Rabbi Howard Morrison

Have you noticed there is no Biblical book about Chanukah? For Purim, we have the book of Esther in the Bible, but nothing for Chanukah. These are the two post-Mosaic holidays that have entered our holiday calendar. On both, Purim and Chanukah, we recite the passage, "Al Ha'Nisim," thanking God for the miracles.

For many of us, we have and know the rabbinic accounts about Chanukah found in the Talmud and other rabbinic sources. When the Sages ask, "What is Chanukah?" - we find the famous legendary story about the oil. All the rituals and traditions are found in rabbinic literature: How to light the Chanukiah, where to place the Chanukiah, etc. All of the rabbinic lore is composed over 200 years after the original historical events surrounding Chanukah. So, how do we know about Mattathias, the Maccabees, the military and religious conflicts between the Jews and the Greeks, and between Jews and their fellow Jews?

The answers to these questions are found in the books of the Maccabees, books 1 and 2. Where are they found? They are not in the Tanach, Jewish scripture, where the book of Esther is found for our knowledge of Purim. The two books of the Maccabees are found in a collection known as the Apocrypha, a select number of books which were excluded from Tanach, but which were actually maintained by early Christians between their Old and New Testaments.

It is in the books of the Maccabees where we find the original historical accounts. There, the role of God is downplayed. Chanukah emerges as a military struggle between pious Jews and the Hellenistic Syrian-Greek Empire. Scholars debate on whether or not the Maccabees were akin to freedom fighters or fanatics. Certainly, they were not pacifists. When contemporary religious Jews of the time were killed on Shabbat because they chose not to wage war on the Sabbath, the Maccabees invoked the obligation to fight on Shabbat so that we would live to see future Sabbaths, and because we do not rely on miracles from above. 

Subsequent to the original military emphasis surrounding Chanukah, later Sages and scholars downplayed the military aspects and rather emphasized the role of God and the spirituality of Chanukah. Thus, no Chanukah books in the Bible. While other holidays have volumes of Talmud named for them, there is no volume entitled Chanukah. The literature we have is found in the volume called Shabbat. Clearly, the Sages emphasized spirituality over military necessity

I think of Jewish history and the history of Israel with Chanukah in mind. I think of the last year plus since October 7, 2023. Military and the need for physical aggression have been necessary for self-defense. However, in the larger picture, we want to envision Israel and our history as being centered around God, spirituality, Torah, and Jewish values. We fight when there is no alternative, but fighting is never first choice.

A couple of months ago, I was involved in an interfaith Zoom program on the nature of peace in the Jewish and Christian traditions. You can find it on my blog page. Suffice to say, when my Christian colleague spoke about pacifism in Christianity and the concept of "turn the other cheek," I had to respond that all ethical people would want those ideals. However, what do you do when the other party does not recognize your right to exist and has legislated forms of terror to annihilate you? Pacifism is not an option. Turn the other cheek is not an option. Jewish tradition obligates us to defend ourselves even when you see the enemy approaching to harm you but has not yet physically attacked.

I like the fact that over the centuries, our tradition has ritualized the spirtuality of Chanukah. But we dare not forget its historical and military origins, whose lessons are vital in every generation as in our time right now.

Chag Urim Sameach, 

Rabbi Howard Morrison