Heroism

In 175 BCE, Antiochus Epiphanes IV rose to power in the Hellenistic Kingdom and worked towards strengthening the process of hellenization in the Land of Israel. He ransacked the Temple and took amongst his spoils the golden menorah that stood there. He ordered the Jews to revere him as a god. When he realized that the Jews were refusing to obey this order, he declared his opposition to the Jewish religion and in 167 BCE enforced harsh religious laws called “the decrees of Antiochus”, which included prohibitions on observing Shabbat and Jewish holidays, Torah study and ritual circumcision. Whoever insisted on keeping Jewish commandments was summarily executed.

The Book of Maccabees, which describes the events of that period, tells the story of Matityahu the Priest, a member of the Hasmonean dynasty from the village of Modi’in, who refused to submit to the king’s decrees. He was joined by his five sons, among them Judah Maccabee, as well as other residents of his village. This began the Hasmonean revolt. Many joined the revolt, yet compared to Antiochus’ army, they were few in number. Their means of warfare were also much less sophisticated than those of the opposing army.

Despite this, the Hasmoneans had many successes in their war against the Greeks, including the warfare tactics they undertook and their familiarity with the territory. Following the defeat of Antiochus’ army in a decisive battle, the religious decrees were abolished. The Hasmoneans reclaimed the Temple. On the 25th of Kislev, they cleansed the Temple from pagan altars, lit the menorah in it and celebrated its dedication (in Hebrew – chanukah, thus the name of the holiday). The Maccabees declared that these days would become a holiday celebrated each year over the span of eight days – the holiday of Chanukah. Additionally, in 142 BCE, the Hasmoneans successfully established an independent Jewish state. 

The Book of Maccabees, written during that same period, describes Judah, his brothers and their fellow warriors as heroes, possessing warlike resourcefulness, strategic ability and courage despite their fewer numbers and relatively meager weaponry as compared to the king’s army. It also describes their faith that God would come to their aid.

In contrast to the Book of Maccabees, Chazal (our Sages), who lived several decades and even hundreds of years following the revolt, attributed the revolt’s success solely to Divine help. In the prayer they formulated to honor the event, “Al Hanisim” (“On Miracles”), they mentioned God’s heroism and miracles:  “You delivered the strong [the Greeks] to the hands of the weak (the Maccabees)” and refrained from attributing warfare capabilities to the Maccabees themselves. 

With the rise of the Zionist movement, the Maccabees’ heroism became the main focus of the Chanukah holiday. The Zionists viewed themselves as continuing the path of the Maccabees and drew inspiration from them. They hoped that just as the Maccabees had succeeded with heroism, courage and resourcefulness, to break free from foreign rule and establish an independent Jewish kingdom, so too, with heroism and determination, they would succeed in breaking free from foreign rule and establishing an independent Jewish state in the Land of Israel.

This perception is reflected in Menashe Rabina’s Zionist song, “Mi Yemalel (Who Can Retell)”, which focuses on the Maccabean victory in light of Zionist aspirations for victory. The song is based on a verse from Psalms (106, 2): “Whoever tells about God’s mighty deeds will tell of all of God’s glory”.  The first words of the song are identical to the first words of the Biblical verse (Mi Yemalel). The song incorporates additional allusions which overturn Chazal’s view relating to the source of the heroism. For example, the words “savior of the people” – from Chazal’s point of view, the “savior” is the messiah, a messenger of God and not an ordinary person. In the song, it is people who will act to save themselves.  And the words “in those days as in ours” – in the “Al Hanisim” prayer, these words refer to the actions of God who performed miracles and wonders for the Jewish people. In the Zionist song these same words refer to the people’s heroism .

The Book of Maccabees I – an ancient book describing the story of the struggle between the Maccabees and the Greeks. The book was written at around the same time that the events described in it took place. It was originally written in Hebrew, yet it is known to us only in its translation to Greek.