Translated by Shulamith Berman

This week I was asked the origin of the concept “Holiday of Lights”. My initial assumption was that it is a modern idea. We were all raised to believe in a twofold modern Hanukkah – the national Hanukkah of the Maccabees and the spiritual aspect of Hanukkah. I intend, later on, to dispute this view, but perhaps Hanukkah was known as the Holiday of Lights before it was called Hanukkah.

The concept of the Holiday of Lights first appears in the writings of Joseph ben Matityahu – Josephus, nearly two thousand years ago, in the year 90 C.E. He describes the battle and the victory of the Hasmoneans in chapter 12:

“And now, after the officers of Antiochus were repeatedly defeated, Judah called the people together, saying that after the many victories which the Lord had granted them, it was incumbent upon them to go up to Jerusalem to purify the Temple and offer sacrifices according to the Law.”

First of all it is important to note that the battle was over, apart from the reference to the Temple. After all the victories, Judah the Maccabee had an inner conviction, a clear intuition, that the time had come to return to the Holy Temple. Before he even mentions the Menorah he speaks of purifying the Temple and offering sacrifices.

“But when the multitude came to Jerusalem and found the Temple desolate and the gates burnt and weed-covered – when he beheld this sight Judah and his men were shocked and they began to weep”

Judah the Maccabee arrives with all the soldiers, and they weep at the spectacle of the weed-covered Temple. I am not aware of any comparable description, except perhaps the moment when our troops came upon the Western Wall during the Six Day War.

“He selected some of his soldiers and ordered them to fight the men who were guarding the citadel, until he had purified the Temple. After it had been carefully cleansed he brought in new vessels: the Menorah, the table and the altar, which were all made of gold. He also hung the curtains (Parochet) on the gates and added doors to them. He tore down the altar and built a new one from stones which had not been hewn with iron tools. So on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Kislev, which the Macedonians call Apelleus, they lit the lamps that were on the Menorah and offered incense upon the incense altar. They placed the bread upon the table and offered sacrifices upon the new altar. Now it so fell out that these things were done three years later to the day from the time when the Jews’ Divine worship had changed to worship of profane and impure matters…”

Now we are coming to the point. What form did Hanukkah take when first they entered the Temple on that first 25^th day of Kislev? We know that we are commanded to light Hanukkah candles, but what happened there?

“Judah and the men of his town celebrated the restoration of the sacrifices in the Temple for eight days, and omitted no sort of celebration, but made their hearts glad with expensive and splendid sacrifices. And he honored God with songs of praise on the harp, and he delighted the people.”

Remember that until three years previously, the people had regularly visited the Temple. Now, after three years of complete crisis, three years when all seemed lost, everything was reversed.

“They were so very glad at the revival of their customs, when, after a long intermission, they unexpectedly regained their freedom of worship, that they made it a law for posterity to celebrate the restoration of the Temple worship for eight days. And from that day to this we celebrate the festival and call it Lights.”

He adds an explanation:

“It seems to me that the holiday received its name because that merit (to worship God) appeared when it was unhoped for.”

Interesting. According to his explanation the concept “Holiday of Lights” is not connected to lights, since Judah had not yet laid down any rules relating to them. Rather, the aspect of light relates to the unexpecteness, the surprise, like blinding sunshine. Suddenly, a great light shone, giving a new light, beyond all expectation. This was the great joy that inspired the name.

I will return to the Holiday of Lights, but now I want to approach matters from a different angle. I maintain that when we learn about Hanukkah we omit a significant historical aspect which can provide us with an entirely different spiritual viewpoint. But first I must provide a brief introduction. I recently returned from a visit with my students to Poland, where I became reacquainted with one of the great personalities of the age – Rabbi Yitzhak Nissenboim, who died in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1943. He left a legacy of wonderful writings, even more impressive when one considers that many of them were written during the war. Rabbi Nissenboim spent time in Israel, where he helped to establish the early settlements. He then returned to Warsaw to encourage his countrymen to come to Israel, and finally he perished there. But his words live on.

We are all familiar with the Beraita which forms the basis for our Hanukkiah:

“Our sages say: the mitzva of Hanukkah is for each household to light one menorah. Those who wish to be more meticulous light one menorah for each member of the household. As for those who wish to be even more meticulous, Beit Shammai say that on the first night eight candles are lit, decreasing by one each night; while Beit Hillel say that on the first night one candle is lit, increasing by one each night.”

Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai were in existence more than one hundred years after the 25^th of Kislev which was just described here. Hillel lived in the time of Herod. So why does it only now matter whether one increases or decreases the candles? What were they doing for an entire century? The holiday has existed for one hundred years and only now has it become an issue?

Another interesting point: on no other mitzva is there a debate to determine the definitions of meticulousness. There are always Jews who are more meticulous and others who are less so, but in no case does this constitute the definition of the mitzva. All other mitzvot are clearly defined. Let’s return to the text: Two Amoraim, R’ Yossi bar Abin and R’ Yossi bar Zebeida, who both lived in Israel, disagreed on this matter. One said that Beit Shammai referred to incoming days while Beit Hillel referred to departing days. The other claimed that the reference by Beit Shammai was with regard to “Parei hechag”, rather than days. On Succoth we have a decreasing order – fourteen bullocks on the first day, thirteen on the second, and so on, with seven on the last day. In the same way, Beit Shammai favors a decreasing order of candle-lighting. Very strange! What’s the connection between Succot and Hanukkah? Beit Hillel claims, meanwhile, that we ascend in holiness, we do not descend. This brief anecdote about the two sages is very sparse of detail, but it does tell us one thing, they did not relate to the issue of ascending and descending days, but to the fact that one of them mentioned Succot while the other did not, remarking instead that we always ascend in holiness.

I return to the question with which I opened – why was this an issue one hundred years later? We must bear in mind that during the time of Hillel the Elder, the entire Hasmonean House was undergoing a revolutionary change, continuing up until the time of Herod, who introduced the Roman influence into Jerusalem. We often forget that the Temple built by Herod in Jerusalem, which the Gemarah claims to be the most beautiful building in the world, bore the emblem of the Roman eagle. This was not the result of Hellenistic influences but the work of Herod himself, who sought to replace the Hasmonean dynasty with one of his own.

One more historic note: Beit Shammai is referring to Succot. One Succot celebration, which dates from that time, possibly transcends all the others. Succot is the holiday of the four species, of the convocation, of building the succah, but on that holiday our sages tell us we also celebrate simchat bet hashoeva by pouring out water. Interestingly enough, the “ikar”, the essence of this celebration is not water but fire – lots and lots of light! Our sages describe the custom of Hillel the Elder at the simchat bet hashoeva celebration – “he who has not seen that has never seen true joy in his life…”

“Hðùéàassidim and others would dance before them with lighted torches, uttering songs of praise.”

One of the high points of the celebration is described in Gemarah Succah:

“It is taught of Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel that he rejoiced greatly at Simchat bet Hashoeva. He would take eight lighted torches (note the number) and throw one while he caught another, and never did one touch the other.”

He was juggling – Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel – the Nasi. He stood in the center, juggling with eight torches, which never touched. But that’s only the beginning – there’s more!

“He stuck his thumbs into the earth, bowed, and kissed the ground, and sprang upright”. Then he took up the torches once again – “and nobody else could do likewise”.

This remarkable feat was executed by none less than Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel the Elder. What exactly happened there? The beraita tells us: “Happy were those hasidim who were righteous even from childhood” (what does this have to do with simchat beit hashoeva?) “All agree that he who has never sinned is fortunate indeed, and he who has sinned need only repent to be forgiven. It is taught of Hillel the Elder, that when he celebrated simchat beit hashoeva he said as follows: If I am here, all is here. But if I am not here, who is here?” This is remarkable, since it is attributed to the man of whom the Gemara says that “never was there a man as humble as Hillel”. I continue: “He used to say: my legs lead me to the place that I love” (clearly he was referring to the Temple and to the dances and celebrations. Now comes the connection between man and God), “If you will come to My house, I will come to your house. But if you will not come to My house, I will not come to your house. As it is written: In every place where I mention My name I will come to bless you.” Note that it does not say “where you mention My name” although the reference is to man. It is as if God is saying that He, too, comes to rejoice with us at simchat beit hashoeva. The Gemara ends with the following: “He saw a skull floating on the water, and said: because you have drowned others, they have drowned you, and those who drowned you will themselves be drowned.” What is the connection between all these things?

“Because you have drowned others, they have drowned you, and those who drowned you will themselves be drowned” – this wonderful saying by Hillel the Elder is to be found in the Ethics of the Fathers. Simply put, it means that you were cut down because you cut down someone else, but in the end those who did it to you will also pay the price – there is method and order in the world. But why does it appear here? It doesn’t exactly belong with descriptions of joy and celebration, with simchat beit hashoeva! Hillel the Elder is addressing the multitudes who have come to the Temple built by Herod, the most beautiful edifice in the world.

The beraita describes it in detail:

“He who has not witnessed simchat beit hashoeva has not seen true celebration in his life. He who has not seen Jerusalem in her glory has not seen beauty in his life. He who has not seen the building of the Temple has not seen a magnificent edifice in his life.”

What exactly is the “building of the Temple”? The Gemara promptly explains:

“What is it? Abaye says (and some say it was Rav Hasda) that it was the building of Herod.”

This must be carefully understood. Hillel the Elder lived at a difficult time, a time of great complexity. On the one hand, he could come to the magnificent Temple built by Herod, yet Herod himself was a murder par excellence – of that there is no doubt! Herod is the man who attempted to eradicate all signs of the Hasmonean House. He aligned himself quite openly with Rome – hence the emblem of the Roman eagle on Herod’s Temple. Herod was focused on architecture, construction and engineering - and the influence of Rome was gradually making headway. Hillel the Elder was the Nasi, the leader, and it was his duty to teach the people to come and worship in the Temple despite the fact that it was Herod’s edifice. Hillel stood before a nation who would shortly be exposed to Rome and its idols, a nation who would soon face the longest exile in history, and both Shammai and Hillel were very much aware of their responsibilities. By the way, one of the most horrendous crimes committed by Herod was that he beheaded Aristobulus, and cast his head into a pool in Jericho. Could this possibly be the skull that Hillel beheld floating on the water? On the occasion of simchat beit hashoeva Hillel spoke of great things. The elders described two kinds of people, those who were righteous even in childhood, and “whose adulthood put their childhood to shame”, and those who were not such exemplary children, but “whose adulthood was such that it atoned for their childhood”.

Incidentally, the first tie-in between Succot and Hanukkah appears at the beginning of the second chapter of the Book of Hasmoneans. There it is written that when Judah the Maccabee entered the Holy Temple they rejoiced, as we have seen, but there was much more. They brought with them the four species and completed all the rites and ceremonies that they had been unable to observe the previous Succot, when they had been unable to enter the Temple.

These were momentous, historic times. Herod was intent on erasing every trace of the Hasmonean House. What was their first act after the victory? They inaugurated great public celebrations, centered on the Temple. Which brings me back to my question – why did it take Hillel and Shammai one hundred years to discuss the manner of lighting the Hanukkah lamps – because there was no need for individual households to light their own lamps during that time, since the time was given over to public celebrations commemorating the Hasmonean victory. Herod couldn’t tolerate this, he had to put a stop to it, so Hillel and Shammai instructed the people to bring the lights from the Temple and public squares to the doorways of private homes. In this way they taught the people that if ever the Temple was destroyed, or if the Roman eagle left its imprint on Herod’s Temple, we would each have our own “Mikdash Me’at” at the entrance to our own inner selves. The mitzva of Hanukkah was thus transformed to the light of each person, and the focus moved to the individual house and home. The miracle was originally celebrated in public, in the center of Jerusalem, in the Temple, but after one hundred years its dimensions were totally altered, and the celebration of the miracle was entirely focused on the Jewish home. Since then there have been many times when the miracle was celebrated in a closed room within the innermost part of the home, because in times of danger the Hanukkah lamp could not be kindled outside. What of the person who lives alone in a room because he must not be seen? What of the person hiding in a cellar? How does the law apply to them? They, too, light the Hanukkah candles and make the benediction over them, because the proclamation of the miracle is first and foremost from within. That is the great light that we have succeeded in shining forth, time and again, even when the situation seemed hopeless. That is the great light of Mattathias and his brothers, which will shine again in the center of Jerusalem in the Holy Temple, but even if this is not possible, it will not cease to shine, even for a second!

On Succot, Herod had no problem at all, because on Succot no lights were kindled. But then Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel took eight torches and began to juggle with them. Hillel said: “Because you have drowned others you yourself were drowned, and in the end those who drowned you will themselves be drowned.” He further said: “If I am here, all is here.” Here we have two personalities facing off against each other: Herod the ruler against Hillel the Elder. Hillel represents everything which is in opposition to the great palaces and architecture of Herod. The Roman eagle soars aloft, but we continue coming to the Temple. “If you do not come to My house, I will not come to your house, but if you come to My house I will come to your house”. This is why, in that beraita, three things are mentioned: He who did not see simchat beit hashoeva in the time of Hillel, never saw true celebration in his life. He who did not merit to see Jerusalem in her glory, never saw a truly beautiful city. But he who did not behold the Temple built by Herod, never saw a truly beautiful building, because despite the fact that it was Herod’s, it was the Holy Temple, and one could enter inside.

I mentioned Rabbi Nissenboim, who referred to Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai, and from there we passed on to the fact that the mitzva of nerot Hanukkah moved from the Temple to the private home of each and every individual. Now I ask myself whether perhaps the time has come to light the Hanukkah lamps, if not in the Temple, then at least in the main centers? To move the emphasis back from the home to outside. We have not yet merited the Holy Temple, but perhaps we can speed things up a bit? Let’s consider the mitzva of “proclaiming the miracle”. We know that for the first hundred years it was possible to do so in Jerusalem, but is this really what “proclaiming the miracle” consists of – lighting a little candle near the house? Is this a proclamation? If you want to announce something, it should be done in a serious manner!

If I take my menorah and light it in the city square, even if I am as meticulous as it is possible to be, I have not observed the mitzvah – in fact, I have achieved nothing at all. If I do so on the first night of Hanukkah I will have made three blessings in vain, whereas on the other nights I have only made two blessings in vain! However, if I take that same little menorah and put in a tiny drop of oil – the cheapest will do – or a simple wax candle, and I light it in my room, then I have fulfilled the mitzvah of ner Hanukkah. So where’s the proclamation?

It’s very simple. The secret is in what exactly I intend to proclaim. Is it the miracle of victory, of battle, of the small cruse of oil? If so, I should rightly announce it in the town square. But I am certain that this is not the answer. Like any good advertiser, I want to promote the product that I’m marketing – and that is the Jewish home that has never been vanquished. That’s why I put the light there, so that everyone will see my product. This is what Antiochus Epiphanes and others tried to extinguish – both Greeks and Hellenists. The basic idea is this: this was the first battle in history where Jews were fought not because they were Jews, but “to make them forget Your Torah and Your laws”. For the Jews to gain immunity from this battle, all that was necessary was for them to accept Hellenism.

The first stage of this battle was the attempt to force every bride to submit to being violated by the Hegemony – the dominant authority. By the way, there are many festivals where women were essential to the miracle, as it is written: “They too were part of the miracle” – the intention being that they were the essence of the miracle, for example Esther, and the women in Egypt. On Hanukkah the women are essential to the miracle, which is why the mitzvah is equally incumbent upon them.

The Shulhan Arukh on hilchot Hanukkah begins as follows:

“On the 25^th of Kislev begins the 8 days of Hanukkah. It is forbidden to fast or to deliver eulogies for the dead, but it is permitted to work. It is customary for women to refrain from working while the candles are lit, but some say that it is incumbent upon them to refrain from working.”

This is very interesting. The Mishna B’rura says: “the women – especially the women since the miracle was brought about by their hands.” What miracle does it refer to? This is the story of the heroism of Judith “Judith who fed…”. For this reason the Ramah says:

“There are those who say that cheese must be eaten on Hanukkah because of the miracle that was wrought with the milk.”

On the matter of cheese and gastronomy there is no issue of leniency – if you don’t want to eat, don’t. But this is not the case with women, regarding the Hanukkah lights – leniency is not permissible. What is the miracle? That Judith fed the enemy. The Mishna B’rura says as follows:

“She was the daughter of Yochanan the High Priest. The edict was proclaimed that every betrothed woman should first be ravished by the ruling authority (“Tafsar”). She fed him cheese to cause him to be inebriated, and cut off his head. Then the others all fled.”

This, briefly, is the story of Judith. It has many variations, but they are all essentially the same. This was the cause of the great Revolt - it gave the Hasmoneans the strength to fight.

In my opinion, Judith is not the only woman connected to Hanukkah. Three women appear in connection with the Hanukkah story. Bear in mind that this festival represents the home. The women who motivated the redemption of Israel in Egypt, who motivated the Song of Miriam, those who supported Esther in the royal palace – these women are the symbol that the Hegemony wanted to subjugate and bend to his will. He would begin by claiming the right to ravish every bride – this is the paramount injury that could be inflicted on the purity of the home, and in fact the battle was waged around this very issue. While the Temple was in existence, Hanukkah centered around it. After the destruction of the Temple, the celebration of independence, of victory, did not center around the town square but in the home. What determines true independence is whether we still have a home, and whether it shelters a family. The light of each man and his household – that is the mitzvah of Hanukkah, and everything is centered therein. The battle of Hellenism was essentially against the home, beginning with the mother, the bride whom the Hegemony seeks to ravish before her marriage.

Three prominent women lived at approximately the same period. One was Judith, the second was famous in an entirely different way. The gemara mentions Miriam daughter of Bilga. By the way, archaeological digs between Jerusalem and Shechem uncovered Bilga’s Cave. Bilga was one of the priestly clans. There were twenty four such groups, and one of the most prominent and important was the house of Bilga, in the same that the Hasmoneans belonged to the Yehoyariv faction. The beraita in Masechet Succah tells us that the House of Bilga was punished and lost its influence. What happened?

“It is told of Miriam, daughter of Bilga, that she renounced her faith and married one Sardiot (an important man) from the Greek kingdoms. When the Greeks entered the Temple – she entered with them, “one of ours”, Miriam, daughter of the priest of an important priestly faction - she kicked with her sandal upon the altar – in contempt – and said “Lokus, lokus – she addressed the Holy One, Blessed be He by a Greek name at the altar. “Lokus” translates as “preying wolf”. “For how long will you waste the money of Israel, yet you do not come to their defence at their hour of need? When the sages heard of the matter they closed the ring (used for sacrifices) and sealed up their window (of the priestly family of Bilga) …”

When the matter came to the knowledge of the sages they demoted the House of Bilga and stripped them of their influence. The Gemara has the following question: “Because of his daughter he was fined?” – why is Bilga, the head of the priestly clan, responsible for the fact that his daughter behaved in this manner? Certainly her marriage to a Greek Sardiot is a grave matter, but is Bilga responsible? “Yes, says Abaye” – the father bears the guilt for his daughter’s behavior. “As the saying goes, if a child curses in the marketplace he must have learned it at home” – if a child uses bad language he surely picked it up from his father or mother at home. She wasn’t raised in a vacuum, she was the daughter of a man of stature, the head of a priestly clan. If she chose to marry a Greek Sardiot the cause must be sought in her home. The Gemara goes on to ask “So because of her father and mother the entire clan is penalized?” After all, the clan numbers a great many people. “Abaye says: Woe to the wicked person and woe to his neighbors, blessed be the righteous and blessed be his neighbors”. I confess that I’ve never truly understood this!

We have just heard about Judith. Now we encounter another important woman who is her exact opposite. Behind the story of the Greeks who interfered with the Hasmoneans we find Judith. So too, behind the story of the Hellenists we find another woman, an influential woman, who kicks the altar with her sandal. Miriam the daughter of Bilga is contagious, in a sense, so the entire priestly clan suffers. Miriam the daughter of Bilga represents yet another clan. If Judith represents the national awakening, the great revolt of the people, Miriam Bilga’s daughter symbolizes the trend to Hellenism, “Lokus, Lokus, For how long will you continue to waste the money of Israel?”

There is yet another great woman, a great heroine, quite distinct from Judith. She belonged to the third faction of the Jewish people – the woman whom we are accustomed to refer to as “Hannah and her seven sons”. It is interesting to note that the Gemara does not mention her by name – she is referred to as a woman with seven sons. The only time she is referred to by name in the Gemara she is called Miriam bat Tanchum – Nechama:

“Rabbi Yehuda said: This is a woman and her seven sons. It is told of Miriam bat Tanchum who was arrested with her seven sons. The first was brought before the emperor. They said to him: Bow down to the image. He said to them: It is written in the Torah ‘I am the Lord your God’. They took him outside and killed him. The second son was brought before the emperor. They said to him: Bow down to the image. He said to them: It is written in the Torah ‘You shall have no other gods before Me’. They took him outside and killed him. They brought the third and said to him: Bow down to the image. He said to them: It is written in the Torah ‘You shall not bow down to another god’. They took him outside and killed him. They brought the fourth son. They said to him: Bow down to the image. He said to them: It is written in the Torah ‘You shall not sacrifice to other gods’. They took him outside and killed him. They brought the fifth son and said to him: Bow down to the image. He said to them: It is written in the Torah ‘Hear O Israel the Lord your God, the Lord is One’. They killed him too. They brought the sixth son and said to him: Bow down to the image. He said to them: It is written in the Torah ‘You shall know this day … that the Lord is God’, and they took him outside and killed him.

“Bring the seventh…” He is the one I want to talk about now. “The youngest of all. The emperor said to him: ‘My son, bow down to the idol’ – note the unusual opening sentence. None of the other sons were addressed in this fashion. We expect the seventh son, like the others, to quote a verse from the Torah. But he is very young. Perhaps he didn’t know any Biblical verses. So he answered directly and to the point: “He said to him: ‘Heavens forbid!’ The emperor asked him why? And he said: ‘Because this is what is written in our Torah: We are already foresworn to the Lord our God, that we will not exchange Him for any other god. And He, in His turn, has sworn not to exchange us for any other nation.’ Then the emperor said to him: ‘Your brothers lived long and full lives. You are young, you have not yet lived a long and full life – bow down to the idol.’ Then he said to him ‘It is written in our Torah: The Lord will reign for ever, and it is also written: God will reign for ever, but nations will perish from His land – you are null and void, and so is your dominion, but the Holy One, Blessed be He, will live forever.”

“I don’t have the same problems as my brothers. I’m not impressed by your grandeur and majesty. I’m still young, so I have no doubts at all. You are nothing – your glory is temporary and fleeting and you will soon be gone.”

Six dead sons.

“Then the emperor said to him: ‘Your dead brothers lie before me. See, I will throw my ring on the ground before the idol. Pick it up, so all will say that you heeded the order of the emperor.’ Then he said to the emperor ‘Woe is to you, emperor! Woe is to you, emperor! You are so concerned with your honor – yet the Holy One Blessed be He is so much greater than you.” Then they took him outside to kill him. His mother said to them: ‘Let me kiss my son’. They permitted her to do so. She said to the emperor: ‘By your life, O emperor, kill me first and then kill him.’ He said ‘I cannot heed your words, since it is written in your Torah: You shall not kill him and his son on the same day’.

She said to him ‘O evildoer, have you already fulfilled all the commandments of the Torah that only this one is left to you?’ Whereupon the emperor gave the order to kill her son. His mother fell upon him, embracing and kissing him, and she said ‘My son, go to our Patriarch Abraham and tell him: so says my mother, You offered one sacrifice, while I have offered seven sacrifices. For you it was a test, but for me it is real.’ While she was embracing and kissing him, they killed him. She then ascended to the roof and fell and died. A voice then issued from Heaven and said: “The mother of sons rejoices”.

Judith and Hannah are two entirely different heroines. One inspired a great revolt, an upheaval and radical change. The other, Hannah or Miriam bat Tanchum, was the mother waged a different kind of revolt. She was a mother who had brought seven sons into the world, sons who quoted verses from the Torah. And Miriam bat Bilga was the third woman of that period. The entire Hellenistic war was focused on her home.

Rambam concludes the laws of Hanukkah with a rather strange halacha – if one has but one coin, sufficient either for a Hanukkah candle or for a candle to light his home, he should spend it on a candle for the home, because it goes towards shlom bayit – peace in the home. I never understood the relevance of this halacha in this particular place. But when one comprehends the purpose of Hanukkah, it becomes apparent that this halacha in fact illustrates the very pinnacle of the festival. As long as the Holy Temple was in existence, it was possible to celebrate in the Temple and in the neighboring town square. When it was no longer possible to celebrate in the Temple because of the presence of Herod, or because jackals roamed the ruins of the city, each and every one of us had to become a kind of personal temple. And this is where the power and might of these three women found expression.

For Hannah, not one child remained. It is possible that Miriam bat Bilga had some children – they were Jewish because she was Jewish, but no trace of them and their rebelliousness remains. But all of Hannah’s seven sons survived, in a sense, and that’s the Hanukkah miracle! The bravery of Judith and Hannah stands against the deeds of Miriam bat Bilga, who incurred the demotion of an entire priestly clan. The whole Hanukkah story is one of a festival which changed from a holiday of great light in Jerusalem to one of small lights, not well advertised, not well marketed, and yet the product continued to be distributed for five thousand years, each year anew. The holiday of Lights, celebrating the Hasmonean victory against Greece, continues to this day.

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