In every generation at this time of year, the Jewish people revisit the heroism of the Maccabees, those indomitable warriors who refused to bow before tyranny and who rekindled the flame of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel.
Yet, too often, our remembrance is sentimental rather than substantive. We light candles, spin dreidels, and sing familiar songs, but we forget that behind the story of Hanukkah stood flesh-and-blood leaders who spoke words meant to stiffen the resolve of a battered nation.
Among the most stirring of those words are those of Judah Maccabee, which were preserved by Josephus in his work The Antiquities of the Jews. Though delivered more than two millennia ago, Judah’s speeches provide us with a blueprint as the Jewish people once again face hostility and moral confusion in a world hungry to see Israel falter.
The Maccabee leader’s message reverberates through the centuries: Courage is not optional, faith must not be performative, and victory belongs to those who know what they are fighting for.
Josephus records Judah standing before his men, vastly outnumbered by their Seleucid Hellenist foes, their situation dire. He reminds them that Israel has never been saved by numbers, for “victory and conquest of enemies are not derived from the multitude in armies but in the exercise of piety towards God” (Antiquities, Book 12, Chapter 7:1).
Judah: Not mere bravado
This was not mere bravado: It was a moral and spiritual compass. Judah knew that when a people forgets what it stands for, it collapses long before the enemy strikes. But when the Jewish people understand its covenant, its purpose and its destiny, no imperial army, neither Seleucid nor modern, can stand in its way.
Israel today needs this clarity. We are blessed with a mighty army and advanced technology, yet we sometimes waver when confronted with the relentless barrage of global opinion, diplomatic pressure, and moral inversion. The more powerful Israel becomes, the more its adversaries seek to delegitimize its right to defend itself.
But Judah reminds us that the source of Jewish strength is not to be found in polls, headlines, or foreign capitals: It flows from our belief in the justness of our cause.
In Josephus’ retelling, Judah urges his fighters not to lose heart because of what is at stake. He insists that the Jews must “fight manfully” for “such glorious rewards as those of the liberty of your country, of your laws, of your religion” (Antiquities, Book 12, Chapter 7:3).
He understood instinctively what some in our time fail to grasp: Jewish survival and Jewish values are inseparable. A people that does not defend itself cannot preserve its Torah. And a nation ashamed of its spiritual and historical heritage cannot hold its land.
However, some segments of Israeli society, as well as in the Diaspora, struggle with this idea. Many Jews instinctively recoil from asserting the righteousness of our cause, fearful of appearing tribal or triumphalist.
Judah would have none of this. He knew that the Jewish people had a unique role to play in history, one that required strength, self-respect, and unshakable fidelity to tradition. The Maccabean Revolt was not only a war of liberation but a reaffirmation of who we are: a people prepared to sacrifice everything to live as Jews in the Land of Israel.
Josephus also highlights a crucial element in Judah’s speeches: his understanding of the need to partner with the divine. Judah does not promise victory because of superior tactics or courage alone. He promises triumph because the Jewish people are fighting for something transcendent, doing battle here on Earth while placing their faith in the creator.
This is far more than idealism – in fact, it is historical realism. The survival of the Jewish people defies every norm of human history. Empires fall. Nations vanish. Movements fade. But the Jewish people persist – because we see ourselves as participants in a drama larger than ourselves.
The IDF a 3,000 year promise
Israel’s modern soldiers, whether in tanks rolling through Gaza, aircraft patrolling the Mediterranean, or intelligence units combating terror networks, carry on their shoulders not only the physical defense of the state but also the moral continuity of a 3,000-year-old promise.
Judah Maccabee would look at today’s Jewish fighters and recognize them instantly. He would see in them the same mixture of faith and unbreakable loyalty that animated his own warriors. He would remind them, as he reminded his men long ago, that surrender is not an option, and despair is not a strategy.
In Josephus’s account, Judah repeatedly stresses that Israel does not seek dominion over others, only the right to live according to its ancestral traditions in its own land. He declares that the Jewish people fight for freedom and “the liberty of worshiping God.” (ibid).
And yet this modest national aspiration has always provoked outsized rage. The Seleucid Greeks could not tolerate Jewish distinctiveness; today, many of Israel’s critics cannot tolerate Jewish sovereignty.
From campus mobs chanting genocidal slogans such as “From the river to the sea”, to European diplomats hectoring Israel about “a proportional response,” the message is unmistakable: The world is far more comfortable with Jews as victims than as victors.
Judah Maccabee warns us not to internalize this worldview. Jews must never apologize for refusing to be destroyed. We must never shrink from asserting our right to defend our land, our people, and our children.
Maccabees' spiritual courage
The Maccabees were not perfect – few leaders are. But they possessed an attribute desperately needed today: spiritual courage. The courage to believe that Jewish destiny is real, that Jewish values are worth defending, and that Jewish sovereignty is non-negotiable.
Judah’s speeches end with a recurring refrain: Rise, fight, and trust in God. Beneath those words lies a deeper truth. The Maccabean leader was telling his people: Remember who you are.
As Israel faces enemies seen and unseen, be they terrorist armies, legal warfare, propaganda campaigns, or the corrosive temptation of self-doubt, we would do well this Hanukkah to revisit Judah’s call, which echoes down to us across the generations.
Our future, like that of the Maccabees, depends not only on military might but on faith and moral clarity. The candles we light each Hanukkah are commemorations of ancient miracles. But they are also reminders that the Jewish flame, if tended with courage and conviction, will never be extinguished.
The writer served as deputy communications director under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.