Commentary on al-Fāsī: On the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat

In this brief comment on al-Fāsī’s talmudic digest, Jonathan ha-Kohen of Lunel discusses the length of Hanukkah. Why should Hanukkah, a postbiblical festival, be eight days long, which is as long as the longest biblical festival? His answer to this question echoes ideas found in 2 Maccabees, a book omitted from the rabbinic version of the biblical canon but which circulated among Provençal Jews. Like other interpreters, Jonathan notes two Hanukkah miracles, the military victory and the miracle of the oil, the latter of which is recorded only in the Babylonian Talmud. Jonathan’s commentary on al-Fāsī was one of many such texts written in the medieval period, testifying to the ongoing importance of al-Fāsī’s work and to its frequent role as a replacement for the more involved Babylonian Talmud.