Who’s Who?
- Antiochus The king of the Assyrian Greek Empire, Antiochus IV was called Antiochus Epiphanes – Antiochus the Madman! He was an unusually harsh and cruel ruler who was known for doing strange things.
- Mattisyahu Chashmonai Matisyahu was the son of Yochanan Kohein Gadol, also known as Matisyahu Chashmona’i. At the time of the Chanukah story, Matisyahu was an elderly man, a tzaddik and leader of the Jews.
- Chashmonai Sons Yehuda Hamaccabi and his brothers – Yochanan, Shimon, Elazar, Yonasan The Chashmona’i family were Kohanim (Priests), from the family of kohanim gedolim. These were the five sons of Matisyahu, each of whom were righteous and Torah scholars. They led the Jews in battle against the Greeks, and secretly taught Torah despite the Greek’s terrible decrees.
- Mityavnim Jews who abandoned their Torah way of life, to look, act, and live like Greeks.
- Maccabim The small Jewish Torah-true army who fought against the Greek army.
| Jewish Year/Secular Year | Event |
| 0/3760 BCE | Creation of the World |
| 2448/1312 BCE | Hashem takes the Jews out of Egypt and gives them the Torah at Har Sinai |
| 2928/832 BCE | Construction of first Beit Hamikdash |
| 3338/423 BCE | Destruction of the first Beit Hamikdash (Galut Bavel) |
| 3400/358 BCE | Purim (Galut Paras Umadai) |
| 3408/353 BCE | Rebuilidng of second Beit Hamikdash. Alexander the Great conquers Israel and introduces Greek culture (called Hellenism) to the Jews |
| 3644/168 BCE | The War of the Maccabees (Galut Yavan) |
| 3648/164 BCE | CHANUKAH MIRACLE |
| 3830/ 70 | Destruction of the second Beit Hamikdash (Galut Edom) |
| 5786/2025 | Modern day |
Long Long Ago
The story of Chanukah1 takes us back about 2,200 years to the reign of Antiochus, the king of the Assyrian Greek Empire. Antiochus was a cruel and self-obsessed ruler who erected statues of himself everywhere and was intent on Hellenizing the Jewish people. Under Antiochus, the Jewish people were severely oppressed. Antiochus enacted laws that banned important mitzvot like Rosh Chodesh and Shabbat, brit milah (circumcisions) and learning Torah.
Jews who disobeyed these laws were punished terribly! They were humiliated, beaten, thrown off cliffs, or killed with swords. Antiochus also replaced the real Kohen Gadol (high Priest in the Temple) with Jason, one of the Mityavnim.
Spreading Greek Culture
Jason focused on collecting taxes for Antiochus and spreading Greek ways. He built gymnasiums near the Beit Hamikdash (temple), where people would exercise and worship the Greek gods. Many Jews became Mityavnim, and lost their pride in being Torah-true Jews. They were dazzled by the beauty and excitement of the Greek lifestyle.
When the Greek soldiers took control of the Beit Hamikdash, they stole the precious keilim (temple vessels)2 and make a mess. They destroyed every possible holy item that was stored there, including the precious sealed jars of olive oil that were needed for the Menorah. They erected statues of Greek gods and of Antiochus and sacrificed pigs on the holy Mizbeach (altar) to their gods!
Sad News For The Jews
This was a horrific blow to the Jews, who knew how the holy and sacred Beit Hamikdash was being disgraced by the Greeks and the Mityavnim. But not everyone gave up! Matisyahu, an elderly leader from the Chashmona’i family of Kohanim Gedolim, stood strong.
Along with his five courageous sons—Yochanan, Shimon, Yehuda, Elazar, and Yonasan and a handful of others,3 Matisyahu was determined to protect the Torah and fight back against the Greeks.
The turning point came in Modi’in, a small town near Jerusalem. The Greek soldiers gathered the townspeople and demanded that the Jews sacrifice a pig to the Greek gods. The soldiers singled out Matisyahu, who adamantly refused, even when the Greeks offered to let him just pretend to participate. One of the Mityavnim, eager to impress the Greek soldiers, rushed forward to sacrifice the pig instead.
For The Sake Of Hashem!
With a surge of strength, Matisyahu grabbed a sword and killed the man, and then he and his sons turned on the Greek soldiers, killing them all. Matisyahu raised his voice over the shouts of battle, calling out with a fierce cry, “MI LA’HASHEM ELAI!” (“Whoever is for Hashem, JOIN ME!”)
His words pierced the hearts of the bystanders, igniting their courage. They ran for the hills around Modi’in, and the Jewish rebellion officially began. The little army called themselves the Maccabim after their slogan, Mi Kamocha Ba’eilim Hashem (Who is like You among the mighty, Hashem).
And A War Ensued
Each day of battle began with intense prayer, fasting, and teshuvah (repentance). The Jewish soldiers would then attack the Greeks in small groups and destroy their supplies. Even though they had way fewer soldiers and weapons, Hashem helped them against all odds, and they kept winning.
Antiochus sent his best generals with huge armies to defeat the Jews, but the Jewish fighters, with both their strong faith and Hashem on their side kept winning! The fight against the Greek armies was only part of the battle! Slowly, many of the Mityavnim were inspired by the Maccabim and were returning to their Torah lives and values. They were doing teshuvah and rededicating their lives to Hashem and to a Torah lifestyle.
After three years of fighting, the Jews finally recaptured Jerusalem and began purifying the Beit Hamikdash. They removed the pigs, idols and dirt left by the Greeks and reconstructed anything that had been destroyed.
A Fight Worth Fighting
The Chashmona’im could not use the Mizbeach (alter), as it had been used for idol worship, and it would have to be rebuilt from scratch. The one job that they could do was to light the menorah! As they prepared to light the menorah, the Kohanim could not find even one jar of oil that was sealed and pure. After searching every corner, they found a single jar, with enough oil to last one night. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, giving them time to prepare more pure oil.4
We light the menorah during Chanukah to publicize this great miracle. The hardest battle, returning the Jewish people to Torah lives and reigniting their Jewish spirit, had been won with the rekindling of the Chanukah lights. Hashem showed clearly that He was happy with their teshuvah.
Giving Thanks On Purim
On Purim, we have a mitzvah to have a festive meal. Why is it that on Chanukah we don’t have a mitzvah to make a special seudah (meal) according to most halachic authorities? The Bach5 explains that there is a fundamental difference between the sin and the teshuvah process of Chanukah and Purim.
In the Purim story, the Yidden (Jews) sinned physically, by eating incorrectly (at Achashveirosh’s party). To do teshuvah, they fasted, as directed by Queen Esther. When their salvation came, the Chachamim made a mitzvah to have a seudat Purim.
Giving Thanks On Chanukah
On Chanukah, the sin was a laxity in avodat Hashem (serving God), which is spiritual. This led to a decree by the Greeks to abolish the daily sacrifice, and their contamination of the oil to prevent us from doing the mitzvah of lighting the Menorah.
When the Jews did teshuvah and exerted themselves spiritually, Hashem saved them, and He performed the miracle of the menorah. The Chachamim (Sages) then instituted a Yom Tov that would be celebrated spiritually saying words of praise, giving thanks to Hashem, and lighting a menorah.
Excerpted from Oorah’s Torah Nuggets
The history of Chanukah – Sources:
1 Based on the account written in Megillah Antiochas, as well as Ch. 3 of Rambam Hilchot Chanukah
2 Avodah Zara 43a
3 Rashi Devarim 33:11
4 Ra”n on Menachot 85b
5 Tur, Orach Chaim 670
