Dear Chaim,
I hope you're feeling better.
My question is regarding Channukah. I remember last year how you did a video explaining the real meaning of Channukah, rather than the ones so-called rabbis peddle about one day's worth of oil lasting for eight days. Why do you think rabbis and Jews don't celebrate what really went on, for example, how Matityahu killed the evil Syrain Greeks and a self hating Jewish collaborator?
Today via Worldnetdaily.com I found an article on The Jewish Journal called "Maccabes Heroes Or Rabble Rousers."
http://www.jewishjournal.com/chanukah/article/heroes_or_rabble-rousers_the_real_story_of_the_maccabees_20091210/According to this article, not even all the religious Jews of the time agreed with the Maccabes:
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In the first centuries of the common era, the Jewish sages of Mesopotamia sought to minimize the Maccabees’ significance in the Chanukah story. These scholars of the Babylonian Talmud focused instead on the miracle of the menorah oil, emphasizing the divine element of the story over the military victory of the Maccabees.
Richard Kalmin, chairman of rabbinic literature at the Jewish Theological Seminary, says the rabbis’ irreverent treatment of the Hasmoneans was based on the concerns of their era.
“The rabbis were competing with a class of wealthy local Jews over influence,” Kalmin said. “The stories of the Hasmoneans portrayed them as aristocrats, therefore entitled to be in a position of respect.
“However, the rabbis of Babylonia thought studying the Torah was more important. One of the ways in which they fought for their values was to engage in propaganda portraying the progenitors of the Hasmoneans as not coming across too well.”
Largely as a result of this, the festival of lights for centuries focused on the miracle of the oil. Then, in the late 19th century, the Zionist movement revived the cult of the Maccabees. The story of Chanukah, which evokes images of warrior Jews fighting for independence, mirrored their own ambitions, and many early Zionists considered the holiday more important than Sukkot or Rosh Hashanah.
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So my question to you Chaim, is why were the religious Jews of that time really against the Maccabes when Matityahu went so far as to stand up to those Greeks, re-dedicate the Temple and even kill a self-hating Jewish traitor?
You often attribute the refusal of many Jews to fight for what is right to their ghetto mentality. So how do you explain the behavior of the Jewish sages of Mesopotamia being that there was a sovereign Israel, thanks to the Maccabes, and the Temple was back in Jewish hands?
Also, being that it's Channukah, can you please explain for us once again why the Books of the Maccabes were never made part of the Jewish Bible. Italian Zionist asked you about it a while ago. But I would love it if you could elaborate once more.
Thank you very much.
Lisa