Friday, December 12, Oft DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE rage Eighteen fend Maccabees First to De Freedom of Little People By MARC H. TANENBAUM HEN THE PALE yellow glow of Chanukah candle-light spreads across the window-panes, a warm moving spirit will surge through the breasts of Jews throughout the world. Huddled about the candfiiabrum, Jewish families in Detroit, Buenos Aires, Hamburg, Shanghai and Tel Aviv will usher in Chanukah 5708, with prayer book in hand and melody in heart. Since the justly-heralded tri- umph of the Maccabees about 167 B.C.E. the twenty-fifth day of Kislev (this yem Dec. 7) has come to mean many things to many Jews. To most, the eight day period has been symbolized as: The Feast of Lights, The Feast *of the Maccabees, The Feast of Dedication. To all, the festive Chanukah has meant in- spiration, invincibility, the tri- umph of the human soul. • • • STIRRING EPOCII SCURRYING BACK thr .ough the avenues of history, one finds few epochs in the annals of man so stirring, so valorous as that of the Maccabees. The breath of freedom which today sustains twentieth century man was first exhaled by the modest priest Mattathias of Mo- din, who with his five sons struck the first blow of resistance against the imperial fascist, Anti- ochus Epiphanes, king of all Syria. Incensed by the invasion of Syrian hordes who sought to be reckoned with in their world. This, the rededication of the Temple, was a powerful religious victory, thought others who saw in it that Israel's mission was only to live unmolested on the holy soil in accordance with the Torah. But to the present day heir of this Jewish epic who stands on the banks of time and proudly observes the stream of Jewish tradition, there is a noticeable ; undercurrent which swells the ,; tide and lends dirtction. The 1 Maccabean revolt, he sees, signi- i ••• fies the first instance in human history of men taking up arms to defend freedom of conscience and the invoilable right of little people everywhere to live as they will. YET IT IS MORE than that. The Maccabees not only resisted oppression, they battered down the sickening cowardice of furry. minded Jews who, thinking the "melting pot" their salvation wished Israel to cast off its tra- ditions, lose its identity and be reduced to an amorphous clot in the human bloodstream. CHANUKAH GREETINGS Clyde Hornung CHANUKAH GREETINGS .. . 322 Fisher Bldg. LAFIEB BIROS. 2416 Hubbard Ave. CHANUKAH GREETINGS Gunsberg Star Kosher Sausage Co. . 1743 Pingree Ave. CHANUKAH GREETINGS Gorman & Thomas Insorance 2nd Floor Majestic Bldg. TEL. CA. 6946 CHANUKAH GREETINGS Lewis Artist Supplies 6408 Woodward Ave. TR. 1-0150 ROBERT E. IIEBZOG of Chi- cago, who has been appointed assistant director of the Na- tional Federation of Temple Youth, an affiliate of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. execrate the Jewish religion and spirit to impose their decadent Hellenic culture and cult upon tiny Judea, the Maccabees organ- ized guerilla bands and assaulted the formidable Syrian flanks un- til they reeled back in hasty flight. But before going down in de- feat, the Syrian pagans triumph- antly chalked up one achieve- ment; they violated the stiff- necked Jews' sacred shrine in Jerusalem where they set up a pagan altar in the Temple. But the achievement was short- lived. Three years later, on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, the Tem- ple was thoroughly cleansed, then solemnly dedicated. The dedicati6n ceremonies lasted eight days. The splendor ' of lamps and torches, songs of tri- umph and tribute, the offering of sacrifices and the kindling of lights in the homes made the occasion memorable. • • • RELIGION TRIUMPHS AND AS TIME slipped by, the Feast of the Maccabees, the Feast of Lights, the Feast of Dedication delighted the palate of the ballad singer and the ra- conteur who delicately wove the legend into the tapestry of Jew- ish history. Each in his own time and place found new meaning, laid different stress on the story of the Maccabees. This was a great military triumph, thought those who dreamed of Palestine as a re-emerging political power to CHANUKAH GREETINGS • Blaine Restaurant 8737 12th St. CHANUKAH GREETINGS... Mason & Mason 1007 Woodward Ave. Detroit, Mich. Chanukah Greetings To All .. . The Richmond & Backus Co. 603 Woodwaid Ave. SEASON'S GREETINGS Marshall & Renehard Merchant Tailors CHANUKAI-i GREETINGS CHANUKAH GREETINGS Established 1898 408-412 David Whitney. Building Robinson Steel Co. 17384 CONANT TW. 2-7305 Aetna Smelting and Refining Co. 1826 ILLINOIS TE. 1-3266 Chanukah Greetings To All .. . e CHANUKAH GREETINGS . . SEASON'S GREETINGS BEST WISHES TO OUR MANY Enduro Products Progress Bedding Co. FRIENDS and PATRONS United Products Corp. • 4460 Lawton Enduro Polishes, Waxes and Cleaning Sundries Sold by J. L Hudson's and Better Dealers Everywhere TE. 1-4462 TE. 1-9530 Makers of the Restokraft vMattress • 2760 WEST WARREN