Chanukah in Reverse
Chanukah lights grow by one
each and every night
And yet, no disguising that
the holiday slips away
quick as a cat
Six lights, seven, eight!
The menorah’s looking great! …
Come Day Number Nine
it’s back to our same old fate ...
Way back when, the school of Shammai
started Chanukah with eight lights
each night subtracting one*
Easing us back into winter’s long night
_____________________________________________________
*Over 2,000 years ago, Shammai's yeshiva argued
with Hillel's over how to celebrate Chanukah. Hil-
lel's yeshiva won: One additional candle each night.
And that became the law right down to today... As
for me, I would have it the other way. Oh, well...
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