The story of Hanukkah in song. Accurately told according to the Book of Maccabees. A great history lesson. A really fun listen! I call "The Maccabees" a mini epic cantata, because it tells a really big story in 11 minutes of big music for kids. Using a rock band plus lots of other instruments, "The Maccabees" is a great listen or, if you're looking for such, a wonderful performance piece too.
All proceeds go to The Jonah Maccabee Foundation (jonahmac.org) to support needed arts, social activism and Jewish life for young people.
lyrics
The Maccabees
A Mini-Epic Cantata
Dedicated to Jonah Maccabee Dreskin (z"l) who loved having Judah as his namesake
Narrator: About two thousand years ago, Israel was conquered by a Syrian king. He declared all religions, except his own, illegal. This is the story of a courageous people who struggled not only for the right to worship their own God, but for everyone's right to make their own choices.
Read with us a chapter from history
Of the Jews who lived in Israel and their fight to be free.
It's the story of the Jewish people who lived back when
The only Jewish Temple stood in Jerusalem.
The Temple was large, the Temple was old, with treasures inside of silver and gold,
The Five Books of Moses and the Eternal Light, and a golden Menorah burning bright.
The Jews would worship no one; they followed God's command.
Their faith was more important than money or land.
But there lived a king in Syria, he wanted power and fame
And to destroy the Jewish religion.
Antiochus was his name.
His troops attacked Israel and the Temple so old,
And they took all the treasures of silver and gold,
With the Five Books of Moses and the Eternal Light,
They stole the Menorah on that horrible night!
And cries came forth from every Jew,
"Oh God, dear God, what can we do?
We must bow to idols if we want to live,
Pray to gods we'll never call our own.
Will our children ever know the Holy Sabbath?
The Temple's gone. And our God is all alone.
God is all alone. God is all alone."
Narrator: In the village of Modi'in, there lived a man named Mattathias. He and his five children farmed their land and followed the customs of the Jewish people. When Antiochus violated the Holy Temple, Mattathias rose up in anger. He turned to the people and shouted, "All who believe in the Law and the Covenant, follow me!" Fleeing to the hills, they prepared to meet the invading army. As the enemy approached, Mattathias spoke to his people.
Mattathias: Look out across the land, there's a fire somewhere burning
Inside the heart of a people that dreams of returning to their
One Holy God in the heavens, One God alone.
The only God we will bow to, not man or stone.
Antiochus, our Temple you've taken, the Sacred Ark and the Torahs inside.
But look again 'cuz you might be mistaken if you think you've won,
That the battle is done.
Well I'm sorry, your Highness, but we're still alive.
Narrator: One of Mattathias' children was Judah. He was called the Maccabee -- the Hammer of God -- because he was the strongest and cleverest of all the people. Chosen to lead them into battle, Judah spoke these words.
Judah Maccabee: Now listen, Children of Israel, our fight is beginning.
With just a handful among us, our chances of winning are not good,
But we'll fight for the freedom that so many have lost.
We must defeat King Antiochus whatever the cost.
So stand up tall and believe what we're saying.
Don't give up yet because we might not lose.
It's a much higher law that we are obeying.
For each family and all humanity,
We will never surrender our freedom to choose!
Look out across the land, there's a fire somewhere burning
Inside the heart of a people that dreams of returning to their
One Holy God in the heavens, One God alone.
The only God we will bow to, not man or stone.
The only God we will bow to.
Narrator: The enemy troops were in sight!
Far off in the distance, an army grew.
The Israelites were frightened. What could we do?
They were so many, we were so small,
But Judah the Maccabee guided our people
And together we fought and made the enemy fall.
But another army followed, this one twice as strong.
They were sure this little battle wouldn't last very long.
'Cuz they were so many and we were so small.
But Judah the Maccabee guided out people
And together we fought and made the enemy fall.
Back in the land of Syria, Antiochus lost his cool
At this stubborn pack of outlaws who resisted his rule.
He gathered his greatest army, his strongest, meanest men,
And marched them off to Israel to conquer the Jews ... again!
The Syrians plotted a surprise attack,
To sneak up at night from around the back.
As the sun was setting, they sounded the call
And prepared to destroy us once and for all.
But Judah was clever. He knew of their plan.
His people were gone before the ambush began.
The Syrians searched and couldn't find a man.
But returning they found their camp was burnt to the ground,
And away the Syrians ran!
There the fighting ended. The armies came no more.
Israel had been rescued, its honor restored.
They did not rest a minute. They packed their things and then
Began their journey homeward, back to Jerusalem.
The people returned to the Temple so old
And they put back the treasures of silver and gold,
The Five Books of Moses and the Eternal Light,
And rekindled the Menorah. What a wonderful sight!
And cries came forth from every Jew,
"Oh God, thank God, the fighting's through!
We will never worship either stone or man,
Pray to gods we would never call our own.
We will share this moment with our children's children,
So they may know as the candles glow, year after year,
NEIS GA-DOL HA-YA PO --- a great miracle happened here!"
credits
released May 24, 2020
words and music by Billy Dreskin
vocals by Ellen, Aiden and Billy Dreskin
sound engineering by Larry Alexander
While Billy Dreskin has spent most of his life as a rabbi, he studied music composition at Brandeis University and graduated
with a love of writing for musical theatre. Way back in 1985, his music was featured in the off-Broadway musical, "Personals," Now retired and teetering on the edge of “old manhood,” Billy still loves creating music and is eager to do more....more
Raw black metal that brooks no compromises, this has all the ferocious guitars, lo-fi aesthetics and infernal howling you crave. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 30, 2023
Former member of Fela Kuti’s Egypt 80 unveils a rich, swinging new record that pulls from jazz and soul in its high-wattage songs. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 24, 2024
