Hanukkah at Wise

Hanukkah 2024

  • Saturday, December 14 at 9 a.m.: Hanukkah Tot Shabbat
  • Saturday, December 14 at 10 a.m.: Mountaintop Morning featuring Hanukkah Music
  • Monday, December 16: Tikkun Olam Project – Hope the Mission Volunteering, learn more: Hope The Mission Signup Form – Form – Stephen Wise Temple
  • Friday, December 20 at 6:15 p.m.: Shabbanukkah Kickoff:  pre-Hanukkah celebration, featuring college homecoming, Hanukkah tunes, and some festive treats
  • Friday, December 27 at 6:15 p.m.: Shabbanukkah service
  • Saturday, December 28 at 8:30 a.m.: Spirit of Shabbanukah Shabbat Study, featuring texts of Hanukkah and light

Hanukkah Songs

“HANUKKAH MEDLEY”:

Boruch Ate, Maoz Tsur, Al HaNisim
Featuring Cantor Emma Lutz, Cantor Lucy Fishbein, Cantor Shanna Zell

Maoz Tzur

מָעוֹז צוּר יְשׁוּעָתִי, לְךָ נָאֶה לְשַׁבֵּֽחַ תִּכּוֹן בֵּית תְּפִלָּתִי, וְשָׁם תּוֹדָה נְזַבֵּֽחַ, לְעֵת תָּכִין מַטְבֵּֽחַ, מִצָּר הַמְנַבֵּֽחַ, אָז אֶגְמוֹר, בְּשִׁיר מִזְמוֹר חֲנֻכַּת הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ.

Maoz tzur yeshuati lecha na-eh le-sha-bei-ach tikkon beit tefilati, ve-sham todah ne-za-bei-ach, le’eit tachin matbei-ach, mi-tzor na-me-nat-bei-ach, az egmor, be-shir mizmor, chanukat hamizbei-ach!

Rock of Ages, let our song, praise Thy saving power;
Thou, amidst the raging foes, wast our sheltering tower.
Furious they assailed us, but Thine arm availed us,
And Thy Word broke their sword, when our own strength failed us.
And Thy Word broke their sword, when our own strength failed us.

Sevivon Sov Sov Sov

סְבִיבוֹן סוֹב סוֹב סוֹב, חַנוּכָּה הוּא חַג טוֹב! חַנוּכָּה הוּא חַג טוֹב, סְבִיבוֹן סוֹב סוֹב סוֹב!
חַג שִׂמְחָה הוּא לָעָם, נֵס גָדוֹל הָיָה שָׁם! נֵס גָדוֹל הָיָה שָׁם, חַג שִׂמְחָה הוּא לָעָם!

Seviovon, sov sov sov, Chanukah hu chag tov! Chanukah hu chag tov, seviovon, sov sov sov!
Chag simcha hu la’am, neis gadol hayah sham! Neis gadol hayah sham, chag simcha hu la’am!

Dreidel, dreidel – spin, spin, spin. Hanukkah is when we’ll win! Hanukkah is when we’ll win, Dreidel, dreidel – spin, spin, spin!
A happy day for our people fair – a great, big miracle happened there! A great, big miracle happened there – a happy day for our people fair!

I have a Little Dreidel

I have a little dreidel – I made it out of clay. And when it’s dry and ready, oh dreidel, I shall play!
Oh, dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made you out of clay… and when you’re dry and ready, oh Dreidel we shall play!

Hanukkah FAQ

  1. Where does Hanukkah come from? During the spread of the Greek Empire under Alexander the Great, the Greeks brought their culture – language, mathematics, philosophy, and religion – to the peoples that they conquered. In general, the Greeks left the Jews alone for more than one hundred years, but in 169 BCE, the Seleucid King Antiochus, desperate for funds and recruits to thwart the Roman advance – partnered with proponents of Greek culture to plunder the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, inciting a revolt that ultimately led to an independent Jewish state.
  2. What’s a Seleucid? After Alexander the Great’s death, his Empire was divided among his three generals. One general, Macedon, inherited Greece and its isles. Another, Ptolemy, inherited Egypt, while yet another, Seleucus, inherited Syria and Mesopotamia. The Ptolemites and Seleucids waged war over Judea and its environs for many years, with the Seleucids ultimately taking control in 198 BCE.
  3. Who were the Maccabees? What did they have to do with this? “Maccabee,” or “The Hammer” was a nickname given to Judah and his family, the Hasmoneans, who led a revolt against Seleucid rule, once the Seleucids began outlawing certain Jewish rituals in an attempt to accelerate their affiliation with the Seleucid kingdom.
  4. Why is Hanukkah 8 nights? 
    1. According to the Talmud, when the Maccabees rededicated the Temple following their victory, they lit the Temple Menorah., which ordinarily stayed lit at all times. However, there was only enough oil to light the Menorah for one night. A miracle enabled the oil to last for 8 nights and 8 days, long enough for a round trip to collect more oil.
    2. Meanwhile, according to the Book of Maccabees, once the Hasmoneans recaptured the Temple, they celebrated Sukkot, which they could not celebrate while fighting with the Seleucids. Thus, Sukkot, which ultimately came to last 8 days [in the Diaspora] became the length of the Hanukkah celebration.
  5. How did Hanukkah become so important? It’s actually not a major holiday in the traditional Jewish calendar, but Hanukkah grew in prominence among American Jews who appreciated a Jewish celebration alongside Christmas. This parallelism is also the source of the historically novel tradition of gift giving on Hanukkah.
  6. What’s a Hanukkiyah? I thought it was called a Menorah. The Menorah is the seven branched candelabra that sat in the Holy Temple. According to the Talmud, this is what the Maccabees lit when they reconquered the Temple. The Hanukkiyah, designed especially for Chanukkah, has eight branches and a shamash, for commemorating Hanukkah.
  7. How do I light the Hanukkiyah? See blessings for instructions.
  8. Latkes – What’s that? Many people celebrate Hanukkah with fried foods to commemorate the miracle of the oil lasting 8 days. Latkes, or levivot in Hebrew, are fried potato pancakes. In Israel, far more common are sufganiyot, fried donuts.
  9. What’s with the dreidel? Legend states that the Jews often could not celebrate their holidays (especially a militaristic holiday like Hanukkah) during the Roman occupation. Therefore, Jews designed games to teach their children about Chanukkah, including a game of chance using a top. Called sevivon in Hebrew or dreidel in Yiddish, the top commemorates Chanukkah using a mnemonic. There are 4 letters on a dreidel:  נ Nun, ג Gimel, ה Hei, and ש Shin (פ Peh in Israel), which stands for the following: Neis Gadol Hayah Sham (Poh), or, a great miracle happened there (here). Participants play by placing candy or coins in a pot and spinning the dreidel. 
    1. If the dreidel lands on נ, nothing happens.
    2. If the dreidel lands on ג, the spinner takes the pot.\
    3. If the dreidel lands on ה, the spinner takes half the pot.
    4. If the dreidel lands on ש, the spinner contributes to the pot.

Recipes

Sufganiyot (Jelly Donuts)

Ingredients:
For the dough:
2 Tbsp dry yeast
½ cup lukewarm water
¼ cup plus 1 tsp sugar
2 ½ cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
¼ tsp nutmeg
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter, softened
Vegetable oil for frying

For assembling:
raspberry jam, pudding, or nutella for filling
powdered sugar
Special equipment: wooden skewer,
piping bag, round piping tip
Directions: Making the dough:
In a small bowl combine yeast and warm water. Sprinkle sugar on top and mix lightly. Allow to sit until foamy, around 10 minutes.
When yeast mixture is ready, in a large bowl combine it with flour, nutmeg, salt, eggs, and butter, using a wooden spoon until a sticky dough forms.
On a floured surface knead dough until it is smooth, shiny and bounces back when touched, around 8-10 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl and allow to rise 1 ½-2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Directions: Assembling the dough:
On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch-round cutter or glass, cut rounds. You may have to roll out dough a few times. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise another 20-25 minutes.
Heat oil in a pot on medium heat until a thermometer measures 370 degrees. If you don’t have a thermometer, raise the heat to low-medium heat and test one of the doughnuts. If the oil immediately starts bubbling and the donut begins browning, it is the right temperature. If it doesn’t bubble at all, heat needs to be higher. If the oil splatters or the doughnut starts browning too quickly, heat needs to be turned down.
Using a slotted spoon, place 3-4 donuts into the oil. Allow to fry on each side around 40 seconds or until golden brown. Remove from oil and place onto a plate lined with paper towel. Once excess oil has been removed, place donuts on a drying rack to cool.
When all the donuts have been fried and cooled, begin to fill.
Fill a pastry bag with jelly, pudding or other fillings. If you don’t have a tip, you can just snip the corner of the pastry bag with a pair of scissors.
Using a wooden skewer or toothpick, make a hole in the side of each doughnut. Fit the pastry tip into a hole, pipe about 2-3 Tbsp worth of filling Repeat with remaining donuts.
Dust with powdered sugar. Fresh donuts are best eaten the same day they are fried!

by Shannon Sarna, author of  The Modern Jewish Baker

Potato Latkes 

Ingredients:
10 Yukon Gold Potatoes
1 Large Yellow Onion
1 Lemon
3 Large Eggs
1 Cup Whole Milk
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
Salt and Pepper
Nutmeg
Butter

Directions:
Grate potatoes and onions and lemon Juice, then soak in cold water.
Squeeze dry.
Add eggs, milk, flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
Mix to combine ingredients. Use a bowl or round cookie cutter to portion your latkes into small or dinner size round disks. Thin ones will come out very crispy. Thicker ones will be crispy on the outside only.
In a skillet, fill a shallow amount of oil and fry latkes on each side until golden brown.
Remember, you can always finish them or reheat them in the oven. Watch them closely to avoid burning them.
Enjoy!

by Ronen Levy Events ronenlevy.com

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