I was asked to give a history lecture as part of our JCC's Hanukkah fair, so I thought I'd title it something provocative like "The Real Story of Hanukkah." But it turned out that was already the title of an ongoing JCC lecture series, so, without much thought, I agreed to "The Truth About Hanukkah" instead.
When I sat down to actually think about the lecture I would give, I realized a problem. "Truth" is a word I encourage my students to avoid, both in the study of history and in the study of religion.
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