Alex the Great died.
His empire was split up.
Who owned Judea?
King Antiochus
was the new king for the Jews
but he wasn't nice.
"Give up your Torah,"
he said to the Jewish folks.
"Bow down to my gods."
The Jews weren't too pleased.
He defiled the Temple --
sacrificed some pigs.
Things were bad for Jews
They were being killed for faith.
But one guy stepped up.
In his town, Mod'in,
Mattathias stepped up
He said, "Let's rebel!"
His five sons followed
They helped lead the rebellion
and fled to the hills.
A guerrilla fight
against the Syrian-Greeks
hit-and-run fighting.
Mattathias died.
His son Judah took over -
he was a great guy.
Rebellion went well
They called him the Maccabee
(the word means "hammer")
He struck fast and hard
and finally the Jews won -
a long time coming!
A great victory
It was quite a miracle
Just one of many
Back to the Temple
but it was totally wrecked,
defiled, defaced.
They made it holy,
rededicated to God,
prepared for worship.
A legend for sure:
There was no oil to find
to light the great Lamp
One small flask was found,
only enough for one day
but it lasted EIGHT!
Today we rejoice
with victory dances,
remember that time.
The more likely tale:
They missed Sukkot in that year
and observed it late.
Eight days of the feast
have been translated to this
time of Chanukah.
Either way, it's fun
to eat latkes and candy
and play the dreidel.
Happy Chanukah
(However you spell the word)
let's all celebrate!
See more Haiku Friday here.
If you're looking for my weekly Torah Portion Haiku, it's over at my other blog...
Remember the GIVEAWAY...you can comment on each post from this week's Chanukah Countdown Party to enter multiple times! A $25 gift certificate to OH! Nuts...
Previous Chanukah Countdown Party Posts:
How do you spell Chanukah?
What works for me on Chanukah
Have a Green Chanukah
