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Read by Andy Kahn and Dora Korewa, Religious School Teachers.
The story of Chanukah took place over 2,000 years ago. At that time, the Jews living in the land of Israel prayed to God in the Temple in Jerusalem. The Temple was big and beautiful and had many holy objects, like the menorah and the golden altar of incense.
The Jews in the land of Israel did not have a Jewish king. They were ruled by Antiochus, the King of Syria, who worshipped the many Greek gods. When he marched with his army into Jerusalem, his soldiers attacked the Temple and insisted the Jews worship the Greek gods. Idols were brought into the Temple, and Antiochus made it illegal to celebrate Shabbat or learn Torah. The punishment for practicing Judaism was death.
But Antiochus’s plan did not work. Instead of not practicing Judaism, many Jews risked their lives to be Jewish. Antiochus was furious and he ordered his soldiers to set up altars with idols throughout the land of Israel. In a place called Modin, they ordered all the villagers to come worship an idol.
Matityahu was a brave Jewish man. He would rather fight the soldiers than worship idols. He and his five sons went to the altar and started a revolt against Antiochus and his soldiers. Matityahu knew that Antiochus would seek revenge, so he and his sons hid in caves high up on the mountains, planning their next move.
Matityahu’s son Judah led a small group of fighters, known as the Maccabees, to Jerusalem to take back the Temple. They fought for two years, and even though they were outnumbered, they managed to beat Antiochus’s army. When they entered the Temple, Judah and the Maccabees were shocked. Many of the holy objects were destroyed or stolen, including the beautiful gold menorah. They went straight to work cleaning the Temple so that they could pray to God in the sanctuary again. The Maccabees quickly made a new metal Menorah but they didn’t have any pure oil to light it with. At this time, it took eight days to prepare pure oil that could be used in the menorah. Would the Temple remain dark for eight full days?
One Maccabee found a very small jug of pure olive oil. There was only enough oil for one day, but the Jewish people were happy to have a lit menorah even just for one day. They inaugurated the recovered Temple and lit the menorah. This is why this holiday is called “Chanukah,” which means “dedication” in Hebrew.
On that day, they started making new oil. But they soon realized that a miracle was occurring. Something extraordinary! The menorah stayed lit for not one day, not two days, but for eight whole days. By the time the oil in the menorah ran out, the Jews had made new jugs of oil.
And that’s why we celebrate the miracle Chanukah for eight whole days and why our Chanukah menorah, called a Chanukiyah, has eight branches, so that we can light a new candle for each day of the holiday that is also known as the Festival of Lights.
