Eight Days of Chanukah: Ancient Political Satire
Why did the Maccabees
decide to celebrate Hanukah for eight days when they created the holiday back
in 165 BCE?
It depends which source you ask!
The first Book of Maccabees, a detailed political chronicle written in the
first century BCE, says:
So they celebrated the dedication of
the altar for eight days, and joyfully offered burnt offerings; they offered a
sacrifice of well-being and a thanksgiving offering.
(4:59)
The clue to the eight days lies in
the phrase "the days of the dedication of the altar." In the Torah,
the dedication ceremony for the Mishkan, the
traveling wilderness tabernacle, is scheduled for the eighth day after the
tabernacle is completed. The Maccabees decided that
the rededication of the Temple should mirror the original dedication of the Mishkan.
The Second Book of Maccabees, in which God the Force Behind History helps the
repenting Jews triumph over atrocities, was also written in the first century
BCE. It says:
They celebrated it for eight days
with rejoicing, in the manner of the festival of booths, remembering how not
long before, during the festival of booths, they had been wandering in the
mountains and caves like wild animals. (10:6)
Sukkot is described in the Torah as "zman simchateinu," season
of our rejoicing. The Maccabees decided that their
victory was a time of rejoicing, and its celebration should be modeled on Sukkot. Earlier in the fall, hiding out as guerillas,
they had missed the opportunity for a proper celebration. Technically, Torah
instructs that Sukkot last seven days, and that it be
followed by a separate, one-day holiday - but who's counting?
The sages whose voices speak to us
through the Babylonian Talmud, compiled approximately 500 C.E., were not fans
of the Maccabee family, or the Hasmonean
dynasty, as they were later called. The Hasmoneans
had ignored the principle of separation of powers, and sought to control both
religious and political establishments. Worse, they had invited the Roman Army into
Jerusalem to help settle one of their own squabbles over succession. And the
Romans, who had other ideas, eventually destroyed the city. The Talmud says:
When the Greeks entered the Temple,
they defiled all the oils therein, and when the Hasmonean
dynasty prevailed against and defeated them, they made search and found only
one cruse of oil which lay with the seal of the High Priest, and was therefore
assuredly pure, but which contained sufficient oil for only one day's lighting.
Yet a miracle was wrought therein and they lit the menorah therewith for eight
days. The following year these days were appointed a festival with the recital
of Hallel and thanksgiving. (Tractate Shabbat 21b)
Ah! The famous
miracle of the oil. Why, if the sages disapproved of the Hasmonean dynasty, would they highlight God rewarding the Hasmonean efforts with a miracle? Perhaps they mean to
remind us that the eight days of celebration are in honor of God, not in honor
of the Hasmoneans. Or perhaps they are using the
miracle of the oil as a metaphorical opportunity for a little political satire.
Given the poor political judgment of the Hasmoneans,
it's a miracle that the Jews didn't burn out in one day! But we're still
shining - thank you God!
Return to Reb
Laura's "Taste of Torah" list.
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"Teachings from Our Rabbis and Friends" list.
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