Were the Maccabees Extremists? with Jay Hoffman

Bad Jew

It's time to light our candles, fill our donuts with jelly, and spin our dreidels. American Jewry's favorite Jewish holiday is here! Hanukkah. Channukah? Chanukkah? Which spelling do you go by? Regardless, this time is marked by festive parties, gift exchanges, and family time. With the international crisis of the Jewish identity, with the war in Israel raging on, we need this positivity for our mental health's sake! No less, one has to ask themselves "What is the origin of this holiday?"

When looking deeper into the Channukah story, one can't help but find parallels between the Maccabee's actions of the past and extremists today. Does this mean we're celebrating the actions of a violent clan of Jewish mobsters? Was our favorite childhood holiday a giant lie? Jay Hoffman, better known as Sephardic Soul by his Instagram, takes a break from teaching children at a Hebrew school in New York to teach Chaz Volk, host of Bad Jew, who the Maccabees actually were and how their actions compare to today's current events.

About Jay Hoffman:

Sephardicsoul is a Jewish educator in New Jersey. He has lived in Israel for a year in 2018 studying at Ohr Somayach in Jerusalem and working at the Israeli Ministry of Health in Tel Aviv. He is passionate about the Classical Sephardic outlook that has been espoused by great Jewish leaders such as Maimonides, Gersonides, and ibn Gabirol. Sephardicsoul enjoys cooking, reading, and inviting friends and family to his home for Shabbat.

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