The Story of Chanukah

Around the year 167 B.C.E., the Syrian-Greek rulers of Judea tried to force the Jews to assimilate into Hellenic culture. They summoned the Jews to the town squares where they were forced to worship idols or to sacrifice a pig before the idol.

When the Syrian-Greek soldiers demanded that the Jews of the town of Modi’in sacrifice a swine to one of their gods, Matityahu, (Mattathias), a priest from the Hasmonean family, refused to allow this desecration to take place and slew the Jewish heretic who had volunteered to make the offering. Matityahu, together with his sons, also attacked the Syrian-Greek soldiers. They won that battle, but they were forced to take refuge in the hills. Matityahu’s sons became known as the Maccabees.

Under the leadership of Judah the Maccabee, the Jews launched a guerilla war for freedom. In 165 B.C.E., the Maccabees finally succeeded in routing the vastly superior Syrian-Greek forces and retook the Temple, but by then the Syrian-Greeks had thoroughly desecrated the holy site. The Jews immediately set to work removing the alien idols, scrubbing the altar and performing the many tasks necessary to rededicate the Temple.

Unfortunately, there was no undefiled oil left with which to light the golden Menorah. The Jews searched for sealed jars of pure oil, and finally found only a single flask with its seal intact. They rejoiced and hurried to light the Menorah and rededicate the Temple.

But the one flask of oil was sufficient for only one day. It would take at least another week for fresh pure olive oil to be prepared and delivered. Not wanting to postpone performing the mitzvah, they decided to light the Menorah with the single flask of oil they had–and a miracle occurred. Despite the small quantity of oil, the Menorah remained lit for the entire eight days, indicating to the world that God’s presence had returned to the Temple.