- Thread starter
- #1
Topnotchsy
Featured Contributor, The best players in history?
- Aug 7, 2008
- 9,475
- 253
With the Chanukah now over, it's time to announce the winners of the contests. Hope everyone had a happy holiday. It was nice sharing mine with people here on the boards.
Contest 1 was to write a Jewish/Chanukah related poem. The prize was a Hank Greenberg Bat:
While there were a number of poems I enjoyed, the prize goes to trademhigh for his efforts in both Hebrew and English.
and...
Haseepoor shel Hanukah
The Greeks arrived
Under Alexander the hebrews thrived
Then came dictator Antiochus the fourth
So Macabee and sons came forth
Macabee aka the hammer
Hit Antiochus harder than Quentin Jammer
After the temple was sacked
The bricks were no longer stacked
As the legend goes
The Macabees against their foes
Lit a Menorah
And danced the Hora
For a victory occurred
The romans couldn’t speak a word
Antiochus began to morn
And thus the legend was born
The title means: The story of Hanukkah
------------------
Contest 2 involved sharing a Chanukah memory.
Prize is an Al Rosen Sweet Spot Auto:
All the stories were nice to read and a contest like this is very subjective. This one was the one that touched me the most, thanks for sharing.
-----------------------------
Contest number 3 was a trivia contest. I have to say I was quite impressed with the responses.
The prize:
1) What is the Hebrew date for (the first day of) Chanukah? The 25th of Kislev
2) Around when was Chanukah establisted? Around 200 BCE (many people gave more exact dates, but this was close to enough
3) What were the two miracles of Chanukah? The small army of Jewish men defeated the much larger Armies of Greece
4) Which family were the heroes of the Chanukah story? Hashmoneans. (I also accepted "Maccabees" which was a title the leader, Yehuda, took on, as the tag is used loosely to refer to the family.)[/b]
5) Why do we light the Menorah on Chanukah? To commemmorate the miracle of the oil lasting 8 days.
6) What foods are often eaten on Chanukah: Dairy, donuts (Sufganyot, ) oily foods including Latkes etc.
Tie breaker:
7) Why is Chanukah 8 days (the question stems from the fact that if the oil lasted 8 days, and there was enough for one day, only 7 days were miraculous.)
Some answers include:
There were 7 days to remember the 7 days the oil burned extra (there was enough for one day) and one day to commemorate the war.
They split the oil into 8 and used 1/8 each night. All 8 nights were therefore a miracle.
They made the wicks 1/8 of the size
According to one text there was in fact not even enough for 8 days
The first day was Sabbath. Because lighting a fire on Sabbath is a prohibition, they needed to light before Sabbath, and therefore needed slightly more oil.
As far as a winner...that's where we got stuck. There was a tie between mallkopKJ and mburgin who each offered 8 different answers to the final question. To pick the winner, I'm going to pick a number between 1 and 1000 and the person who gets the closest will be the winner.
A couple of other things:
I still have this card to give away. It's free to anyone who has (or is considering starting) a Jewish PC, or is going for the set.
And finally...
A number of people mentioned in pm's that they really enjoyed learning about the holiday. I mentioned the party we were having online to a friend and he told me of a study program in my community that basically has people study over the phone for 10 minutes a week. There's a really great free book they give out, and people are paired up with someone they will feel comfortable with, who can help explain and elucidate any points, and make it interesting, and it's done in memory of the 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. If anyone is at all interested in giving it a shot, just let me know.
Thanks again everyone. Winners pm me your addresses. mallkopKJ and mburgin please pm or post your numbers so we can determine the winner of the final contest.
Hope everyone has a happy healthy winter.
Contest 1 was to write a Jewish/Chanukah related poem. The prize was a Hank Greenberg Bat:
While there were a number of poems I enjoyed, the prize goes to trademhigh for his efforts in both Hebrew and English.
and...
Haseepoor shel Hanukah
The Greeks arrived
Under Alexander the hebrews thrived
Then came dictator Antiochus the fourth
So Macabee and sons came forth
Macabee aka the hammer
Hit Antiochus harder than Quentin Jammer
After the temple was sacked
The bricks were no longer stacked
As the legend goes
The Macabees against their foes
Lit a Menorah
And danced the Hora
For a victory occurred
The romans couldn’t speak a word
Antiochus began to morn
And thus the legend was born
The title means: The story of Hanukkah
------------------
Contest 2 involved sharing a Chanukah memory.
Prize is an Al Rosen Sweet Spot Auto:
All the stories were nice to read and a contest like this is very subjective. This one was the one that touched me the most, thanks for sharing.
JacobAlastra said:Chanukah is the only time when my entire family gets together. For the passed 15 years i loved eating Potato Lotkus(spelling sorry) with my entire family gathered around the table. This year was the first time we have gotten together without my Grandpa since he passed last March. We still have a place set for him and i will always remember him saying Kaddish as he lit the Manora.
-----------------------------
Contest number 3 was a trivia contest. I have to say I was quite impressed with the responses.
The prize:
1) What is the Hebrew date for (the first day of) Chanukah? The 25th of Kislev
2) Around when was Chanukah establisted? Around 200 BCE (many people gave more exact dates, but this was close to enough
3) What were the two miracles of Chanukah? The small army of Jewish men defeated the much larger Armies of Greece
4) Which family were the heroes of the Chanukah story? Hashmoneans. (I also accepted "Maccabees" which was a title the leader, Yehuda, took on, as the tag is used loosely to refer to the family.)[/b]
5) Why do we light the Menorah on Chanukah? To commemmorate the miracle of the oil lasting 8 days.
6) What foods are often eaten on Chanukah: Dairy, donuts (Sufganyot, ) oily foods including Latkes etc.
Tie breaker:
7) Why is Chanukah 8 days (the question stems from the fact that if the oil lasted 8 days, and there was enough for one day, only 7 days were miraculous.)
Some answers include:
There were 7 days to remember the 7 days the oil burned extra (there was enough for one day) and one day to commemorate the war.
They split the oil into 8 and used 1/8 each night. All 8 nights were therefore a miracle.
They made the wicks 1/8 of the size
According to one text there was in fact not even enough for 8 days
The first day was Sabbath. Because lighting a fire on Sabbath is a prohibition, they needed to light before Sabbath, and therefore needed slightly more oil.
As far as a winner...that's where we got stuck. There was a tie between mallkopKJ and mburgin who each offered 8 different answers to the final question. To pick the winner, I'm going to pick a number between 1 and 1000 and the person who gets the closest will be the winner.
A couple of other things:
I still have this card to give away. It's free to anyone who has (or is considering starting) a Jewish PC, or is going for the set.
And finally...
A number of people mentioned in pm's that they really enjoyed learning about the holiday. I mentioned the party we were having online to a friend and he told me of a study program in my community that basically has people study over the phone for 10 minutes a week. There's a really great free book they give out, and people are paired up with someone they will feel comfortable with, who can help explain and elucidate any points, and make it interesting, and it's done in memory of the 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. If anyone is at all interested in giving it a shot, just let me know.
Thanks again everyone. Winners pm me your addresses. mallkopKJ and mburgin please pm or post your numbers so we can determine the winner of the final contest.
Hope everyone has a happy healthy winter.
