The Miracle of Chanukah

 

Last year I was inspired by a grand, beautiful menorah that @iwe and his family made for Chanukah. I convinced my husband to help me make one, and here it is! We made it of PVC that we sawed, glued and painted, and used battery-operated candles. (It is, at least, OSHA-approved.)

I will be lighting our other menorah with real candles and the new one Sunday evening, the lead candle (Shamas) and the first candle. It is a poignant time to remember not only the Maccabees who fought against the Seleucids, but all those men who have battled against the odds.

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  1. Jules PA Inactive
    Jules PA
    @JulesPA

    Beautiful.

    Let your light shine!

    • #1
  2. Rodin Member
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    Lovely.

    • #2
  3. Gary McVey Contributor
    Gary McVey
    @GaryMcVey

    I hope this makes the Main Feed!

    • #3
  4. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Gary McVey (View Comment):

    I hope this makes the Main Feed!

    That is so sweet, @garymcvey. Thanks. Just need five more Likes.

    • #4
  5. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    I have always liked this act of God. Struck me as a child. 

    • #5
  6. Ontheleftcoast Inactive
    Ontheleftcoast
    @Ontheleftcoast

    Susan Quinn: It is a poignant time to remember not only the Maccabees who fought against the Seleucids, but all those men who have battled against the odds.

    And, as some delicately put it, against “Hellenizers.” Meaning that the Maccabees, bitterly clinging to their swords and religion, were fighting the Seleucids and Jews whose loyalties lay with Greek culture.

    • #6
  7. Front Seat Cat Member
    Front Seat Cat
    @FrontSeatCat

    Great job by husband!  It’s lovely – a light in the darkness – God bless – pray for Israel.

    • #7
  8. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    The Old and New Testaments are filled with miracles.  It’s a shame nowadays a cell phone with a longer-lasting battery is what ranks as a “miracle” . . .

    • #8
  9. iWe Coolidge
    iWe
    @iWe

    Fantastic! 

    • #9
  10. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    Lovely.  

    I am proud to say that we will have a menorah lighting at the Flagstaff City Hall on December 3rd at 5:30 pm.  

    I will be there to embrace my Jewish brothers and sisters.

    • #10
  11. Yehoshua Ben-Eliyahu Inactive
    Yehoshua Ben-Eliyahu
    @YehoshuaBenEliyahu

    Susan Quinn: It is a poignant time to remember not only the Maccabees who fought against the Seleucids, but all those men who have battled against the odds

    That’s why we love Trump.  

    • #11
  12. Valiuth Member
    Valiuth
    @Valiuth

    Can I ask a silly question? 

    I have seen Hanukkah and Chanukah, why do we have two different spellings? I assume in Hebrew it has just one spelling, so how did we end up with two versions in English? 

    • #12
  13. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Valiuth (View Comment):

    Can I ask a silly question?

    I have seen Hanukkah and Chanukah, why do we have two different spellings? I assume in Hebrew it has just one spelling, so how did we end up with two versions in English?

    The pronunciation is a harsh “H” sound, and English doesn’t have a letter for it. Some people can’t make that guttural sound anyway, so they say a soft “h.” Here’s an example of the “Ch” sound, although I say Chan-oo-kah:

     

    • #13
  14. Ontheleftcoast Inactive
    Ontheleftcoast
    @Ontheleftcoast

    Valiuth (View Comment):

    Can I ask a silly question?

    I have seen Hanukkah and Chanukah, why do we have two different spellings? I assume in Hebrew it has just one spelling, so how did we end up with two versions in English?

    There’s also a grammatical reason in Hebrew for the doubled letter k in the transliteration though it doesn’t make much sense in English pronunciation.

    • #14
  15. Valiuth Member
    Valiuth
    @Valiuth

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):
    The pronunciation is a harsh “H” sound, and English doesn’t have a letter for it. Some people can’t make that guttural sound anyway, so they say a soft “h.” Here’s an example of the “Ch” sound, although I say Chan-oo-kah:

    That’s funny because I don’t think Ch would make English speakers naturally think of a harsh H, rather they would think of words with French origins like “chandelier”, “charming” and so go with the pronunciation you go with which seem further a foot from the Hebrew. Maybe with a K? Khanuka, though now that I write it I realize I would say it like Kan-oo-kah. Hard to translate sounds that don’t exist in one language to another… maybe H’anukka? That way you maybe strengthen the H by outlining it. Also since H’ isn’t a thing in English we can just declare it as a harsh H. 

    Words are so much fun. 

     

    • #15
  16. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Valiuth (View Comment):

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):
    The pronunciation is a harsh “H” sound, and English doesn’t have a letter for it. Some people can’t make that guttural sound anyway, so they say a soft “h.” Here’s an example of the “Ch” sound, although I say Chan-oo-kah:

    That’s funny because I don’t think Ch would make English speakers naturally think of a harsh H, rather they would think of words with French origins like “chandelier”, “charming” and so go with the pronunciation you go with which seem further a foot from the Hebrew. Maybe with a K? Khanuka, though now that I write it I realize I would say it like Kan-oo-kah. Hard to translate sounds that don’t exist in one language to another… maybe H’anukka? That way you maybe strengthen the H by outlining it. Also since H’ isn’t a thing in English we can just declare it as a harsh H.

    Words are so much fun.

     

    It is fun to play with it, isn’t it @valiuth? I’m glad you asked about it–I’m sure others have wondered, too!

    • #16
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