Hanukkah: The Civil War We Forgot

Was Hanukkah really a war of Jews vs. Greeks — or a Jewish civil war we chose to forget? Was Hanukkah really Jews vs. Greeks — or a Jewish civil war we chose to bury under a story about oil? In this episode of Madlik Disruptive Torah, Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz revisit the Hanukkah story through the sources. From Maccabees I and the politics of Ptolemy vs. Antiochus, to the lone Talmudic mention of the oil miracle (Shabbat 21b), they show how a messy internal power struggle became a clean miracle narrative. Key Takeaways Hanukah began as a Jewish civil war — not just Jews vs. Greeks. Each generation rewrites the Maccabees to fit its own battles. The shamash — the helper candle — may be Hanukkah's real hero today. Timestamps [00:00] Hanukkah beyond oil and miracles [03:12] Why the Talmud barely explains Hanukkah [05:01] The forgotten Jewish civil war [07:22] Hellenists vs. Maccabees reexamined [09:48] Power, empires, and internal factions [12:30] Modern culture wars through Hanukkah [14:55] Why the rabbis hid the conflict [17:05] Hillel vs. Shammai as metaphor [19:10] The shamash in Israeli children's stories [23:40] Hanukkah as a model for unity Links & Learnings Sign up for free and get more from our weekly newsletter Sefaria Source Sheet: Transcript here:

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Hanukkah: The Civil War We Forgot is an episode from Madlik Podcast – Torah Thoughts on Judaism From a Post-Orthodox Jew by Geoffrey Stern.

This episode is 28:50 long.

This episode was published on Dec 17, 2025.

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