Eight Day Jewish Holiday Of Hanukkah

Hanukkah is an eight day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the holy temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean revolt of the second century BCE. This holiday is observed for eight nights and eight days, starting at the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar. Which is around late November or late December according to the Gregorian calendar. This museum exhibit will have paintings, artifacts and accurate information on Hanukkah. I will also include all the Jewish holidays to show where Hanukkah falls in theses major events in history.

It is important for me to give credit to all the events that gave way to Hanukkah not only before but after Hanukkah. The second Jewish temple was an important Jewish holy temple which stood on the temple mount in Jerusalem during the second temple period, between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the first temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon. The destruction of the second temple and its plunder by the Roman Legions marked the beginning of the Israel’s long exile, which ended the birth of the state of Israel.

The Hanukkah menorah is, strictly speaking, a nine-branched candelabrum lit during the eight-day holiday of Hanukkah, as opposed to the seven-branched menorah used in the ancient Temple or as a symbol. The ninth holder, called the Shamash (“helper” or “servant”), is for a candle used to light all other candles and/or to be used as an extra light. The menorah is among the most widely produced articles of Jewish ceremonial art. The seven-branched menorah is a traditional symbol of Judaism. The Star of David is a six-pointed star made up of two triangles superimposed over each other.

In Judaism it is often called the Magen David, which means the “shield of David” in Hebrew. It doesn’t have any religious significance in Judaism but it is one of the symbols most commonly associated with the Jewish people. Many Jews wear jewelry with the Star of David as part of the design and the flag of Israel has a blue Star of David in the center. In many ways it has come to be a symbol of unity. Hanukkah food is rooted in tradition and almost all Hanukkah recipes stem from the history associated with it. Traditional Hanukkah foods include ried or baked foods as the festival itself celebrates the miracle of a small amount of olive oil burning for eight long days. Potato pancakes popularly known by its Yiddish name, Latkes are an all-time favorite and these Hanukah foods are prepared by deep frying it in oil preferably olive oil. A dreidel is a four-sided spinning top with a Hebrew letter on each side. It is used during Hanukkah to play a popular children’s game that involves spinning the dreidel and betting on which Hebrew letter will be showing when the dreidel stops spinning.

Reference (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Hanukkah (n. d. ). Retrieved from www. templeinstitute. org/gallery_32. htm (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Menorah_(Hanukkah) Pelaia, A. (n. d. ). Does the Star of David have religious significance in Judaism? Retrieved from http://judaism. about. com/od/judaismbasics/a/starofdavid. htm Pelaia, A. (n. d. ). What is a dreidel? . Retrieved from http://judaism. about. com/od/holidays/a/dreidel. htm