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Hanuka, oh Hanuka
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by David Solomon
“Hanuka, oh Hanuka...exuber-
ant, happy lika no other.” Thu*
begin* an old Yiddish folk-tong.
At first thought the words and the
apparently frivolous spirit they
conjure up seem somewhat
inappropriate to a 2100 year old
holiday commemorating persecu
tion and revolt. They would
appear to be more fitting to a
celebration such a* Purim.
But the fact is that this annual
eight-day reminder of the
successful revolt of the small
Jewish community in the Land of
Israel against the might of the
Syrian empire (the revolt flared up
in 167 BCE) is celebrated with an
upsurge of exhilaration wherever
Jews live, and particularly in
present-day Israel. Nor is this any
wonder.
For like Purim, the happy
outcome of the struggle of the few
against the many assured the
survival of the Jewish people. In
the pithy historical summation of
the people’s sages, Purim meant
the physical, and Hanuka the
spiritual survival of the nation, as
the Jew bitterly fought and won
the battle against one of the earliest
examples of persecution of an
entire people.
This is the background for the
enthusiasm with which adult and
child light the Hanukia—the
special Hanuka lamp used on this
occasion. During the. eight-day
long festival, candelabra* or oil
lamps will be lit—one on the first
day, two on the second and so on
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a time to celebrate
until the entire Hanukia is aglow
on the eighth and last day. All this,
as we are informed by the
rabbinical sages, is in commemo
ration of the miraculous oil lamp,
found by the victorious warriors
returning to cleanse their “idol-
programs in words and music, the form of the oil lamp or candles, lit
traditional Hanuka son “Maoz and placed inside the homes,
Tsur" as well as the Hymn from frequently on window sills.
Handel’s oratorio ’’Judas
Maccabeus” which is a great
favorite, with Hebrew words
accompanying the melody. Watch
polluted” temple, whose ono-day what happens each evening during
store of oil burned throughout
eight long days, the time needed to
prepare a new supply of ritual oil.
Spend these eight days in Israel
and you will see an entire country
aglow in celebration. Not only are
the youngster's faces radiant from
their family festivities. Radio and
television broadcast holiday
the official eight nocturnal
lightings. Then the whole of Israel
is one huge mass of incandescence.
The moment dusk falls during
those late November or December
days (the holiday starts on the 23th
day of Kislev in the Hebrew
calendar), the Hanuka lights begin
to appear. They may assume the
What will strike every visitor,
however, are the large,
prominently displayed and
invariably electrically lit Hanukia
lamps. Generally perched atop
public buildings, the electric
candelabra* may have all their
eight lights burning away on each
of the festival days or with a light
being added each passing day, u
one is commanded to do in the
home.
The week-long celebration of
ChUdreu’s faces reflect lighted caudles aa they participate hi tocchUght procaaalom edebratiug
spiritual deliverance and miracle u
devoted, in a less official way, to |
parties and festive gatherings.
Major hotels have ceremonial
candle lightings for their guests.
This year the Ministry of Industry,
Trade and Tourism is planning a
pageant entitled “Tltt Few
Triumphant over the Mauy,”
depicting the Hanuka theme of the
struggle led by the Macoabee
family, that brought 'a small,
persecuted but sdameat people
eventually to the religious freedom
it sought and to the establishment ■
of a Maccabean kingdom.
Other events designed to involve
the visitor from abroad in the
festivities are tours to the graves of
Maccabees at Modi’ih, and a
reception by the President of the
State of Israel in his residence.
A central event is the “torch
relay.” Youngsters from different
youth organizations, sometimes
led by well-known athletes from
abroad, carry a blazing torch,
symbolizing religious-national
freedom—from Modi’in, the birth
place of the Maccabees, to the
residence of the President.
There are personal holiday
benefits for young and old
including receiving Hanuka gifts
and playing with the Hanuka top
(Svivon in Hebrew, Dreidd in
Yiddish) and for all ages the
traditional preparatioa—and
more important—with the
consumption of potato
(latkes) aad jelly
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