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A Message from our Chazzan

Yitzy Spinner

not included in the Tanach canonization that are incredibly
important.
It is quite amazing that this Megillah is virtually unknown to
most people. Several Gaonic works reference this Megillah.
Even R’ Shimon Kayyara (ninth century) mentions that the Me-
gillat Antiochus will be read on Chanukah when “there should
arise a Kohen with the Urim v’Tumim.” R’ Saadya Gaon himself
refers to a version that had markings for Psukim, vowels, and
accents, thereby proving its significant role as a publicly read
text. It is believed by some that it was R’ Saadya Gaon who
translated the Megillah to Hebrew from its original Aramaic.

Imagine the surprise of those who unearthed the Cairo
Geniza when they found dozens of copies of this text as well.
This discovery only proves its popularity.
Chanukah time…Menorah, dreidel, latkes, and Megillah. Yes, Few modern Siddurim include this ancient text, but if you
that’s right. Megillah. I’ll explain. have a copy of the old Birnbaum Siddur Hashalem sitting on

Like many of our holidays, Chanukah introduces numerous your shelf, have a look at page 713.
moments of liturgy that appear nowhere else within our The story of Chanukah is much more than just a jar of oil that
calendrical cycle. Haneirot Halalu and Maoz Tzur are the ob- lasted eight days instead of only one. It is the story of a mi-
vious ones, as well as the paragraph of B’yemei Matityahu. Al raculous victory of the few over the many, the impure in the
Hanisim is shared with Purim, and Hallel is shared with many hands of the pure, the wicked in the hands of the righteous…
other days. and it’s all recounted in Megillat Antiochus.
Though Purim and Chanukah share Al Hanisim, there is some- In this wonderful Chanukah season, Rachel and I (and our
thing else that they share in common - a Megillah that tells children) wish you all a Chanukah Sameach filled with light
their stories. These Megillot are written very similarly, and and joy.
it is believed that the Megillah of the Chanukah story was
modeled after the Megillah of Purim. Yitzy Spinner

Its content is what you would likely expect. The Megillah tells
the story of Chanukah and the military victories of the Mac-
cabees over the Syrian Greeks in the 2nd century BCE.

Megillat Chashmonaim, also known as Megillat Antiochus,
was written in Aramaic approximately 1500 years. Many old
Siddurim include a Hebrew translation of the Megillah as
it was not until 1851 that the original Aramaic version was
discovered.
It is fascinating to note that while many people today do not
even know of its existence, Megillat Antiochus was read by
many European communities throughout the Middle Ages.
Some Yemenite communities still include the reading of this
obscure text. The communities that read this Megillah did so
on Shabbat Chanukah at Mincha!

Even the Megilla’s authorship is unclear. Some say that it
was written by the sons of Matityahu, and others attribute it
to the elders of Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel.
We all know of the Five Megillot that we read throughout
the yearly cycle - Shir HaShirim, Rut, Eicha, Kohelet, and
Esther. There are, however, many bodies of work which were Megillat Antiochus

SCOPE Magazine Chanukah 2022 5