8 Facts About Hanukkah That You (Probably) Didn't Know, Maybe (SLIDESHOW)

Most people are familiar with the miracle of oil, chocolate gelt, and dreidel fun. Here are 8 informational nuggets of a lesser known variety:

(Written by Matisyahu with Simcha Levenberg. Simcha Levenberg is a stand-up comedian searching for the meaning of life in Los Angeles.)

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1. Chanukah - What does it even mean? The eight day Festival of lights is called Chanukah. The word Chanukah means dedication. After Judah Maccabee and his band of revolutionary Jews defeated the Assyrian/Greek Empire they discovered that their beloved Holy Temple had been defiled and rendered spiritual impure. It was on the 25th of Kislev (the first day of Chanukah) that the Temple was purified and rededicated. Alternatively the word Chanukah can be deconstructed to be, חנו כ"ה, which means, "they rested on the 25th." The 25th of Kislev (the first day of Chanukah) was the last day of the war against the Greeks and the beginning of a pretty sweet holiday vacation week.

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1. Chanukah - What does it even mean?


The eight day Festival of lights is called Chanukah. The word Chanukah means dedication. After Judah Maccabee and his band of revolutionary Jews defeated the Assyrian/Greek Empire they discovered that their beloved Holy Temple had been defiled and rendered spiritual impure. It was on the 25th of Kislev (the first day of Chanukah) that the Temple was purified and rededicated.

Alternatively the word Chanukah can be deconstructed to be, חנו כ"ה, which means, "they rested on the 25th." The 25th of Kislev (the first day of Chanukah) was the last day of the war against the Greeks and the beginning of a pretty sweet holiday vacation week.

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Comments

[Chai-n-Mighty]

09:26 AM on 12/02/2010

So in other words, a WOMAN warrior, HERO, LEADER. I am not surprised. If you have any sense, you will not mess with woman, we do not mess around!

[GCHRV]

02:56 AM on 12/02/2010

Learn exciting facts about Hanukah here: www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah

[Sequoia Hughes]

12:37 AM on 12/02/2010

That was fun.

[brooklyncitizen]

11:31 PM on 12/01/2010

And another fact: it is not an important holiday and only celebrated to this degree in the USA to give Christmas some competition.

[FiredUpRTG]

09:14 AM on 12/02/2010

If Christmas were kept simply a holy day, Thanksgiving would be a gift-giving food-gorging extravaganza. At least we'd have it all over-with by New Year's!

[Nasberry]

04:44 PM on 12/01/2010

Happy Hanukkah

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ82bUYbZZw&playnext=1&list=PLC18243F7EF81988A&index=36

[JoshInPgh]

04:08 PM on 12/01/2010

One thing about dreidels, though (I'm sure Matis knows this, but I'm also guessing Simcha wrote most of the captions): dreidels didn't exist until the Middle Ages, when it was taken from a game similar to what existed in the Rhine valley at the time. Could the students have played some game as a subterfuge to hide their studying? Perhaps. Could it have been a game similar to dreidel? Maybe. But was it dreidel? No. Heck, the letters themselves on the dreidel may have been Hebrew, but they stood for Yiddish words (which used the Hebrew alef-bet): nun/nisht (none), gimel/gantz (all), heh/halb (half), and shin/shtel (put).

[Tolms]

02:55 PM on 12/01/2010

Learned a little, was amused!

[katwright]

01:51 PM on 12/01/2010

My daughter will be excited. She learned the Hebrew Alphabet with Matisyahu songs in school.(and she doesnt even go to a Yeshivah)
Pretty cool, if you ask me!

[greezil428]

01:40 PM on 12/01/2010

MATISYAHU-dude rocks it,Thanks love to the world.

[CelticLion]

01:31 PM on 12/01/2010

Nice to be challenged by a novel musical approach to gain perspective on remembering how the G-D of Israel mercifully granted military victory to a small band of Jewish warriors against the overwhelming forces of the Assyrian Greeks. Their goal was to regain their freedom to practice Torah observant Judaism. May their successes inspire all Jews to observe Torah prescribed laws.

[superjules]

01:26 PM on 12/01/2010

Thanks for this. I learned lots of new things today.

[disintaGreatNation]

01:24 PM on 12/01/2010

On the other hand, there are those who claim that the Maccabees battled, not the Greeks, but Hellenized Jews; and the "battle" was an internal struggle won by religious fundamentalists who vanquished those who sought to live their lives according to philosophical tenets that are more sophisticated and rational than what is provided in scripture.
According to some historians, without the Maccabees' victory, Judaism would have taken a different turn, with the result that there would probably have been no Jesus, no Christianity, and no Islam.

[barrista]

12:53 PM on 12/01/2010

Does he still not allow women on stage?

[Donkey Party]

12:41 PM on 12/01/2010

Don't know Matisyahu? Pick up the "Live at Stubbs" CD and give it a listen, good stuff!

[GraphicMatt]

11:44 AM on 12/01/2010

Talented regae artist and a sense of humor...such a catch, oy. : )