The Maccabees
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The Maccabees Written by Steven G. Rhodes Copyright Case# 1-3853893102 Date: Nov 26, 2016 Steven G. Rhodes 1830 NW 1st Ave., Apt D. Gainesville, FL 32603 305-766-5734 941-227-5997 stevengrhodes @yahoo.com REM: Order of Day 8 Chanukah: Circa 1930’s Europe. (hidden until ACT III) REM: WATCH JUDITH MOVIES ON NETFLIX. REM: WATCH ADAM AT SOLSTICE MOVIES OJ NETFLIX REM: WATCH LEVIATHAN MOVIES ON NETFLIX 1 REM PROLOGUE: READ BY NARRATOR (RABBI DALLMAN) 1 Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days beginning on the 25th of Kislev (mid- to late-December). Since Hanukkah falls four days before the new moon (the darkest night of the month) and close to the winter solstice (the longest night of the year), it seems only natural that a key element of this holiday is light. In fact, one of its other names is the "Feast of Lights" (along with "Feast of Dedication" and "Feast of the Maccabees"). The only essential ritual of Hanukkah is the lighting of candles. The Hanukkah candles are held in a chanukkiah, a candelabra that holds nine candles. (The chanukkiah is different from a menorah, which is a candelabra that holds seven candles and is pictured on the official emblem of the State of Israel.) The candle (shammash) in the middle of the chanukkiah is used to light the others. The idea of a seder is of course best known from Passover, where a progression of 15 steps shapes a complicated process that allows us to re-live and re-experience the Exodus from Egypt. In the same way, we are used to daily and Shabbat services flowing through a fixed progression of prayers found in the siddur [prayerbook] (from the same root as seder). Even the way we conjure and welcome Shabbat into our homes every Friday night follows a fixed pattern of prayers and actions. The Hanukkah ritual is too short to call a seder, yet it has a fixed order of blessings and a fixed progression of actions. This progression takes us through a process. Think of it as one of the rides at Disney World where you get into a car that rolls or floats on a track. The ride takes you 2. through a process: You encounter one experience, then the next, then the next. The order is always fixed, the experience cumulative. Each blessing and each prayer in the Hanukkah candle lighting service has a purpose and a function in bringing the religious experience of Hanukkah alive. High Ashkenazi 1) Food prepared before nightfall? No electricity after nightfall? 1a) Greeting for all in attendance and Rabbi when arriving. 2) Menorah lit > Dark falls. HOW LONG DO THEY BURN EACH NIGHT AND ON THE 8th DAY? But not during Shabbat (Sabbath) Oils, candles? Sabbath? 2a) Blessing 1 and 2 (of 3) are said. 1 and 2 only after the first night. WRITE IN YIDDISH. One candle is lit on the first night of Hanukkah, two are lit on the second, and so on, until all eight are lit on the eighth night. The candles are added from the right, but lit beginning with the first one on the left (representing the current night). During or after the lighting of the candles, these blessings are recited: 1. Blessed are You, Eternal One our God, Universal Presence, Who sanctifies us with the mitzvot and gives us this path of kindling the light of Hanukkah. 2. Blessed are You, Eternal One our God, Universal Presence, Who worked miracles for our ancestors in ancient days at this time. 1) First, we say the mitzvah berakhah--"lehadlik ner shel Hanukkah." [to light the Hanukkah lights]. This defines the act of lighting the Hanukkah lights as a "mitzvah," a 3. commanded religious experience, and establishes an expectation that this act can lead--if we have the proper intention--to an encounter with the Divine. 2) Next, we say a berakhah of praise--"sheh'asah nissim la'avoteinu." [Who created miracles for our ancestors]. This berakhah not only thanks God for the original Hanukkah experience that we are now recalling, but defines Hanukkah as the commemoration of a time when God performed miracles. In other words, this one-line berakhah teaches us Hanukkah's essential meaning (as expressed by the Rabbis): "Not by might, not by power, but by My spirit alone, says the Lord." In other words, we are clearly taught that Hanukkah is the acknowledgment of God's actions on our behalf. Once they are lit, the candles may not be used for any other purpose, such as lighting other candles or reading by, and they must burn for at least a half an hour. The chanukkiah should be placed in a window to proclaim the miracle it represents (except in times of persecution, when to do so could endanger the family's lives). 3) Gelts passed out 4) Dreidel game played with gelts, or candies? Another popular Hanukkah tradition is the game of "spin the dreidel." A dreidel is a four-sided spinning top with the Hebrew letters nun, gimel, hay, and shin drawn on each side. These letters stand for the Hebrew phrase Nes Gadol Hayah Sham, "A great miracle happened there," and they also stand for Yiddish words that represent the rules of the game: nit (nothing), gantz (all), halb (half) and shtell (put). Each player begins with an equal amount of nuts, pennies, M&Ms, or other small pieces, then the players take turns spinning the dreidel. Before each spin, each person puts one piece into the pot. If the spin lands on nun, nothing happens. If it lands on gimel (one Jewish author knows this as "gimme!"), the player collects all the pieces and everyone antes up again. A result of hay means the player takes half the pieces in the pot, and shin requires the player to put 4. one more piece in the pot. The origin of the dreidel game is not clear. One theory is that it was used as as protection in times of persecution: to avoid being caught studying the Torah, Jews would quickly pull out the dreidels and pretend they were gambling 5) 4 Stories and 4 foods (at dinner table) Q? Are Kippah worn by all? When they arrive? Q? Is a rabbi present, and for blessings? As a guest of the Bubbe for a recalcitrant unobservant Jewish family. Q? Who decides who tells each of the four stories? The head of the household can decide Can the Rabbi tell and of the stories, Maccabees? Q? How long do the dinner and stories last? Are they always after nightfall? Elements: Water (have) Fire (need) Themes: Re/Dedication, Heroes/Heroines, Light in the Darkness, Power of the Individual, Things that are Hidden What’s Hidden: Things under the water, Jews in the Greek Empire and Pure Vial of Oil, The laws of nature and the sun, Judith’s motives in the camp of Holofernes. Four Stories: Leviathan, Maccabees, Adam at Solstice, The Book of Judith Length of stories? Four Courses: Soup/Fish, Olives, Root Vegetables, Cheese Foods are one after another? 5. Overview: Bubbe, Sadie, Mother, Father, Six Children, all in Jewish Clothes gather for the Jewish Seder in Celebration of Hanukkah. All help prepare in according with Kosher Laws(get recipe). The MACCABEES (LAST SCENE - DUMB LUCK OF OIL RUNNING OUT - BUBBE) FATHER AND SON GO BACK IN.) FADE IN: ON SCREEN A dreidel spins alone, sans narration and lands up at Gimel–gants, "all"–the player takes the entire pot... A NARRATOR speaks: The setting of the story is about a century after the conquest of Judea by the Greeks under Alexander the Great, after Alexander's empire has been divided so that Judea was part of the Greek Seleucid Empire. Antiochus III - Antiochus III, the King of Syria, who reigned from 3538 to 3574 (222-186 B.C.E.). He had waged war with King Ptolemy of Egypt over the possession of the Land of Israel. Antiochus III was victorious and the Land of Israel was annexed to his empire. At the beginning of his reign he was favorably disposed toward the Jews and accorded them some privileges. Later on, however, when he was beaten by the Romans and compelled to pay heavy taxes, the burden fell upon the various peoples of his empire who were forced to furnish the heavy gold that was required of him by the Romans. When Antiochus died, his son Seleucus IV took over, and further oppressed the Jews. Seleucus IV - Ruler of the Greek Seleucid Empire. Antiochus IV Epiphanes 6. Anatochus IV Epiphanes - A short time later, Seleucus was killed and his brother Antiochus IV Epiphanes began to reign over Syria (in 3586 - 174 B.C.E.). He was a tyrant of a rash and impetuous nature, contemptuous of religion and of the feelings of others. He was called "Epiphanes," meaning "the gods’ beloved." Several of the Syrian rulers received similar titles. But a historian of his time, Polebius, gave him the epithet Epimanes ("madman"), a title more suitable to the character of this harsh and cruel king. It was Anatochus IV who attempted to suppress the practice of basic Jewish law, resulting in a Jewish revolt against Seleucid rule. Helyodros - Antiochus IV’s minister sent to take the money from the treasury of the Temple. In vain did Yochanan, the High Priest, beg him not to do it. Helyodros did not listen and entered the gate of the Temple. But suddenly, he became pale with fright. The next moment he fainted and fell to the ground.