By Dr. Wendy Zierler

There is a grammatical anomaly that pervades the traditional Hanukkah liturgy. In the She’asah nissim blessing, in haNerot hallalu, and in Al haNissim (the Hanukkah addition to the Amidah prayer and to the Grace After Meals), we acknowledge the miracles and battles that God performed for our ancestors in the repetitive language: “baYamim haHem baZeman haZeh”— in those days in this time. This peculiar phrase is often translated in prayer books as “in those days at this season;” nevertheless, why would the liturgy need to repeat or separate days and season in this manner?

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