What is Hanukkah? By Rabbi Jessica Oleon

Hanukkah* is right around the corner and I had a great time with the Confirmation class this week trying to unpack the “real” story behind the holiday.  Is it the Talmud’s version, “Mai Hanukkah?/Why Dedication?”, which is the first time we find the story of a miraculous single cruse of oil that keeps the Temple’s menorah lit for 8 days, or the version found in the Books of Maccabees and corroborated by Josephus about a brave band of guerillas fighting for their religion and their lives against a tyrannical king?  Is Hanukkah a celebration of the victory of religious extremists over assimilationists or a remembrance of the enduring power of hope and faith against great odds?  Or maybe just (and this is no small thing) a chance to gather with the people we love and create light in the midst of darkness.  I wish you could have seen our 10^th graders wrestle with these questions, and the story of Rabbi Hugo Gryn, who wrote about the hanukkiah his father made out of his margarine ration in a Nazi labor camp.  They were a sight to behold—another generation wrestling with our tradition and what it means to each of them to be a Jew.  And I’ll ascribe to their conclusion, at least for this year, that Hanukkah is all of these stories, all of these miracles.  And that’s part of what makes it worth celebrating year after year.

For Hanukkah fun (because I can’t resist the creativity), here are two more ways to think about lighting your lights this year:

From our own Aviva Goldfarb:  http://www.pbs.org/parents/kitchenexplorers/2012/12/04/edible-menorahs/

And from the geniuses at the Haifa Technion:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We-KRSy64r4

Enjoy and Chag Sameach!

 *Yes, I prefer one “h” and two “k”s in my Hanukkah.  But I also love curry sweet potato latkes that make my house smell like a South Asian take-out joint for weeks, so I accept that I might have minority tastes here.