Travel Hanukkiah/Menorah Custom: From 18th Century Germany to Today's Apps

If you think today's apps for lighting Hanukkah candles while on the go is a modern invention, you're in for a big surprise. Yes, the Jewish Museum's Light My Fire app for the iPhone is very clever, as is Menorah for Android. But considering that we are a wandering people, Jews must have developed a travel Hanukkiah/Menorah custom way before hi-tech set in.

Sure enough, they did. Have a look at this 18th century German folding menorah. It's perfect for the merchant making many sales miles. 

What prompted me to investigate this custom is a beautiful travel Hanukkiah made by the late Josef Fleischmann, father of my friend Rochelle Treister. 

Josef Fleischmann hailed from Czechoslovakia, where at the age of 14 he apprenticed as a silversmith. Josef eventually married and began to build a family. The winds of war brought him to Canada in 1939 along with his wife and two sons. Apparently economic considerations forced him to pursue other professional avenues; still, he did not abandon his love for creating beautiful and unusual silver Judaica. So, when Rochelle turned to him to create a travel Hanukkiah after airport security took apart her bag because she had an old, battered long tin Hanukkiah inside, he was more than happy to activate his creative juices and golden hands.  This is what he came up with.

On the outside it looks like an elegant pressed powder case from days of yore.  Open it up, and voila!

A tidy travel version. No student, sales person or average traveler  could ask for more.

So...hmmmm....is there a way that you can make your next craft project a travel Hanukkiah?



Hanukkah Candles Photo Credit

Hanukkah Around the World at Temple Isaiah in Lafayette, California

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Charna Schakow via email. Charna is a teacher at Temple Isaiah in Lafayette, California. She is a teacher with a mission and that mission is to introduce her students to the different traditions of Jewish communities around the world.

That certainly is up my alley! I was delighted to find out that Charna is using my book Hanukkah Around the World as one of her references, as well as this blog. What particularly thrilled me is the poster project that Charna developed around different Hanukkah traditions.

For Charna's students, getting these posters together is a Hanukkah version of playing Beat the Clock. With the time ticking during a 45-minute lesson, the students are engaged and love every second. Kol Ha'Kavod!

How does Charna do it? Read all about it in her latest blog post. In the meantime, thanks to Charna I'm able to share some of the fabulous posters her students made and give you an idea for a different approach to a Hanukkah lesson -- if not this year, then next!  And don't forget, Passover is just 5 months away. My book Passover Around the World will help you adapt Charna's project idea to your Passover curriculum.

For now, presenting some of the posters made by Charna's students. Enjoy every one.

If you have a holiday project idea that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Start Your Own Dreidel Collection

Here's a custom that will get your head spinning -- giving yourself a new dreidel every year.

That's what I do. I love collecting unusual dreidels, so much so that I had a carpenter make this wood case for my collection. I've opened the door so you can have a peek, but let me show you a few of my favorites.

I adore this colorful dreidel. It looks like it could be the prototype for a home/class arts and crafts project.

In our house, Shabbat Hanukkah has a special spin, thanks to this dual purpose dreidel that also serves as a spice box. 

Speaking of combinations -- this is the best! An all-in-one Hanukkiah/dreidel/Hamsa, the latter for extra luck in playing dreidel. 

Salt and pepper shakers for the festive Thanksgiving/Hanukkah meal? A little bud vase for the table as well? Have a look at the trio on the second shelf.

But the dreidel with the best and longest spin?

You got it. Nothing beats the old fashion wood models on top. Which leads me back to an arts and crafts project suggestion: this year's wood dreidel model with a painted turkey motif. 

It's bound to be a collector's item! 

Another oldie but goodie? Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel. Have fun listening while you make this year's model.

From Cochin to Vancouver -- Candle Lighting Customs that Bridge Shabbat & Hanukkah

Wherever we look on the Jewish calendar we always seem to be lighting a candle or two. Shabbat candles, Havdallah candle, festival candles (e.g. Sukkot, Passover, Shavuot) and Hanukkah candles. Since Shabbat is our weekly mainstay for recharging our batteries (these days, that too is a source of light) and Hanukkah is just several weeks away, it's nice to know that some candle lighting customs bridge the two.

Less than a hundred years ago the Jews of Cochin maintained the custom of welcoming the Shabbat by lighting stone lamps called kallu vilakku located at the entrance of their homes. It wasn't the woman who lit the candle but the synagogue Gabbai. Using a torch lit from the Ner Tamid -- the Eternal Light hanging in front of the ark inside the synagogue -- he would go from house to house, lighting each lamp. What did a kallu vilakku look like? This is my hunch based on a Google search.

While this clearly is an adaptation of an Indian custom, it's the Jewish Cochin way of saying Hey, it's Shabbat!

I haven't found a Cochin Hannukiah that resembles the above, but let's examine the Hanukkiah lighting custom in the Israeli community of Meah Shearim, and as I've just discovered with this photo, the Jewish community in Vancouver.

The Hanukkiah is also found outside, positioned near the home's entrance. This custom is found in the Talmud (Shabbat 21b) where it is stated that Hanukkah lights should be placed outside the doorway of the house. In other words, a way of announcing Hey, it's Hanukkah!

My question to you: Where are you going to light candles on Shabbat Hanukkah and how are you going to connect the two?

My craft suggestion: In addition to the Hanukkiah usually made in class or at home, how about making two clay oil lamps for Shabbat candles?

Any other suggestions? Send me an email and I'll post it.


Shabbat Candles photo credit
Hanukkah candles photo credit
Kallu Vilakku photo credit
Vancouver Hanukkiah photo credit

For North African Jews the 7th Hanukkah Candle Marks the Beginning of the Daughters Festival

Who says that Hanukkah is only about miracles and heroes? This holiday is marked by heroines as well, which is why North African Jews have tapped the 7th night of Hanukkah as the beginning of Chag Ha'Banot --  the Daughters Festival.

While in the West the story of Hannah and her seven sons is a favorite tale attached to Hanukkah, Jews coming from Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco place the focus on Judith. The Heroine of the Book of Judith -- a book in the Apocrypha bearing the same status as the Book of Maccabees -- Judith single- handedly saved her people by killing Holofernes, the Assyrian general determined to destroy Judith's home town of Bethulia. Her victory is associated with the Maccabean revolt, to the point that she is depicted on many medieval menorahs.

The North African tradition of Chag Ha'Banot coincides with Rosh Chodesh Tevet. It's a logical combination since traditionally, Rosh Chodesh is a holiday associated with women. The difference is that while Rosh Chodesh originally marked a mini-rest from household chores, Chag Ha'Banot has a host of customs associated with it: mothers give their daughters gifts; mothers also go to synagogue to kiss the Torah and pray for the health of their daughters; it's also a time of reconciliation between girls at odds with each other, and a time for women old and young to come together and hold a joint celebration -- usually a feast marked by cheese dishes because legend has it that Judith fed Holofernes salty cheese that made him thirsty enough to consume huge quantities of wine, fall asleep and get beheaded (by Judith of course).

What to do with these customs in practical, contemporary terms? In addition to putting women on an equal heroic footing, personally I like the idea of reconciliation, especially in this day and age of school bullying.

Here's another suggestion from my son Avihai -- a wordplay that ties in nicely with reconciliation. Take the Hebrew words Habanot (daughters) and Havanot (understanding). Spelled in Hebrew without vowels they look identical -- הבנות. Clearly, reconciliation is the big winner of this celebration.
Chag Ha'Banot Sameach!


P.S. For Jewish trivia lovers, Hanukkah is the only holiday that takes place during two different months. It starts in Kislev and ends in Tevet.

Girls Hugging Photo Credit

Photo Credit: Painting of Judith beheading Holofernes

There's No "December Dilemma" If You Adopt & Adapt This Hanukkah Custom From Gibraltar

I will admit that the phrase "December Dilemma" is new to me. It's the type of disconnect that happens after living 35 years in Israel. I first heard it two weeks ago from a friend in Rockville, Maryland, explaining how her synagogue's sisterhood invited a speaker to talk on the topic. My initial reaction was clever copywriting, but since that conversation I've seen the phrase appear in several articles.

Gift giving seems part and parcel of the "December Dilemma." Why feel that you have to keep up with the Christmas stocking? This year give the gift of light every night by adapting a Hanukkah custom from Gibraltar.  While it calls for lighting one Menorah using wicks and oil for the entire family, the best part is reciting a different phrase every night from Tehilim that connects with light.

How does this solve the "December Dilemma?" Here are my thoughts. Let kids earn their gifts. Turn them into Bible detectives and ask them to find a different source each night using the word light. Try this for a jump start: go to the book of Genesis and Let there be light.


Want an American connection as well? That's simple and it's even Jewish.


Our lady of liberty represents a guiding light to freedom -- a wonderful tie-in to the story of the Maccabees.

And what about the famous poem connected to the Statue of Liberty?
It may not actually use the word light, but the concept is embedded in its words. The Jewish connection? Emma Lazarus, of course. While today she is famous for her poem "The New Colossus," during her lifetime she was known for her work "Songs of a Semite." It was written after experiencing a reawakening of her Jewish heritage. Something to contemplate this year while "battling" the "December Dilemma".

Happy Hanukkah!

Hanukkah Candles Photo Credit
Statue of Liberty Photo Credit

This Hanukkah, Create Your Own Olive Oil Custom

Customs are not written in stone. They evolve. Over the past two years I've covered numerous Hanukkah customs from Jewish communities around the world: Hanukkah pinatas from Mexico, the Hassidic custom of the rebbe playing his violin on Hanukkah,  the origins of Hanukkah Gelt and more.
Now I've decided it's time to develop a new custom -- home-made olive oil for lighting the Hannukiah. I've even found a Youtube video created by ChallahCrumbs to help you get started.

Why olive oil? because it's a great way to connect kids with the Bible, Israel, and of course Hanukkah. For starters, how about the olive leaf that the dove brought back to Noah signaling that the flood had abated? The olive branch was the world's first peace offering.

Next: olives are one of the seven species.
Hmm...that could spark a whole discussion on agriculture in Israel past and present, plus serve as a segue to environmental protection. Then we have the uses of olives and olive oil in Biblical times: as a sacrifice, a cooking condiment, a medical ointment, a way for anointing priests and kings, and of course a means for creating light.  Which of course leads us to the Hanukkah miracle.

Sound oil right to you?





Olive oil photo credit 
Olives photo credit

Hanukkah is Called Januca in Mexico

Yup. The census people are right -- Latinos are the fastest growing ethnic group in America. On my recent author tour to the United States, Spanish was in the air, everywhere. So, Hola everybody. This week I'm going to take you to Mexico, where Hanukkah is called Januca, and where our traditional dreidel game has a twin counterpart called Toma Todo or La Pirinola.

Mexican Jews know how to give Hanukkah a fun spin. No latkes or sugar doughnuts for them.  They eat a homemade favorite called bimuelos -- fried fritters drenched in either sugar or syrup (yes, you can forget a heathy diet on Hanukkah) -- or corn dough balls with marmalade inside. Ooo...so many sticky fingers make for lots of laughs. But the real fun begins with making a dreidle shaped pinata and ends with banging it apart (as seen in this photo) and treated to a shower of sweets and toys.
Need I say more about Hanukkah party ideas?
O.K. One more.
Since Spanish is America's second language, sneak in a little Hanukkah lesson in Spanish while you're breaking the dreidel pinata.
Feliz Januca. Happy Hanukkah everybody.


Photo Credit

Connecting Hanukkah with an Important Jewish Value

Ever since we were strangers in the land of Egypt, we Jews have been taught to always accept the other in our midst. The term other is a broad one, encompassing more than community newcomers. It incudes the needy, all types of handicapped people, as well as emotionally and mentally challenged individuals.

As the mother of a challenged son I know up close that the fight to be accepted is an uphill battle. That's why when Nicole Katzman -- the mother of an autistic boy -- told me of the unpleasant situations she was exposed to and asked me to co-author a book on an autistic child, I identified with her plight and picked up the baton. I knew she was right when she said the Jewish community needs a book like this. The issue was finding the right peg for a story that would speak to children and adults alike. The minute I discovered that in previous years her son blew out the Hanukkah candles, I yelled out "BINGO!"

This Hanukkah I urge you to read my new book Nathan Blows Out the Hanukkah Candles to your children and students. Use this compelling story as the opening for a discussion on how to accept challenged children into your midst. It's the miracle they are waiting for and it will light up their lives.

You can purchase this unusual Hanukkah story through Kar-Ben's online bookstore, Amazon,  B&N, other online bookstores, or ask your local Judaica store.

Wishing you a meaningful Hanukkah.
Tami

Photo Credit

Wonderful Italian Custom Connecting Tisha B’Av with Hanukkah

How can we take a traumatic event and give it a hopeful spin? Ask Italian Jews and they’ll give you the answer. Next week when you read Eicha – Lamentations – on Tisha B’Av in your synagogue by candlelight, don’t throw out the candle when you’ve finished the reading and blown it out. Take it home, wrap it up and store it in a safe place. Come Hanukkah, remove the candle from its wrapping and use it as the Shamash candle for lighting your Hanukkiah candles. What’s the logic behind this custom? On Tisha B’Av we mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple, but on Hanukkah we celebrate its rededication. Italian Jews use the candle to close the circle and to end Tisha B’Av on an optimistic note. Learning from history never hurts and in these tumultuous times an upbeat message is exactly what we need.
Have an easy fast…Tami