Chanukkah is an eight-day winter holiday commemorating the Jewish victory over the Seleucid Greek oppressors in 164 BCE. It is widely known as the "Festival of Lights" due to the practice of lighting a candle or oil lamp each night of the holiday. This ritual recalls the miracle of the oil, in which a small container of oil for the Temple menorah lasted for eight nights, after it was expected to last for only one.
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Lighting CandlesHALAKHAH
Lighting Candles
HALAKHAH
The central mitzvah (commandment) of Chanukkah is the practice of lighting candles each night of the holiday. Rambam, in his twelfth-century legal code the Mishneh Torah, explains the details of this mitzvah, including the traditional blessings associated with the practice.
A Military VictoryLITURGY
A Military Victory
LITURGY
Chanukkah celebrates the military victory of the Hasmonean Jewish revolutionaries over the Seleucid Greek empire in Judea. Al HaNissim (“For the Miracles”) — an insertion into daily prayers recited throughout Chanukkah — describes the Hasmonean victory and attributes their success to divine intervention.
HallelTALMUD
Hallel
TALMUD
Hallel, psalms in praise of God, is recited on Chanukkah and other days to commemorate miracles performed on behalf of the Jewish people. The Babylonian Talmud in tractate Arakhin enumerates the specific days on which a full Hallel is recited.
Publicizing the MiracleTALMUD
Publicizing the Miracle
TALMUD
Chanukkah candle lighting is a public-facing ritual: it takes place outside or facing the window such that passersby can take notice. The Babylonian Talmud in tractate Shabbat argues that the public nature of Chanukkah candle lighting affords it special legal significance.
Enhancing the MitzvahTALMUD
Enhancing the Mitzvah
TALMUD
While technically, lighting only one candle per household on each night of Chanukkah is considered enough to fulfill the mitzvah (commandment) of lighting Chanukkah candles, the rabbis of the Talmud prefer that we strive to do more than the minimum. The Babylonian Talmud in tractate Shabbat describes several ways to enhance this mitzvah.
The Temple LampTANAKH
The Temple Lamp
TANAKH
The Chanukkah lamp is modeled after the menorah, the lamp used in the Temple. The book of Exodus provides detailed instructions for construction of mishkan — the Israelites’ portable Temple in the desert – including a vivid description of an ornate menorah.
Holier and HolierTALMUD
Holier and Holier
TALMUD
The rabbinic sages debate whether the number of candles lit each night of Chanukkah increases or decreases over the course of the holiday. The Babylonian Talmud in tractate Shabbat outlines the reasoning behind each position and eventually arrives at a fundamental principle.
Maccabean RevoltSECOND TEMPLE
Maccabean Revolt
SECOND TEMPLE
During Seleucid Greek reign over Judea, they installed idols in the Temple in Jerusalem, rendering it impure. The book of Maccabees, an apocryphal work that tells the story of the Hasmonean revolt and its aftermath, describes the rededication of the Temple after the Maccabee victory, including the lighting of the Temple menorah.
The Spinning TopCHASIDUT
The Spinning Top
CHASIDUT
There is a widespread Chanukkah custom to play with a spinning top, or dreidel. Nachman of Breslov, a late eighteenth-century chasidic master, argues that the game has a deeper meaning and that the notion of a “revolving wheel” has a mystical connection to the Temple.
A Chanukkah Miracle TALMUD
A Chanukkah Miracle
TALMUD
By the time the Hasmoneans defeated the Greeks and liberated the Temple, nearly everything inside was ritually impure, and therefore unusable. The Babylonian Talmud in tractate Shabbat recounts that the Temple’s rededication was possible only because of a miracle — and that miracle became the inspiration for the central mitzvah (commandment) of Chanukkah, lighting the chanukkiyah.
A Light in the DarkTALMUD
A Light in the Dark
TALMUD
The Chanukkah holiday takes place during the heart of winter, usually around the winter solstice. The Babylonian Talmud in tractate Avodah Zarah locates the holiday’s origins at the beginning of human history, during the time of Adam and Eve, framing Chanukkah as a celebration of light in the darkness.
Included in the MiracleTALMUD
Included in the Miracle
TALMUD
As the rabbinic sages debate the details of the mitzvah (commandment) to light Chanukkah candles, one question they ask is who is obligated to light them. The Babylonian Talmud in tractate Shabbat emphasizes that women were fundamental to the story of Chanukkah, and are therefore obligated to light their own candles.
Miracles – Hidden and RevealedCHASIDUT
Miracles – Hidden and Revealed
CHASIDUT
Was the Hasmonean victory over the Greeks that we celebrate on Chanukkah a miracle? Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, in his eighteenth-century chasidic Torah commentary, the Kedushat Levi, offers a taxonomy of different types of “miracles.”
The Kingdom of DarknessMIDRASH
The Kingdom of Darkness
MIDRASH
The ancient rabbis imagine the struggle against the Seleucid Greek Empire as a struggle of light against darkness — themes of light and darkness that are echoed in the rituals of Chanukkah. The midrash in Bereshit Rabbah sees this imagery in the cosmic chaos that preceded creation.
Eternal LightTANAKH
Eternal Light
TANAKH
Among the events celebrated on Chanukkah is the reinstatement of the Temple service after the Maccabees’ victory, including specifically the return to lighting the Temple lamp. The book of Exodus provides instructions for lighting oil lamps in the Tabernacle, emphasizing the regularity and eternity of the practice.
Symbolic FoodsHALAKHAH
Symbolic Foods
HALAKHAH
As on many Jewish holidays, there are traditional foods eaten on Chanukkah. Eliezer Melamed, in his contemporary summary of Jewish law, Peninei Halakhah (“Pearls of Jewish Law”), outlines some of the culinary traditions of the holiday, connecting them to the holiday’s history and rituals.
