Family Education at Temple Israel this Month--Hanukkah in America

The "About" section is for adults. Although it looks very basic, the perspective on these basic questions is unusual and strongly recommended before you engage your child(ren) in the learning. You may also want to take a quick look at the resources at the bottom, which might help you with the learning.

Hanukkah חֲנוּכָּה, like Purim and Pesach, is a holiday that celebrates a time when the Jewish people were in difficult times that threatened their lives or their ability to be Jews. Hanukkah reminds us of how Jews during the second century BCE (Before the Common Era) were struggling with how to live in a society that valued Greek culture. Some Jews chose to abandon Judaism to become like Greeks (Hellenistic). Some Jews tried to separate themselves from the modern world entirely like the Jews who established a community on the Dead Sea. The Maccabees, whom we celebrate as the heroes of Hanukkah, figured out a way to be authentically Jewish while adopting some aspects of Greek culture that would support their Jewishness, like democracy and making political alliances.
Hanukkah חֲנוּכָּה is celebrated by lighting candles in the darkest days of the year. A Jewish historian from the first century, Josephus, called the holiday "Lights" (fotos in Greek) because "we observe this festival, which we call the festival of Lights, giving this name to it, I think, from the fact that the right to worship appeared to us at a time when we hardly dared hope for it" (Jewish Antiquities 12:325). Much later on, the Talmud tells a story about a small amount of pure oil lasting for eight days, but it is clear from Josephus and from earlier sources that Hanukkah was already being celebrated for eight days and with the lighting of candles.
Early sources talk about how the Jewish people voted unanimously to celebrate for eight days beginning on the 25th day of Kislev being happy and reciting Hallel (happy songs from the Bible). Later on, after the Talmud told the story about the miracle of the oil, Jews started adding in other customs like cooking food with oil like latkes (fried potato pancakes) or sufganiot (fried jelly doughnuts). Hanukkah was never a big holiday like Pesach (Passover) or Sukkot. But in America, rabbis like Max Lilienthal, Isaac Mayer Wise and Kaufman Kohler encouraged Jews to celebrate Hanukkah because they were worried that Jews might want to celebrate Christmas more. That is how Jews started giving gifts on Hanukkah, which Jews traditionally do on Purim.
One other mitzvah מִצְוָה on Hanukkah is saying Al HaNisim עַל הַנִּסִּים (on the miracles) when we pray or after we eat meals. So what are the miracles we celebrate? The Al HaNisim prayer refers to the military victory of the Maccabees over the Greeks who wanted to oppress them. The Talmud talks about the miracle of the pure oil that lasted for eight days. Josephus talks about the miracle of religious freedom appearing like a light.
  • What is a miracle?
  • Do you believe in miracles?
  • What is the difference between a miracle and a really good thing that has happened?

Family Learning

This material is arranged by accessibility. One candle is the easiest, and four is the most challenging. Work through as much as interests your child. The rabbis say that one who tries to grasp too much, ends up holding on to nothing. You know your child(ren). Stop when you are ahead. You can come back and do more later, and you don't have to do the same amount with each child. On the other hand, feel free to continue learning as adults. Family learning is for the whole family and not just the children.

The Liberty Menorah was made by an American immigrant named Manfred Anson and it is currently in the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia.
  • Describe the menorah. Does it look like your Hanukkah Menorah?
  • Compare the image of the of the candle holder with the actual statue in New York Harbor. How is it different?
  • What do you think that statue meant to immigrants to America like the artist Manfred Anson?
  • Why do you think Manfred Anson used this statue in a Hanukkah menorah?
  • What does living in America have to do with the holiday of Hanukkah?
  • Search online for "liberty menorah". In addition to other images of Manfred Anson's Menorah, what do you see? How do those Menorahs connect Judaism to being American? Are there any that you like more than Manfred Anson's Liberty Menorah?
  • What would you like to ask Manfred Anson?
  • If you have the book Hanukkah at Valley Forge by Stephen Krensky, please read it. If you don't have the book, you can watch a video of me reading the book here.
  • Please listen to Rabbi Amichai Cohen retell his version of the story about George Washington and Hanukkah .
  • Here is another version of the story written by Emily Solis-Cohen in 1937. This is a great story for fifth-eighth graders because it refers to a child that age. If you've already read Hanukkah at Valley Forge by Stephen Krensky, feel free to skip this.
  • If you have read a version of the story--either Stephen Krensky's or Emily Solis-Cohen's, how is Rabbi Amichai Cohen's version different? What is the message of the different versions of the story?
  • Do you know anything about George Washington and the Jews? How is that related to this story?
  • How do you understand the fact that there are different versions of this story?
  • The earliest source we have about the events we remember when we celebrate Hanukkah are from books called 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees. Jews did not preserve these books. They were preserved in Greek by the Catholic Church and they are part of the Catholic Bible.
  • For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the altar.…Then Judah, his brothers, and the entire community of Israel decreed that the rededication of the altar should be celebrated with a festival of joy and gladness at the same time each year, beginning on the twenty-fifth of the month of Kislev and lasting for eight days.
    How does a large group of people ("the entire community of Israel") make a decision? What is this system of decision making called? Who invented it?
  • Although the Al HaNisim prayer says that Mattityahu, the father of Judah (and Simon) Maccabee, is described as a Kohen Gadol, he was not from the right family of kohanim to be the "High Priest". But the person who had been the Kohen Gadol was kicked out by the Maccabees because he was too much in favor of Greek values. So after they reconquered and rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem the people of Israel didn't have a Kohen Gadol. According to 1 Maccabees
    When the people saw Simon's patriotism and how he wanted to bring glory to his nation, they made him their leader and High Priest....The people gave their unanimous approval to grant Simon the right to act [as the High Priest].
    Being the Kohen Gadol was a big deal, and choosing Simon by voting made a lot of people very upset. Although 1 Maccabees says the choice was unanimous, a lot of people who were opposed to voting probably didn't show up.
  • The Maccabees fought a long war against people who wanted to give up on Judaism and live like Greeks. But here, the Maccabees adopted democracy, a Greek idea. How did the Maccabees decide which Greek behaviors and ideas were bad and which were good?
  • How do you decide which parts of American culture are bad and which are good?
  • On December 23, 1894, the New York Sun published an article called "Christmas or Chanukah?" (fifth column at the bottom). Please read the article. What was Rabbi Silverman concerned about? Here is the whole newpaper from the Library of Congress.
  • The Al HaNisim prayer describes Hanukkah as a battle between the righteous and the wicked. Professor Shaye Cohen points out how the Maccabees themselves adopted certain aspects of Greek culture--democracy in voting to establish Hanukkah and to select Judah Maccabee's brother Simon to be the Kohen Gadol (High Priest). Cohen writes in the Jewish Forward, December 11, 2008
    The Hasmoneans [Maccabees] steered a middle course...[their] goal was to find a way to live with Hellenism, to combine a secure Jewish identity with Hellenistic culture….The Hasmoneans did not save Judaism from Hellenism so much as they showed the Jews how to live with it.
  • Does Rabbi Silverman sound more like Al HaNisim or like Shaye Cohen? Why do you think what you think?
  • How might you explain your observation about Rabbi Silverman and Professor Cohen? When did each of them write their opinions?
  • Do you think that Jews now are finding a middle course between Judaism and American culture, or, like Rabbi Silverman, do you think "they are often unable to discriminate [tell the difference] between the Christian and the Jewish feasts [holidays]"?
  • How does being American influence your Jewishness?

Family Project

Try to be planful with your time. Make sure you've completed the learning by the end of November so you still have about ten days for your project. Our havdalah session will be on December 12 at 5:45

Look back at the Liberty Menorah. This expressed the artist's understanding of how America related to the story of Hanukkah. Try drawing or building a Hanukkah Menorah or a Dreidel or a Hanukkah card that reflects your understanding of how living in America relates to your Judaism. Your Menorah doesn't have to be usable, but there are lots of videos about how to make a DIY Menorah. And Dreidels do not have to be made of clay! Think out what Jewish and American symbols you want first so your design will fit them.
Use the melody from a well-known Hanukkah song to share what you've learned as a family. You could write your lyrics about the story of Hanukkah at Valley Forge or about Hanukkah and Democracy or anything else that came up in your family learning. If you don't want to use the melody for "Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel" (and I don't blame you, it is not the best melody), there are lots of great Hanukkah songs.
The details of the different stories of George Washington and Hanukkah at Valley Forge cannot all be true because they disagree with each other. And most historians say the story did not happen at all. (Sorry Rabbi Amichai Cohen.) But the story does reflect how Jews in America want to see Hanukkah and America and their Judaism. Write a creative story about Hanukkah in America. If you have interest in taking it a bit farther, make your story into a picture book, or look below at "Performance Art."
Not for the faint of heart, but if you have the time, try acting out and recording a version of Hanukkah at Valley Forge. Or if you have a family story about Hanukkah, try acting that out and recording it. Think carefully about your props. And for the real Maccabees among you, if you already wrote your own creative story (see the "Writing Project") you can do a dramatic reading of your story or act it out.

Resources for Learning

Our Family Ed Havdalah program is December 12 at 5:45 pm on Zoom. Please have your projects ready, and perhaps over shabbat, you can review what you learned when you studied the learning materials. Please have a hanukkiyah ready with three candles and a shamash. I look forward to celebrating Hanukkah with you and seeing your projects.

  • This is a GREAT video about Hanukkah by BimBam.
  • This is a much more traditionalist Hanukkah video from Aleph Beta. The theology is definitely not mine, but if you watched the BimBam video, this one can give you a good sense of the importance of finding the right sources in your learning. If your children are learning about digital literacy and being a savvy consumer of online media, contrasting these two videos is a great exercise.
  • Need to review (or learn) how to light the candles and play dreidel? This is a surprisingly good video from Howcast.
  • The Quintessential American Jewish Holiday, by Ruth Abusch-Magder discusses Manfred Anson's Liberty Menorah
  • Here is another version of the story of Hanukkah at Valley Forge which is a little harder to read, but very interesting. It is reported to have been told by Rabbi Yehudah Mandelcorn in 1994.
  • Professor Eliezer Siegal rejects the story as fiction in his article "Valley Forgery."
FOLLOW US

Let's Start a Conversation

Need help with the learning or your project? Reach out to me at

  • The Nines of Clay, On the Hill, Scranton, PA
  • (570) 507-7542‬
  • Jeff@ConversationalTorah.com