Happy Hanukkah

Moody Wench · Happy Hanukkah

Hanukkah began this year on December 21 at sundown. The final light will be kindled tomorrow night (the 28th).

Hanukkah
Hanukkah (Hebrew: חנוכה‎, alt. Chanukah), also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish Holiday commemorating the re-dedication of the 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 or Hanukiah, one light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a shamash (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.

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.

kbreeze63

kbreeze63

xenawithatude

hehe its HAPPY CHANUKKAH TOO FUNNY

Thanks MW for posting this very interesting

Moody Wench

LMAO -- Actually, it's חנוכה. There are about as many ways of spelling it phonetically as there are people trying to spell it.

Oh, and you are quite welcome xena.

Culldrin

Happy Happy! May your eight nights of light be filled with remembrance, joy, love, and WINNINGS! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!