Hanukkah illuminated: Hiking in the Holy Land

I am crawling through a tunnel, deep within the Adulam Nature Reserve. This passageway is small and dark, and the walls are powdery like white flour. It feels like it may go on for miles. As far as I crawl, the light of my headlamp reveals more hidden secrets – there are little carved rooms, offshoot corridors, and a confusing set of stairs within the crawlspace.

Since this tunnel is unmarked and my husband is waiting at its entry point, I must cut this spelunking expedition short. So, I turn around before I reach its end. But on my way out, I notice something I hadn’t seen when passing through the first time: tiny little shelves are carved in the walls, perfect for holding small oil lamps to illuminate the darkness. They run the length of the passage from start to finish.

This makes sense. It’s dark in here, and at the time when this tunnel was created thousands of years before the invention of plastic, small pottery lanterns were the flashlights of choice. There are reams of crushed pottery at the entrance to this cave, including tiny handles of oil lamps. In ancient times, oil (most commonly olive) powered the lamps in lieu of electric batteries.

A land full of olive trees

The terrain around here is full of gnarly olive trees too, hanging with ripe purple fruit.  There are old olive presses scattered about, once used to produce the yellow-green oil that was so necessary to life and light throughout the ages in Israel.

At this time of year, we’re reminded of the importance of olive oil, an essential ingredient in the Hanukkah story. But we’re less familiar with an equally important part of the Chanukah miracle: the miles of ancient caves and tunnels which exist just beneath the surface in the land of Israel. Caves, tunnels, and other hideaways in the wilderness feature prominently in ancient stories of Jewish warriors in the Holy Land, from King David to the Maccabees.

This cave in Adulam in the Jerusalem Lowlands was most likely carved out during the time of the Great Revolt, around 66 CE, and used by Jews to battle the Roman army in Israel. The very same passageways were re-used and expanded during the Bar-Kochva Revolt, about 100 years later. Judean caves were an ideal hiding place for Jewish warriors, keeping them tucked safely underground, away from the scrutinizing eye of the enemy forces. From 160-167 BCE, during the time of the Hanukkah miracle, the Maccabees used them too.

The story began during a time of religious persecution by the Greek empire, which had expanded into the Land of Israel. When Greek tyranny reached a crescendo, Matityahu and his five sons destroyed a Greek altar placed in Modi’in and killed a Greek official. This act necessitated an escape into the wilderness for protection. Throughout much of the war against the Greeks, Maccabee warriors hid in caves and between mountains, launching their attacks against the Seleucid power in cities and towns before retreating to the safety provided by Israel’s natural terrain.

All serious hikers in Israel have heard of Wadi Darga in the Judean Desert, one of Israel’s most adventurous trails. The terrain there is known to be tough; to complete the trail, hikers must traverse a narrow canyon with significant drops, and occasionally plunge into freezing cold pools. Just last year, a treasure trove of Maccabean coins was found tucked away at Darga, in the Muba’arat Cave. The coins were likely left in the wilderness by a Maccabean warrior, who hid his treasure in a safe place before setting off for battle. They were preserved in a carved wooden box and wrapped carefully in a purple cloth.

Growing up as an Orthodox Jew in the United States, I hadn’t known about the battle terrain or techniques of the Maccabees. Instead, I had learned a lot about the miracle of the oil, which seemed to be the major theme of Hanukkah. I was taught that after a miraculous victory in battle, the Maccabees regained sovereignty over the Holy Temple; but they found only one pure vial of olive oil to light the Menorah. As far as I understood as a child, the main miracle of Hanukkah was that this oil burned for eight days, enough time to produce new, pure oil for the Temple rituals. Thankfully, this miracle of the oil meant that we modern Jews could enjoy our favorite Hanukkah custom: eating plenty of latkes, doughnuts, and other oil-fried foods. 

The miracle of the oil was certainly noteworthy – but the real Hanukkah story is more complex, and far more important.  The miracle of Hanukkah is one of a warrior people amongst generations of less ardent Jews, a group of fighters who were willing to risk their lives to restore Jewish sovereignty and morals to Judea. Despite their small numbers and inferior weaponry, the Maccabees succeeded in overthrowing the Seleucid tyrants who had outlawed living as religious Jews in the Land of Israel. The miracle of the oil commemorates one of the most important events in the Maccabees’ long and successful battle: the moment they regained Jewish control over Jerusalem and the Holy Temple. The olive oil, which plays an important role in the Hanukkah story, was a key part of life in the land of Israel, something that was instrumental to life, light, and success in battle even beyond the religious rituals of the Holy Temple.

Since the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, we as Jews have a newfound ability to explore and understand the natural world where our history was created. Here in Israel, a picture of the past emerges into the light: Jewish warriors, their caves and hiding places, olive trees, olive presses, and the natural terrain that was used to bring the Hanukkah story into being.

Perhaps one common thread winds through all of Jewish history: Miracles. From the battle of the Maccabees to Israel’s defeat of four massive Arab armies in 1948, miraculous events led to victory of the few over the many several times in our history. Hanukkah, the festival of light, commemorates these miracles, reminding us that a small but powerful light can chase away the darkness. Today, as our small country struggles against a dark enemy, the Hanukkah miracle gives us hope that good will overcome evil, and that our nation’s complete victory will come about with the help of God.