Chanukkah begins at sundown, Thursday, Dec. 7. Courtesy photo

BY RABBI JACK SHLACHTER
Los Alamos Jewish Center

To really appreciate the minor, 8-day Jewish holiday that begins this year on Dec. 7 at sundown, it helps to have a sinus infection.  In Hebrew, there’s no ambiguity about the spelling of this eight-day celebration of a victory by Jews over the Greeks who had defiled the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem – it’s חֲנוּכָּה‎.  The name of the holiday means (re)dedication, and the word begins with a guttural letter.  But therein lies the problem – English has no guttural letter.  The sound can perhaps be described as what we hear when someone is clearing their throat of phlegm.  Maybe that’s captured by a “Ch” or maybe by an “H.”  Thus, we end up with a holiday whose name can be spelled Hanukkah, Chanukkah, or one of 22 other variations listed in the Oxford English Dictionary.

The historic event of the rededication of the Temple took place over two thousand years ago, and for centuries, the rabbis tried to drop the holiday because Judaism doesn’t celebrate military victories.  Wars are tragic, but sadly, they are sometimes necessary, as in the current Israeli response to the Hamas atrocities of October 7.

Referring to Chanukkah as a minor festival is a bit misleading – what is really meant is that there are no religious restrictions on work.  In modern times, the holiday has taken on exaggerated significance, in part because many Jews want to celebrate a Jewish alternative to Christmas which falls in the same season of the year.

It sometimes comes as a surprise to Christians, but Christmas is a Christian holiday, and Jews are not Christians – hence Jews generally do not celebrate Christmas.  Our society is indeed dominated by Christians, but this country derives its greatness from welcoming a diversity of traditions and backgrounds.  Unfortunately, hatred of Jews, often called antisemitism, is rising in this country at a frightful rate, but respecting others and their traditions is central to the strength of the United States.

The traditions associated with Chanukkah include lighting a multi-branch candelabra in the evening, adding an additional candle each night until the culmination of the holiday, this year on Thursday night, Dec 14.  During Chanukkah, Jews often eat foods that emphasize oil, the two most common being fried potato pancakes (latkes) and jelly-filled doughnuts (sufganiot).  By legend, oil is associated with the purification of the Temple.It is totally appropriate to wish a Jewish friend, “Happy Chanukkah,” and if you play your cards right, you’ll get invited to eat some of the holiday foods.  But make sure you keep your cholesterol intake under control!