Daniel and Lalou Holdt's kinship with

Anthiochus IV Epiphanes, King of Syria:

67th great-grandfather

 

Antiochus IV arrogantly added Epiphanes to his name, which means, “manifest god.”
He  considered himself divine, God on earth. During this onslaught against the Jews his troops ransacked the Holy Temple, and sacrificed a pig to the Greek god Zeus on the altar in the Holy of Holies.
What occurred in 168-167 BC is one of the bloodiest, saddest chapters of Jewish history. But out of it came one of the greatest triumphs and miracles ever experienced by the Jews.
Which is what the celebration of Chanukah is all about.



  

 


Why we celebrate Chanukah
 

Against all odds, a small band of faithful Jews, led by Judah the Maccabee (our 69th great-grand-uncle), defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of God. When they sought to light the Temple's Menorah (the seven-branched candelabrum), they found only a single cruse of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks. Miraculously, they lit the menorah and the one-day supply of oil lasted for eight days, until new oil could be prepared under conditions of ritual purity. To commemorate and publicize these miracles, the sages instituted the festival of Chanukah.

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