Iran’s Protesting Women Will Be The New Maccabees – OpEd

When Jews celebrate Hanukah (this year December 25, 2024-January 2, 2025)) I hope that both Jews and Muslims will also remember the oppressed religious communities of the Rohingya people of Myanmar, the Uighurs in China’s Xinjiang Province, and especially the brave Muslim woman of Iran who are protesting the cruelty of Iran’s morality police. Now Iran’s parliament has enacted an even harsher new modesty law, significantly tightening existing dress restrictions that fueled nationwide protests.

Two years after protests against Iran’s strict dress codes rocked the nation, a new “chastity and hijab” law was passed this week by Iran’s hardline parliament and approved by the Guardian Council, which vets laws for compliance with the constitution and Islamic law. Iran’s brave women have suffered as martyrs; and they are the new Maccabees because Hanukah teaches us the very important lesson that faith and hope in the long run overcome nasty politics and politicians.

Hanukah is for Muslims as well as Jews because Hanukah (Hebrew for Dedication) refers both to: The rededication of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem after it was profaned in 168 BCE by an idol installed in it by the Syrian Greek king Antiochus IV.

And: The dedication and valor of the Maccabees and all those who joined them in their resistance to the attempt by the ruling powers to force the Jews to abandon their God given religion, and conform to Greek forms of worship and culture. Abandoning circumcision was one example.

The Jews who resisted were Muslims (Arabic for faithful followers of the one and only God’s will) and their dedication eventually led to religious freedom and national independence for the Jews living in the Land of Israel. 

The oppression of Judaism by Antiochus IV, the Syrian Greek king, was the first known attempt at suppressing a minority religion, but unfortunately not the last. Other well known attempts were the three century long Roman persecution of Christianity, and the persecution of Muhammad and his followers by the majority of pagan Arabs in Makka.

All three religions emerged from their varying periods of persecution stronger than ever, and this is the ongoing spiritual lesson of the Hanukah lamp that once lit by faithful believers, filled with hope and trust in God; lasts longer than anyone else thinks possible.

The Hanukah of the Maccabees was not the first Hanukah of the Jerusalem temple; rather it was an observance with deep roots in Jewish history. The first Hanukah was the dedication of Prophet Solomon’s Temple about 950-940 BCE. Then the first Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE. After the Persian King Cyrus, who Prophet Isaiah (45:1) called a Messiah, encouraged the Jews to return from the Babylonian Exile; many did return to the Land of Israel; and they rebuilt the Second Temple. 

The main ancient sources that discuss Hanukah mention the 25th of Kislev as the date on which Jerusalem Temple worship resumed, three years after its defilement (1 Maccabees 4:54; 2 Maccabees 10:5; and Josephus, Antiquities 12:7.6). This connects to a significant date from Prophet Haggai, who addressed the first generation of returnees from Babylon to Yehud (Judea) during the year 520 B.C.E. Haggai encouraged the Judean leaders to rebuild the temple on the 21st day of the seventh month (Haggai 2:1), namely at the end of Sukkot, the most widely celebrated Temple holiday during Biblical times. 

Like the Temple menorah, which in the Talmud’s telling requires oil stamped with the seal of the High Priest, one cannot use just any kind of combustible material for the ritual, only material that can be traced back to the original altar. Thus, when Nehemiah was ready to rededicate the altar, he needed to “retrieve” the original fire that burned in the First Temple of Solomon. 

While the original fire did not continue to burn, its residue (ashes soaked in olive oil) were hidden away by the priests and could now be retrieved. Miraculously, this “naphtha” caught fire and consumed the sacrifice, thus (re-) inaugurating the altar and inspiring prayers of praise and thanks. The same thing was done again by the 
Maccabees in 165 BCE.

The history: In 200 BCE, King Antiochus III of Syria defeated Egypt and made the Land of Israel a part of the Seleucid Empire. King Antiochus III wanting to conciliate his new Jewish subjects guaranteed their right to “live according to their ancestral customs” and to continue to practice their religion in the Temple of Jerusalem. However in 175 BCE, his son Antiochus IV invaded Judea to put in power a pro Syrian high Priest. As the ancient Jewish historian Josephus relates:

“The king came upon the Jews with a great army, took their city by force, slew a great multitude of those that favored Egypt, and sent out his soldiers to plunder them without mercy. He also spoiled the temple (erecting an idol in it that looked like himself, and thus) put a stop to the daily offerings (to God) for three years and six months.”

The tradition: When the Temple in Jerusalem was looted and services stopped, Judaism was outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus IV (who named himself ‘Manifest God’) ordered an altar to Zeus be erected in the Jerusalem Temple. He banned circumcision and ordered pigs to be sacrificed at the altar of the Temple. 

This provoked a large-scale revolt. Mattityahu, a Jewish priest, and his five sons Jochanan Simeon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah led a rebellion against Antiochus. They became known as HaMakabim (the Hammers). 

In 166 BCE Mattathias died, and Judah Makabee took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was largely successful. The Temple was liberated and (Hanukah) rededicated. The festival of Hanukkah was instituted to celebrate this event.

The oil: Judah Makabee ordered the Temple to be purified, and a new altar to be built in place of the one polluted by pig’s blood. According to the Torah, pure olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn day and night throughout the year. 

However, there was only enough pure oil found to burn for one day, and it would take a week to prepare a fresh supply of pure oil for the menorah. Some said to delay the Hanukah of the Temple for a week. Others said to kindle the Temple Menorah and pray for it to last until new pure oil could be made.

 
The menorah was lit; and it did not go out prior to the arrival of the new pure oil. An eight-day festival was declared by the rabbis to commemorate this miracle.

The lights: These can be candles or oil lamps. Most Jewish homes have a special oil lamp holder for Hanukkah, which holds eight candles, plus the additional light used to light the others each day. The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not to “light the house within”, but rather to “illuminate the house without,” so passersby should see it and be reminded of the holiday’s miracle. 

Imam Ahmad says in his Musnad that one of the Prophet’s wives asked what one should do if unable to go to Masjid al-Aqsa. He replied, “If someone is not able to go let them send lamp oil there to give light in the mosque. If anyone sends lamp oil to light the mosque it is as if you went and prayed there.”

Thus, lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street. Some Ashkenazim (Jews from European Lands) have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), while  most Sephardim (Jews from Muslim Lands) light one lamp for the whole household. 

Only when there was danger of antisemitic persecution were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the case some times in Persia under the rule of the Zoroastrians, or in parts of Europe before and during World War II.