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The Sages formulated the Al Ha-nisim prayer, which we insert in the Amida and the Grace After Meals on Ĥanuka (and Purim), to thank and praise God for saving the Jewish people.
Men must recite Hallel on all eight days of Ĥanuka during Shaĥarit. While women are not obligated to recite Hallel, a woman who chooses to do so is fulfilling a mitzva.
As we said above (section 1), Ĥanuka was instituted as a holiday of praise and thanksgiving. Nonetheless, unlike Purim, there is no obligation to partake in a festive meal. On Purim, the obligation to eat and drink is because we commemorate our enemies’ attempt to destroy our physical bodies by rejoicing physically. In contrast, we experienced a spiritual victory on Ĥanuka. The Greeks enacted decrees only against Torah study and mitzva observance; someone who complied and conducted himself like a Greek was safe. Therefore, the practices of Ĥanuka focus on the spirit. We thank and praise God for helping us preserve Torah and mitzvot. Even though there is no obligation to have festive meals on Ĥanuka, doing so is fulfilling a mitzva, as long as they include words of Torah that relate to the holiday and its lessons.
There is a custom to eat fried foods on Ĥanuka, such as sufganiyot (fried doughnuts) and latkes (potato pancakes), to commemorate the miracle of the oil. There is also a custom to eat milk and cheese, in commemoration of another miracle. The Greeks decreed that every bride would be forced to have sexual relations with the local governor on her wedding night. Judith, daughter of Yoĥanan the High Priest, refused to subject herself to this humiliation. Instead, she fed the enemy governor dairy foods, waited until he fell asleep, and killed him, thus bringing salvation to the Jews. Even though this story happened before the Ĥanuka events, Judith’s act of courage would later embolden the Hasmoneans, giving them the strength to rebel against the Greeks.
