Yoram Ettinger, "Second Thought: US-Israel Initiative"
December 1, 2010
1. George Washington first learned of Chanukkah while at Valley
Forge, Pennsylvania, 1778: "Perhaps we are not as lost as our enemies
would have us believe. I rejoice in the Maccabees' success, though it
is long past...It pleases me to think that miracles still happen."
2. "In God We Trust" was inspired, also, by the Maccabees’ battle
cry, which adopted Moses’ battle cry against the builders of the
Golden Calf. A literal translation of Moses' battle cry is “Whoever
trusts G-D; join me!”
3. The Maccabees' sacrifice and political-incorrectness inspired
Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" and New Hampshire's
"Live Free or Die." The Maccabees followed in the footsteps of
Abraham, Phineas the High Priest, Joshua & Calev, King David and
Elijah the Prophet, who walked against the grain, in defiance of the
establishment and conventional wisdom.
4. Inspiration to Benjamin Franklin's "Rebellion against Tyrants is
obedience to God." The Maccabees were a tiny minority of “rebels” -
condemned by the "loyalists/pragmatists" - rising against an
oppressive super-power. They were condemned, by the Jewish
establishment, as "enemies of peace" and "extremists." They prevailed
due to their principle-driven, determined and can-do state-of-mind and
adherence to roots and long-term vision against any odds. They
demonstrated the victory of the few over the many, right over wrong,
moral over immoral, truth over lies, faith over cynicism and
opportunism. The Maccabees became a role-model for the US' Founding
Fathers, including Paul Revere (who was referred to as a "modern day
Maccabee") and the organizers of the Boston Tea Party. They realized
that no free lunches were available for freedom-seeking nations.
5. "Chanukah has a special significance in Montana these days. In
Billings in 1993, vandals broke windows in homes that were displaying
menorahs. In a response organized by local church leaders, more than
10,000 of the city’s residents and shopkeepers put make-shift menorahs
in their own windows, to protect the city’s three dozen or so Jewish
families. The vandalism stopped" (New York Times, Dec. 4, 2009, Eric
Stern, senior counselor to Gov. Brian Schweitzer).
6. Historical context
Alexander The Great - who held Judaism in high esteem and whose
Egyptian heir, Ptolemy II, translated the Torah to Greek - died in
323BCE following 12 glorious years. Consequently, the Greek Empire
disintegrated into five, and thirty years later into three, kingdoms:
Macedonia, Syria and Egypt. The Land of Israel was militarily
contested by Syria and Egypt. In 198BCE, Israel was conquered by the
Syrian kingdom. In 175BCE, a new king assumed power in Syria,
Antiochus (IV) Epiphanies, who viewed the Jews as pro-Egyptians and
held Judaism with contempt. In 169BC, upon his return to Syria from a
war against Egypt, he devastated Jerusalem, massacred the Jews,
forbade the practice of Judaism (including the Sabbath, circumcision,
etc.) and desecrated Jerusalem and the Temple. The 167BCE-launched
rebellion against the Syrian (Seleucid) kingdom featured the Hasmonean
(Maccabee) family: Mattityahu, a priest from the town of Modi'in, and
his five sons, Yochanan, Yehuda, Shimon, Yonatan and Elazar. The
heroic (and tactically creative) battles conducted by the Maccabees,
were consistent with the reputation of Jews as superb warriors, who
were hired frequently as mercenaries by Egypt, Syria, Rome and other
global and regional powers.
7. The Hasmonean dynasty
*Mattityahu son of Yochanan, the priest-led rebellion 166/7BCE
*Yehuda the Maccabee, son of Mattityahu 166-161BCE
*Yonatan the Maccabee, son of Mattityahu 161-143BCE
*Shimon the Maccabee, son of Mattityahu 143-135BCE
*Yochanan Hyrcanus son of Shimon 135-104BCE
*…
*Mattityahu Antigonus 40-37BCE
8. Key geographic Maccabee sites are located in Judea and Samaria:
Mitzpah (also Samuel's burial site), Beit El mountains (Judah's first
headquarters), Beit Horon (Judah's victory over Seron), Hadashah
(Judah's victory over Nicanor), Beit Zur (Judah's victory over
Lysias), Ma'aleh Levona (Judah's victory over Apolonius), Adora'yim (a
Maccabees' fortress), Elazar & Beit Zachariya (Judah's first defeat),
Ba'al Hatzor (Judah defeated and killed), the Judean Desert, etc.
Jerusalem (beyond the "1949 Lines") was the Capital of the Maccabees.
Are the descendants of the Maccabees "occupiers"in the cradle of their
own history??? Is Chanukah a holiday of "occupation," or is it a
holiday which highlights Jewish moral-high-ground in their historical
land?!
9. The legacy of Shimon the Maccabee. He succeeded Judah and Yonatan
the Maccabees, while responding to an ultimatum by the Syrian emperor,
Antiochus (Book of Maccabees A, Chapter 15, verse 33): "We have not
occupied a foreign land; We have not ruled a foreign land; We have
liberated the land of our forefathers from foreign occupation." Thus
he responded to a super-power's ultimatum to end "occupation" of
Jaffa, Jerusalem, Gezer, Ekron and Gaza.
10. Chanukah's uniqueness. Chanukah is the only Jewish holiday which
commemorates a Land-of-Israel national liberation struggle, unlike
Passover (Exodus from Egypt), Sukkot/Tabernacles & Shavouot/Pentacost
(on the way from Egypt to the Land of Israel), Purim (deliverance of
Jews in Persia), etc. Chanukah is the longest Jewish holiday (8 days)
with the most intense level of Light (8 consecutive nights of candle
lighting).
11. The origin of the name Chanukah is also education-oriented.
According to the first book of Maccabees, Yehuda (who succeeded
Mattityahu) ordered the Jewish People to observe an eight day holiday
on the 25th day of the month of Kislev, 165BCE, in order to
commemorate the inauguration (Chanukah, , in Hebrew) of the holy altar
and the Temple, following Syrian desecration. A key feature of
Chanukah is education of the family (Chinuch, , in Hebrew). The Hebrew
word, Chanukah, consists of two words, Chanu, ,(they rested/stationed)
and Kah, , (25 in Hebrew), which refers to the fact that the Maccabees
re-consecrated the Temple on the 25th day of the month of Kislev
(purging it from the idolatries installed by the Syrians/Seleucids).
Some have suggested that the celebration of Christmas on December 25th
and the celebration of the New Year 8 days later (January 1) have
their origin in the 25th day of Kislev (which always “accompanies”
December) and the 8 days of Chanukah as well as the 8 days of
circumcision.
12. Holiday of light and remembrance. The first day of Chanukah is
on the 25th day of Kislev, the month of miracles (e.g. Noah's Rainbow
appeared in Kislev). The first and last Hebrew letters of Kislev -
equal (in Jewish numerology) 26, which the total sum of the Hebrew
spelling of Jehovah. Moses completed the construction of the Holy Ark
on the 25th day of Kislev, as was the date of the laying the
foundation of the Second Temple by Nehemaya. The 25th (Hebrew) word in
Genesis is Light (OR, , in Hebrew). A Jewish metaphor for the Torah
is light. The 25th stop of the People of Israel - on their way from
Egypt to the Promised Land - was Hashmona (same root as Hasmoneans in
Hebrew). Chanukah commemorates the victory of Light (Maccabees) over
Darkness and Remembrance over Forgetfulness (the Hebrew spelling of
darkness employs the same letters as forgetulness - ).
13. The origin of the name, Maccabee ( or ). Yehuda’s middle name
was Maccabee, derived possibly from the Hebrew word Makevet ( ), Power
Hammer), which described Yehuda’s tenacious and decisive fighting
capabilities. It may have derived from the Hebrew verb Cabeh ( , to
extinguish), which described the fate of Yehuda’s adversaries.
Another source of the name suggests that Maccabee, , is the Hebrew
acronym of “Who could resemble you among Gods, Jehovah” (“Mi Camokha
Ba'elim Adonai” ').
14. Eight days of Chanukah represent divine capabilities and
optimism. The ancient Temple Menorah consisted of seven branches,
which commemorated the seven days of creation. The Chanukah Menorah
has eight branches, reflecting the additional level of divine
capabilities over and beyond human expectations: The victory of the
few over the many and the lasting of one day supply of oil for eight
days. Some have suggested that the eight day celebration was designed
to make up for the holiday of Tabernacles, which could not be
celebrated by the Maccabees due to their war of liberation. The shape
of the digit 8 represents infinity: No end to divine capabilities to
enhance human fortunes, as evidenced by the survival of the Jewish
People against all odds. The root of the Hebrew word for 8 (Shmoneh, )
is "oil" (Shemen, ), which is also the root of "Hasmonean"
(Hashmonayim, ).
15. Chanukah-Purim-Passover. The heroes of Passover and Purim had no
choice but to defy their enemies. The Maccabees turned down the
option of physical peace in return for spiritual assimilation. They
refused to sellout the cradle of Jewish history. They were willing to
pay any price for adherence to their roots, values and heritage.
Chanukah symbolizes the victory of monotheism over paganism,
conviction over convenience and opportunism/cynicism (sometime
presented as "realism" or "pragmatism"), compassion over egotism,
self-control and restraint over temptation and promiscuity, endurance
over vacillation.
16. Seven Chanukah (inauguration)-like events: Chanukah of the
Creation (Genesis 2:1-3), Chanukah of the Sanctuary (Numbers 7:1-11),
Chanukah of the First Temple (Kings 1, 7:51, 8:1-11 & 62-66), Chanukah
of the Second Temple and the Ingathering (Ezra 6:13-18), Chanukah of
Jerusalem's Wall (Nehemiah 6:15-16), Chanukah of the Temple Priests in
165BC (Maccabees 1, 4), Chanukah of the After World. Some attach the
significance of each such Chanukah to a corresponding day of the
Creation.
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For previous documents, please visit The Ettinger Report,
http://www.theettingerreport.
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