The history of this festival belongs to the era under the rule of Alexander the Great. He was the most powerful ruler the world had seen. He conquered the kingdoms of Syria, Palestine and Egypt but allowed the people of those regions to follow their own religions. During this time the Hellenistic Culture was adopted by many Jews. But after a hundred years when Antiochus IV came to power, he began to oppress the Jews. He placed a Hellenistic priest in the temple and prohibited the practice of Jewish religion. He also offered sacrifice of pigs to annoy the Jews. This caused two groups to be formed in the region which opposed the practice of Antiochus IV. The first group was headed by Mattathias and his son and the second group was known as the Chasidim. Both these groups revolted against the oppression of the Jews at the hands of the Greek government. They were successful in their revolt and finally rededicated the Temple. This happened in the year 165 BC. The twenty fifth of the Jewish month, Kislev is celebrated every year to commemorate this event.

The story goes that at the time of rededication an eternal flame had to be lit but it was found out that only a little oil was left as the rest had been defiled by the Greeks. The new oil would take a week to be prepared. But the flame burned through the eight days miraculously with that little oil. Therefore this festival is celebrated for eight days.

The Jews celebrate this festival by lighting candles arranged in a candelabrum which is also known as the menorah or the Chanukkiah. This candle holder can hold nine candles. One candle for each night of the eight days and the ninth one is called Shammus and it is placed at a greater height than the rest of the candles. The prayers are offered along with the lighting of the candles.

In some places the tradition of gifting is also followed. It is mainly because of the influence of Christmas. Mostly a small amount of money known as the “gelt” is exchanged as the traditional gift. A gambling game known as Dreidel is also played. The stakes offered in the game are chocolate coins, pennies or matchsticks.
Because of the miraculous oil incident, people prepare and eat fried foods on this day. The most popular food is Latkes which are made from potatoes.
It would it noteworthy that the festival is not celebrated to mark the victory of Jews over Greeks as Jews have never believed in violence and in glorifying war. Rather it is the miraculous oil event that makes it a religious event worth celebrating.

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Humor within the Jewish community is mostly verbally done by use of anecdotes. There are different types of Jewish humor. Writers have being able to convey emotions through different types of humor. Literature is full of verbal humor which is done by use of various figures of speech such as ‘hyperbole’. It is nothing but exaggeration but if used in the form of a joke for e.g. ‘she is so thin that she can pass through the eye of a needle’. The other figures of speech used are satire, pun, spoonerism, malapropism, mixed metaphor as Jew sense of fun.

Humor enjoyed by the Jews comes in the form of literature, stage plays, and television shows of standard comedians. George Orwell used lack of harmony or what you call incongruity between reality and a situation in his novel Animal Farm that made a tense situation into a light comedy. Jewish humor uses the surprise element in literature by creating suspense or by abruptly ending a situation or by bringing in unexpected characters into the scene. Slapstick is also a Jewish sense of humor which you will find in many comedies that are conveyed in literature of through events which you may find at times offbeat which will make you laugh and feel ease. This type of comedy was depicted by Charlie Chaplin in silent comedies.

Hearty humor from Israel is found in literature that is considered to be bitter, sharp or cutting terse in sarcasm. General irony is closely related to sarcasm. Humor and jokes are sourced from puns. Like take for e.g. this statement ‘When he was born he was an unwanted child but today he is wanted in over 40 states’ (criminal). Standup comedians usually play on words and intensify mockery or ridicule which may at times be a little harsh, but on the whole it is clean fun and that is clean humor enjoyed by the Jews.

Israel humor online and offline resources are plenty, you will find it in movies, advertising even on the radio and nowadays jokes are sent via free sms to cheer people from their strenuous daily life. The Israelis say a laughter a day keeps a doctor away. Online sites dedicated to Jewish humor prefer to convey humor in combined visual and audio form because according to them humor is best conveyed through action, correct timing of words and tone of speech. Jewish humor is known all over the world and those which were written in Hebrew have being translated in English.

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The jewelry has a lot of meaning attached to each and hence it is very different from the regular jewelry lines. Traditional symbols of Jews and Israel in general used in religious ceremonies are explored by designers for this unique type of jewelry. Every single piece that you purchase has a term engraved that is meaningful and hence before making the final purchase you should find out the hidden meaning first. Avoid purchasing Jewish Jewelry just because it looks beautiful and instead check the meaning behind each piece.

Symbols of different types are being commonly used in designing jewelry in Jewish designs. You can get an idea on the different kinds of symbols available online prior to making the final purchase. One of the most popular designs available is Jewish Jewelry is the Chai design. The term Chai in Hebrew means ‘living’ and it is made up of two letters – Chet and Yud. Eighteen is the value of the word Chai, as is seen in all the letters in Hebrew, all of which have numerical values.

It is seen in Jewish culture that Jewish Jewelry and things are gifted in multiples of the number eighteen significantly. Whether it is a gift, charity or any thing else, the number eighteen plays a very important role, especially as the ‘wish of life’ symbolized by it. The word Chai also has a different meaning to different people in the Jewish culture -for some it means God, while for others the term means focusing of life’s importance. A book called Torah also referred to by the Jews for living their lives is called the ‘Torah of Living’ which indicates that Jews are required to lead their lives it the way it is mentioned in the book, also captured in Jewish jewelry designs.

The other design used in making Jewish jewelry is the Hamsa design. In the Jewish religion the term Hamsa means five, as also in Arabic. It is very popular amongst the Jews as it has an exclusive and unique appearance. It is from the culture of Arabs that this jewelry symbol originates and as Jews started settling in Arab countries this jewelry started gaining popularity there. It is believed that by wearing this jewelry you can get yourself protected from the evil eye. The other popular jewelry form is Choshen design. The term Choshen means breastplate worn by the priests in the Holy Temple of the Jews.

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Besides the American Jewish Congress, another associated called the American Jewish Committee also has a very prominent place in the life of the Jewish community. The American Jewish Committee in its abbreviated form is better known as the AJC. For the purpose of identification, both the organizations are accordingly are referred to as the AJCommittee and the AJCongress. Activities of the Congress have been suspended after July 13, 2010 when a lot of staff got laid off and huge losses were incurred by the operating funds of the association.

Various issues like proposals to the charitable choices were monitored by the AJ Congress in which federal funds are offered to institutions that were based on faith. This was done to ensure provision of social service, which is otherwise the government’s responsibility. The American Jewish Congress association consisted of a membership of women as well as men who are able to dedicate a good amount of their precious time, continued efforts, as well as resources for dealing issues related to women. For the Congress or the Jewish organization this was considered mainstream.

The (CWE) Commission for Women’s Equality was accordingly established in the year 1984. A large number of issues are being dealt with, ranging from medical and ethical issues to legal ones, which arise from various studies as part of the American Jewish Congress protocol. It was researched that the frequency of mutations in genes of Jewish women was higher which lead to cancer of the ovaries as well as breasts. For exploration of the breakthroughs in medicine, the Cancer Genetics was presented by CWE in the year 2000 within the Ashkenazi Community, the first conference of its kind as well as one for testing of genetics as part of the development.

It was in the name of interfaith that the Congress participated in a dialogue for the inter-religious affairs as well as with communication headed by the US Bishop’s Committee. As far as controversies are concerned, the services of Rabbi Israel Singer were retained, as announced by the Congress in the year 2007, as the former general secretary of the World Jewish Congress. It is in Berkeley, in California that you can avail huge resources as well as materials for conducting extensive research on the American Jewish Congress, at the Judah L. Magnes Museum in the Western Jewish History Center campus. Related documents and historical records can be extensively researched upon as and when needed.

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Jews were very affected by the Hellenistic philosophies as well as religion, but in a contrary fashion. Jews have been successful in getting their nationalism steered, and they also have been resisting assimilation as well. In the Jewish history it is seen that the Hellenistic period began with Alexander the Great’s death in the year 323 and the period ends in 31 BC with the battle of Actium. All different territories which were under the religious as well as cultural influence of the Greeks as well as Palestine which was the land of the Jews, refers to Hellenistic period and a period of building on superstition.

It was during this era or period that magic as well as Jewish superstitions were practices widely followed. Oracles were consulted by people all through the world of Hellenistic influence, where people used different kinds of figurines as well as charms to get misfortune deterred or for the casting of spells. Jewish astrology which is another system that is very complex in nature was developed during the Hellenistic period or era. Astrology was best used during this period in character determination of a person and also for determining the future of the person which was strongly believed to be based on the movement of various planets, the moon as well as the sun.

During the era of 167 BC, Palestine as well as Syria was ruled by Antiochus IV. It was his effort to get the competing traditions as well as religions wiped out and accordingly during that time designing of a special campaign started. This was done with the intent of getting his realm unified. The Greeks ruled Israel under Alexander’s leadership and also commanders of the military as well as their successors who got the kingdom divided, after his early death. The Roman Empire came into existence during the last few years as also the birth of Lord Jesus Christ.

Control of Syria was taken by Seleucus thus getting the dynasty of Seleucid established during that time. Of the Seleucid kings, Antiochus IV was in the eighth order from the period 174 BC to 164 BC. Epiphanies which means the manifestation of God was the term used for the king Antiochus IV. For the Jews the two main tenants that were very important were the dietary laws as well as circumcision which were prohibited by Antiochus. The Jews however were very strong in their belief and Jewish superstitions and accordingly refused worshiping the manifested God, Antiochus.

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This community has ensured that their culture and their tradition are carried on from one generation to the other. To all the Jews who are following from Jesus’ Christ’s bloodline as the practicing Jews consider gifts of the Jewish types very close and dear. As far as the stores that sell Judaica items and as far as gifts from this culture are concerned the Jewish history and heritage that is truly rich has a very strong connection.

If you have friends who are Jewish or if you want to present gift items to parents then a Jewish gift is considered to be the perfect choice. These items are lovely to look as they also in many ways depict the history of the Jews and also symbols from ancient times.

Both the good as well as the bad times are withstood well by almost every gift item made in Jewish tradition. Craftsmen from Bethlehem and also Jerusalem make a number of the Jewish gift items by hand. It is their unique craftsmanship that makes these gift items stand out from the rest of the regular gift item from other cultures.

Durability of these gifts is guaranteed and they do not get damaged easily or break with ease. However it is very necessary to take care of them in case you want to increase their longevity. A number of sites online are dedicated to Judaica gift items which provide a range of gift items for purchasing. Besides this you could also consider physical stores in your local area from where you can pick up any desirable Jewish gift item.

Jews are well known to practice their religion with great fervor and through their art and culture they ensure that the community in general understands the importance as well as the significance of this as well as important days of celebration. David’s cross makes one of the most popular gift items in Jewish culture. This cross is considered sacred, is loved by all Jews and is a perfect symbol of the culture of the Jews. Many of the gift items help the Jews to strengthen their faith in the religion more and more. Belief in Lord Jesus Christ gets strengthened by various Judaica gift items which speak of the tradition culture and belief of the Jews through themselves to whoever you gift them, be it your friends or relatives.

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The artists in the Jew community however were the determined variety and did not discontinue art while they were within their own community. Many of the special events like Jewish weddings as well as the Bar Mitzvahs and holidays that are very important to the Jews continue to be celebrated, and did so even after the restrictions continued in many areas. A number of creative items of the Jewish artists were wonderfully displayed at many of the celebrations of the religious types.

In Jewish marriages, a contract called the Ketubah is presented to bride to be by the bridegroom. The Ketubah is an important document that is legally prepared to enable the bridegroom to have his obligations covered in writing as well as his responsibilities towards the bride. Strength of the artists in the Jewish community is showcased well as this Ketubah document provides them the right kinds of opportunities to display their art and skills.

The document is made to look attractive in every possible way by including elements of artistic nature. After the Jewish marriage this document can also be retained as a piece of genuine art form of the Jews.

Many a times the couple too gets involved in providing artistic elements to the Ketubah wedding document. When a Jewish child grows up to become a teenager, a celebration called the Bar Mitzvah is held on his becoming a man. It is during this celebration that he has to read the Torah where near and dear ones, friends etc gather in celebration. In the Jewish invitation, many unique elements of the art of the Jews are incorporated. At such times a Jewish artist is invited by the parents of the teenager to help in the creation of artistic invitations. Guests for the occasion are invited with these showcases of the rich and beautiful Jewish culture and tradition.

Manuscripts are also traditionally created with quotes that are truly famous and scripts of religious kinds for putting them up on the walls of homes and various other desirable locations. The Judaica art form seen in the ancient time included the decoration of objects used in rituals, jewelry items, objects of decoration, ornament, motifs, etc. from the traditions adopted by the Jews. This ancient art form has been passed on from one generation to the other, where the letters used in the Hebrew language in the ancient times were embedded in objects and tools of different kinds in the effort to preserve Jewish tradition.

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As per the central tenet of this religion, a special agreement was made by the Creator of the World, God, and his people. This agreement is also called a covenant with Abraham, for whose sake the Jewish people had descended. If the Jews remained true to the laws of God and worshipped him with utmost faith, the covenant states that the Jewish people would be blessed with the protection and love of God. The covenant also states that the Jews should be accountable for transgressions against God, as well as his laws. It is believed that the Jewish people had been singled out amongst all the ancient people that existed, to receive the blessings as well as laws of God.

Jews have been described as the ‘Chosen People’ all through history. The Jews were the chosen ones to be the servants. It is a well understood Jewish belief that the universal creator of all humanity is God. After converts demonstrate their knowledge about their sincerity and faith in accepting laws of the religion, they are accepted. Traditionally, converts were not encouraged by the Jews. A belief in a coming Messiah or the anointed one is included in the tenets of Judaism, who will get all the Jewish people united and then lead them to such a Kingdom of God on this earth that will bring justice and peace to all of mankind.

‘Afterlife’ has been well recognized by Judaism. Principally it is referred to as ‘this world’. The Creator does not have a corporal form in the Judaistic theology that is all knowing. Traditionally Judaism is decentralized, where there is no central or international authority for decision making or who can determine exact religious practice and dogma. A rabbi is the spiritual leader who leads the congregation of Jews. The congregation is entirely responsible for its affairs. In a special university or seminary which is established for furthering teaching and religious scholarship, many of the rabbis obtain special training.

Major Judaism groups have their own institutions in America. Readings from the Torah and prayers are included in religious services, which form part of Jewish workshops and take place at the synagogue often. The rabbi leads the prayer services with a canto’s assistance for chanting prayers and songs. Ethical treatment and conduct towards others is emphasized in the Jewish religion. To respond to modern developments, the Jewish law is being reinterpreted continually in both the oral as well as written segments. Jews follow many strict rules like not committing adultery, murder, robbery and avoiding consumption of animal flesh on holy days.

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Parents can select from a wide variety of Jewish baby names that are truly beautiful. Hundreds of results can be dished out by simply looking up the internet. One of the most beautiful Jewish baby names is Shlomo which means ‘wise and peaceful’, and comes from the wise biblical king, King Solomon. Yehuda, meaning ‘the praised one’ is another interesting Jewish baby name which is obtained from the English language but in the transliterated form of Jude or Judd. Another beautiful baby girl’s Jewish name is Shaina or Shayna meaning ‘beautiful’, which sounds fascinating and mysterious besides being a well fitting name for a cute baby girl.

Michael is another popular Jewish name, as well as an English name. In hundreds of different languages and in various parts of the world, the name Michael is pronounced in different ways. Michael means ‘the messenger of God’. Meir meaning ‘light’ in Jewish is another interesting name, besides Zothar which also can be translated to ‘light’; but is less used than Meir comparatively.

The name Benjamin or Beniamin which is very popular in other languages too basically has a Jewish origin. In loose translation, the name means ‘son of my right hand’.
Many meaningful and beautiful Jewish baby names can be chosen by parents. Also very popular is Sarah, a biblical name who was a character that helped in saving Jews from annihilation as described in one of the passages in the Holy Bible. Besides the regular Jewish baby names, you can select from a few regular ones like Kalanit which means ‘flower’, which is widely used though the name may sound a bit rough to pronounce. Yasmine or Jasmine is another popular Jewish name with arguable origins in Jew culture. Parents interested in sensitive yet popular names for a baby girl can consider Miriam, who was Moses sister as appears in the Bible.

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Jüdisches Museum Berlin or the Jewish Museum Berlin, in Germany covers two millennia of the history of German Jewish. This museum consists of two buildings out of which one is a former courthouse, the old Kollegienhaus that was constructed during the eighteenth century. Daniel Libeskind the world renowned architect designed the other new addition which was built specifically for a museum. After the German reunification in Berlin, this was one the first buildings that was designed and then later on in the year 2001, it was opened to the public. Since December 1997, W. Michael Blumenthal, the Princeton professor born near Berlin who was President Jimmy Carter’s Secretary of the Treasury has been the museum’s director.

The other museum is the Jewish Museum in the US which has a design style that is very different from many other museums and is located on the same avenue of culture as Cooper-Hewitt, Guggenheim and Met. It looks like a Gothic church ironically due to the windows and towers that make the building appear humungous. Most of the other buildings next door are square and plain, while this museum building is completely different. Unlike many other museums on there is more to this Jewish Museum that can meet the eye.

Floor plans become an important necessity as lots of material is put on display. Galleries of the museum are well arranged in a circuitous style. History of the Jewish people is presented in the permanent exhibit that is located on the top two floors of the museum. If you start at the beginning of the fourth floor of this museum, it makes a lot of sense as the exhibit is presented in a chronological order and you can walk your way down through time well.

You gain wonderful experience observing abundant information on artwork on display, historical and cultural significance and lots of other detailed information while moving around all the floors at the museum. At the museum to see all the galleries, a good amount of three to four hours can be spent by a curious visitor. Multiple facets of the identity of the Jews are presented in the permanent exhibits of the museum. This museum is not only one of the major art museums in America but also the largest Jewish Museum in the Western hemisphere.

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