Hanukkah

Hanukkah

Hanukkah

• Jewish holiday

• festival of lights

• dedication

Judaism

• religious belief

• people who follow Judaism are called Jewish or a Jew

Multiple Choice

Which religion celebrates Hanukkah?

• Christianity

• Judaism

• Hinduism

• Buddhism

Hebrew

• a language native to Israel

• language of Jewish prayer

Torah

• Jewish religious book

• written in Hebrew

Multiple Choice

What is Hebrew?

• a language

• a holiday

• a game

• a book

Menorah

• candle holder

• SEVEN (7) candle branches

• for everyday use- 7 candles for 7 days of the week (middle is for the Sabbath- a day of rest)

• Sabbath in Judaism is on Saturday

Hanukkiah

• candle holder special for Hanukkah

• NINE (9) candle branches

• 8 candles for 8 nights, plus 1 more "helper" candle to light them (usually in the middle)

Multiple Choice

What is the difference between a normal menorah and a hanukkiah?

• a hanukkiah has 9 candle branches, a menorah has 7

• a menorah has 8 candle branches, a hanukkiah has 6

• a menorah is only used on Hanukkah

Temple/Synagogue

• Jewish place of worship

Latkes

• potato pancakes

• fried in oil

• often eaten with sour cream and/or applesauce

Sufganiyot

• jelly donut

• fried in oil

Why so many foods fried in oil?

Oil is an important part of the story of Hanukkah. Judah Maccabee and his soldiers won a fierce battle and discovered their temple to be in ruins. After cleaning up, they only had enough oil to light the menorah for one night. But a miracle happened and the oil lasted for eight nights.

Dreidel

• a 4-sided top with Hebrew letters on each side

Gelt

• money

• usually chocolate "gold" coins

• given as a gift or used to play dreidel

How to Play Dreidel

• each person gets the same amount of coins and puts 1 or 2 in the middle pot (depending on # of players)

• take turns spinning the dreidel and follow what the dreidel says

• if the pot becomes empty, everyone puts 1 coin in

• if a player loses all their coins, they are out

• if a player gets all the coins, they win!

Multiple Choice

What happens if there are no more coins in the pot?

• the game is over

• the player who has the most coins wins

• each player puts one coin in

• the player with the least coins wins

Dreidel Sides

• shin- share, put one in ("there")

• hey- half, get half (round down) ("happened")

• gimel- get all ("great")

• nun- nothing ("miracle")

• each side has a special meaning which together makes the Hebrew phrase: great miracle happened there

Multiple Choice

What does "gimel" on the dreidel mean?

• nothing

• share (put one in)

• get all

• half