Slightly over twenty three centuries ago, the Seleucid dynasty founded by one of Alexander the great's generals after his death ruled over Syria, Lebanon, part of Asia minor, and Israel.
In 174 BCE one of the kings of that dynasty (Antiochus IV) tried to impose unity on his empire by decreeing a common religion and a common culture for all. On his orders, torah scrolls were seized and burned, the temple in Jerusalem was taken over and the treasury looted, and idols were placed in the temple for sacrificial rituals. The observance of three fundamental commandments was forbidden - observing the Sabbath, circumcision, and sanctification of the new moon (which is important both for determining the holy days, and for establishing the dates on which certain practices are valid - most notably testifying in court).
Israel was ordered to worship the Greek gods to show loyalty to the Seleucid regime, and to acknowledge Greek superiority. Only in the hills of Judea were there still pockets of resistance; elsewhere, the populace simmered in fury, but feared the Syrian forces. The priestly clans went into hiding, lest they be forced to participate in idolatry and defilement.
Eventually, of course, there were rebellions. Repression always creates explosive conditions.
A small force of partisans commanded by Judah (Yehuda) the son of Mattityahu the priest (also known as Judah the hammer, Judah the strong, or Judah Makkabi) after defeating three armies sent to destroy them, expelled the occupiers from Jerusalem, destroyed the idols, and purified and rededicated the temple.
They made a menorah to replace the one stolen by the Syrio-Greeks. But they only found one jar of pure olive oil for the lights, sufficient for only one day. [Note that pure oil for the temple was kept in jars containing a measure sufficient for only one day each, sealed with the mark of the temple priest. Hence the problem; not just any oil would do, it had to be ritually pure.]
The lights were lit anyway. Miraculously, that one bottle's worth burned for eight days, by which time they had gotten a fresh supply of pure oil.
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1 comment:
uh actually thats a misnomer, the bottles were never sealed with a 'seal' or stamp of any kind just sorta closed and labled.
This botle was unique it had a seal of a previous Kohen kadol and was slightly smaller than usual.
Nobody really knows the story of its origins.
The macabees wouldn't just take a regular oil bottle for the menorah. It may have been touched by, L-rd knows how many impure people had wandered in the hiechal.
But this flask was considered a heavenly sign, as they had never seen a kohan gadol sealed bottle.
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