R. Micha'el Rosenberg: The True Story of Hanukkah
Growing up as the only Jew in my class in Iowa, I got lots of practice telling the story of Hanukkah. The story of the oil that was only enough for one night but which, miraculously, lasted for eight, as I learned it and retold it every December in a classroom full of Christmas decorations, is the most familiar in all of American Judaism.In recent years, this telling of the tale is often criticized. The earliest depictions we have of Hanukkah, in 1 and 2 Maccabees (composed within a century of the Maccabean revolt), focus on a military victory. A miracle on the battlefield is also the focus…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.