Oh Hanukkah, oh Hanukkah, come charge the USB menorah

For Jewish people and those celebrating Hanukkah with them, the question "why do we give gifts on Hanukkah?" has been known to arise.

As with many things in Jewish history, culture and lore, there are multiple answers depending on who you ask. Some say it has more to do with the timing, since The Festival of Lights, AKA Hanukkah, takes place roughly around the Christmas season. Others point to the practice of giving "gelt" (coins), which dates back centuries. Or it may be linked with the original Hanukkah story, all about resisting religious oppression and having faith, with that last bit of oil lasting eight days.

But either way, in 2014 (5775 in the Jewish calendar), most modern Jews give Hanukkah gifts. And if you're looking for some fun, tech-based gifts for those modern Jews in your life, look no further. Here are some of the top tech Hanukkah gifts this year and some ideas of who might enjoy them the most.

First, if you're looking to catch up on your Hanukkah lore, you can check out G-dcast, a new media company offering free music and lessons, including a digital version of the story of Hanukkah. G-dcast also has DVDs available for purchase, covering topics like all of the Jewish holidays and the Torah.

To continue the learning — we are the "People of the Book" after all — how about making your own Hanukiah? Yeah, that's right, it's the candelabra used to light Hanukkah's eight nights worth of candles (often used interchangeably with menorah).

With the two model kits we've found, not only do you avoid dripping wax (so analog), you get to build stuff with LED and soldering kits. The Deluxe Menorah LED Kit from Evil Mad Scientist now allows the "candles" to illuminate in a flicker mode. In true open source spirit, it's designed to be hackable, with hardware and software specs available on the site. The company also assures customers it is indeed "more kosher than a bacon cheeseburger."

Meanwhile, the Mega Menorah 9000 Soldering Kit is a USB-powered option, even offering a special interface and a bonus "gratuitous red-green blinking mode." Yep.

If all that's too much construction for a digital menorah/hanukiah, and you want your favourite iPhone user to remember it's Hanukkah, there is an app for that: An iPhone "menorah" app, in fact. This one tells you which day of Hanukkah it is and provides the words for candle lighting and other Hanukkah prayers in English, Hebrew, and a transliteration option for those who want to say the words in Hebrew but don't read the language.

There are several other tech nods to the festival of lights out there. One of our favourites is this simple cork-shaped light that turns empty bottles into lamps. A simple but super-bright LED, which is USB rechargeable, can help create a cozy lighting scheme for your latke party, or even help shine a beam through the dark nights — a contemporary, no-wax, no-battery alternative to a candle in a bottle.

Anyone seeking a personalized option for gift wrapping can check out the Hanukkah patterns at Gift Wrap My Face. Choose a pattern, upload your pics, and away you go (they'll ship your wrapping paper).

There are a host of hand gestures that are part of the Jewish religion, many of which have been preserved in USB key format by Modern Tribe. That includes what many have come to recognize as the Vulcan Hand Salute, famously adapted by Leonard Nimoy when playing Spock on Star Trek.

And let's not forget the 3D printing craze. Some personal favourite items that can be given as great Hanukkah gifts include the Star of David iPhone 5 case, the LEGO menorah/chanukiah and, not to be outdone for all the non-Apple-devoted Hanukkah fans, we love Droidel (Pictured at top. 3D printer sold separately; Cubify is one option.)

Many modern Jews love their tech, but still want to respect the Sabbath, and for those following the letter of those laws, that means no electronic devices between sundown Friday and sundown Saturday. One solution for the smartphone- or tablet-addicted yet devout Jew on your list: The Kitchen Safe. Set the timer, lock up your Sabbath-breaking gizmos and unplug for 24 hours, no overrides. (For more Shabbat initiatives like this, take a look at Sabbath Manifesto and the National Day of Unplugging, as well as Reboot.)

Finally, you may be more of the sort who wants to focus on the core Jewish value of justice, including social justice, when it comes time to give gifts.

There are lots of great organizations to give to on behalf of your gift recepient, including the American Jewish World Service, which "works to realize human rights and end poverty in the developing world" and Hazon (meaning "vision" in Hebrew), which says it creates "healthier and more sustainable communities in the Jewish world and beyond." Both charities accpet online donations. Here in Canada, check out Toronto-based Shoresh Jewish Environmental Programs, Adam v'Adamah in Vancouver, and Montreal's Green Kippah Collective.

Happy Hanukkah! (Say those "H's" with that tickly "ch" accent in your throat.)

Editor's note: We realize there are multiple spellings of Hanukkah. We're following Canadian Press style, though our author here insists that Chanukah is the "homeboy" spelling and widely used in many Jewish communities. It's transliterated from the Hebrew any which way.

Jonathan Rothman is a news editor at Yahoo Canada News, based in Toronto. He prefers his latkes old-school, made with potato, onion, egg, matzo meal, salt & pepper and fried in veggie oil. And yes, he spells it Chanukah. Thanks to Sarah Lefton of G-dcast, Dan Sieradski of Self Agency, "Super Ben" Rosenthal of Sustainable Computing and Sarah "Shamir Power" Chandler of Raw Jungle Passover for their contributions.