February 6

Today we have started to talk about the founding of the Hasmonean dynasty – an important landmark in Jewish history, for it was Israel’s last moment of glory before the Romans have conquered them and burned down the Temple; the Hasmoneans were the last true kings of Israel; with them gone, Israel as a nation was over for a long time too.

The lecture itself – certain technical differences notwithstanding – emphasized the historical aspect of today’s topic too. The first part of the lecture was dedicated to the history itself – history of the Israel after the Babylonian captivity and the rise and demise of Alexander the Great of Macedonia (the Seleucids and Ptolemies mentioned in the Maccabees descended from his generals who helped him conquer the known world of the time), who brought Judea in contact with the rest of the world – and with Hellenization.

Hellenization is the idea that all of the world should adhere to Greek – Hellene – ideas and ideals, something that did not go well with Judea, who had its own ideas and ideals quite different from those of the Greeks. Still, there was a number of Jews who were willing to be Hellenized, and moreover, initially, during the reign of Antiochus III, Judea was given special status and allowed to keep its religious differences and privileges too.

That changed when Antiochus IV took over the Seleucid Empire and revoked Judea’s privileges, before trying to convert it to Hellenism by force. The political and religious corruption of Judea’s elite did not help matters any either, and so Judea rebelled – and rebelled successfully, as in 141 B.C.E Judea became independent once more and for the last time, until the Romans came and conquered it for good. (In a fit of dramatic irony, during the anti-Seleucid revolt, Judea was actually on good terms with the Romans and considered them its allies.)

The second part of the lecture, however, focused on showing how the Maccabees, though historical in context, were not. Rather, they were aimed at ‘making history’ by legitimizing and glorifying the Hasmonean dynasty, after their rule was consolidated, it seems. Thus, the Maccabees (the book, that is) role was to legitimize Hasmonean history, and their report of the Hasmonean uprising is politically slanted, in a manner of speaking.

For example, there was the matter of Antiochus IV’s demise. The horrid way he had perished in Maccabees was shown as very similar to the deaths of the impious kings and other Biblical villains, implying that the Maccabees are not fully trustworthy as a historical resource; thus all that was read in the book must be taken with a grain of salt or two.

Regardless of that, today’s lecture was very, very good and interactive. The information was new and exciting and undoubtedly fun to learn. The technical side of the affairs was slightly rusty, but it was one of those unforeseen circumstances that no one can foresee. I.e. it was still a very enjoyable lecture and I was happy to attend it as well.