Hannukah class

The Story of Hanukkah:

$ Hanukkah starts in the time of Alexander, when he entered Israel (called Judea) and gained control. He was actually welcomed by the Jews, who, as an honor to him, named all boys born that year ‘Alexander.’

$ His empire was divided into three parts: the Antigonid Empire, the Seleucid Empire, and the Ptolemaic Empire.

$ The Seleucids were based in Syria, and the Ptolemies in Egypt. Judea, being in between the two, was a strategic position. The Hanukkah story begins when the Seleucids gained control from the Ptolemies in 198 B.C.E.

$ Atiouchus IV, or Epiphanes, takes the throne in 175. In order to consolidate his control over Judea, Atiouchus outlaws 3 commandments in Judaism: Shabbat, Brit, and the Sanctifying of the New Moon. As well, general observance of the Torah was discouraged.

$ As well, he erected a statue to Zeus in the Temple, and tried to forced Jews to sacrifice to idols, both inside, and outside, the Temple. Many Jews had already been Helenized, and assented.

$ In Modin, an old priest, Mattathias, was ordered to sacrifice a pig. (sacrifices were eaten by the communities) He refused, and slew the attending officer. He shouted out the famous phrase ‘Whoever is for G-d, to [follow] me.’ He and his sons, with a few other Zealots, fled to the mountains and started a guerilla campaign, relying on their superior knowledge of the land.

$ As the campaign was met with success, more and more Jews joined the cause. When the Seleucid soldiers would search the mountains for pious Jews, they Jews were pretend that they were gambling, instead of learning Torah (or whatever else they may have been doing). This is where the tradition of dreidel, called sivvivon in Hebrew, comes from.

$ The leaders of this rebellion were Mattathias and his sons: Judah, Eleazar, Simon, and Jonathan. They were named the Maccabi, which means ‘hammer’(Aramaic) and is an acronym for Mi Kamocha Belim Adonai- ‘Who among the mighty is like you, G-d?’- indicative of their piety.

$ When Mattathias died, Judah became the leader of the rebellion. He won victory after victory, against the much larger armies of the Seleucids.

$ On 25^th of Kislev, 164 B.C.E., Judah and his ragtag ffollowers liberated the Temple. They purified it from iidolatry, and sought to rededicate it to G-d. Hence the name HHanukkah, which means (re)dedication.

$ According to Talmudic legend, they Maccabees found a small jug of extra virgin olive oil, sealed with the High Priest’s seal. This proved that it had not been defiled. However, it was only enough to last one night. Despite this, it lasted 8 days and nights, as a testament to the Maccabees victory.

$ Despite Judah’s military success, Judea was not completely liberated until 20 years later, when Judah’s brother, Simon, declared Judah an independent state in 141 B.C.E.

$ The Hashomean ruled Judea from then until 37 B.C.E., until it became a vassal state of Rome.

The Mitzvot of Hanukkah?!

Unlike most Jewish holidays, which either restrict certain activities, or have a lot of stuff to do, Hanukkah has only one! mitzvah: lighting the Menorah. We take an 8 pronged candelabra and light one candle on the first night, adding another candle every night, so that on the eighth night there are 8 candles. On many of these candelabra, properly called ‘Chanukiyah’ or ‘Menorat Chanukah’ there is space for an additional candle, known as the Shamash, or servant. Since the other lights should only be used for the mitzvah, we set aside an additional light in order to show that we don’t want to derive benefit from the (other) candles. To distinguish this candle, we set it apart from the row of the others; it may be places higher, or on the side, or to the back.

When we go to light the candles, we place the candles on the right side of the Chanukiyah. Each night, we add a candle to the left of it. When light the candles with the Shamash, we light the newest (leftmost) one first. The candelabra should be placed where it is visible to those passing by in the street, so that they can see the lights.

Although this is the only mitzvah of Hanukkah doesn’t mean we skimp on the food!. Latkes, Sufganiot (Israeli Doughnuts) and other greasy food remind us of the miracle of the oil.

Some Background Facts and Interesting Points

Although Hanukkah does a text, the Books of Macabee (1 and 2), that text is not included in our Bible. It is part of the Apocrypha, and thus included in some versions of the Christian Bible. The Rabbis who canonized the Bible did not include it for a few possible reasons:

1) The didn’t like what the Hashmonean did. They established a non-Davidic dynasty.

2) The story happened after canonization.

3)The Rabbis felt that the Second Temple period was should not belong in the Bible.

The primary sources that we have for Hanukkah are (in no particular order): Macabees 1 and 2, the Megilat Ta’anit, Josephus, and the Talmud, Tractate Shabbat (21b-approx. 26a)

If the miracle of the oil was that it lasted 8 days instead of one, shouldn’t we celebrate 7 days (as only 7 of the days were miraculous)?

Some answers:

1)Each day, the Menorah of the Temple was filled to an eighth, but still burned, making all eight days a miracle.

2)The first day is celebrated for the military victory.

3) Really, we don’t celebrate Hanukkah because of the miracle (if there even was one). Rather, Hanukkah was a make up for Sukkot, which the Maccabees missed because of the fighting. Or, just like Moses’s dedication of the Tabernacle, and Solomon’s dedication of the Temple were 8 days long, our celebration of the Second Temple’s rededication is 8 days long.

But wait, if the miracle did not happen, what’s with the oil, and the candles?

Even if we don’t take the Talmud’s words at face value, oil and fire still have significance for Hanukkah. The pure oil represents the (potential) purity of faith. And the fire represents the fact that even a little bit of light can conquer so much darkness. Fire is particularly poignant, as it can spread quickly. Each of our actions are like fire, it can spread well beyond our imagination and intent. The story of Hanukkah reminds us to keep our intentions pure, so that the flames that spread wide are pure themselves.