Tonight, we light the third candle of Hanukkah.
As we celebrate Hanukkah, we often neglect to acknowledge that the Maccabees’ primary foes during their rebellion were not the occupying Seleucids (also known as the Syrian Greeks), but rather Jewish Hellenists—Jews who embraced Greek culture and norms. Many Jews welcomed the substantial innovations brought to Judea by the Greeks, from art and architecture to philosophy and theology to recreation and sport, with some Hellenists abandoning certain Jewish rituals and practices in order to adapt more fully to Greek custom.
The principal catalysts for the Maccabean revolt, according to the books of the Maccabees, were the sale of gold and silver vessels from the Temple to cover the bribe paid by the Jewish High Priest Menelaus to the Seleucids to secure his appointment, as well as his introduction of Greek customs into Temple worship. In fact, the first book of Maccabees reveals that the conflict begins with Mattathias’ murder of a fellow Jew making a sacrifice according to Greek—rather than Jewish—ritual.
In our haste to encourage the celebration of our history, traditions, and festivals, we sometimes overlook the messier elements of our people’s stories. It’s often easier to celebrate the unimpeachable virtues of our heroes than to acknowledge their flaws. However, such a practice can mislead us, as well as our children, into thinking that history is rife with well-defined heroes and villains, inspiring us to recast every disagreement of our day (mistakenly and dangerously) as a struggle between good and evil.
Therefore, Hanukkah poses a unique challenge to the modern Jewish parent. How do we teach our children a love of our traditions while acknowledging the moral ambiguity of the stories that fashioned them?
—Rabbi Josh Knobel