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The story
Around 200 BCE Jews lived as an autonomous people in the Land of
Israel, also referred to as Judea, which at that time was controlled
by the Seleucid king of Syria. The Jewish people were originally
granted religious freedom but after their revolt against the
Hellenists, Epiphanes was angered.
Traditional view
By 175 BCE Antiochus IV Epiphanes ascended to the Seleucid throne. At
first little changed, but under his reign, the Temple in Jerusalem was
looted, Jews were massacred, and Judaism was effectively outlawed. In
167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to Zeus erected in the Temple. As
was the normal practice of the Hellenic religion when sacrificing to
the Greek gods, pigs were sacrificed on the altar to Zeus.
Antiochus's actions proved to be a major miscalculation as they
provoked a large-scale revolt. Mattathias, a Jewish priest, and his
five sons Jochanan, Simeon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah led a
rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi
("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took
his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid
monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated. The
festival of Hanukkah was instituted by Judah Maccabee and his brothers
to celebrate this event.[10] After recovering Jerusalem and the
Temple, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be
built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made.
According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the
Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night.
But there was only enough oil to burn for one day, yet miraculously,
it burned for eight days, the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of
oil for the menorah. An eight day festival was declared by the Jewish
sages to commemorate this miracle.
The version of the story in 1 Maccabees, on the other hand, states
that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was proclaimed
upon rededication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of
the oil.[11] A number of historians believe that the reason for the
eight day celebration was that the first Hanukkah was in effect a
belated celebration of the festivals of Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret.[12]
During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate Sukkot/Shemini
Atzeret properly; the combined festivals also last eight days, and the
Sukkot festivities featured the lighting of lamps in the Temple (Suk.v.
2-4). The historian Josephus[13] mentions the eight-day festival and
its customs, but does not tell us the origin of the eight day lighting
custom. Given that his audience was Hellenized Romans, perhaps his
silence on the origin of the eight-day custom is due to its miraculous
nature. In any event, he does report that lights were kindled in the
household and the popular name of the festival was, therefore the
"Festival of Lights" ("And from that time to this we celebrate this
festival, and call it Lights").
It has also been noted that the number eight has special significance
in Jewish theology, as representing transcendence and the Jewish
People's special role in human history. Seven is the number of days of
creation, that is, of completion of the material cosmos, and also of
the classical planets. Eight, being one step beyond seven, represents
the Infinite. Hence, the Eighth Day of the Assembly festival,
mentioned above, is according to Jewish Law a festival for Jews only
(unlike Sukkot, when all peoples were welcome in Jerusalem).
Similarly, the rite of brit milah (circumcision), which brings a
Jewish male into God's Covenant, is performed on the eighth day.
Hence, Hanukkah's eight days (in celebration of monotheistic
morality's victory over Hellenistic humanism) have great symbolic
importance for practicing Jews.
Hanukkah rituals |