O, Chanuka, O Chanuka, Come light the menora…

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Tonight will be the first night of Chanuka, the 25th day of Kislev.  For those of you who celebrate Christmas, you might recognize that number- 25. That date wasn’t chosen by accident by the first Christians. (It also explains why this is one of the few- the very few- holidays Christians celebrate on the “eve”- because it derives from the Jewish rule that a day is one evening and one morning….)

The holiday of Chanuka is NOT the same for Jews as Christmas is for Christians. It is a minor Jewish holiday. There is no requirement to refrain from work, no do we say the “full Hallel”, either. (Hallel- ‘Praise’- are the prayers stated and sung to praise the Supreme Being on each and every holiday.)

Erte sculpted this chanukiya of ours

Chanuka is the celebration of the revolt of the Maccabees against the Greeks- in particular, against a boorish king called Antiochus. And, the Great Temple was taken back in the actions started by Matisyahu, a Kohen (priest). Yehuda, his eldest son, was the warrior/leader who led the battles and adopted the name “Makabi”, which means “The Hammer”….

The name- ‘Cha-nu’ + ‘KH’- means ‘dedication on the 25th’ or ‘dedication here’. That’s the way folks want to remember the event.   Once the Great Temple was freed from the Greeks, it was cleansed, purified, and rededicated to the uses of the Supreme Being.

The story is that during their purification, the Makabi found only one cruse of oil; it took a week to prepare more pure oil. But, that didn’t matter to the Makabi- they would act now and see what happened… And, the menora (the ritual SEVEN branched candelabra) remained lit for eight days, until the new oil was ready. The lesson we draw from this is action is important- and there is no time like the present.

What is not normally discussed is that this holiday really celebrates not just the singular battle against the Greeks, but against the assimilators. Anyone who would not return to the fold was fair game. Not much different than the Tea Party trying to purge competing conservatives from the Republican party- except this purging involved swords and death…

But, nowadays, the Chanuka holiday serves to celebrate our religious freedom- our freedom to worship as we want. By lighting candles or oil lamps each night for eight nights. And, just like the Jews did when they were being released from Egypt (they put the blood of the animal [which was a god of the Egyptians, to boot] on their doorpost, making it clear to all within sight that they believed in the Supreme Being), our chanukiyas (with eight equal lights and one extra with which we light the others) are kept so the world outside can see the light. It’s another way we bring light to the world.

Our celebration includes giving small gifts to our children (and, nowadays, extended to our relatives) and lighting the candles, as listed above.  Besides the ritual prayers for lighting the candles (three blessings are sung the first night, two the rest of the nights), there are two other prayers:  Haneirot Halalu- ‘these precious lights’- and Maoz Tzur- ‘Rock of Ages’ (which, contrary to popular belief, has many stanzas!).  I recall with fondness one of the other songs (He Struck the Traitor to the Earth- or “Matisyahu”)  I learned as a child- and taught my children, which they now share with their families.

Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A.

If you want the more complete story of Chanuka, keep reading.  Otherwise, thanks for reading this far…

Chanuka commemorates the Maccabean Revolt (167-160 BCE), when Yehuda (Judas) Maccabeus (the leader of the rebel group) vanquished the evil Greek emperor Antiochus and rededicated the Temple, at which the miracle of the oil (may or may not have remained) burning for eight (8) days. For some 400 years, the Jews had maintained a theocracy (run by the Kohen Gadol, the high priest) allowed by Cyrus the Great, continued under Alexander the Great, and then under the Ptolemaic and Seleucids (both of whom liked having Judea as a buffer- but under their preferred control).

And, while the 1% (who lived in and near the large city of Yerushalayim [Jerusalem] became Hellenized, the majority of the Jews were rural and farmers. They had no use for Hellenic rites. Which became a real issue when Antiochus (IV) Epiphanes took over the Seleucid Empire and had designs on the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. Which meant he needed money. Which he got from a bribe from Jason, who paid Antiochus to depose his older brother Onias III as Kohen Gadol. Who promptly was deposed via a richer bribe from Menelaus to Antiochus.

Except Menelaus lacked the pedigree required to be Kohen Gadol. (This will also recur later on under King Herod of Roman fame.) Oh, Menelaus also stole rich treasures from the Temple to provide more money to Antiochus- and decided to impose Hellenism on all the Jews.

Rumors began flying that Antiochus was killed in the war with Egypt- which let Jason feel free to return and effect a popular civil war against Menelaus. Except… Antiochus wasn’t quite dead- and immediately imposed Menelaus back into power.

Of course, Menelaus was outraged and set about killing the rebellious Jews and established a statue of Zeus in the Kodesh Kodeshim (the Holy of Holies within the Great Temple) . But, that just made the resolve of the countryside more intense.

So, Matisyahu (of Modiin) and his five sons became involved in the struggle. And, Yehuda, the eldest son,  was an excellent tactician, crushing the first revenging army under Apollonius (whose sword became that of Yehuda for the duration). When Seron arrived with another army, 800 of his folks were killed. Now, Antiochus sent a full, battle-hardened army under Generals Nicanor and Gorgias. both of whom were routed by Yehuda and his forces- who also captured and employed the Seleucid weapons for their own future battles. 

Before another group from the Seleucids could be dispatched, King Mithridates of Parthia took advantage of the empire’s losses in Palestine and attacked the Seleucid capital in force. Which let Matisyahu continue in his quest- and so captured Yerushalayim in 164 BCE. [The Akra fortress that was opposite the Temple Mount [roughly where the Al Aksa Mosque stands now) remained in Seleucid hands- although the inhabitants lacked the ability to leave the complex.]

As such, the Temple was rededicated- and the eight day holiday of Chanuka was created. The eight day duration really comes from mimicking the holiday of Sukot and Shmini Atzeret. These two contiguous holidays were how Shlomo (King Solomon) dedicated the first Temple (953 BCE).

Matisyahu continued consolidating his power over the rest of Judea. (Or, maybe he was collecting spoils to continue his family’s reign.) Which meant, when Antiochus was killed in Parthia (164 BCE), Antiochus (V) Eupator (actually the regent Lysias) marched armies to defeat Yehuda.

The Seleucids beat Yehuda outside of Bethlehem and then laid siege to Jerusalem. They would have succeeded (this was a shmita year, which meant no farming was allowed, so food provisions were meager), except for the rebellion at the empire’s headquarters in Antioch. Lysias sued for peace, allowed the theocracy to resume (but under Alcimus, who was a moderate between Menelaus and Jason)- and promptly returned to Antioch to quell the rebellion at home.

Which left Yehuda immediately free to attack Alcimus. And, when Nicanor returned to quell the rebellion, Yehuda killed him and destroyed the army in the Battle of Adasa (161 BCE). Except…

Demetrius I Sofer had just offed Lysias and Antiochus (who had already killed Phillip, thinking they quelled their internal rebellion)- and took over the Seleucid Empire.  Demetrius immediately sent an army under Bacchides to Judea- killing Yehuda and squelching the revolt in 160 BCE at the Battle of Elasa.

Eight days. Eight years. But, a whole lot of light brought to the Jewish people.

Dreydel

 

 

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2 thoughts on “O, Chanuka, O Chanuka, Come light the menora…”

  1. Ah, history. And I’ve watched, with great interest, the evolution of Hanukkah from a minor holiday to a competitor of Christmas complete with Hanukkah bushes, eight days of presents, and Adam Sandler. Interesting how that happens….
    Alana recently posted..Latkes #FlavoursomeTuesday

    1. I, for one, cringe each time I see an American family elevate Chanuka- or maybe that’s denigrate it- by “keeping up with the Joneses” and making it a Jewish Christmas (sic).
      Thanks for the visit and the comment, Alana.

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