I, too, heard this unflattering side of the Chanukah story this year, told by our far to the Left rabbi. He always seems to find a way to bash the Jews and/or Israel in some way, so I tend to take his "teachings" with a grain of salt. It may be true that some of the Hasmoneans were rather zealot in their desire to ensure the survival of Judaism and ritual practices, but it is also true that under Antiochus, Jews were not allowed to study or practice their religion. Circumcision was banned as were all other Jewish practices. The Greek/Roman culture, with its emphasis on brawn and beauty, not study and ritual, were enticing. The fear of being put to death for not bowing down to the statues of Zeus or other Greek idols was real. It makes sense that some Jews of that time ( as in ours) would opt to forsake their heritage and religious life, for the sake of their personal well-being and survival. And it also makes sense that some Jews might respond to harshly to these kinsmen. Still, the story and miracles of Chanukah stand true and I, for one, am very wary of those who try to retell our story, after over 2000 years.
I, too, heard this unflattering side of the Chanukah story this year, told by our far to the Left rabbi. He always seems to find a way to bash the Jews and/or Israel in some way, so I tend to take his "teachings" with a grain of salt. It may be true that some of the Hasmoneans were rather zealot in their desire to ensure the survival of Judaism and ritual practices, but it is also true that under Antiochus, Jews were not allowed to study or practice their religion. Circumcision was banned as were all other Jewish practices. The Greek/Roman culture, with its emphasis on brawn and beauty, not study and ritual, were enticing. The fear of being put to death for not bowing down to the statues of Zeus or other Greek idols was real. It makes sense that some Jews of that time ( as in ours) would opt to forsake their heritage and religious life, for the sake of their personal well-being and survival. And it also makes sense that some Jews might respond to harshly to these kinsmen. Still, the story and miracles of Chanukah stand true and I, for one, am very wary of those who try to retell our story, after over 2000 years.