1. Chanukah’s historical context is narrated in the four Books of the Maccabees, The Scroll of Antiochus and The Wars of the Jews. The Greek Empire was split following the death of Alexander the Great (323 BCE), who held Judaism in high esteem. In 175 BCE, the Syrian/Seleucid Emperor Antiochus (IV) Epiphanies – who claimed the Land of Israel – suspected that Jews were allies of his Egyptian enemy. Therefore, he aimed to exterminate Judaism and convert Jews to Hellenism. In 169 BCE he devastated Jerusalem, massacred Jews and prohibited the practice of Judaism. The 166/7 BCE rebellion was led by the Hasmonean (Maccabee) family – Mattityahu, the priest, and his five sons, Yochanan, Judah, Shimon, Yonatan and Elazar – whose dynasty lasted until 37 BCE.
2. The first day of Chanukah – the holiday of light – is celebrated when daylight hours are equal to darkness, ushering in longer daylight hours – rising optimism.
3. The impact on the formation of the US spirit:
Supreme Court Justice, Louis Brandeis, December 1915: “Chanukah, the Feast of Maccabees…celebrates a victory of the spirit over things material… a victory also over [external, but also] more dangerous internal enemies, the Sadducees (the upper social and economic echelon); a victory over the ease-loving, safety-playing, privileged, powerful few, who in their pliancy would have betrayed the best interests of the people; a victory of democracy over aristocracy…. The struggle of the Maccabees is of eternal worldwide interest…. It is a struggle in which all Americans, non-Jews as well as Jews… are vitally affected…”