Chanukah - The REAL Story

333 B.C.E.: In the 4th Century B.C.E. Alexander the Great conquered the near east including Israel, but was a different type of ruler...he believed in allowing his newly conquered nations to continue as they had before, with little change... thus continued to live as Jews, and the taxes did not change, only who they were going to changed.

333-165: In the following 130 years or so of changing rulers and factions, where the Jews were not only allowed to continue observing , but given full citizenship among the Greeks as well (this was a continuation of Alexander’s beliefs and policies)- they could participate in the new learning, art, literature, philosophy, and most important, sports that the Greeks introduced to them. Many Jews enjoyed these new additions to their life. Some changed their names to Greek names and wholly embraced the Greek way of life, completely giving up Judaism. Some even attempted surgery to reverse their circumcisions! This was called Hellenization.

Jews began to separate into 2 distinct groups: Hellenized Jews and traditional Jews. Although there were certainly a number of Jews that were in-between, these two groups of polar opposites began to argue about who was right and how Jews should live.

175 B.C.E.: Antiochus IV Epiphanes (the Seleucid ruler of Syria) becomes ruler of the entire region. This is where the story becomes somewhat unclear - in one version, Antiochus just outlaws Judaism completely, forcing (or attempting to) the Jews to Hellenize completely.

In the other more complicated (and most likely) version, there is an internal struggle between different Jewish factions, leading to the revolt of one high priest (Jason) against another high priest (Menelaus). Jason was killed by Menelaus' followers. Antiochus IV Epiphanes, interpreting the revolt of Jason as a revolt against him, decrees that Judaism is illegal, and that Torah study, ritual observance, and circumcision is forbidden. In this version, the Hellenized Jews asked Antiochus Epiphanes for support (with laws and with troops) which he gladly gave.

165 B.C.E.: In the village of Modin, the revolt against the Greeks and the Hellenized Jews begins when , the head of the Hasmonean family, kills a Hellenized Jew who bows down and sacrifices to an idol as decreed by Antiochus Epiphanes and enforced by the Greek soldiers.

A bitter civil war breaks out between Hellenized Jews, supported and aided by Antiochus and his Greek armies, and the (traditional Jews) led by Mattathias and his sons: Judah and his brothers. Judah is made the leader after Mattathias' death and nicknamed Judah Maccabee (Yehuda HaMaKaBi is an acronym for the Hebrew: Mi Kamokha BaElim Adonai - “who is like you amongst all the gods?” - and the letter Yod stands for God's name.), and wages guerilla warfare against the Hellenized Jewish and Greek troops sent by Antiochus to crush the revolt. The and the Hasideans liberate and are victorious, and the Syrian Greeks make peace with the victorious Jews.

What is said about Chanukah in our texts comes from the Gemara (part of the ):

What is Chanukah? The Greeks defiled the Temple, and the Hasmoneans (the Maccabees) defeated them, re-dedicated the Temple, cleansing it, and making it usable once again. They found only one cruse (container) of oil that was unopened (and therefore fit for use). It contained enough oil for only one day, but a miracle happened and the oil burned for 8 days. From the Talmud 21b

Why are lights kindled on Chanukah? The reason is that when the sons of Mattathias, the high priest, defeated the Syrian Greeks, they entered the temple and found eight iron spears. They stuck them in the earth and kindled a light in each one. From Midrash Pesikta Rabbati chapter 2.

Why is Chanukah observed for 8 days? Because in the days of the Greek domination of Palestine, the Hasmoneans (Maccabees) recaptured the Temple and rebuilt the altar. They did this with fresh cement and replaced all of the serving vessels that had been destroyed. This task took them 8 days to accomplish.

Questions and Answers (the Chanukah FAQ)

Why is Rabbinic literature so silent about the ideas of a military victory, let alone the possibility of a civil war? There are at least 3 possible explanations for this:

1) What happened to the Hasmoneans (Maccabees) later in history. The , which ruled Israel for about 100 years, eventually became Hellenized (giving up Judaism for Greek ways) and opposed and even persecuted the Rabbis. The Hasmonean dynasty also became corrupt and abusive. Because of all these reasons, the Rabbis were very unhappy with the Hasmoneans and most likely did not want to give them credit for such a noble beginning.

2) The Rabbis, because they were living under Roman rule, may have felt obligated to censor a story about a small number of Jews revolting victoriously against a powerful enemy. The Mishnah (½ of the Talmud) was written AFTER two disastrous revolts against the Romans, the first leading to the destruction of the in 70 C.E., and the second the Bar Kochba rebellion in 135 C.E. In order to keep the Romans happy, and to discourage further disaster, the Rabbis may have minimized the historical significance of Chanukah.

3) Because the independence of the Hasmonean state lasted less than 100 years, the importance of the Maccabees in the context of greater Jewish history may have seriously diminished, until it seemed like a very brief moment in that history.

To ensure Chanukah's lasting importance, the rabbis decided to emphasize its spiritual content and symbol...the menorah or Chanukiyah (a specific menorah with 8 branches plus the shamash) when the regular traditional menorah has only 7 branches.

How do we light the Chanukiyah (or Menorah)? Each night the candles are placed from right to left, adding a candle for each night, and lit from left to right, so that the candle for the new night is the first one that is lit.

What makes a Chanukiyah Kosher? The most important thing about a Chanukiyah is that you light it each night of Chanukah. Many people own and use beautiful chanukiyot that have candles of different heights. But according to traditional Judaism, a Kosher Chanukiyah is one where all the candles...except the Shamash ... are the same height, because no day is more important than another.

Why do we light the Chanukiyah in this fashion? There was just such an argument between tow of our most famous Rabbis: Hillel and Shammai. Shammai said that in the Temple, there was less oil burning in the menorah each day, the first night of Chanukah, 8 candles should be lit: removing one for each subsequent night of Chanukah, thereby counting down the nights. Hillel said that a candle should be added each night, so that the last night all the candles are lit. He said that in this way, we INCREASE our joy throughout the 8 days rather than diminish it. As you can see, Hillel won this argument (and most of the others).

Why is the Shamash higher than the other candles? In ancient times, people used candles and oil lamps for light. On Chanukah, you were not supposed to use the lit candles (or oil lamps) that commemorated the holiday for any other purpose. For example, you were not supposed to use them to light a room, to read by, etc. So the Shamash, which is used to light the others but serves no religiously significant purpose, may be used for any purpose. Therefore, by lighting the Shamash and keeping it higher than the other lamps/candles, no one can mistakenly use the other candles for any other purpose than intended. The Shamash is lighting the room, and not the Chanukiya.

Why the story of the miracle of the oil? Why wasn't the military victory enough? Because most times it is much easier to pick up weapons and use them than it is to put them down. It is easier to fight with others than to fight with yourself. It is not easy to make God and Judaism a part of our everyday lives. By celebrating and remembering the rededication of the Temple, we remember what the REAL victory of Chanukah is: making Judaism a part of ourselves and our everyday lives.

Why 8 days of Chanukah? Because of the miracle of the oil? To get 8 different gifts? Actually, since we have discussed that the story about the miracle is really just that: a story, why 8 days? Well, earlier the stories were discussed that it took 8 days to rebuild the altar and that there were 8 spears stuck in the ground. But, the other (and most likely) reason is that while the Hasmoneans were fighting the Greeks/Syrian/Hellenized Jews, they were unable to celebrate . Chanukah is most likely modeled after Sukkot, which also lasts for 8 days (7 days plus shemini atzeret).