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Chanukah at Home Booklet

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Chanukah at Home Booklet MJCS CHANUKAH @HOME “The proper response, as Chanukah teaches, is not to curse the darkness but to light a candle.” —Rabbi Irving Greenberg We’ve come to dispel the darkness. In our hands are light and fire. Each one of us is a small light, but all of us [together] are a strong beacon! Flee darkness! Retreat night! Flee because of the light! —Popular Hebrew Chanukah children’s song Each Jewish holiday has its unique rituals, tastes, songs, and experiences. Many of us associate Chanukah with the hopeful and warm glow of lighting candles at home, tasting latkes, and spinning dreidels! This year particularly, Chanukah will be a holiday we experience at home. MJCS has put together this at- home holiday guidebook to help you make this Chanukah at home an especially cheerful and celebratory holiday full of light, spirit, and joy! A Short History of Chanukah Chanukah is one of just a few Jewish holidays that are not mentioned in the Tanach, the Hebrew Bible. Chanukah recalls how Jewish freedom fighters liberated our ancestors from oppression. Under the Seleucid (Syrian-Greek) Empire’s ruler, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, efforts to impose Hellenist culture in the land of Israel intensified by 167 BCE with an order to end all Jewish practice and the defilement of the Temple in Jerusalem. Led by the priest Mattathias and his five sons from the village of Modi’in, including Judah who was a brilliant strategist, the Maccabees revolted and waged a guerilla war against the stronger and better equipped Seleucid army. After three years of battle, the Maccabees prevailed and rededicated the Temple beginning on the 25th of Kislev in 164BCE. Since the Jews had been unable to celebrate Sukkot in the Temple that year, a belated eight- day celebration of that holiday was held, and the victory and rededication commemorated every year after that: The word “Chanukah” comes from the Hebrew word “dedication,” and shares its root letters with the word for “education.” Published many centuries later, the Talmud tells the story of a cruse of oil that miraculously lasted eight days to light theMaccabees’ rededication efforts, suggesting that Chanukah is a celebration of that miracle. In fact, the idea of our lighting the candles is - according to the Talmud – meant to “publicize the miracle”. In modern times, the early Zionists strongly identified with Chanukah’s message of our ability to fight for political and religious freedom in the Land of Israel. In the US, Chanukah has become among the most well-known and widely practiced Jewish holidays. What do you think the miracle is? Is the miracle that the oil lasted for eight days or that we are celebrating our victorious fight for religious and national freedom still today, more than two thousand years later? Is the miracle that we as a small minority prevailed then…and still today? Or is the miracle the message that light dispels darkness, that despite the limited – but essential - ‘light’ each of us has, our light irreplaceably joins with the light of others to become a bright signal, a beacon of hope, good, and truth in this world? More details here. Blessings for Candle Lighting Each night at sunset, we light the candles in the chanukiah (chanukah menorah). On the first night of Chanukah, light one candle using the Shammash, the “helper” candle. On the second night, two candles are lit with the Shammash, and so on for each night until all candles are lit on the 8th night. The idea is that we “ascend in holiness” by adding a candle each night. The candles are added from the right to the left (like reading Hebrew), and they are lit from left to right so that the new candle is lit first each night. It is customary to put the chanukiah in the window, sharing the light with passersby, thus “publicizing the miracle.” On Shabbat, light the Chanukah candles first, then the Shabbat candles. The candle blessings are said after setting up the candles and lighting the Shammash but immediately before lighting the candle(s). The first blessing is: . ָּברוּ ְך ַא ָּתה ְי ֹהוָה ֱאל ֹ ֵהינוּ ֶמ ֶל ְך ָהע ֹו ָלם ֲא ׁ ֶשר ִק ְ ּד ׁ ָשנוּ ְּב ִמ ְצ ֹו ָתיו ְו ִצוָּנוּ ְל ַה ְד ִליק ֵנר ׁ ֶשל ֲח ֻנ ָּכה Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tsivanu l’hadlik ner shel Chanukah. Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who hallows us with mitzvot, commanding us to kindle the Chanukah lights. The second blessing is: . ָּברוּ ְך ַא ָּתה ְי ֹהוָה ֱאל ֹ ֵהינוּ ֶמ ֶל ְך ָהע ֹו ָלם ׁ ֶש ָע ָ ׂשה ִנ ִּסים ַל ֲאב ֹו ֵתינוּ ַּביָּ ִמים ָה ֵהם ַּב ְזּ ַמן ַהזֶּה Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, she-asah nisim laavoteinu v’imoteinu bayamim hahaeim baz’man hazeh. Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who performed wonderous deeds for our ancestors in days of old at this season. This blessing is recited only on the first night you light candles: . ָּברוּ ְך ַא ָּתה ְי ֹהוָה ֱאל ֹ ֵהינוּ ֶמ ֶל ְך ָהע ֹו ָלם ׁ ֶש ֶה ֱחיָנוּ ְו ִק ְיּ ָמנוּ ְו ִה ִּגי ָענוּ ַל ְזּ ַמן ַהזֶּה Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, shehecheyanu v'kiy'manu v'higiyanu laz'man hazeh. Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season. After lighting candles each night, it is traditional to sing festive Chanukah songs, beginning with “ROCK OF AGES” (MA’OZ TZUR): Hebrew: Transliteration: Ma-oz Tzur Y’shu-a-ti Le-cha Na-eh L’sha-bei-ach ָמע ֹוז צוּר ְי ׁשוּ ָע ִתי ְל ָך ָנ ֶאה ְל ׁ ַש ֵּב ַח Ti-kon Beit T’fi-la-ti V’sham To-da N’za-bei-ach ִּת ּכ ֹון ֵּבית ְּת ִפ ָל ִתי ְו ׁ ָשם ּת ֹו ָדה ְנ ַז ֵּב ַח L’eit Ta-chin Mat-bei-ach Mi-tzar Ha-m-na-bei-ach ְל ֵעת ָּת ִכין ַמ ְט ֵּב ַח ִמ ָצר ַה ְמ ַנ ֵּב ַח Az Eg-mor B’shir Miz-mor Cha-nu-kat Ha-miz-bei-ach ָאז ֶא ְגמֹר ְּב ׁ ִשיר ִמ ְזמ ֹור ֲח ֻנ ַּכת ַה ִמ ְז ֵּב ַח Translation: O mighty stronghold of my salvation, to praise You is a delight. Recording for the 1st night Restore my House of Prayer Click Here and there we will bring a thanksgiving offering. When You will have prepared the slaughter Recording for the 2nd - 8th nights for the blaspheming foe, Then I shall complete with a song of hymn Click Here the dedication of the Altar. Page 2 Light the Candles Nightly with MJCS @5pm Light with Kavanah - Intention: As the first blessing says, the actual mitzvah of Chanukah is the act of kindling the candles. What can lighting these candles mean to you each night this year? Some suggestions follow, but please think of your own: (PLEASE NOTE ZOOM LINKS ARE NOT ALL THE SAME!) 1st Candle - Thursday, December 10 ZOOM LINK (Meeting ID: 848 245 544 22) We light this first candle for the initiative to bring light and repel dark, to ignite hope and dispel fear. This kindling of a single candle enables our eyes to see those around us and to feel warmth where there was none before. “The candle of God is the human’s soul” (Proverbs 20:27). Focus for a few minutes on this single candle’s dancing flame: What ‘initiative’ does it inspire you to take during this year’s Chanukah holiday? How can you bring more light - your unique light - into this world? You’ve got eight days: Ready, set…Go! To get into the holiday spirit watch Cantor Marcelo and The Shirettes sing Cha Cha Chanukah! 2nd Candle - Friday, December 11 ZOOM LINK (Meeting ID: 8636 0393 503) The light of a single, modest candle has now been doubled to twice the glow, twice the warmth, twice the potency of meaning…and this year we get to double this night’s candles yet again by adding our two candles for Shabbat! If the miracle of oil was that it lasted eight days when it was sufficient for only a single day, then lighting tonight’s second candle really is the start of our noticing that expectations can be exceeded, acknowledging that our awareness of all possibilities is a very limited view, that seeming miracles can and do happen. Let these candles remind you to open your eyes to new possibilities, to actively look for beauty and good, to see and accept and celebrate the little miracles that sustain you and your loved ones and the whole world every single day. Listen to the Shirettes sing Chanukah in Santa Monica. 3rd Candle - Saturday, December 12 ZOOM LINK (Meeting ID:8636 0393 503) This year our third night of Chanukah is on Saturday night, after Shabbat ends, at the start of a new week. While our Chanukah candles invite us to think of miracles, beauty, and spiritual light, we remember that these candles burn in our everyday world: The Maccabees were fighting for justice, independence, and our religious freedom. Let tonight’s candles shine light for our eyes to see the injustices in our world today, to notice the people who need a ‘Chanukah miracle’ right now. We’ve all loved chocolate gelt since we were kids, and giving and receiving gifts for Chanukah. This year from home, we can go online to give some gelt to those who need help, who need some this-worldly light in their lives so they can see a way forward to continue their battle for dignity, justice and life.
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