Rabbi Howard Morrison

The Second book of Maccabees relates a story about a woman and her seven sons. This Biblical tale has been amplified with variations in different depictions found within Jewish literature.

Soon after Antiochus Epiphanes IV assumed leadership of the Syrian-Greek Hellenists, he outlawed Jewish practice and belief in God. In one particular scene, he summoned Hannah and her seven sons to worship idolatry, forsake belief in the one God, and abandon all forms of Jewish practice. When the family refused, Antiochus took the oldest son and dismembered the boy before killing him. Antiochus went on to kill all of the remaining sons, even the youngest, one after the other, with a mother having to witness the deaths of all her children.   Depending on the version of the account, Hannah then either threw herself over the corpses of her sons, threw herself into a fire, or threw herself off a rooftop, dying after witnessing the barbaric murders of her children.

This haunting Chanukah tale comes to mind especially this year, when Hamas tortured and brutally murdered over 1200 Jews in one day, including the rape and murder of many women, as well as the dismembering and killing of many children. The brutality of Antiochus can indeed be compared to the evil Hamas monsters.

Hannah and her seven sons have their story recorded for posterity in our tradition. A mother and her children are considered martyrs having died a Kiddush Hashem, sanctifying God's name because they were Jews. Likewise, may the stories of all who have died at the hands of Hamas, civilian or soldier, have their stories recorded for posterity and be remembered as martyrs who sanctified the name of God in their deaths. May their memories be recorded as blessings for all time.

Rabbi Howard Morrison