Hanukkah menorah remembers miracle of the oil

By Brenda Rader Mross
North Forty News

It's the "most wonderful time of the year," according to the catchy 1963 Christmas tune popularized by crooner Andy Williams.

Today's celebrations of "the hap-happiest season" in multi-cultural northern Colorado encompass several other holidays, including Hanukkah.

Actually considered a minor event on the Jewish calendar, Hanukkah has become a bigger deal than it warrants religiously, mainly because of its proximity to Christmas, said Wellington area resident Judy Petersen.

Hanukkah is Dec. 1 through 8 this year, but its start date can fall anywhere between Nov. 28 and Dec. 26 because the Jewish calendar follows a lunar cycle, in which 2010-11 is the year 5771.

A member of Congregation Har Shalom – one of three synagogues in Fort Collins – Petersen said the biggest misunderstanding over her faith's eight-day festival might be simply, "What is it?"

Hanukkah is a remembrance of two miracles, she explained.

The first miracle took place in 167 to 164 BCE when a small band of greatly outnumbered Jews (the Maccabees) against all odds fended off Syrian-Greek rule. The second occurred when the Maccabees liberated the Holy Temple. There was only enough oil to light the ceremonial candelabra for a single day, but somehow the oil kept burning for eight days.

Lighting the menorah is a direct tribute to the second phenomenon. The ninth branch in the center holds the shamash, the "helper candle" used to kindle the other eight candles, adding one per night until on the eighth night all are lit.

Rabbi Shoshana Leis of Congregation Har Shalom said she likes to think of Hanukkah as rabbis of the Talmud (a collection of commentaries on the Hebrew Bible) did; that is, as a spiritual victory of light over darkness.

"They chose to focus on the spiritual aspects of Hanukkah instead of the military revolt of the Maccabees," Leis said. "It gets so dark this time of year, our hopes are dimmed. It literally lightens us up, this abundance of light after eight days, illuminating the eternal and infinite possibilities for the world."

Leis said she meditates on the lights of the menorah every Hanukkah.

"I watch the lights and make them visible to the streets (as the Maccabees did) to publicize the miracle," she said. "The candles affirm our uniqueness, and also serve to celebrate that we've been able to maintain our identity and assimilate without losing our sense of who we are as Jews."

Regarding the spelling – Chanukah, Chanukkah, Channuka, Hanukkah or Hanuka – Leis said there's really no right or wrong. In original Hebrew, Hanukkah means "dedication" in reference to the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem for Jewish worship.

Beyond lighting the menorah, Petersen said there is very little ritual associated with Hanukkah.

"The light of the menorah is not to be used for any purpose other than to be enjoyed," she said. "While the lights are burning, we are supposed to enjoy ourselves; no housework, no dishes. So we eat. We open presents. We play dreidel."

The dreidel game involves spinning a top with a Hebrew letter decorating each of its four sides. The player who spins "wins" (all, half, nothing or ante two more) according to which letter the dreidel lands on. The Petersens usually ante up nuts or M&Ms.

Customary Hanukkah foods are those fried in oil as a reminder of the miracle of the oil; in the Petersens' home, that might mean jelly donuts or latkes (potato pancakes).

Gift-giving is a newer tradition that Petersen said developed in predominantly Christian societies as an imitation of Christmas.

She and her husband, who is nominally Christian, agreed to raise their two daughters exclusively in the Jewish faith. Typically on Christmas Day, the Petersens might go out for Chinese food and a movie.

"I don't mind being different," Petersen's youngest daughter Alisa commented. "What's special for me is not necessarily special for everybody else. It can feel a little awkward when it's all Christmas music on a radio station, but I don't necessarily feel left out. . .just not included, either."

Petersen, a relief physical therapist who's also Har Shalom's library director, fifth-grade Hebrew teacher and Israeli folkdance teacher, said she is impressed by how the schools have responded.

"Teachers are accommodating and open to being educated," said Petersen, a Wellington Middle School volunteer. "I have visited several classrooms over the years by request, dreidel in hand."

As for festive greetings, Petersen said she tries to be aware that society is multi-cultural.

"If I don't know – someone could be Buddhist or Hindu – I greet them with 'Enjoy the season!'" she said. "I'm not insulted if someone says 'Merry Christmas' to me. I just answer back 'Happy Holidays!'"

In other words, as the song urges, "Be of good cheer."