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Rabbi Barry Marks The festival of Chanukah, an eight-day celebration commemorating the rebellion of the Jews under the leadership of Judah Maccabee against the Syrian King Antiochus IV, who sought to suppress the observance of Judaism, their victory in battle, and the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple to the worship of God, begins this evening. The events associated with the Chanukah story (168-164 BCE) culminated in the establishment of the Hasmonean dynasty and an 80-year period of Jewish independence in the land of Israel. Chanukah celebrates the courage of Judah and his compatriots and the miraculous nature of their triumph, which was a victory of “the few over the many, the weak over the strong,” as the liturgy of the prayer book expresses it. The rabbis of the Talmud embellished the Chanukah miracle by recounting the story of a tiny cruse of consecrated oil found in the Temple when the Jews reentered their sanctuary and sought to rekindle the lights of the Menorah, the seven-branched lampstand. That small container of oil, which seemed adequate for only one night’s illumination, lasted for eight nights, sufficient time for a new supply of oil to be prepared. Chanukah is primarily a home […]
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