A Brief History of Chanukah
by
David Levy
on behalf of
JewishBoston.com
/
November 29, 2012
Curious to learn more about where this holiday comes from? Check out these links.
- The History Channel has a brief summary of the events of the Hanukkah story, with videos.
- MyJewishLearning.com has a slightly more detailed version of the history, with a focus on where and when different parts of the story were recorded.
- Ever wonder how Chanukah became so prominent in the US? Slate has the answer.
- A few years ago, scholar Shaye Cohen wrote a provocative op-ed in the Forward suggesting that while the events of the Chanukah story haven't changed, our interpretation might.
- You might know that Chanukah doesn't appear in the bible, but there are several apocryphal books--books considered for, but not ultimately included in the bible--that tell the story. Read them here:
- Another historical source we have for the Chanukah story is the writings of Flavius Josephus, a Jew who defected to the side of Rome during the first century, around the time of the destruction of the Second Temple. As to be expected of someone of his stature, there's a Flavius Josephus Home Page where you can learn all about him and read his writings for free. The bits about Chanukah appear in Antiquities of the Jews books 12 and 13.
Explore all our Chanukah events, recipes, tips and more on JewishBoston.com's Chanukah page.
