Quite too often even Jews get the Maccabees confused with the Hasmoneans. The former represents warriors for both Judean sovereignty and Judaic survival. The latter, the family Dynasty, represents only Judean interests. Another way of saying this is that the Maccabees fought for Judaism – Jewish-People-ism – and the Hasmoneans ruled for Israelism – Jewish-Sovereignty-ism on our ancestral land.
How do we know this? The Pharisees loved them some Maccabeans, and praised them in writings as being Pharisaic-like. But, Sadducees had no interest in proto-Rabbincal beliefs, which was forming mostly in the Diaspora Jewish communities. In fact, the two factions ended up in a Jewish-type “Civil War” over this. Why? Because, Sadducees rejected anything gentile, and Pharisees were more willing to incorporate non-Jewish ways into Judaism.
For both groups, the Judean and the Judaic oriented, the Sadducees and the Pharisees, the goal was the same – the survival of the Jewish people – even though their reasonings and behaviors for achieving this were clearly different. We can be grateful as a Jewish people for both Judean and Judaic approaches to our survival, now that we find ourselves in the same struggles today – yet, again – struggling for *both* self-sovereignty (Israel-ism) and self-autonomy (Judah-ism), in the likeness of the Sadducees and Pharisees of the foreign-occupied 2nd Temple period of Jewish history.
This is a good reason to celebrate a non-Torah Judean-Judaic “holiday of lights,” and appreciate just how close, as a people, we actually came to assimilation – were it not for the Maccabee warriors that the Pharisees, even those living in Libya, would write praise about for their Indigenous actions! As Jews, we cannot afford to think like the Hellenized, if we are going to continue to be a people. Hence, why it saddens so many of us secular to religious Jews around this world to hear USA Jews complaining about Israel’s behaviors outside its borders (Judean), in the same manner that Hellenized Jews of the late BCE were complaining about the behaviors of the Maccabees (Judean-Judaic). If the Pharisees (Judaic) praised them Maccabees (Judean, like later bar Kokhba), then we should celebrate our continued survival as the Indigenous People of Judea-Samaria.
Once indigeneity is lost, you become the colonizer – also known as, “part of the problem.” So,… Light those חֲנוּכָּה Chanukah lights for the year 5782! These lights are a public stand for ethno-religious *freedom* from persecution, discrimination, and willful genocide of our peoples! And, learn something about the history of the Maccabees, while at it. 🙂
https://www.thetorah.com/article/judea-versus-judaism-between-1-and-2-maccabees
Judea versus Judaism: Between 1 and 2 Maccabees
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This is why our inheritance of ancestral Jewish literatures is so important. Chanukah has its precedent in the TaNaKh. In Maccabees, Chanukah is called the “Sukkot of Kislev.” Why?
It is because, it was at this time that the Greeks chose to defile the Temple. So, the quickest way to rebuild a Temple that has not been physically destroyed is to rededicate it, by harkening to the holiday of Sukkot, to the menorah, and to fire.
All of this serves one purpose: To reestablish Jewish sovereignty upon our ancestral land and, in doing so, preserve our indigenous way-of-life as the Jewish people against the colonization by empires.
https://www.jns.org/opinion/the-untold-story-of-hanukkah-that-needs-to-be-told/
The untold story of Hanukkah that needs to be told. – As painful as it is to acknowledge, Hanukkah represents the reality of a semi-civil war among the Jews.
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Chanukah is a yearly re-dedication of our ethno-religious identity as a Jewish people, and a reminder of our inherent indigenous right to self-sovereignty as a people.
Just as with the agricultural Sukkot festival, there are laws to how the Festival of Lights must be performed. As a guide for less educated Jews, here are the *must do*:
Your menorah must be publicly displayed to fulfill this mitzvah! Whether outside or on an uncurtained window sill, the lights *must* be visible to others (non-Jews).
As well, you must light at least *one* candle per night. Only one lit candle each night fulfills this mitzvah! Most Jews light the number of candles that represent each night. Lighting eight candles each night is also permitted.
Lastly, you must perform this public lighting ritual for all eight nights. Lighting the candle *after* sunset, during the evening hours, fulfills this mitzvah!
One additional note: For those in a structured environment where candle lighting is *unsafe* or not permitted, it is permissable to use an electric menorah in place of a candle or oil lamp. It is the Festival of Lights, of course! An Indigenous People’s boldly outward display of ethno-religious freedom, even when surrounded by animosity and colonizing forces.
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“In so many conversations around Jewish indigeneity, we fail to mention that at its root, Judaism is an earth-based practice that is grounded in strict laws created in Israel to govern agriculture, land-management, environmental stewardship, and food security. We would do well to acknowledge and learn how our Jewish ancestors observed [Sukkot, Pesach, and Shavuot] holidays as agricultural festivals that celebrated the harvests and natural elements of the land of ancient Israel.
For Jews, like most indigenous groups, the spiritual is political and also ecological, and we should not be afraid to lean into deep connections to the land of Israel. As “wandering Jews” we’ve rightfully defined ourselves as a people in diaspora, dispersed from our original homeland and yearning for our ingathering back to our ancestral land. Sadly, like many other uprooted indigenous communities, Jews have been forced to live as “others” in lands around the world.
In the face of threats ranging from forcible assimilation to violent genocide, we have adapted our earth-based practices to the environments we live in. We should be proud of these innovations and of the resilience we’ve displayed over generations of efforts to see our people destroyed.”
– Sarah Levin, Jewish Indigeneity to Israel – JIMENA
Jewish Indigeneity to Israel
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