Hanukkah and the Commandments

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Hanukkah and the Commandments

• and why we celebrate for 8 days

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The New York Times12/11/09 David Brooks

• Tonight Jewish kids will light the menorah, spin
  their dreidels and get their presents, but
  Hanukkah is the most adult of holidays. It
  commemorates an event in which the good guys did
  horrible things, the bad guys did good things and
  in which everybody is flummoxed by insoluble
  conflicts that remain with us today.

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1 Maccabees ch. 2

• 23 There came a certain Jew in the sight of all
  to sacrifice to the idols upon the altar in the
  city of Modin, according to the king's
  commandment. 24 And Mathathias saw and was
  grieved, and his reins trembled, and his wrath
  was kindled according to the judgment of the law,
  and running upon him he slew him upon the altar.
  25 Moreover the man whom king Antiochus had sent,
  who compelled them to sacrifice, he slew at the
  same time, and pulled down the altar. 26 And
  showed zeal for the law, as Phinees did by Zamri
  the son of Salomi.

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I Maccabees 111

• In those days there appeared in Israel men who
  were breakers of the law, and
• they seduced many people, saying "Let us go and
  make an alliance with the Gentiles all around us
  since we separated from them, many evils have
  come upon us.
• Cf. Jer 4418

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High Priests
Sadok
Shimon ha-Sadiq
Jason (Yehoshua) (175-171)
Onias III
Meneleus (171-161)
Jonathan the Hasmonean
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Hellenistic Period

• 332BCE Alexander the Great conquers Palestine
• 323BCE Alexander dies
• Diadochi, Ptolemy in Egypt, Seleucus in Syria
• 301-201BCE Ptolemaic Rule
• Allowed to continue as semiautonomous
• 201BCE Seleucid conquest of Palestine
• 175-171BCE Jason High Priest
• bribes Antiochus IV for high priesthood
• builds gymnasium in Jerusalem which becomes a
  polis Antioch
• 171-162BCE Menelaus High Priest
• Converts temple into pagan shrine, YHVHZeusBaal
  Shamin
• 168BCE Bet haMikdash is looted, Jews are
  massacred
• 167-166 Antiochus IV decrees persecution
• 164 Judah conquers Jerusalem and rededicates the
  Temple

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Why did Antiochus Persecute the Jews?

• He was crazy, nervous, eccentric.
• May have hastened the persecution but not caused
  it.
• He was a Great Hellenizer and unifier
• But only for political ends by making poleis, not
  cultural.
• The Jewish Hellenizers asked for the decrees.
• Decrees result from a civil war.

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Why is Hanukah on Kislev 25?
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Megilat Taanit

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Haggai 218

• ???????-??? ?????????, ???-??????? ??????
  ????????? ??????? ????????? ????????????
  ????????????, ?????-??????? ??????-?????? ??????
  ??-???? ??????? ?????????.
• Consider, I pray you, from this day and forward,
  from the four and twentieth day of the ninth
  month, even from the day that the foundation of
  Hashems temple was laid, consider it.

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I Maccabees 1

•   54 Now on the fifteenth day of Chislev, in the
  one hundred forty-fifth year, they erected a
  desolating sacrilege on the altar of burnt
  offering. They also built altars in the
  surrounding towns of Judah, 55 and offered
  incense at the doors of the houses and in the
  streets. 56 The books of the law that they found
  they tore to pieces and burned with fire. 57
  Anyone found possessing the book of the covenant,
  or anyone who adhered to the law, was condemned
  to death by decree of the king. 58They kept using
  violence against Israel, against those who were
  found month after month in the towns. 59On the
  twenty-fifth day of the month they offered
  sacrifice on the altar that was on top of the
  altar of burnt offering.

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Winter Solstice Holiday

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• ?"? ??? ????? ?? ??? ??????, ???? ????? ????
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  ???? ???.

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Winter Solstice

• Babylonian Talmud, Avodah Zara 8a
• Our Rabbis taught When Adam saw the day getting
  gradually shorter, he said, Woe is me, perhaps
  because I have sinned, the world around me is
  being darkened and returning to its state of
  chaos and confusion this then is the kind of
  death to which I have been sentenced from
  Heaven! So he began keeping an eight days fast.
  But as he observed the winter solstice and noted
  the day getting increasingly longer, he said,
  This is the world's course, and he set forth to
  keep an eight days festivity. In the following
  year he appointed both as festivals. Now, he
  fixed them for the sake of Heaven, but the
  heathens appointed them for the sake of
  idolatry.

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Why is Hanukah 8 Days?
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Josephus is in the Dark

• Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 127
• Now Judas celebrated the festival of the
  restoration of the sacrifices of the temple for
  eight days, and omitted no sort of pleasures
  thereon but he feasted them upon very rich and
  splendid sacrifices and he honored God, and
  delighted them by hymns and psalms. Nay, they
  were so very glad at the revival of their
  customs, when, after a long time of intermission,
  they unexpectedly had regained the freedom of
  their worship, that they made it a law for their
  posterity, that they should keep a festival, on
  account of the restoration of their temple
  worship, for eight days. And from that time to
  this we celebrate this festival, and call it
  Lights. I suppose the reason was, because this
  liberty beyond our hopes appeared to us and that
  thence was the name given to that festival. Judas
  also rebuilt the walls round about the city, and
  reared towers of great height against the
  incursions of enemies, and set guards therein. He
  also fortified the city Bethsura, that it might
  serve as a citadel against any distresses that
  might come from our enemies.

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Lit for Eight Days

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• ??? ?????? ???? ???? ??"? ?????? ???? ??????
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  ??? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ???, ???? ?? ?? ???????
  ???? ????? ????. ???? ???? ????? ?????? ????
  ????? ???? ??????.

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• What is the reason of Hanukkah? For our Rabbis
  taught On the twenty-fifth of Kislev commence
  the days of Hanukkah, which are eight on which a
  lamentation for the dead and fasting are
  forbidden. For when the Greeks entered the
  Temple, they defiled all the oils therein, and
  when the Hasmonean dynasty prevailed against and
  defeated them, they made search and found only
  one cruse of oil which lay with the seal of the
  High Priest, but which contained sufficient for
  one day's lighting only yet a miracle was
  wrought therein and they lit the lamp therewith
  for eight days. The following year these days
  were appointed a Festival with the recital of
  Hallel and thanksgiving.

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Eight Metal Spits

• ?????? ???? (??? ????) ???? ? ?"? ?????? ????? ??
• ???? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ??
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  ???? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ???????
  ????? ????

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• II Maccabees 212 - Solomon also celebrated the
  feast in the same way for eight days.

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Like Sukkoth

• II Maccabees 10
• Now Maccabeus and his followers, the Lord leading
  them on, recovered the temple and the city 2.
  they tore down the altars that had been built in
  the public square by the foreigners, and also
  destroyed the sacred precincts. 3. They purified
  the sanctuary, and made another altar of
  sacrifice then, striking fire out of flint, they
  offered sacrifices, after a lapse of two years,
  and they offered incense and lighted lamps and
  set out the bread of the Presence. 
• 4. When they had done this, they fell prostrate
  and implored the Lord that they might never again
  fall into such misfortunes, but that, if they
  should ever sin, they might be disciplined by him
  with forbearance and not be handed over to
  blasphemous and barbarous nations. 5. It happened
  that on the same day on which the sanctuary had
  been profaned by the foreigners, the purification
  of the sanctuary took place, that is, on the
  twenty-fifth day of the same month, which was
  Chislev. 
• 6. They celebrated it for eight days with
  rejoicing, in the manner of the festival of
  booths, remembering how not long before, during
  the festival of booths, they had been wandering
  in the mountains and caves like wild animals. 7.
  Therefore, carrying ivy-wreathed wands and
  beautiful branches and also fronds of palm, they
  offered hymns of thanksgiving to him who had
  given success to the purifying of his own holy
  place. 8. They decreed by public edict, ratified
  by vote, that the whole nation of the Jews should
  observe these days every year.  9. Such then was
  the end of Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes.

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???? ??? ?? ?"?

• Our Rabbis taught The precept of Hanukkah
  demands one light for a man and his household
  the zealous kindle a light for each member of
  the household and the extremely zealous, Beth
  Shammai maintain On the first day eight lights
  are lit and thereafter they are gradually
  reduced, but Beth Hillel say On the first day
  one is lit and thereafter they are progressively
  increased. Ulla said In the West Palestine
  two amoraim, R. Jose b. Abin and R. Jose b.
  Zebida, differ therein one maintains, The reason
  of Beth Shammai is that it shall correspond to
  the days still to come, and that of Beth Hillel
  is that it shall correspond to the days that are
  gone but another maintains Beth Shammai's
  reason is that it shall correspond to the
  bullocks of the Festival whilst Beth Hillel's
  reason is that we promote in matters of
  sanctity but do not reduce.

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2 Maccabees 67

• On the monthly celebration of the kings
  birthday, the Jews were taken, under bitter
  constraint, to partake of the sacrifices and
  when a festival of Dionysus was celebrated, they
  were compelled to wear wreaths of ivy and to walk
  in the procession in honor Dionysus.

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Teetotum
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• The original medieval dice used in Germany by
  gamblers was inscribed with the four letters N,
  G, H, and S, which are the initials
• Nichts (nothing),
• Ganz (all),
• Halb (half), and
• Stellein (put in).
• Encyclopedia Judaica Folklore

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Kedushefy

• Winter Solstice becomes religious day of hope and
  trust in Hashem.
• Celebration of lights becomes symbol of Hashems
  providence even in times of darkness.
• Ivy bands for Dionysis become part of
  rededication celebration.
• European gambling game becomes symbol of
  perseverance.