Shedding a Little Light on Hanukkah

It may seem that Hanukkah is a difficult holiday to schedule, since it shifts between dates in November and December, depending on the year. But as Rabbi Yakoz Latowicz explained, the holiday actually falls on the same day every year.

If this sounds confusing it is because Hanukkah always falls on the 25th day of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar, which follows the lunar cycle. It has been on that day for more than 2,000 years. Which means that Hanukkah, which begins this year on Friday evening, moves around on the 12-month secular solar calendar.

Each year, the Hebrew calendar has 11 days more than the secular calendar. So, every three years that adds up to an extra month. This year is such a year and is called a leap year, said Latowicz of Chabad of Ventura.

That is why Hanukkah comes so early in December this year. Next year, it will begin on Dec. 22.

“It is a biblical commandment given to the people of Israel to calculate the calendar according to the moon. The moon is a reminder of the Jewish people’s divine role in history. The moon seems on the brink of disappearing before it returns,” Latowicz said.

Latowicz does not mind that Hanukkah falls early in the month this year because the timing separates it from the Christmas season, and makes what he called the “December dilemma” easier for Jewish children as they come to understand their own beliefs and find their own identity.

Cari Bistrow, administrator of Temple Adat Elohim of Thousand Oaks, remembers celebrating Hanukkah as a child and said it was a wonderful family experience full of tradition no matter where it fell on the calendar.

“I love Hanukkah. It is not one of our most important holidays, but I love celebrating the holiday with my family,” she said.

To this day, she loves to gather with relatives and eat potato latkes, a fried pancake, and jelly doughnuts, Bistrow said.

Other family traditions include lighting a menorah and listening to the scriptures that describe the miracle that began Hanukkah.

The incident, said Latowicz, was said to have taken place about 165 B.C., when the Syrian Greeks took over Jerusalem and outlawed the Jewish religion. They would not let the Jews worship their God through prayer, they destroyed the temples and replaced them with pagan ones. The strong, well-trained Greek army outnumbered the Jews. So, the Jews fled to the mountains to live and worship in freedom. When the army followed them to the mountains, a group of Jewish rebels began to organize and fight back.

“A handful of brave, makeshift, outnumbered soldiers won over seasoned warriors. That was a miracle. They recaptured Jerusalem and rededicated the temple,” Latowicz said.

But, everything had been destroyed and contaminated. They needed pure olive oil to light a sacred lamp. One sealed jar was discovered.

“It was a miracle that one jar was found. It was only enough for one day but to their surprise the lamp kept burning for eight days. It was a sign of God. God was with them,” Latowicz said.

Every year since that miracle, he said, the Jews have celebrated Hanukkah.