Festivals | Chanukah
In which Mattathias hates his state and enjoys his family: Part
Three
The taking of Jerusalem was a high point in the fortunes of the
Maccabees and indeed of the people as a whole. As a symbol Jerusalem
was of great importance and even though the Seleucid troops had
not completely evacuated the city, those that were left were walled
up inside a citadel, virtual prisoners of the Maccabees. There
was great rejoicing and for good reason. But for anyone who hoped
that the struggle was over, the future was likely to disappoint.
That did not take long.
A major army under the regent of the Syrian empire, Lysius, poured
into Judah, tens of thousands strong. There was very little that
the far smaller Maccabee army could achieve against such overwhelming
odds. Battle was bravely joined at Bet Zur in the Hebron hills
and much heroism was displayed. However, it was more than the
Maccabees could cope with. Losses were very heavy. One of the
younger Maccabee brothers, Eliezer, lost his life in one of the
attacks. The defeated Jewish forces were pushed back into Jerusalem
and the Syrians besieged the city.
At a certain point, however, Lysias heard that a military threat
had arisen in the north of the Seleucid empire and realising that
the situation was too complicated and that he could not afford
to open up too many fronts at once, he decided to sue for peace.
The terms that he offered seemed quite generous.
- All laws against Judaism would be withdrawn.
- Syria would refrain from interfering in the internal affairs
of Judah.
- Menalaus, the corrupt High Priest who had presided over the
pagan temple was to be executed.
- Judah Maccabee and the rest of the rebel Jews would be unpunished.
But on the other hand there were some conditions.
- The walls of jerusalem were to be pulled down.
- Syria was to remain the sovereign power in Judah and would
retain the right to appoint the High Priest (the head of the
Jewish autonomy since the return from Babylon).
Judah convened a meeting of the governing council of the revolt
to discuss the proposal. Should the offer be accepted? Could the
Syrians be trusted? This proposal guaranteed religious freedom,
and that after all was the reason that the whole revolt had broken
out. On the other hand, having come so far, and having tasted
a certain amount of independence, should they settle for a return
to the previous situation or should they go on to attempt to secure
independence?
The proposal offered freedom for Judah and his followers but it
gave them no role in the new order that was promised. The government
would revert to the moderate Hellenists who had been the object
of suspicion and disdain all along to Judah's followers because
of their seeming lukewarm attitude to Judaism. The questions were
difficult and the discussions must have been long and hard. The
decision to accept or reject the proposal was a crucial one.
A rejection might lead to the crushing of the entire enterprise
and the beginning of the end for the Jews. To accept, however,
would be to recognise the Seleucid's right to rule indirectly.
It would give them more than a foothold in the country. Once they
finished dealing with their own internal problems they might turn
right round and use their foothold, which would be both legal
and physical, to resume their plans for Judah.
The truth was that under the Hasmonean banner were diverse groups
with different aims and different agendas. Some of Judah's strongest
supporters were a group called the Hassidim ('the pious') whose
interest had always been only the securing of religious freedom.
They, for example, now sensed that the proposal gave them what
they wanted.
The result was a split in the hitherto united camp. The majority
of the council voted to accept the peace treaty and a moderate
Hellenist by the name of Alcimus was imposed by the Seleucids
and accepted by the Hassidim. Judah and some of his men rejected
the treaty and left Jerusalem to continue the fight with diminished
forces. They presumably hoped that Alcimus and the Seleucids would
sooner or later make mistakes that would alienate those who had
now accepted them and cause them to rejoin the rebels. If that
is what they hoped, the hope was justified; within a short time
the new rulers had made some clumsy moves that sent the Hasidim
and their supporters right back into the heart of the nationalist
camp.
The war would last for many years.
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We suggest an exercise to examine the price of independence.
- The group is brought together and Judah Maccabee (one of the
madrichim) surveys the situation and reviews the events of
the last few years. The time is after the battle of Bet Zur
in the Hebron hills. The Jewish forces have been driven back
into Jerusalem.
- Suddenly a messenger bursts in with an offer of peace. The
terms of the suggestion are put forward.
- Judah asks for one supporter and one opponent of the peace
proposal to come forward and to put the case for and against.
These should be madrichim or well-rehearsed chanichim and
they should be guided among other things, by the sort of questions
and ideas mentioned above.
- As they speak, the arguments for and against are listed on
a board or on wall charts for all to see.
- Once that has been done, the group breaks into small groups
which have to come up with a suggestion to accept or reject
the treaty.
- Reconvening in the big group the arguments of the different
groups are heard, and discussed.
- Finally a vote is taken.
- Immediately after the vote, the 'play' is broken and the story
of what really happened is explained, followed by a discussion
on the question of the relative importance of religious and
political freedom for the Jews.
It is suggested that elder groups should analyse the story as a
case study and follow it with the discussion mentioned above.
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Chapter Five of "Jerusalem Journeys",
Dreams, Dilemmas and Decisions of Jewish Leaders by Steve
Israel, Published by the Division for Overseas Training and Educational
Material, Youth and Hechalutz Department, Joint Authority for
Jewish Zionist Education, Jerusalem, 1995.