Editing Hanukkah (section)

== Etymology ==
The name "Hanukkah" derives from the Hebrew verb "{{Script/Hebrew|חנך|rtl=yes}}", meaning "to dedicate". On Hanukkah, the Maccabean Jews regained control of Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/religion/judaism/hanukkah.shtml|title=Hanukkah|date=2014-12-17|access-date=2019-05-12|work=bbc.co.uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226134101/http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/religion/judaism/hanukkah.shtml|archive-date=2018-12-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Being Jewish: The Spiritual and Cultural Practice of Judaism Today|last=Goldman|first=Ari L.|year=2000|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-0-684-82389-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/beingjewishspiri00gold/page/141 141]|url=https://archive.org/details/beingjewishspiri00gold/page/141}}</ref>

Many [[Homiletics|homiletical]] explanations have been given for the name:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://torah.org/interest/originchanukah/ |title=Origin of the Name Chanukah |first=Nosson |last=Scherman |date=23 December 2005 |publisher=Torah.org |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121207031405/http://www.torah.org/features/holydays/originchanukah.html |archive-date=7 December 2012 |access-date=6 October 2018}}</ref>
* The name can be broken down into {{Script/Hebrew|חנו כ״ה}}, "[they] rested [on the] twenty-fifth", referring to the fact that the Jews ceased fighting on the 25th day of [[Kislev]], the day on which the holiday begins.<ref>[[Nissim of Gerona|Ran]] Shabbat 9b ({{cite web|url= http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=14314&pgnum=542 |title=Hebrew text |access-date=6 October 2018}})</ref>
* {{Script/Hebrew|חינוך}} {{transliteration|he|[[Chinuch]]}}, from the same root, is the name for Jewish education, emphasizing ethical training and discipline.
* {{Script/Hebrew|חנוכה|rtl=yes}} (Hanukkah) is also the Hebrew [[acronym]] for {{Script/Hebrew|'''ח''' '''נ'''רות '''ו'''הלכה '''כ'''בית '''ה'''לל}}&nbsp;– "Eight candles, and the [[halakha]] is according to the House of Hillel". This is a reference to the disagreement between two rabbinical schools of thought – the [[Hillel the Elder|House of Hillel]] and the [[Shammai|House of Shammai]] – on the proper order in which to light the Hanukkah flames. Shammai opined that eight candles should be lit on the first night, seven on the second night, and so on down to one on the last night (because the miracle was greatest on the first day). Hillel argued in favor of starting with one candle and lighting an additional one every night, up to eight on the eighth night (because the miracle grew in greatness each day). [[Jewish law]] adopted the position of Hillel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ou.org/holidays/chanukah/laws/|title=The Lights of Chanukah: Laws and Customs|publisher=Orthodox Union|date=9 April 2014|access-date=6 October 2018}}</ref>
* [[Psalm 30]] is called {{Script/Hebrew|שיר חנכת הבית}} {{transliteration|he|Shîr Ḥănukkāt HaBayit}}, "the Song of the 'Dedication' of the House", and is traditionally recited on Hanukkah. 25 (of Kislev) + 5 (Books of Torah) = 30, which is the number of the song.

=== Alternative spellings ===
[[File:Hanukkah.png|thumb|Spelling variations due to transliteration of Hebrew ''Ḥet Nun Vav Kaf Hey'']]
In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], the word Hanukkah is written {{Script/Hebrew|חֲנֻכָּה}} or {{Script/Hebrew|חֲנוּכָּה}} ({{transliteration|he|Ḥănukā}}). It is most commonly [[transliteration|transliterated]] to English as ''Hanukkah'' or ''{{transliteration|he|Chanukah}}''. The spelling ''Hanukkah'', which is based on using characters of the English alphabet as symbols to re-create the word's correct spelling in Hebrew,<ref name=forward>{{cite web|url=https://forward.com/opinion/148856/yes-virginia-hanukkah-has-a-correct-spelling/|title=Yes, Virginia, Hanukkah Has a Correct Spelling|date=30 December 2011 }}</ref> is the most common<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://time.com/3636698/right-spelling-hanukkah-chanukah-hannukah/|title=Is There a Right Way to Spell Hanukkah? Chanukah? Hannukah?|magazine=Time}}</ref> and the preferred choice of [[Merriam–Webster]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Hanukkah|title=Definition of HANUKKAH|website=www.merriam-webster.com|date=5 December 2023 }}</ref> ''[[Collins English Dictionary]]'', the ''[[Hart's Rules|Oxford Style Manual]]'', and the style guides of ''[[The New York Times]]'' and ''[[The Guardian]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2012/dec/07/hanukah-chanukah-chutzpah-embrace-yiddish|title=Hanukah or Chanukah? Have the chutzpah to embrace Yiddish|first=Harriet|last=Powney|date=7 December 2012|newspaper=the Guardian}}</ref> The sound represented by ''Ch'' ({{IPAblink|χ}}, similar to the [[Scots language|Scottish]] pronunciation of ''[[loch]]'') is not native to the [[English language]].<ref>Its use in transliteration of Hebrew into English is based on influences of Yiddish and German, particularly since transliteration into German tended to be earlier than transliteration into English. See {{slink|Romanization of Hebrew|How to transliterate}}.</ref> Furthermore, the letter ''[[heth|ḥeth]]'' ({{Script/Hebrew|ח|rtl=yes}}), which is the first letter in the Hebrew spelling, is pronounced differently in modern Hebrew ([[voiceless uvular fricative]]) from in classical Hebrew ([[voiceless pharyngeal fricative]] {{IPAblink|ħ}}), and neither of those sounds is unambiguously representable in English spelling. However, its original sound is closer to the English ''H'' than to the Scottish ''Ch'', and ''Hanukkah'' more accurately represents the spelling in the Hebrew alphabet.<ref name=forward/> Moreover, the 'kaf' consonant is [[geminate]] in classical (but not modern) Hebrew. Adapting the classical Hebrew pronunciation with the geminate and pharyngeal {{transliteration|he|Ḥeth}} can lead to the spelling ''Hanukkah'', while adapting the modern Hebrew pronunciation with no gemination and uvular {{transliteration|he|Ḥeth}} leads to the spelling {{transliteration|he|Chanukah}}.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 1, 2011 |title=Hebrew Alphabet |url=https://hebrewsyntax.org/bbh2/bbh2_supplement.pdf |access-date=November 25, 2023 |page=2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Which Is Correct: Hanukkah or Chanukah? {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/story/which-is-correct-hanukkah-or-chanukah |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=How Do You Spell Hanukkah? |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/how-do-you-spell-hanukkah/ |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=My Jewish Learning |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Festival of Lights ===
In [[Modern Hebrew]], Hanukkah may also be called the '''Festival of Lights''' ({{Script/Hebrew|חַג הַאוּרִים}}, {{transliteration|he|Ḥag HaUrim}}), based on a comment by [[Josephus]] in ''[[Antiquities of the Jews]]'', καὶ ἐξ ἐκείνου μέχρι τοῦ δεῦρο τὴν ἑορτὴν ἄγομεν καλοῦντες αὐτὴν φῶτα "And from then on we celebrate this festival, and we call it Lights". The first Hebrew translation of ''Antiquities'' (1864) used ({{Script/Hebrew|חַג הַמְּאֹרוֹת}}) "Festival of Lamps", but the translation "Festival of Lights" ({{Script/Hebrew|חַג הַאוּרִים}}) appeared by the end of the nineteenth century.<ref>{{Cite web |last=dimap |date=2019-12-17 |script-title=he:אורים ואורות |url=https://hebrew-academy.org.il/2019/12/17/אורים-ואורות/ |access-date=2022-11-24 |website=האקדמיה ללשון העברית |language=he-IL}}</ref>