jewish joy · first candle friday, december 4
Hanukkah: Eight Nights, Eight Ducks.
One more flame every night, so the light in the window keeps getting bigger. Here's what it's all about, how to light, how to play, and where a duck comes in.
What Is Hanukkah?
More than two thousand years ago, a Greek king outlawed Jewish life in Judea. A priest named Mattathias refused, and he and his sons, the Maccabees, fought back and won. They went up to the Temple in Jerusalem, built a new altar, and lit the menorah again, and on the 25th of Kislev they celebrated for eight days. Hanukkah (חנוכה) means "dedication."
The story most of us learn as kids comes from the Talmud, hundreds of years later: one little jar of oil, enough for one day, that lasted eight.
That oil is why everything on the table is fried. Potato latkes, jelly doughnuts called sufganiyot (סופגניות), and chocolate coins called gelt for the dreidel game below.
How to Light.
- Count your candles. A hanukkiah (חנוכייה) holds eight candles plus one helper, the shamash, set apart from the rest. One candle the first night, two the second, all eight on the last.
- Fill it from the right. Candles go in from right to left, and tonight's new candle is always the one furthest left.
- Say the blessings, light the shamash, and light from the left. Use the shamash to light the newest candle first, then work your way back to the right.
- Put it where people can see it. The doorway or a window, so anyone walking by gets to see the light. If that isn't safe where you are, the table is fine. That's in the law too.
This year, Friday, December 4 is the first candle and Friday, December 11 is the eighth. On both Fridays, light Hanukkah first and Shabbat candles after, and use candles big enough to burn past nightfall. On Saturday night, wait until Shabbat is over.
The Blessings
Every night
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁל חֲנֻכָּה.
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha'olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu l'hadlik ner shel Hanukkah.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to light the Hanukkah candles.
Every night
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁעָשָׂה נִסִּים לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם בַּזְּמַן הַזֶּה.
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha'olam, she'asah nisim la'avoteinu bayamim hahem bazman hazeh.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who made miracles for our ancestors in their days in this season.
The first night only
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה.
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha'olam, shehecheyanu v'kiy'manu v'higianu lazman hazeh.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season.
Your family's siddur may word these a little differently. Go with your family's.
The Dreidel, and Its One-Letter Difference.
A dreidel is a little four-sided top. That's the Yiddish word; in Hebrew it's a sevivon (סביבון). Each side has a Hebrew letter, and together they start the four words of a sentence about the miracle.
Everywhere else
נ ג ה ש
Nes Gadol Haya Sham. A great miracle happened there.
In Israel
נ ג ה פ
Nes Gadol Haya Po. A great miracle happened here.
That's the whole difference: one letter, and it tells you where you're standing. Sham, there. Po, here.
How to Play
Everybody starts with the same pile of gelt, nuts, or pennies, and everybody puts one in the middle. Then you take turns spinning. When the pot runs out, everybody puts in one more.
- נNun. Nothing happens. Pass the dreidel.
- גGimel. You take the whole pot.
- הHei. You take half the pot.
- ש / פShin or Pei. You put one in.
Whoever has the most at the end wins, and then the winner usually eats it.
Spin the Dreidel: You Against the Duck.
Pot: 2
Night 1 of 8. You each put one in. Your spin.
Hide One a Night.
Pick a spot, then pick somewhere a little more public the next night, the way the lights move toward the window. Eight ducks, eight nights, and by the end of it somebody on your street has a story.
Two notes. The first and last nights both land on a Friday, so if you close for Shabbat, run nights two through seven and let the bookends be candles. And a duck left out in December is a duck somebody finds wet, so look for a roof.
the whole story
Want the Rest of It?
The caves, the revolt, the oil, the lamp in the doorway, and the country the Maccabees ran. That's the grown-up telling, and the Atlanta Israel Coalition, the home KDR floats out of, has the video, with a new clip for every day of the holiday.