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Chanukah
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Chanukah
Family Guide

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Family
Illuminations

by
Yair Kobernick

When does the family join
together to light the Chanukah menorah? How do we light? What time
do we light?...and a special Chanukah
story.

It was a cold winter evening. Snowflakes gently
glided down through the air to cover the city with a fresh white blanket.
Whether in their homes or cars, all people were listening to a breaking
news bulletin.

"We interrupt this program," said the announcer on
the news, "to inform you of a very mysterious unidentified flying object
moving -- or rather twirling -- towards the outskirts of Solon, Ohio. Air
Force radar systems had locked in on the UFO and we were in the process of
forcing it to land, when it strangely vanished from the radar screens at
cloud level. Air Force pilots are baffled as to the whereabouts of the
UFO. All residents of the greater Solon area are warned to stay indoors.
Stay tuned for more information."

Danny and Dina were alone. Their parents were out to
dinner and the baby-sitter was nowhere to be seen, she had probably fallen
asleep in the den.

"Hey Danny," wondered Dina as she sat looking out the
big living room window at the beautiful snow covered forest near their
house. "Did you understand what the news was talking about?"

"Something about a flying saucer or something,"
answered Danny as he joined her at the window. "Pretty awesome if you ask
me!"

Then suddenly the unthinkable happened. It was
unbelievable, unimaginable, simply incredible! Right outside their window
a huge puffball of smoke came down from the tops of the tall trees and
landed on the edge of the forest.

Danny and Dina sat there dumbfounded. It looked like
a giant snowball at first, but, as it twirled around in circles, brilliant
flashing colors could be seen. Eventually it came to a halt.

The two children saw it clearly now. It wasn't round
like a flying saucer -- it was a cube. And it had a big friendly smiley
face painted on one of its four sides. Its lights were flashing on and
off. Danny and Dina were so curious that they decided to go outside to get
a closer look.

They ran through the snow until they got very close.
Then this whatever-it-was began to talk.

"Hey kids," it said. "My name is Dizzy, the Dreidel.
I spin, fly, and twirl from place to place to act out and dramatize the
story of Chanukah to Jewish children all over the world. So, if you would
like, I am ready to start the show."

Danny and Dina were so excited. "Yes, we want to see
the show."

"I suggest that you go back into your warm living
room and watch through the window. I will stay here and act out the story
of Chanukah using my super lasers and audio system."

Danny and Dina ran back inside and sat in front of
the window. Dizzy made the whole forest look like one big movie screen.

All of a sudden, they were looking at the Judean
Hills in Israel, the way it looked two thousand years ago. There was a
group of Jews standing together on a mountain edge looking out over a
valley. In the valley Danny and Dina could clearly see a squadron of
soldiers.

"Who are they?" asked Dina.

Dizzy heard her question and said, "Those are the
Greek soldiers Dina. If you look closely, you will see their leader. His
name is Antiochus Apifinas from the dynasty of Salikus."

"Antikochus who?" asked Dina.

"When the Greek emperor, Alexander the Great, died,
his empire was divided up. Antiochus got the region of Israel and Syria.
He wanted everybody to be like the Greeks. At first, the Jews wouldn't
change their ways, so he began to make evil decrees. No more Shabbat, no
more Jewish holidays, no more learning Torah."

"Unfortunately, there were Jews who began to give in.
They changed their names to sound more Greek. Abraham became Gregory and
Deborah became Dorothea. Their clothing began to look more and more Greek,
while many Jews abandoned the ways of their forefathers. The Greeks didn't
mind letting the Jews stay alive, so long as they stopped being
Jewish."

Then Danny and Dina's jaws dropped a bit when they
saw the scene of the Temple appear before them. It was beautiful. They
could see the walls all around it. The inside was just stunning -- all
marble and gold. There was the table that had 12 trays of bread on it, and
an incense altar. Most beautiful of all, however, was the gold menorah. It
stood majestically with its seven oil lamps, but none of the lamps were
lit.

"Hey Dina look over there!" Danny exclaimed. "The
Greek soldiers are coming into the Temple. Oh, what a mess they are
making!"

"Look at that big piece of wood they're carrying.
What do you think that is?" Dina asked.

"That is an idol," explained Dizzy the Dreidel. "The
Greeks wanted to show the Jews that Jewish beliefs were finished and out
of date. Just Greek culture with its idols was allowed."

Then the scene switched to the hills of Modi'in, a
Jewish city north of Jerusalem. This was the town where Matityahu ben
Yochanan lived. There he was, standing with his five sons, Yochanan,
Shimon, Yehuda, Eliezer and Yonatan. They were watching the group of
soldiers who had just come into town.

The soldiers of Antiochus had been making their way
from town to town all over Israel in order to break the spirit of the
Jews. The Greeks goal was clear. Get the Jews to abandon their Jewish
ways. In the center of Modi'in, they erected an idol and began building a
small altar for sacrifices. They took a pig and called for the Jews to
come stand in line to participate in the celebration. Unfortunately, some
Jews gave in and came forward.

Then the soldiers noticed Matityahu ben Yochanan who
was older than most of the other Jews and clearly a leader of the
community. "Hey you, old rabbi," yelled one soldier. "Come over here. We
want you to be the first one in line. If you go first, then everyone else
will see that it's okay and go after you."

"You gentiles can do whatever your king wants you to
do," Matityahu said firmly in a strong voice. "However, we are Jewish and
our God who is our King does not allow such abominations. We will not go
against the rules of our King."

This annoyed the Greeks. The air was tense. The fear
of the rest of the Jews was very great. One Jewish man couldn't take it
anymore. He felt it would be better to give in than to anger the Greeks.
He stepped forward and volunteered to be the first one to do what the
soldiers were commanding.

When Matityahu saw this, he sprinted forward to
prevent him from cooperating with the Greeks. People started running and
screaming. One Greek soldier was killed. Matityahu stood up and yelled
with all his might, "Whoever wants to remain Jewish and fight the Greeks,
come with me!!"

Mostly all of the Jews who were there joined
Matityahu and his sons and ran to the mountains. In the mountains they
continued to live as Jews, and at the same time they prepared for war.
Jews from all over the land came to join them in the mountains.

"Danny," asked Dina, "How are the Jews going to fight
those Greeks. The Greeks look much stronger than the Jews. The Jews don't
stand a chance to win."

"You're right Dina," answered Danny, "just look at
all that equipment that the Greeks have."

The Greeks shifted into war gear. Danny and Dina
could see them getting ready. Each soldier was equipped with an armored
suit. They had plenty of spears, swords, and arrows. They wore helmets and
had hand-held shields. In addition, the Greeks rode elephants and horses.
They were known as the world's best warriors. But what about the Jews?

The scene now switched. Danny and Dina could see the
Jews praying. The men were each wearing a tallit and te'filin. They did
not look like warriors at all. First of all, they were few in number
compared to the mighty army of the Greeks. Secondly, they weren't nearly
as athletic as the Greeks were.

Matityahu gave each son a different job to prepare
for the war. Yehuda was appointed to be the head of the Jewish Army. On
his shield he carved in Hebrew the word MaCaBee -- it was short for
"Who is like You among the heavenly powers, O God."

The Jews were different than the Greeks because they
trusted in God. During a three-day fast that Yehuda declared, the Jews
prayed and learned Torah. This was how the Jews prepared for war. After
this, they felt ready.

God was on their side. The war began. The Jews won
battle after battle. They defeated the mighty Greeks, a miracle in itself.
The few and weaker defeated the many and strong. The Greek soldiers who
managed to survive the war ended up running away from Israel.

Danny and Dina watched on as Yehuda and his men made
their way to Jerusalem and found the Temple empty and in turmoil. It was a
total mess. Everything holy had become defiled. They started cleaning up
and putting things back together.

One of the first most important tasks was to get the
menorah set up and to light the candles. "Yehuda," called one of the Jews.
"All of these flasks of oil have been opened and spilled out by the
Greeks. We don't have any oil to light the menorah." They went through the
rubble searching, but with no luck.

"Dina, do you see what I see?" said Danny. "Look,
over there in the corner, a jar of oil. That man walked right by it and
didn't even see it. Hey Mister!" called Danny, "turn around, it's right
behind you!!"

"He can't hear you Danny," said Dina.

But just then the man turned around and his eyes fell
right on the little jar. "Here's a good one," he called to everyone as he
picked it up carefully. "It has the priest's special seal on it, a sure
sign that it was not opened by the Greeks. But it only has oil in it to
last for just one day. It won't be enough."

Oil for the menorah was made from olives. And since
it takes eight whole days to gather new olives and press them for pure
oil, this little flask wasn't enough to keep the menorah lit for so long.
"This is worthless," another said, "after one day the lamps will go out
again."

"This is what we have right now," said Yehuda, "so
let us use it and maybe, just maybe, God will help us again."

He was right. A miracle occurred and the oil lasted
for eight days. The menorah stayed lit the entire time. By the end of
eight days, they had had prepared enough new olive oil to use.

The day the battle against the Greeks ended, was the
25th of the Hebrew month of Kislev. Twenty-five in Hebrew letters is
kaf-hey, which is pronounced ka. The word chanu means
"they rested." In other words, in Hebrew, "They rested from their enemies
on the 25th" is written Chanu-ka.

After the victory against the Greeks, the Jews
decided to mark the 25th of Kislev as a Jewish Holiday. Each year,
beginning on the evening of the 25th, every Jewish home lights a menorah
for eight consecutive nights. This is to publicize the miracle that
occurred.

"Dina, who are those kids playing over there on the
floor?" asked Danny.

"I would say it looks like, yes, hey Danny, that's
you and me!" said Dina surprisingly. We're playing with a dreidel and here
comes Mom with a tray of something that looks like yummy doughnuts."

Dizzy the Dreidel reappeared and said, "Jewish
children all over the world play the game of dreidel on Chanukah. The
Hebrew letters nun gimel, hey, and shin stand for: nes
gadol haya sham, 'a great miracle happened there.' It happens to be my
favorite game. I'll bet you can guess why."

"Dizzy," asked Dina, "what are those doughnuts on the
tray all about?"

"Oh," said Dizzy the Dreidel. "In Hebrew they are
called sufganiyot. They are special deep fried doughnuts that have
jelly inside. They are eaten since they are fried in oil. This reminds us
of the miracle that happened with the oil."

"Well," said the Dreidel, "that's going to be it for
tonight kids. I hope you had a good time and that you learned a lot."

"We sure did," they both said. "Bye, and thank you so
much."

"You're welcome. You were wonderful kids," said Dizzy
the Dreidel as he started to spin. Faster and faster he twirled and spun
as he began to take off through the tree tops and off into the sky.

The beautiful snowy forest near Danny and Dina's
house on Trailwood Court was as quiet and peaceful as could be. Mr. and
Mrs. Zeidman drove up into the driveway. The radio was on, but they were
not paying much attention.

"We interrupt this broadcast again with an update
about the mysterious UFO that was spotted near Solon this evening... "
said the news announcer.

"Oh honey, turn it off," Mrs Zeidman said. "They talk
about such silly things on the news sometimes. I want to get inside to
check on the kids already. I hope they're asleep already."

Mrs. Zeidman got out of the car and went inside, but
Mr. Zeidman stayed a few moments to hear the end of the news.

"It was seen one more time on Air Force radar
systems," said the announcer, "but then it mysteriously disappeared again.

Mr. Zeidman said to himself, "Sure," and turned off
the radio.

"In other Solon news tonight," the announcer went on,
"there was a large amount of noise coming from the forest area near
Trailwood Court but authorities were not able to pin point exactly what it
was all about."

This is how we do it:

The Menorah

The Menorah should have room for eight candles or oil
lamps plus a 9th one called the shamesh. The shamesh is lit
first and is used to light the others. It should not be in the same row as
the other eight. Usually it is higher or lower, behind or in front of the
other candles.

Time for lighting

The time for lighting differs among communities. Some
light just as the sun is setting while others light as soon as it gets
dark outside. The minimum amount of time that the candles need to stay lit
is 30 minutes after dark. Those who use wax candles should make sure they
are big enough to last at least this minimum amount of time.

The Candles

Some people use colorful wax candles while others use
oil candles or oil lamps since the miracle actually happened with oil
lamps.

Where does the Menorah go?

The menorah should be placed in a place where people
will see it. Some put it in the window so the passers by outside will see
it. This way, the miracle will be publicized. Others put it in the left
part of the doorway so when they walk into the house they will be flanked
by two important Jewish symbols -- the mezuzah on the right and the
menorah on the left.

What order to light?

On the first night, the candle or lamp on the right
side is lit. The shamesh is lit with a match and used to light the first
Chanukah candle or oil lamp, which is usually placed on the extreme right.
On the second night, two candles or oil lamps are placed in the menorah on
the right side. The new one is lit first. Each night a new candle or lamp
is added. The new one is always lit first.

The Blessings

On the first night of Chanukah, three blessings are
recited. On each of the following nights, only the first two are said:

Baruch Atah A'donoi Eloheinu Melech Haolam, asher kidishanu
b'mitzvotav, v'tzivanu le'hadlik ner shel Chanukah. (Blessed are
You, Hashem our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with
His commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the Chanukah light.)

Baruch Atah A'donoi Eloheinu Melech haolam, she'asah nisim
l'avoteinu bayamim haheim ba'zman hazeh. (Blessed are You, Hashem
our God, King of the Universe, Who has wrought miracles for our
forefathers, in those days at this season.)

Baruch Atah A'donoi Eloheinu Melech haolam, shehechiyanu
v'kiyamanu v'higianu la'zman hazeh. (Blessed are You, Hashem our
God, King of the Universe, Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and
brought us to this season.)

#1 of 9 in the Aish.com
Chanukah Family Series

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VISITORS COMMENTS: 11

Anonymous
1/2/2006
wonderful site
what a wonderful site keep up the
wonderful work

Sheila 12/27/2005
Thanx for such a
wonderful explaination of Chanukah. This is exactly what I needed to
explain the Holiday
I enjoyed the story & the fact it
contained all the pertinent information in an easy to understand way while
preserving the integrity & spirit of Chanukah. I learned some new
things. Thanx.

Danny Holmes 12/25/2005
Thanks for
the brief explanation
I found this to be a fantastic explanation of
Chanukah. I look forward to further explanations of Jewishness and our
great history. My family and I were delighted to read your commentary - we
are just beginning our conversion and need all he help and prayers in our
new journey.

Shon
B. 12/24/2005
CHANUKAH RULES!
Even after the Greeks were
defeated there still was an effort to subtract from Chanukah. Now it is
clear why other holidays were created around the same time of the
year.

Lisa A. Pierce 12/23/2003
Excellent resource
for home and school
Excellent resource for educators unfamiliar
with the nuances of Hanukkah. I found it to be interesting and well
presented, user friendly format.

Karl Rose
12/21/2003
illumination
Your story and explanation of
Chanukah, made the lights in my head come on, like the Menorah being lit
and the oil burning beautifully and illuminating my mind.
Thank you,
Karl

Anonymous 12/21/2003
Excellent
information
As a British Jew living in a small town in Thailand,I
find your web-site a link with my ethnic origins.

J.N.

Leah Lampel 11/30/2003
Good information,
a good teaching tool for families.
I found that the blessings,
their explanations, and the proper way to light a Chunukia, to be very
helpful in teaching in the classroom and at home. Thank
you!

sarah Simanowitz 11/3/2003
This is an amazing
site for parents and teachers.
This site is the best. I can get
things geared toward teaching as well as for my own children. Yasher Koach
keep it up

r wenzel 12/5/2002

Great and
helpful

Nancy Jablonski 11/29/2002

I am
grateful for the simplicity of the story of Chanuka...great job! We
acknowledge the legend of the oil, but I believe the greater miracle is
God using a small number to have victory over the large Greek army. It is
a good message for these times. May we see His arm once again this
Chanuka. Be blessed during this wonderful holiday.

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