Hanukkah in the Warsaw Ghetto
Hanukkah is celebrated in the middle of the winter, when the days are short and cold. In the following section, Emmanuel Ringelblum describes Hanukkah as a symbol of the struggle between “good” and “evil”.
- How is the “good” symbolized in this parable? Click on one word from the text. day
- How is the "evil” symbolized in this parable? Click on two words in the text. night frost
- Click the sentence marking the beginning of the victory of good over evil. "Hanukkah is the holiday when the day begins to conquer the night."
- Why did the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto celebrate Hanukkah with great enthusiasm?
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“[…] this year Hanukkah was celebrated everywhere with great enthusiasm. Hundreds of parties and children’s plays were held all over Warsaw […] in the yards prominent people from the community were honored by lighting the first candle. Hanukkah candles were seen glowing from every window. In Shinana Street I heard a speech given by Isaac Giterman – ‘Hanukkah is the holiday when the day begins to conquer the night, but the day is still trapped by the frost. Purim is the time when the day struggles out of the frost and triumphs over the night. Pesach is the spring, when the good overcomes the evil’.” |
