People
What does the acronym: MaCaBI stand for?
"Mi Kamocha Ba'Eilim Hashem!" - "Who is like you amongst the mighty, Hashem?"
rallying cry for the Maccabim.
When does Chanukah begin?
25th Kislev
On what side of the doorway is the Menorah placed?
On the left side, opposite the Mezuzah.
What game traditionally is played on Chanukah? And what do the letters stand for?
Dreidel
Nun - Nes
Gimmel - Gadol
Hei - Haya
Pei - Po / Shin - Sham
"a great miracle happened here/there"
Which main three Mitzvos were outlawed by the Greeks?
Shabbos
Rosh Chodesh (Jewish calendar)
Bris Milah
What are the two opinions as to how to light Chanukah candles, and whose opinions are they?
Who do we follow today?
Beis Hillel - every night of Chanukah we add another candle.
Beis Shammai - with begin with 8 lights on the first night, and light one less flame each night.
Today we follow Beis Hillel - keep adding the light!
(When Moshiach comes we will follow Beis Shammai)
Second Beis HaMikdosh
When should we light the Menorah on erev Shabbos?
What is traditionally given to children on Chanukah, and why?
Gelt (money), to further the Chinuch (education = same root as Chanukah) of the children, and educating them about the importance of Tzedakah and Maaser.
Another reason: after their victory over the Greeks, the Maccabim minted a new coin to celebrate their new independence they had fought so hard for.
What tribe did Yehudah HaMaccabee belong to?
Levi (he and his brothers and father were all Kohanim)
Name Matisyahu's five sons, who led the Maccabim.
What was their family called?
Eliezer
Shimon
Yochanan
Yonasan
Yehudah
They were the Chashmonaim
What night of Chanukah is considered extra special?
Why?
What do many people have a custom to do on this night?
- 5th
- Finally we have more light than dark, majority of the candles are lit.
- Chanukah parties, give extra gelt
What should we / shouldn't we do, while the candles are burning?
Should: sit and watch them for minimum half an hour (that's one of the reasons we sing/play dreidel, etc near the menorah)
Should not: use them for light. Work while they are burning (particularly women)
What two food is it traditional to eat on Chanukah?
Why?
Food fried in oil - to remember the miracle that occurred with the oil of the Menorah burning for 8 days and nights.
Dairy foods - to remember the meal Yehudis fed the Greek general before she decapitated him in his sleep, saving the Jewish nation.
What does the word "Chanukah" mean? Why is it used for this holiday?
Inauguration or Dedication.
Refers to the fact that the Maccabim rededicated the Mizbeach after they expelled the idol-worshipping Greeks from the Beis HaMikdosh.
1) Who was the Greek-Assyrian King in the time of the Chanukah story?
2) What was the name of the General who was killed by Yehudis?
3) How do you say Greece in Hebrew?
4) Who had 7 sons, all killed for not serving idols?
1) Antiochus
2) Helifornus
3) Yavan
4) Chana
Where in Tanach is Chanukah mentioned?
Where in Talmud is Chanukah mentioned?
It's not mentioned anywhere in Tanach (because the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah sealed the 24 books of Tanach about 200 years before the miracle of Chanukah!)
Unusually, it doesn't have its own Masechta in Talmud, it is only briefly mentioned in Masechet Shabbat.
1) What Brochos do we say before lighting the candles (first night and then all consecutive nights)?
2) What do we sing/say after we light the candles?
1) - Lehadlik ner shel chanukah
- sheasah nisim
- shehechiyanu (only first night)
2) - Haneiros Halalu
- many people have the minhag to also sing Maoz Tzur
How do you say Latkes in Hebrew?
How do you say Doughnuts in Hebrew and Yiddish?
how do you say Dreidel in Hebrew?
Latkes: Levivot
Doughnuts: Sufganiyot (heb), Ponchkes (yid)
Dreidel: sevivon
What is the tallest maximum height for a Chanukah Menorah?
20 amos = approximately 10 metres (3 storey building)
Who were the two main Greek Generals fighting against the Maccabim?
Nicanor and Gorgiash
Tekoa
What is the all-time longest possible Benching? Explain.
Shabbos Rosh Chodesh Teves.
It is still Chanukah, so we say Al HaNissim. Plus Retzei for Shabbos, and Yaaleh Veyavoh for Rosh Chodesh!
Which Chanukah food is recorded by Rambam's father (Maimon), as traditionally eaten on this yom tov?
Al Sfinj - the predecessor to the modern doughnut!
Who was the sister to the Chashmonaim? (According to Megillat Antiochus)
And how was she responsible for convincing her brothers to get up and fight back against the Greek oppressors?
Chana (not Chana and seven sons).
She was due to be married and convinced her brothers to go to war, because of the terrible law at the time of jus primae noctis, first night rights.
The law at the time required every Jewish woman to spend her first night as a married woman with the Greek governor. This decree went on for a while, causing many women to either not marry or to endure this horrible violation. On Chanah’s wedding night, she spiritedly persuaded her brothers to stand up for justice and to rid themselves of the depraved governor.
The Maccabees resolved to take on the Greeks, stormed the governor’s palace, killed him and wreaked havoc in his camp. This incident served as another spark that catapulted the already unsteady military situation into a full-on war