December 2003 - כִּסְלֵו .. טֵבֵת תשס״ד Kislev..Tevet 5764

From the Rabbi -

Okay, let's try this one more time. There was no miracle of the oil burning for eight days. The Maccabees had one major victory over the Seleucids and their Hellenistic Jewish allies in 165 BCE, and they recaptured Jerusalem and the Temple. The Seleucid ruler, King Antiochus, had confiscated the Temple and turned it into a place of pagan worship. The Maccabean nationalist had united with Hasidic pietists, and the Sadducean religionists, and the economically oppressed peasants, as just about the entire people of Israel turned against their Seleucid overlords to recapture the Temple. After three years of guerilla war the Maccabees suceeded in driving the Seleucids out of Jerusalem and the people swarmed into the holy city to celebrate one holiday to make up for all of the holidays that they had missed in the past three years. It simply made sense that they celebrate the Jewish holiday of thanksgiving to celebrate the rededication of the Temple and the independence of Jerusalem. The Jewish holiday of thanksgiving, Sukkot, is celebrated for eight days, so this second Sukkot in December of 165 BCE was also celebrated for eight days.

Think about this. In the Siddur, Sukkot is called zeman simchateinu , the time of our joy. On the other hand Passover is called zeman cheruteinu , the time of our freedom. In the first century, Sukkot was celebrated for eight days and Passover was celebrated for seven days. Since Chanukhah was celebrated for eight days and not seven days, it must have been seen as a second Sukkot and not a second Passover, as both ideas were possible in the biblical system. This is significant.

—Rabbi Harry A. Manhoff, Ph.D.

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