Friday, December 15, 1944

DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and Tho Ugel Chtonkle

Page 8

Chanukah in History and Legend

By DR. AARON .ROSMARIN

Fact and Fancy in the Tales of the Heroic
Maccabees. The Origin and Celebration
of the Festival of Dedication

History tells us that under the
reign of Antiochus, surnamed by
his flatterers Epiphanes, the Il-
lustrious, and by his more candid
friends Epirnanes, the Madman,
the Jews suffered many unspeak-
able cruelties. He entered Jeru-
salem, plundered the Temple, des-
ecrated the altar and erected a
heathen one in its place, and put
to death a large number of the
inhabitants.
The Jewish Scriptures were
burned, and the reading and the
observance of the Torah was for-
bidden under the penalty of
death. Throughout the country
his offices forced the Jews to re-
nounce their religion. The mar-
tyrs, however, steadfast to the
covenant, hid themselves in the
mountains, ready any moment to
rebel.
In those dreadful days there
lived in the little town of Modin,
between Jerusalem and Jaffa, the
High Priest Mattathias ben Jo-
hanan. Mattathias and his five

sons, Johanan, Simon, Judah, Jon-
athan and Elasar, belonged to
the active party, which favored
a rebellion against the oppres-
sors. An officer of Antiochus
visited Modin, calling on the Jews
to perform heathen sacrifices.
Confronted with the refusal of
the majority of the Jews, he
asked Mattathias to fulfill the
king's order and thus set an
example to the others. Matta-
thias answered: "We will not
deviate from our religion right
or left." And when Mattathias,
thereupon, saw a Jew, who was
Hellenistically inclined, approach
the altar to sacrifice, he slew him
on the spot. Then he, his sons
and his followers killed the offi-
cer and destroyed the heathen
altar.
This was the first signal for
the insurrection. Under the lead-
ership of Mattathias and his sons,
the rebels traversed the country,
destroyed the heathen altars,
killed the faithless Jews, as well
as the attacking troops of the
enemy.
Chanukah Greetings to All!
Mattathias, however, died im-
mediately after the outbreak. He
was succeeded by his son Judah,
surnamed Makabi, the letters of
which are supposed to be the ini-
tials of "Mi kamocha baelim
Adonai." "Who is like unto thee
among the gods, 0 Lord," which
•
also formed a surname for this
21 HENRY ST.
family of heroes.
At Bethhoron, Emmaus, and
CA. 7070
Bethsura (166-165 B.C.E.), Ju-
dah and his followers, inspired
Help, put over the Sixth War by national enthusiasm, defeated
Loan, buy more War Bonds! the army of the enemy which
Gutnumbered them. Judah then
marched with his triumphant
t'sN troops to Jerusalem. They des-
troyed the heathen altar and
Season's Greetings
built a new one.
After the Temple was more or
less cleansed, they began with
the dedication, which commenced
on the 25th of Kislev, 165 B.C.E.,
the day on which three years
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solemnity, which is more of na- practicing the religion of their guardian angels of the nations,
perforated them with an awl of
tional than of religious signifi- fathers.
In order to be able to observe fire and said to them: "Each of
cance, lasted for eight days, and
its anniversary was instituted the Sabbath, many Jews hid you shall slay the warriors of
among the Jews as a memorial themselves in caves. Antiochus your nation, and should one of
of the restoration of religious sent his army against them. They them escape, I will take your life
freedom. Since then this festival demanded that the Jews fulfill instead." The Angels thrust the
of the warriors of Anti-
has been called Chanukah, the fes- the King's decree and thus save arrows
into their hearts. They al-
tival of the Dedication of the their lives. But the Jews were ochus
stripped every slain Chief and
Altar, or of the Purification of willing to die, rather than t9 so
profane the Sabbath. The army brought the spoil to the Jewish
the Sanctuary.
homes, for the Jews themselves
In hagadic literature, however, then burned them in the caves. could not despoil them on cc-
When Johanan, the son of
no Jewish festival is so scantily
count of the vast number that
dealt with as Chanukah. Rabbin- Mattathias, and his four brothers , had
been slain of the enemy. The
heard
all
this,
they
waged
war
ical literature is also silent about
Jews
thus destroyed the armies
on
the
enemy.
They
destroyed
Antiochus and his generals. Even
Judah himself is scarcely ever the entire army of Antiochus and of the enemy and Bagris they
mentioned and the name Macca- only its general, Bagris, and a burned.
After having defeated the army
few others could escape death.
bee is absolutely unknown.
the enemy, the Hashmonites
This paucity of records may Reaching Antiochus, Bagris ad- of
the Temple which was
be accounted for by the follow- vised Antiochus to mobilize the entered
profaned
by the enemy, and
entire
Empire
since
the
Macca-
ing reasons: First, because the
cleansed
it.
While looking for
bees
were
"swifter
than
eagles
book of Maccabees is not includ-
consecrated oil to light the lamps,
ed in the sacred canon; secondly, and stronger than lions."
At the head of 1,080 myraids they found, in the pit by the side
because glorification of the Mac-
cabean heroism would have of troops, Bagris, the wicked, be-
See LEGEND—Page 9
aroused the suspicion of the seiged Jerusalem. Entering the
Romans; thirdly, because the city, he desecrated the Temple.
The tyranny of Antiochus
Maccabees, who were priests, il-
legitimately assumed the title aroused the religious conscious- Sincere Chanukah Greetings
"king" which belongs only to the ness of the Jews which resulted
to All!
house of David. Besides this, in in the revolution led by the Mac-
cabees.
Mattathias
could
not
more
the strife between the Sadducces
and the Pharisees, the descend- assuage his wrath and he organ-
ants of the Maccabees sided with ized resistance. He said to Has-
the former. They thus provoked monai: "You and your sons, and
the enmity of the Pharisees whose I and my sons are 12, correspond-
views are chiefly deposited in the ing to the 12 tribes. Let us
12641 Woodrow Wilson
Rabbinical literature and there- therefore fight, for I trust in
God
that
He
will
perform
mir-
fore very little reference to the
TO. 8.2330
Maccabees is found in Talmud acles for us."
The
Maccabees
fasted,
put
on
and Mdrash.
Buy another $100 War Bond
According to some Jewish leg- sack-cloth and began to fight the Help shorten the war.
ends the origin of Chanukah is as enemy, slawing a tremendous
follows: In order to convert the number of them. God seized 70
Jews Antiochus, the wicked, sent
a big army headed by his general
Nicanor to Jerusalem. Arriving
there they killed many Jews.
They also erected an altar in the
Temple, slaughtered a swine and
brought its blood into the holy
precinct. Antiochus also issued
various decrees, one more bar-
barous than the other. Among
them was an act forbidding every
Jew, under penalty of death, to
have a bolt or lock on his door.
The Jews removed their doors
altogether and lived for three
i
successive years in fear of
thieves, robbers and outcasts.
Seeing that his goal was not
attained, he issued another or-
der, that every Jew who owns
cattle shall engrave on their horns
that they have no share in the
God of Israel. lie intended thus
to prevent the Jews from eating
the meat or using the milk of
the animals and to hinder plow-
ing. The Jews sold all their cat-
tle. God, however, caused rams
and other clean animals to enter
the Jewish houses which were
without doors, and the Jews
slaughtered them.
Unable to accomplish this pur-
pose, Antiochus prohibited the
observance of the law of ritual
baths, which made married life
for the Jews impossible. Moved
by all these and other barbaric
decrees, Jachanan ben Battathias
became incensed. lie made a
dagger for himself, girdled it be-
neath his coat, went to Nicanor
Upon this important occasion
and killed him.
When Antiochus heard of Nic-
anor's death, he despatched a big
we express our felicitations to
army headed by his general
Bagris to Jerusalem. Bagris en-
the entire community. May
tered the city, murdered and
plundered the Jews. In addition
to this, a royal decree proclaimed
you all be blessed with an
the abolition of the Jewish mode
of worship. Any Jew observing
abundance of good health, hap-
the Sabbath, the New Moon, and
performing circumcision, would
be subject to death. These cruel
piness, comfort and security
measures, however, did not in
the least prevent the Jews from

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