Hanukkah (Hebrew: חנוכה, alt. Chanukah), also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, and may occur from late November to late December on the Gregorian calendar. The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a special candelabrum, the Menorah or Hanukiah, one light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a shamash, (Hebrew: "guard" or "servant") is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher or lower than the others. The purpose of the extra light is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud (Tracate Shabbat 21b-23a), against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah story. (The shamash is used to light the other lights.)
Information is courtesy of Wikipedia
*names have been changed to protect the innocent, the a**holes and the clueless.
3 comments:
Where's the mention of the Hanukkah Aardvark?!
You write lucidly. I would like to revisit
Naval Langa
http://paintingsgalleries.blogspot.com/
I would love to take credit for this, but it is a straight copy and paste job from Wikipedia!
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