Midrash for Hanukkah: The Establishment of the Holiday

This excerpt from the Hebrew Midrash for Hanukkah (Midrash le-Ḥanukkah) tells the story of the establishment of Hanukkah, a postbiblical festival. It lays part of the blame for the Greek oppression of the Jews on an apostate Jew named Tatni ben Paḥat. It also draws on competing claims about why Hanukkah is eight days, either because of its link to the length of the biblical festival of Sukkot (as mentioned in 2 Maccabees 10:6) or because of the miracle of the oil (which appears in b. Shabbat 21b). This sacred history of Hanukkah also underscores the endlessness of Israel’s suffering and God’s role in saving the Jews.