Chanukah is ‘Holiday of the Women’

In this time of year, when the days get darker and darker, comes the celebration of Chanukah – as a contrast of light.

But what is this light that we’re celebrating? And how does each one of us capture that light?

In the last years, our personal connection to Chanukah is through the prism of women. Chanukah is also known as the “Holiday of the Women,” and is being called that in honor of all the women who are connected to this holiday: Judith, Hannah and her seven sons, and Mattathias’ daughter.

The book of Judith is not in the official Jewish Bible, but like the two books of Maccabees it is part of the collection called the Apocrypha. It tells about the cruel siege of the city of Bathol by the military leader Holofornos.

When water and food were nowhere to be found and the situation in the city became unbearable, Judith, a widow in the city, decided to go to Holofornos and pretend she has important military information for him. She fed him special cheese she brought with her, so he became thirsty and then drunk on wine.

After Holofornos fell asleep, Judith grabbed his sword, cut his head off, and brought it to the city. That night the besieged Israelites attacked Holofornos’s army and released themselves from the siege.

Hannah and herseven sons were Jewish martyrs described in Maccabees 2. Shortly before the revolt of Judas Maccabeus, Antiochus IV Epiphanes arrested Hannah and her sons, and tried to force them to eat pork or to worship an idol (depends on the version).

When they refused, he tortured and killed the sons one by one. Despite these cruel actions, the narrator in the book of Maccabees tells us that Hannah bore it bravely because she put her trust in the Lord.

And while the books of Maccabees focus on the sons of Mattathias, the commentary to Megilat Ta’anit (seventh century C.E.) tells that Mattathias had a daughter, also named Hannah, who demanded that the Jews oppose Antiochus’ decrees. We learn from her to encourage others to stand up against wrong.

Rabbi Joshua Ben-Levi tells us in the Talmud (Tractate Shabbat 23a) that “Women are obligated in lighting Chanukah candles since they were also a part in that miracle.” Reading this explanation we’d have to ask ourselves – what does it mean that they were also part of that miracle?

If we look at Rashi’s commentary, we’ll see he chooses to explain this expression saying that: “the salvation was from the hands of women” and that “the essence of the miracle was made by the hands of women.”

Rashi describes strong, active women who aren’t waiting for something to happen to them; rather they take action and initiative. Their actions are unique and heroic, and are told to inspire generations.

So jumping up some generations to our days, our heroic women story relates to the place we met each other — the rape crisis center in Jerusalem. This organization that we were part of for many years helps battered women and promotes gender equality.

Most of the workers in the center are dedicated volunteers who work night and day to obtain a 24-hour hotline and educational programs throughout the city.

These women who advocate, educate, support and empower other women — are our light this Chanukah, and are for us, the essence of the proverb of Chabad founder Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi: “A little light dispels a lot of darkness.”

Michal Makov-Peled, with her husband Ro’ee Peled, is co-emissary from Israel to Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Israel Campus Fellow. Eden Hazani Zion, with her husband Yehonatan, is co-emissary from Israel to Madison and Israel Fellow at Hillel at the University of Wisconsin.