Chanukah, also known as Hanukkah, is a Jewish festival that celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the second century B.C. This eight-day holiday, known as the Festival of Lights, holds a profound significance in Jewish history and tradition. Chanukah typically falls in December, but the exact dates vary each year according to the Hebrew calendar.

The origins of Chanukah trace back to a tumultuous period in Jewish history. After the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes issued decrees banning Jewish religious practices and desecrating the Holy Temple, a small group of Jewish rebels, known as the Maccabees, led a successful revolt against the much larger Seleucid forces. The Maccabees’ victory is celebrated as a miraculous triumph of faith, courage, and the indomitable spirit of the Jewish people.

The central miracle associated with Chanukah is the miracle of the oil. According to the Talmud, when the Maccabees sought to rededicate the Temple and relight the menorah (the seven-branched candelabrum), they found only a single cruse of pure olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Seleucids. Miraculously, this small amount of oil, enough to last for only one day, burned for eight days, until new oil could be prepared. This miracle is commemorated during Chanukah with the lighting of the menorah, an eight-branched candelabrum with a place for a ninth candle, the shamash, used to light the others.

Each night of Chanukah, one additional candle is lit, until all eight candles are illuminated on the final night. The lighting is accompanied by special blessings and the singing of hymns, such as “Ma’oz Tzur” (Rock of Ages). The menorah is traditionally placed in a window or near a door, publicly proclaiming the miracle of Chanukah.

Chanukah is also a time of joy and festivity. Families gather to light the menorah, exchange gifts, and play games, such as spinning the dreidel (a four-sided top). The dreidel game, with its Hebrew letters nun, gimel, hei, and shin, symbolizes the historical decree against studying Torah. Jews would study in secret, and if interrupted, they pretended to be playing games.