Chanukah: Not Judah Maccabee’s Holiday
In 164 B.C.E., Judah Maccabee defeats the Seleucid army and purifies the Temple. The fighting continues, and Judah is killed in 160 B.C.E. Only in 142 B.C.E. do the Seleucids finally make peace with Simon, Judah’s last surviving brother, who founds the Hasmonean dynasty of high priests that rule Judea for a century. Who established Chanukah as a holiday?
