Celebrate freedom at Chanukah

SHARON KANON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN

Bravery and unflinching adherence to Torah laws characterized the Jewish heroes and heroines in the Chanukah story. Daring and defiant, they refused to give in to religious persecution and oppression and set in motion the rebellion and surprise victory of the Jewish patriots.

The villain in the tale, Antiochus Epiphanes (a Syrian Greek), heir to the rule of Alexander the Great, persecuted the Jews in an effort to thrust Hellenism on them. He changed the name of Jerusalem to Antioch, stole the gold altar and gold menorah from the Temple (169 BCE), desecrated the holy site with idol worship and the sacrifice of pigs, and prohibited circumcision and the observance of Shabbat. Hellenistic culture was dazzling - material wealth, poetry, drama, sculpture, philosophy, sports and literature - and one can see why some Jewish residents of Judea fell victim to its lures, even participating naked (like the Greek athletes) in sports events. Some went as far as to "undo" their circumcision.

One of the first heroes to set an example of defiance against the Greeks was Elazar, a 90-year-old scribe who refused to eat pork.

"I shall not violate the sacred oaths of my ancestors who swore to observe the Torah, not even if you cut my eyes out and burn my insidesþ. You shall not defile the sacred lips of my old age." (The Book of Maccabees IV, written in the first century BCE in Greek)

When it was suggested that he pretend to eat pork, to save his life, Elazar refused. "And so he died, leaving in his death a model of nobility and a memorial of virtue not only to the young but to the mass of his nation." (II Maccabees)

Mattathias, an aging Hebrew priest who had left Jerusalem with his five sons to live in Modi'in, was present when Greek soldiers came and demanded that the Jews sacrifice a pig to the Greeks' pagan god. When a Jew stepped forward to make the sacrifice, Mattathias instinctively drew his sword and killed him. Mattathias and his sons fled to a nearby cave and readied themselves to fight the Greeks. They were determined to preserve the exclusive worship of Judaism and battle the Greeks both militarily and religiously.

The elderly Mattathias died within a year and never saw the success of the revolt he began. His son, Judah, a brilliant military strategist, took over as leader. Not deterred by the heavily armed enemy army of 20,000 to 80,000 men, Judah led his small army of 3,000. With cunning and prayer, and under Judah's inspired leadership, the Jews were able to successfully confront the Greeks and eventually recapture the Temple.

"They come against us full of hubris and lawlessness, to destroy us, our wives and our children and to plunder us," said Judah. "But we are fighting for our lives and our laws. God himself will crush them." (I Maccabees 3: 16-22)

Later, when the Jewish guerillas were pitted against the Greek army, another Elazar seized the moment. The younger brother of Judah the Maccabee crept under a Greek general's elephant, used as a super-tank, and slew it with a spear.

Women were pivotal in the Chanukah story. Two Chanas stood out for their heroism. Torture did not break the will of Chana or her seven sons who refused to eat non-kosher food or bow down to Zeus. (The melodramatic narrative of multi-martyrdom is told in II Maccabees 7.)

Chana, the daughter of Mattathias, is given credit for inciting the actual rebellion. She stripped off her clothes in public after her wedding to shame her brothers and incite them to rebel against the Greek decree that a Jewish bride go directly to the local official for "first night privileges."

"You are ashamed of my nakedness, but not ashamed to deliver me to the uncircumcised Greek official?" she asked incredulously.

Exactly three years from the date that Antiochus initiated idol worship and desecrated the altar of the Temple, Judah the Maccabee organized its rededication. The event, recorded in Maccabees I, was held on the 25th day of Kislev, 164 BCE, and was made festive with harps, lutes and cymbals. Improvising a menorah, the Hasmoneans took iron rods, covered them with zinc and inserted wicks. Searching for oil, they found only one bottle of oil sealed by the High Priest, enough for one day's lighting, but "a miracle happened and there was light from it for eight days. In the following year, they established eight festival days," wrote the rabbis in the Babylonian Talmud (Shabbat).

Chanukah, which literally means "dedication," did not get its name until more than 100 years after this miraculous event, when Josephus the historian referred to it as the Festival of Lights, symbolizing religious freedom.

The Maccabean heroes and heroines fought for Jewish beliefs, traditions and values, bringing to their struggle commitment, vitality and dynamism.

"For the Jew, there is no greater sin than the sin of detachment," says Mordechai Gafni, a young Orthodox rabbi involved with spiritual renewal. "The basic Hebraic posture in the world is passionate involvement in the realness of life."

And it is this passion, centuries after the Maccabean victory, that enables Jewish families everywhere to continue to celebrate the festival of Chanukah as free men and women.

Sharon Kanon is an Israel Press Service correspondent.

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