Easy
Question: What is Hanukkah commonly known as?
Answer: The festival of lights
Question: What does Hanukkah commemorate?
Answer: The Maccabean revolt against the Syrian-Greek army
Question: How many nights does Hanukkah last?
Answer: 8 nights
Question: What does the word "Hanukkah" mean?
Answer: Dedication
Question: What is Hanukkah celebration about?
Answer: The triumph of the Maccabees in reclaiming their temple after it was desecrated by Syrian-Greeks.
Question: What is the most common spelling of Hanukkah?
Answer: Hanukkah
Question: Who was the Maccabean revolt against?
Answer: The Syrian-Greek army
Question: What is the most well-known tradition of Hanukkah?
Answer: Lighting of the menorah
Question: What is the significance of the center candle in the menorah?
Answer: It is used to light all the other candles
Question: How many candles are in a menorah?
Answer: 9 candles
Question: What is the significance of lighting one candle each day of Hanukkah?
Answer: To celebrate each day of the holiday
Question: In what country is Hanukkah a national holiday?
Answer: Israel
Question: What is the significance of the darkest time of the year during Hanukkah?
Answer: To celebrate the return of light
Question: How does Rabbi Leonard Gordon describe Hanukkah?
Answer: A frightening celebration
Question: How many nights did the miracle oil burn for?
Answer: Eight nights
Medium
Question: What activities do students participate in during Hanukkah in contemporary Israel?
Answer: Plays, songs, parties
Question: From where does the relay begin during Hanukkah in contemporary Israel?
Answer: Modiʿin
Question: Where is the menorah usually placed during Hanukkah?
Answer: In a window or a doorway
Question: What is the significance of the lighting of the menorah during Hanukkah?
Answer: A symbol of hope and light during the darkest time
Question: What is the significance of the shamash in the menorah?
Answer: The center candle that sits higher than the others
Question: What material is typically used to make the dreidel, a spinning top played with during Hanukkah?
Answer: Wood
Question: Who were the Maccabees?
Answer: Jewish rebels
Question: Who did the Maccabees defeat to reclaim the holy temple in Jerusalem?
Answer: Egyptian slaves
Question: What metal is traditionally used to make the menorah used during Hanukkah?
Answer: Brass
Question: What type of oil is used to light the candles in the menorah during Hanukkah?
Answer: Olive Oil
Question: Why is food fried during Hanukkah?
Answer: As a symbol of the miracle oil that burned for eight nights
Question: What does the miracle oil symbolize in Hanukkah?
Answer: The oil that burned for eight nights
Question: What is the significance of the holy temple in Jerusalem in the Hanukkah story?
Answer: It was defiled by the Syrian-Greeks and reclaimed by the Maccabees
Question: According to tradition, what will be followed when Moshiach comes regarding the lighting of the menorah on Hanukkah? The rulings of the House of Shammai
Answer: The placement of the menorah outside, on the left side of the door
Question: Why do Jews play the dreidel game during Hanukkah?
Answer: For fun
Question: What custom is commonly followed (outside of Israel) regarding the placement of the menorah during Hanukkah?
Answer: Light the menorah at a window
Question: How is the dreidel related to Hanukkah?
Answer: Based on a German gambling game, European Jews adopted it and replaced the letters with Hebrew ones to engage with scripture. Now it is used throughout the holiday.
Question: Where did the dreidel originally come from?
Answer: Germany and England
Question: What letters are on the sides of the dreidel?
Answer: Hebrew
Question: What type of food is traditionally fried during Hanukkah?
Answer: Any type of food
Question: What does the chief rabbi use the torch for during Hanukkah in contemporary Israel?
Answer: To light the first candle of a giant menorah
Question: What is the highlight of the Hanukkah festival in contemporary Israel?
Answer: The annual relay from Modiʿin to Jerusalem
Question: What is the origin of the annual relay during Hanukkah in contemporary Israel?
Answer: Contemporary Israel
Question: Why was the menorah placed to the left of the door?
Answer: Because the mezuzah is placed on the right side
Question: Who taught to add another candle each night of Hanukkah?
Answer: The traditional custom of lighting at a window
Question: 12. Why do some communities prefer to light the menorah in a doorway rather than a windowsill during Hanukkah?
Answer: To surround themselves with the mitzvahs of mezuzah and the menorah, just as in ancient times
Question: Who maintained that eight lights be lit on the first night of Hanukkah?
Answer: The House of Shammai
Hard
Question: What was the main reason for the menorah being moved from its original placement during Mishnaic times?
Answer: The harsh realities of the diaspora
Question: What is the significance of the mezuzah and the menorah being placed on either side of the doorway during Hanukkah?
Answer: To surround a person with holiness
Question: How did the mezuzah and the menorah surround a person with holiness in ancient times?
Answer: By placing the mezuzah on one side and the menorah on the other side of the doorway
Question: Where are menorahs displayed during Hanukkah in contemporary Israel?
Answer: On prominent buildings such as the Knesset
Question: What is the significance of the Western Wall in the Hanukkah story?
Answer: It is the last remnant of the Temple
Question: Who hands the torch to the chief rabbi during the relay in contemporary Israel?
Answer: The final torchbearer
Question: What is the destination of the relay during Hanukkah in contemporary Israel?
Answer: The Western Wall in Jerusalem
Question: What was the original placement of the menorah during Mishnaic times?
Answer: Outside, on the left side of the door leading in from the street
