On other holidays we read a megillah (scroll), but on Hanukkah why don’t we read a Hanukkah scroll? Rabbi Professor David Golinkin, President of the Schechter Institutes, tells the fascinating history of the little known Megillat Antiochus, also known as the Book of the Hasmoneans, that was read in public between the 9th and 20th centuries. He also shares more about Megillat Hanukkah, a modern booklet compiled by Rabbi Arthur Chiel, as a way of enhancing your own celebration of the Festival of Lights.
nterested in learning more about why we don’t have a Hanukkah Scroll? Read Rabbi Professor Golinkin’s previously published responsum.
Read Megillat Hanukkah, by Rabbi Arthur Chiel and the first four chapters of The Book of Maccabees.
David Golinkin is President of The Schechter Institutes, Inc. and President Emeritus of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies. For twenty years he served as Chair of the Va’ad Halakhah (Law Committee) of the Rabbinical Assembly which gives halakhic guidance to the Masorti Movement in Israel. He is the founder and director of the Institute of Applied Halakhah at Schechter and also directs the Center for Women in Jewish Law. Rabbi Professor Golinkin made aliyah in 1972, earning a BA in Jewish History and two teaching certificates from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He received an MA in Rabbinics and a PhD in Talmud from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America where he was also ordained as Rabbi. For a complete bio click here.