Lessons from the Maccabees
Sermon, December 10, 2004
Rabbi Bruce Kadden

We have lit the Chanukah candles, heard the arousing story, and sung our inspiring songs to celebrate our Festival of Lights.  But when all is said and done, what is it that we should take away from this ceremony?  What lessons should we learn from the Maccabees?

The first lesson is not to be afraid to stand up for your beliefs.  It is very easy to be intimidated and not say or do anything, especially if everyone else seems to believe something else.  One of the hardest things to do is to be the only person speak out on a particular issue, to say something that is unpopular, or even to stand up for someone who is being picked on, when no one else will.

The Maccabees not only had to stand up to the Syrian-Greeks, who had forbidden most forms of Jewish practice and who forced Jews to bow down to altars, but they also had to stand up to other Jews who were more than willing to go along with these rules.  When no one else would challenge the Jewish leaders who were assimilated and who acquiesced to Syrian-Greek demands, the Maccabees stood up and said “Enough is enough.  It is time to do something before it is too late.  It is time to take action.”

Throughout history, we Jews, as a minority, have often been the ones to speak up, even when we were not the ones being picked on or discriminated against.  Because we know what it is like to suffer, because we have learned what it means to go it alone, we have been willing to take a stand, not only for ourselves, but also for others. 

It is not an accident that so many of the people involved in protest movements have been Jewish.  Speaking up for what we believe is right is one of the important lessons that we learn from the Maccabees.

A second lesson is that sometimes we need to change course in midstream when the way we have always done things does not work any more.  For when the fighting against the Syrian-Greeks started, it seemed that some of the rebels refused to fight on Shabbat because they did not want to violate the laws of Shabbat.  When they were attacked, they did not respond in any way or even try to reinforce their hiding place.  They, of course, believed that they were doing the right thing by not resisting, but they were quickly wiped out.

Witnessing this slaughter, Mattathias and his supporters realized that they would not be able to survive unless they fought back.  So they resolved, “If anyone attacks us on the Sabbath day, let us fight against him and not all die, as our brothers died in the hiding-places.”  Jewish law eventually codified this position, not only allowing one to defend oneself on Shabbat, but also affirming that the saving of life takes precedence over the Sabbath, or any other ritual observance for that matter.

The Maccabees recognized that their very survival depended on being able to fight back on Shabbat.  In the past they had not fought on Shabbat, believing it was wrong.  Faced with the choice of almost certain death if they continued to refrain from fighting on Shabbat and a chance to survive if they agreed to fight back, they changed their practice, and began defending themselves on Shabbat.  So the second lesson we learn from the Maccabees is that sometimes we need to change.

The third and final lesson is really not one that the Maccabees taught, but one that we derive from the rabbis of the Talmud, who helped shape our observance of Chanukah.  They were bothered by the fact the Chanukah was a celebration of a military victory.  They didn’t believe that we should glorify war, even a war for our very survival.  They excluded the accounts of this war in the Books of Maccabees from the Jewish Bible when it came time to decide which books would be included in its third and final section, Ketuvim/the Writings, and which would not.

And they retold the Chanukah story as follows:  “On the 25th of Kislev begin the days of Chanukah, which are eight on which mourning and fasting are forbidden.  For when the Greeks entered the Temple, they defiled all the oils, and when the Hasmoneans prevailed against and defeated them, they searched and found only one cruse of oil containing the seal of the high priest, and which contained sufficient for one day’s lighting only; yet a miracle happened and they lit the lamp for eight days.”

No mention of the long, brutal war and only a passing reference to the Greeks entering the Temple and defiling the oil.  Furthermore, when it came to choosing scriptural passages for the Shabbat during Chanukah, the rabbis decided to go with the regular Torah reading and a special Haftarah from the prophet Zachariah, which says in part:  “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit—said the Lord of hosts”  (4:6).  In other words, ultimately our success depends not on military might, nor on our own power, but on our trust and reliance on God.

This theme is also reflected in our Torah portion, when Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dreams.  He is always careful to say that his ability to interpret dreams is not due to his personal talent, but comes from God.  When Pharaoh says “I have heard it said of you that for you to hear a dream is to tell its meaning,” Joseph immediately replies, “Not I, but God will see to Pharaoh’s welfare.”

So the final and perhaps most important lesson is to recognize that beyond our own talents and abilities, we must affirm God’s presence.  Joseph may have had a knack for interpreting dreams, but without God’s support, he would not have been able to do what he did.  The Maccabees may have been clever fighters, but without faith in God they would not have been successful in their struggle against the Syrian Greeks.

As we celebrate Chanukah, let us affirm these three important lessons:

• Speak up for what is right, even if you are the only one;

• Don’t be afraid to make changes when a certain approach is not working;

• And be sure to recognize that ultimately, our survival is not due to our own talents and strengths, our ability to physically fight our enemies, but our trust in God.

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