special songs, such as [[Ma'oz Tzur]]. Reciting [[Hallel]] prayer. Eating festive meals and foods fried in oil, such as [[latke]]s and [[sufganiyot]]. Playing the ''[[Hanukkah#Dreidel|dreidel]]'' game, and giving [[Hanukkah#Hanukkah gelt|Hanukkah ''gelt'']]
|type = Jewish
|significance = The [[Maccabees]] successfully rebelled against [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]]. The Temple was purified and the wicks of the menorah miraculously burned for eight days.
|relatedto = [[Purim]], as a [[rabbi]]nically decreed holiday.
|date2008 = sunset, [[December 21]] to sunset, [[December 29]] The first Day of Hanukkah is December 22.
|date2009 = sunset, [[December 11]] to sunset, [[December 19]]
|date2010 = sunset, [[December 1]] to sunset, [[December 9]]
}}
[[Image:Skulen2.JPG|thumb|Grand Rabbi [[Israel Abraham Portugal]] of [[Skulen (Hasidic dynasty)|Skulen]] [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]] lighting Hanukkah lights]]

'''Hanukkah''' ({{lang-he|חנוכה}}, alt. '''Chanukah'''), also known as the '''Festival of Lights''', is an eight-day [[Jewish holiday]] commemorating the rededication of the [[Second Temple]] in [[Jerusalem]] at the time of the [[Maccabean Revolt]] of the [[2nd century BCE]]. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of [[Kislev]] according to the [[Hebrew calendar]], and may occur from late November to late December on the [[Gregorian calendar]].

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a special [[candelabrum]], the ''[[Menorah (Hanukkah)|Menorah]]'' or ''Hanukiah'', one light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a ''[[Shamash#Shamash in Judaism|shamash]]'', ([[Hebrew (language)|Hebrew]]: "guard" or "servant") is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the [[Talmud]] (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. (The shamash is used to light the other lights.)

Hanukkah is mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] or [[Biblical apocrypha|apocrypha books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

==Origins of the holiday==
"Hanukkah," from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", marks the re-dedication of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] after its desecration by the forces of [[Antiochus IV]] and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil." According to the [[Talmud]], at the re-dedication following the victory of the [[Maccabees]] over the [[Seleucid Empire]], there was only enough consecrated [[olive oil]] to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the [[deuterocanonical books]] of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]]. 1 Maccabees states: "For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the [[Altar#In the Hebrew Bible|altar]]. Then [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication...should be observed...every year...for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)" According to 2 Maccabees, "the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the [[Sukkot|feast of Booths]]."

The martyrdom of Hannah and her seven sons has also been linked to Hanukkah. According to the Talmudic story<ref>Talmud Gittin 57b tells a story of a woman and her seven sons killed by "Caesar". The name "Hannah" is not stated.</ref> and [[2 Maccabees]], a Jewish woman named Hannah and her seven sons were tortured and executed by [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes|Antiochus]] for refusing to worship an idol, which would have been a violation of [[613 Mitzvot|Jewish law]].

===Name===
The name "Hanukkah" is interpreted in many ways.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://innernet.org.il/article.php?aid=11|title=Origin of the Name Chanukah|first=Nosson|last=Scherman|publisher=ArtScroll}}</ref>
*Some scholars say the word was derived from the Hebrew verb "חנך" meaning "to dedicate" or to "educate." On Hanukkah, Jews mark the rededication of the House of the Lord.<ref>[[Maharsha]] on [[Talmud]] [[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]] 21b</ref>

*Others argue that the name can be broken down into "חנו", from the Hebrew word for encampment, and the Hebrew letters כ"ה, which stand for the 25th day of Kislev, the day on which the holiday begins: Hence, the Jews sat in their camp, that is, they rested fighting, on the 25th day of Kislev.<ref>[[Nissim of Gerona|Ran]] on [[Isaac Alfasi|Rif]] 9b</ref>

*Hanukkah is also the Hebrew [[acronym]] for "ח' נרות והלכה כבית הלל" meaning "eight candles as determined by [[Hillel the Elder|House of Hillel]]" This is a reference to the disagreement between two rabbinical schools of thought - Hillel and the [[Shammai|House of Shammai]] - on the proper way to light Hanukkah candles. Shammai said that eight candles should be lit from the start, and reduced by one candle every night, whereas Hillel argued in favor of starting with one candle and lighting an additional one every night. Jewish law adopted the position of Hillel.

== Historical sources ==
=== In the Talmud ===
The miracle of Hanukkah is described in the [[Talmud]]. The [[Gemara]], in tractate ''Shabbat 21b'' focuses on [[Shabbat]] candles and moves to Hanukkah candles and says that after the occupiers had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was still [[seal (device)|seal]]ed by the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, and miraculously, that oil burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready).

The Talmud presents three options:
#The law requires only one light each night per household,
#A better practice is to light one light each night for each member of the household
#The most preferred practise is to vary the number of lights each night.
There was a dispute among the sages over how the last option was to be performed: either display eight lamps on the first night of the festival, and reduce the number on each successive night; or begin with one lamp the first night, increasing the number till the eighth night. The followers of [[Shammai]] favored the former custom; the followers of [[Hillel the Elder|Hillel]] advocated the latter. As is the case in most such disputes, [[Halakha|Jewish law]] followed Hillel. Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one's door or in the window closest to the street. [[Rashi]], in a note to ''Shabbat 21b,'' says their purpose is to publicize the miracle. Hanukkah is also mentioned in the (older) [[Mishnah]] (TB [[Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah]] 30b).

===In the Septuagint and other sources===
The story of Hanukkah is alluded to in the books of [[1 Maccabees]] and [[2 Maccabees]] of the [[Septuagint]] but Hanukkah is not specially mentioned; rather, a story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 ''et seq'' according to which the relighting of the altar fire by [[Nehemiah]] was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabeus.

The Books of Maccabees are not part of the [[Tanakh]] ([[Hebrew Bible]]), but are part of [[deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] historical and religious material preserved in the [[Septuagint]]. The Tanakh ends with the consequences following the events of [[Purim]], and had already been codified many centuries earlier by the [[Great Assembly|Men of the Great Assembly]] (''Anshei Knesset HaGedolah'').

Another source is the [[Megillat Antiochus]]. This work (also known as "Megillat HaHasmonaim", or "Megillat Hanukkah") is in both [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]; the Hebrew version is a literal translation from the Aramaic original. Recent scholarship dates it to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th Centuries, probably in the 2nd Century,<ref>{{cite web|first=Benjamin|last=Zvieli|title=The Scroll of Antiochus|url= http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html| accessdate=2007-01-28}}</ref> with the Hebrew dating to the seventh century.<ref name = "pvgsyw"> [http://customerservant.com/2006/12/16/the-scroll-of-the-hasmoneans/ The Scroll Of The Hasmoneans] </ref> It was published for the first time in [[Mantua]] in 1557. [[Saadia Gaon]], who translated it into [[Arabic language| Arabic]] in the 9th Century, ascribed it to the Maccabees themselves, disputed by some, since it gives dates as so many years before the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE.<ref> [http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html The Scroll of Antiochus] </ref> The Hebrew text with an English translation can be found in the [[Siddur]] of [[Philip Birnbaum]].

Hanukkah is also mentioned in the [[New Testament]], where in the [[Gospel of John]] it is referred to as the Feast of the Dedication ({{bibleverse||John|10:22|KJV}}).

== The story ==
{{see also|Hasmonean}}
Around 200 BCE Jews lived as an autonomous people in the [[Land of Israel]], also referred to as [[Judea]], which at that time was controlled by the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] [[Seleucid dynasty|king of Syria]]. The Jewish people paid taxes to Syria and accepted its legal authority, and they were free to follow their own faith, maintain their own jobs, and engage in trade.

By 175 BCE [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]] ascended to the Seleucid throne. At first little changed, but under his reign, the Temple in [[Jerusalem]] was looted, Jews were massacred, and [[Judaism]] was effectively outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple.

Many modern scholars argue that the king may have been intervening in an internal civil war between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized elite Jews in Jerusalem. These competed violently over who would be the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]], with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like [[Onias III|Onias]] overthrown by Hellenizers with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus. As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times, banned the traditional religion of a whole people.<ref>Tchrikover, Victor. ''Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews''.</ref>

Antiochus' actions proved to be a major miscalculation as they provoked a large-scale revolt. [[Mattathias]], a [[Kohen|Jewish priest]], and his five sons Jochanan, [[Simon Maccabaeus|Simeon]], [[Eleazar Maccabeus|Eleazar]], [[Jonathan Maccabaeus|Jonathan]], and [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] led a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated.
The festival of Hanukkah was instituted by [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah Maccabee]] and his brothers to celebrate this event.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#59 1 Macc. iv. 59]</ref> After recovering Jerusalem and the Temple, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. But 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 by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

[[Image:Hanukkah2.jpg|thumb|right|Hanukkah lamp unearthed near [[Jerusalem]], c. 1900.]]
The version of the story in 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, states that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was proclaimed upon rededication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of the oil.<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA4.HTM#36 1 Macc. iv. 36]</ref> A number of historians believe that the reason for the eight day celebration was that the first Hanukkah was in effect a belated celebration of the festivals of [[Sukkot]] and [[Shemini Atzeret]].<ref>[http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA10.HTM#6 Macc. x. 6] and [http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA1.HTM#9 i. 9]</ref> During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret properly; the combined festivals also last eight days, and the Sukkot festivities featured the lighting of lamps in the Temple (Suk.v. 2-4). The historian [[Josephus]]<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+12.287]
''Jewish Antiquities'' xii. 7, § 7, #323</ref> mentions the eight-day festival and its customs, but does not tell us the origin of the eight day lighting custom. Given that his audience was Hellenized Romans, perhaps his silence on the origin of the eight-day custom is due to its miraculous nature. In any event, he does report that lights were kindled in the household and the popular name of the festival was, therefore the "Festival of Lights" ("And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights").

It has also been noted that the number eight has special significance in Jewish theology, as representing transcendence and the Jewish People's special role in human history. Seven is the number of days of creation, that is, of completion of the material cosmos, and also of the classical planets. Eight, being one step beyond seven, represents the Infinite. Hence, the Eighth Day of the Assembly festival, mentioned above, is according to Jewish Law a festival for Jews only (unlike Sukkot, when all peoples were welcome in Jerusalem). Similarly, the rite of [[brit milah]] (circumcision), which brings a Jewish male into God's Covenant, is performed on the eighth day. Hence, Hanukkah's eight days (in celebration of monotheistic morality's victory over Hellenistic humanism) have great symbolic importance for practicing Jews.

==Hanukkah rituals==
[[Image:Hanukkah1.jpg|thumb|right|Various menorot used for Hanukkah. 12th through 19th century, CE]]

Hanukkah is celebrated by a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the 8-day holiday. Some are family-based and others are communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals. Hanukkah is not a "Sabbath-like" holiday, and there is no obligation to refrain from [[39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat|activities that are forbidden on the Sabbath]], as specified in the ''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]''<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 670:1</ref> People go to work as usual, but may leave early in order to be home to kindle the lights at nightfall. There is no religious reason for schools to be closed, although, in Israel, schools close for the whole week of Hanukkah. Many families exchange gifts each night, and fried foods are eaten.

===Kindling the Hanukkah lights===
:{{seealso|Chanukkiyah}}
The primary ritual, according to [[Halakha|Jewish law and custom]], is to light a single light each night for eight nights. As a universally practiced "beautification" of the [[mitzvah]], the number of lights lit is increased by one each night.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 671:2</ref> An extra light called a ''shamash'', meaning ''guard'' or ''servant'' is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. This differs from [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] candles which are meant to be used for illumination. Hence, if one were to need extra illumination on Hanukkah, the ''shamash'' candle would be available and one would avoid using the prohibited lights. Some light the ''shamash'' candle first and then use it to light the others.<ref name = "lonorw">''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 673:1</ref> So all together, including the ''shamash'', two lights are lit on the first night, three on the second and so on, ending with nine on the last night, for a total of 44.

[[Image:Tiffany glasswork Hanukkah menora02.jpg|thumb|A modern [[Lead came and copper foil glasswork|"Tiffany"]] Hanukkah menorah]]
The lights can be candles or oil lamps.<ref name = "lonorw"/> Electric lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room. Most Jewish homes have a special [[candelabrum]] or oil lamp holder for Hanukkah, which holds eight lights plus the additional ''shamash'' light.

The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without," so that passers-by should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle. Accordingly lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street. It is customary amongst some Ashkenazim to have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), whereas most Sephardim light one for the whole household. Only when there was danger of [[Anti-Semitism|anti-semitic persecution]] were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the case in [[Iran|Persia]] under the rule of the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]], or in parts of Europe before and during World War II. However, most [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] groups, light lamps near an inside doorway, not necessarily in public view. According to this tradition, the lamps are placed on the opposite side from the ''[[mezuzah]]'', so that when one passes through the door he is surrounded by the holiness of ''mitzvoth''.

[[Image:Maurice Ascalon Menorah Pal-Bell.jpg|thumb|left|Bronze [[Pal-Bell]] oil-burning Hanukkah menorah from Israel circa 1948, by [[Maurice Ascalon]].]]
 
===Time of lighting===
Hanukkah lights should burn for at least one half hour after it gets dark. The custom of the [[Vilna Gaon]] observed by many residents of Jerusalem as the custom of the city, is to light at sundown, although most Hassidim light later, even in Jerusalem. Many Hasidic Rebbes light much later, because they fulfill the obligation of publicizing the miracle by the presence of their Hasidim when they kindle the lights. Inexpensive small wax candles sold for Hanukkah burn for approximately half an hour, so on most days this requirement can be met by lighting the candles when it is dark outside. Friday night presents a problem, however. Since candles may not be lit on the [[Shabbat]] itself, the candles must be lit before sunset. However, they must remain lit until the regular time - thirty minutes after nightfall - and inexpensive Hanukkah candles do not burn long enough to meet the requirement. A simple solution is to use longer candles, or the traditional oil lamps. In keeping with the above-stated prohibition, the Hanukkah menorah is lit first, followed by the Shabbat candles which signify its onset.

=== Blessings over the candles ===
[[Image:Menorah two candles.jpg|thumb|A menorah with two lit candles]]
Typically three blessings (''Brachot'' singular ''Brachah'') are recited during this eight-day festival. On the first night of Hanukkah, Jews recite all three blessings, on all subsequent nights, they recite only the first two.<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:1-2</ref> The blessings are said before or after the candles are lit depending on tradition. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle, lamp, or electric) is lit on the right side of the Menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first candle and so on, proceeding from right to left each night.

For the full text of the blessings, see [[List of Jewish prayers and blessings#Hanukkah|List of Jewish prayers and blessings: Hanukkah]]

==== ''Hanerot Halalu'' ====
During or after the lights are kindled the hymn ''Hanerot Halalu'' is recited. There are several differing versions - the version presented here is recited in many Ashkenazic communities:<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 676:4</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan=2 | [[Ashkenazi]]c version:
|-
! Transliteration
! English
|-
| Hanneirot hallalu anachnu madlikin 'al hannissim ve'al hanniflaot 'al hatteshu'ot ve'al hammilchamot she'asita laavoteinu bayyamim haheim, (u)bazzeman hazeh 'al yedei kohanekha hakkedoshim. Vekhol-shemonat yemei Hanukkah hanneirot hallalu kodesh heim, ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtammesh baheim ella lir'otam bilvad kedei lehodot ul'halleil leshimcha haggadol 'al nissekha ve'al nifleotekha ve'al yeshu'otekha
| We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your [[Kohen|holy priests]]. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them except for to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations.
|-
|}

==== ''Maoz Tzur'' ====
{{main|Ma'oz Tzur}}
Each night after the lighting of the candles, while remaining within sight of the candles, Ashkenazim (and, in recent decades, some Sephardim and Mizrahim in Western countries) usually sing the hymn ''Ma'oz Tzur'' written in Medieval [[Germany]]. The song contains six stanzas. The first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation, and the middle four deal with events of persecution in [[Jewish history]], and praises God for survival despite these tragedies ([[the exodus]] from Egypt, the [[Babylonian captivity]], the miracle of the holiday of [[Purim]], and the [[Hasmonean]] victory).

====Other customs====
After lighting the candles and Ma'oz Tzur, singing various other Hanukkah songs is customary in many Jewish homes. Various Hasidic and Sefardic traditions have additional prayers that are recited both before and after lighting the Hanukkah lights. This includes the recitation of many Psalms, most notably Psalms 30, 67, and 91 (many Hasidim recite Psalm 91 seven times after lighting the lamps, as was taught by the [[Baal Shem Tov]]), as well as other prayers and hymns, each congregation according to its own custom. In North America it is common to exchange presents or give children presents at this time.

=== Additions to the daily prayers ===
{{quote box|align=left|width=45%|quote="We thank You also for the miraculous deeds and for the redemption and for the mighty deeds and the saving acts wrought by You, as well as for the wars which You waged for our ancestors in ancient days at this season. In the days of the Hasmonean Mattathias, son of Johanan the high priest, and his sons, when the iniquitous Greco-Syrian kingdom rose up against Your people Israel, to make them forget Your Torah and to turn them away from the ordinances of Your will, then You in your abundant mercy rose up for them in the time of their trouble, pled their cause, executed judgment, avenged their wrong, and delivered the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and insolent ones into the hands of those occupied with Your Torah. Both unto Yourself did you make a great and holy name in Thy world, and unto Your people did You achieve a great deliverance and redemption. Whereupon your children entered the sanctuary of Your house, cleansed Your temple, purified Your sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courts, and appointed these eight days of Hanukkah in order to give thanks and praises unto Your holy name."|source=Translation of ''Al ha-Nissim''}}
An addition is made to the "''hoda'ah''" (thanksgiving) benediction in the [[Amidah]], called ''Al ha-Nissim'' ("On/about the Miracles").<ref>''[[Shulkhan Arukh]]'' ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 682:1</ref> This addition refers to the victory achieved over the Syrians by the Hasmonean Mattathias and his sons.

The same prayer is added to the grace after meals. In addition, the ''[[Hallel]]'' Psalms are sung during each morning service and the ''[[Tachanun]]'' penitential prayers are omitted. The Torah is read every day in the [[synagogue]], the first day beginning from [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 6:22 (According to some customs, Numbers 7:1), and the last day ending with Numbers 8:4.

Since Hanukkah lasts eight days it includes at least one, and sometimes two, [[Shabbat|Jewish Sabbaths]] (Saturdays). The weekly [[Parsha|Torah portion]] for the first Sabbath is almost always ''[[Miketz]]'', telling of [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]]'s dream and his enslavement in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]. The ''[[Haftarah]]'' reading for the first Sabbath Hanukkah is [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]] 2:14-4:7. When there is a second Sabbath on Hanukkah, the ''Haftarah'' reading is from [[I Kings]] 7:40 - 7:50.

The Hanukkah ''menorah'' is also kindled daily in the synagogue, at night with the blessings and in the morning without the blessings. The menorah is not lit on the Sabbath, but rather prior to the beginning of the Sabbath at night and not at all during the day.

During the [[Middle Ages]] "[[Megillat Antiochus]]" was read in the [[Italian Jews#Italian rite Jews|Italian]] [[synagogues]] on Hanukkah just as the [[Book of Esther]] is read on [[Purim]]. It still forms part of the liturgy of the [[Yemenite Jews]].<ref name = "pvgsyw"/>

=== ''Zot Hanukkah'' ===
The last day of Hanukkah is known as ''Zot Hanukkah'', from the verse in the Book of Numbers 7:84 "''Zot Chanukat Hamizbe'ach''" - "This was the dedication of the altar", which is read on this day in the synagogue. According to the teachings of [[Kabbalah]] and [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidism]], this day is the final "seal" of the High Holiday season of [[Yom Kippur]], and is considered a time to repent out of love for God. In this spirit, many Hasidic Jews wish each other "''Gmar chatimah tovah''", "may you be sealed totally for good", a traditional greeting for the Yom Kippur season. It is taught in Hasidic and Kabbalistic literature that this day is particularly auspicious for the fulfillment of prayers.

==Judith and Holofernes==
[[Image:Cristofano Allori 002.jpg|thumb|left|''Judith with the head of Holofernes'' by Cristofano Allori]]

Eating dairy foods, especially cheese, on Hanukkah is a minor custom that has its roots in the story of Judith, as related in the book of [[Judith]] (''Yehudit'' or ''Yehudis'' in Hebrew). [[Holofernes]], an Assyrian general, had surrounded the village of Bethulia as part of his campaign to conquer Judea. After intense fighting, the water supply of the Jews is cut off and the situation became desperate. Judith, a pious widow, told the city leaders that she had a plan to save the city. Judith went to the Assyrian camps and pretended to surrender. She met Holofernes, who was smitten by her beauty. She went back to his tent with him, where she plied him with cheese and wine. When he fell into a drunken sleep, Judith beheaded him and escaped from the camp, taking the severed head with her. When Holofernes' soldiers found his corpse, they were overcome with fear; the Jews, on the other hand, were emboldened, and launched a successful counterattack. The town was saved, and the Assyrians defeated.

Many argue {{who}} that Holofernes was actually Greek, placing the events in the general time-frame of Hanukkah. The longstanding tradition that Judith was the daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, and consequently a sister of Mattathias the Hasmonean and an aunt of Judah the Maccabee, is how this story came to be associated with Hanukkah. There are many depictions of Judith and Holofernes in painting.

==Interaction with modernity and with other traditions==

The classical rabbis downplayed the military and nationalistic dimensions of Hanukkah, and some even interpreted the emphasis upon the story of the miracle oil as a diversion away from the struggle with empires that had led to the disastrous downfall of Jerusalem to the Romans. With the advent of Zionism and the state of Israel, these themes were rapidly reconsidered. In modern Israel, Hanukkah was transformed into a celebration of military strength, a kind of antidote to what was perceived as the idea of the powerless [[Jewish diaspora|Diaspora Jew]] that the Zionists felt that the Jews in the State of Israel needed to psychologically overcome.

In North America especially, Hanukkah gained increased importance with many Jewish families in the latter half of the twentieth century, including large numbers of [[Secular Jewish culture|secular Jews]], who wanted a Jewish alternative to the [[Christmas]] celebrations that often overlap with Hanukkah. Though it was traditional to give "gelt" or money coins to children during Hanukkah, in many families this has changed into gifts in order to prevent Jewish children from feeling left out of the Christmas gift giving.

While Hanukkah traditionally speaking is only a minor Jewish holiday, as indicated by the lack of restrictions on work other than a few minutes after lighting the candles, Hanukkah has taken a place equal to Passover as a symbol of Jewish identity. Both the Israeli and North American versions of Hanukkah emphasize resistance, focusing on some combination of national liberation and religious freedom as the defining meaning of the holiday.

===Green Hanukkah===

Some Jews in North America and Israel have taken up environmental concerns in relation to Hanukkah's "miracle of the oil", emphasizing reflection on energy conservation and energy independence. An example of this is the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life's renewable energy campaign.<ref>[http://www.shalomctr.org/node/1315 Shalom Center on Hannukah and the environment]</ref> <ref>[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546797524&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Jerusalem Post: Green Hanukkia' campaign sparks ire]</ref> <ref>[http://www.coejl.org/climatechange/CFLceremony.php Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL): Green Hannukah ceremony]</ref>

==Hanukkah music==
{{main|Hanukkah music}}
There are several songs associated with the festival of Hanukkah. The most well known in English-speaking countries include "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" and "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah." In Israel, Hanukkah has become something of a national holiday. A large number of songs have been written on Hanukkah themes, perhaps more so than for any other Jewish holiday. Some of the most well known are "''Hanukkiah Li Yesh''" ("I Have a Hanukkah Menora"), "''Kad Katan''" ("A Small Jug"), "''S'vivon Sov Sov Sov''" ("Dreidel, Spin and Spin"), "''Mi Yimalel''" (Who can Retell") and "''Ner Li, Ner Li''" ("I have a Candle").

==Hanukkah foods==
[[Image:sufganiyah.jpeg|thumb|right|Sufganiyot with jelly]]
[[Potato pancakes]], known as [[latke]]s in [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], are traditionally associated with Hanukkah, especially among Ashkenazi families. There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil (preferably olive oil), as the original miracle of the Hanukkah menorah involved the discovery of the small flask of oil used by the Jewish High Priest, the [[Kohen Gadol]]. This small batch of olive oil was only supposed to last one day, and instead it lasted eight.

Many Sephardic families as well as [[History of Jews in Poland|Polish]] Ashkenazim and [[Israel]] have the custom of eating all kinds of fruit-filled [[doughnut]]s ({{lang-yi|פאנטשקעס ''pontshkes''}}), ([[bimuelos]], or [[sufganiyah|sufganiyot]]) which are [[Frying|deep-fried]] in oil, and of course all Kosher foods.

==Hanukkah games==
===Dreidel===
{{main|Dreidel}}
[[Image:Dreidel 001.jpg|thumb|right|Dreidel]]
The ''dreidel'', or ''sevivon'' in Hebrew, is a four-sided spinning top that children play with on Hanukkah. Each side is imprinted with a Hebrew letter. These letters are an acronym for the Hebrew words, נס גדול היה שם, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''S'''ham''—"A great miracle happened there" (referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Beit Hamikdash]]).

*נ ''([[Nun (letter)|Nun]])''
*ג ''([[Gimel (letter)|Gimel]])''
*ה ''([[He (letter)|Hey]])''
*ש ''([[Shin (letter)|Shin]])''

In [[Israel|Eretz Yisroel]], the fourth side of most dreidels is inscribed with the letter פ ''([[Pe (letter)|Pe]])'', rendering the acronym, נס גדול היה פה, '''''N'''es '''G'''adol '''H'''aya '''P'''o''—"A great miracle happened here" referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel. Some stores in [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] neighbourhoods may sell the traditional ''Shin'' dreidels.

Some Jewish commentators ascribe symbolic significance to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects the four letters with the four exiles to which the nation of Israel was historically subject—Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome.<ref>[http://www.ohr.org.il/yhiy/article.php/1309 Ohr Somayach :: Chanukah :: The Secret of the Dreidel]</ref>

After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, it is customary in many homes to play the dreidel game: Each player starts out with 10 or 15 coins (real or of chocolate), nuts, raisins, candies or other markers, and places one marker in the "pot." The first player spins the dreidel, and depending on which side the dreidel falls on, either wins a marker from the pot or gives up part of his stash. The code (based on a [[Yiddish Language|Yiddish]] version of the game) is as follows:
*Nun - ''nisht'' - "nothing" - nothing happens and the next player spins
*Gimel - ''gants'' - "all" - the player takes the entire pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtel ayn'' - "put in" - the player puts one marker in the pot

Another version differs:
*Nun - ''nim'' - "take" - the player takes one from the pot
*Gimel - ''gib'' - "give" - the player puts one in the pot
*Hey - ''halb'' - "half" - the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
*Shin - ''shtil'' - "still" (as in "stillness") - nothing happens and the next player spins

The game may last until one person has won everything.

Some say the dreidel game is played to commemorate a game devised by the Jews to camouflage the fact that they were [[Torah study|studying Torah]], which was outlawed by Greeks. The Jews would gather in caves to study, posting a lookout to alert the group to the presence of Greek soldiers. If soldiers were spotted, the Jews would hide their scrolls and spin tops, so the Greeks thought they were gambling, not learning.

===Hanukkah ''gelt''===
Hanukkah ''gelt'' ([[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] for "money") is often distributed to children to enhance their enjoyment of the holiday. The amount is usually in small coins, although grandparents or other relatives may give larger sums as an official Hanukkah gift. In Israel, Hanukkah ''gelt'' is known as ''dmei Hanukkah''. Many Hasidic [[Rebbe]]s distribute coins to those who visit them during Hanukkah. Hasidic Jews consider this to be an auspicious blessing from the Rebbe, and a ''[[segulah]]'' for success.

Twentieth-century [[United States|American]] [[chocolatier]]s picked up on the gift/coin concept by creating [[chocolate money|chocolate ''gelt'']].

==Alternative spellings based on transliterating Hebrew letters==
In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], the word Hanukkah is written '''{{lang|he|חנֻכה}}''' or '''{{lang|he|חנוכה}}'''. It is most commonly transliterated to English as ''Chanukah'' or ''Hanukkah'', the latter because the sound represented by "CH" ([{{IPA|/x/}}], as in the [[Scots language|Scottish]] pronunciation of "[[loch]]") essentially does not exist in the modern English language. Furthermore, the letter "[[heth]]" ('''{{lang|he|ח}}'''), which is the first letter in the Hebrew spelling, is pronounced differently in modern Hebrew ([[voiceless velar fricative]]) than in classical Hebrew ([[voiceless pharyngeal fricative]]), and neither of those sounds is unambiguously representable in English spelling. Moreover, the 'kaf' consonant is [[geminate]] in classical (but not modern) Hebrew. Adapting the classical Hebrew pronunciation with the geminate and pharyngeal Ḥeth can lead to the spelling "Hanukkah"; while adapting the modern Hebrew pronunciation with no geminate and velar Ḥeth leads to the spelling "Chanukah". Variations include:
[[Image:Hanukkah.png|right|thumb|Spelling variations are due to transliteration of Hebrew ''Chet Nun Vav Kaf Hey'']]

===Common variants===
* Hanukkah (in North America, Australia - also very common in UK)
* Chanukkah (in the UK, also common in North America)

===YIVO variant===
* Khanike ([[YIVO]] standard [[transliteration]] from the Yiddish and/or Ashkenazic [[pronunciation]] of the Hebrew)

== Background ==
===Chronology===

*198 BCE: Armies of the Seleucid King [[Antiochus III]] (Antiochus the Great) oust [[Ptolemy V Epiphanes|Ptolemy V]] from Judea and Samaria.
*175 BCE: [[Antiochus IV]] (Epiphanes) ascends the Seleucid throne.
*168 BCE: Under the reign of Antiochus IV, the Temple is looted, Jews are massacred, and [[Judaism]] is outlawed.
*167 BCE: Antiochus orders an altar to [[Zeus]] erected in the Temple. Mattathias, and his five sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah lead a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah becomes known as Judah Maccabe (Judah The Hammer).
*166 BCE: Mattathias dies, and Judah takes his place as leader. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom begins; It lasts until 63 BCE
*165 BCE: The Jewish revolt against the [[Seleucid]] monarchy is successful. The Temple is liberated and rededicated (Hanukkah).
*142 BCE: Establishment of the Second Jewish Commonwealth. The Seleucids recognize Jewish autonomy. The Seleucid kings have a formal overlordship, which the Hasmoneans acknowledged. This inaugurates a period of great geographical expansion, population growth, and religious, cultural and social development.
*139 BCE: The [[Roman Senate]] recognizes Jewish autonomy.
*130 BCE: Antiochus VII besieges [[Jerusalem]], but withdraws.
*131 BCE: Antiochus VII dies. The [[Hasmonean]] Jewish Kingdom throws off Syrian rule completely
*96 BCE: An eight year civil war begins.
*83 BCE: Consolidation of the Kingdom in territory east of the [[Jordan River]].
*63 BCE: The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an end due to rivalry between the brothers [[Aristobulus II]] and [[Hyrcanus II]], both of whom appeal to the [[Roman Republic]] to intervene and settle the power struggle on their behalf. The Roman general [[Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus]] (Pompey the Great) is dispatched to the area. Twelve thousand Jews are massacred as Romans enter Jerusalem. The Priests of the Temple are struck down at the Altar. Rome annexes Judea.

===Battles of the Maccabean revolt===
{{main|Maccabees}}
There were a number of key battles between the Maccabees and the Seleucid Syrian-Greeks:

:''Listed alphabetically'':

*[[Battle of Adasa]] ([[Judas Maccabeus]] leads the Jews to victory against the forces of Nicanor.)
*[[Battle of Beth Horon]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the forces of Seron.)
*[[Battle of Beth-zechariah]] (Elazar the Maccabee is killed in battle. Lysias has success in battle against the Maccabess, but allows them temporary freedom of worship.)
*[[Battle of Beth Zur]] (Judas Maccabeus defeats the army of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]], recapturing Jerusalem.)
*[[Dathema]] (A Jewish fortress saved by Judas Maccabeus.)
*[[Battle of Elasa]] (Judas Maccabeus dies in battle against the army of [[Demetrius I Soter|King Demetrius]] and [[Bacchides (general)|Bacchides]]. He is succeeded by [[Jonathan Maccabaeus]] and [[Simon Maccabaeus]] who continue to lead the Jews in battle.)
*[[Battle of Emmaus]] (Judas Maccabeus fights the forces of [[Lysias (Syrian chancellor)|Lysias]] and [[Gorgias (Syrian general)|Georgias]]).
*[[Battle of Wadi Haramia]].

==When Hanukkah occurs==
{{further|[[Jewish holidays 2000-2050]]}}

The dates of Hanukkah are determined by the [[Hebrew calendar]]. Hanukkah begins at the 25th day of [[Kislev]] and concluding on the 2nd or 3rd day of [[Tevet]] (Kislev can have 29 or 30 days). The Jewish day begins at sunset, whereas the [[Gregorian calendar]] begins the day at midnight. So, the first day of Hanukkah actually begins at sunset of the day immediately before the date noted on Gregorian calendars.

===Hanukkah according to the Gregorian calendar===
Hanukkah begins at sundown on the evening before the date shown.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
*[[December 22]], [[2000]]
*[[December 10]], [[2001]]
*[[November 30]], [[2002]]
*[[December 20]], [[2003]]
*[[December 8]], [[2004]]
*[[December 26]], [[2005]]
*[[December 16]], [[2006]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 5]], [[2007]]
*[[December 22]], [[2008]]
*[[December 12]], [[2009]]
*[[December 2]], [[2010]]
*[[December 21]], [[2011]]
*[[December 9]], [[2012]]
*[[November 28]], [[2013]]
{{col-3}}
*[[December 17]], [[2014]]
*[[December 7]], [[2015]]
*[[December 25]], [[2016]]
*[[December 13]], [[2017]]
*[[December 3]], [[2018]]
*[[December 23]], [[2019]]
{{col-end}}

==See also==
{{portalpar|Judaism|Menora.svg}}
*[[Hasmonean]]
*[[Maccabees]]
*[[Jewish holiday]]s
*[[Temple in Jerusalem]]
*''[[County of Allegheny v. ACLU]]'' on the constitutionality of Hanukkah displays on public property in the U.S.
*[[Short-lived recurring characters on Saturday Night Live#Hanukkah Harry|Hanukkah Harry]]
*[[Hanukkah bush]]
*''[[Hanukkah Rocks]]'' - 2005 album by [[The LeeVees]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{commonscat|Hanukkah}}
=== General ===
* [http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default.asp Complete Hanukkah Guide, with how-to's, songs, stories and children's activities on chabad.org]
* [http://www.aish.com/holidays/chanukah/ Chanukah - Aish.com - how to light, stories, children's activities]
* [http://www.midrash.org/halakha/hanukkah.html Midrash Hanukkah with Sephardic traditions and history]
* [http://www.coejl.org/Hanukkah COEJL's "Let there be renewable light" campaign]
* [http://www.oztorah.com/feature/archive/chanukah.php OzTorah - insights on Chanukah]
{{Yeshiva site|link=http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/Emidrash.aspx?cat=77|type=Shiurim}}

=== Songs ===
* [http://judaism.about.com/od/chanukah/a/hanukahanerot.htm Hanerot Hallalu ("These Candles")]
* [http://judaism.about.com/od/chanukah/a/hanukamaoztzur.htm Maoz Tzur ("Rock of Ages")]
* [http://liturgy.exc.com/Songsheets/Hanukah.cgi Hanukkah songsheets]
* [http://www.hebrewsongs.com/chanukah.htm Hanukkah songs]

=== Recipes ===
* [http://www.rd.com/content/cherished-hanukkah-recipes-to-share/ Traditional Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://kosherfood.about.com/od/hanukkah/Hanukkah_Recipes_Kosher_Jewish_Holiday_Food.htm About Kosher Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.wiki-recipe.org/index.php?title=Category:Hanukkah Wiki-Recipe.org Hanukkah recipes]
* [http://www.hanukkahsite.com/latkerecipes.php The Largest Latke Recipe Database On The Web]

=== Video ===
* [http://www.aish.com/pathways/externallinks/videolink_chanukah.asp Video: Lighting Hanukkah Menorah How-To]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3174713748168758247&q=satmar The Grand Rabbi of Satmar lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5575698843335939574&q=hannukkah The Grand Rabbi of Bobov lighting the Hanukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6632688275970858151&q=hanukkah The Grand Rabbi of Bobov leading his Hassidim in the singing of a Hanukkah hymn composed by his father after the Holocaust]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3703256978822489433&q=hanukah The Grand Rabbi of Klausenberg from America lighting the Hannukkah Menorah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6750102222090781896&q=hannukah The Grand Rabbi of Pittsburgh from Ashdod, E. Israel, leading his followers in the celebration of Hannukkah]
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4852503510504559495&q=hanukah The Grand Rabbi of Nadvorna from Safed, E. Israel, leading his followers in the celebration of Hannukah]

 
{{Hanukkah Footer}}
{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}


[[Category:Hanukkah| ]]
[[Category:Jewish holy days]]



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[[es:Jánuca]]
[[eo:Ĥanuka]]
[[fa:حنوکا]]
[[fr:Hanoucca]]
[[gl:Hanuka]]
[[ko:하누카]]
[[hi:हनुका]]
[[hr:Hanuka]]
[[id:Hari raya Pentahbisan]]
[[it:Chanukah]]
[[he:חנוכה]]
[[la:Encaenia]]
[[hu:Hanuka]]
[[ms:Hanukkah]]
[[nl:Chanoeka]]
[[ja:ハヌカー]]
[[no:Hanukka]]
[[nn:Hanukká]]
[[oc:Khanuca]]
[[pl:Chanuka]]
[[pt:Chanucá]]
[[ro:Hanuka]]
[[ru:Ханука]]
[[sk:Chanuka]]
[[sr:Ханука]]
[[fi:Hanukka]]
[[sv:Chanukka]]
[[tl:Pista ng Pagtatalaga]]
[[vi:Hanukkah]]
[[tr:Hanuka]]
[[uk:Ханука]]
[[yi:חנוכה]]
[[zh-yue:修殿節]]
[[zh:光明节]]