The Religious Affairs Office

WHAT IS HANUKKAH?

Hanukkah is a Jewish celebration that commemorates an historical event that took place in the 2nd century. Jewish leaders, then known as Maccabees, rose up in revolt against the prohibitions imposed upon them and against the orders to Hellenize their customs. The celebration lasts eight days, starting on the 25th day of the month of Kislew of the Jewish calendar, which usually falls around the second half of December.

The festival of Hanukkah also commemorates the recovery and purification of the Temple of Jerusalem and the miracle that occurred when the Maccabees, finding themselves without any fuel to light the temple’s oil lamps, providentially found a jar of pure olive oil, thanks to which they could carry on presenting their offerings.

It explains the Jewish story told in the Talmud about how, when they went back into the temple, the Maccabees found the sacred spot desecrated and the menorah no longer burning. Upon re-lighting it, they realised that they only had enough oil to keep the flame alive for one day. Although it took them eight days to get more oil, the flame continued to burn the entire eight days without once going out. The miracle of the lamps not going out despite there being no oil is what is commemorated during Hanukkah.

Jewish tradition directly relates the purity of the monotheistic cult to the purity of that olive oil which, with a small amount, miraculously allowed the candelabrum to be fed for eight consecutive days. The symbolism of olive oil is manifested in many other passages in the history of Judaism, especially related to the olive tree and its use in anointing and confirmation.

And this is why during Hanukkah eight small oil lamps on a nine-branched candelabrum called a hanukkiyah are progressively lit for the occasion. The candelabrum has eight branches all of the same height and a ninth branch that serves to keep the flame lit and to light the lamps on the other branches, which are lit on eight successive days. The eight branches allude to the eight days during which the flame continued to burn in the Temple of Jerusalem, despite there not being enough oil.

 

HOW IS HANUKKAH CELEBRATED?

The main event of the festival is the lighting of the hanukkiya’s oil lamps. Tradition says that a first lamp is lit on the evening of the first day of Hanukkah, the next day the second lamp and so on successively until all the hanukkiyah’s lamps are lit. The lamps of Hanukkah cannot be used as lighting, but must serve the purpose of remembering the miracle of the oil. So, the candelabra are usually placed near windows and doorways so that they can be seen by passers-by. During these eight days, Jewish children usually play dreidel, a game with a kind of four-sided spinning top with a Hebrew letter on each of the faces. They place bets using sweets and chocolate money, and the winner can eat the ones they have won from the others. Food fried in oil (which is as much a main feature of the festivities as the lamps) such as latkes, a fried pancake made of potato, and sufganiyots, doughnuts filled with jam, are also eaten during Hanukkah.

 

HANUKKAH BARCELONA

In Barcelona, ​​the Jewish communities celebrate this holiday in a family and community environment. However, every year since 2011, the Jewish community also holds a public event of commemoration in Plaça de Sant Jaume. The event consists of several parliaments and the traditional lighting of lamps.

 

LA COMUNITAT JUEVA A BARCELONA

Judaism has been present in the city since the Middle Ages, but its continuity was affected by different policies and persecutions. The Jewish community was active again in Barcelona from the 20th century. The Jewish communities in Barcelona represent all the main currents of Judaism (orthodox, reformist and progressive) and are an example of coexistence in the plurality and religious diversity in the city.