![]() This wondrous event inspired the Jewish sages to proclaim a yearly eight-day festival. Even though there was only enough untainted olive oil to keep the menorah’s candles burning for a single day, the flames continued flickering for eight nights, leaving them time to find a fresh supply. The Hanukkah 'Miracle'Īccording to the Talmud, one of Judaism’s most central texts, Judah Maccabee and the other Jews who took part in the rededication of the Second Temple witnessed what they believed to be a miracle. Judah called on his followers to cleanse the Second Temple, rebuild its altar and light its menorah-the gold candelabrum whose seven branches represented knowledge and creation and were meant to be kept burning every night. When Matthathias died in 166 B.C., his son Judah, known as Judah Maccabee (“the Hammer”), took the helm within two years the Jews had successfully driven the Syrians out of Jerusalem, relying largely on guerilla warfare tactics. Led by the Jewish priest Mattathias and his five sons, a large-scale rebellion broke out against Antiochus and the Seleucid monarchy. It is, however, mentioned in the New Testament, in which Jesus attends a "Feast of Dedication." In 168 B.C., his soldiers descended upon Jerusalem, massacring thousands of people and desecrating the city’s holy Second Temple by erecting an altar to Zeus and sacrificing pigs within its sacred walls.ĭid you know? The story of Hanukkah does not appear in the Torah because the events that inspired the holiday occurred after it was written. His son, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, proved less benevolent: Ancient sources recount that he outlawed the Jewish religion and ordered the Jews to worship Greek gods. ![]() Around 200 B.C., Judea-also known as the Land of Israel-came under the control of Antiochus III, the Seleucid king of Syria, who allowed the Jews who lived there to continue practicing their religion. The events that inspired the Hanukkah holiday took place during a particularly turbulent phase of Jewish history.
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