I think that this is the start of Chanukah, and as such, I would like to express my love for our Jewish brothers and sisters and ask that the blessings of the season be theirs. I may be incorrect with my timing as I am not of the Jewish faith, but my heart is in the right place.
I also would like to tell the reason for the lighting of the candles and again if I am wrong please correctme.
The unique power of the Chanukah lights is linked to the nature of the miracle they commemorate. The miracle of Chanukah took place in a time of darkness, when the Greeks, who had conquered the Land of Israel, sought to impose their culture upon its inhabitants. Despite the assimilatory influence of Jewish Hellenists, the Maccabees were able to instill in the Jewish people a spirit of mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice) and teshuvah (return to G-d). This inspired them to fight the Greeks, defeat them, and rededicate the Beis HaMikdash. Since the Jewish victory involved the transformation of darkness into light, the Chanukah lights which commemorate it also have this power.
And they teach us that when confronted with darkness, we must not resign ourselves to it. Nor may we remain content with lighting up our own homes. Instead, we must reach out and spread light as far as we possibly can, until the public domain too is illuminated.

I think this is a wonderful idea and I too shall light a candle as a symbol of the love which I feel we all should share with one another.

Nathen, I'm with you. I am not Jewish but I wish our sisters and brothers who are Jewish a Happy Hanukkah, beginning at sunset today. A quick search turned up many sites with more information, but the History Channel's site was the most ad-free:
http://www.historychannel.com/cgi-bin/frameit.cgi?p=http%3A//ww w.historychannel.com/exhibits/holidays/hanukkah/
It said the invaders were Hellenistic Syrians, so if anyone argues that they were Syrian and not Greek, that's why--some sources may say Greek while others say Syrian. We'll be lighting a candle tonight, too. Happy Hanukkah!

<center><FONT COLOR="#000080">--- Edited 1 times, lastly by Ceashel on Nov 29, 2002 ---</FONT></center>

I'm not Jewish either but Happy Hannuakah to you guys! <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/peace.gif" width=16 height=16>

http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/attaining-sagacity/

this is the site that I am currently studying at, it is very interesting, and ensightful....I would recomend it.

This is also the site that I had quoted.

Both are good sites ... interesting info. Thanks Nathen and Ceas. Happy Chanukah to all!

happy chanukah to all my jewish friends! may your candles spread light and peace to all the dark corners of the world!

wow..thanks guys!!! as most (if not all) of you know..i actually AM jewish..so on behalf of all of 'us' may i say a hearty THANK YOU!!!

the actual 'miracle' of lights has to do with the 'eternal' light that burns constantly in the temple. the temple had been desecrated and made unpure. when the jews were rededicating the temple there was only enough oil to burn for one day. they couldnt get more 'holy' oil for 8 days. the miracle is that the oil they had lasted the 8 days until it could be replenished....hence...8 days of chanukah and the lighting of the menorah. (which is acutally a chanukiah... as any candelabra is a menorah and the one specific for the holiday is a chanukiah).

ok..so this is probably more information that you needed...but what the heck!

thanks again for the holiday wishes and i love the idea that everyone is lighting candles! it's a beautiful gift!

happy chanukah!!!!!!!

ahhhhhh... but has anyone else been making potato latkes and jelly donuts????

this be my favorite fat-not-free holiday!!!

<img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/yum.gif" width=15 height=15>

People MAKE jelly donuts? I thought they just arrived from Dunkin Donuts, or even better, Krispy Kreme, like babies arrive from the stork. You're not going to tell me that someone makes babies now, are you?

Anyway, Happy Chanukuh to everyone.

No, Sherry, I didn't know ... that's part of what's so fun about this site! Did know that Arnie was ...

Yeah, and what Pat said ... MAKE jelly donuts?

Who's gonna be first with their favorite latke recipes?

The old Krispy Kreme donut shop on Broad St in Richmond was a great place to get donuts & coffee. They made em fresh there & you could get them fresh. Ah the chocolate coverd donuts with the vanilla creme inside. Yum...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by pamramadama:

No, Sherry, I didn't know ... that's part of what's so fun about this site! Did know that Arnie WAS?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

He converted? who knew?

Question for our Jewish friends, why the two spellings and which is correct for the holiday?

Make Jelly Donuts? of course...
and then you can play the traditional Chanukah game of Bobbing for Donuts!

Once upon a time, I was making donuts, and splattered my face... burns were obvious, but thank goodness, not serious... when asked how I did that, my reply was "Bobbing for Donuts"

Latkes... that's kinda like potato pancakes, but not, right? I have to look in my Mimi Sheraton's "In Mamma's Kitchen" cookbook... mmmmmm Latkes and applesauce...

Latkes (Potato):

6 medium potatos.. Idahos ok, I use gold...
1 nice size onion, maybe 2...
1/4 - 1/2 cup flour or Matzoh Meal
2 eggs

Best way - use hand grater, and grate potatos and then onions...
Quick way - use food processor, use grater attachment if ya' got it, otherwise just blast the stuff...
important... put grated potatos into a collander, and squeeze (use yer hands!!) all the juice outta them!... blot them with some paper towels even...
then mix potato, onion, two eggs beaten lightly, and finally add the flour or matzoh meal... start with 1/4 cup, and just enough to sort of bind it all together... can be wet and mushy... put it into the fridge for at least 10 minutes.
When ready - put about 1/4 inch of olive oil into a deep fryin' pan... when hot, scoop up about 1/4 cup or less of the potato mixture, and plop it (safely) into the oil... use the back of the scoop, or a spoon, and flatten out the lump in the pan to a pancake... doesn't have to be evenly round, or anything fancy like that... cook till golden to crunchy on one side, flip (carefully) and cook until golden on both sides... remove and place on a plate covered with some paper towels... serve as soon as possible, with homemade applesauce or fresh sour cream on the side....
repeat...

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

hey... was that "(safely)" and "(carefully)" directed at me???

Heehee!

Gonna use your recipe ASAP... like tonite!