Family Thought Questions
The lights of the Chanukah menorah are sacred, and traditionally we don’t use them for anything else aside from celebrating the miracle. It is a tradition to spend the hour after lighting the Chanukah candles with family and friends. You can use these thought questions for holiday discussion each night of the holiday!
First Night
On the first night only, we add the shecheyanu blessing: “Blessed are You who has kept us in life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season.”
Why do you think we add this blessing the first night of Chanukah?
What are you thankful for as you reach this season?
Second Night
“The light of the menorah is not for working by, but is a holy light to guide our souls.”
As you sit in the light of your menorah, what does this mean to you? How can the light of the menorah “guide our souls?”
Third Night
The oil that was supposed to have lasted for one day lasted for eight. Have you ever experienced a time when you thought you didn’t have enough (time, energy, strength, resources, etc.) but still were able to succeed?
Fourth Night
Chanukah celebrates the rededication of the Temple. In modern times, Chanukah is a holiday celebrated primarily in the home. The rededication ceremony was called chanukat habayit – literally, “rededicating the house.”
This Chanukah, how can you rededicate your home to match the values and relationships that are sacred to you?
Fifth Night
Chanukah is not in the Torah. It is a commemoration of an historic event. Judaism is a living and changing tradition. As a family, what tradition could you add to your celebration of Chanukah that will make it even more meaningful for you?
Sixth Night
It took a lot of work to clean up the Temple. There is still much to clean up in our world. As we celebrate our miracle, how can we help create miracles for others? What kind of social action can we include in our holiday celebration?
Seventh Night
It has become common for American Jews to give one another gifts on Chanukah. Why do you think we do this? What kinds of gifts could we give one another without giving material objects?
Eighth Night
The Chanukah lights are meant only for enjoyment and celebration, not to be used for any practical task. “We try not to look at them and say: ‘What other use can these lights be to me?’” (The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices).
How can this tradition teach us to appreciate things for just what they are?
Latkes, dreidels, candles, and gelt: is this what the festival of Chanukah is really about? There are many reasons for these traditions. Not one universally accepted text explains the origins of our eight-day Festival of Lights, known as Chanukah. Each has its own merit. Thus it is entirely possible that questions about the festival may have more than one correct answer... 