Explore Hanukkah
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Hanukkah
Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, is an 8 day holiday beginning on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev. Themes of Hanukkah include rededication, miracles, bringing light into the darkness, and freedom of religious expression. The central commemoration of the holiday is the lighting of the hanukkiyah, or menorah, an eight-branched candelabra to which one candle is added on each night of the holiday.
One of the few Jewish holidays not mentioned in the Torah, Hanukkah commemorates the Maccabees victory over religious oppression in 164 BCE. While there are many interpretations of why the holiday lasts for 8 days, including that it was modeled after Sukkot as a holiday of thanksgiving and joy, later rabbinic tradition attributes the length of the festival to a miraculous small amount of oil that burned for eight days.
Ways to observe the holiday:
- Light your hanukkiyah at home for 8 nights, lighting one more candle each night and reciting the blessings. Place the hanukkiyah in a window facing the street to publicly display the miracle, an important mitzvah (commandment) for the holiday. Candles are placed in the hannukiyah from right to left, adding one more each night, but they are lit from left to right.
- Bring more light into the world by helping others! While Hanukkah has become a gift-giving holiday for many in the Western world due to its proximity to Christmas, many families dedicate time during the holiday to volunteer, participate in holiday food or toy collections, or make a donation to support a cause that is important to them.
- Fry something! During Hanukkah, it is traditional to eat foods fried in oil, like latkes (potato pancakes) from the European tradition, and the Israeli favorite, sufganiyot (jelly donuts).
- Play a game of dreidel, a four-sided top with Hebrew letters on each side that stand for the saying, “Nes gadol haya sham” (a great miracle happened there). In Israel, the fourth letter differs to make the saying “Nes gadol haya po” (a great miracle happened here).
2024 Hanukkah Celebrations at the JCC
Community-wide Hanukkah December 16 LEARN MORE
Want to learn more about the holidays or how your family can connect with the JCC?
Explore PJ Library Milwaukee for young families raising Jewish or multi-faith children.
Contact Rachel Pressman at rpressman@jccmilwaukee.org to get connected to additional resources.
