The Origins of the Word Hanukkiyah
If one were to conduct any type of search for the word חנוכייה, Hanukkiyah, in Hebrew literature before the 20th century they would most likely come up empty. The word simply does not exist in Biblical, Talmudic, nor Medieval Hebrew literature. In the Temple there was the מנורה, and when describing what one lights during Hanukkah the words usually used are נר/ות חנוכה, מנורת חנוכה. The word חנוכייה was “invented” by Hemda Ben-Yehudah, Eliezer Ben-Yehudah’s wife, and first appeared in the Hebrew newspaper Ha-Tzvi in 1897. The story doesn’t end there. Apparently the word חנוכייה actually comes from Ladino and was used by Portuegese Jews, with one theory hypothesizing that Hemda Ben-Yehudah may have heard it from Ladino-speaking Jews.
The word חנוכייה is similar in construction to the word for tomato, עגבנייה, which was invented by R. Yehiel Michal Pines in 1886. Eliezer Ben-Yehudah opposed Pines’s word, and preferred בנדורה which was based upon the Arabic word for tomato.
Sources: Two interviews on Israel Radio during the past few days. One with Shalom Sabar and the other with someone else whose name escapes me.
December 17th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Have you got an example from Ladino literature that shows usage of the term?
December 17th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
In Leshoneinu la-Am, n. 24 there is a discussion of the word. The next time that I am at the library I will check it out.
December 17th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
There is also evidence the word חנוכה without נר meant חנוכיה in Middle Hebrew. See Moshe Benovitz, “עד דכליא ריגלא דתרמודאי” : נר חנוכה בארץ ישראל בימי התנאים והאמוראים” in Torah Leshmah (2007). This lead of course to some confusion in the Bavli sugya.
December 18th, 2009 at 4:09 am
For a disscussion of סופגנייה, see:
http://hebrew-academy.huji.ac.il/PDF/Hanuka.pdf
December 18th, 2009 at 7:24 am
Hillel,
Thanks for the link. I should have also thought about סופגנייה.
December 21st, 2009 at 10:06 am
A friend’s child brought home a Chanukah project, with the following spelling:
חנוכי-ה
December 29th, 2009 at 4:00 am
S., my kindergartener daughter came home with her name spelled with a raised dash between the yud and the heh. I asked the teacher whether that was important, and she admitted that she really didn’t know. In other words, I wouldn’t take any lessons from the fact your friend’s child’s teacher used the dash.