Why Do We Use So Much Oil on Chanukah?

Rabbi Lawrence • Dec 20, 2011 (Updated: Jul 16, 2019)Comment

Potato latkes for Hanukah frying in oil.

Chanukah is difficult to do on a few calories. Unlike Purim, there is no obligation to have a seuda (festive meal) on Chanukah. It has become a custom however to have a meal which shows gratitude to G-d for the miracles that happened for the Jewish people.

One of the main miracles that happened for the Jewish people was that when the Jews recaptured the holy temple after the Greeks had defiled it, a vessel of oil was found in perfect condition with the seal of the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) still intact. Rather than lasting for one day, this oil miraculously lasted for eight days, which gave the Jewish people enough time to press more olives and have the oil delivered to the temple in Jerusalem.

Category: Articles

Holidays: Hanukkah

About Rabbi Lawrence

Originally from London, England, Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff graduated from Manchester University with honors in political science. After working for MTV in news production and winning the national Jewish Stand-Up Comedian of the Year competition, Rabbi Lawrence traveled to Israel to study and then to Monsey, New York, to receive his rabbinical smicha ordination. He is educational director of Birthright Israel Alumni in Manhattan, New York and a full-time faculty member of Stern College for Women at Yeshiva University. Rabbi Lawrence is the author of Will Jew Marry Me? and Jew Got Questions? He lives in Wesley Hills with his wife, Anita, and their five children.