Maccabees
How to celebrate an ancient victory in the midst of a war that’s not over
By Brad Hirschfield — December 7, 2023
(RNS) — One solution lies in perhaps the best-known part of the Hanukkah story — the miracle of the oil.
A scholar of Jewish studies airs a few inconvenient lessons of Hanukkah
By Mark I. Pinsky — December 19, 2022
(RNS) — Prominent Middle East archaeologist Eric Meyers offers a view of Jewish uprisings, including those that followed the Maccabees, and their actual consequences.
Eight things that will surprise you about Hanukkah
By Jeffrey Salkin — December 19, 2022
(RNS) — Great truths about Hanukkah. One for each night. (As for the 'right' way to spell it, you're on your own.)
Celebrating the insurrection of Hanukkah in a year of insurrection
By Brad Hirschfield — November 30, 2021
(RNS) — Hanukkah, the story of a second-century BCE insurrection, can shed light on our view of Jan. 6.
In time for Hanukkah, archaeologists reveal battle-scarred stronghold against Maccabees
By Michele Chabin — November 24, 2021
(RNS) — ‘The stories of the Maccabees are coming to life before our eyes,’ said one member of the group that excavated the site.
New book plumbs the role of the Herods in forming early Jewish, Christian views
By Yonat Shimron — August 17, 2021
(RNS) — In his book “The Herods: Murder, Politics, and the Art of Succession,” Bruce Chilton, a professor of religion at Bard College, places the dynastic family that ruled Judea and Israel for the Romans front and center.
The desecration of the House
By Mark Silk — January 8, 2021
(RNS) —The sacrilege lay not in the invasion of the Capitol but in the fact that it had been incited by the president of the United States.
This year, American Jews are taking Hanukkah outside
By Yonat Shimron — December 9, 2020
(RNS) — Many American Jews have previously shied from overtly public menorah displays out of a sense of vulnerability, if not an outright fear of persecution. Not this year.
What is the miracle of Hanukkah’s first night?
By Joshua Hammerman — December 20, 2019
(RNS) — It may be that 2,000 years later, Jews, a miraculously inextinguishable and inexhaustible people, still joyously light their menorahs and spin their dreidels as the sun sets.
The identity crisis of Hanukkah
By Donniel Hartman — December 11, 2017
(RNS) — A 'good Jew' is no longer one who fights Hellenism but one who maintains a Jewish core within the multiple facets of his or her life.
How Christmas is linked to Hanukkah
By Lauren Markoe — December 8, 2017
(RNS) — Without the Maccabees’ victory and the preservation of Jewish religious life in ancient Israel, Christianity may not have emerged 200 years later with its taproots deeply embedded within Judaism.
8 factoids about Hanukkah to impress your friends and family
By Jeffrey Salkin — December 17, 2014
(RNS) For a “successful” holiday, there are still many things American Jews don’t know about Hanukkah.
Move over Hanukkah bush, here comes the Menorah Tree
By Lauren Markoe — November 21, 2013
(RNS) Michael Patchen didn't want a Christmas tree in his Jewish home, but his wife did. So he invented the Menorah Tree, an unusual holiday item that he is now mass-producing for other families confronted by a Christmas tree dilemma.
Thanksgiving and Hanukkah converge on “Thanksgivukkah” for the first time since 1888
By Lauren Markoe — October 29, 2013
(RNS) Hanukkah and Thanksgiving won't converge again for another 77,798 years, so it's time to break out your "menurky" to celebrate "Thanksgivukkah."
Ambassador Michael Oren: The shared roots of Hanukkah and Christmas
By Ambassador Michael Oren — December 14, 2012
WASHINGTON (RNS) This holiday season, whether we and our families gather around a menorah or a Christmas tree, we celebrate our freedom to believe. We rejoice in the values for which our forefathers fought and passed down for centuries. The Hanukkah and Christmas lights that illuminate our homes burn bright for all of humanity. By Michael Oren.
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