One of the unusual architectural features found in the outside walls of many Israeli homes is a small, glass-covered enclosure prominently located next to the front door.
Designed to shelter the interior from wind and rain, these peculiar stone cubicles lay idle most of the year, springing to life for exactly eight days beginning on the 25th of Kislev on the Jewish calendar, the first night of Hanukkah.
This year, the holiday in Israel began on December 7, and while celebrations are more muted because of the Israel-Gaza war, people across the country have seen great significance in a festival that celebrates light in the darkness.
It’s an ideal location to place the menorah in adherence with the custom of pirsumay nisa, publicizing the Hanukkah miracle, when the oil burned for eight days instead of one during the rededication of the second Jewish temple in 165 BCE.
This custom is widely observed in Israel and Jewish communities around the world. For eight consecutive nights, the illuminated menorah (hanukkiyah) is placed at one’s doorstep, gate or inside a large picture window facing the street where it can be seen by passersby.
The public display of hanukkiyot turns the Festival of Light into a spectacle of sight. Many families have the custom of each member lighting his or her own menorah, and it is not uncommon to see seven or eight menorahs glowing brightly in a window or glass case outside the home.
The best places to view hanukkiyot are the observant neighborhoods beginning right after sundown, when most residents do the lighting ceremony.
In Jerusalem, the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, Mea She’arim, Geula and Nachla’ot are excellent destinations to view many unique hanukkiyot in full view to the public. The Jewish Quarter has become a popular destination for family fun on Hanukkah in Israel — especially on the eighth night, with some residents offering hot drinks, stories and explanations of their distinctive menorahs.
For a more enlightening treat of the holiday’s visual delights, visit a hotel lobby where guests often light candles on a single table in the lobby and one can gaze at a dozen or more menorahs ablaze simultaneously.
A winter stroll is also likely to generate a little appetite, but not to worry. The metaphor of the oil outlasting its normal expectancy has seeped into other traditions of the holiday, such as eating Hanukkah foods fried in oil.
In Israel, donuts are not generally consumed year round, but on Hanukkah, bakers become artists of Hanukkah donuts and genially compete to see who can design the most colorful and scrumptious sufganiyot.
The quantity and variety of donuts are sure to please any palate and, along with the flickering oil lamps and candles, shed a little light and warmth on a long winter night.
