Yes Yentl, There Really is a Chanukah

I would just like to start off this blog post by saying Chanukah is not the Jewish Christmas.  You may see things like a Chanukah bush or blue and white lights hung with care. You may even be given ironic gifts like a stocking with a Star of David on it (true story). But it’s still not the Jewish equivalent of Christmas.  In fact, unless you're 6 years old and living in a shtetl it’s really not even a major holiday. So what is it? I’m glad you asked.

Sometimes it’s referenced as the Holiday of Lights, although technically the word Chanukah means, "dedication." You’ll understand why shortly. It’s always celebrated on the 25^th day in the Jewish month Kislev (otherwise known as the end of the November/beginning of December- trying to explain the Jewish calendar without confusing not only myself but everyone else would require another miracle). Since the holiday falls in December, often in close proximity to Christmas, the above-mentioned belief about it being the Jewish version of Christmas is understandable. But again, it’s really not.

Chanukah is basically a holiday celebrating a pretty rad miracle that G-d performed for some badass rebels that were rededicating the Temple after it had been defiled.  Here’s how it went down:

from temple-isaiah.org

So Alexander the Great had the habit of allowing the inhabitants of the land he controlled to continue practicing their own religions.  This worked out great for the Jews, some even assimilating into the Hellenistic culture, much to the chagrin of others. However, roughly two hundred years after the death of Alexander the Great, Antiochus IV gained control. Then everything changed. He started oppressing the Jewish people. There was a lot of killing, a lot of persecuting, and a lot of defiling the Jewish Temple.  For example, he sacrificed a pig on the Temple altar. 

Ahhh we don’t even eat pork so I’m sure you can imagine the general reaction.

A group led by Mattathias the Hasmonean and his son, Judah Maccabee, led a revolt and eventually regained control of Judea.  According to tradition (who else just heard Fiddler on the Roof?) when the Maccabees went to rededicate the Temple there wasn’t enough undefiled oil left to do it properly.  There was only enough to burn for one night. However, HaShem did something pretty awesome. G-d miracled the oil to burn for all 8 nights.  Ergo a holiday was born to celebrate.

And that’s the story we tell our kids. What we don’t mention is that the leaders of that revolt stayed in power for quite a long time and committed their own bloodthirsty campaign against their own people. Specifically, anyone who challenged their rule.  We also don’t mention that the rededication of the temple was more than likely a second Sukkot, as the rebels were unable to celebrate the holiday when it was biblically commanded due to all the war mongering that was going on.

Now, we burn a nine-branched Chanukiah in our windows to remember the miracle of the oil. We also eat a lot of food fried in oil (cue the latkes and jelly doughnuts), play dreidel (cue Adam Sandler) and, if you have young children, maybe even give gifts. I would like to add, however, that the gift giving is a recent tradition, born out of assimilation into American culture. Ironic that a holiday born out of revolution to assimilation and oppression has become one of the most assimilated holidays we celebrate. But, I digress.

I don’t know if the Miracle of the oil actually happened. Regardless, there are a lot of wonderful messages that can be taken from this story. I know that those candles illuminate way more than just my window. They are a symbol of our light, as Jews, to the world. They tell us that oppression can be overcome. And for at least eight nights out of the year, they whisper anything is possible.