,,to ,,the ,,memory ,,of ,,the ,,late ,,mina ,,lippman ,,aaron ,,these ,,pages ,,are ,,dedicated ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,chanukah ,,by ,,benjamin ,,sacks ,b4 ,a4 ,illustration ,,hebrew ,,institute ,,pittsburgh ,,pa4 ---- #efgh ---- ,,copyright #aiac ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,the ,,festival ,the festival of ,chanukah was instituted by ,judas ,maccabeus and the elders of the ,congregation of ,israel in the year #ceie on the #beth day of ,kislev ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,illustration ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,chanuka4 ,upon the death of ,alexander the ,great1 under whose reign the ,jews enjoyed freedom and peace1 his kingdom was divided among his generals1 one of whom took ,egypt and another1 ,syria4 ,there was continual strife between the kings of these two countries1 for each wanted to subject the other to his rule4 ,palestine1 being situated between ,syria and ,egypt1 became the battlefield upon which their armies fought4 ,at times1 the kings of ,syria would be victorious1 and at times the kings of ,egypt would gain the upper hand4 ,for a long time the armies of ,egypt were victors1 and so it happened that many of the ,jews went to live in ,alexandria1 where they acquired many of the ,greek customs practiced there4 ,judea1 in the meantime1 became a tributary to ,egypt4 ,the ,jews were treated well by the ,egyptians2 they were allowed to appoint their own governors2 and their religion was not interfered with4 ,about #ajj years after the death of ,alexander1 ,antiochus ,,iii41 surnamed the ,great1 ascended the throne of ,syria4 ,he conquered ,egypt and with it ,palestine4 ,the position of the ,jews1 however1 was not changed2 they were mildly ruled1 and their government was left in their own hands4 ,antiochus was succeeded by his oldest son1 ,seleucus ,philopater4 ,in the tenth year of the reign of ,seleucus1 something happened in ,judea that caused him to turn his attention to the treasures deposited in the ,temple at ,jerusalem4 ,a violent quarrel broke out between ,onias ,,iii41 who was at that time the ,high ,priest in ,judea1 and ,simon1 who had been appointed governor of ,jerusalem4 ,in order to injure ,onias1 ,simon told the ,king that there were great riches in the ,temple4 ,seleucus received this news with joy1 for he was at this time hard pressed for money to pay his annual tribute to the ,romans4 ,he sent out his treasurer1 ,heliodorus1 to plunder the ,temple1 and bring back these riches to ,antioch4 ,,heliodorus ,,in ,,the ,,temple4 ,heliodorus immediately set out for ,jerusalem1 without acquainting any one of his purpose4 ,when he arrived there1 he told ,onias of the ,king's orders1 and demanded that he quietly surrender the treasure4 ,the ,high ,priest replied that there was quite a large treasure in the ,temple1 but that it was by no means as large as had been reported2 that the greater part of it consisted of holy gifts consecrated to ,god2 that a considerable amount was deposited by ,hyrcanus1 a man high in favor of the ,king2 and that the remainder was deposited by widows and orphans for safekeeping4 ,he added that he could not consent to deprive the rightful owners of their property1 and thus profane his high office1 which was holy and revered by all4 ,the commands of the ,king were strict and ,heliodorus remained firm in his purpose4 ,attended by a large number of armed men1 he marched to the ,temple2 and when the priests tried to oppose his progress1 he ordered that the outer gates be destroyed4 ,a great mourning arose in the whole city1 and from all sides were heard the cries of the people4 ,but as soon as ,heliodorus attempted to enter the ,temple1 a wonderful thing happened4 ,legend has it that a horse1 mounted by a terrible rider1 rushed toward him1 and struck him with its fore-foot4 ,two beautiful youths1 who attended the warrior1 then beat ,heliodorus with rods until he fainted4 ,when ,heliodorus was carried out of the ,temple by the priests1 the spark of life scarcely burned within him4 ,when ,onias1 the ,high ,priest1 saw this1 fearing lest the wrath of the ,king should be incurred1 offered sacrifices and prayers to ,god1 and thus restored ,heliodorus to life4 ,the treasurer returned to ,antioch empty-handed1 and told the ,king of his failure4 ,,antiochus ,,crowned ,,king ,,of ,,syria4 ,in the course of the same year1 ,heliodorus1 in hopes of succeeding to the throne1 poisoned ,seleucus1 the ,king4 ,when ,antiochus1 the ,king's brother1 who was returning from ,rome1 heard of this1 he immediately secured the aid of another king1 and easily crushed the usurper4 ,antiochus ,,iv4 now became ,king of ,syria4 ,,buying ,,the ,,high ,,priesthood4 ,scarcely had ,antiochus begun to rule1 when from all parts of his empire came the leading men to pay homage to him4 ,among them came a younger brother of the ,high ,priest ,onias1 ,joshua1 who called himself by the ,greek name ,jason4 ,this ,jason was possessed of good manners and polished address4 ,at the court of ,antiochus1 he was welcomed2 and1 by offering the ,king a very large bribe1 prevailed upon him to depose his brother ,onias1 and appoint him in his place4 ,not only was ,onias removed from the ,high ,priesthood1 but he was also forced to take up his residence at ,antioch1 where he would not interfere with the new ,high ,priest4 ,jason next attempted to gradually make ,greeks of the ,jews4 ,accordingly1 he built a place in ,jerusalem for such sports and exercises as were practiced by the ,greeks1 and established a school in which ,jewish youths could be brought up after the manner of the ,greeks4 ,jason remained ,high ,priest for only three years4 ,menelaus1 an ambitious and dishonest young man1 having been sent to ,antioch by ,jason with tribute1 by offering to pay annually a sum amounting to #cjj1jjj more than ,jason1 succeeded in having himself appointed in his place4 ,this ,menelaus was even more corrupt than ,jason1 and later proved himself guilty of the most horrible crimes4 ,,menelaus' ,,sacrilege4 ,menelaus soon found that he was unable to pay the large amount of money which he had promised to ,antiochus4 ,the ,king1 who demanded punctuality of his subjects in their payment of tribute1 summoned him to ,antioch4 ,fearing that he would be punished or stripped of his office1 he sent secret directions to his brother ,lysimachus1 who was acting as ,high ,priest during his absence1 to remove some of the holy vessels from the ,temple1 and to send him the money obtained by selling them4 ,when ,onias1 the deposed ,high ,priest heard of this1 his anger was aroused1 and he accused ,menelaus of robbing the ,temple4 ,menelaus fearing1 that he would be removed from his office1 bribed one of the ,king's officers to kill ,onias4 ,when ,onias learned of the plot against his life1 he escaped2 but later1 when the officer induced him to return by assurances of safety1 he was brutally murdered4 ,great was the anger of the ,jews when they heard of this new outrage4 ,the people of ,jerusalem rose up against the brother of ,menelaus1 and put to route a number of his followers who tried to defend him4 ,lysimachus1 himself1 escaped to the treasury of the ,temple1 but was pursued and killed4 ,menelaus1 in the meantime by bribing the ,king1 gained his support1 and continued to remain in the office of ,high ,priest4 ,,antiochus',s ,,entrance ,,into ,,jerusalem4 ,while ,antiochus was engaged in attacking ,egypt1 a report was spread that he had been killed4 ,this news was received by the ,jews with great joy4 ,jason1 the deposed ,high ,priest1 knowing that ,menelaus would now be left without a protector entered ,jerusalem1 defeated the soldiers of ,menelaus1 and put the latter to flight4 ,jason did not remain there long1 however1 for it soon became known that ,antiochus was alive and that he was marching towards ,jerusalem with a large army4 ,antiochus1 in the meantime1 had been led to believe that the entire ,jewish nation had revolted2 and further angered by the fact that the news of his death had caused such rejoicing1 quickly returned from ,egypt2 and entered ,jerusalem1 where he killed #dj1jjj of the inhabitants1 and took as many captive4 ,he then robbed the treasury of the ,temple1 and removed to ,antioch all the sacred vessels1 the table of shewbread1 the golden candlestick1 and the altar of incense4 ,,the ,,massacre ,,of ,,the ,,jews4 ,upon his return1 two years later from ,egypt1 where he had been expelled1 ,antiochus determined to avenge himself upon the ,jews1 whom he now hated bitterly4 ,appolonius1 one of his chief generals1 was sent to ,judea with an army4 ,inasmuch as that general had been sent there before with his troops as a collector of taxes1 his coming caused no alarm4 ,his soldiers did not trouble the inhabitants1 who had not the slightest suspicion of their intentions4 ,when the ,sabbath came1 the ,syrians1 knowing that the ,jews would not take up arms on that day even in self-defence1 fell upon them and slaughtered them mercilessly4 ,the ,jews1 obeying the laws of the ,sabbath1 which forbade them to fight on that day1 meekly submitted to be butchered4 ,houses were pulled down and plundered1 and the walls of the city destroyed4 ,,the ,,desecration ,,of ,,the ,,temple4 ,the ,king next issued a decree forbidding the ,jews to follow their religion and their customs1 and ordering them to adopt the ,greek faith4 ,the keeping of the ,sabbath and the reading of the ,law was prohibited on pain of death4 ,copies of the ,scriptures were written upon with the blood of swine1 torn into pieces1 or burnt4 ,altars were set up all over the country1 and unclean animals sacrificed on them4 ,the ,jews were forced to profane the ,sabbath and to eat the flesh of swine4 ,the ,temple in ,jerusalem was dedicated to ,jupiter ,olympus1 whose statue was erected on the altar of burnt offerings1 and sacrifices made to it4 ,in order to escape this terrible persecution1 many ,jews fled from the holy city to the mountains4 ,the once beautiful ,jerusalem1 in which the ,jewish people had for so many years enjoyed happiness and peace1 was now laid waste like a wilderness and became an abode for strangers4 ,,antiochus ,,the ,,madman4 ,in order to enforce his laws1 the cruel king of ,syria sent officers to the various parts of his empire4 ,of the two names by which ,antiochus was known--,epiphanes1 the 8,illustrious0 and ,epimanes1 the 8,madman0--he was more often called by the latter name4 ,he frequently indulged in wine1 and while under its influence he became a real madman4 ,his highest ambition was to make one people of all his subjects4 ,in order to accomplish this1 he thought it best1--and here he was indeed ,epimanes1 8the mad01--to compel them to adopt one faith4 ,the ,jews however1 were not going to submit to the rash demands of a madman4 ,they now began a struggle which has never been equalled in the history of the world4 ,in the few years that followed1 many ,jews sacrificed their lives for refusing to worship heathen idols and gods1 many heroes shed their blood on the field of battle to uphold their religion4 ,,eleazar4 ,in ,antioch1 there lived a pious old man in his ninetieth year1 named ,eleazar4 ,when the overseers came to see that the commands of the ,king were obeyed1 this old man refused to eat of the swine's flesh which was offered him4 ,the ,king's officer not wishing to harm so old a man1 offered to give him meat which he was allowed to eat but which it would be announced was swine's flesh4 ,in making this offer1 the overseer thought that if the other people would see the respected ,eleazar eating what they thought was pig's flesh1 that they would readily do as he did4 ,the brave old man1 however1 refused to set such an example to the ,jews1 some of whom would excuse their weakness by his act4 ,he was then stripped of his clothes1 beaten1 and tortured4 ,the last words of the martyr were3 8,hear1 ,o ,israel1 the ,lord our ,god is ,one01 and then he died4 ,,hannah ,,and ,,her ,,seven ,,sons4 ,even more pitiable is the story of ,hannah and her seven sons4 ,a widow and her sons were brought before ,antiochus and commanded to bow to his idols4 ,the ,king first addressed the oldest of the sons1 saying3 8,bow to my gods04 8,god forbid01 answered the oldest son1 8that ,i should bow to your idols04 8,why not80 asked the ,king4 8,because our commandments teach us1 8,i am the ,lord your ,god01 and ,i shall worship no other04 ,after being cruelly tortured in the sight of his mother and brothers1 he was put to death4 8,you have seen what was done to your brother for disobeying me4 ,now1 bow to my gods01 said the ,king to the second son4 8,you can torture me as you will01 said the youth4 8,i shall not bow to your idols04 8,why not80 asked the ,king4 8,because we are commanded1 8,thou shalt have no other ,god but me01 he answered4 ,the ,king ordered that he1 too1 be slain4 8,obey me and your life shall be spared01 said the ,king to the third son1 after threatening to tear out his tongue and cut off his hands if he were not obeyed4 8,do you seek to terrify me01 cried the brave lad4 8,our religion teaches us1 8,thou shalt worship no other ,gods01 and like my brothers ,i shall not forsake my religion1 and like them ,i shall die04 ,then he was killed4 8,do not think that ,god has given us into your hands to add honor to your name2 it is to make known to the world that a more cruel and wicked man has never lived01 answered the fifth son when commanded to bow to the ,king's gods4 8,remove the insolent fellow01 cried the ,king1 full of wrath4 ,and so the brave boy died4 ,the sixth son was then brought before the ,king4 ,but he1 too1 suffered the fate of his brothers4 ,finally1 there remained only the mother and her youngest son1 a mere child4 ,when ,antiochus saw him1 his heart was moved1 and he spoke kindly to the child4 8,come1 my son10 he said to him1 8and bow to my gods04 ,but the boy following the noble example set by his brothers1 refused to obey4 ,then the ,king tried to induce him to bow by tempting offers of riches and honor4 8,if you will but obey me01 the ,king said to him1 8,i shall bring you up in riches and splendor2 and1 when you are old enough1 ,i shall make of you a mighty prince1 second only to me04 ,antiochus could promise what he would1 but the child was not to be tempted4 ,the mighty ,antiochus was conquered1 and now his greatest desire was to induce the boy to obey him4 ,to accomplish this1 he resorted to a trick4 8,my son01 he said to him1 8you see your brothers lying dead before you2 if you will refuse to do as ,i ask you1 you shall share their fate4 ,but ,i do not wish to harm you2 you are too young to die4 ,i am going to cast my ring on the ground1 pick it up and your life will be spared04 ,to kneel down and pick up the ring was not wrong1 it was only a mark of respect to the ,king which the ,jewish ,law permitted4 ,but the boy1 young as he was1 quickly saw that if he would do so1 the surrounding crowds would think that he was bowing to the idol4 ,for this reason1 he refused to comply with the ,king's request4 ,the ,king was now growing fast impatient1 and1 as a last resort1 turned to the mother and told her to induce her son to do as he requested of him4 ,but the mother was as faithful to her religion and brave as her sons4 ,she took her son to an adjoining room1 and there urged him to remain loyal and firm1 that he might soon rejoin his brothers in heaven4 ,then1 denouncing the cruel ,king in the strongest terms1 she again encouraged him to remain faithful to the laws of their fathers4 ,but the boy knew himself what was right to do1 and soon told the ,king that he would never obey him4 ,the ,king now grew angry indeed1 and ordered that the lad be slain4 ,but the mother1 throwing her arms around the boy1 begged the ,king to kill her instead of her son4 8,no01 answered the ,king mockingly1 8,i cannot do so because your own laws forbid it2 for is it not said1 8,whether it be an ox or a sheep1 thou shalt not kill it and its young in one day04 ,as the boy was being led away1 ,hannah cried out1 8,i have surpassed ,abraham4 ,he built one altar on which to sacrifice one son1 whereas ,i have built seven altars on which ,i have sacrificed seven sons04 ,one by one ,hannah had seen her sons cruelly murdered2 and1 no longer able to endure her misery1 she jumped down from a roof and was killed4 ,eleazar and ,hannah and her seven sons were only a few of the constantly increasing number of martyrs1 who preferred to sacrifice their lives than to disobey the laws of their fathers4 ,never before had the ,jews been treated with such great cruelty1 but never before did they endure their misery with greater courage4 ,it was in vain that ,antiochus ordered the ,jews to worship heathen idols2 it was in vain that he commanded them to adopt the religion of the ,greeks4 ,in many towns the royal officers found no one to meet them1 for the inhabitants had escaped to the mountains1 where they could privately observe their laws4 ,the resistance which the ,jews offered only made the ,king more angry1 and caused him to increase his cruelties4 ,houses were plundered2 synagogues were destroyed2 and thousands of ,jews were put to death1 victims of the wrath of the ,king4 ,,mattathias ,,and ,,his ,,five ,,sons4 ,and thus1 when the ,jews were on the verge of being wiped out as a nation forever1 there arose in their midst a family of heroes1 who were destined to free their people from their cruel oppressors1 and again establish their independence4 ,in ,modin1 a small town in ,judea1 there lived an old man by the name of ,mattathias4 ,he was the head of the priestly family of ,hasmoneans named after ,hasmoneus1 his great grand-father4 ,mattathias was the father of five grown-up sons1 ,jochanan1 ,simon1 ,judas1 ,eleazar1 and ,jonathan4 ,he saw how the holy city was delivered into the hands of strangers1 how the temple was robbed of its treasures and profaned by the ,syrians1 how men1 women1 and children were being killed for observing the ,jewish laws1 and he mourned for ,israel4 ,he was accustomed to say to his sons that it were far better to sacrifice their lives for their religion than to submit to such cruel treatment at the hands of the ,syrians4 ,when the royal officer came to ,modin to enforce the commands of the ,king1 he requested ,mattathias1 who was the oldest of the community1 to make the first sacrifice to the ,greek gods4 ,he indignantly refused1 saying that though every one else were to yield1 yet he would rather die than forsake his religion4 ,he then commanded his sons to follow his example4 ,when a cowardly apostate stepped forward to offer the sacrifice1 ,mattathias could not restrain himself1 and killed both the ,jew and the officer4 ,,the ,,escape ,,to ,,the ,,mountains4 ,mattathias then cried out in a loud voice1 8,whosoever is zealous for the ,law1 and supporteth the ,covenant1 follow me01 with his sons and a few of his followers1 ,mattathias fled to the mountains4 ,many ,jews who favored their plan of resistance now joined their numbers4 ,whenever the opportunity offered1 they would attack the ,syrian garrisons1 and often were successful4 ,they drove out the overseers of the ,king who came to enforce idol worshipping1 and destroyed every heathen altar they gained access to4 ,they reestablished public worship1 and did what was in their power to restore the government of ,israel4 ,the ,syrian generals1 however1 soon found out how the ,jews were occupying themselves4 ,taking advantage of their strict observance of the ,sabbath1 they attacked one thousand ,jews1 who1 having escaped to a cave1 allowed themselves to be slaughtered without making any attempt to defend themselves4 ,mattathias1 foreseeing that if the ,jews would offer no resistance on the ,sabbath1 that they would quickly be wiped out1 decided that it was not only lawful for them to fight on that day1 but that it was their duty to do so4 ,the decision of ,mattathias was accepted by all1 and the ,jews thereafter did not hesitate to fight on the ,sabbath1 when their lives were at stake4 ,,the ,,death ,,of ,,mattathias4 ,as ,mattathias was too old to endure the hardships of war1 he found himself growing weaker each day4 ,knowing that he was about to die1 he summoned his sons around him1 gave them his last blessing1 and encouraged them to continue the noble work which he had begun4 ,he appointed ,judas1 who was the bravest of his sons1 to be their leader in battle1 and ,simon1 who was the wisest of them1 the counsellor of the nation4 ,then ,mattathias died1 and the whole nation mourned for him4 ,,judas ,,maccabaeus4 ,an abler leader than ,judas could not have been chosen4 ,a giant in stature1 it was said of him that when he walked1 the earth trembled beneath him1 and that his battle-cry resounded like the roar of a lion4 ,his bold fearlessness made him the terror of his enemies1 who shrunk from him4 ,but besides his great strength and his remarkable courage1 he possessed that love for his ,god1 that enthusiasm for his religion that left nothing impossible4 ,no disadvantage was for him too great to overcome2 no army too numerous to defeat4 ,his personal strength and extraordinary bravery won for him his surname 8,maccabee01 a ,hebrew word meaning 8,hammerer04 ,there are many who say that this surname is derived from the first letters of the ,hebrew words 8,who is like thee1 ,o ,lord among the ,gods01 which were inscribed on ,judas's banner4 ,at first1 ,judas was the only one to be honored by the surname 8,maccabee02 but1 later1 the name passed to his brothers2 and1 finally1 to all who fought under his standard4 ,,the ,,defeat ,,of ,,appolonius4 ,judas went a step further than his father1 fortifying those cities which he took by surprise4 ,his small troop gradually became a small army1 numbering six thousand4 ,having assured himself that he could rely on them1 ,judas prepared to meet the enemy on the field4 ,appolonius1 the ,syrian general who had recently plundered ,jerusalem and murdered its inhabitants1 was soon informed of the revolt1 and raised a large army to crush ,judas4 ,but ,judas1 although his army was only a handful compared with the large forces of the enemy1 marched against ,appolonius1 and totally defeated his army and slew him4 ,judas took the sword of ,appolonius as a trophy1 and used it in all his latter battles4 ,,the ,,routing ,,of ,,seron4 ,seron1 the ,syrian lieutenant1 aroused by the news of ,appolonius's defeat1 gathered a still larger army than that which had been defeated1 and advanced against ,judas4 ,according to their usual custom before fighting1 ,judas and his men had fasted2 and1 weak with hunger and fatigue1 the ,jews despaired of success when they saw what a mighty host was coming to meet them4 ,but ,judas encouraged them to fight boldly against the oppressors of their people1 saying that strength came from heaven and not from large numbers1 and reminding them that they fought for their lives and their laws4 ,when he had finished speaking he rushed upon the ,syrians as they were ascending the rocky hills at ,bethoron4 ,seron fell early in the battle1 and his army1 confused and without a commander1 was routed with great loss of life4 ,,the ,,syrian ,,government ,,placed ,,in ,,charge ,,of ,,lysias4 ,when ,king ,antiochus heard of the victories of ,judas1 he was greatly angered and raised a large army to crush him4 ,but along with the news of the uprising of the ,jews came the report that his eastern provinces1 ,armenia and ,persia1 had refused to pay their tribute4 ,finding his treasury almost empty1 the ,king was forced to leave ,antioch to collect the tribute from these provinces by force4 ,he gave ,lysias1 one of the royal blood1 one-half of all the ,syrian forces2 and placed him in charge of his kingdom1 with orders to destroy the ,jewish nation1 and people their land with strangers4 ,,judas',s ,,victory ,,over ,,nicanor ,,and ,,gorgias4 ,in obedience to the ,king's command1 ,lysias sent out1 on the following year1 forty thousand footmen and five thousand horse1 under ,nicanor and ,gorgias4 ,these generals set out for ,judea1 and encamped on the plains of ,emmaus4 ,so confident were the ,syrians of victory1 that ,nicanor1 one of their generals1 announced before hand a sale of ,jewish captives at ninety for a talent--about #ajjj4 ,many ,slave-,merchants were in this way attracted to the camp1 each supplied with large amounts of gold and silver and chains to lead off their slaves4 ,judas1 in the meantime1 having heard that the ,syrian armies had come to fight against him1 assembled his six thousand men at ,mizpah near ,emmaus1 where they fasted and prayed as in the days of ,samuel4 ,they opened the books of the ,law1 upon which the heathens had painted images of their gods2 and they were reminded of the desolation of their holy city1 the profaning of the ,temple1 and all the wicked deeds of ,antiochus4 ,then ,judas1 in strict accordance with the ,law1 ordered all those who had recently married1 built a house1 planted a vineyard1 or were afraid1 to return to their homes4 ,his army1 as a result1 was reduced from six thousand to three thousand men4 ,judas then encouraged the remaining men to fight bravely for their people1 and ordered them to prepare for battle4 ,in the meantime1 ,gorgias with five thousand footmen and one thousand horse1 had set out to surprise the ,jewish army by night4 ,but ,judas was soon informed of this movement1 and he immediately devised a plan by which he could take advantage of the separation of the two generals4 ,silently and quickly he gathered his men1 and set out with them for ,emmaus1 where the remainder of the ,syrian army under ,nicanor lay encamped4 ,it was morning before he arrived2 and1 encouraging his men not to fear the large number of the enemy by reminding them how the ,jews were saved from the ,egyptians in the ,red ,sea1 he rushed down upon the ,syrians4 ,the ,syrian general1 thinking that ,gorgias would easily crush the small army of the ,jews1 had taken no steps to guard against a surprise4 ,the ,syrians1 panic-stricken and confused1 offered but feeble resistance1 and fled from all sides4 ,several tents had been set on fire in the confusion1 but ,judas wisely forbade the ,jews to extinguish the flames or to plunder the camps1 for ,gorgias had to be met and defeated4 ,gorgias and his army1 meanwhile1 finding the camps of the ,jews deserted1 thought that they had fled to the mountains1 and went to look for them4 ,but what was their surprise when they beheld the smoke rising from the tents of their comrades6 ,thus deceived1 the ,syrians lost all their courage2 and1 upon seeing ,judas marching toward them1 they too turned their backs and fled4 ,it was a great victory for the ,maccabaean soldiers1 and they returned joyfully to the ,syrian camps1 where they examined their rich plunder1 consisting not only of large quantities of food and clothing1 but also of the large sums of money which the slave dealers had brought along with them4 ,as a just punishment for the slave dealers who had come to buy1 the ,jews sold as many of them as they could find1 as slaves4 ,the next day was the ,sabbath1 and it was indeed a day of rest and rejoicing for the brave ,jews4 ,,the ,,retreat ,,of ,,lysias4 ,nicanor1 who had escaped from ,judea disguised as a slave1 now returned to ,antioch1 where he informed ,lysias of his defeat4 ,at this news1 ,lysias was aroused2 and raised a still larger army than any that had been sent before against ,judea1 this time consisting of sixty thousand footmen and five thousand horse4 ,at the head of this vast multitude1 ,lysias himself marched against the ,jews4 ,judas with only ten thousand men met the ,syrian army at ,beth-,tsur1 where the battle took place4 ,although ,lysias lost but five thousand men1 he was discouraged from continuing battle1 for he saw that the ,jews were determined to conquer or die4 ,he therefore made his retreat from ,judea and returned to ,antioch4 ,,the ,,purification ,,of ,,the ,,temple4 ,now that ,lysias1 the strongest of the ,king's generals1 had been driven from ,judea1 the victorious ,jews could turn their attention to the holy city1 which had been defiled by the ,syrians4 ,judas and his men now entered ,jerusalem4 ,they found the city in ruins1 the altar profaned1 the gates of the city burned up1 and shrubs growing in the inner courts of the ,temple4 ,at the sight of this desolation1 the ,jews rent their clothes1 put ashes on their heads1 and cried towards heaven4 ,but ,judas did not allow his men to spend too much time in useless lamentation1 and set out at once to cleanse the ,temple4 ,he then chose priests to enter the ,temple to repair and purify it4 ,the altar which had been defiled by the heathens1 they set up anew4 ,the holy vessels1 which had been profaned by the ,syrians1 they replaced with new ones4 ,so zealously was the work of the restoration carried on1 that on the #beth day of the month of ,kislev1 the public worship could again be performed4 ,with songs and thanksgiving1 the ,jews dedicated the ,temple anew on that happy day4 ,the ,talmud relates that when the purification of the ,temple had been completed1 no consecrated oil could be found with which to light the golden candlestick4 ,after a careful search1 however1 a small bottle of oil1 with the seal of a former ,high ,priest still on it1 was found4 ,but it contained only a small quantity of oil1 hardly sufficient to last for one day4 ,but lo6 a miracle happened4 ,when the oil was lit1 not only did it last for one day but for eight days6 ,this was interpreted as a sure sign that ,god was looking upon the work of his people with favor1 and served to increase their happiness4 ,what a change the condition of the ,jews had undergone6 ,only three years before the ,temple had been dedicated to ,jupiter ,olympus1 and the flesh of swine sacrificed on the altar of incense4 ,and now1 the most powerful of the ,syrian generals had been driven out from ,judea4 ,the bravest of them feared the terrible ,maccabee1 whose fame as a warrior was now spread far and wide4 ,public worship had been restored1 not to be discontinued again until the capture of ,jerusalem by the ,romans1 several hundred years later4 ,although the war continued for many years longer1 yet with the dedication of the ,temple and the public observance of the ,jewish ,laws1 the actual rule of the ,syrians may be said to have come to an end4 ,judea was now practically independent4 ,,the ,,festival ,,of ,,chanuka4 ,the restoration of the public worship in the ,temple was an event well worth remembering2 and1 for this reason1 ,judas and the ,great ,council decided that the eight days beginning with the #beth of ,kislev should be celebrated henceforth1 annually1 as a festival of rejoicing and thanksgiving to commemorate the victory of the small band of ,jews over the mighty hosts of the ,syrians4 ,to this day1 this festival which is known as the 8,feast of ,dedication01 is celebrated by the ,jews each year all over the world4 ,on the eight days candles are lit1 and special prayers are offered to the ,lord for that ,he saved his people from being wiped out as a nation forever4 ,illustration ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,transcriber's ,notes ,the following issues should be noted1 along with the resolution3 #g was deposited by widows and orphans for ,joined4 safe-keeping4 #g deprive the rightful owners of their property1 and ,added4 #ag was not wrong1 it was only a mark of respect to ,added4 #ah ,and thus1 when the ,jews were on the verge of ,added4 #bh with new ones4 ,so zealously was the work of the ,added4 restoration #bi ,the restoration of the pup_/blic worship in the ,replaced4