Imagine this: you’re driving your kids to school, or maybe you’re on your way to grab some groceries. To your right, you see the usual—green hills rolling by. But then, on your left, something catches your eye. It’s not another house or a billboard, but the ruins of an ancient synagogue, dating back over 2,000 years! “Mom!” a voice pipes up from the backseat. “Can I have a snack?” Just another day in Israel, where ancient history and everyday life blend seamlessly.
This isn’t a made-up scene. It’s a real experience you might have while driving near Modi’in, a city in central Israel. Here, an archaeological site called Umm El Umdan sits quietly among modern buildings, holding secrets from the time of the Maccabees—the very heroes we celebrate during Chanukah.
But what makes this old pile of stones so special? Let’s take a journey back in time to find out.
Around 167 BCE, the land of Israel was ruled by the Seleucids. They wanted everyone to follow Greek customs and worship Greek gods. But many Jewish people weren’t okay with this. In a town called Modi’in, a Jewish priest named Mattathias stood up against the Seleucid soldiers. This brave act was marked by a powerful rallying cry reminiscent of an earlier Biblical call: “מי לה’ אלי”—“Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” This declaration echoed the words of Moses in Exodus 32:26:
With these words, Mattathias ignited a rebellion led by him and his sons, who became known as the Maccabees.
The story of this rebellion is told in ancient texts. One of them, called 1 Maccabees, says: “In those days Mattathias son of John, son of Simeon, a priest of the family of Joarib, moved from Jerusalem and settled in Modein.” So of course, this puts Modi’in right at the heart of the Chanukah story.
Fast forward to today. Between 2000 and 20023, archaeologists discovered something amazing—the ruins of an ancient village—potentially the very place where Mattathias and the Maccabees lived. They call it Umm El Umdan, which many people believe was an ancient version of the modern-day city of “Modi’in.”
One of the most interesting discoveries they unearthed was an ancient synagogue. It didn’t look exactly like synagogues today. There was no ark (the cabinet where Torah scrolls are kept). Instead, they think people brought the Torah scrolls to the synagogue when they needed them. In the middle of the room, there was a big stone that was likely used as a table for reading the Torah. Around the walls were stone benches where people sat.
Near the synagogue, they found what might have been a school. This fits with what we know from old Jewish writings, which say that around this time, a rabbi named Yehoshua ben Gamla said all Jewish kids should go to school from age six. For me, this brings extra meaning: my son’s modern-day school is just around the corner from one that is 2,000 years older.
The archaeologists also found houses, some even with two floors. They discovered water tanks, ovens, and places where people made wine and olive oil. One really important thing they found was a mikvah—a special pool used for ritual bathing in Judaism. Finding a mikvah tells us that the people who lived there cared a lot about following Jewish laws and traditions.
Walking through the ruins of this ancient town, you feel the fabric of the life around you. You can picture the struggles and strife of the Maccabees as they fought for religious sovereignty in their own country. “מי לה’ אלי”—“Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” The call that began a revolution and the everyday rituals that shaped a community are woven together in this historic landscape.
Israel is a land where history and present coexist, and the legacy of the Maccabees continues to inspire us. Their call to stand for what is right, their dedication to their beliefs, and their enduring impact on Jewish tradition resonate through every stone and story we pass down to the next generation.
Keep God’s Land is dedicated to strengthening and defending Israel’s right to its biblical heartland. Learn More about this incredible mission today!
