22 December 2005

By Shelomo Alfassa

More than 2100 years ago, Syrian-Greeks under the direction of Antiochus conspired with Hellenized Jewish followers to wipe out the Jewish religion, language and culture in the Land of Israel. Hanuka is the holiday commemorating the rededication of the Beit HaMikdash (the holy Temple) in Jerusalem after the Jewish victory over the Syrian-Greeks

During the years of Greek power in ancient Syria which at the time included Jerusalem and the surrounding areas, many Jews began to embrace the Greek culture and its Hellenistic pagan way of life. In 168 BCE Antiochus stormed into the Temple in Jerusalem and placed a statue of Zeus in it. He slaughtered pigs on the holy altar and scattered pig blood on the walls of the holy building. The Tora was banned by the Greeks and those found were shredded and burned. Altars were erected with statues of the Greek gods and goddesses in every city and town. Soldiers forced Jews to make offerings, to eat forbidden foods, and to engage in other immoral acts. Maimonides, the great 12th century Sephardic scholar elaborates:

During the period of the Second Temple, the Greek kings issued harsh decrees against Israel; they outlawed their religion, forbid them to engage in the study of Torah, laid hands upon their money and their daughters, entered the Sanctuary and ravaged it, and defiled all that had been ritually pure. They caused the Jews great anguish, until the God of our Fathers granted them mercy and delivered them from the hands of their enemies.

Month after month, the Greeks dealt brutally with the religious Jew they came across. The Greeks completely halted all Jewish worship in the Temple. They killed everyone who was caught observing Shabat, Rosh Hodesh, or who sought kasher food. In accordance with a decree by Antiochus, they put to death the women who had circumcised their children, hanging the newborn babies around their necks; they also put to death their families as well as those who had circumcised them. Some Jews fled from the cities to the hills of Judea, forming themselves into bands of guerrilla fighters. They were faithful to Judaism and would not assimilate into Greek culture and idolatry.

The fighting began in Modiin, a village north of Jerusalem. A Greek officer along with his soldiers assembled the villagers in Modiin, asking them to bow to an idol and eat the flesh of a pig. The officer asked Mattitiyahu, a Kohen Gadol (Jewish High Priest), to take part in this pagan ceremony. He refused, and another villager stepped forward and offered to do it instead. Mattitiyahu became outraged, took out his sword and killed the man, then killed the officer. His five sons and the other villagers then attacked and killed the soldiers. Mattitiyahu's family went into hiding in the nearby mountains, where many other Jews who wanted to fight against the Greeks joined them. They attacked the Greek soldiers whenever possible. About a year after the rebellion started, Mattathias died. Before his death, he put his son Yehuda Maccabee in charge of the growing army. After three long years of fighting, the Jews defeated the Greek army, despite having fewer men and weapons. Eventually, Yehuda and his fellow "Maccabees" captured Jerusalem, expelled the Hellenists and triumphed over the enemy.

After some time, the Jews were able to return to the Temple and purify the building of idols and other sacrilegious items. There, they located only one small sealed jar of oil, a vessel with only enough oil for one day to light the oil lamp, the candelabra we call the Menorah that was in the Temple. They were determined to light the menorah even with a small amount of oil. Yet, to everyone's amazement, the menorah burned continuously for eight days until new oil had been pressed. The miracle was that a small amount of oil was able to sustain the lights, to illuminate the Temple for eight days. To commemorate this miracle and the great victories of the Maccabees, the festival of Hanuka was initiated.

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