Hanukkah

The Maccabean victory

Hanukkah commemorates the Maccabean (Hasmonean) victories over the forces of the Seleucid (Hellenistic Syrian) king Antiochus IV Epiphanes (reigned 175–164 bce) and the rededication of the Temple on Kislev 25, 164 bce. Led by Mattathias and his son Judas Maccabeus (died c. 161 bce), the Maccabees were the first Jews who fought to defend their religious beliefs rather than their lives. The story is first mentioned in the Books of the Maccabees, texts of the Apocrypha, which are writings excluded from the Jewish canon but included in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Old Testament canons.

According to I Maccabees Antiochus had invaded Judaea and tried to Hellenize the Jews. He desecrated the Second Temple in Jerusalem by dedicating it to the Greek god Zeus. Following the Jewish victory in a three-year struggle against Antiochus, Judas Maccabeus ordered the cleansing and restoration of the Temple. After it was purified, a new altar was installed and dedicated on Kislev 25. Judas Maccabeus then proclaimed that the dedication of the restored Temple should be celebrated every year for eight days beginning on Kislev 25. Hanukkah in Hebrew means “dedication.”

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Evidence from II Maccabees suggests that the holiday might have originated as a belated observance of the seven-day Sukkot festival paired with its eighth day, Shemini Atzeret (Hebrew: “Eighth Day of the Solemn Assembly”). Sukkot is one of the three Pilgrim Festivals in the Hebrew Bible, and, until the Roman destruction of the Temple in 70 ce, its rituals were performed in the month of Tishri (September or October) in the holy Temple in Jerusalem. On this historical account, the eight days of Sukkot, including Shemini Atzeret, could only be observed in the Temple once Judas Maccabeus had reclaimed it.

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The Maccabees fought to defend Jewish religious beliefs and distinct culture. Many Jews of this time, however, did adapt to Greek culture, including some priests of the Temple. The Maccabees were staunchly opposed to Hellenization and any alteration in Jewish practices. Historians have shown that the conflict between the Maccabees and the Seleucids was also a proxy for an internal disagreement between the zealous and purist Maccabees and other more assimilationist and reform-minded Jews. This historical origin of the holiday allows for multiple interpretations—including resistance to oppression and defiance of cultural adaptation—depending on emphasis.

The miracle of the oil

The works of I and II Maccabees were written about 150–100 bce, shortly after the events they describe. A similar history is recounted 250 years after the fact in Jewish historian Flavius Josephus’s The Antiquities of the Jews (completed 93 ce). Josephus is the first to call Hanukkah the “Festival of Lights,” although for him the lights are less a reference to physical candles in the menorah than a metaphor for religious freedom.

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Although the traditional practice of lighting candles at Hanukkah was not established in the books of the Maccabees, the custom most likely started relatively early. The practice is enshrined in Tractate Shabbat 21b of the Babylonian Talmud (c. 450–550 ce), which describes the miracle of the oil in the Temple. In this Talmudic account, the military battles are largely left out and it is only mentioned that the Greeks who had entered the Temple defiled the oil used for lighting the lamp. When Judas Maccabeus entered the Temple, he found only a small jar of oil that had not been defiled by Antiochus. The jar contained only enough oil to burn for one day, but miraculously the oil burned for eight days until new consecrated oil could be found, establishing the precedent that the festival should last eight days. This new origin story suggests that Hanukkah is a commemoration of a divine miracle. The Babylonian Talmud (Shabbat 23b) further elaborates that it is important to publicize this miracle by lighting the candles.

An early date for the practice of lighting eight candles is confirmed by the debate of the 1st-century-ce scholars Hillel and Shammai. Hillel and his school taught that one candle should be lit on the first night of Hanukkah and one more each night of the festival. Shammai held that all eight candles should be lit the first night, with the number decreasing by one each night thereafter. Hillel’s school won that debate.

Modern popularity

Hanukkah has traditionally been considered a minor holiday relative to the major festivals of Passover, Purim, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur. A shift toward its modern popularity and prominence began in the mid-19th century, particularly in the United States. Scholars point to the efforts of the Cincinnati-based Reform Judaism rabbis Isaac Wise and Max Lilienthal, who noted that Christmas, which occurs about the same time as Hanukkah, was particularly popular with children. The rabbis began to remake Hanukkah as a fun and engaging holiday to excite children and increase synagogue attendance. The opportunity to celebrate a holiday about the same time as Christmas allowed American Jews to maintain their unique identity while also participating in winter festivities. The novel importance of Hanukkah soon spread from Reform Judaism to other branches of the tradition. As Christmas increasingly became commercialized in the early 20th century, Jews began to add to Hanukkah various Christmas-like traditions in parallel, such as exchanging gifts, new joyful songs, and festive Hanukkah-themed house decorations.