Hanukkah Unbound: 1st Night

Happy 1st Night of Hanukkah! Below you will find a variety of ways to enhance this evening's holiday experience. 

Eight Ways to Light Your Menorah on Night One:

Learn more about each of these outside-the-box ways of lighting your Menorah on the 1st night of Hanukkah by clicking the images below!

Image 1: Cocktail Menorah, Image 2: Chemistry Menorah, Image 3: Nail Decal Menorah Image 4: Outdoor Glowstick Menorah Image 5: Indoor Glowstick Menorah Image 6: Tatoo Menorah Image 7: Shammai Menorah Image 8: "Classic" Menorah

Image Credit: The iCenter

There is a tradition each night of Sukkot to welcome in a "guest" from the Torah or Prophets. We like this tradition so much that we'd like to bring it into the Hanukkah experience as well. So on our Hanukkah Unbound: Welcome page, we've put together eight different kinds of guests that you can invite to your candle-lighting, including "classic" figures in the Bible (both male and female), mystical Jewish creatures, social justice activists, and athletes! For the first night of Hanukkah, we will highlight our two "classic" lists. Feel free to welcome the two individuals historically matched with the 1st night of Sukkot (Abraham and Sarah), choose your favorite from the list, or welcome multiple of these folks! You can learn more about each guest by clicking their name.

Image Credit: eBay

  1. Abraham
  2. Isaac
  3. Jacob
  4. Joseph
  5. Moses
  6. Aaron
  7. David
  8. Wildcard (Choose your favorite male Biblical character! Options include Mordechai, Jonah, Job, or Solomon)
  1. Sarah
  2. Rebecca
  3. Leah
  4. Rachel
  5. Miriam
  6. Abigail
  7. Esther
  8. Wildcard (Choose your own favorite female Biblical character for the final night! Options include Eve, Yocheved, Deborah, Michal, or Ruth)

Cocktail of the Night:

Looking to accentuate your holiday with something tasty and alcoholic? Drink your way through the holiday with this "Cocktail Menorah," courtesy of The Kiddush Club! Each drink is themed around an important early founder of Rabbinic Judaism.

The Shimon Bar Yo-Chai

Recipe: 3/4 c. chai tea, 1-1.5 oz. Jameson, .5 oz crème de cacao, .5oz goldschlager, 1 t honey (or to taste). Garnish with orange or lemon and a sprig of rosemary.

"So the first flavor-obsessed rabbi I can think of is Shimon bar Yochai," began the Talmud Fairy. "He spent years in a cave, eating nothing but carob. Are there any carob liquors?"  Your Kiddush Club hostess doesn't know much about the Sages, but she does know the contents of her liquor cabinet. "Maybe creme de cacao would be close enough? And...could you write down his name? Because it sounds like chai spice might work." The T-F sniffed the bottle he was offered, and nodded. "Can I do a hot drink? Shimon Bar Yochai is one of the reasons we have bonfires on Lag b'Omer." Once we tasted his concoction, the answer was a resounding yes. Raise a hot steaming mug of Shimon Bar Yo-Chai to celebrate the first flames of Hanukkah.  

As a companion to our eight different ways to light the menorah, we've put together a playlist of songs that feature numbers prominently. Think of it as a cross between lighting the menorah, the "Who Knows One" song from the Passover seder, and Apple Music/Spotify fun. Each "night" features a "shamash" (helper candle) and a countdown of songs starting with that night's number. (There are 44 songs in all, just like the number of candles in a box of Hanukkah candles.)

  1. Light My Candle (Cast of "Rent") - Shamash/Helper Candle

  2. One Day (Matisyahu)

Hanukkah Unbound Track of the Night: Eat

Each night we highlight one of our Hanukkah Unbound "tracks" that you can enjoy! Tonight we highlight our "Eat" Track, which features Hanukkah cuisine from around the world. As they say...think outside the latke! Click the image below (of a delicious Italian Cassola) to gain access to a whole world -- literally -- of Hanukkah recipes!

Image Credit: Alessandra Rovati