#xanikhe

[newtsoftheworldunite]

Xag Xanikhe Samayx! It’s the last night until 5785. Enjoy your lights everyone. Keep the flame alive.

[newtsoftheworldunite]

Chanukah

Hanukkah

Khannakhah

Xanikhe

Gift Guide

5784

Lovingly compiled for the people of Jumblr (and the goyim who love them) by Newt b’nay Newt v’Newt (Newtim HaOlam Yachad)

Xanikhe, however one transliterates it into this particular exilic tongue, is one of my favorite Jewish holidays (I have a lot of favorite Jewish holidays) as a shout against assimilation and disappearance into hegemonic structures. Somehow ironically, the pressure of the seasonal White Elephant in the room for Euroamerican Jews means that it’s also the Jewish holiday most associated with gift giving. And this year there are twelve days between today (November 25) and the first candle lighting (25 Kislev) so if you’re struggling to pick gifts for any Yid’n in your life who you wish to celebrate, you’ve come to the right place.

So where should one start with Xanikhe gifts? Is a Xanikhe gift just a gift in blue or silver wrapping paper? It could be! But this is a list of gift recommendations for those invested in the roots and soul of the holiday (and I don’t just mean fighting the heirs of Alexander the not-so-great). Xanikhe, you see, means dedication. It’s a celebration of the rededication of the Beit haMikdash, an attempt to renew and return to the central promise of Jewish life. So these recommendations are specifically of defiantly Jewish gifts for the person or people in your life dedicating or rededicating themselves to Judaism this season. (Which could even be you! It’s certainly what I always look for this season).

Without further ado, some recommendations (tumblr won’t let me save these all at once so I’ll reblog myself and pin the compendium for y’all).

Part One: Xanikhiyot/Menorahs/Dreydls Etc

There are specific items needed to properly celebrate. And the first and foremost is something to burn and something to burn it in while you ponder all the unjust systems in need of dismantling in the coming year. And a top or two to remind you just how turbulent the times we live in now are, and have always been.

So, the requirements for a kosher xanikhiyah or Xanikhe lamp are that it have 8 spots for flames at the same height and one spot, either higher or lower (usually higher) for the Shamash or “helper” candle. Xanikhe fire is a sacred light, see, so it’s not supposed to be used to do work, like lighting another flame. But a helper can do that! So besides the sacred lights that remind us of the eternal flame in the sanctuary of the Beit haMikdash, we always have one everyday working-class flame to get things done with.

There are lots of Xanikhiyot available for purchase online but there’s a special significance in creating the tools with which you perform a mitzvah yourself, so this year I’m recommending homemade menorah crafting tips as my first gift suggestion.

Kveller has a plethora of ideas for this year’s menorah manufacturers: https://www.kveller.com/12-fun-and-easy-ways-to-make-your-own-menorah/

12 Fun and Easy Ways to Make Your Own Menorah – Kveller

Hanukkah is here, and this year, with the pandemic keeping us indoors and isolated, a lot of us have been in a DIY mood. We’ve been making o

If you want to go back to the basics, skip candles and make an olive oil menorah this year. PJ library has the goods: https://pjlibrary.org/beyond-books/pjblog/november-2019/how-to-make-an-oil-menorah

How to Make an Oil Menorah

Be like a Maccabee with this super simple and easy to create oil menorah.

If you can’t find oil wicks locally, the Jewish Museum has you covered (shipping might cost you more than the wicks themselves though): https://shop.thejewishmuseum.org/package-of-24-oil-wicks-for-oil-menorahs-103038.html

Package of 24 Oil Wicks for Oil Menorahs

Package includes 24 wicks for use in oil menorahs.   2"l x 3.5"h

Next up! Dreydls! In the song some of us learned as children, you make them out of clay. The original Yiddish says lead, which I do not recommend trying at home.

But they’re definitely still possible to make using more modern materials too. Lego-like building bricks for example: https://shop.thejewishmuseum.org/build-a-brick-dreidel-104756

Build-a-Brick Dreidel

The festival of lights comes to life as you build this dreidel. It can be enjoyed alone to develop self-play skills, concentration and atten

Part Two: Calendars

Okay so the Jewish New Year was a bit ago but maybe you were busy or maybe you’re just used to Roman time. Xanikhe is a great opportunity to liberate yourself from the strictures of an imperialist colonial calendar. And there are lots of good options out there. I’ll highlight two this year.

First up is another gem from the Jewish museum, a 16 month wall calendar combining 5784 AM and 2024 CE which will get you all the way from here to next Xanikhe: https://shop.thejewishmuseum.org/the-jewish-museum-2024-wall-calendar-104128

The Jewish Museum 2024 Wall Calendar

The extraordinary works of art reproduced here communicate the aesthetic values and skill of their creators while revealing different aspe

Next is a brilliantly designed daily planner built to help anybody start reorienting their life around Jewish time, conveniently available in both physical and digital formats: https://goldherring.com/product/the-jewish-planner-5784/

The Jewish Planner 5784 – Gold Herring