Chanukah

Channukah ~ What Have the Maccabees Ever Done for Us?

Who could forget that classic scene from The Life of Brian, in which the Judean rebels ask, “What have the Romans ever done for us?”

After much debate, Reg, the rebel leader (played of course by the brilliant John Cleese) concludes “All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?”

We might have asked the same thing about the Maccabees, or as they are known in Hebrew, the Maccabim (spelled either מַכַּבִּים, or מַקַבִּים), the heroes of the story of Chanukah. They gave us Chanukah to be sure, and their name: Maccabi Games and Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club,and Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Petach Tikvah, and more. But really, aside from a stunning military victory, a few decades of peace, freedom to worship in the Temple, and some naming opportunities, what have the Maccabim ever done for us? Actually, a lot more than you might have thought. They might have given us everything.

CHANUKAH in a nutshell

As a reminder, Antiochus had set his sights on conquering Alexandria in Egypt but was prevented from doing so by the Romans, who ordered him to withdraw or consider himself to be at war with the Roman Republic. Recognizing when he was defeated, he turned his army north. According to the Second Book of Maccabees (5:11–14), here is what happened next:

Raging like a wild animal, [Antiochus] set out from Egypt and took Jerusalem by storm. He ordered his soldiers to cut down without mercy those whom they met and to slay those who took refuge in their houses. There was a massacre of young and old, a killing of women and children, a slaughter of virgins and infants. In the space of three days, eighty thousand were lost, forty thousand meeting a violent death, and the same number being sold into slavery.

As described by the Jewish historian Josephus (who was not an eyewitness, but lived about a century later), here is what caused the Jewish revolt:

Now Antiochus was not satisfied either with his unexpected taking the city (Jerusalem), or with its pillage, or with the great slaughter he had made there; but being overcome with his violent passions, and remembering what he had suffered during the siege, he compelled the Jews to dissolve the laws of their country, and to keep their infants uncircumcised, and to sacrifice swine's flesh upon the altar; against which they all opposed themselves, and the most approved among them were put to death.

The Maccabim, led by Mattathias (Mattisyahu) and his five sons, waged a guerilla campaign against their Greek oppressors, which culminated in a military victory and the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem. Of course there may have been a miracle, something to do with oil (though the Rambam makes no mention of it, as we have discussed elsewhere), but the real miracle was the restoration of an independent Jewish state under the Hasmoneans, until civil war and an intervention by the Romans ended it all in 63 BCE.

By any account this would be enough for which to thank the Maccabim (well, not the civil war, but certainly the rest). But it turns out that perhaps we owe the Maccabim a great deal more than this.

a search for the terminus ante quem

Last year, the Israeli archeologist Jonathan Adler published The Origins of Judaism, in which he asked a simple question: what is the earliest archeological evidence for Jewish practice? Adler was not primarily interested in textual evidence (though he cites a fair amount), but with the lived experience of individuals, on their practice and not on their beliefs. Adler focussed on epigraphic and archeological discoveries, to arrive at a terminus ante quem, “the boundary of time when or before which the particular element of Judaism under examination must have first emerged.”

…the date of the earliest available evidence demonstrating that Judeans knew something resembling the Torah and were observing its laws will serve as the terminus ante quem for the earliest emergence of Judaism. That it to say, Judaism must have emerged at this time or earlier. Lacking further evidence, this is the most we can determine with any degree of confidence (18).

I know what you are thinking, and Adler addresses it:

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. It is possible, for example, that the Judeans commonly knew of the Torah and were observing its laws for decades or even centuries prior to our established terminus ante quem, and that for whatever reasons no evidence has survived (ibid).

Adler’s conclusion, based on a “data-driven analysis” is that “we possess no compelling evidence dating to any time prior to the middle of the second century BCE which suggests that the Judean masses knew of the Torah and were observing its laws in practice. This will establish the middle of the second century BCE as the overarching terminus ante quem for the initial emergence of Judaism.” Which is to say, the Hasmonean period. Here is just some of that data.

  1. Kashrut

    As we have discussed elsewhere on Talmudology, Adler analyzed the makeup of fish remains at 30 sites throughout the southern Levant from the Late Bronze Age through to the end of the Byzantine period (ca. 1550 BCE to 640 CE). They found that “the consumption of scaleless fish— especially catfish—was not uncommon at Judean sites throughout the Iron Age and Persian periods.” In other words, Judeans likely ate catfish, which are not kosher. [You can read a criticism of this claim from Bar Ilan’s Joshua Berman and Ari Zivotovsky here.] Pig remains suggest that by the Roman era, Judeans were not eating pork. “But here the trail of evidence ends. Prior to the second century BCE, there exists no surviving evidence, whether textual or archeological, which suggests that Judeans adhered to a set of food prohibitions or to a body of dietary restrictions of any kind…it is only from the Hasmonean period onward that we may claim to know of Judeans adhering to a set of dietary restrictions of any kind.” (49)

  2. Ritual Purity

    Josephus describes two stories set in the second half of the first century BCE that relate to ritual purity. The Dead Sea Scrolls, composed some time in the second or first century BCE are of course full of laws that address this area. And they are mentioned in the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, dated to a similar time. The Maccabim themselves are described (2 Mac 12:38) as having purified themselves “according to the custom” before making camp for Shabbat. Beyond this, the Hebrew Bible provides “little evidence” that the laws of tumah and tahara were known before the second century BCE. For example, although the complex rituals around purification after touching a corpse (tuma’at met) or contracting a skin disease (tzara’at) are mentioned in the Torah, there is not “even one passing allusion to anyone putting these rites into practice elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible.” In addition, although there are many mikva’ot (ritual immersion pools) that date to the Hasmonean period, no stepped mikva’ot have yet been dated “to any time earlier than the late second century BCE” (82).

  3. Visual Art

    There is a Torah ban on making a graven image, but the earliest imageless coins were minted in Judea in 131 BCE. In contrast, all the surviving coins minted in Judea in the fourth century BCE display human and animal images. The Persian era Judean authorities included figural images on all their minted coins and exhibited “no signs of regard for any such Pentateuchal prohibition.” Adler suggests that it was only from the Hasmonean era onward “that there is a never before seen aversion to figural art among Judeans” (111).

  4. Tefillin and Mezuzah

    We have yet to unearth any tefillin and mezuzot artefacts that predate the second century BCE, though, to be fair, these objects are made of perishable organic material. (Remember, Adler is focussed on the lived experience of the Judeans, not what may have been written in the Torah. The latter certainly predates this.) Fun fact: perhaps the oldest archaeological witness to tefillin or mezuzah is the Nash Papyrus, dated to mid-second century to the mid-first century BCE. But there are many finds that demonstrate that by the first century CE tefillin and mezuzah existed as Judean ritual practices.

  5. The Menorah

    “A single golden, seven-branched menorah as prescribed in the Pentateuch certainly stood in the temple prior to its destruction in 70 CE, and both texts and archaeological finds suggest that Judeans living in both the first century CE and the first century BCE were well aware of both its existence and its general appearance. Prior to the mid-first century BCE , not a single example has been found of a seven branched menorah depicted in Judean (or Israelite) art, and earlier texts that speak of either a single or multiple golden or silver lampstands in the temple provide little correspondence with Pentateuchal prescriptions” (167).

Menorot in Judean art only appear from the Hasmonean time onward. From here.

Judaism as a way of Life emerged during the Hasmonean Period

Adler provides more evidence, from the observance of Shabbat and Yom Kippur and Sukkot, to the establishment of the synagogue. You will have to read that for yourself, or listen to a talk in which he outlines his thesis.

Our resolute conclusion has been that some point around the middle of the second century [BCE] should be regarded as our terminus ante quem, the time during or before which we ought to seek the emergence of Judaism….we would be remiss not to regard as at least suggestive the fact that all of the many practices and prohibitions analyzed throughout this book first come into historical focus precisely during the course of the Hasmonean period. Is it possible that Judaism as a way of life followed by Judeans at large first emerged only around this time?

It turns out that the Maccabim have done a lot for us. Way more than you might have once thought. They either (i) left us with the earliest cultural artefacts that belong to a Judaism we might recognize as our own, or (ii) were the first to practice it. Either way,

…it would not be wrong to view Judaism as having emerged out of the crucible of Hellenism, which dominated the cultural landscape of the time. In a poetic way, it seems only fitting that our English word “Judaism” itself is the result of a Hebrew/Greek hybrid, rooted etymologically in the Greek rendering of the Hebrew “yehudayah” merged with the Greek suffix'“-ismos”. (236)

Now that is a something worth saying Hallel for.


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From the Talmudology Archives: Was There a Chanukah Miracle?

שבת כא, ב

מַאי חֲנוּכָּה? דְּתָנוּ רַבָּנַן: בְּכ״ה בְּכִסְלֵיו יוֹמֵי דַחֲנוּכָּה תְּמָנְיָא אִינּוּן דְּלָא לְמִסְפַּד בְּהוֹן וּדְלָא לְהִתְעַנּוֹת בְּהוֹן. שֶׁכְּשֶׁנִּכְנְסוּ יְווֹנִים לַהֵיכָל טִמְּאוּ כל הַשְּׁמָנִים שֶׁבַּהֵיכָל. וּכְשֶׁגָּבְרָה מַלְכוּת בֵּית חַשְׁמוֹנַאי וְנִצְּחוּם, בָּדְקוּ וְלֹא מָצְאוּ אֶלָּא פַּךְ אֶחָד שֶׁל שֶׁמֶן שֶׁהָיָה מוּנָּח בְּחוֹתָמוֹ שֶׁל כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל, וְלֹא הָיָה בּוֹ אֶלָּא לְהַדְלִיק יוֹם אֶחָד. נַעֲשָׂה בּוֹ נֵס וְהִדְלִיקוּ מִמֶּנּוּ שְׁמוֹנָה יָמִים. לְשָׁנָה אַחֶרֶת קְבָעוּם וַעֲשָׂאוּם יָמִים טוֹבִים בְּהַלֵּל וְהוֹדָאָה. 

What is Chanukah, and why are lights kindled on Chanukah? The Gemara answers: The Sages taught in Megillat Ta’anit: On the twenty-fifth of Kislev, the days of Chanukah are eight. One may not eulogize on them and one may not fast on them. What is the reason? When the Greeks entered the Sanctuary they defiled all the oils that were in the Sanctuary by touching them. And when the Hasmonean monarchy overcame them and emerged victorious over them, they searched and found only one cruse of oil that was placed with the seal of the High Priest,undisturbed by the Greeks. And there was sufficient oil there to light the candelabrum for only one day. A miracle occurred and they lit the candelabrum from it eight days. The next year the Sages instituted those days and made them holidays with recitation of hallel and special thanksgiving in prayer and blessings.

The miracle of the oil that was meant to burn for only one day yet stretched out for eight is a deeply beloved story whose origin in only briefly mentioned in the Talmud. It is fascinating therefore to learn that the great Russian maskil Chaim Zelig Slonimski, (a Talmudology hero to be sure) unleashed a storm when he published an essay questioning the authenticity of the miracle.

Some Background

Hayyim Zelig Slonimski aged seventy-five. From The Jewish Encyclopedia, New York, Funk and Wagnalls, 1912.

We have discussed Slonimski before. To coincide with the appearance of Halley's Comet in 1835, he published Kokhava Deshavit (The Comet) in Vilna. It described where and when the comet would be visible with precise coordinates for the inhabitants of Bialystok, as well as an explanation of the nature of comets and their orbits. Hayyim Zelig Slonimski, (1810-1904), was also the founding editor of Hazefirah (The Dawn), a weekly Hebrew-language newspaper first published in Warsaw in 1862. He also wrote Mosdei Hokhmah (The Foundation of Wisdom), a work on algebra, and struck up a friendship with the famed German naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859). Not content with all this, Slonimski invented a method to send two telegraphs simultaneously over one wire (which was a very big deal at the time,) and developed a calculating machine that he later presented to the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. It was so successful that in 1845 the Russian minister of education made Slonimski an honorary citizen, a remarkable honor given the general oppression faced by the Jews at the time. So yes, Slonimski is a Talmudology hero.

The Chanukah Polemic of 1891

In December 1891 Slonimski published a short essay in the Hebrew language journal Hazefirah, which he happened to edit. In the piece he claimed that the Chanukah miracle of the oil discussed in the Talmud may not have happened, and that furthermore Maimonides himself did not appear to believe in the historicity of the story. There was indeed a miracle at Chanukah, he claimed: it was the victory of the Hasmoneans over the Greeks. But the miracle of the oil was witnessed only by a handful of the Cohanim who entered the Temple. “Who else besides them” he wrote “saw anything?”

In support of his skepticism Slonimski cited Maimonides himself. Here is how Maimonides described the events surrounding the oil:

רמב׳ם משנה תורה הלכית מגילה וחנוכה ג, ב

וּכְשֶׁגָּבְרוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל עַל אוֹיְבֵיהֶם וְאִבְּדוּם בְּכ''ה בְּחֹדֶשׁ כִּסְלֵו הָיָה וְנִכְנְסוּ לַהֵיכָל וְלֹא מָצְאוּ שֶׁמֶן טָהוֹר בַּמִּקְדָּשׁ אֶלָּא פַּךְ אֶחָד וְלֹא הָיָה בּוֹ לְהַדְלִיק אֶלָּא יוֹם אֶחָד בִּלְבַד וְהִדְלִיקוּ מִמֶּנּוּ נֵרוֹת הַמַּעֲרָכָה שְׁמוֹנָה יָמִים עַד שֶׁכָּתְשׁוּ זֵיתִים וְהוֹצִיאוּ שֶׁמֶן טָהוֹר 

When, on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, the Jews had emerged victorious over their foes and destroyed them, they re-entered the Temple where they found only one jar of pure oil, enough to be lit for only a single day; yet they used it for lighting the required set of lamps for eight days, until they managed to press olives and produce pure oil.

Do you see what is missing? Slonimski did. There is no mention of any miracle. Instead Maimonides seems to hedge, and notes instead that “they used it for lighting the required set of lamps for eight days.” Slonimski suggested that the Menorah was lit for a short time each evening, and then the lamps were extinguished, instead of burning through the rest of the night. That is how the oil managed to last eight days. Nothing miraculous to see here.

The Response, and THE response to THE response…

Dozens of books and essays were written in response to Slonimski’s one page essay. (You can find them here, together with a helpful Hebrew language post about the episode.) For example in 1892 in Warsaw, Shmuel Alexandrov published Agadat Pach HaShemen (The Story of the Flask of Oil). The book was dedicated to Chaim Slonimski, and explained the miracle of the oil allegorically. Conservative reaction to the book was swift and strong. So much so that Alexandrov later wrote this retraction:

והנני אומר גם מפורש כי כל מה שכתבתי בקונטרסי אגדת פך השמן… הוא רק בתור בירור וביאור האגדות האלה ע”ד הביקורת, אולם בנוגע לגוף הקבלות והמסורות העתיקות המסתעפות מהאגדות האלו, הנני אומר מפורש אם קבלה היא נקבל, ואם אולי נמצאו ביטויים בספרי אגדת פך השמן שפלטה קולמוסי, הנוגעים בגוף הקבלה, הנני מתחרט ע”ז חרטה גמורה. מטרתו בכל מאמרינו השונים היא רק לבנות ולנטוע ולא לסתור ולעקור חלילה

I wish to explicitly clarify that everything I wrote in by book Agadat Pach HaShemen was written only to clarify the stories, but regarding the received tradition about theses actual events, I want to state explicitly…that I completely regret certain expressions that slipped from my pen regarding these events. My purpose throughout was to build and to plant, and not to destroy or uproot…

(You can find Agadat Pach HaShemen at the Jewish National Library here. But you won’t find it on HebrewBook.org. I wonder why.)

As Marc Shapiro has pointed out, there are examples of several other orthodox authors who appeared to ignore or deny the reality of the miracle of Chanukah. He notes that “ It could be that Isidore Epstein should be added to the list, as in his classic work Judaism he describes Hanukkah and the kindling of lights, but mentions nothing about the miracle….Yet I think it is telling that he does not even say something like, “according to tradition a cruse of oil with enough for one day burnt for eight.”” Another traditional author who ignores the miracle was Rabbi Zev Yavetz, a founder of the Mizrachi movement. The miracle of the oil is simply not mentioned in his fourteen volume Toldot Yisrael. Marc also points out that the miracle of the oil is omitted in R. Joseph Hertz’s  Authorized Daily Prayer Book, (or, as it is known by its short title, The Authorised Daily Prayer Book of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire,) used by orthodox Jews in Britain for generations.

Whether you believe that the miracle was an improbable military victory or long-lasting oil, Chanukah remains a beloved holiday for the Jewish people. On that, at least, we can all agree.

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From the Talmudology Archives: Was There a Chanukah Miracle?

שבת כא, ב

מַאי חֲנוּכָּה? דְּתָנוּ רַבָּנַן: בְּכ״ה בְּכִסְלֵיו יוֹמֵי דַחֲנוּכָּה תְּמָנְיָא אִינּוּן דְּלָא לְמִסְפַּד בְּהוֹן וּדְלָא לְהִתְעַנּוֹת בְּהוֹן. שֶׁכְּשֶׁנִּכְנְסוּ יְווֹנִים לַהֵיכָל טִמְּאוּ כׇּל הַשְּׁמָנִים שֶׁבַּהֵיכָל. וּכְשֶׁגָּבְרָה מַלְכוּת בֵּית חַשְׁמוֹנַאי וְנִצְּחוּם, בָּדְקוּ וְלֹא מָצְאוּ אֶלָּא פַּךְ אֶחָד שֶׁל שֶׁמֶן שֶׁהָיָה מוּנָּח בְּחוֹתָמוֹ שֶׁל כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל, וְלֹא הָיָה בּוֹ אֶלָּא לְהַדְלִיק יוֹם אֶחָד. נַעֲשָׂה בּוֹ נֵס וְהִדְלִיקוּ מִמֶּנּוּ שְׁמוֹנָה יָמִים. לְשָׁנָה אַחֶרֶת קְבָעוּם וַעֲשָׂאוּם יָמִים טוֹבִים בְּהַלֵּל וְהוֹדָאָה. 

What is Chanukah, and why are lights kindled on Chanukah? The Gemara answers: The Sages taught in Megillat Ta’anit: On the twenty-fifth of Kislev, the days of Chanukah are eight. One may not eulogize on them and one may not fast on them. What is the reason? When the Greeks entered the Sanctuary they defiled all the oils that were in the Sanctuary by touching them. And when the Hasmonean monarchy overcame them and emerged victorious over them, they searched and found only one cruse of oil that was placed with the seal of the High Priest,undisturbed by the Greeks. And there was sufficient oil there to light the candelabrum for only one day. A miracle occurred and they lit the candelabrum from it eight days. The next year the Sages instituted those days and made them holidays with recitation of hallel and special thanksgiving in prayer and blessings.

The miracle of the oil that was meant to burn for only one day yet stretched out for eight is a deeply beloved story whose origin in only briefly mentioned in the Talmud. It is fascinating therefore to learn that the great Russian maskil Chaim Zelig Slonimski, (a Talmudology hero to be sure) unleashed a storm when he published an essay questioning the authenticity of the miracle.

Some Background

Hayyim Zelig Slonimski aged seventy-five. From The Jewish Encyclopedia, New York, Funk and Wagnalls, 1912.

Hayyim Zelig Slonimski aged seventy-five. From The Jewish Encyclopedia, New York, Funk and Wagnalls, 1912.

We have discussed Slonimski before. To coincide with the appearance of Halley's Comet in 1835, he published Kokhava Deshavit (The Comet) in Vilna. It described where and when the comet would be visible with precise coordinates for the inhabitants of Bialystok, as well as an explanation of the nature of comets and their orbits. Hayyim Zelig Slonimski, (1810-1904), was also the founding editor of Hazefirah (The Dawn), a weekly Hebrew-language newspaper first published in Warsaw in 1862. He also wrote Mosdei Hokhmah (The Foundation of Wisdom), a work on algebra, and struck up a friendship with the famed German naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859). Not content with all this, Slonimski invented a method to send two telegraphs simultaneously over one wire (which was a very big deal at the time,) and developed a calculating machine that he later presented to the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. It was so successful that in 1845 the Russian minister of education made Slonimski an honorary citizen, a remarkable honor given the general oppression faced by the Jews at the time. So yes, Slonimski is a Talmudology hero.

The Chanukah Polemic of 1891

In December 1891 Slonimski published a short essay in the Hebrew language journal Hazefirah, which he happened to edit. In the piece he claimed that the Chanukah miracle of the oil discussed on today’s page of Talmud may not have happened, and that furthermore Maimonides himself did not appear to believe in the historicity of the story. There was indeed a miracle at Chanukah, he claimed: it was the victory of the Hasmoneans over the Greeks. But the miracle of the oil was witnessed only by a handful of the Cohanim who entered the Temple. “Who else besides them” he wrote “saw anything?”

In support of his skepticism Slonimski cited Maimonides himself. Here is how Maimonides described the events surrounding the oil:

רמב׳ם משנה תורה הלכית מגילה וחנוכה ג, ב

וּכְשֶׁגָּבְרוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל עַל אוֹיְבֵיהֶם וְאִבְּדוּם בְּכ''ה בְּחֹדֶשׁ כִּסְלֵו הָיָה וְנִכְנְסוּ לַהֵיכָל וְלֹא מָצְאוּ שֶׁמֶן טָהוֹר בַּמִּקְדָּשׁ אֶלָּא פַּךְ אֶחָד וְלֹא הָיָה בּוֹ לְהַדְלִיק אֶלָּא יוֹם אֶחָד בִּלְבַד וְהִדְלִיקוּ מִמֶּנּוּ נֵרוֹת הַמַּעֲרָכָה שְׁמוֹנָה יָמִים עַד שֶׁכָּתְשׁוּ זֵיתִים וְהוֹצִיאוּ שֶׁמֶן טָהוֹר 

When, on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, the Jews had emerged victorious over their foes and destroyed them, they re-entered the Temple where they found only one jar of pure oil, enough to be lit for only a single day; yet they used it for lighting the required set of lamps for eight days, until they managed to press olives and produce pure oil.

Do you see what is missing? Slonimski did. There is no mention of any miracle. Instead Maimonides seems to hedge, and notes instead that “they used it for lighting the required set of lamps for eight days.” Slonimski suggested that the Menorah was lit for a short time each evening, and then the lamps were extinguished, instead of burning through the rest of the night. That is how the oil managed to last eight days. Nothing miraculous to see here.

The Response, and THE response to THE response…

Dozens of books and essays were written in response to Slonimski’s one page essay. (You can find them here, together with a helpful Hebrew language post about the episode.) For example in 1892 in Warsaw, Shmuel Alexandrov published Agadat Pach HaShemen (The Story of the Flask of Oil). The book was dedicated to Chaim Slonimski, and explained the miracle of the oil allegorically. Conservative reaction to the book was swift and strong. So much so that Alexandrov later wrote this retraction:

והנני אומר גם מפורש כי כל מה שכתבתי בקונטרסי אגדת פך השמן… הוא רק בתור בירור וביאור האגדות האלה ע”ד הביקורת, אולם בנוגע לגוף הקבלות והמסורות העתיקות המסתעפות מהאגדות האלו, הנני אומר מפורש אם קבלה היא נקבל, ואם אולי נמצאו ביטויים בספרי אגדת פך השמן שפלטה קולמוסי, הנוגעים בגוף הקבלה, הנני מתחרט ע”ז חרטה גמורה. מטרתו בכל מאמרינו השונים היא רק לבנות ולנטוע ולא לסתור ולעקור חלילה

I wish to explicitly clarify that everything I wrote in by book Agadat Pach HaShemen was written only to clarify the stories, but regarding the received tradition about theses actual events, I want to state explicitly…that I completely regret certain expressions that slipped from my pen regarding these events. My purpose throughout was to build and to plant, and not to destroy or uproot…

(You can find Agadat Pach HaShemen at the Jewish National Library here. But you won’t find it on HebrewBook.org. I wonder why.)

As Marc Shapiro has pointed out, there are examples of several other orthodox authors who appeared to ignore or deny the reality of the miracle of Chanukah. He notes that “ It could be that Isidore Epstein should be added to the list, as in his classic work Judaism he describes Hanukkah and the kindling of lights, but mentions nothing about the miracle….Yet I think it is telling that he does not even say something like, “according to tradition a cruse of oil with enough for one day burnt for eight.”” Another traditional author who ignores the miracle was Rabbi Zev Yavetz, a founder of the Mizrachi movement. The miracle of the oil is simply not mentioned in his fourteen volume Toldot Yisrael. Marc also points out that the miracle of the oil is omitted in R. Joseph Hertz’s  Authorized Daily Prayer Book, (or, as it is known by its short title, The Authorised Daily Prayer Book of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire,) used by orthodox Jews in Britain for generations.

Whether you believe that the miracle was an improbable military victory or long-lasting oil, Chanukah remains a beloved holiday for the Jewish people. On that, at least, we can all agree.

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Shabbat 21b ~ Was there a Chanukah Miracle?

שבת כא, ב

מַאי חֲנוּכָּה? דְּתָנוּ רַבָּנַן: בְּכ״ה בְּכִסְלֵיו יוֹמֵי דַחֲנוּכָּה תְּמָנְיָא אִינּוּן דְּלָא לְמִסְפַּד בְּהוֹן וּדְלָא לְהִתְעַנּוֹת בְּהוֹן. שֶׁכְּשֶׁנִּכְנְסוּ יְווֹנִים לַהֵיכָל טִמְּאוּ כׇּל הַשְּׁמָנִים שֶׁבַּהֵיכָל. וּכְשֶׁגָּבְרָה מַלְכוּת בֵּית חַשְׁמוֹנַאי וְנִצְּחוּם, בָּדְקוּ וְלֹא מָצְאוּ אֶלָּא פַּךְ אֶחָד שֶׁל שֶׁמֶן שֶׁהָיָה מוּנָּח בְּחוֹתָמוֹ שֶׁל כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל, וְלֹא הָיָה בּוֹ אֶלָּא לְהַדְלִיק יוֹם אֶחָד. נַעֲשָׂה בּוֹ נֵס וְהִדְלִיקוּ מִמֶּנּוּ שְׁמוֹנָה יָמִים. לְשָׁנָה אַחֶרֶת קְבָעוּם וַעֲשָׂאוּם יָמִים טוֹבִים בְּהַלֵּל וְהוֹדָאָה. 

What is Chanukah, and why are lights kindled on Chanukah? The Gemara answers: The Sages taught in Megillat Ta’anit: On the twenty-fifth of Kislev, the days of Chanukah are eight. One may not eulogize on them and one may not fast on them. What is the reason? When the Greeks entered the Sanctuary they defiled all the oils that were in the Sanctuary by touching them. And when the Hasmonean monarchy overcame them and emerged victorious over them, they searched and found only one cruse of oil that was placed with the seal of the High Priest,undisturbed by the Greeks. And there was sufficient oil there to light the candelabrum for only one day. A miracle occurred and they lit the candelabrum from it eight days. The next year the Sages instituted those days and made them holidays with recitation of hallel and special thanksgiving in prayer and blessings.

The miracle of the oil that was meant to burn for only one day yet stretched out for eight is a deeply beloved story whose origin in found in today’s page of Talmud. It is fascinating therefore to learn that the great Russian maskil Chaim Zelig Slonimski, (a Talmudology hero to be sure) unleashed a storm when he published an essay questioning the authenticity of the miracle.

Some Background

Hayyim Zelig Slonimski aged seventy-five. From The Jewish Encyclopedia, New York, Funk and Wagnalls, 1912.

Hayyim Zelig Slonimski aged seventy-five. From The Jewish Encyclopedia, New York, Funk and Wagnalls, 1912.

We have discussed Slonimski before. To coincide with the appearance of Halley's Comet in 1835, he published Kokhava Deshavit (The Comet) in Vilna. It described where and when the comet would be visible with precise coordinates for the inhabitants of Bialystok, as well as an explanation of the nature of comets and their orbits. Hayyim Zelig Slonimski, (1810-1904), was also the founding editor of Hazefirah (The Dawn), a weekly Hebrew-language newspaper first published in Warsaw in 1862. He also wrote Mosdei Hokhmah (The Foundation of Wisdom), a work on algebra, and struck up a friendship with the famed German naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859). Not content with all this, Slonimski invented a method to send two telegraphs simultaneously over one wire (which was a very big deal at the time,) and developed a calculating machine that he later presented to the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. It was so successful that in 1845 the Russian minister of education made Slonimski an honorary citizen, a remarkable honor given the general oppression faced by the Jews at the time. So yes, Slonimski is a Talmudology hero.

The Chanukah Polemic of 1891

In December 1891 Slonimski published a short essay in the Hebrew language journal Hazefirah, which he happened to edit. In the piece he claimed that the Chanukah miracle of the oil discussed on today’s page of Talmud may not have happened, and that furthermore Maimonides himself did not appear to believe in the historicity of the story. There was indeed a miracle at Chanukah, he claimed: it was the victory of the Hasmoneans over the Greeks. But the miracle of the oil was witnessed only by a handful of the Cohanim who entered the Temple. “Who else besides them” he wrote “saw anything?”

In support of his skepticism Slonimski cited Maimonides himself. Here is how Maimonides described the events surrounding the oil:

רמב׳ם משנה תורה הלכית מגילה וחנוכה ג, ב

וּכְשֶׁגָּבְרוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל עַל אוֹיְבֵיהֶם וְאִבְּדוּם בְּכ''ה בְּחֹדֶשׁ כִּסְלֵו הָיָה וְנִכְנְסוּ לַהֵיכָל וְלֹא מָצְאוּ שֶׁמֶן טָהוֹר בַּמִּקְדָּשׁ אֶלָּא פַּךְ אֶחָד וְלֹא הָיָה בּוֹ לְהַדְלִיק אֶלָּא יוֹם אֶחָד בִּלְבַד וְהִדְלִיקוּ מִמֶּנּוּ נֵרוֹת הַמַּעֲרָכָה שְׁמוֹנָה יָמִים עַד שֶׁכָּתְשׁוּ זֵיתִים וְהוֹצִיאוּ שֶׁמֶן טָהוֹר 

When, on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, the Jews had emerged victorious over their foes and destroyed them, they re-entered the Temple where they found only one jar of pure oil, enough to be lit for only a single day; yet they used it for lighting the required set of lamps for eight days, until they managed to press olives and produce pure oil.

Do you see what is missing? Slonimski did. There is no mention of any miracle. Instead Maimonides seems to hedge, and notes instead that “they used it for lighting the required set of lamps for eight days.” Slonimski suggested that the Menorah was lit for a short time each evening, and then the lamps were extinguished, instead of burning through the rest of the night. That is how the oil managed to last eight days. Nothing miraculous to see here.

The Response, and THE response to THE response…

Dozens of books and essays were written in response to Slonimski’s one page essay (you can find them here, together with a helpful Hebrew language post about the episode.) For example in 1892 in Warsaw, Shmuel Alexandrov published Agadat Pach HaShemen (The Story of the Flask of Oil). The book was dedicated to Chaim Slonimski, and explained the miracle of the oil allegorically. Conservative reaction to the book was swift and strong. So much so that Alexandrov later wrote this retraction:

והנני אומר גם מפורש כי כל מה שכתבתי בקונטרסי אגדת פך השמן… הוא רק בתור בירור וביאור האגדות האלה ע”ד הביקורת, אולם בנוגע לגוף הקבלות והמסורות העתיקות המסתעפות מהאגדות האלו, הנני אומר מפורש אם קבלה היא נקבל, ואם אולי נמצאו ביטויים בספרי אגדת פך השמן שפלטה קולמוסי, הנוגעים בגוף הקבלה, הנני מתחרט ע”ז חרטה גמורה. מטרתו בכל מאמרינו השונים היא רק לבנות ולנטוע ולא לסתור ולעקור חלילה

I wish to explicitly clarify that everything I wrote in by book Agadat Pach HaShemen was written only to clarify the stories, but regarding the received tradition about theses actual events, I want to state explicitly…that I completely regret certain expressions that slipped from my pen regarding these events. My purpose throughout was to build and to plant, and not to destroy or uproot…

(You can find Agadat Pach HaShemen at the Jewish National Library here. But you won’t find it on HebrewBook.org. I wonder why).

As Marc Shapiro has pointed out, there are examples of several other orthodox authors who appeared to ignore or deny the reality of the miracle of Chanukah. He notes that “ It could be that Isidore Epstein should be added to the list, as in his classic work Judaism he describes Hanukkah and the kindling of lights, but mentions nothing about the miracle….Yet I think it is telling that he does not even say something like, “according to tradition a cruse of oil with enough for one day burnt for eight.”” Another traditional author who ignores the miracle was Rabbi Zev Yavetz, a founder of the Mizrachi movement. The miracle of the oil is simply not mentioned in his fourteen volume Toldot Yisrael. Marc also points out that the miracle of the oil is omitted in R. Joseph Hertz’s  Authorized Daily Prayer Book, (or, as it is known by its short title, The Authorised Daily Prayer Book of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire,) used by orthodox Jews in Britain for generations.

Whether you believe that the miracle was an improbable military victory or long-lasting oil, Chanukah remains a beloved holiday for the Jewish people. On that, at least, we can all agree.

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