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Hanukkah: Oil
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Hanukkah is a great time for eating delicious foods. Some dishes have special significance, such as latkes (a kind of potato fritter), pancakes and doughnuts. This is becuase they are fried in oil and so Jewish people remember the miracle of the oil lasting eight days in the temple.
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Hanukkah is the Hebrew word for "dedication." Tradition relates how a miracle took place during the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, which had been desecrated: The remaining supply of sacramental oil, thought to be enough for only one day, burned for eight.
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Many traditional Hanukkah foods are cooked in oil, in remembrance of the oil that burned in the temple. In the United States, the most widespread Hanukkah food is latkes, or potato pancakes, a custom that may have developed in Eastern Europe. In Israel, the favorite Hanukkah food is sufganiya, a kind of jelly donut cooked in oil. Israelis eat sufganiyot for more than a month before the start of Hanukkah.
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"Hanukkah," from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", marks the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by the forces of Antiochus IV and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil." According to the Talmud, at the re-dedication following the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, there was only enough consecrated olive oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.
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The history concerning Hanukkah goes back over two thousand years and involves the holy Temple of Jerusalem. It was in the Temple that the holy book of Torah was kept. The Torah contained the writings of Moses as well as the laws and customs of the Jewish faith. Over many years, the Temple was controlled by different rulers, some of whom did not respect the Jewish faith and put statues of their own gods in the Temple. Finally, after many years of war and persecution, the Jews regained control of the Temple but it was in ruins. History has it that the Jews began rebuilding the Temple of Jerusalem in 165 B.C. A legend from that time tells how the Jews found a small amount of oil to light the Temple lamp.
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Hanukkah marks the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem after being desecrated by Antiochus IV, ruler of the Seleucid Empire. It was feared at the time that there would only be enough oil to fuel the Temple's eternal flame for a single day. more »
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