Yeshiva University - Masmid Yearbook (New York, NY)

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M A SM I D Ihe Importance of the tiasmonean Ixinifdoni by 1)a 11) W. I ' i ik.oksky Since the dawn of its history, Judaism has bttn subject to the attacks of foreign cultu res that liavc thrown themselves relentlessly at it. Always, alien tendencies have attempted to m.ike consider- able inroads into the heart of Jewish doctrine, to mold the contours of Jewish life and to color its modes of expression. Particularly during their early history, when the waves of Asiatic, Greek and Roman life surged mercilessly over Palestine, were the Jews forced to battle with every resource at their command to retain tiicir distinctiveness as a religious, as well as a national, entity. That these onslaughts from without have induced de- termined reaction from within is the secret of Judaism ' s survival. E.ich in asion of foreign cul- ture was met with active resistance on the part of the nation. These inner developrnents that fol- lowed every foreign sortie determined to a very considerable degree the specific aspects of Judaism, for they arose as expressions of the levvish mind itself. Such a period in Jewish life that marked no: only the encroachment of alien influences but the corresponding reaction within the Jewish people was that of the Hasmoneans. Few subsequent eras in Jewish history v -ere to witness su.h im- portant developments in Jewish life and in the Jewish religion as did the .ige of the Maccabeans and the Hasmoneans. It is to .i consideration of the importance of the Hasmonean kingdom in Jewish life that we shall direct our attention. Before doing so, however, we feel that a brief survey of the historical background of their epoch is essential for a proper appreciation of our problem. The history of the period from the revolt of the Maccabeans to the establishment of Roman suzerainty over Palestine falls naturally into three st.iges — the M.icc.ibe.m revolt and the battle for religious freedom, the .struggle for political autonomy, and the attempt o( the nation, rent by mternal strife, to maintain its newly-acijuired status of independence. We shall consider each of these ph.iMs briefly. The seeds of the Maccabean revolt were sowed in Judaea by the Hellenist party. Likt rats gnawing at a ship ' s timbers, they were slowly un- dermining the fabric of Judaism by the introduc- tion into Jerusalem of various aspects of Greek culture. This gradual Hellenizaticn, however, evoked no violent resistance until the Hellenist party enlisted the aid of Antiochus I-piphanes in their de-Judaizing campaign. The latter, forced by Rome to leave Egypt while invading that country, readily vented his anger on the Jews. The appeal to him of the High Priest Menelaus, to strip the lews of their distinctive religion and to superim- pose forcibly on them the culture cf the Hellenes struck in Antiochus a responsive chord. By de- cree, he sought to destroy with one stroke centuries of Jewish tradition. The climax of Antiochus ' ruthless drive came with the desecration of the Temple and the placing of the statue cf Jupiter on the Holy Altar (17 Tammuz. 168 B.C.E.). This attempt to deprive the Jews of their religious liberty fanned into flame the smoldering embers of their antagonism to Hellenism. Inspired by the courageous example of Mattathias and his sons they broke into open rebellion. Judas Maccabeas who succeeded to the leadership of the insurgents on his father ' s death in 167 proved himself a won- derful general. His successive victories over the Syrians resulted in the rededication of the Temple in 16?. From that date till the rise of the House of Antipater in 163 B.C.E., a descendent of Mat- tathi.is led the Jews, whether as captain of a band of guerilla warriors, .is High Priest of the Jewish people or as ethnarch or king of the nation. Anv Fffuem

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M ASM ID a Hit;h Priest, taithful guardian and custodian of the Torah in its fulness and purity; as a disciple of the prophets, exalted exponent of Israel ' s fundamental affirmation of the absolute unit) ' , of God (from which follows the essential unity of man), of divine optimism and inherent good that underlies life and man, of the ethical vision of his people, and as the wise man and practical philosopher, the healer of the body as well as the soul, teaching physical and mental hygiene, the ways of life and illuminating the practical wisdom of his people. His niche in the sanctuary of hu- manity is just beginning to be revealed in the per- spective of time, for he truly was an exalted personality. Today, as in the days of Maimonides 800 years ago, Israel is beset by vilifying, unrelenting ene- mies from without; and spiritual aridity, deaden- ing indifference to, and arrogant ignorance of, its millennial heritage threaten its existence from within. The chasm between the truths of the Torah and the spirit of science seems to be widen- ing. Close contact with modern life and thought make it imperative to reformulate Israel ' s views on life and human destiny, on the vital problems of existence. ' We stand in need of a Maimonides to encourage and guide the preplexed and faint- hearted among us, who are losing the way, to heal the spiritual wounds of our people, and once again harmoniously to unite reason and life-giving faith. A man is needed that can call a halt to false prophets, who, claiming to seek the ad- vancement of Judaism, attempt to transfer the center of gravity of Jewish life from the Torah to a new paganism of folk-lore and folk-ways, substituting for the God of Israel a faith built out of folk psychology — a venture which every page of our millennial history warns us must end indisaster. As in the days of Maimonides, Israel is ever ready to meet the challenge of the times, though it does not embrace as the final truth every scienti- fic hypothesis, some of which are often inimical to its own fundamental affirmations. Theories come and go. They are beginning to come nearer to the fundamental affirmations of the Torah, and the word of our God shall remain forever. Perhaps never before has humanity been in greater need of a constructive philosophy, of a spiritual interpretation of life and human history. Toward this mankind is groping, impelled by the instinct of self-preservation. Thoughtful men are beginning to recognize that we are in the midst of the twilight of material domination of thought and of dogmatism in science, that marked and marred the passing era. Advancing scientific thought is freeing itself from the tyranny of a mechanistic interpretation of existence. ' We stand at a turning point in man ' s understanding of the universe and of himself. There is a growing awareness of a purposeful world and of man as a rational, responsible agent of the world, as Mai- monides conceived them. The more profound the insight of the scientist and scholar into the phenomena of nature, the more intensive and re- fined his scientific experience and intuition, the less conflicting seem such knowledge and faith. The might, mystery and majesty of the unmeasured cosmos, constantly unfolding before us, of the myriads of spheres, of life and of the life of the spirit, cause the true scientist to exclaim with the Psalmist in wonderment and awe: ' When I be- hold Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast established — what is the mortal, that Thou rememberest him? and the son of man, th.it Thou thinkest of him? Yet thou hast made him but a little less than angels. The growing recognition of the validity of genuine spiritual experience and the reawakening spiritual insight and longing are destined to give new directions to man ' s quest of ultimate reality and unity. No wonder that mankind, notwith- standing the resurging eternal hatred of the eter- nal people, is in its search for spiritual truth, coming again and increasingly to rely upon the fundamental concepts and thoughts of Jewish (Couliniied oil page 28)

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M A SMID consideration ot the importance ot tliis period on the development of Jewish history must therefore properly beijin not with the jirantint; of political independence to Palestine by Demetrius II in 143 or with the popular appointment of Simon as Hi h Priest, general and ethnarch in l4l but with tiie revolt of Mattathias and his sons at Modein in 168. The first phase of the period ended in 165 with the reconsecration of the Temple. The recogni- tion by Lysias of the right of the people to re- ligious freedom gained for the Jews what the Macc.ibeans had sought to achieve — the right to worship their own God, on their own soil, in their own manner. Till 165 the struggle had been waged for rehgious freedom. After its achieve- ment, the end sought was political independence. Nothing less than political autonomy could suffice to safeguard the national mode of life; and the realization of this led Jonathan to center his efforts on this goal. During his rule (152-144 B.C.E.) he united the quarreling factions in Judaea and made of the country a strong, self-reliant nation. In 152 Alexander Balas, pretender to the throne of Syria, made him High Priest. Concomitant with the growth of the nation ' s power was Jonathan ' s rapid advance in prestige and influence. And when he met his death at the hands of the treach- erous Trypho, it was but a short step from the position he had occupied to the High Priesthood of an independent nation — the role that his suc- cessor Simon was soon to assume. Simon consolidated the gains made by Jonathan and raised Judaea to the rank of an independent nation. The granting of practical independence to the Jews in Palestine by Demetrius II in 143- 142 B.C.E., and Simon ' s election in 141 as High Priest, general and ethnarch of the expanding na- tion are landm arks in the struggle of the Jews against the forces seeking their annihilation. With Simon ' s elevation to the status of an independent ruler, the second stage of this period, the fight for political independence, comes to an end; the Has- monean dynasty begins with this event. Judaea was now possessed of full religious and practically complete political liberty. The third stage of the Hasmonean rule is the story of the rising nation striving to preserve its hard-earned gains from the encroachment of foreign powers, the efforts of the various leaders to achieve territorial expansion and the conflict within the state of the divergent factions. The history of the latter phase, from the point of view of the later development of Jewish life, the most important factor of the Hasmonean era, bulks large in the general history of the period. The struggle for supremacy between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the alternation of both factions in the seat of power and the final triumph of the Pharisees is the story of the rise and fall of the Jewish state from the ascension of John Hyrcanus to the Roman conquest. The dissension between the two parties split the nation and ultimately resulted in the Civil ' War that once more estab- lished foreign rule in Palestine and raised the eagle of Rome on the soil of the Holy Land. Such, very briefly, is the history of the Jews in Palestine from the revolt of Mattathias to the pil- laging of Jerusalem by the Romans under Pompey — a period that was to exercise a profound in- fluence on the molding of the Jewish religion and on Jewish life. It is to the appreciation of the importance of this era in Jewish history that we shall now direct our attention. Many transitory benefits accrued to the Jews during the Hasmonean reign. Most significant of these was the territorial expansion of the country. The nation burst the bonds that had limited it to the narrow confines of Judaea and spread over all Palestine until its size was almost equal to that of the Kingdom of David and Solo- mon. During the rule of Simon and John Hyrcanus, a state of commercial prosperity existed in the land. The seaports, in particular, thrived on a flourishing commercial trade. But these gains were destined to be temporary ones and with the Roman conquest, went for nought. The sig- Sixleen