Minhogim of Chanuka

Every Jewish festival is filled with lots of minhogim. Chanuka is no exception. It has the lighting of the menorah, doughnuts, latkes and the dreidel. There is also a tradition to have dairy food. What lies behind these minhogim?

The Menorah

The central minhag is the lighting of the menorah on all eights nights of chanuka. It is in fact a rabbinical mitzva. There are three different levels, something we do not find by other mitzvos.

Doughnuts, latkes and dairy

The miracle of chanuka involved one jug of oil lasting for eight nights instead of one. Since oil is the focus, we even bring oil in our foods to remember this – namely doughnuts and latkes. Dairy foods on chanuka is to remember  the miracle that happened with Yehudis and courageously met the general and after making him drunk, cut off his head and escaped.

The dreidel

The dreidel is unusual in its shape and form. It has four sides with four letters and it is spun with its handle on top. The origin of this game is said to have come from the time of the chanuka story when the Greeks were oppressing the Jews to stop learning Torah. The Jews continued secretly learning and had the game of dreidel at hand to play when the Greeks appeared.

There is a deeper idea as seen in its shape with the spinning from the handle at the top. This is seen when contrasted with the gregor of Purim whose handle is held at the bottom. The miracle of Chanuka was a revealed and open miracle – the open hand guiding things from on top in Heaven (while the miracle of Purim was hidden and therefore the handle is at the bottom, guided through the mask of nature). (Bn’ei Yisocher)

The letters of the dreidel have two forms. One for the people inside Eretz Yisroel and one for everyone else. The letters are the first letters of the hebrew words – Nes Godol Hoye Shom/Poi, meaning that a big miracle happened here (for those living in Eretz Yisroel) or there (for those living elsewhere).