In the twenty-third year of King Antiokhus, that is the two hundred and thirteenth year from the building of the Second Temple, an evil spirit drove him on^[1] Isaiah 59:19 , his tongue was a sharp sword^[2] Psalms 57:5  outstretched from its sheath^[3] I Samuel 17:51 , to strike down the land with the rod of his mouth^[4] Isaiah 11:4 .

And he answered and said to all his officials and servants, the nobles^[5] Esther 1:3  sitting first in the kingdom^[6] Esther 1:15 : “Do you not know? Have you not heard?^[7] Isaiah 40:21  For this people, the children of Yisrael who are in Yerushalayim, are a ruthless nation^[8] Deuteronomy 28:50 , and their laws are different from all peoples, and the laws of the king they do not obey^[9] Esther 3:8 , which are great and high for them. They say, ‘Our own hand has prevailed!^[10] Deuteronomy 32:27  And always, every day, the destruction of kings is fulfilled, as is said: Lo, darkness shall cover the earth, And thick clouds the peoples^[11] Isaiah 60:2 , and a light shines for the upright in the darkness^[12] Psalms 112:4 , and all the children of Yisrael had light in their dwellings!^[13] Exodus 10:23  And to me, I, the King, it is not in my interest to let them be.^[14] Esther 3:8  So now get up and we’ll make war upon them; let’s wipe them out as a nation^[15] Obadiah 1:1 ; and Yisrael’s name will be mentioned no more!^[16] Psalms 83:5  Come, let us be wise about them^[17] Exodus 1:10  to nullify their rest day and circumcision and new moon!” And it was good in the eyes of his officials and servants to do according to the word of the king.

At that time he sent Niqanor his second-in-command with a great army and many people.^[18] Megilat Antiokhus v. 12  And he went to Yerushalayim and besieged it^[19] Daniel 1:1  loudly and defiantly, to defy the rank of God^[20] I Samuel 17:36 , and he killed there a great many kills^[21] Megilat Antiokhus v. 13 .

Said Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, Matityahu the high priest had a daughter whose beauty was unmatched throughout the world, who was betrothed to one of the Ḥashmonai. And one of the [Seleucid] Greeks came and grabbed her by her forelock and laid out a Torah scroll below her and came in her right in front of her fiancé! And when the sun rose, so as to take vengeance, he built an altar in the Holy Temple and slaughtered a you-know-what^[22] a euphemistic term for חֲזִיר (pig).  and brought its blood to the holy courtyard!

And a divine spirit enclothed^[23] Judges 6:34  Yoḥanan son of Matityahu, and he was zealous with the zeal of YHWH of Multitudes^[24] Isaiah 37:32 . And He had mercy on the Holy People, the scattered flock Yisrael^[25] Jeremiah 50:17 , and put on the garments of vengeance^[26] Isaiah 59:17  to avenge the vengeance of the children of Yisrael upon^[27] Numbers 31:2  the [Seleucid] Greeks. And he planned to himself, and he made himself a short sword and strapped it under his robe, and he went out to the city street, and he went up to the gate of the king^[28] Esther 4:2 . And he called to the gatekeepers and said to them, “I am Yoḥanan son of Matityahu, and I am here having come to come before your master.”

And Yoḥanan went before the king, and Niqanor said to him, “Why do you transgress the king’s command,^[29] Esther 3:3  and not desire peace of his kingdom? Do you not know, have you not heard^[30] Isaiah 40:28  that I have the power (in strength and military might) to do you harm,^[31] Genesis 31:29  so that not one of you escapes or gets away!^[32] Joshua 8:22  For now you as well I should kill^[33] Numbers 22:33 , and them, I burned them like chaff before the wind!^[34] Psalms 83:14  And whom among all the national gods have saved their lands from my hand, that YHWH should save Yerushalayim from my hand^[35] II Kings 18:35 !”

And Yoḥanan answered the king and said, “Now I have come to you; all that you desire I will do, I will not turn away from your commands left or right.” And the king said, “And by how will it be known that you have turned to my word? Why not, when you go up to the altar, do your sin and burnt-offerings^[36] Leviticus 9:6  with the fat and blood of this swine, and you will wear royal clothes that the king himself wore^[37] Esther 6:8 , and ride on the second-in-command chariot that is his^[38] Genesis 41:43 , and a royal crown will be put on your head!^[39] Esther 6:8 ”

And Yoḥanan said, “I will do as you say^[40] Genesis 47:30 , as my lord commands^[41] Numbers 32:25 . Only it can’t be, for I am in fear of the great anger^[42] Deuteronomy 9:19  of the people of the children of Yisrael; if I sacrifice an abomination of God upon the altar before their eyes won’t they stone me? Only this can be acceptable^[43] Genesis 34:22  for me to do as you say: have every man go away from me, leaving I and you alone and none others, and then I will do according to the word of the king, lest the matter be known to the people of the children of Yisrael. And the matter was good in the eyes of the king^[44] Esther 1:21 , and he commanded and said, “Every man get away from me!” and not a man was with him^[45] Genesis 45:1  from all who stood by him.

And it was, when they went out, Yoḥanan prayed before God and said: YHWH, God of Yisrael, who sits on the cherubim, You are God alone of all the nations of the earth; You made the heaven and the earth. Turn your ear and hear, open, God, your eyes and see, and hear the words of^[46] II Kings 19:15-16  Antiokhus, which he sent out to defy the rank of the Living God and Eternal Sovereign^[47] Jeremiah 10:10 ! True, YHWH, the kings of Assyria have made ruins of the nations and their lands, and put their gods to the fire, for they are not gods, but works of human hand, wood and stone, and destroyed them. And now, YHWH our God, please save us from his hand,^[48] II Kings 19:17-19  lest he go and praise and glorify in the house of Dagon his god and say, ‘My god gave them in my hand, and my strength and the power of my hand won this glory for me!^[49] Deuteronomy 8:17 '”

And at the end of his petition he strengthened and fortified his heart and said, “My lord YHWH, remember me, please, and strengthen me please, just this one time, that I may avenge the vengeance^[50] Judges 16:28  of the children of Yisrael.” And Yoḥanan drew near, and stabbed the sword into his heart. And it was, when he crouched there, he fell, destroyed^[51] Judges 5:27  in the holy presence. And it was, just as Yoḥanan the high priest was leaving^[52] Genesis 27:30  from the holy presence, he blew a great blast and laid out war on the peoples, and they killed of them a great many kills — seven thousand seven hundred and seventy-two, not counting the people who were killed by their fellow’s sword.

And when Antiokhus heard that his second-in-command Niqanor was killed, it troubled him greatly, and he sent out and called to all his officials and servants, as well as his higher second-in-command, and said to them, “Should I not have this nation be punished^[53] Jeremiah 5:29 , that destroyed and injured my armies and disgraced my camps and officials? And now, why are we still? Come on, let’s go to war on them, to nullify their rest day and new moon and circumcision, and who is the god who could save them from my hand?” And he sent Bagris with a a great army and many people, and he went to Yerushalayim and besieged it^[54] Daniel 1:1 . And they rebelled against the highest God^[55] Psalms 78:56 , and they vexed Him with their high places; and with their idols they incensed Him^[56] Psalms 78:58  on the altar of their gods. And they sent out a call in the camp from the king that said: “Every single man who keeps the rest days of YHWH or the new moon or circumcision will die!”

And many of the children of Yisrael in those days were giving their lives for the sake of the kavod/glory of the blessed Maqom, rather than nullify the covenant of their ancestors. And a certain Levite woman circumcised her sons at eight days with drums and dance, and she went up to the wall of Yerushalayim and her son, the bridegroom of blood^[57] Exodus 4:25 , she held in her hand. And she answered and said before God, “All this has come upon us, but we have not forgotten You, and we have not been false to Your covenant! Our hearts have not been led astray, our steps have not swerved from Your path!^[58] Psalms 44:18-19 ” And she threw herself with her son from atop the wall and the two of them died. And many of the children of Yisrael acted like her rather than break the covenant of their ancestors, or abandon the Holy One of Yisrael.

And the holy congregation said one to another, “Hey, the word of the king in overflowing anger to nullify ourselves the rest day, the words of the teacher and the words of the student, the words of those who hear as it is written in our Torah, ‘Six days shall you work, and on the seventh day rest^[59] Exodus 34:21 ’ – is it not better to trust in YHWH and rest on our rest days? If they let us live we will live, and if they kill us we will die!^[60] II Kings 7:4 ” So they planned to rest their rest-days in a certain cave – them, their wives and their children. And the king was told, “Hey, people have come here^[61] Joshua 2:2  in one cave to rest rest their rest-days!” And the king sent his soldiers, leaders of the army, and they sat around the cave. And they called to them with the word of the king and said, “Why do you rebel against the king’s law? Now, come and turn to the declaration of the king, and save yourselves from death!” And all the people together responded and said, “What YHWH has said, we will do and hear^[62] Exodus 24:7  what He commanded upon Mt. Sinai: ‘Six days shall you work, and on the seventh day rest.'^[63] Exodus 34:21  Wouldn’t death by the hand of God here be better than to desecrate the rest day, Heaven forbid?” And when all the army men saw that they did not desire to follow the laws of their kings, they brought wood and burned it at the entrance to the cave, and about a thousand men and women died.

And when Yoḥanan son of Matityahu and his four brother heard all this, they girded their loins with strength and with the help and shield of their Father who is in heaven in whom they trusted, and they made war on the peoples and killed a great many kills without boundary or number, not even one of them was left^[64] Exodus 14:28 . None remained save Bagris who fled to Antioch, to the king, and with him men, sword-refugees, beaten and weary. And Bagris advised and said to Antiokhus, “Hey, did you put out the rule to nullify the rest-day, new moon and circumcision? You will wear yourselves out, you and all the people who are^[65] Exodus 18:18  at your feet. For even if all these peoples and languages went out, they could not withstand the presence of the five sons of Matityahu the high priest, who are stronger than lions and swifter than eagles.

And now, king, may my advice be good before you, that you do not battle them with a small number, lest we become a shame and disgrace before all the peoples and the kings of the land and all the nations^[66] Psalms 148:11 . If it appears good to the king, let it be written^[67] Esther 3:9 , and let us send books in all the lands of your kingdom and let all the officials of every people go out, and let there not be one of them left.” And the king did according to the word of Bagris, and the king sent out from all the lands the officials of each nation, with thousands upon myriads of soldiers, leaders of the army.

And when Bagris saw that great was his means and his army was growing and very strong, his camps without boundary or number, Bagris got up and went to Yerushalayim and besieged it^[68] Daniel 1:1  and began to defy the rank of the Living God and Eternal Sovereign^[69] Jeremiah 10:10 , and he broke the walls and cut them down and broke thirteen breaches in the Temple. And he said to himself, “This time they cannot overcome me because of my great wealth and the greatness my hands have gained!^[70] Job 31:25 ” Said Rabbi Yitsḥaq ben Naḥmani, 801,000 corps came with the wicked Bagris. And he said to Yisrael, “You are idiots to do war with armies that are without limit! If you say your God will bring a flood, it was already sworn that God would not bring another flood ever! And if Gabriel stands among us to burn us as he did to Sanḥerib, behold, we cover ourselves with the blood of swine and the semen of horses, and he cannot touch us!”

And Yisrael lifted its eyes to on high and they said, “Not for us, YHWH, not for us but for Your own name grant honor^[71] Psalms 115:1 , that it not be shamed by idolaters! Now they will say ‘their god has no other ideas,’ of whom it is written ‘Great in ideas and vast in deeds'^[72] Jeremiah 32:19 !” The blessed Holy One said, “By your lives, my ideas are greater than yours, for YHWH will not forsake His people, will not abandon His inheritance.^[73] Psalms 94:14 ”

At the time Yisrael would expect that from the eastern mountains, maybe Persian idolaters would come to help them. Then this was angering to Matityahu the high priest, and he said to him, to Ḥashmonai, “And isn’t written, ‘Cursed is the man who places flesh as his strength and turns his heart from YHWH^[74] Jeremiah 17:5 ,’ and ‘Blessed is the man who trusts in YHWH and whose only trust is in YHWH^[75] Jeremiah 17:7 ?'” And he said, “You have spoken well. I and my seven sons and you and your five sons are like the twelve tribes of YAH, witness to Yisrael^[76] Psalms 122:4 . I trust that the blessed Holy One will do miracles and wonders for us.” And they fasted and wore sackcloth and ashes to beg for mercy from before the God of Heaven, the help and shield of Yisrael. And when they finished praying they arise from crouching on their knees and composed their thoughts. Faster than eagles, stronger than lions they were, and made war on the people and killed a great many kills.

Said Rabbi Yitsḥaq bar Naḥmani, at that time the blessed Holy One caught seventy lower officials from the officials of the nations of the earth and pierced them with an awl of fire, and said to them “Kill the men near you, and if one of them is left your souls for theirs!” And since the [Seleucid] Greeks were educated in arrows and swords, the angels came and inserted them into their hearts, so that their swords would go into their hearts and their bows be broken^[77] Psalms 37:15 . And the Ḥashmonai were seeing the miracles and saying, “YHWH is fighting for us!” And every single king from the kings who were killed, angels would come up and waste them, and commanded upon the houses of Yisrael that they could not take spoils from the corpses.

And their forces, some the children of Yisrael burned, some they stabbed with a sword, and some they hung on a tree, and Bagris the wicked the house of Yisrael burned in fire. And as King Antiokhus heard that Bagris and all the officials his force with him were killed, he fled to the sea lands. And it would be, everyone found him in the places he was, for there came rebels against him who would call him “the coward!”

And after that, the Ḥashmonai came to the Holy Temple and rebuilt the cities and repaired the breaches and purified the courtyard from the slain and impure. And they sought out pure olive oil to light the menorah and could not find it, except for a single vial that was sealed with the mark of the high priest, so they know that it was pure oil. And it was for them about the time to light for the first day, and the God of Heaven whose name dwells there rested a blessing on the oil, and they found every single night after the light was established it was poured full with oil, and the lights stayed up for eight days. And for their redemption and that miracle of the oil pour, the Jews ordained and accepted upon themselves and their seed to do^[78] Esther 9:27  the eight days of Ḥanukkah with praise and thanksgiving every single year^[79] Esther 9:27 , and their memory would not be lost from their seed. ^[80] Esther 9:28 

Blessed is the one who fights our fights and avenges our vengeances and repays justly all our enemies. Blessed is the God who Saves.^[81] An adaptation of the blessing after the megillah reading  Thus ends the midrash of the matter of Ḥanukkah.