This is what I wrote about the history of Hanukkah. I was in a bit of a hurry, so it might be a little rough still. The miracle of the oil doesn't appear in the history until a few hundred years later, so I didn't mention that. It's a tradition, so I'll hit that another time when I hit the rest of the traditions. :)
Alexander the Great had conquered a very large territory, and called it the Greek Empire. When he died, he split his empire into kingdoms and made his closest friends and advisors kings. About 2 generations later, Antiochus III ruled the Syrian kingdom. This territory included Israel. We left him alone, and for the most part, he left us alone. It was like this for a long time. Then in the year 3586/175BCE king Antiochus III died and his son, Antiochus IV ruled in his place. Antiochus IV, or Antiochus Epiphanies, was a wicked man, and hated the way his father treated us, thinking he was too kind to us.
At this time, there were some Hebrews who abandoned the Torah of Moshe and mislead the rest of the people of Israel by saying “Let’s make a treaty with the surrounding nations. Ever since we’ve separated ourselves from them, we’ve had nothing but trouble.” This was the first compromise of the story.
Any of this sound familiar? Maybe we should learn from the story of Hanukkah and not make any kind of treaty with the surrounding nations. For when Joshua made a covenant with the descendants of Gibeon and did not seek the counsel of HaShem, did not Haman come from that line? Did he not try to raise to power and kill the Jews? Ever since we’ve separated ourselves from them, we’ve had nothing but trouble. We didn’t separate ourselves, HaShem set us apart from the nations. We’ve not had to make a treaty with any other nation, because HaShem is our shield, He protects us and leads us. We’ve had trouble because the nations see that HaShem has chosen us, and it’s jealousy which turns to hatred that is why we’ve taken the brunt of their anger.
When Antiochus had a firm grip on his kingdom in Syria, he decided that he wanted to rule the Egyptian kingdom in addition to what he had. So he left Syria and traveled down to Egypt, invaded and took over. On his way back, he entered Israel and attacked Jerusalem. He stripped the Temple of everything of worth, murdered thousands of people and left, going back to his place in Syria to brag about all that he had done.This was the first desecration of the Temple committed by Antiochus IV. Wherever the people of Israel lived, they mourned.
Shortly after the desecration of the Temple, Antiochus wrote to all the nations in his kingdom saying that everyone has to give up their traditions, and specifically to us he said that we must not do what the Torah tells us, but to do the exact opposite. Build altars in illegal places to false gods, sacrifice pigs and other unclean animals on the altar, work on Shabbat, not circumcise our sons, and so on. There were many who abandoned Torah and joined themselves to these foreign officials. These people were known as Helenists. There were also many people who refused to compromise, who refused to abandon the Torah and do as the king had ordered, and were slaughtered the hands of an uncircumcised people.
There was a man named Mattathias, who had moved away from the more intense persecution in Jerusalem, to the city of Modein. Mattathias had five sons: John, Simon, Judas called the Maccabee, Eleazar, and Jonathan. One of the kings officials came to Modein and were trying to force us to abandon our religion and sacrifice to false gods. They came to Mattathias and said, “You’re a highly respected leader in this city, and you have the support of your sons and relatives. Be the first to come forward and do what the king has ordered. Be like all the people in the other nations... Then you and your sons will receive the title ‘Friend of the King.’ You will be honored with silver, gold, and many other gifts.”
Sound like the voice of the deceiver to you? That convincing, “You know, if you do this one thing, look at all these things you will get!” Things. Stuff. Materialistic garbage. But, that’s the way the world operates. Do this and you’ll get silver, gold, gifts, a title, a name! But. Do this and ruin your reputation before HaShem. Join yourself to them and receive their curses right along with them! What the king’s official was saying to him was Convert or Die! (Remind you of anyone? Greeks, Romans, Crusades, Inquisition, just to name a few.)
Even with these temptations, which to Mattathias weren’t very tempting, he stood strong for HaShem, and would do nothing the official said. He shouted “All the nations in the king’s empire may have obeyed him. They may have chosen to follow his orders by abandoning the religion of their ancestors. But even if they have, my sons, relatives, and I will keep the terms of the promise HaShem made to our ancestors. It’s unthinkable for us to desert our teachings and religious practices. We won’t obey the king’s orders, and we won’t worship in any other way.” He was refusing to compromise. He shouted this proclamation, not just told the guy quietly. He was going to let everyone know that he was not going against what HaShem commanded, and that he will not obey the king’s orders to do so. In a way, he was letting everybody know that he was going to be the army’s next target.
When Mattathias finished speaking, a young Jewish man ran up and intended to slaughter the pig as the king ordered. He was probably thinking that what the official had promised to Mattathias sounded good, and that since Mattathias wasn’t going to do it, that he would and get all that silver, gold, and other reward. But Mattathias was shocked to see this, and being so zealous for HaShem, ran up to the man and killed him there on the altar where he was. He then turned and killed the official and the men with him and tore down the pagan altar. His zeal for HaShem was equated to that of Pinchas haCohen, who killed Zimri in the Tabernacle.
Mattathias then went through the city saying, “Whoever is still devoted to HaShem and His promises, follow me!” With that, he and his sons fled to the mountians, and left everything they owned in the city. This should remind you of the time when Moshe drew the line in the sand and said to Israel, “Whoever is for HaShem, get up and stand with me!” after the golden calf incident.
At that time, Mattathias, his sons, and the group of people who were still devoted to HaShem, were joined by another group of Jewish people called the Hasidim. The Hasidim were the strongest people in Israel, and all of them volunteered for the sake of the Torah. Everyone who had fled because of the persecutions also joined Mattathias. This made their forces stronger, and they organized an army. In their fury they killed those who sinned by not following the Torah and were successful in hunting down foreign officials. Those who survived their attacks fled to the foreigners for safety. This band of ‘rebels’ also went around the countryside tearing down the altars dedicated to false gods.
How devoted are you? Would you get out of a place surrounded my evil, take the others who are devoted with you, and flee to the mountians? Leave everything you own in your house and go? Would you get together a band of rebels with you, kill those who need to be killed (according to HaShem’s standard, not ours), and start tearing down the abominations in the countryside? For the sake of your G-d, His people, His land, His covenants and His promises?
When the time came for Mattathias to die, he said to his sons, “We’re living in disastrous and violent times because arrogant foreigners are treating us with contempt. My children, now is the time for you to show your devotion to HaShem and the Torah. Offer your lives for the sake of the promise HaShem made to our ancestors.” He continued to remind them of what our ancestors did then they were alive. How Avraham proved faithful when he was tested, how Joseph was in a difficult situation and obeyed HaShem’s command, about Pinchas, Moshe, Y’oshua and Calev, David, Eliyahu, Hanahiah, Azariah, and Mishael, and Daniel. He then continued with another very import piece. He said, “So keep in mind that in every generation those who trust HaShem will have the strength they need. Don’t be afraid of a sinful king who threatens you. His honor will come to an end when he dies and his body is covered with manure and worms. Today he may be honored, but tomorrow no one will be able to find him because he will have returned to dust, and his plans will be ruined. My children, be strong and courageous while defending the Torah...”
The way we teach our children is important. We know the history of our ancestors, and the covenants and promises HaShem made with them, and in turn, with us. He promised good things to us if we obey Him. If we obey Him and do his will, we will receive blessings in plenty. But, if we fall into the trap of the enemy and go against HaShem’s will, we will receive curses in plenty. We need to stand up and fight for what we believe.
Antiochus heard about the Maccabees and how they were hunting down those who were trying to force our people to convert, or die. He sent his armies against them and were defeated. This small band of ‘rebels’ killed and beat back quite a large and well trained army, because they were zealous for their faith.
After these battles Judas said to the men with him, “Let’s go up to Jerusalem, and cleanse and re-dedicate the Temple.” This is what they did, and they brought their families with them. When they got there and saw how desecrated the holy place was, they tore their clothes in grief and wept. There were among them a few remaining priests who had lead holy lives and were dedicated to the Torah, and they cleansed the Temple and everything in it. They tore down the now defiled altar, put it’s stones in an unclean place, and built a new altar according to Moshe’s teachings and dedicated it. They made new utensils and brought back the holy items that had been stolen and cleansed and purified them, them put them back in the Temple. On the 25th day of Chislev, the cleansing and rededication had been completed, and normal routine was restored. The people celebrated the rededication for eight days in joy! Everyone was overwhelmingly happy because they had removed the disgrace of Jerusalem.
I’d also like to add in here how Antiochus died. Not for any reason except to learn from his mistakes, and that he seemed to have realized that he had made a mistake. Tehillim says “Don’t rejoice when your enemy falls...”
Antiochus had heard about a city in Persia that was known for it’s vast amounts of riches, and decided to attack and loot the city. But the citizens of the place found out about his plan and resisted him in battle, thus he retreated. While in Persia, a messenger came and told him about how his armies had been slaughtered and beat back by that small band of ‘rebels’ in Israel. Both beatings hit Antiochus hard, and he became very depressed and didn’t get out of bed for many days. He couldn’t get over his depression, and realized that he was about to die. Then he said, “I remembered all the terrible things I did to Jerusalem. I took all its silver and gold utensils. Without any good reason, I sent armies to destroy the people who live in Judea. Now I know that all these things are happening to me because of the terrible things I’ve done. I’m being destroyed by depression in a foreign land.”
It would be advised to learn from this guy’s mistakes, and what he said at the end of his life. If such a wicked man can realize that he’s being destroyed because he was dishonorable to HaShem’s name, then how much more so should we be careful in our lives to respect it.
How committed to your religion, your faith, are you? When the Temple was desecrated the first time by Antiochus, those who were dedicated to the temple, to Torah and HaShem’s promises, the people mourned wherever they lived. When the Maccabees came to cleanse and re-dedicate the Temple and saw how desecrated and defiled it was, they tore their clothes in grief and wept. This time it is on our watch! If you are not actively standing for G-d and his covenants, you are standing against him. The question is - What can we do today?
