Belated Chanukah post

 Yes, I'm aware a few weeks have passed since Chanukah.

Yes, I'm aware Chanukah is not (explicitly) mentioned anywhere in Tanach.

Yes, I'm aware The Books of Maccabees aren't in Tanach.

Nonetheless, an idea for a Chanukah-and-Tanach-related post came to mind over Shabbat, so here it is.

Last Thursday, we toured several different sites in the Land of Menashe - well, what was the area of the Tribe of Menashe in Tanachic times.

One of the places we visited is called Al-Makhruch. It's thought to have been a fortified site that was manned by soldiers of the Kingdom of Yisrael, after the split of the United Kingdom. Its original Hebrew name is unknown. Near Al-Makhruch there are two other fortified sites, thought to similarly having belonged to the Kingdom of Yisrael. I'm not really sure what the Arabic names of these two little tels are, just know that both are walking distance from the first site and one in particular is connected to Chanukah.

Fortified wall ruins

Early Bronze Age mud bricks

Fortified entrance ruins

This site was made into an IDF outpost some years ago, but is no longer operational. However, we could see the remains of the outpost - ruins inside ruins:

The IDF bunker

Yep - that's an improvised Chanukah menorah or Chanukiyyah resting within the small bunker. It was made out of some kind of metal bar with canned-goods cans for candles. As you may be able to see, three fell off, leaving five candles and the shamash.

Two lecturers were in charge of this trip, and both lamented the IDF's careless vandalization of the archeological site. But when I saw the Chanukiyyah there, I thought: Wow, that's interesting - to think that right here in this ancient fort, thousands of years later - Jewish soldiers once again established a base of operations - and made a mitzvah!

When you think about it, if we were to ask the men who manned the fort way back then what would they have preferred - for that site to have become a museum, or for their descendants (whether biologically or spiritually) to effectively make use of the site to once again protect Israel from her enemies? My heart breaks to see the damage caused to archeological sites by thieves and vandals - but in this case, I couldn't help but swell with some pride.

So, I can't really wish you guys a Happy Chanukah right now, but - have a good and healthy winter and a great week!

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