Hanukah And The Origins Of Religious Martyrdom – OpEd
Rabbi Marty Lockshin points out that while Hanukah celebrates the miraculous military victories of the “few over the many,” and of Jewish religion over Greek culture; Hanukah has also given us a new genre of Jewish literature, one that has been in frequent use ever since: Religious Martyrdom.
The original martyrdom accounts like those of “Channa” and her seven sons spawned more in this genre: most famously the story of the ten rabbis who were martyred in the 2nd century C.E., a story featured in the liturgy of the Ninth of Av and Yom Kippur. Martyrdom stories remained popular in Jewish circles through the ages for the sad reason that Jews often found themselves in similar situations, having to decide whether to give up their lives or their religion.
The events of the four books about the Maccabees’ victories over the Syrian-Greeks are not found in the Hebrew Bible. But the books of the Maccabees, now found in the Apocrypha, were written by proud Jews with strong commitment to Jewish values and observance. Even if these books are not “holy,” they represent what many loyal Jews were thinking between the middle of 2nd century B.C.E. and the end of the 1st century C.E.
In these books, descriptions of glorious victories are mixed with tales of failures and of heroes dying in battle. In the 1 Maccabees chapter 6, Eleazar, the brother of Judah the Maccabee, “win for himself an everlasting name” by dying heroically:
1 Maccabees 6:40 states: “Now a part of the king’s army was spread out on the high hills, and some troops were on the plain, and they advanced steadily and in good order. 6:41 All who heard the noise made by their multitude, by the marching of the multitude and the clanking of their arms, trembled, for the army was very large and strong. 6:42 But Judas and his army advanced to the battle, and six hundred of the king’s army fell. 6:43 Now Eleazar, called Avaran, saw that one of the animals was equipped with royal armor. It was taller than all the others, and he supposed that the king was on it.
6:44 So he gave his life to save his people and to win for himself an everlasting name. 6:45 He courageously ran into the midst of the phalanx to reach it; he killed men right and left, and they parted before him on both sides. 6:46 He got under the elephant, stabbed it from beneath, and killed it; but it fell to the ground upon him and he died.”
Eleazar’s death is not attributed to any sin that he committed, but to his brave action and his willingness to risk almost certain death. He did not immediately accomplish any military gain: in the continuation of the story, “when the Jews saw the royal might and the fierce attack of the forces, they turned away in flight.” Still, the author sees Eleazar’s actions as heroic and worthy of emulation.
No narrative like this martyrdom account appears in the Hebrew Bible. The most famous martyrdom story in the four books of the Maccabees is “Channa and her seven sons”. The story appears, with significant variations, in many ancient sources (including both 2 Maccabees and 4 Maccabees). In the core story, a tyrannical non-Jewish king gives the seven sons of a woman (usually described as a widow) the choice of transgressing Jewish law (by worshiping idols or eating “polluted” food) or dying a terrible death. With the encouragement of their mother, all seven sons remain steadfast and are killed by the tyrant.
The story was originally told in connection with the events of Chanukah; the tyrant being Antiochus. But in later sources, from the classical rabbinic period, the events take place in the Roman period, as part of the Hadrianic persecutions, three hundred years after the events of Chanukah.
In the earliest versions of the story from Maccabees 2 and 4, the woman is not given a name. In the rabbinic text of Eikhah Rabbah (written between the 5th and 7th centuries) she is referred to as Miriam bat Tanhum. In other midrashim, she is called Miriam bat Nahtom. Referring to the woman as Channa, which is ubiquitous in Jewish circles today, originates in Yossipon, a medieval Jewish history book that reworks much material from Josephus, and was probably edited in Italy in the ninth century. By the days of Rabbi Maimonides (1138-1205), the story was well known, and the mother’s name was simply assumed to be Channa.
In 4 Maccabees, religious martyrdom is the core of the book which praises the martyrs for their loyalty to Judaism and for resisting both the threats of the Syrian-Greek monarch and the attractions of Greek culture.
The original martyrdom stories like those of “Channa and her seven sons” spawned more in this genre: most famously the story of the ten rabbis who were martyred in the 2nd century C.E., which was featured in the liturgy of the Ninth of Av and Yom Kippur. Martyrdom stories remained popular in Jewish circles through the ages for the sad reason that Jews often found themselves in similar situations, having to decide whether to give up their lives or their religion.
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.
Those Jews who militantly resisted the pressure to conform to the majority culture were Muslims (Arabic for faithful followers of God’s will) and their dedication eventually led to religious freedom and national independence for the oppressed Jews living in the Land of Israel.
The oppression of Judaism by Antiochus IV, the Syrian Greek king, was the first known historical 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 Prophet Muhammad and his followers by the majority of pagan Arabs in Makka.
Hanukah is a celebration of religious freedom; especially the freedom of all religious minorities to observe their religious practices with equal treatment and respect. But freedom is not only freedom from oppression. It is also freedom to do the right things, and to become a really good loving person. A free person is not free to oppress, hurt or insult other people or their religious beliefs. Freedom comes from fulfilling your responsibilities to other people, to nature, and to God.
