27th of Kislev, 5784-- Third Day of חנוכה-- December 10th, 2023

Question of the Day: There’s a blessing for lighting חנוכה candles. Two, in fact.   Why isn’t there a blessing on giving or opening chanukah gifts?

And oh look, it's that ancient practice of Judaism, something all Jews do, the placing of the... Hanukkah.... gnomes?   

Meanwhile, this is a new take on something authentic:  https://majorleaguedreidel.com/

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/hanukkah-american-style/

IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THESE DREIDELS?

THE MESSAGE IN A COIN

Below: One Perutah coin from the time of  Jonathan Hyrcanus, son of Shimon the Maccabee, nephew of Judah.  Twin cornucopia and pomegranate on face,  on the obverse Paleo-Hebrew which reads "Yochanan Kohen Gadol v'Hever ha'Yehudim (Jonathan the High Priest and the Council of the Jews)."  Bronze. Nation of Judah. Minted circa 103-130 BCE. 

    

           

AboveTwo Shekel Coin, State of Israel.   Cornucopia and pomegranate on face,  on the obverse "2 New Shekels", and "Israel" in state languages. Coin is usuall refered to by the nickname of "שְׁנֶקֶל  /Schnekel"  Nickel plated steel. Nation of Israel. First minted in Dec. 2007. Still in production. 

Why was the new coin made to look like the old one? What connection is there between those that minted the first coin and those that minted the second? 

Chag Habanot

 

From jewschool.com

Rosh Hodesh (the day of the new moon in the Hebrew calendar) has long been associated with women, and modern feminists have enjoyed turning that connection into an opportunity to create ritual. This isn’t news to a lot of people.

What I didn’t know is that in some Jewish communities, dating back to about the Middle Ages or so, Rosh Hodesh Tevet–which happens during Hanukah–has been called “Hag Habanot”, or the Festival of Daughters, with a host of special observances around it.

In North African countries, the seventh night of Chanukah, Judith’s night of triumph, was set aside as Chag haBanot, the Festival of the Daughters. Chag haBanot falls on the new moon of the Hebrew month of Tevet, which is the sixth or seventh night of Chanukah. (Chanukah is the only Jewish holiday that straddles two months. Rosh Hodesh, the celebration of the new month, is classically a women’s festival.)

In countries such as Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, and Morocco, a variety of customs surrounded Chag haBanot. One tradition was that women would come to the synagogue, touch the Torah, and pray for the health of their daughters. Mothers would give their daughters gifts, and grooms would give gifts to their brides. Girls who were fighting were expected to reconcile on Chag haBanot. Old women and young women would come together to dance.

There might be a feast in honor of Judith, where participants would eat cheese to remember Judith’s subterfuge (in the story, Judith feeds the enemy general salty cheese to encourage his drinking of wine so that she can kill him once he has passed out), or women might take food from a ritual meal of Talmud scholars and give it to their daughters as protection from harm. There was also a custom of passing down inheritances on Chag haBanot.