Jerusalem 164 BCE: Temple Rededication, The Maccabees returned to Jerusalem to liberate it. They entered the Temple and cleared it of the idols placed there by the Syrian vandals. Judah and his followers built a new altar, which he dedicated on the twenty-fifth of the month of Kislev, in the year 3622. Desperate to rekindle the light of the Temple Menorah, they searched high and low amidst the rubble and found only one remaining jar of oil with the seal of the Kohen Gadol (the High Priest) which could be used. Although it contained only enough oil to burn for one day, a miracle occurred, and the oil continued to burn for eight days (just long enough to to make new oil). In memory of this, our sages appointed these eight days for annual thanksgiving commemorated with lighting our own menorahs.