Chanukah rituals: When you light the menorah, recite two blessings (three on the first night, to include the She-hecheyanu). As you light the candles, recite Ha-Neirot ha- lalu ("These lights"). After lighting, many sing the traditional hymn, Maoz Tzur ("Mighty Rock"). Chanukah candles may not be used for any purpose other than looking at them. So it's not proper to use their light to read, light a cigarette or other candles, etc. To avoid using the Chanukah lights, it's customary to include an extra, ninth light, called the shamash (or service light), so that if we acci- dentally use the Chanukah lights, we can rely on the shamash as the source of light. Most Chanukah menorahs have a holder for the shamash, which is placed higher or lower than the other candles. The shamash is lit first and is then used to light the Chanukah candles. Each day during Chanukah, the morning prayer service includes the recitation of the Hallel prayer. Torah portions from Numbers chapter 7, describing how the Jewish people dedicated the tabernacle and altar in the wilderness after the exodus from Egypt, also are read. In the morning, afternoon and eve- ning services, insert the paragraph of Al Ha-Nisim ("For the miracles") into the Sh'moneh Esrei (Amidah) prayer and include it with birkat ha-mazon (grace after meals). Do not recite the Tachanun penitential prayer. Chanukah is the only Jewish holiday that coincides with Rosh Chodesh (the celebration of a new month), which in this case is the month of Tevet. On that day, an extra Torah portion is read. In many congregations it is cus- tomary in the morning service to recite Psalm 30: Mizmor shir cha- nukat ha-bayit le-David ("A psalm for the dedication of the Temple, by David"). On Shabbat, a special Haftorah, describing a heavenly golden menorah, is read. Chanukah customs: While the Chanukah candles are burning, household chores are not performed. And who hasn't sung the song about the little dreidel made of clay? The dreidel is a spinning game using a top with four Hebrew letters: nun, gimel, hei (pei in Israel), and shin. The letters stand for the first words in the Hebrew phrase, Nes gadol haya po (in Israel: "A great miracle hap- pened here").or outside of Israel, Nes gadol haya sham ("A great miracle happened there"). Children play for candy, nuts or pennies, taking from or adding to the pot depending on which letter the dreidel lands. To commemorate the miracle of the oil, it's traditional to eat foods cooked in oil. Most Jews whose ancestors came from central or eastern Europe eat potato pancakes known in Yiddish as latkes. Why potato? In the winter months, pota- toes kept well and were plentiful and filling. Jews from different countries have their own latke traditions: Polish Jews like them sprinkled with sugar and served with tea, Russian Jews make them with onions and dollop them with sour cream, German Jews like them with applesauce. Mediterranean Jews prepare doughnuts, known in Hebrew as sufganiot which, in Israel, are filled with jelly. The story of Judith and Holophernes also is associated with Chanukah. Judith was a beautiful Jewish widow (some regard her as the sister of Judah Maccabee) who goes into an army camp about to invade the land of Israel and ingrati- ates herself with the commanding general, Holophernes. She gives him milk to drink, which makes him sleepy. After he is sound asleep, Judith cuts off his head, his army disperses and Israel is saved. For this reason, some eat dairy foods on Chanukah. In the United States, some Jews exchange presents on the holiday — but this is a custom copied from Christmas and has nothing to do with the Chanukah narrative. 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Menorahs come in all styles and sizes, and while no rule governs what a menorah should look like, the rabbis emphasized that it should be designed in such a way that an observer can easily tell which day of Chanukah it is by glancing at the candles — which is why traditional menorahs have candle holders in a straight line. If someone cannot find or afford a standard menorah, he or she can place candles in individual cups in a row. JEWISH WOMEN'S YOUR CAMP CLEANING SPECIALISTS Dry Cleaning Shirts on Laundry Hangers Services $250* (plain only) *250 discount w/coupon only 99 (NO LIMIT) Available 248-489-0953 1692640 December 15 • 2011 55