Bring-A-Friend Days

During our past two weekday sessions, our JQuest students were allowed to bring a friend who doesn't attend our school with them, and quite a few of our Edot students took us up on the offer. For most of the session, we joined the students and their friends from the Shira and Y'tzira tracks, and together we shared the Hanuka story and its celebration. By the time each day's session was over, our friends had learned a bit about the historical events the holiday commemorates, and how we celebrate it today.

We began each session in the Beit Knesset, where everyone put on a name tag and then listened as I read a very brief summary of the historical events of the holiday.

During each session, Rabbi Greninger joined us for a few minutes, in order to welcome the friends.

Once I had finished reading the summary of the story, we divided everyone into 4 groups. Each was assigned to create a skit depicting one fourth of the Hanuka story that I had just read. We asked that the skit take about 2 minutes to perform, and also added in a "twist." Each group was assigned to perform its part of the story using a well-known American or English set of characters to portray it - a different set of characters for each group. Once each group performed its skit, the audience was asked to guess which set of characters they portrayed.

The four groups went to four different rooms and were guided by either a teacher or T.A. as they put together the skit. We devoted 20 minutes to this part of the activity. By 4:40, we had all gathered back in the Beit Knesset, to enjoy the performances. And enjoy them we did!

The first group was assigned to use characters you would find in an American Western film:

The second group shared their part of the Hanuka story in the style of a Star Wars movie:

For the third part, we asked the group to present it in the style of a Harry Potter film:

And finally, we were treated to the last part of the story by a set of Disney characters:

Most of the skits lasted far less than 2 minutes, but that's OK. When each group had completed its performance and the audience had guessed which characters they were using to tell the story, I asked the group to perform the skit two or three times again, each time faster than before. So if their initial skit took a minute to perform, they then had to perform it in 30 seconds, then 15 seconds. This is where everyone really had a good time - both the performers and the audience. Best of all, friends who came to JQuest had a chance to meet and interact with other friends, as well as with other JQuest students.

With only half an hour left before our Hanuka assembly in the Sanctuary, each track went back to its own classroom for more fun and games. In our Edot classroom, we played the dreydl game, using Starburst candies to ante into the pot (and eating a few as the game progressed!).

Everyone received a dreydl that they could take home with them (along with their Starburst candies). We have a very impressive group of dreydl spinners - our students were sharing their tricks with their friends who proved to be very quick studies!

Below are some shots my TA's captured of what Hanuka fun looks like!

Some students decided to try some other Hanuka games I had in the classroom - here, the game of Hanuka Concentration is being played - having to match up pictures of Hanuka items or stories with the English description.

And a Hanuka version of the "Where's Waldo?" books was very popular.

You have to find the five Hanuka objects pictured in the large, white Hanukiya somewhere on the page its on or on the opposite page. Definitely a challenge!

Seemingly within the blink of an eye, it was time for us to pack up the candy and dreydls and go up to the Sanctuary for a Hanuka assembly of all the 3rd-6th grade classes. Each day, the assembly began with a rousing rendition of a Hanuka song. Below, we're singing "Oh Hanuka" led by our music director, Ben, Rabbi Greninger, and our Teva teacher, Jojo:

Once we were all settled and in a fine Hanuka mood, Rabbi Greninger shared certain features of our Sanctuary with friends, and also asked them to volunteer something new they had learned about Hanuka during the session. Almost all the friends raised their hands to volunteer.

Then it was time to light the Hanuka candles and chant the blessings - one candle on Tuesday evening, the first night of Hanuka and two candles on Wednesday evening. As soon as the candles were lit and the blessings chanted, we immediately began singing "Ma'oz Tzur" ("Rock of Ages"), which is traditionally sung after the candles are lit each night.

With a final song, "S'vivon, Sov Sov Sov," ("Dreydl, Spin, Spin, Spin"), we ended the assembly just in time for dismissal. Thus ended two very, very successful "Bring-A-Friend" days at JQuest. This also marks the end of our first semester, and the start of our winter break.

 CHAG HA'URIM SAME'ACH! (HAPPY FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS!)

AND A VERY HAPPY AND HEALTHY 2018!

The "Americanization" of Hanuka

Yesterday, we talked about how Jews living around the world in different edot (Jewish Diaspora communities) frequently borrow aspects of the majority culture around them then give them a "Jewish twist," in order to create new customs for celebrating Jewish holidays. This is certainly true for the American Jewish community. In order to bring home the message to the students, I shared 8 short YouTube videos relating to the Hanuka story and our celebration traditions for the holiday. As we watched each video, I asked the students to look for any aspects of our American culture which we have borrowed in order to celebrate this Jewish holiday. As it turns out, we have borrowed much from the American culture around us!

Below are the links to the videos, witnesses to the "Americanization" of what was once a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar - Hanuka.  As you watch them, keep in mind that the one Jewish law relating to Hanuka that all Jews living around the world must observe is to light the candles and oil and to "make famous the miracle." According to this Rabbinic law (halacha, in Hebrew), this should be achieved by setting the Hanuka menorah (hanukiya) where people passing by can easily see it. How far we've come in the U.S. from that simple rule!

Maccabeat's "Candlelight"  

Hanuka with Veronica Monika     

Adam Sandler's Hanuka Song     

Adam Sandler's 4th Hanuka Song   

Maccabeat's "A Hamilton Hanuka"   

"Twas the Night Before Hanuka"     

"Elf Yourself"    

And finally, since we were about to go up to the Sanctuary to practice the dance steps for the Hanuka FlashMob dance that many of our JQuest families will be participating in next Sunday afternoon at the Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek, I thought it would be interesting to share a flashmob Hanuka dance performed in 2009 on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem by new American immigrants to Israel.

Hanuka Flashmob in Jerusalem     

REMEMBER THAT THIS TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY ARE "BRING-A-FRIEND" TO JQUEST DAYS!

The Real Miracle of Hanuka

During our past two weekday sessions, we focused on the "real" miracle of Hanuka. We've all grown up with the "miracle of the oil" story, which explains the purpose of the Hanukiya and the 8 candles of Hanuka, as well as the custom of Jews all over the world to prepare foods fried in oil. But this is a story that doesn't appear in the ancient Jewish texts we have that describe the events leading to the creation of this holiday - the two Books of the Maccabees - which were not even included in the canonized version of the Hebrew Bible.

Instead, we find a description of this miracle of the oil that lasted for 8 days when it only should have lasted for one, in the Shabbat Tractate of the Gemara portion of the Talmud (page 21b), in a few short sentences written down by the Rabbis of that era about 600 years after the events of the Hanuka story took place.

Why would our Rabbis want to erase the national memory of the bloody civil war that was waged for almost a decade between the followers of the Maccabees and those Jews (mostly the priests and nobles) who admired the Greek culture of the Syrian-Greek empire surrounding them, and wanted to curry favor in the eyes of those who ruled Judea (ancient Israel) in those days? Why would they want to create a new national memory that "not by might and not by power, but by spirit alone will we live in peace?" The questions themselves make it fairly obvious.

By the time the "miracle of the oil" was created and written down, the Jewish People had been invaded by Rome (about 100 years following the Maccabean Revolt), and again we fought bloody wars against ourselves as well as against our enemy. But this time the ending was very different than in the Maccabean era. The Romans defeated us, destroyed the Second Temple, and ultimately exiled us from our land. And this time, unlike after the Babylonian Exile about 500 years before, there would be no king who conquered our enemy and allowed us to return to our homeland.

The lesson the Talmudic era Rabbis took from these historic events, as well as from the fact that we had become a Diaspora nation following the Roman conquest, was that we should never resort to violence and war to preserve our national identity. Instead, the "real miracle" is that we learned that we can preserve our national identity and culture even as we live peacefully within majority cultures all over the world.

This is the very reason why the edot (the Jewish Diaspora communities) survived and even thrived as they borrowed much from the majority cultures around them. And this is why the Rabbis insisted that we "make famous the miracle" by putting our hanukiyot (Hanuka menorahs) on a window sill or other setting where as many people as possible can see it. The burning oil or candles symbolize the fact that as long as we educate our coming generations of who we are, where we came from, and what our national purpose is (to become partners with God to create a just world), we will continue to be the oldest surviving nation on Earth. The Jewish People are the ultimate optimists. As RAMBAM (Moses Ben Maimon, a/k/a Maimonides) wrote about a thousand years ago, "I believe with complete faith in the coming of the Messiah. And though he tarry, even so I believe." Naomi Shemer, a famous Israeli poet and songwriter wrote, "Tomorrow...every person will build with his two hands what he dreamed of today."

So when we light the first Hanuka candle this coming Tuesday evening and watch the flame as it burns bright, it's OK to think about the "miracle of the oil" (and certainly to share it with younger children), but only if we never forget the "real miracle of Hanuka," and teach it to our children when they're old enough to understand.

In order to share all of the above with my edot students, we watched parts of an A&E "Mysteries of the Bible" episode, titled "The Maccabees: Revolution and Redemption." I showed the beginning up to minute 9:32 which provides the background history leading up to the Maccabean Revolt, then skipped ahead to where they described the actual events of the Hanuka story - minutes 17:43 to 21:00, and finally ended with minutes 36:38 to the end, which discusses the "real miracle of Hanuka."

Hanuka-Around-the-World

We focused our attention during our Sunday session yesterday on Hanuka traditions from around the world. During our previous weekday session, we discussed the difference between "halacha" and "masoret" (see previous post). Today we learned about Hanuka traditions practiced in eight different edot (Jewish Diaspora communities). After I shared these traditions with the class, we divided up and each student or pair of students designed a poster illustrating one of these traditions.

Step 1 - set down your ideas for how to illustrate the tradition on a piece of scrap paper.

Some students had so many ideas, it was necessary to add "editing" in as Step 1A.

 Once the ideas were in place and agreed upon, it was time to choose the color poster board that would best serve the illustration, and begin to execute the ideas on it.

My two very creative and capable TA's, Ella and Kyra, were a great help when ideas were needed on which materials would best suit the illustration.

In case it's hard to count the candles upside down, there are 24 of them in each row on this poster, and Callen still isn't finished - just resting his painting arm!

As focused as each student was on the poster, there was still plenty of time to schmooze and catch up on the latest.

Below are the finished posters and a description of each illustrated custom:

 

EIGHT TIMES EIGHT - Many Persians practiced the religion of Zoroastrianism going back to ancient days. In this religion, the number 8 is a symbol of perfection. Jews living in Persia (modern-day Iran) adopted the belief in this symbol of perfection, and instead of lighting just one hanukiya each holiday, light 8 hanukiyot each day, so that on the 8th night of Hanuka they light 64 candles - the ultimate symbol of perfection (8 x 8).

COLLECTING WICKS - In Yemen, a custom arose among Arab children of collecting wicks for oil lamps from their neighbors and friends for a week, just prior to the winter. Jewish children adopted this tradition, and associated it with the Hanuka holiday, using the wicks they collected for their hanukiyot.

PINATA DREYDL - A common custom for many celebrations in Mexico is to hang a pinata filled with toys and sweets on a tree limb outdoors, then blindfold children and have them swing a stick, trying to break open the pinata. Jewish children adopted this custom, and on each of the 8 days of Hanuka, a huge, dreydl-shaped pinata is hung up, filled with candies and coins. Children must try to break it open while they are blindfolded.

HANUKA GELT - During the Middle Ages, Christians in Lithuania and the Ukraine handed out gold or silver coins to neighbors and friends at Christmas time. Jews living in these eastern European countries (and later in Poland and Russia as well), adopted this custom, and gave gold or silver coins to their children as rewards for successfully studying Hebrew and Torah. During the 1700's, this custom became associated with Hanuka, as well as with education.

EGGSHELL HANUKIYOT - In Kurdistan (northern Iraq), people were very poor, and couldn't afford special ritual objects. Jews there were no different. On Hanuka, for example, eggshells were used as the oil holder cups for the hanukiya.

BONFIRE OF WICKS - In Morocco, Jewish children are sent out on the 8th night of Hanuka to collect from neighbors and friends all leftover oil and wicks. That night, giant bonfires are created using these leftovers, and people sing and dance around the bonfire until the sun rises.

DOUBLE-DECKER HANUKIYOT - In Alsace (in France), families use "double-decker" hanukiyot, 8 candles on each of the two levels. Each level has its own shamash (servant candle) as well. This way, parents and children can light the candles together on the same hanukiya.

HANUKIYA MEZUZA - Jewish families in Tunisia, in North Africa, hang up their hanukiyot each year on the doorpost opposite the one on which their mezuza hangs. They light the candles each of the 8 nights while it hangs on the doorpost. They keep the hanukiya hanging there until Purim, about 3 months later.

After tefillah, when the students had all gone home, I created a "Hanuka-Around-the-World" bulletin board in the hallway. I tried to design it as a large hanukiya, with each of the 8 posters representing a Hanuka candle, and the flame in the middle representing the shamash (servant candle). Below are two views of it:

Now that we have learned about different Hanuka traditions from around the world, it's time to step back into our time machine and learn about the history of this Jewish national holiday and the historical roots of these traditions. We'll be doing exactly that during our upcoming weekday sessions.