The story of the holiday of Hanukkah – which is celebrated as a sign of victory over the Hellenistic conquerors led by Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the re-consecration of the Jerusalem temple – is not mentioned anywhere in the Torah, but in the First and Second Books of Maccabees. Therefore, Hanukkah cannot be compared to holidays such as Yom Kippur, Pesach and Rosh Hashanah in terms of religiosity. Historically, Jews have not paid much attention to this holiday. However, if you ask how Hanukkah is celebrated today, almost every Jew will immediately answer with a letter that it is obligatory to light candles on Hanukkah (eight-legged menorah) all eight days of the holiday, sing the song Maoz cur yeshuati, consume food fried in oil (latkes and sufganijot / burmuelos), playing with a tern (sevivon / dreidel) and giving gifts to children. All of the above, except the last one, can be related to the holiday. But, the practice of giving for Hanukkah is not entirely unknown in the Jewish tradition. In Poland in the 17th century, the custom of giving money (Hanukkah gelt) to the poor arose, not as alms, but as an act of mercy (cedak), so that they, if they could not, buy candles for the holiday and celebrate it with dignity. There were no other gifts. Somewhat later, the children began to receive small coins for the holiday, which was primarily a symbol of the first coins minted in the new, free country of the Hashmonians, and only then a means of purchase. It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that American Jews began to give Hanukkah packages to their children, similar to those that Christian children received for Christmas. Thus, the excessive commercialization of Hanukkah quickly began, not only on the American continent, but also in Europe, and even in Israel itself. On the sixth day of Hanukkah, the Jewish History Museum received two, for art collection, exceptional gifts. The donors, our painter Mirjana Lehner Dragić and the former president of the Jewish community of Belgrade, Dr. Raka Levi, made us very happy. From Mira, as we all call her in the community, we received a work entitled “Remembering Toni Azriel”.
Hanukkah donated to the Jewish History Museum
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