Y’Mei HaChanukah (satb)

This is an arrangement of the Hebrew and English adaptations of the Yiddish song by Mordkha Rivesman. The originalYiddish text (which appears at the top of the page) is available in transliteration as a supplement from the publisher in casethe choir wants to use it in place of a Hebrew or English verse.. The song identifies musical, linguistic, and cultural practicesof Chanukah, some of which are connected specifically with Ashkenazic Jews. The lighting of the menorah is a customthat commemorates the “miracle of oil.” As the classic version of the story goes, after the Maccabee army had defeated theSyrian Greeks and reclaimed their holy temple, they only had enough oil to keep their lamp lit for one night; the fact that itremained lit for 8 nights is the reason that Chanukah is celebrated for 8 days. In addition, potato pancakes (latkes or levivot)and jelly doughnuts (sufganiyot) are traditional foods eaten since they are prepared through frying in oil. The dreidel is aspinning top with a Hebrew letter on each of its four sides—Nun, Gimmel, Hei, and Shin—standingfor the phrase Nes Gadol Hayah Sham—“A great miracle happened there.” (In Israel, the 4th letter is aPei for the word Po, meaning “here.”).

Dr. Ethan Nash