Commemoration in Kislev: The Jewish Festival of Hanukkah
By Sandra Aviv
Each year, the Hebrew month of Kislev brings with it the themes of hope, resilience, and divine faithfulness. Kislev falls in late autumn and early winter, a season in which darkness lengthens and agricultural life slows. The month appears in Scripture (see Zechariah 7:1) as a time when prophetic words were spoken into Israel's life. Later Jewish tradition associates the month with quiet miracles and enduring light, ideas that eventually crystallized in the celebration of Hanukkah.
The historical origins of Hanukkah lie in the turbulent 2nd century BCE reign of the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes, whose policies attempted to suppress Jewish rituals and covenantal practices. The books of 1 and 2 Maccabees, preserved in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible), describe the Seleucids’ desecration of the Jerusalem Temple, the banning of Sabbath observance and circumcision, and the building of pagan altars in the sanctuary.
In response, a priestly family from Modi‘in — Mattathias and his sons, later known as the Maccabees — initiated a revolt. After several years of conflict, they recaptured Jerusalem. According to 1 Maccabees 4:36–59, they removed the defiled structures, rebuilt the altar, and rededicated the Temple on the 25th day of Kislev, giving the festival its earliest name: Ḥanukkah, meaning dedication.
One of the earliest non-rabbinic accounts of the festival appears in the writings of the 1st-century Jewish historian Josephus. In Antiquities 12.316, he refers to the holiday as the “Festival of Lights.” Josephus explains the name by noting that the nation experienced an unexpected “appearance of light,” a metaphor for the restoration of Jewish freedom after years of oppression. His description reflects how Hanukkah was understood in the Second Temple period, as a commemoration of victory, restoration, and renewed worship.
Although Hanukkah is widely associated today with the story of a small jar of oil that burned miraculously for eight days, this familiar tradition does not appear in the earliest sources. First and Second Maccabees give detailed accounts of the Temple’s rededication but make no mention of such a miracle.
The first appearance of the oil tradition is found much later, in the Talmud (Shabbat 21b) — a rabbinic collection compiled centuries after the Maccabean era. According to the Talmudic account, the Maccabees discovered only one sealed jar of pure oil when they reclaimed the Temple — enough for one day — yet it burned for eight days until new oil could be prepared. Writing after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, the rabbis emphasized the spiritual import of the Temple’s rededication, reframing Hanukkah around themes of divine provision and enduring holiness rather than military triumph.
Another early witness to the festival is Megillat Ta‘anit, an ancient list of days on which fasting was prohibited, dating to the late Second Temple period. It records the 25th of Kislev as a joyful day, confirming that the celebration of the Temple’s rededication was already established before the later rabbinic interpretation became widespread.
The hanukkiyah (חֲנֻכִּיָּה) the nine-branched lamp used today, is itself a later development in Jewish history. During the Maccabean period, the only sacred lampstand was the seven-branched menorah described in Exodus, and no special Hanukkah lamp existed. The earliest archaeological evidence for Hanukkah lamps appears in the Late Second Temple and early Roman periods, often as decorated clay oil lamps that hint at emerging festival customs. Eight-spouted lamps have been found dating to around the sixth century CE. The fully developed form with eight lights plus a shamash (the "servant" candle used to light the others) evolved gradually over the centuries as Jewish communities shaped ritual observance in the post-Temple period.
The symbolism of light in Hanukkah also resonates with earlier biblical imagery. The book of Zechariah, written centuries before the Maccabean revolt, contains a vision of a golden lampstand and the divine declaration: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit” (Zech 4:6). Later Jewish interpretation associated this message with the spirit of Hanukkah: the endurance of light amid darkness, not through force, but through divine presence.
The New Testament preserves a brief but meaningful reference to the festival. The Gospel of John notes that Jesus was in Jerusalem during “the Feast of Dedication” (John 10:22), walking in the Temple courts. This detail confirms that Hanukkah was widely observed in the 1st century CE and that early followers of Jesus lived within the rhythms of Jewish sacred time.
Viewed through historical, literary, and archaeological lenses, Kislev becomes a month rich with meaning. It recalls the struggles of Judea under foreign rule, the resilience of Jewish identity, and the evolution of Jewish religious practice from the Maccabean era through late antiquity. The lights of the hanukkiyah — added one by one over eight nights — continue to symbolize this heritage of perseverance and renewal.
In this way, Kislev invites readers to reflect not only on the ancient story of Hanukkah but also on the broader biblical themes of light preserved, faith renewed, and covenant memory sustained across generations.
