Jeremy Rosen
Chanukah: The Truth About the Maccabees
Summary
Jeremy Rosen discusses Chanukah’s controversial history dating back to the rebellion against Greek oppression, led by figures like Judah Maccabee. He mentions how it later evolved to emphasize the spiritual and mystical aspects of Judaism, symbolizing resistance to cultural assimilation. The festival’s evolving meaning encompasses both historical events and spiritual significance, leaving room for personal interpretation.
Jeremy Rosen
Manchester-born Jeremy Rosen was educated at Cambridge University England and Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem. He has practiced as an orthodox rabbi, as principal of Carmel College in the UK, and as professor at the Faculty for Comparative Religion in Antwerp, Belgium. He has written and lectured extensively in the UK and the US, where he now resides and was the rabbi of the Persian-Jewish community in Manhattan.
Basically, it’s a storybook. It’s a story about people at the time, about how they were dealing with the Syrian oppression, how they were dealing with the circumstances.
In every temple, from the first temple that Solomon built until it was destroyed in 586 before the common era by the Babylonians, there was the seven-branched candelabrum. And the seven-branched candelabrum always had one of its lights called the Western light, permanently burning day and night. And when the temple was destroyed, that light went out. When Judah Maccabee came back and rededicated the temple, they had to light that light on the seven-branched candelabrum. And that’s what it was really until the Talmudic period. It wasn’t until the Talmudic period, roughly speaking 500 years afterwards, that we suddenly have this idea of eight lights for eight days.