The Origins of Common Chanukah Traditions
The holiday of Chanukah originates from the book of the Maccabim. In the story, the Greeks come and take over Judea, destroying holy sites and banning Jewish practices. Tired of the oppression, the people of Judea rise and revolt against the Greeks in what would be known as the Maccabim revolt. After their victory, the Maccabim reclaim the Temple and find only one jug of olive oil, which would only burn on the Menorah for a single day. Miraculously, the fire stays lit for eight whole days, allowing the Jews to get more olive oil to burn in the meantime. From this miracle came many of the practices that make Chanukah, including lighting a Chanukiah, spinning dreidel, and eating dairy and fried foods. But why? On first glance, half of these traditions seem unrelated to the story’s summary. The Rabbis answer these questions in many different ways, highlighting that understanding these customs is just as important as practicing them.
The first tradition with an interesting origin is the game of dreidel. The game is often played by families sitting before the burning lights of the Chanukiah by spinning a dreidel, a top used in a traditional game, where the goal is to win most of the pot, typically made up of gelt (chocolate coins). The Nun stands for Ness (miracle) or Neeshet (Yiddish for nothing), the Gimel for Gadol (great) or Geanetz (Yiddish for whole). The Hey stands for Haya (happened) or Haalav (Yiddish for half), and the Shin for Sham (there) or Shtal Aryyn (Yiddish for put in). The idea of dreidel existed before Chanukah, as used by the Jews as a diversion to avoid getting caught learning the Torah. Since it was banned, groups of Jews would gather to learn while there were no Greek officers around. When the officers would come around, the Jews would hide their books and play dreidel until the officer left. The game of dreidel then was probably invented as a metaphor for the Second Temple. According to a passage in the Sichot HaRan, an introduction to the thought of Rebbe Nachman, compiled by his closest disciple, Rabbi Natan, “Chanukah is an aspect of the Holy Temple. The primary concept of the Temple is the revolving wheel.” (40:16). It was a revolving wheel because the temple was Hashem’s earthly home. He would rotate between the temple and the Heavens, As such “The Temple is therefore like a dreidel, a rotating wheel, where everything revolves and is transformed.” (40:16). According to this interpretation, we spin dreidel on Chanukah in memory of the Temple.
“Understanding the origins of Chanukah traditions gives people a renewed sense of appreciation for the little things they do.”
Another tradition people may have is to each dairy and fried foods: donuts, gelt, and latkes are all iconic foods. The origin of eating dairy comes from an event that took place before the story of Chanukah. According to Peninei Halacha, a contemporary halachic text by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, “Yehudit, the daughter of Yoḥanan the High Priest, fed the enemy general dairy foods and killed him after he fell asleep, bringing salvation to the Jews.” (11:10). This story is what gave the Maccabees the inspiration to rise and take back the Temple by showing them how even the smallest of people can rise if they put their faith in hashem. And because she used dairy to kill him, people have a practice of eating dairy foods.
But it wouldn’t be Chanukah without the lighting of the Chanukiah, so much so that it has become the face of this holiday. It’s probably the first thing people think of when Chanukah is mentioned. The origins of lighting the Chanukiah, unlike every other tradition of Hanukkah, stem from the historical precedence of the Menorah: a “lampstand of pure gold” with seven total branches: three on both sides of the middle branch (Shemot 25). Now, the Menorah is not what is lit on Chanukah. Rather, the lamp that is lit on each of the eight nights of Chanukah is called Chanukiah. Though Chanukiot have many different designs and setups, one feature is consistent: Channukiot have two more prances than a Menorah, with the shamash (center candle) taller than all the others. This change comes from the story itself, with the eight branches representing each night the light stayed lit. As such the rabbis decided to remember the Menorah in the narrative by making it a tradition to light a new candle each night for eight nights starting with the 25 Kislev.
Understanding the origins of Chanukah traditions gives people a renewed sense of appreciation for the little things they do. And Judaism is all about the idea of finding new meanings through tradition. The meaning and understanding behind the mitzvah is just as important as the mitzvah itself.
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