We all identify the Maccabees with Chanukah, and we celebrate their victory over the Greco-Assyrians every year. However, if they were so wonderful, why was the Book of Maccabees not included in the Jewish Bible? Was there really a Chanukah miracle? Why did the ancient rabbis insert a slam against the Maccabees in the Traditional blessing after the reading of the Haftarah? What is the connection of Maccabees to the Dead Sea Scrolls?

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