Chanukah

The space was rededicated and the story of the miracle of oil that was supposed to last only one day, burning for eight.

Dates & Events

To celebrate this event we light candles, increasing by one every night for eight nights, we eat foods fried in oil and on the eighth night, tell the story of Judith.

The History

Chanukah is the celebration of the victory of the Maccabees, a small band of Jewish fighters, over the mighty Syrian-Greek army in 165 B.C.E. The Syrian­Greek ruler, Antiochus Epiphenes, tried to impose his culture on the Jews, with laws which forbade them from practicing Judaism, studying Torah or identifying as Jews. The Maccabees defeated Antiochus and enabled the Jews to practice their religion once more.

The Legend

During this time the Temple was desecrated. When the Maccabees won, they started to clean the Temple and rededicate it, hence the name of the festival, Chanukah, which means “dedication.” Legend tells that when the Maccabees went to light the menorah in the Temple, they found a single cruse of oil, enough for only one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days, enough time for more supplies to arrive.

The Candlelighting

We light candles each night of Chanukah, starting with one on the first night and increasing to eight on the last. Thus, the light increases along with our joy and the extent of the miracle of the oil.

There are a few rules for lighting the chanukiah:

1. Place the candles in the chanukiah from right to left.
2. Light the candles from left to right
3. Light the Shamash (helper) candle first and use that candle to light all the others.
4. The light from the Chanukah candles can only be used to enjoy, no reading, working or using the light in any other way.
5. Place the lit chanukiyah in the window so that the miracle can be publicised and your candles seen by all who pass by.

• 7th December 2023