HISTORICAL BACKGROUND to the story of CHANUKAH
- 198 BCE: Judea and Samaria become part of Seleucid (Greek) Empire.
- 175 BCE: Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) ascends the Seleucid throne.
- Needed money to conquer Egypt. Hellenizers gave money to replace high priest Onias III with his younger Hellenized brother Jason (Joseph). Money as well to build gymnasium and a Hellenist school. Antiochus IV was devoted to spread Hellenism.
- A more extreme group of Hellenizers offered greater sum and Menelaus, an Israelite, was appointed high priest. Menelaus robbed temple to pay debt.
- Antiochus left on Egyptian campaign. Hearing rumors of his death, Jason attempted to overthrow Menelaus. Antiochus returned, interpreted fighting as a rebellion, punished Jerusalem.
- 168 BCE: Under the reign of Antiochus IV, the Temple is looted, Jews are massacred, and Judaism is outlawed. Resistance by Pietists (Chasidim). Acts of martyrdom.
- 167 BCE: Antiochus orders an altar to Zeus erected in theTemple. Mattathias, and his five sons: John (Yochanan), Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah lead a rebellion
- 166 BCE: Mattathias dies, and Judah takes his place as leader.
- 165 BCE: The Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy is successful. The Temple is liberated and rededicated (Hanukkah).
- 160-Judah died in battle. And was succeeded by his brother Jonathan.
- 142 BCE: Establishment of the Second Jewish Commonwealth. The Seleucids recognize Jewish autonomy. The Seleucid kings had a formal overlordship, which the Hasmoneans acknowledged. This inaugurates a period of great geographical expansion, population growth, and religious, cultural and social development.
- 140 BCE: Rule of Simeon. The Hasmoneans became hereditary rulers (ethnarch of independent Judea) and High Priests.
Hasmonean Dynasty:
- John Hyrcanus, Simon's son. 134-104 BCE
Aristobulus I, 104–103 BCE
Alexander Jannaeus, 103–76 BCE
Queen Salome Alexandra, 76–67 BCE
Hyrcanus II, 67–66 BCE
Aristobulus II, 66–63 BCE
Hyrcanus II, 63–40 BCE (restored but demoted to Ethnarch)
Antigonus, 40–37 BCE
Aristobulus III, 36 BCE (only as High Priest)
- 63 BCE: The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an end due to rivalry between the brothers Aristobulus II and Hyrcanus II, both of whom appeal to the Roman Republic to intervene and settle the power struggle on their behalf.
- The Roman general Pompey the Great is dispatched to the area. Rome annexes Judea.
(1) Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to יהוה. They said:
I will sing to יהוה, for He has triumphed gloriously;
Horse and driver He has hurled into the sea. (2) יהוה is my strength and might;
He is become my deliverance.
This is my God and I will enshrine Him;
The God of my father’s [house], and I will exalt Him.
(3) יהוה, the Warrior—
יהוה is His name!
(4) Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
He has cast into the sea;
And the pick of his officers
Are drowned in the Sea of Reeds.
(5) The deeps covered them;
They went down into the depths like a stone.
(6) Your right hand, יהוה, glorious in power,
Your right hand, יהוה, shatters the foe!
(7) In Your great triumph You break Your opponents;
You send forth Your fury, it consumes them like straw.
(8) At the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up,
The floods stood straight like a wall;
The deeps froze in the heart of the sea.
(9) The foe said,
“I will pursue, I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil;
My desire shall have its fill of them.
I will bare my sword—
My hand shall subdue them.”
(10) You made Your wind blow, the sea covered them;
They sank like lead in the majestic waters.
(11) Who is like You, יהוה, among the celestials;
Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
Awesome in splendor, working wonders!
(12) You put out Your right hand,
The earth swallowed them.
(13) In Your love You lead the people You redeemed;
In Your strength You guide them to Your holy abode.
(14) The peoples hear, they tremble;
Agony grips the dwellers in Philistia.
(15) Now are the clans of Edom dismayed;
The tribes of Moab—trembling grips them;
All the dwellers in Canaan are aghast.
(16) Terror and dread descend upon them;
Through the might of Your arm they are still as stone—
Till Your people cross over, יהוה,
Till Your people cross whom You have ransomed.
(17) You will bring them and plant them in Your own mountain,
The place You made to dwell in, יהוה,
The sanctuary, O my lord, which Your hands established.
(18) יהוה will reign for ever and ever! (19) For the horses of Pharaoh, with his chariots and riders, went into the sea; and יהוה turned back on them the waters of the sea; but the Israelites marched on dry ground in the midst of the sea. (20) Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, picked up a hand-drum, and all the women went out after her in dance with hand-drums. (21) And Miriam chanted for them:
Sing to יהוה, for He has triumphed gloriously;
Horse and driver He has hurled into the sea. (22) Then Moses caused Israel to set out from the Sea of Reeds. They went on into the wilderness of Shur; they traveled three days in the wilderness and found no water. (23) They came to Marah, but they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; that is why it was named Marah. (24) And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” (25) So he cried out to יהוה, and יהוה showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water and the water became sweet. There [God] made for them a fixed rule; there they were put to the test. (26) [God] said, “If you will heed your God יהוה diligently, doing what is upright in God’s sight, giving ear to God’s commandments and keeping all God’s laws, then I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians, for I יהוה am your healer.” (27) And they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; and they encamped there beside the water.
Don't Rejoice at the Downfall of Your Enemy-
Sandhedrin 39b
The Gemara asks: But is the Holy One, Blessed be He, gladdened by the downfall of the wicked? Isn’t it written in the verse describing the victory of the Jewish people in battle: “He appointed them that should sing unto the Lord, and praise in the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and say: Give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy endures forever” (II Chronicles 20:21). And Rabbi Yonatan says: For what reason is it not stated in this praise: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endures forever,” as is stated elsewhere, e.g., Psalms 118:1? This is because the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not gladdened by the downfall of the wicked.The Gemara comments: As Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman says that Rabbi Yonatan says: What is the meaning of that which is written in the passage describing the splitting of the Red Sea: “And the one came not near the other all the night” (Exodus 14:20)? At that time the ministering angels desired to recite a song before the Holy One, Blessed be He. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: My handiwork, i.e., the Egyptians, are drowning in the sea, and you are reciting a song before Me? Apparently, God is not gladdened by the downfall of the wicked.
Avoid the Pitfalls of Warfare
Bamidbar Rabbah-"Your camp shall be holy" (Deut. xxiii.). This is Moses's warning against adultery when going to war, as God would remove his presence from their midst if there were adulterers in their camp.
The Priority of Peace
Numbers Rabbah-
Great is peace, since for the sake of peace the Holy One, blessed is God, altered a statement; for is says "Shall I who am so old bear a child?" (Genesis 18:13) Great is peace, for no vessel can retain blessing as effectively as peace; since it says, "Adonai will bless the people with peace." Likewise in the priestly blessing, the end of the blessing concludes with peace, "And give you peace." This is to tell you that blessings in themselves are meaningless unless peace goes with them. . . You find also that the Torah was compared to peace, as it says, "All her pathways are peace." (Proverbs 3:17)
Rashi on Just War
Weapons and Warfare on Shabbat
Mishnah Shabbat 6:4-
Just as it is prohibited for a woman to carry out certain items unique to a woman into the public domain, the Sages said that a man may neither go out on Shabbat with a sword, nor with a bow, nor with a shield [teris], nor with an alla, nor with a spear. And if he unwittingly went out with one of these weapons to the public domain he is liable to bring a sin-offering. Rabbi Eliezer says: These weapons are ornaments for him; just as a man is permitted to go out into the public domain with other ornaments, he is permitted to go out with weapons. And the Rabbis say: They are nothing other than reprehensible and in the future they will be eliminated, as it is written: “And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not raise sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).
Didn’t we learn in a mishna that Rabbi Eliezer says: If a person left his Shabbat limit by walking two cubits beyond it, he may reenter his original limit; but if he left his Shabbat limit by walking three cubits beyond it, he may not reenter. What, is it not that Rabbi Eliezer follows his standard line of reasoning, in that he said with regard to the four cubits a person is allotted wherever he is, he is set in the middle of them, i.e., he may walk two cubits in each direction?
The mishna teaches: All who go out to save lives may return to their original locations on Shabbat. The Gemara asks: Does this mean that he may return to his original place even if he went out more than two thousand cubits beyond his limit? Didn’t the first clause say that a person who was permitted to travel beyond his Shabbat limit is allotted two thousand cubits, and no more?
Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: What this means is that they may return with their weapons to their original locations, provided they are within two thousand cubits. The Gemara asks: What is the difficulty with returning home in this situation? Perhaps in the case where people went out to fight and save lives the law is different, and they are allowed to go home even if they went more than two thousand cubits beyond the limit.
Rather, if there is a difficulty, this is the difficulty: As we learned in a mishna in tractate Rosh HaShana, at first they would take the witnesses who had come to Jerusalem from a distant place on Shabbat to testify that they had seen the new moon, and bring them into a special courtyard, and they would not move from there the entire day. This was in accordance with the law governing one who was permitted to go out beyond his limit, as once he fulfilled his mission, he was no longer permitted to move beyond four cubits.
The question may be raised: Are they given no more than two thousand cubits? Didn’t it say in the mishna: All who go out to save lives may return to their original locations on Shabbat, which indicates that they may walk even more than two thousand cubits?
In response, Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: We must not infer from the mishna that they may go home even if they went out more than two thousand cubits from their limit, but rather that they may return with their weapons to their original locations, provided that they are within two thousand cubits. As it was taught in the Tosefta: At first those returning from a rescue mission would place their weapons in the first house that they encountered upon their return, i.e., the house nearest the wall, to avoid carrying on Shabbat any more than necessary.
Once, their enemies noticed that they were no longer carrying their weapons, and they chased after them; and the defenders entered the house to take up their weapons and fight, and their enemies entered after them, causing great confusion. In the chaos, the defenders began to push one another, and they killed more of each other than their enemies killed of them. At that time the Sages instituted that they should return to their locations, i.e., their destinations, with their weapons.
The Gemara cites an alternate resolution that Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: This is not difficult. Here, in the mishna in Rosh HaShana where they only permitted two thousand cubits, it is referring to a situation where the Jews defeated the nations of the world, i.e., the gentiles, in battle; in such a case there is no concern and they need not return to their original locations. Whereas here, in the mishna which indicates that the Sages permitted even more than two thousand cubits, it is referring to a situation where the nations of the world defeated themselves, i.e., the Jews, whom the Gemara refers to euphemistically as themselves; in such a case the Sages allowed the defeated soldiers to return to their original locations.
Since the Gemara discussed war on Shabbat, the Gemara cites Rav Yehuda, who said that Rav said: With regard to gentiles who besieged Jewish towns, they may not go out to fight against them with their weapons, nor may they desecrate Shabbat in any other way due to them, but rather they must wait until after Shabbat.
That was also taught in a baraita, with a caveat: With regard to gentiles who besieged, etc. In what case is this said? It is said in a case where the gentiles came and besieged the town with regard to monetary matters, i.e., banditry. However, if they came with regard to lives, i.e., there is concern that the gentiles will attack, they may go out against them with their weapons, and they may desecrate Shabbat due to them.
And with regard to a town that is located near the border, even if the gentiles did not come with regard to lives, but rather with regard to matters of hay and straw, i.e., to raid and spoil the town, they may go out against them with their weapons, and they may desecrate Shabbat due to them, as the border must be carefully guarded, in order to prevent enemies from gaining a foothold there.
Rabbi Dostai of the town of Biri expounded: What is the meaning of that which is written: “And they told David, saying: Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Ke’ila, and they rob the threshing floors” (i Samuel 23:1), after which David asked God how he should respond.
It was taught in a baraita: Ke’ila was a town located near the border, and the Philistines came only with regard to matters of hay and straw, as it is written: “And they rob the threshing floors.” And in the next verse it is written: “Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying: Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the Lord said to David: Go and smite the Philistines, and save Ke’ila” (i Samuel 23:2), which indicates that war may be waged in a border town on Shabbat, even with regard to monetary matters.
The Gemara refutes this proof by asking: What is David’s dilemma? If you say that he had a halakhic question and was in doubt whether it was permitted or prohibited to fight the Philistines on Shabbat, it is possible to respond: But the court of Samuel from Rama was then in existence, and rather than inquire by way of the Urim VeTummim he should have inquired of the Great Sanhedrin.
Two Types of Jewish War
Judaism distinguishes between commanded wars and permitted wars.
Excerpted and reprinted with permission from S’VARA 2:1 (1991).- www.myjewishlearning.com
The major biblical statement on morality of war, Deuteronomy 20, differentiates between two types of war. As to “towns that lie very far from you, towns that do not belong to nations hereabout” (verse 15), wars of conquest are permissible. As stated, these are wars against enemies that lie very far from Israel’s borders, and as such, are obviously not defensive wars but rather wars motivated by pure aggression.
As to “towns of the latter peoples [who inhabit the land Canaan]…which the Lord your God is giving you as a heritage” (verse 16), the justification for war is the Jewish people’s exercising their divine right to the land of Canaan, “And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it for I have assigned the land to you to possess.”
The Threat of Idolatry
This divine right of conquest is not, however, the justification for the eradication of the seven nations from the land of Canaan, but rather the belief that “they [will] lead you into doing all the abhorrent things that they have done for their gods and you stand guilty before the Lord your God.” (verse 18)
The Bible perceives these nations as threatening not simply the political survival of the Jewish people, but also the continuity of the covenant. According to the conventional view, monotheistic ideology had yet to take a serious hold on the Jewish people and the idolatrous practices of the people surrounding them were far more attractive and enticing. The Bible recognizes this threat as determinative of the interaction between the Israelites and their neighbors.
The fear of foreign contamination locates Deuteronomy 20 in its historical context and therefore inhibits attempts (especially in the modern Israeli context) to transform the biblically sanctioned war against the seven nations into a model for war against all non‑Jewish enemies of the Jewish people who either inhabit the land of Israel or who threaten her existence. The creation of a totally “Israelized” State of Israel is biblically prescribed only in the context of an idolatrous enemy such as the seven nations of antiquity, whose threat was theological and not simply political.
Jewish Wars of Aggression
By contrast, war against nations “that lie very far from you” cannot be justified as a form of religious self‑defense. As typified by the wars during the reigns of kings David and Solomon, they are wars of pure expansion and aggression. Yet they too are God’s wars:
“…and when the Lord your God delivers it into your hand (verse 13)…and enjoy the use of the spoil of your enemy, which the Lord your God gives you (verse 14).”
Although it is true that the capturing of the land of Israel and the eradication of the seven nations is obligatory and wars of aggression and conquest are not, according to Deuteronomy 20, all wars embarked upon by the people of Israel are religiously sanctioned as God’s wars. There is little differentiation in the legitimacy or divine sanction of wars of self‑defense, aggression, conquest, expansion, capturing the land of Canaan, or eradication of idolatry from the midst of the Jewish people. The Jewish people’s battles are all God’s battles, in accordance with the expression of the divine will.
All Jewish Wars are Religious Wars
This perspective on the morality of war is adopted and further elaborated by Rabbi Yehudah in the Mishna tractate of Sotah. Recognizing that we are obligated to take hold of the land of Canaan, but are not required to embark on wars of aggression, Rabbi Yehudah identifies wars of conquest and aggression as commanded (mitzvah) and the war against the seven nations as obligatory (chovah).
Both categories, mitzvah and chovah, are very similar, with almost identical religious weight and authority. Both contain a sense of fulfilling God’s will as either metzaveh (one who commands) or as mechayev (one who obligates). Rashi [Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, ca. 1040-1105] explains that there is no significance in the distinction between these two categories. However, as soon as Rabbi Yehudah designated wars of conquest as a mitzvah, he needed a slightly higher category to denote the war to capture the land of Canaan on which all are obligated to embark.
What Rashi implies is that the category of mitzvah sometimes signifies a religious duty that is subject to contingencies. For example, tzizit [fringes], according to some opinions, is a requirement only if you have or wear a garment with four corners. There is no chovah (requirement) to own such a garment, but if you do, the placing of tzizit on the corners is a mitzvah. Therefore, Rabbi Yehudah chose the term mitzvah to categorize wars of conquest, and though there is no obligation to wage them, if the Jewish people choose to do so, they are still fulfilling a mitzvah.
Neutralizing Religious Wars
The biblical position and that of Rabbi Yehudah were rejected, however, by the majority opinion in rabbinic tradition. In an innovative move, the rabbis create a significant legal distinction between the two wars of Deuteronomy 20. They maintain the status of the war against the seven nations as a mitzvah and the fulfillment of a religious duty, but redefine the religious perception and evaluation of the wars of aggression against the “towns that lie very far from you.”
These wars are not perceived to be the fulfillment and reflection of God’s will but rather discretionary wars (milchemet reshut). As discretionary acts, wars of aggression are still legally permissible. Once divested of their religious value, however, their importance, legitimacy, and practical feasibility are seriously weakened.
Rav Kook- Repenting for War
Since there is no war without evil, there is no war that does not require penance- Rab Kook
Why the High Priest Chaplain Must Be Reappointed
It is the Jewish belief that war is not a permanent condition of mankind. Rabbi Shlomo Zevin, in his L'or ha'Halakah, reports an address by Rabbi Kook in which the latter maintained that war is only a temporary measure leading to ultimate peace. It is for this reason, he says that the post of the Priest who served the army during wartime, unlike that of the High Priest, was not an inherited position. In the Jewish heart there always lived the hope that no successor would be required and, in that hope, no plans were made to perpetuate the position.- Rabbi Maurice Lamm
When War Becomes Necessary- Prof. Michael Wyschogrod
From time to time, evils appear on the world scene which are in a class unto themselves. These are instances of large-scale, premeditated murder of large numbers of human beings in systematic ways. Among cases of this abnormal evil, in our century, would be the extermination of the Armenians by Turks in World War I, the Soviet Gulag System, the Holocaust of World War II, and the recent regimes in Uganda and Cambodia. . . You may have noticed that I have not provided you with a very clear definition of this class of abnormal evil. I have not done so because I am not able to do so. Certainly, numbers of victims have something to do with it. So does the degree of cruelty involved. But basically it comes down to recognizing one when you see one. . . When dealing with normal evil, noninterference, at least in the military sense, ought to be the rule. But when the situation reaches the level of abnormal evil, this principle of noninterference cannot remain absolute. . . We are commanded: "Do not stand idly by at the blood of your brother" (Leviticus 19:16). There comes a point when military intervention is justified and the religious community has a duty to speak clearly when that point is reached.- Professor Michael Wyschogrod
Warfare in Modern Israel- Rabbi Yehezkel Landau
The harsh cruelty of life is that sometimes we are forced to kill our fellow men in order to preserve other lives. The spiritual task of halakhic Judaism has been, in this moral sphere, to construct an ethical dialectic which can help us live with the paradoxes. So during Chanukah, the festival which celebrates the military victory by the Hasmoneans over the Seleucid Greeks, we read the prophetic portion from Zechariah which proclaims, "Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, says the Lord of Hosts." And when modern Israel finds itself at war, its hospitals treat enemy wounded along with IDF soldiers brought in from the battlefield.- Yehezkel Landau in Violence and the Value of Life in Jewish Tradition
One Must Hesitate Before War- Golda Meir
A leader who does not stutter before he sends his nation into battle is not fit to be a leader.- Golda Meir
Micah 4:3-4. . . A Vision of Peace
And God will judge among many people and rebuke strong nations far off; and they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. But they shall sit, every person under their vine and under their fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid.
An Appendix to the Vision of Peace by: Yehuda Amichai
Don’t stop after beating the swords
into plowshares, don’t stop! Go on beating
and make musical instruments out of them.
Whoever wants to make war again
will have to turn them into plowshares first.
5 Themes of Chanukkah
Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
1. Light in the face of darkness- at the darkest time of the year, we affirm our faith that light will be renewed. This metaphor speaks to the difficult times in our lives.
2. Victory when it had seemed improbable- The Maccabees were out resourced and outnumbered, yet they were triumphant. We are reminded to maintain hope even at moments of challenge.
3. More than enough when there had been too little- There was insufficient oil to light the menorah in the Temple, and yet our ancestors had the faith to move forward. We pray for strength and courage when we think that we can’t go on.
4. Victory of the few against the many- The Maccabees were successful because they believed so fervently in the cause of religious freedom. Even though we may be small in number, we can accomplish great things.
5. Freedom to practice Judaism- Had the Maccabees not persevered, Judaism as we know it would have ceased to exist. As American Jews, we are so grateful for the freedom of religion we enjoy in the United States.
Add One Candle Each Night
Shabbat 21b- Increasing the Light
Beit Shammai say: On the first day one kindles eight lights and, from there on, gradually decreases the number of lights until, on the last day of Hanukkah, he kindles one light. And Beit Hillel say: On the first day one kindles one light, and from there on, gradually increases the number of lights until, on the last day, he kindles eight lights.
B'Shalach- Compassionate Ones, The Children of the Compassionate
Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
There is a poignant moment in this week’s Haftara which always touches me so deeply. The prophet Devora is returning triumphantly from battle, and celebrating her victory in song. As she sings, she lauds the strength and cunning of Yael, who single-handedly slew Sisera, the opposing general.
As the song unfolds, in Judges 5:28, Devora describes Sisera’s mother awaiting her son’s return from battle- “Through the window peered Sisera’s mother, behind the lattice she cried out- ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why so late the clatter of his wheels?’” We feel her anxiety and her pain, no different from the anxiety and pain of parents today who await their children’s return from war. I am moved by Devora’s ability to depict the compassion of a mother for her child, albeit the mother of her enemy. This text reminds us of our common humanity as beings formed in the image of the one God.
This is Shabbat Shira- the Sabbath of Song. The Torah portion depicts Moses leading the people in song as they pass from slavery to freedom through the waters of the Red Sea- “I will sing to God in celebration of this triumph.” The Midrashic tradition tempers their exuberance. The angels sought to join their voices with those of the Jewish people at that moment, but the Holy One restrained them, “My handiwork are drowning and you would sing My praise?” Again, we are reminded of the need for compassion, even towards those who hoped for our destruction. We reinforce our own sense of compassion at the Pesakh seder, spilling a drop of wine from our cup as we mention each plague. Our rejoicing is diminished as we acknowledge the suffering of the Egyptians.
When Moses asks to know God, God describes God’s own essence with these words, “Adonai, Adonai, el rakhum v’khanun”- God is compassionate and loves kindness. Compassion is the very first quality mentioned. We, who are formed in the image of the Holy One, are bidden to emulate God’s attributes. Compassion is the fundamental virtue to which we aspire. In Hebrew the word for compassion is “rakhamim”, and it is etymologically connected to “rekhem”- womb. When we experience God’s compassion, we feel embraced by that sense of being totally nurtured and surrounded with love. When we extend that compassion to others, we feel their smallest concerns in our own kishkes. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel noted that, “When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.”
In Parshat B’Shalakh, we see numerous instances of God’s compassion for our ancestors. As the portion begins, God leads them from bondage by a more circuitous route, so as not to expose them immediately to war. When they complain about lack of food and water, God responds to these needs. The Jewish people are known as “compassionate children of compassionate parents”, and we need to develop this quality of sensitivity to others in our innermost selves.
The Midrash portrays Moses caring as a shepherd in the wilderness. He follows a sheep that has strayed from the flock, and finds it at a creek, drinking water. “Oh, I didn’t realize that you were thirsty”, he says, “And now you must be tired as well.” He lifts the sheep into his arms and carries it to rejoin the flock. Observing this sense of compassion, God is inspired to choose Moses to lead the Jewish people to freedom. Moses’ tenderness towards his flock is an indication of the tenderness he will evidence towards the Israelites. In fact, it is when Moses loses patience with the newly-freed slaves and refers to them as rebels, that Joshua emerges as a future leader. Without compassion, Moses can no longer be effective.
As we learn from Parshat B’Shalakh, physical needs are fundamental. Mahatma Gandhi taught us that there are people who are so poor, that God can only appear to them in the form of bread. Food, water, physical security and safety- these are the foundation of our individual universe. It is virtually impossible to focus on anything else when we are in physical distress. We express our compassion for others by our commitment to care for these needs. Rabbi Israel Salanter reminds us that another person’s physical needs are our spiritual concerns. When we care for those who are ill, when we visit, when we call, when we send cards and when we pray, our hands become extensions of God’s hands in the world. Every small act that we perform for another person is a piece of the healing process, when it is done with love.
In the Misheberakh prayer, the prayer for healing, we ask that God should be “yimalei rakhamim”- blessing the person with the fullness of, with overflowing compassion. When we reach out with softness, with tenderness, with empathy, we have the great merit to be the answer to this prayer.
And let us extend this overflow to ourselves as well. As we reach out to others with compassion, let us be mindful of the fact that we should express rakhamim in our inner life, being tender as we recall that each of us is a work in progress, that we are each on a journey, learning and growing along the way.
What I learned about Chanukkah from the US Army War College- Chanukkah and Warfare
Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
There are quantitative changes in the nature of warfare, there are qualitative changes in the nature of warfare. There is not a neat line of evolution from primitive hand-to-hand combat, culminating in star wars. The wars of the Maccabees were fought against combatants on elephants- the tanks of their day. This does not represent a radical new technology, just an alternate means of accomplishing a similar end.
New technology radically impacts the conduct of a military campaign; the initial impact of a strategic air campaign was unimaginable in previous centuries. In the 21st century, we can expect new threats in space and cyberspace. The chances of an old-fashioned, land based, tank and infantry war are receding- we’ve gotten so good at conventional warfare as to render it virtually obsolete.
Some things don’t change, though. Contemporary strategic thinker Colin S. Gray notes that “belligerents who find themselves materially challenged will seek strategic compensation primarily by means of adopting asymmetric . . . strategies that might offset their disadvantages.” Thus, today’s opponents rely on insurgency and asymmetric threats, threats that the mighty US military cannot seem to root out, even with the most advanced technology in the history of warfare.
Which brings us to the story of Hanukkah and the Maccabeean warriors. Out numbered and out armed, our ancestors undertook a guerilla campaign in their fight for freedom. The book of II Maccabees depicts the Maccabees as "living like wild animals in the mountains and caves.” Ultimately, the forces of Antiochus learned the same lesson that we are re-learning now- war is not an arithmetic equation in which the bigger number always wins!
Antiochus gave himself the name- Epiphanes, meaning, God incarnate. Beware the leader who thinks he is God! The unwillingness to question one’s own strategic thinking and adjust accordingly has been the downfall of military leaders throughout the centuries, and it led to Antiochus decision to halt his campaign.
Victories in small skirmishes led to the capture of weapons and an increased willingness of volunteers to support the Maccabean insurrection. It is important to note that the Maccabees did not target civilians, the distinction between combatants and non-combatants was an accepted standard “bayamim ha-hem/in those days.”
As the Jewish fighters gained confidence and skill, Antiochus realized that victory was not forthcoming, his treasury was being rapidly depleted, and a negotiated resolution was preferable to an endless and expensive campaign. B.D. Liddell Hart, in his classic work on strategy, refers to this as “self-exhaustion”.
Hart reminds us that a good cause is a sword as well as armour. The Maccabees were sustained by their devotion to a good cause- their right to freedom of religious expression. They were fighting for their own spiritual survival, and, were it not for their bravery, the Jewish way of life could easily have disappeared
Not surprisingly, there was no unanimity regarding the Maccabean perspective among the Jews of their day. Sadly, the nature of power is corrosive, and corruption ultimately beset their regime.
The rabbinic tradition, uncomfortable with the glorification of military prowess which is at the heart of our celebration of Hanukka, shifted the emphasis to the miracle of the oil and the message of the prophet Zecharya- “Not by might and not by power but by My spirit, says God.” Or, as Hart puts it, “The perfection of strategy would be, therefore, to produce a decision without any serious fighting.”
Such is the vision of a Messianic age of peace for which we hope and pray and work. Until that longed for time arrives, we celebrate Hanukka, recognizing the bravery of those who risk and, indeed, too often, sacrifice their lives, in support of our freedom, then and now.
Women in the Story of Chanukkah- Judith and Hannah
Judith and Holofernes
The Apocrypha is a collection of books from the biblical period which were not chosen to be part of the Jewish Bible (but were accepted in the Catholic collection). In addition to the First and Second Books of Maccabees, the Apocrypha contains the Book of Judith, a book preserved in the Greek but not in the Hebrew Bible. It tells the story of a beautiful Jewish woman by the name of Judith, who single-handedly saved the Jewish town of Bethulia.
The story goes like this. An evil general, Holofernes, lays siege to the town. All seems lost until Judith tells the elders of the town that she has a plan to defeat the enemy. They dismiss her offer as foolish and prepare to surrender to Holofernes. Judith tries once more to convince the elders that she can save them, and this time they reluctantly agree to allow her to leave the camp for one day.
Judith prepares herself for her bold scheme. She dresses provocatively and prepares a sack containing food and wine. She approaches the enemy camp and is immediately captured and brought to Holofernes. He is very impressed with her beauty and her prediction that he will capture Bethulia. She suggests they go to his tent alone and celebrate.
Once in Holofernes' tent, Judith feeds him the salty cheese she has brought with her. Holofernes becomes quite thirsty and drinks large quantities of wine until he falls asleep, drunk. Judith takes Holofernes' sword and cuts off his head. She covers the body with a blanket, puts the head in a sack, and returns through the sleeping camp to Bethulia.
The elders cannot believe that Judith has returned safely. She reveals the severed head of Holofernes and the elders place it on the walls of the city. Meanwhile, the enemy soldiers awake and discover the decapitated body of their leader. In the distance, they see Holofernes' head hanging from the walls of Bethulia. They decide that if a Jewish woman could be so ruthless, they do not want to fight Jewish men in battle, and so the army retreats and the city of Bethulia is saved.
A midrash (in Hebrew) dealing with a variation of the Judith story was read on the Shabbat or Shabbatot of Hanukkah during the Middle Ages. Dated sometime after the 10th century CE, the midrash is remarkably similar to the narrative of the Greek version.
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Hannah and Her Sons
Another story of heroism involving a woman is associated with Hanukkah. The story of Hannah and her seven sons is recorded in the Second Book of Maccabees 7:1-41. [Hannah is a name from Rabbinic midrash; the Second Book of Maccabees refers to her as "the mother."] Unlike the militant story of Judith, Hannah's story is a tale of martyrdom.
It seems that Antiochus meets Hannah and her sons, who refuse to eat pig in public. As each son refuses, he is tortured and put to death in front of Hannah. Finally, before the last child is to be killed, Antiochus appeals to Hannah to direct him to eat the meat and be saved. Hannah asks her son what he wishes to do. He replies that he is only sorry that he had to wait so long to show his love of Torah. Hannah praises him and he is then martyred. Hannah dies, too. In different versions, Hannah is killed by Antiochus, throws herself from the city walls, or dies of grief over her beloved sons.
These stories of heroism shed light on the role of Jewish women in times of crisis. From the time of the Israelite midwives' refusal to accede to Pharaoh's decree to kill the firstborn Jewish males (Exodus 1:15-22) to the leadership of Deborah (Judges 4 and 5), the Jewish woman understands the severity of the situation and rallies the Jewish people to victory. In the Judith story, the Israelite men are depicted as weak and indecisive while she is willing to risk her own life to turn the tide.
Hanukkah: A Miracle of Trust
What is the real reason we celebrate Hanukkah?
There are really two answers. We commemorate the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple after the Maccabees defeated the Syrian Greeks and we celebrate a miracle. As the letters on the four sides of the dreidel—Nun, gimmel, hey, and shin—announce: Nes gadol haya sham, “A great miracle happened there.”
What was this miracle? Was it the military victory of a rebel band against a well-armed occupying power—or something else?
When the rabbis established the Hanukkah festival just one year after the rededication of the Temple in 165 B.C.E., they acknowledged that the weak overcoming the strong was a very important historical event (Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 21b). But the Maccabees’ victorious military strategy and prowess in battle alone did not merit a religious holiday, because their success was entirely due to human action, without any aid from the Divine. Only if God’s intervention had turned the tide of battle in favor of the outnumbered Jewish fighters would there have been a miracle worthy of celebrating with a Jewish holiday.
Moreover, the rabbis did not view this battle as a war of ultimate necessity. In contrast to Purim, which celebrates a victory over tyranny when the existence of all the Jews in the kingdom was threatened by royal decree, the Maccabean revolt was not in response to a dire physical threat. True, the Syrian Greek occupiers prohibited Jews from offering sacrifices at the Temple or studying Torah, but the people were not imperiled by annihilation.
What, then, was the miracle that warranted the creation of a new Jewish festival?
A miracle of the spirit.
As it is told in the Talmud (Shabbat 21b), when Judah Maccabee entered the desecrated Temple, he discovered only a small vial of oil which had the seal of the Kohen Gadol (the High Priest) certifying it was sanctified for ritual use. There was only enough oil for one night, and yet it burned for eight.
And that is why, three times daily during Hanukkah, we add the Al Hanisim—for the miracles—prayer to the Amidah, which begins by speaking of the military victory but ends by saying: “…Your children came to Your holy abode and…purified Your Temple and…kindled lights in the courtyards of Your holy place. And they established these eight days of Hanukkah in order to give thanks and praise to Your great name.”
In short, this prayer makes a distinction between the means and the end. The military victory was the means, which we do not celebrate, because the means are not the point. Instead the prayer explains what the military victory is pointing to—and the answer is spiritual renewal.
How can we approach Hanukkah—or any of the Jewish holidays—as a means to experience spiritual renewal?
Embedded in each of our holidays are the messages they hold for us. Purim, for example, is telling us “It’s time to be joyful!” Tishah B’av, in contrast, is saying “This is a time of great sadness.” If you are a person who is always or often sad, then Purim comes to help you usher in some happiness. Or perhaps you live your live experiencing great joy, and here comes Tishah B’av, saying “You should learn how to know sorrow, too.”
From the perspective of Mussar, an ancient Jewish tradition that teaches us to develop ideal inner traits as a path to holiness, approaching our holidays in this way enables us to cultivate emotions and/or undertake practices we might otherwise never experience. Sometimes our inner traits can impede our spiritual insight and growth; when we recalibrate them, we can approach the world with greater spiritual awareness, with a more open heart.
In short, when we bring awareness and intention to the Jewish holidays, they offer us an opportunity to educate and open our hearts.
So, what is the middah (inner spiritual trait) that best embodies Hanukkah? What opportunity might we experience by deepening our connection to this holiday that speaks of spiritual miracles and bringing light into our homes and lives?
The middah in the Hanukkah story I find the most powerful is bitachon, trust. The Maccabbees knew they had only enough sanctified oil to light for one day. They could have said, “It’s not enough. We need oil for eight days. Why bother? It’s over. We lost.” They didn’t do that. Having in their hands only an eighth of what was needed for the task, they nonetheless lit the oil. They put their trust in God’s providence and took the first brave step.
From the rabbis’ point of view, that very moment when the Maccabbees suspended doubt, strengthened their faith, and took action despite the odds is when the miracle of spirit happened.
There is an important lesson here that offers a lens through which to approach the personal challenges we face. Sometimes we can be too cautious. There is something we need to do, and instead of doing it, we get caught in the backdrafts of “what if.” Scientific evidence shows that being overly cautious with certain types of food fed to a young child can have the unintended consequence of stimulating allergies, just as ensuring that the child lives in a highly sanitized environment can deprive their body of exposure to microbes needed to develop a healthy immune system. If we live in fear of possible outcomes, or feel we have to have at least 60% of the ducks in place before we’re going to take that next step, then the Hanukkah story comes to remind us, “Look what the Maccabbees did! They knew they had only 12.5% of what was needed, but nevertheless they lit the first wick.”
Cultivating trust does not mean becoming reckless or choosing not to exercise good judgment. It is about recognizing that sometimes, even when we cannot see the whole picture and appear to lack what’s needed to complete the mission, we still need to take a step forward in the direction we know to be right. As the midrash Exodus Rabbah 13 teaches, when the Jews reached the Red Sea, it wasn’t until one man, Nachshon ben Aminadav, walked into the water right up to his nose that the sea finally split. It took an act of trust to cause the sea to divide, and the result was salvation. Trust, then, empowers action. Cultivating trust helps the heart to open to the challenge of taking calculated risks. And cultivating that trust within our families and in our communities can help us transcend even greater obstacles together.
The eternal lesson of Hanukkah is that we must trust and never lose hope. The odds may be against us, the obstacles daunting, the winds in our face, but the Maccabees inspire us to hold fast to our goals. Every night that we light a Hanukkah candle, we are reminded that it has happened that the mighty fell into the hands of the few, the weak defeated the strong, one day’s oil lasted eight days.
Doubt and fear hover over life like dark clouds, whereas trust and hope usher in light. We light our Hanukkah candles at the darkest time of year as a ritual reminder: When we kindle trust and hope in our hearts, we dispel the shadows of apprehension and welcome in spiritual renewal.
This point was the focus of a talmudic debate about the way to light the menorah (Shabbat 21a). One sage, Shammai, contended that we should light eight candles on the first night and then reduce the number of candles by one each night until there is no more light. Another sage, Hillel, proposed that we should add one candle each night until all eight candles are burning brightly. Today we follow Hillel’s way; Hanukkah now embodies the idea of growing more light amid darkness.
The Hanukkah story shows us that when our pursuits are ethical and just, we should be prepared to take action in trust that we are aligning with a force beyond ourselves that will help us. Trust does not mean that the results we want are guaranteed. Trust means not letting ourselves be defeated by worry, calculation, doubt, and fear. The Maccabbees teach us that even though the goal might seem impossible, we should still reach for that star, because a miracle just might be waiting to happen.
About the Author
Alan Morinis, author of Climbing Jacob’s Ladder (2002) and Everyday Holiness: The Jewish Spiritual Path of Mussar (2007), is founder and dean of The Mussar Institute, which provides courses on developing and improving inner life traits as spiritual practice.
Reform Judaism, Winter 2013, pp. 8-10