Spring Break
Hanukkah a time for festivities
Jennifer McLain
Daily Executive Editor
"It is a more informal holiday than the others," said Vanina Sandel, program director of Hillel of Silicon Valley, explaining that Jewish holidays, such as Passover during the spring and Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur in the fall are more intense and formal.
"(Hanukkah) is a very minor holiday," said Sandel, who recently moved to San Jose from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish holiday that starts on the 25th day of the Jewish month Kislev, which means that it could run as early as November but usually starts in December.
The holiday commemorates the historical victory of a very small army of Maccabees against the Syrian army invading Palestine in 165 B.C., Sue Maltiel, the executive director of Hillel of Silicon Valley, said.
"It is a celebration of religious freedom," she said.
Hanukkah is one of the few Jewish festivals that brings attention to the Jewish community, said Dylan Smeder, a member of the Jewish Student Union at San Jose State University. "It's telling the world that we're still here and that we're proud to be Jewish," Smeder said.
"Hanukkah is the only Jewish holiday where you have people saying, 'Look at me, I'm Jewish,' " Smeder said. While Hanukkah commemorates the victory, its rituals come out of a less historical but more miraculous story.
The miracle happened following the destruction of the Holy Temple in ancient Jerusalem. When the Jews returned to the temple, they found only enough oil to last one day, but when they lit the menorah, or holy candlestick, the candles lasted miraculously for eight days, Maltiel said.
For Sandel, the lights represent a very personal emotion.
"When we light the candles during the eight days, we increase the numbers of candles that are lit," she said. "It is like you make each day shine a little bit more as you light each candle. Each night there is more energy and more happiness."
Sandel, who will spend her first Hanukkah in the United States, said the celebration in Argentina is very different than in America, largely because it is more popular here than in Argentina.
"In Argentina, it is a small holiday. We don't emphasize giving gifts there, but we gather as a family," she said.
Sandel said because it is summer in Argentina when Hanukkah is commemorated, many of the students are on summer vacation.
"We miss the opportunity to celebrate with friends," she said. This Hanukkah she will spend the time with her friends in San Jose, she said.
Because Jews come from many different countries, Maltiel said, just like Christmas, there is no set way to celebrate Hanukkah.
She said it is common, however, for small gifts to be given each night to family members, such as chocolates or "gelt," Yiddish for money. But because of the commercialization of Christmas, Hanukkah in America has shifted, Maltiel said.
"In America, Hanukkah has become a big gift-giving holiday," she said.
Maltiel, who has also celebrated Hanukkah while in Israel, a Jewish state, said besides not hearing Christmas carols, there are several differences with how Hanukkah is celebrated there compared to in America.
"Most people live in apartments there, and you just see menorahs in all of the windows. It is beautiful in its simplicity," she said.
Maltiel said that she celebrates Hanukkah by lighting the menorah, which holds nine candles, representing a candle for each day and a "shamish," or "helper candle," which lights the other candles, Maltiel said.
Maltiel said during the time the menorah is lit they should not do any work. She said she also shares stories with her children that touch on such issues as freedoms and commitments.
Smeder, who does not consider himself religious, celebrates the Jewish holiday by spending time with his friends, light the menorah and play dreidel games, a game that often includes gambling with candy.
During Hanukkah, it is also traditional to eat oily food such as "latke," or potato pancakes, and "sufganiyot," or jelly donuts, he said.
"It is traditional to eat oily food to represent how the candles stayed lit for eight days," Smeder said.
At SJSU, the Jewish Student Union
will host "A Hanukkah House Party"
today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the
Paseo de Cesar Chavez. Smeder said
the event will have a 15-foot menorah
and it will be open to Jewish and
non-Jewish students alike. The Hillel
House, located at 336 E. William St.
will light the menorah each night during
Hanukkah at 6 p.m., Sandel said.
All members from the community are
invited to come, she said.
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