Questions tagged [chanuka]
Hanukkah, a holiday commemorating the miracles surrounding the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the second century BCE
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How did the Greeks make the menora-oil impure?
The Gemara in Shabbos 21b famously writes "Mai Chanukah"- what is Chanukah? The Gemara elaborates:
When the Greeks entered the Sanctuary they defiled all the oils that were in the Sanctuary
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Is there any interest in eating a baked donut on Chanuka?
A person who for health reasons avoids eating fried foods. Can he make the minhag (custom) to eat a donut baked in the oven without oil on Chanuka?
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Locating a Sfas Emes on the influence of Chanukah
In addition to this question, I am eagerly looking for the location of a Sfas Emes where he discuss the following concept (parphrased):
Chanukah and Purim are both Rabbinical festivals. Chanukah and ...
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Chanukah and Purim as two friends: insight of the Shaloh
The Shaloh HaKadosh in Aseret HaDibrot, Yoma, Derekh Chayim famously writes that:
וחנוכה ופורים הם שני רעים - Chanukah and Purim are like two friends (my own translation)
What exactly does this ...
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כל כבודה בת מלך פנימה
The Chasam sofer in his commentary to Maseches Shabbos, writes that although the Gemara clearly states that women are obligated to light נר חנוכה, but due to modesty concerns כל כבודה בת מלך פנימה (...
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Hebrew source for a question in "Guidelines" chanukah edition by Rabbis Jaeger and Barclay
For someone who has the sefer "Guidelines" Chanukah Edition by Rabbis Jaeger and Barclay, can you tell me which sources they list in the back of the sefer for the question, "The ...
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Midrash Pertaining to the Rekindling of the Menorah Commemorated by Chanukah
The predominant traditional explanation for the eight days of Chanukah is the miracle of the oil: there was only enough pure oil to keep the Menorah fueled for a single day but it miraculously lasted ...
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Is אעדיף כל שמונה online in an accessible format?
אעדיף כל שמונה is a set of piyutim by R' Elazar Hakalir for a weekday Shemoneh Esrei of Chanukah. It was apparently said in Ashkenaz into the Middle Ages, but didn't make it into printed siddurim.
I ...
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Why is finding a Sealed Pach Hashemen a miracle?
This is one of the 3 miracles of Chanukah and the one memorialized by decreeing the holiday on the 25th of Kislev as opposed to the 24th when the miracle of the military victory happened or the 26th ...
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Connection between chanukah and parshat mikeitz [duplicate]
Anyone know of any sefarim to look at that elaborates on connection between parshat mikeitz and chanukah?
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Connection between Yosef and Chanukah
The Megaleh Amukos makes a connection between Yosef and Antiochus in regards to the gematria of the names that Yosef is one more then Antiochus. I was wondering if anyone could explain the connection ...
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Where can I find this Ramban on Chanuka?
From the Chabad website:
There is a segula1 from the Ramban for after lighting the Chanukah lights to say the verse from Psalms: "May the graciousness of the L·rd our G·d be upon us," (...
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Is it a bracha levatala to recite or sing the Hanukkah blessings communally?
In group Chanukah celebrations one often sees that the entire gathering recites the brachot for lighting the menorah in unison, despite the fact that only one person is actually lighting the candles.
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Lighting the chanukah menorah and the shabbos candles in the same place
I seem to recall a halacha stating that the Chanukah menorah should not be lit in the same place as the Shabbos candles are lit. Is this indeed the halacha, and can someone point me to somewhere ...
user31965
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Where in the history and/or rabbinical works does it say that the people of the Maccabean period fought off lions or were sawn in half or delimbed?
I heard a visiting rabbi talked about Hanukkah and mentioned that the people of the Maccabean period fought off lions and/or were sawn in half or delimbed, but he did not give any exact sourcess, ...
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The oil and Chanukah: what does it come to teach us?
The basic story of what happened when the Hasmonean monarchy overcame the Greeks, and hence we celebrate Chanukah, can be found in the Gemara in Shabbos 21b:
When the Greeks entered the Sanctuary ...
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Non-Jewish Sources about Chanukah [closed]
I was listening to a podcast about Channukah, he was interviewing an Israeli professor on the subject. The professor was very reluctant to give credence to the ‘Jewish sources’ about Chanukah. ...
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When and by whom were the Piyutim of Channukah written?
There are communities that recite special prayers on Shabbos Channukah they begin with אודך כי אנפת ותשוב. Do we know who wrote these and when?
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What part of this Chanukah song is actually about Passover instead?
"Eight Candles Shine" is a 1963 song by Malvina Reynolds, published by Schroder Music Co. It is frequently used in [US] schools as a "Chanukah Song" at winter concerts. I am ...
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Why is channukah not mentioned in Medrash chazal?
In Medrash chazal, (including medrash raba, tanchuma, toras kohanim etc…) there is no mention of the Yom Tov of channukah. This took place 100-200 years before Medrash was written. Although it is ...
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Igros Kodesh on Chanukah: advice for during exile
The Lubavitcher Rebbe in Igros Kodesh talks about why the chanukah candle has 8 candles, and the menorah 7. But then, the Rebbe says “from this it is clear that the chanukah candles have a general ...
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Until when did the Yeshivos of Beis Hillel and Shamai exist?
We know that Hillel and Shamai themselves lived during the time of the Second Beis Hamikdash. Do we know how long their yeshivos lasted?
More specifically, how late in history could the argument ...
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Yaavetz regarding the story with Yehudis not happening on Chanuka
Rabbi Yaakov Emden writes in his מור וקציעה seen here, in last paragraph of the second column, that the story of Yehudis had nothing to do with Chanuka and actually happened during the first exile.
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The fall of Yehudah the Maccabee
Yehudah the Maccabee died in the Battle of Elasa, a mere four years after the victory at Beit Tzur and the subsequent purification and rededication of the Temple.
Are there any rabbinic sources that ...
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How can I understand the idea that “Pirsumei nisa is as much to oneself as it is to others.”
The THE BENJAMIN AND ROSE BERGER TORAH TO-GO Chanukah 5782 p 14 contains an article from Rabbi Ezra Schwartz entitled “ Al Hanisim in Birkat Hamazon”.
It says
Tosafot, Shabbat 24a, s.v. Mahu, offer a ...
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Why not הקם לנו נסיכי שמונה?
The last four words of Maoz Tzur end with the words הקם לנו רועים שבעה. This is a clear reference to the verse (Micha 5:4):
וַהֲקֵמֹנוּ עָלָיו שִׁבְעָה רֹעִים וּשְׁמֹנָה נְסִיכֵי אָדָם
But as I was ...
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Doing the mehadrin level differently -- does it invalidate the mitzvah?
On Channukah, the mitzvah is for a light to be lit in each household, as the Rambam (Hil Purim/Channukah, 4:1) writes, "מצותה שיהיה כל בית ובית מדליק נר אחד."
If one wants to perform a "...
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What happened to the jars of oil without a seal?
Are there any sources that say what happened to the jars of olive oil without the seal in the temple? Did they throw it out,sell it, eat it,etc...?
If not then would there be a reason why they couldn'...
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What's the source that Yavan/Greece is keneged choshech?
I heard that Greece is connected to the term 'choshech' in the line "Tohu VaBohu Vechoshech al benei tehom..." (Bereishis 1:2), and I heard the idea used in multiple shiurs. Just wondering ...
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What is meant by "pure" oil for Hanukka?
The concept of "pure" oil is central to the holiday of Hanukka (see, for example,
https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/221817/jewish/Pure-Oil.htm and
https://www.aish.com/...
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Maoz Tzur: Last stanza
I have been to various Shuls over Chanukah and they say Maoz Tzur but they don’t say the last stanza. I asked and they say we don’t say it. What would be a reason not to say it? Don’t we want revenge ...
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What were לביבות made of before potatoes?
Who doesn't love a nice stack of potato latkes for Hanukkah? Tradition, right? But as I was frying up my seasonal potato pancakes, I started thinking... potatoes didn't exist in the Old World until ...
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Does it matter where the flames came from in the Beit ha Mikdash?
In the Greek book commonly known as Second Maccabees (not generally recognized among Jews as being authoritative), there is a detail given about the rededication of the Second Temple where the relit ...
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Hanukkah Glass Menorah Drip Tray with Brachos on it
Would it be mutar to place the menorah on a Hanukkah Glass Menorah Drip Tray https://www.amazon.com/Rite-Lite-Tempered-Glass-Menorah/dp/B00PBFBUOO even if the drip tray has brachos on it, or would ...
user24484
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Did the Rabbis err when they stipulated an eight branch menorah for the celebration of Hanukkah?
I fully understand the rationale for an eight branched menorah. Considering the Nes, etc. And I am aware that the Talmud states that it is prohibited to use a seven-lamp menorah outside of the Temple. ...
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Meaning of phrase in Hannukah song
I'm having trouble understanding the concluding phrase in the famous Hannukah song O Hannukah, which is על הנפלאות אשר חללו המכבים. What root is חללו and what is its meaning here? How to translate ...
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Gambling on Chanukah
There already exists on this site, discussions about gambling in halacha - see here, here and here etc. I would like to focus specifically within the context of Chanukah and an apparent minhag (custom)...
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What is maftir for Shabbat Channukah?
Hopefully someone knows this, since I see conflicting info online. What is the maftir for first shabbos of channuka (this coming shabbos, second day channuka, parshat Vayeshev). Is it (a) Bamidbar 7:...
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Over how many years did the Chanukah story take?
In Megilas Antiyochus, it speaks at length how there were 3 separate times Antiyochus's army came to Jerusalem (each time getting royally defeated), so I'm wondering over how many years did this story ...
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Does one need to light Chanukah lights at both entrances nowadays in Israel?
Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 671:8 rules that if one has a courtyard with two entrances on different sides, one lights Chanukah lights at both entrances, to prevent passersby from suspecting that the ...
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Kislev and the letter Samech
I have seen somewhere that Kislev and the letter Samech are connected to each other. The sefer I saw it in, quoted the Likkutei Shas of the Arizal. Does anyone know what it says? And is there any ...
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Which of the *Zugos* were in charge during the Chanukah story?
Pirkei Avos tells us of a chain of Torah leadership from Shimon HaTzadik (who lived in the times of Alexander the Great), to Antignos Ish Socho, to the pairs of leaders after that.
On whose watch did ...
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Order of Chanukah lights and havdalah
When I was leading the conclusion of the Shabbat service yesterday, I asked someone to light the Chanukkah candles, who asked me if we rather did havdalah first. I know that in a synagogue setting we ...
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Are the eight nights of lighting Menorah one Mitzvah or eight?
By Sefiras HaOmer, there is a dispute whether it’s a single Mitzvah to count fifty days, or whether one fulfills the Mitzvah of counting each day independently (Rosh, Pesachim 10:41, et. al.). As a ...
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Is Menorah an obligation on the person or on the object?
Is the obligation of lighting a Menorah an obligation that the person should light (chovas gavra), or that there should be a Menorah burning at his front door (chovas cheftza)?
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Is it a problem to use the lights of the Chanuka candles as the sole source of light in a photograph?
A common setup get a beautiful "lighting Chanuka candles" picture is to use only the light of the menorah to illuminate the photograph, including the menorah and the hands and face of the person ...
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Lighting after maariv in shul
At my shul, the first maariv minyan on Chanukah is after teitz hachocavim (5:15, in Eretz Yisroel). It takes a couple minutes until there are ten people, and when ten people arrived some members ...
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Minhag of eating jelly doughnuts on chanukah
Many yiden have the custom to eat potato latkes or jelly doughnuts on chanukah.
Who started this custom??
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Is "Festival of Lights" our traditional term or borrowed from other cultures?
I keep seeing Chanukah being referred to as "the festival of lights". However I don't recall encountering this term in any of the classic religious texts (Talmud, Midrash, Maimonides, Shulchan Aruch, ...
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In Maoz Tsur should it say תִכּוֹן בֵּית זביחתי instead of תִכּוֹן בֵּית תְּפִלָּתִי
The word תְּפִלָּתִי in the poem Maoz Tsur seems out of context:
תִכּוֹן בֵּית תְּפִלָּתִי וְשָׁם תּוֹדָה נְזַבֵּחַ
לְעֵת תָּכִין מַטְבֵּחַ מִצָּר הַמְנַבֵּחַ
אָז אֶגְמוֹר בְּשִׁיר מִזְמוֹר ...
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