Chanukah

[zunshynn]

Doesn't the Jewish holiday of Chanukah come from one of the books of Maccabees?

If so, why did they reject those from their canon?

And if not, where else does it come from?

Edited December 12, 2005 by zunshynn

[phatcatholic]

[quote name='zunshynn' date='Dec 11 2005, 08:52 PM']Doesn't the Jewish holiday of Chanukah come from one of the books of Maccabees?[/quote]
yes, apparently it does. from the Jewish Encyclopdia ([b][url="http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=265&letter=H"]here[/url][/b]) we read:[list]The Feast of Dedication, also called "Feast of the Maccabees," celebrated during eight days from the twenty-fifth day of Kislew (December), chiefly as a festival of lights. It was instituted by Judas Maccabeus, his brothers, and the elders of the congregation of Israel, in the year 165 B.C., to be celebrated annually with mirth and joy as a memorial of the dedication of the altar (I Macc. iv. 59) or of the purification of the sanctuary (II Macc. i. 18).

[/list]actually, to be more precise, it didn't [i]come from[/i] a particular book of scripture. instead, a certain man instituted it, and the account of this institution is in the bible. so, a Jew can believe that Hanukkah was instituted by Judas Maccabeus and still believe that the account of this institution is not the Word of God.


[quote]If so, why did they reject those from their canon?[/quote]
its difficult to say. i'll have to do some more research on this.


[quote]And if not, where else does it come from?[/quote]
for more on the history of the feast, see the article i linked to above, and this article from New Advent:

Feast of the Dedication
[url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04673b.htm"]http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04673b.htm[/url]

pax christi,
phatcatholic