Live @ Drisha: Chanuka

The Talmud tells about the origins of Chanuka in a way that closely parallels a talmudic legend about Adam’s first encounter with darkness. As Chanuka begins, we will study these talmudic texts to illuminate our own encounter with the darkness and with the holiday of Chanuka.

We will conduct a detailed analysis of the significance of the commonalities the festivals of Chanuka and Sukkot.

We will explore the earliest sources that retold the dramatic story of Chanuka, and will consider how ancient retellings of Chanuka changed over time – and why.

When the Hasmoneans ruled Judea in the second and first centuries BCE, hundreds of thousands of pious Jews were comfortably settled in Egypt – with no plans to return to their homeland. We will discuss what these Jews practiced, how they related to the land of Israel and the Jerusalem Temple, and what it meant to assimilate into the Greco-Roman world and still identify as a Jew.

Dying for a cause is considered by many the most noble form of death, and dying for one’s faith has a long and complicated history. The first Jewish martyrdom stories are from the books of Maccabees, and we will look at how this idea is used in that context, and then how it evolved and developed over the following centuries, in early Christianity and into rabbinic Judaism.

The observance of Purim centers around the Megillah, which becomes part of the canon. Chanuka, by contrast, focuses on the lighting of the candles, a Temple ritual. We will discuss the implications of each.

A central observance of Chanuka is the recitation of Hallel on all eight days; on Purim Hallel is not recited. We will study the significance of this distinction.

What does it mean for Chanuka to be the only major holiday invented in the post-biblical era? Through hassidic sources, we will explore Chanuka’s message regarding novelty and creativity in our Torah and in our lives.

Does the ‘chanukia’ simply model the Menorah of the Mishkan -with an extra candle? Our session will begin by comparing the ‘Menorah’ to the other vessels of the Mishkan, in an attempt to ​better understand what it symbolizes. Afterward, we will turn to the prophet Chagai and the book of Macabees to appreciate why the Menorah became the national symbol of the Second Temple period – which will shed light on our Rabbinic tradition of lighting a ‘chanukia’ on Chanuka.