I'm having trouble understanding the concluding phrase in the famous Hannukah song O Hannukah, which is על הנפלאות אשר חללו המכבים. What root is חללו and what is its meaning here? How to translate the phrase?
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Are you sure its חללו? I think it would make sense if it is הללו meaning "on the wonders that the Maccabim praised"– DovDec 9, 2020 at 21:32
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The line is heresy. The verb לחולל means "to generate" (cite: Google translate). Maccabees do not chas veshalom generate miracles.– Double AA ♦Dec 9, 2020 at 21:44
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tzohar.org.il/?p=2742– rosendsDec 9, 2020 at 22:46
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@DoubleAA Huh. That must be why I learned the lyric as אשר חולל ה' למכבים, "that G-d wrought for the Maccabees".– ezraDec 10, 2020 at 6:32
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2@dov They say it means accomplished. Anyway it is not in any of the original yiddish versions. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oh_Chanukah# The only big change is in the last line - whereas the original calls to praise God for the miracles he performed, the Hebrew one praises the miracles and wonders performed by the Maccabees. This reflects the anti-religious polemic of early Zionism, evident in many other Israeli Chanukah songs.– interestedDec 10, 2020 at 14:50
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1 Answer
According to Milog, the root of חוללו is חי"ל, which is a root that is related to courage and strength. For example, Rabbi Yochanan famously said to Reish Lakish: "חילך לאורייתא - Your strength is fit for Torah study." (Bava Metzia 84a).
The song comes to praise the Maccabees for the wonderous things they did through their strength. @ezra mentioned "wrought" as the translation for the religious version of the line, "אשר חולל ה' למכבים" - that sounds like a good translation to me for here as well, as they wrought wonderous things [through their strength].
