On Hannah and Hanukkah

The National Library of Israel published an article written by Ayala Deckel in 1922 about Hanukkah, saying that it was a woman who gave the spark for the Maccabee brothers to revolt against the authority of the Seleucids (the kingdom formed by Seleucus, general of Alexander the Great, who after his death took over the region of the Middle East).

According to the Midrash, the miracle of Hanukkah is based on a very courageous woman who dared to say aloud the thing everyone knew and no one wanted to say. This declaration made her brothers revolt. Her name was Hannah, daughter of Mattathias, sister of the Maccabees. Again according to the Midrash, in that kingdom there was the tradition of giving the governor the right to violate the newly married woman on the first night of the marriage — a tradition said to have existed in the Middle Ages in the countries of Europe. The same thing is found in the epic of 'Gilgamesh', which is said to have been a source for the writing of certain books. It seems the Hasmoneans accepted this right with their eyes closed.

The day of Hannah's wedding came, and she decided to put an end to this distressing tradition. At the celebration on the wedding night she stood up, before the guests, her mother, her father, her brothers, began to tear her dress and stood naked, saying: 'You want to kill me because I have dishonoured myself before you, but you have no reaction because I am going tonight to the governor's bed instead of my bridegroom's bed.' According to the Midrash, this was the spark that made the Maccabee brothers revolt.

When we speak of Hanukkah we always refer to the story of the oil that lasted eight days. This story of Hannah is not known at all. Perhaps because of its content, full of shame, it was not told; but certain Ashkenazi communities of Europe mention a similar story without giving the name of Hannah, saying simply: 'Bat Hashmonai', 'daughter of the Hasmonean'. Some researchers claim that 'Bat Hashmonai' and Judith are the same person. According to Rashi, the great sage, it was the heroism of a woman that lies behind the story of Hanukkah. Moreover there is a great similarity between the word Hanukkah and the name Hannah. That is why today the candles are lit by women in many parts of the Jewish world.

Ending her article, Ayala says that Hannah is the voice of the women who had to stay silent for many centuries until today, who must defend the human rights of women, and that a truth, even if cruel and painful, can have its miracle of being healed.