Chanukah - The Festival of Lights

My father came home from work today, infuriated about an ignorant, denigrating, and just plain wrong article written about the holiday of Chanukah. I proceeded to read it and become outraged as well. Of course it was written by a fellow Jew (sometimes we are our own worst enemy). If you're interested, here's the link. My blog will primarily address the true history of the holiday as well as attacking the article's fallacies, so it might help to read it - please do keep in mind that the article is misleading, misrepresentative, and inaccurate (to say the least)!

Let me begin by saying this in response to the article, Hanukkah, Rekindled (by Howard Jacobson):
Mr. Jacobson mocks our Jewish holidays before unfairly and ignorantly ripping into Chanukah (it's Hebrew so all English transliterations are correct, in case you're wondering). Click on the holiday names for the real story.
Passover: "... relates the great narrative of the Jewish flight from Egypt in a form that lends itself to rumbustious family dinners - those who want to recite every word of it in Hebrew contesting with those who want to get it over and done with expeditiously in English, but everybody coming together in exaltation to visit boils and locusts on the ancient Egyptians."
Purim: "... gives us a pantomime villain in Haman the Jew-murderer and the chance to eat hamantashchen, the delicious little fruit and poppy-seed pastries, spiced with anger and made in the shape of the scoundrel's dastardly three-cornered hat. Food and vengeance: that's what you want from a festival."
Rosh Hashanah: "...tolls the bell of the preceding year, each day pregnant with the sins we hope to expiate on Yom Kippur, on our knees to the fearful mountain G-d of the Torah. Food, vengeance, terror and guilt."

Apparently, according to Mr. Jacobson, with the way the Chanukah story is told, it "struggles to find a path to Jewish hearts." Really?

The only impression I ever got throughout my life is that my Jewish friends simply did not know the story in detail. They knew about the miracles of the Maccabees over the Greeks, and the eight days of oil, but they didn't outright DENY and DOUBT the history like our friendly author does. They never openly ridiculed the Hasmoneans and Maccabees, referring to them as "Scottish Jewish."

And Mr. Jacobson, perhaps Hasmoneans "rings no bells" because you're an ignorant individual who refuses to read up on your own religious history. Further, the only 'proof' you supply in support of your argument that Chanukah isn't "authentic" is that it didn't "draw on events described in the Hebrew Bible." News flash, Mr. Big Shot Reporter for the New York Times, it wasn't included in the Torah because it took place AFTER the Torah was written. Logic helps sometimes, no?

Chanukah is, however, referenced briefly in the Mishna (Bikkurim 1:6, Rosh Hashanah 1:3, Megilah 3:6, Bava Kama 6:6). It wasn't covered more intensely because, according to Rav Nissim Gaon, information on the holiday was so commonplace that the Mishna felt no need to explain it. Chanukah is also mentioned and described in the Talmud (Gemara, tractate Shabbat 21).

The story of Chanukah is also alluded to in the book of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees (links below). You can also find it in the Megilat Antiochus (both in Aramaic and Hebrew), which has been dated back to the 2nd and 5th Centuries, and whose Hebrew text with an English translation can be found in the Siddur of Philip Birnbaum. And the Christian Bible refers to Jesus being at the Jerusalem Temple during "the feast of the dedication and it was winter" in John 10:22-23. Lastly, if you want to go secular, one can review the Narrative of Flavius Josephus in his book Jewish Antiquities XII, where he refers to Chanukah as the Festival of Lights.

Mr. Jacobson also states that while "escaping from bondage in Egypt by dint of magic and smart talk is comprehensible," it's a "touch suspicious" that the Maccabees defeated the Syrian-Greek army (because Jews, I guess, are supposed to be weak, skinny, and nerds). Again with the mocking. At this point, I will bring two fair comparisons into play: (1) the American revolution against the mighty British Empire. If it hadn't happened, I think it'd be fair to say that the concept of a tiny colony throwing off an Empire with the strongest navy in the world is a "touch suspicious," perhaps even spurious! (2) the Jews who fought in the camps at Warsaw Ghetto, and who held off the mighty Nazis longer than the Polish Army did.

Our distinguished author continues with his mocking of our holiday of Chanukah, using phrases such as "excruciating rabbinic banalities" and "horrible imitation[s] of shtetl simplicity" in his attempts to gain sympathy from his adoring public. He requests better songs, states so nonchalantly that it is a "children's festival, after all" (completely untrue - see below), and that we should sarcastically insist upon presents like vehicles rather than dreidels (which have serious historical significance).

Mr. Jacobson, the only reason I am taking the time to respond to your (mostly) ignorant, baseless, and insulting article on Chanukah is because I don't want other mis- or uninformed Jews being misled by your mischaracterizations of the holiday. Sir, the "cruel truth" is that your accusations of Jews being "the Polish equivalent of the Flintstones" (which is insulting to both Jews and Polish people and to the Flintstones), that your mistruths (lies) about Chanukah having no pretext and thus being "doomed to be forever the poor relation of Christmas" only displays your blatant disregard for your own religion. I hesitate (only briefly) to use this label, but I am forced to apply it to you. You are nothing but a self-hating Jew... No one else would claim that the holiday has no chance to engage our imaginations. No one else (no Christian, no Jew) would have the chutzpah, even facetiously, to suggest that Chanukah merge with Christmas. You are appalling and a disgrace to the Jewish people.

Now... On to the facts.

Chanukah
Chanukah is an eight day Jewish festival that begins on the eve of the 25th day of our Jewish month of Kislev. It celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, purity over adulteration, and of spirituality over materialism. Chanukah is one of the best known Jewish holidays, primarily because of its proximity to Christmas. Many non-Jews and many assimilated Jews (along with our ignorant author above) don't understand the holiday and think of it as the Jewish Christmas, adopting many of the Christmas customs, such as elaborate gift-giving and decoration. It is bitterly ironic that Chanukah, which has its roots in a revolution against assimilation and the suppression of Jewish religion, has become the most assimilated, secular holiday on our calendar.

The Jewish Calendar
To start, the Jewish calendar is lunar and consists of twelve months. Because it follows the moon, it falls behind the Gregorian calendar each year, so once every 3-4 years, we add a "leap month" to catch up. This year, Chanukah is extremely early; it starts tonight, December 1st. Also, our days start at sunset (and continue until the next sunset), which is why our holidays and Sabbaths always begin the night before it's mentioned on American calendars.

History of Chanukah
The story of Chanukah starts in the time of Alexander the Great, who conquered Syria, Egypt, and Judea, but allowed the people under his control to continue observing their own religions and retain a certain degree of autonomy. More than a century later, after Alexander died, no one was strong enough to keep the entire land mass under one rule, and it was split into three parts. One of those parts (Egypt) was ruled by King Ptolemy V Epiphanes, who was defeated by King Antiochus III (of Syria) in 200 BCE at the Battle of Panium. At that time, Judea (what was then Israel), which had been part of the Ptolemaic Kingdom, fell under the rule of Antiochus. Antiochus III the Great continued in Alexander's footsteps, and guaranteed the Jews' right to "live according to their ancestral customs" and to continue to practice their religion in the Holy Temple. In 175 BCE, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, his son, invaded Judea and began his oppression of the Jews.

Antiochus IV oppressed the Jews severely in his attempts to forcefully Hellenize the people of Israel and bring them into Greek culture. He massacred Jews, placed a Hellenistic priest in the Holy Temple, further desecrated the Temple by requiring the sacrifice of pigs on the altar (as well as placing an altar to Zeus as well), and outlawed aspects of Jewish observance, including the study of Torah. This all began to decay the foundation of Jewish life and practice. He was relatively successful since during this period of time, many Jews began to assimilate into Greek culture, taking on Greek names, and marrying non-Jews.

In response to this oppression, a small group of courageous Jews took to the hills of Judea in open revolt against this threat to Jewish life. The group (called the Maccabees) was led by Matisyahu (Mattathias, in English) and his five sons, one of whom was named Judah, and they led an attack of guerilla warfare against the Syrian-Greek Army. Matisyahu belonged to the priestly Hasmonean family.

King Antiochus IV sent thousands of well-armed troops to crush this rebellion, but somehow (with a little help from upstairs), a miracle occurred, and the Maccabees succeeded in driving the foreigners from their land.

The fierce Jewish fighters entered Jerusalem in the Jewish month of Kislev, 164 BCE. The Holy Temple was in shambles, defiled, and desecrated by foreign soldiers. The Maccabees cleansed the Temple and rededicated it on the 25th of Kislev. When it came time to re-light the Eternal Lamp,  they could only find enough pure oil (bearing the seal of the High Priest) to last for one day. They were crushed; it took eight days to manufacture and properly cleanse oil so that it was pure enough for the Lamp, but what choice did they have? They used the oil and -again- miraculously, it lasted for eight days, long enough for them to produce a new supply of oil for use in the Temple. From then on, Jews have observed Chanukah for eight days, starting on the 25th of Kislev, in honor of this historic victory and the miracle of the oil.

Following further Hasmonean victories (147 BCE), the Seleucids were forced to restore autonomy to Judea, and with the collapse of the Seleucid kingdom (129 BCE), Jewish independence was again achieved.

Religious Observance & Tradition
Chanukah is not one of the more religiously significant holidays in the Jewish calendar. The only religious observance related to the holiday is the lighting of candles. The candles are arranged in a candelabrum called a chanukiah (incorrectly referred to as a menorah, which only holds six plus a shamash, and is located in the Temple). The chanukiah holds nine candles: one for each night, plus a shamash (helper candle) at a different height or separated. On the first night, there are three blessings recited (l'hadlik nehr - a general prayer over candles; sheh-asah nisim - a prayer thanking G-d for performing miracles for our ancestors; and sheh-hekhianu - a general prayer thanking G-d for allowing us to reach this occasion), and the following seven nights, only the first two blessings are recited.

The Chanukah candles are not to be used for anything productive. The shamash is the one that lights all the candles and for the chanukiah to be kosher, all the candles must be on the same height, in the same line, and the shamash must remain separate.

It is traditional to eat fried foods on this holiday because of the significance of oil to the holiday (e.g. latkes and sufganiyot - potato pancakes and doughnuts, respectively). Gift giving is not a traditional part of the holiday, but has been added lately because of the conflict with Christmas and commercialization of Chanukah. The only traditional gift of the holiday is gelt. Chanukah gelt is a Jewish custom rooted in the Talmud (a central text of mainstream Judaism in the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs, and history):

The Talmud states that even a very poor person must light Chanukah lights, even if he can't afford it. A person with no money is required to go knocking on doors until he collects enough to buy at least one candle for each night of Chanukah. The Torah concept of charity --tzedakah-- requires us to help the recipient in the most dignified manner possible. Therefore, the custom arose to give gifts of money during Chanukah so that someone who needs extra money for Chanukah candles can receive it in the form of 'Chanukah Gelt.'

Another tradition of the holiday is playing dreidel, a gambling game played with a square top. It has four sides, each with the following four letters, nun, gimel, hay, and shin (an acronym for the saying, "Nes gadol hayah sham," or "A great miracle happened there"). In Israel, the four letters are nun, gimel, hay, peh for the saying, "Nes gadol hayah poh," or "A great miracle happened here"). The tradition of  dreidels started back in the time of the Seleucids. When the Jews were forbidden to study Torah by Antiochus IV, Jews would sneak into the forests to learn about their religion. When they were occasionally found, they would pull out their dreidels and pretend to play and gamble so that their unlawful Torah study was not discovered.

Lastly, there are traditional songs that go along with this holiday. The most well-known is Maoz Tzur, with another being Haneros Hallalu.

If you have any questions, here are some additional Jewish/Chanukah links and sources for you:
Jewish Virtual Library (a division of the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise)
Judaism 101
Chanukah on the Net
Wikipedia on Chanukah
Chabad on Chanukah
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
AJewishMinute.org