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florence welch at glastonbury, 1 july 2025

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📸 The Maccabees

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Jedi Chanukah

An idea came to my mind

I've seen a number of posts which highlight parallels between the Jedi and Judaism, even beyond the more obvious

the kenobi show has given me so much Jedi content and I’m so glad, but also as someone who’s Jewish, it’s made me Incredibly Aware of exactl

From Jediism to Judaism: Star Wars as Jewish Allegory, by Daniel Perez A look at some of the Jewish elements – coincidental or otherwise –

Like so many of you, I am anxiously awaiting the release of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. A long time ago in a galaxy far away…

being that we are around the time of Chanukah, it got me thinking

as I understand the origins of Chanukah in its most basic sense, the Holiday came about from the Maccabean Revolt, where the Jewish rebels defeated the Seleucid Greek empire and kicked them out of Judea

what does this have to do with the Jedi?

well aside from the basic concept of Rebels defeated an empire, there is something else I have noticed

During the Seleucids occupation of Judea, they attempted to quash Judaism in the land, outlawing the faith and trying to enforce Hellenization by converting the Temple of Jerusalem into one for Zeus, while also having pigs be slaughtered for sacrifice there, all and all very petty and cruel attempts to hurt those of the Jewish faith

there are some interesting parallels to this in SW

Now obviously Emperor Palpatine and his Empire made the Jedi faith/culture illegal, murdering and persecuting the Jedi (with help from Jedi traitors Vader/the inquisitors, another parallel as the story goes there were Jews who collaborated with the Seleucids), but it doesn't stop there

in the disney eu canon, Palpatine takes a page right out of the Seleucid handbook in his defilement of the Jedi Temple, not only did his forces assault this sacred place and murder its inhabitants, Palpatine turned this temple-a place of faith, learning, and knowledge-and made it into his personal palace

revolting, and considering how the sith narcissistically see themselves as gods, it nicely lines up with how the Seleucids took the Jewish Temple and made it an alter to their gods, Palpatine made the Jedi Temple into a temple of his own self worship

now what has happened to Jedi temple after Palpatine's death and the empire's fall has not been revealed as of yet (here's hoping for the Rey Jedi Order movie), but I believe there is a chance to further mirror the story of Chanukah here

as the story goes, after the Seleucids were kicked out, the Maccabees went about with some house cleaning, liberating the Temple in Jerusalem, getting rid of all the greek god stuff and rededicating the Temple to its original purpose, and along the way experiencing a miracle which would birth a central part of Chanukah

What if we get something similar in SW with the Jedi? After Rise of Skywalker, Rey and her reestablished Jedi Order reclaim and return to the Jedi Temple of Coruscant, cleansing it of Palpatine's dark influence/stain and rededicating it to its purpose as the Jedi's home and center of learning

and maybe along the way a new tradition develops in the Jedi Order, a commemoration of their return to their ancient home

So in short

Lightsaber Menorah

a reimagined album art of the maccabees - toothpaste kisses <3

Tonight is the first night of Chanukah, I usually don't post these kinds of things on my blog, but this year it feels important to share.

Every year around this time I see Chanukah described as “the festival of lights” and while… yes, candles, vibes, cozy family photos are nice — that’s not actually the whole story. Or even the main one.

Chanukah exists because, more than 2,000 years ago, Jewish people were facing forced assimilation under the Seleucid Greek Empire. This wasn’t just about taxes or politics — Jewish religious practices were outlawed. Torah study was banned. Circumcision was banned. The Temple in Jerusalem was desecrated and turned into a pagan site.

So a small group of Jews — the Maccabees — basically said absolutely not.

They were outnumbered, under-equipped, and fighting one of the most powerful armies of the ancient world. Think less “formal military campaign” and more “guerrilla fighters refusing to disappear.” In a way, it’s not unlike the Jacobite rebellion in Scotland (since my blog is usually tied to Outlander): locals fighting an empire that ruled their land unjustly, trying to preserve their identity and way of life.

The difference?

The Maccabees actually won. Against all odds.

After reclaiming Jerusalem, they rededicated the Temple — which is literally what Chanukah means: dedication.

And then comes the famous oil story. There was only enough ritually pure oil to light the Temple menorah for one day… and it burned for eight. Whether you read that as divine intervention, symbolic tradition, or both, it became part of the memory of survival.

That’s why we light candles.

That’s why we eat fried food — latkes (potato fritters), sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) — foods cooked in oil, remembering both scarcity and endurance.

And honestly? Chanukah isn’t just about spreading light in darkness in a generic inspirational quote way. It’s about resilience. About refusing erasure. About a people who survived empire after empire and still said: we’re here, we’re not done, and we’re not giving up who we are.

So yeah — Family time is precious. Candles are pretty. Fried food is delicious.

But the heart of Chanukah is strength, resistance, memory, and continuity.

Wishing all my Jewish friends around the world a very Happy Chanukah 🕎💞 🕯️✡️😘