חנוכה, סוכות וימי המילואים בספר מקבים ב

Rabbinic sources, Josephus and even I Maccabees, describe the festival of Hannukkah without giving sufficient justification for the duration of the festival 8 days. The Scholion to Megillat Ta'anit and I Maccabees, both acknowledge that its origin lies in the inauguration of the altar during eight days, but do not conclude the obvious, that these were actually the days of the biblical Milluim (inauguration) ceremony, in which the sanctuary was consecrated (Lev. 8-9). However, in II Maccabees the connection between Hannukkah and the ritual of Milluim is implied in several places. In II Macc. the festival is called (the feast of) booths. Many scholars tried to find an explanation for this awkward term for Hannukkah, some of them believed that Hannukkah was celebrated in a manner quite similar to Succot. However, the common characteristics of the two festivals are quite general (joy, fire, prayer etc.) and thus do not explain why Hannukkah was called booths. It seems more reasonable to suggest that the connection between Hannukkah and Succot, lies in the fact that inauguration ceremonies were practiced on Succot, or very close to it, by Solomon and those who returned from exile in the early Persian period. The celebration of the days of Milluim in Succot is also implied in the Book of Jubilees. Thus, it is possible that this strange name for Hannukkah, was meant to legitimize the celebration of Judah Maccabeus' inauguration of the Temple. The reason for the lack of attention to this characteristic of Hannukkah may derive from the fact that the Pharisees (or the Rabbis), the Sadducees and the Qumran sectarians (according to the Temple Scroll), all believe that the biblical Milluim ceremony took place in Spring (in Nissan). The Pharisees and Rabbis might have also neglected the relation between Hannukkah and the days of Milluim, since they objected to the Sadducean and Qumranic halakhah that required an annual Milluim ceremony. Thus, the Pharisees and Rabbis may have suspected that such an emphasis on the ritual character of Hannukkah as Milluim ceremony, would encourage the view that the Milluim ceremony should be practiced every year.