This is a photograph of a cave in the cave complex known as the Tomb of the Maccabees near the Ben Shemen Forest. It is an old sepia image that focuses on the cave and the weeds next to it. At the bottom of the photograph “Hasmonean Cave” is typed in Hebrew and the name “Ben Shemen” is written in pencil.
The area came to be known as the Tomb of the Maccabees in 1909, when students from the Gymnasia Herzliya high school in Tel Aviv visited the cave, lit torches for Chanukah, and called it the “Tomb of the Maccabees.” They based this idea on the name of the nearby village, Al-Media, a name that sounds similar to Modi’in, the town where the Maccabees’ rebellion began, and the Arabic name for the place, Kubour al-Yahud, meaning the tomb of the king of the Jews. Since 1945, the site has served as the starting point for the Chanukah torch race and for other family activities for Chanukah.
Ben Shemen is apparently not the place where the Maccabees were buried, since archeological evidence of the burial architecture (vaulted tombs) and other finds recovered from the tombs are not consistent with the Hasmonean period. The Tomb of the Maccabees has not, as yet been found, but recent work at other sites in the area has given archaeologists hope that the mystery might someday be solved.
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Chanuka - Chanuka celebrates the rededication of the Temple by Judah the Maccabee and his army after their victory over the Greeks in 165 BCE. One of the well-known miracles of the Chanukah story is the small portion of oil that was able to light the Menorah in the Temple and burn for eight nights. Chanukah begins on 25 Kislev and is celebrated by lighting a Chanukiya for eight nights. It is also traditional to eat fried foods (to symbolise the oil) and play with spinning tops known as dreidles.
Maccabees - The Maccabees were led by Matityahu and his five sons in a revolt against Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the Syrian Hellenists who ruled Israel from 200 BCE. The Maccabees lived in the city of Modi’in and launched their rebellion when a Greek official commanded Matityahu to make a sacrifice to a pagan god. His son Judah, who was known as Judah Maccabee (deriving from the Aramaic word for hammer), became the leader of the Judean army. After several years of fighting, Jerusalem was recaptured and the Temple was rededicated. The festival of Chanukah commemorates the victory against Antiochus and the dedication of the Temple. Jewish autonomy returned to Judea and the Maccabees, also called the Hasmoneans, claimed the kingship. The Hasmonean dynasty ruled Israel for 77 years from 140–63 BCE. Their self-appointment as the high priests led to fighting among the different Jewish factions which brought an end to the Hasmonean dynasty and the beginning of Roman rule in the country. This ended Jewish independent rule until the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.
