Chanukah

We have begun celebrating Chanukah and it is a wonderful time for children and their families. This holiday lasts for eight days and we remember the miracleof the little oil jug from the holy temple. It was the only thing left after he Greeks had demolished the temple in Jerusalem. The jug had enough oil for one day but it lasted for eight days. We call the holiday Chanukah, because the recreation of the temple. Today, the only remains from the temple is just one wall the "Western Wall" in Jerusalem and many people come to pray there and ask God to assist them with their problems. It is one of the strongest and most holy places in Israel.
 * Chanukah Today ** by Marsha Goren

We eat sweet doughnuts and potato pancakes, because they are fried in oil. We sing songs and play with tops. We light the candles and we thank God who has blessed us with this moment. We play with spinning tops and think of our ancestors because it was forbidden for them to study the Bible. When the Greeks would come to search for the Jews they would hide the Bible and play with their tops.

I love Chanukah because it's a holiday full of light and love. It makes me feel so happy when I am with my children and grandchildren. The symbols of the holiday guide us all for eight lovely days. It is one of my favorite holidays.

Great Chanukah/Birthday gift - a donut maker!

media type="custom" key="21629844" align="center" || Ilse Schwartz and students. || media type="custom" key="21629912" Ilse Schwartz and students ||
 * Chanukah Photo Gallery
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 * Flip book - view full screen to read the text.

History of Hanukkah researched by Hannah B.P. Julian School, Oak Park, IL About 150 years after the death of Alexander the Great, a king named Antiochus declared that everyone in his empire had to think of him as a new god-ahead of their own gods. He declared that his face was the face of god and that statues of him had to be put up around the empire. Many people in the cities of Judah had no problem with that. Even the High Priest of the temple in Jerusalem was fine with the idea. But out in the countryside, the Jewish farmers were horrified. Still, they thought they had to do what Antiochus’s soldiers ordered them to do. That changed one day when soldiers ordered the local Jewish priest to sacrifice a pig in front of the statue of Antiochus. The local Jewish priest, Mattathias refused to follow the soldiers’ orders. But one of the men in the crowd, who probably thought that he would be rewarded, came forward to sacrifice the pig.

Mattathias killed the man and cried out, “If you follow the law, follow me!” and he and his five sons fled to the hills to form what we now call a ‘guerilla army’. The farmers who made up that ‘army’ weren’t experienced soldiers, but they succeeded by making unexpected attacks at night and then fading back into the hills. One of Mattathias’s son’s became the leader of the army. His name was Judah and because he struck the enemy like a hammer, he was given the name Judah Maccabee. After fighting for three years, the Maccabees were able to drive Antiochus’s army out of Jerusalem. They and their followers got rid of the statues of Antiochus the Temple and cleared out all of the garbage that his troops had left there.

To celebrate the dedication of the restored Temple, Judah proclaimed an eight-day festival called Hanukkah, which means ‘dedication’. Jews have celebrated that festival for over 2000 years.

Today, many people celebrate Hanukkah with their family by singing many songs and eating latkes, chocolate gelt, and other delicious foods, as well as spinning the dreidel.

" SJCSOP Hanukkah Program." Oak Park, IL: SJCSOP, 2005. With permission.