Foreign influences on modern Jewish culture are nothing new to us. We did, after all, spend millennia wandering the Earth. Still, sometimes the path of a piece of music can be extremely unpredictable. This is the story of a Hanukkah song which began as something entirely different, created in another world, before eventually developing into an Israeli children’s favorite.
Celebrating Hanukkah in Times of Danger
The light of the Hanukkah candles shining through our windows is one of the most important aspects of the holiday, symbolizing the triumph of light over darkness. Yet, there have been moments in Jewish history when even lighting candles posed a danger to Jewish communities around the world. Over the centuries, how have Jews coped when the simple act of lighting the menorah put them at risk?
A Jewish Game of Thrones: The Bloody Tragedy of the Hasmonean Dynasty
We think we know them from the story of Hannukah and its miracles, but the heroic victory of Judah the Maccabee was just the prologue to the broader story of the Hasmonean Kingdom – a story that begins with a single family’s dream of an independent Judea, continues with military and political glory papering over deep internal rot, and ends with destruction and the death of a beautiful queen at the hands of her husband
The Woman Who Ignited the Hasmonean Rebellion
Very few know her story. It isn’t taught in schools and certainly not in kindergartens, but according to the midrash, Hannah, daughter of Matityahu, sister of the Maccabees, was a key figure in the Hanukkah story. What does the midrash tell us of the woman who stood up to protect her Jewish sisters? How did she use her wedding day to spark the fire of rebellion in her brothers?
Hannah Senesh’s Hanukkah
In December of 1933, a 12-year-old Hannah Senesh composed a Hanukkah poem that concluded with the words: “These candles encourage us at every turn, fear not Israel, the time is yet to come.”
Banishing the Nazi Darkness: Who Are the Father and Daughter in This 1941 Hanukkah Photo?
Europe was cloaked in darkness during Hanukkah of 1941. With war raging on all fronts, the Jews of British Mandate Palestine did their part in the fight against the Nazis. A picture postcard featuring a Jewish soldier in the British Army and his daughter was meant to warm the hearts of Jewish soldiers serving around the world. But one question remains – who are they?
Girls’ Day: Celebrating Girl Power During Hanukkah!
This is the story of a holiday that originated in the Jewish communities of North Africa and the Middle East and its revival here in Israel
8 Nights, 8 Treasures, 8 Languages
Join us for a Hanukkah video journey across cultures and time, featuring treasures from the National Library of Israel!
Salvation from 500 Drunken Killer Elephants: The Other Maccabee Story
A different kind of redemption from Greek tyranny
Latkes, Hanukkah Donuts and the Head of Holofernes
What did Jews eat on Hanukkah throughout the generations? When did the sufgania come along? And what were latkes made of before potatoes reached Europe in the 16th century?
