Hanukah Hasmoneans and our duty to Always Hope

The post-Biblical eight-day Jewish holiday of Hanukah (which begins this year on the evening of 12/25/24) started with a religious miracle; and ended with failed political leaders and policies.

Hanukah begins with a family of priests (kohanim) from the village of Modiʿin who led most Jews in the Land of Israel in a rebellion against the oppressive Seleucid Empire regime of Antiochus IV. According to 1 Maccabees, the rebellion was started by the elderly patriarch of the family, Mattathias, in 167 BCE, but soon after, his son Judah, known as the Maccabi (meaning “the Sledgehammer”), took the lead, and over the next three years led the Jews in battle, with the Seleucid-Greeks suffering defeat after defeat.

After his success in the Battle of Beth-Zur in 164 BCE, Judah recaptured Jerusalem and its Temple, destroyed the idol Antiochus IV had installed in the Temple, purified and rededicated the Temple, and ordered a new altar to be built in place of the one polluted by pig’s blood. This event was celebrated as Hanukah; which means dedication or rededication in Hebrew.

Three years later (161 BCE), after defeating the Greek Syrian General Nicanor, who had threatened to personally destroy the Holy Temple. Judah’s success was celebrated for many generations as Nicanor Day (13th of Adar) and commemorated in the Second Book of Maccabees.

Hasmonean history didn’t end there, however. The very next year, Judah’s army lost a major battle and Judah himself was killed in 160 BCE. After this, Jonathan, the youngest of the five brothers, took over as leader and fought the Seleucids. In 143 BCE, after 24 years of off-and-on fighting, the then-king of the Seleucid Empire invited Jonathan to negotiate a peace arrangement, and then treacherously captured him, and had him killed.

Jonathan’s (older) brother, Simon, then took over as leader. Simon sided with treacherous king’s rival for the throne, Demetrius II, who in turn granted Judea independence, with Simon recognized as the official ruler by the Seleucids, the Judeans, and even the Romans. So independence was gained not just by war but by a wise political alliance.

Simon’s dynasty, the Hasmoneans, lasted for several generations. Upon his death, his son John Hyrcanus took over as high priest and ruler (134–104 BCE); he was succeeded by his son, who ruled only one year, and followed by his brother Alexander Jannaeus who ruled for 27 years (103–76 BCE), husband of the famous Salome Alexandra, who ruled as queen after his death (76–67 BCE).

After her death, Salome Alexandra’s two sons, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, fought over the throne, and turned to the Roman general Pompey to choose between them. This was a bad mistake. Pompey sided against the militant Aristobulus, supporting the weaker Hyrcanus, and took the opportunity to invade Judea, conquering Jerusalem in 63 BCE, and making it a Roman province; thus ending Judean independence.

Hyrcanus II had an advisor named Antipater, who was a shrewd politician, and during the fight between Julius Caesar and Pompey, he backed Caesar, who defeated Pompey, and Caesar rewarded Antipater by appointing him regent of Judea in 47 BCE. So, the family of Antipater became more powerful than that of the Hasmoneans. Antipater appointed his son Phasael governor of Judea and Phasael’s son Herod governor of the Galilee.

In 40 BCE, Judea was briefly retaken from the Romans with the backing of the Parthians who ruled Persia at the time. Herod, who had taken his father’s place as regent, was declared by Rome to be Judea’s rightful king and he reconquered Judea on behalf of Rome, retaking Jerusalem in 37 BCE.

Herod then married his bride, Mariamme, age seventeen and their marriage produced five children, some of whom survived to become the founding members of the Hasmonean-Herodian family who ruled Judea as client kings of Rome until 70 CE, when a Roman Army destroyed Jerusalem and its holy Temple while suppressing a Jewish revolt which lasted almost 4 years.

The political leaders of that period have been long forgotten; but the religious teachers of that period: Hillel and Shammai for the Jews, and John and Jesus for the Christians, are still rememberer; and their influence is still very much alive.

The rabbis of that age created a wonderful fable to replace the Hasmonean political decline that followed the period of the heroic Maccabees. According to the Torah, pure olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn day and night throughout the year.

However, the Syrian solders had polluted all the pure oil in the Temple except for one small jar, so there was only enough pure oil found to burn for one day, and it would take a week to prepare a fresh supply of pure oil for the menorah.

Some said delay the Hanukah of the Temple for a week. Others said kindle the Temple Menorah and pray for it to last until new pure oil could be made.

The menorah was lit; and it did not go out prior to the arrival of the new pure oil. An eight-day festival was declared by the rabbis to commemorate this miracle. And it is still celebrated world wide by Jews to this very day.

This is a modern parable told by my granddaughters: Aisha, Talyah and their parents were standing on their porch near the front door, admiring their newly lit Hanukah candelabra, when a power failure occurred. The street lights went out. The house lights went out. It was dark almost everywhere around them.

The only lights they could see on the whole block were from the Hanukah in the window of one house across the street, and from their own Hanukah on the porch. After a few minutes, several of their neighbors, who did not want to sit in their dark houses, came over to join them.

“It is a good thing you have those candles.” said one neighbor. “I am afraid of the dark.”
“Why do you have the menorah outside?” asked another neighbor.
“It is an old tradition” said Aisha. “Jews are supposed to publicize the miracle of Hanukah to all the people around them.”
“You mean the oil that lasted for eight days.” said the neighbor who knew what a menorah was.
“Yes “ said Tali, “The oil is the symbol of hope and faith. If the Maccabees had not lit the lights in the restored Temple in Jerusalem, because they were afraid the lights would go out the next day, the miracle would not have happened.”
“You mean the miracle of the oil?”
“I mean the miracle that lots of times, things that you think will never happen, do happen, if you do not give up. If the Maccabees had not lit the oil lamps, how would they have found out that the oil could last for eight days.” said Aisha.

And Talyah added, “That is why we put the Menorah outside on the doorstep.”

“Aren’t you afraid the wind will blow out the lights?” asked the neighbor who was afraid of the dark..

“Most of the time it does on at least one or two evenings.” said Talyah. “That is why we put another Menorah in the window. You should always trust in God, but if you can arrange for back up, you should do it. After all, you should not test God by expecting God to stop the winds every evening for eight days. Other people might need the wind.”

“I thought Hanukah was the festival of freedom.” said another neighbor. “What does all this have to do with freedom?” Talya answered, “Hanukah is a celebration of religious freedom; especially the freedom of all religious minorities to observe their religious practices with equal treatment and respect.

“But freedom is not only freedom from oppression. It is also freedom to do the right things, and to become a really good loving person. A free person is not free to oppress, hurt or insult other people or their religious beliefs.

“Freedom comes from fulfilling your responsibilities to other people, to nature, and to God.”

They all stood in the dark talking about the importance of trust in God, hope and religious freedom for all people. Each had something to say and add. They could have gone on and on for a long time but just then the power came on and all the lights lit up.

The neighbors thanked the family for all they had learned, and the neighbor who was afraid of the dark said to them, “I think I will go to Church next Sunday.”