Erich Gruen & Ron Hendel · Hanukkah: Resistance or Accommodation?

Brave Maccabees defeat the evil Seleucid Empire and rededicate the Temple; miracle oil burns for eight days (thus the latkes). Not really...the Books of the Maccabees tell a far messier tale.

Yes, Hanukkah celebrates a stirring victory of Jewish forces, led by Judah Maccabee, over those of the Greco-Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes, who had sought to stamp out the religion, rituals, and institutions of the Jewish nation. But the historical record is more complicated. It was no mere matter of heroes and villains, the triumph of good over evil. This session will look more closely at the motives, the issues, and the long-term consequences of this iconic event.

Spoiler alert: there was no miracle "tiny flask of oil," and no little dreidels. 

Join Erich Gruen, preeminent historian of Hellenistic Judaism and Professor Emeritus at UC Berkeley, and Ron Hendel, Professor Emeritus of Hebrew Bible at Berkeley, for an unflinching look at the Hanukkah story.