Introduction
At its most basic, the Chanukah story is a narrative of two triumphs. First, the victory of the Maccabees in their revolt against the Seleucids, reestablishing Jewish political independence in the land of Israel. This military victory is compounded by the miraculous maintenance of the pure oil needed to light the Menorah for eight nights. Less often discussed is the painful dynamics that led directly to the conflict between Maccabees and Greeks — the intense social conflict between an increasingly Hellenistic portion of the population and those resistant to those religious and cultural shifts.
Even before the rise, corruption, and fall of the Hasmonean state, the warring factions of Jews in the Land of Israel suffered terrible violence at one another’s hands. The Seleucids’ violent imposition of a syncretic version of Hellenized Judaism that involved the worship of images, including Zeus, as well as the forced consumption of pig meat by their chosen Kohen Gadol, was facilitated by the many Jews who likely supported some version of Hellenistic Judaism, even if they did not wish to see that preference enacted with violence. Those who fought in the Maccabean revolt committed terrible acts as well, from forcibly circumcising the children of their Hellenized Jewish enemies to killing collaborators.
Today, Jews are once again experiencing deep divisions. Differing visions of what lies at the heart of Jewish meaning and ethics threaten to drive apart both local Jewish communities and our people more broadly. We offer the following texts and guiding questions to help you and your community build capacity for holding profound difference with respect and without enforcing uniformity.