Chanukah: the Festival of Lights

Here we have another moveable feast, which is one of the most beloved of all Jewish holidays. As we know from the Roman historian, Tacitus, in the second century BCE Antiochus IV, the Seleucidian king, blocked all Jews from visiting their own temple on Mount Zion and tried to force them to sacrifice swine and eat the meat, which is against their religion. He also placed an edict commanding Jews, under penalty of death, to leave their sons uncircumcised. The stubborn and cruel Antiochus also invaded the Jewish temple on Mount Zion and installed a statue of Zeus therein. Many lives were lost in the struggle, but the Jewish resistance, led by Judah Maccabee, the “Jewish Hammer,” overcame the Greek forces and reconsecrated the temple on the twenty-fifth day of the Hebrew month of Kislev in 165 BCE The triumphant Jews declared that this event should be remembered each year with a festival. Judah then lit the candelabra, or menorah, in the temple. The miracle of the menorah is that there was only enough lamp oil for one night but it lasted eight nights, thus the tradition of lighting a candle each day during Chanukah’s eight nights. Feasting is also an important part of the ritual, with the customary latkes (fried potato pancakes) often topped with applesauce and sour cream.