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December 26, 2005
Hanukkah: Doz kandelikas.
All Chanukkah entries can be found here.
Chanukah 101 - for visitors who need a basic orientation.
This menorah was lit in Saddam's former throne room in 2003. It was transported to Baghdad by lawyer Carole Basri, whose great-grandfather was Baghdad’s chief rabbi.
“Hanukiah with Pomegranates,” which stands 14 inches high and has candleholders in the form of the ripe, seeded fruit, was made for the occasion by Oded Halahmy, a Baghdad-born sculptor who works in Soho and Old Jaffa.Two Hanukkah themes in the capture of Saddam.
More in the extended entry.
Some upscale recipes for the holiday
The Hanukkah brochas and some songs.
Hanerot Hallalu - in case the power goes out and you want to finish the newspaper . . .
The story of the Maccabees: The original texts, translated into English, and the Talmud passage on the story about the oil lasting for eight days. Timeline for the building and destruction of the second Temple.
More on the politics of the Maccabean era:
The historical reality is murky, refracted as it is through the political and religious agendas of First and Second Maccabees (books relating the Hanukkah story that the rabbis chose not to include in the Hebrew Bible). Because of this ambiguousness, both interpretations have some legitimacy, and later commentators choose the one most consonant with their own needs and goals. For example, readers who have personally experienced anti-Semitism may identify Mattathias as a hero who was loyal to his religious identity in the face of an anti-Semitic Greek civilization. On the other hand, civil libertarians may judge the Maccabees less generously, criticizing their infringement on the civil rights of their coreligionists [the latter of whom may also have treated those belonging to the Maccabean party in a similar manner].
Naomi Chana on political spin in the “Al ha-nissim” prayer.Judith | 12/26/05 at 06:38 PM | Categories: - Holy Days
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