Forgotten Holidays: Hanukkah (part 5)

 נ Nun - nothing
 ג Gimel - all
ה Hei - half
ש Shin - put in or
פ Pei in Israel

Those are the four sides of the dreidel.  Nun Gimel Hei Shin is the acronym for "a great miracle happened there" Nun Gimel Hei Pei is an acronym for "a great miracle happened here". The chocolate coins we see in stores are called "gelt" and used in playing the game Dreidel.

Hanukkah 2014: Tuesday, December 16th - Wednesday, December 24th


Rules to play Dreidel:

Each player begins with an equal number of game pieces (usually 10–15). The game pieces can be any object, such as chocolate gelt, pennies, or raisins.

• At the beginning of each round, every participant puts one game piece into the center "pot". In addition, every time the pot is empty and sometimes if it has one game piece left, every player puts one in the pot.
• Each player spins the dreidel once during their turn. Depending on which player side is facing up when it stops spinning, they give or take game pieces from the pot:
  • a) If נ (nun) is facing up, the player does nothing.
  • b) If ג (gimel) is facing up, the player gets everything in the pot.
  • c) If ה (hei) is facing up, the player gets half of the pieces in the pot. (If there are an odd number of pieces in the pot, the player takes the half the pot rounded up to the nearest whole number)
  • d) If ש (shin) or פ (pei) is facing up, the player adds a game piece to the pot (often accompanied with the chant "Shin, Shin, put one in"^[5]). In some game versions a Shin results in adding three game pieces to the pot (one for each stem of the Shin). This alternative version increases the overall fairness of the game.
• If the player is out of pieces, they are either "out" or may ask another player for a "loan".^[6]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreidel

                                 Latkes

 

                                                                     Ingredients:

                                                       1 lb. russet potatoes, peeled

                                          1 small yellow onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)

                                                                 1 large egg

                                           Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 

                                               1/2 to 3/4 cup vegetable oil for frying 

                                                         Sour cream for serving

                                                         Applesauce for serving

Directions:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 200°F. Put a paper-towel-lined rimmed baking sheet on the rack.

 

Fill a large bowl halfway with cold water. Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the potatoes into the water, or grate onto a cutting board and then immediately put them in the water.

 

Line a colander with cheesecloth and set it in the sink. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes to the colander; reserve the bowl of water. Gather the cheesecloth into a bundle and squeeze firmly until the potatoes stop giving off liquid.

 

Transfer the potatoes to a medium bowl and using your hands, mix in the onion, egg, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper.

 

Carefully pour off the reserved potato soaking water to get to the white gluey starch on the bottom of the bowl. Transfer the starch to the potato mixture and mix it in with your hands.

 

Add enough oil to a heavy-duty 12-inch skillet, preferably cast iron, to measure 1/8 inch deep. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until a potato strand dropped in it sizzles vigorously.

 

Scoop 1/4 cup of the potato mixture onto a slotted metal spatula and use the bottom of the measuring cup to press it until it’s about 1/4 inch thick, letting any excess liquid fall into a small bowl. Don’t worry if the latke is not perfectly round. Slide it into the oil.

 

Make 1 or 2 more latkes for the first batch and fry, flipping once, until they’re golden-brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to the baking sheet in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining potato mixture, stirring it between batches. Serve immediately or cool and freeze for up to 1 week and reheat in a single layer, uncovered, in a 300°F oven.

nutrition information (per serving):  Calories (kcal): 180; Fat (g): fat g 8; Fat Calories (kcal): 70; Saturated Fat (g): sat fat g 1; Protein (g): protein g 4; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 3.5; Carbohydrates (g): carbs g 23; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 3.5; Sodium (mg): sodium mg 300; Cholesterol (mg): cholesterol mg 45; Fiber (g): fiber g 2;

 

Fine Cooking December 2013/January 2014

 

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/latkes.aspx

The Story of Hanukkah:

About 200 BC Israel was a state in the Seleucid Empire (an empire ruled under Greek law) and under the overall charge of the King of Syria. However, they could follow their own religion and its practices. In 171 BC, There was a new King called Antiochus IV, who also called himself Antiochus Epiphanes which means 'Antiochus the visible god'. Antiochus wanted all the empire to follow Greek ways of life and the Greek religion with all its gods. Some of the Jews wanted to be more Greek, but most wanted to stay Jewish.

The brother of the Jewish high priest wanted to be more Greek, so he bribed Antiochus so he would become the new High Priest instead of his brother and then he had his brother killed! Three years later another man bribed Antiochus even more to let him become the High Priest! To pay his bribe he stole some of the objects made of gold that were used in the Jewish Temple.

On his way home from having to retreat from a battle, Antiochus stopped in Jerusalem and he let out all his anger on the city and the Jewish people. He ordered houses to be burned down and tens of thousands of Jews were killed or put into slavery. Antiochus then went to attack the Jewish Temple, the most important building in Israel to Jews. The Syrian soldiers took all the treasures out of the temple and on 15 Kivlev 168 BC Antiochus put up a status of the Greek god Zeus in the center of the Jewish Temple (but it had the face of Antiochus!). Then on 25 Kivlev he desecrated the most holy place in the temple and destroyed the Jewish holy scrolls.

Antiochus then banned practicing the Jewish faith & religion (if you were found out you and all your family were killed) and made the Temple into a shrine to Zeus. There were many Jews killed for their faith. Soon afterwards a Jewish rebellion started.

It began when a 'former' Jewish Priest, called Mattathias, was forced to make an offering to Zeus in his village. He refused to do so and killed a Syrian Soldier! Mattathias's sons joined him and killed the other soldiers in the village. Mattathias was an old man and died soon after this, but his son Judah then took charge of the freedom fighters. Judah's nickname was 'Maccabee' which come from the Hebrew word for hammer. He and his troops lived in caves and fought an undercover war for three years. They then met the Syrians in open battle and defeated them.

When they got back to Jerusalem, the Temple was in ruins and the statue of Zeus/Antiochus was still standing. They cleaned the Temple. They rebuilt the Jewish alter and on 25 Kivlev 165 BC, exactly three years after the statue was put up, the alter and Temple was rededicated to God.

There are several theories about why Hanukkah is celebrated over eight nights. One legend says that when Judah and his followers went into the Temple there was only enough oil to burn for one night, but that it burned for eight nights. Another story says that they found eight iron spears and put candles of them and used them for lighting in the Temple.

http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/hanukkah.shtml

Word Search: Dreidel
Gelt
Gimel
Hanukkah
Hei
Kivlev
Latkes
Menorah
Nun
Shamash
Shin
Star of David E K D S D E F H T H J S H A M A S H R E I U S V H S Z L S N S N S T D B G D D F D G H E F E G D E G H E P D M F L F O D R V R N X H R S D R E I D E L F N V N I S D G D B S E D I T W E D S D G S K N U J D D L F A R O U Y K E H K R R S E D D F L F J V D S D G D F K R E I D T S R G G O T T F H B N F B T E D R D J T D B F T H G H A N U K K A H E K Y S D D R F V H R N X H R D F F M O B S D D U B S A M H G N S T D B A D G S V S D G S K D G H E F D J Q N D S D S K G N D S O D N V D S D M V D S D G V D S D R E I U S B G H G T N M V N U J M D T D B S J T D B F D T D B G H E P V D I D F F A C B D F K Z S D H R B D F F M O L D N F S D G D B N M F N D F R R T H G K F N F N D D G H E F P F G D E H K R A O E D B F F N O F R J I B M K S D R F V H H G H N D F V X U G E L T B B S D G F N V V R E I U A D G S V J S V H S Z L S N S R N X H R D S D D D B L G H E P V D S D M R D M F L F O D R V S D G S K T D B F D A E S D G D D R E I U B B S E D I T W E D V D S D G N U J L E V V E H K R D G H E P S R S E D D F L F J J T D B F D F K R H D Y I F I O F S D G D H B N F B T E D R D D F F M O T H G T H H S R D V I D E H K R M H S K T K S T H G F T H G F T H G F F J I H S K T K S T H G F W J F L D J J L F I F N D H S I R B J D G A I B D H S Y B U I