Music Monday -- Happy Hanukkah
Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. An eight-day long holiday. We celebrate the victory of the Maccabees over the conquering Greek/Syrian army. We are told that the Greeks defiled the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Eventually the Maccabees reclaimed the Temple. They sought to rededicate the Temple, but there was a problem. There was only one jar of holy oil, just enough for a single day, but it would take 8 days to make more oil. The single jar of oil burned for 8 days.
On Hanukkah we light a menorah. The menorah has 8 slots for candles representing each day of the holiday, plus a ninth slot for the shamash, the candle used to light all the others. On the first night of the holiday, we say a prayer, then light the shamash, and use the shamash to light a single candle. On day two, we light the shamash and two candles. And so on.
Then there's the dreidel. Dreidel is a Yiddish word; in Hebrew we call it a sivivon. We can play games with the dreidel. More than just a toy, it is a teaching tool. The letters on the dreidel symbolize the phrase nes gadol haya sham, "a great miracle happened there". But in Israel the phrase is nes gadol haya po, "a great miracle happened here".
Because we are celebrating the miracle of the oil, we will eat foods friend in oil. The Jews of Eastern Europe made latkes -- potato pancakes -- usually served with sour cream or applesauce. Sufganiyot -- jelly donuts -- are popular in Israel.
So let's have some Hanukkah music. Carole King will say the blessing over the candles.
Happy Chanukah to you and your family and great songs. Thanks for sharing them.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Happy holidays
DeleteHappy Hannukah. Always enjoyed seeing that notice on the front page of the Friday NY Times--something like "Jewish girls and woman. Sundown today is at 6:32."
ReplyDeleteYes, candle lighting time ...
DeleteHappy holidays
A great collection of songs. I could say I loved them all. In the "battle of the groups", I think Six13 won this particular showdown. I am not sure I've ever heard Ladino spoken although one of my father's aunts married a Sephardic man. Brought back enough of my high school Spanish - enough to understand parts of the song. It was fascinating to me. Fun fact: My parents both spoke Yiddish (in two different dialects) but I don't speak any. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteMy parents spoke Yiddish when they didn’t want us to understand. I love the sound of Ladino. My children can claim Sephardic heritage.
DeleteAnd I agree, Six13 did it better
DeleteHappy Hanukkah.
ReplyDeleteThanka
DeleteRobin,
ReplyDeleteMarie is experiencing computer woes. She reports that her desktop died and she's still having issues moving her blog. Hopefully things will improve for her soon.
The Maccabeats are such a fun group. I was first introduced to this talented group by sometimes 4Mer, Joyce Lansky. Idina Menzel"Christmas A Season of Love" is quite festive and beautifully done. You've featured Six13 before haven't you? I like to hear them harmonizing. Nice choices to celebrate with this week. Have a joyfully blessed holiday season, dearie!