Hanukkah: The Whole Story?

"We gather in the chill of winter, finding warmth from each other, nourishing hope where reason fails. Grateful for small miracles, we rejoice in the wonder of light and darkness and the daring of hope. Holy One of Blessing, Your Presence fills Creation. You made us holy with Your commandments and called us to kindle the Hanukkah lights. Holy One of Blessing, Your Presence fills Creation. You performed miracles for our ancestors in days of old at this season. Holy One of Blessing, Your Presence fills Creation. You have kept us alive, You have sustained us, You have brought us to this moment."

Hanukkah Lights by Congregation Beth El, Sudbury, MA [based on the blessings said over the Hanukkah candles]

I thought I knew the story of Hanukkah. It seemed quite simple. It was a story about religious freedom – the right to practice one's religion without being dictated to by the state – many resonances for Unitarians, with our emphasis on exercising freedom of conscience, throughout our history. I thought it was pretty obvious who were the 'goodies' and who were the 'baddies' in the story of Hanukkah, a story of resistance to tyranny. 

Then I came across an article by Rabbi Rami Shapiro, founder of the interfaith One River Foundation, who describes himself as a Jewish practitioner of Perennial Wisdom, the mystic heart found at the core of all religions. Rabbi Rami writes, 

“Hanukkah marks the military victory of a fundamentalist Jewish movement led by the Maccabees over progressive Jews and their Greco-Syrian allies who welcomed Hellenism (Greek culture) and sought to integrate its best ideas into Judaism. The story of a single day’s oil miraculously burning for eight days thus allowing the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after the defeat of the Seleucid (Syrian) military, while ancient, has come to replace history, and, in so doing, rob Hanukkah of its deeper meaning and importance. Hanukkah isn’t about lighting candles, clogging your arteries with fried food, playing dreidel, exchanging presents, or eating cheap chocolate in the shape of faux ancient coins. Hanukkah is about choosing sides in an endless and ongoing culture war between traditionalists and liberals. The question that should be at the core of every Hanukkah celebration is this: Which side are you on: the traditionalists or the liberals?”

Wow! This seemed to shed a completely different light on the story and so I investigated further. 

Hanukkah is the only Jewish festival which does not stem from a story in the Hebrew Bible. The events of the Maccabean revolt are recorded in the Books of 1 and 2 Maccabees, part of the Apocrypha. There is no mention of the miracle of the oil in these books – that became attached to the story in the Talmud, 600 years later.

In 175 BCE Antiochus IV ascended to the throne of the Seleucid Empire, calling himself Epiphanes (meaning God Manifest). Many others, however, referred to him as Antiochus Epimanes (“The Madman”). Antiochus IV decided it was in the interest of his own empire to become a fully Hellenistic society and he set about achieving this by suppressing other cultural groups, including Jews. The Jewish community at that time was split between a more conservative faction and those who were more loyal to Hellenistic culture and politics.

Antiochus IV replaced the conservative high priest at the Jewish Second Temple in Jerusalem with a political ally, Joshua, who changed his name to the Greek Jason. Jason encouraged Greek cultural activities at the Temple, including many that were offensive to the more conservative Jews, such as the construction of the gymnasium (where men exercised in the nude) within the Temple precinct. Jason gave Antiochus IV money from the Temple treasury to help fund his army. When Lysimachus, one of Jason's associates, robbed the Temple of several holy objects, there were riots among the Jewish people.

As a result of the riots, Antiochus IV outlawed Judaism, including the practices of circumcision, Torah study, and kashrut (keeping of kosher dietary laws). He placed a statue of Zeus in the Temple and ordered the sacrifice of pigs (a non-kosher animal) in the Temple.

According to the Books of the Maccabees, a group of Greek officers came to Mattathias, a well-regarded Jewish leader. Mattathias was offered political benefits to desecrate the Temple further through pagan sacrifices; Mattathias refused and killed both another Jew who attempted to obey the command and one of the Greek delegates from the emperor. Mattathias then fled to the mountains with his friends and five sons .

For the next three years, Mattathias and his sons led a series of battles against the Seleucid army. Judah, one of the sons of Mattathias, was given the name Yehuda HaMakabi or "Maccabee," meaning "The Hammer," a biblical reference to his ability to destroy their enemies. In 164 BCE, the Maccabees and their followers retook the Temple of Jerusalem and began rebuilding the Jewish state. 

Modern scholarship, however, suggests that the Maccabees and their followers were battling, not against the Seleucid Empire, but against the Hellenized Jews, and Antiochus IV was intervening in a Jewish civil war on the side of the Hellenists, who were the majority group within the Seleucid Empire.

As a result of my meanderings through the story of the Maccabees, several cliches came to mind, that, while cliches, are nevertheless true – there are always two sides to every story; things are rarely black and white. In future, might I stop to consider what other stories do I accept at face value, without thinking about whether I have heard the full story, whether there is another side? It is always clear who are the heroes and who are the villains or might there be more shades of grey than first appearances suggest in most cases?

It also started me thinking about religious identity, in particular, my Unitarian identity, and what is central to the practice of my Unitarian spirituality. The Maccabees and their followers were willing to kill and be killed for their distinctive Jewish identity, the right to follow Jewish law, to practice circumcision and keep kosher. What do I feel is distinctive about Unitarianism and how far would I go to defend these things? What aspects of Unitarianism do I consider essential to our worship? How would I feel if someone outlawed the lighting of our chalice or banned the use of our hymn books? Questions worth considering.

Back to Hanukkah - as fascinating as I find the historical intricacies of the Maccabean revolt, they have no bearing on how Jews celebrate Hanukkah today. Hanukkah is almost universally celebrated by Jews today, even Rabbi Rami, who, while acknowledging that he would most probably have been on the side of the Hellenists, against the Maccabees, at that time, still finds meaning in the festival. He writes,

“The Talmud (the anthology of ancient rabbinic teachings) instructs us to place the hanukkiah (Hanukkah menorah) so that its light can be seen from the street (Talmud, Shabbat 21b). The idea, as I understand it, is to make your home a beacon of light in a time of darkness, natural (winter solstice) and otherwise. So I urge everyone—not just Jews—to set their streets aglow with hope by lighting a hanukkiah of their own as an act of resistance to the despotism, fear, ignorance, violence, and illiberalism arising at home and around the globe.” 

Let us be aglow with hope in these festive days.

"Our festival is here again to lift the darkening year, and celebrate the Feast of Lights 'mid glow of Christmas cheer. For not alone was Jesus sought by wise men from afar: the joy of other hallowed births glows with the wondrous star. And Hanukkah is freedom's shrine to all 'neath tyranny; the lamps are lit within our hearts, for faith can make us free. Joy to the world, these festival days; nowhere may hope be dim; and as the gladsome spirit glows, sing carol, song and hymn!"

These Festive Days by John Irving Daniel