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We at HebrewOnline wish a you a Happy and joyful Chanukah.
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Shalom and Xag Samea'x,
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Next week, we celebrate the holiday of Xanuka
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. The first candle is lit at nightfall on Sunday, |
| December 21st 2008 |
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What is the historical background of this famous holiday, and what is the significance of the story to our life today? In this issue these topics will be enlightened.
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For other Xanuka related topics check out last year's Xanuka newsletter: http://www.hebrewonline.com/Newsletters/hanuka_2007.asp
Xag Xanuka Same'ax!
Happy Xanuka!
The Hebrew Online Team.
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| Xanuka - Historical Story |
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The story of Xanuka is full of intrigues, plots, heroism, and bravery as well as of tradition, faith, and martyrdom. It puts a magnifying glass on the issue of assimilation of Jews with the nations that surround us. It is an ancient story, yet as current as could be. Let us introduce you to the historical story behind this well known festival of lights.
Alexander the Great Conquers Israel
Alexander the Great conquered the land of Judea on 333 BC and began the Greek reign on the land of Israel. However, he allowed the Jews to keep their beliefs and tradition and gave them religious-national autonomy. After his death, the empire was divided and the land of Israel was in the midst of conflicts due to its high strategic value as a pass way between two continents. |
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Eventually, in the year 175 BC the emperor of Syria, Antiochus Epiphanes (Antiochus IV), came into power, with the goal of merging all the nations under one Greek-Hellenistic culture. The high priest of the Temple, Yason, agreed to spread the Hellenistic culture among the Jews. He announced Jerusalem a Polic - a city-state ruled by the (chosen) citizens and received much power and financial benefits. These benefits attracted other priests who plotted different schemes to get the power, killed their opponents, stole the treasures of the temple, and betrayed each other. Most Jews, however, kept their faith in G-d and did not follow the Hellenistic ideas.
Antiochus Rules against the Jews
In 167 BC Antiochus decreed all the Jews not to worship G-d at the Temple and worship the Hellenistic gods instead, to work on Shabat and holidays, to stop studying and following the Torah rules, including the circumcision ritual (see the 8-days-old sons). For three years, the Jews had to prove that they were not acting as Jews by eating swine and participating in Pagan ceremonies. Many of those who refused to do so were killed by the Greeks. The most famous story tells about Hannah and her seven sons: After they were captured by Antiochus's troops, they were commanded to bow to an idol and eat pigs. One by one, each boy refused and was tortured to death before his mother's eyes. When they reached the youngest child, the Greeks threw a coin on the floor to slyly make the boy bow to the idol when bending to grab the coin. The child kept standing and was killed as well. Hannah requested to kiss her dead sons and then jumped from the roof and died.
The Maccabbees
| When Antiochus officials reached Modi'in |
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- a small city on the Judean |
mountains, they built an alter for their Gods and ordered an elderly priest named
| Mattathias Hahashmonai |
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to sacrifice a pig to the idol. |
He refused, and when an apostate Jew stepped forward to comply, Mattathias stabbed him, killed the Greek official, and tore down the altar. After that, he turned to the crowd
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("Follow me, all of you who are for God's law and stand by |
the covenant.").
| He fled to the Gofna hills accompanied by his five sons: Johanan ( |
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, Yoxanan) |
| Simon ( |
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, Shim'on), Judah ( |
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, Yehuda), Jonathan ( |
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, Yonatan) and Elazar |
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, 'El'azar). From there, the family launched a guerrilla war against the armies of. |
the empire.
The rebels, ruled by Mattathias and later by his third son Judah Maccabee (יְהוּדָה הַמַּכַּבִּי), began attacking the Greek army with much bravery and smart tactics, ambushing the enemy at unexpected places and surprising them when the sun blinded their eyes. Although Judah’s band of fighters was incredibly outnumbered, they won one miraculous victory after another. The consequence of the successful revolt was the abolishment of all the rules against the Jews. On the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev (164 BC), Judah’s army recaptured the Temple, which they cleansed and purified and rededicated to God. The Jews celebrated the Temple's restoration for eight days.
But, actually, that was not the end of the war for the fighting went on for years, until 142 BC when the Jews regained control of their land. Geopolitically, that was the moment of real political triumph.
The Essence of Xanuka
But Xanuka isn't about political power - Xanuka is about the Jewish yearning for God, for the concentrated holiness of the Temple and its service. Xanuka is the only Jewish holiday not found in the Bible and the only one rooted in a military campaign. And yet its focus is almost entirely spiritual, not physical. The triumph of the Maccabees was the triumph of the soul over the body, of light over darkness, viewing the world with God, not man, at its center.
Judah's Victory, Gustav Dora |
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| Judah, the third son of Mattathias, was nicknamed Maccabee |
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| The rebelling Jews who followed him were called - the Maccabees |
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There are two possible explanations to this name:
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(makevet) - a hammer |
| 2. An acronym for ( |
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, "mi komocha ba'elim Hashem", |
"who is like you among the powers O God") - the battle cry of the Jewish people.
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| Weekly Hebrew Word Search |
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See if you can find all of the words in the puzzle below:
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Name:
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Judah (Yehuda)
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Gender:
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Male
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Time of Appearance:
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The Biblical Era
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Meaning:
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According to the Biblical explanation, the name
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(Judah) is related |
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(lehodot, "to thank").
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History:
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Judah was the fourth son of Jacob and Leah; the tribe of Judah is called after his name, as do the kingdom of Judah and its land.
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Citation:
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"And she conceived again and bare a son, and she said, Now will I praise the Lord, therefore she called his name Judah, and left bearing." Genesis 29, 35
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Categories:
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Names of Places
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Name:
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Hanna (Channa)
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Gender:
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Female
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Time of Appearance:
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The Biblical Era
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Meaning:
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Hannah was Elkanah's wife and the mother of the prophet Samuel.
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Citation:
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"Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord." 1 Samuel 1, 20
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| Hebrew letters and Transcription |
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Transliteration rules used on the newsletters
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