Question of the Week: In 1290, England offered an ulti
matum to its Jewish citizens: convert to Christianity or leave the
country. According to all known documents, how many chose
to convert?

Sweet
W
Sixteen

Elizabeth Applebaum
AppleTree Editor

Double the pleasure of

Chanukah's eight days with

these 16 unusual facts

1. Though Judah Maccabee was one
of the great military leaders in Jewish
history, no one really knows the mean-
ing of his name.

Pho to by WZPS/ Richard Nowitz

aoout the ho icay.

e've had a lotta latkes and
played with dizzying drei-
dels. Now it's time for a
bit of learning. Maybe you think you
already know all about Chanukah, but
we have some information below we
bet you didn't know. Get ready for 16
illuminating facts (take two for each
day) about the holiday.

2. Chanukah, along with Rosh
Hashanah, is a best seller for the coun-
try's largest greeting-card company,
Hallmark Cards Inc., based in Kansas
City, Mo. Hallmark sells more cards
for Chanukah and Rosh Hashanah
than any other Jewish holidays. But do
they sell Chanukah cards, or Hanukah
cards, or Hannukah cards? Whatever
you're looking for, you'll find it. To
accommodate preferences for the vari-
ous spellings of the holiday, Hallmark
produces cards that have the name
written many different ways.

3. Although today we are clear on
exactly how to light the Chanukah
candles, the Talmud recounts that the
schools of Hillel and Shammai were
quite divergent in their views on this
matter. The House of Shammai
argued that one should light eight
candles the first day, then decrease
with each day of Chanukah. On the
other hand, Hillel said that one
should light a single candle the first
day and increase each day thereafter
— of course, what we do today.

4. Judah Maccabee died near Elasa,
but don't look for it on a map; scholars
have yet to identify exactly where that
was. After Judah's death, his brothers
carried his body to the family tomb at
Modi'in, where he was buried. (Today,
Israeli families often celebrate the holi-
day by meeting at Modi'in to light
giant torches, which they take to vil-
lages throughout the country.)

5. During talmudic times, as a way

The British.parliament, donated a giant

menorah at the Knessei in Jerusalem.

of publicizing the miracle : the rabbis
recommended placing Chanukah
menorot at the entrance of the

house, directly opposite the
mezuzah. This tradition continued for

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