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Why did the Maccabees

rebel“?

4' r—V‘.

4“

’MV

1“.

w. 1:2.

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shay:

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‘

is a question which we must ésk

Ulhis

every year at dhanukkah, for unless we kﬁow the answer the whole signie ficance of this festival may escape qs,

Let us be» clear, then, that

there was no threat to the clife of the Jews, or even

to-

their livelihood.

If they had submitbed‘ t9 the démands of Antiochus, he would have alloWed them torlive in peaée and security. Mdttathias himself was told that if

_

he and his sons did as they were Biddehu, they would be numbered among the

king's friends and showere‘d withr‘gif‘és of silver and gold,

they

ﬁght

fOr

po'l‘i’ticai

for LL00 years; and

independence.

1:tt m3

'Jl‘hisr'hhe

Neither did

JeWs had not enjoy‘edi

doubt t-hé longing for

11;

had ﬁensi‘sted,

‘7

yet their life had‘ been coﬁarétiveity comfortable and unmolesized uﬁéelr Persian a‘ndiGﬁeek rule, (ltl'w‘as only when the war got under way and“ ‘

. ‘

:bhe

Maccabees had tasted the fruits‘of vicfoiiy that their! appetite was

ﬁhedﬁted: for

national independence

‘and

the attainment of it became a r

realistic ambition,

The initial motive was neither eq-onomic no? political but religious. It was the onsiamgﬁt ‘onut-he eﬁa' distinctive religious life, and especiall the command tom/cramp i-dbi'é, Vlkéiéh provided the signal for the revolt; In certain areas Compromise might have been poSsi‘bleg but idhlatry was the denial of everything that Judaism stood for.

E0 yield to that would

be to run a real risk of destroying f6: ever the whole edifice or Jewish belief and practiée ~Which had been 30 painfully‘built up far- so many "

cerituries.

Yet even '

nthi-s

AleXande‘r‘the Great

is not the whole story; hagi.

1‘50

years had elapsed since

conquered Palestine and the whole of the Near

East as far as India. During this period an oriental version of Greek

‘

"

i'

2

:-

r

civilisation, known as Hellenism,

"

-;-

'had‘

established iﬁse'lf

1

in all

the conquer'ed territ’briés, and many Jews hadljin Varying degree «sﬁccum'bedi

to it.

Ehese Hellenised

to Anti'ochus and

Jeirls,,‘w'er‘m'ay‘

they had ‘beéome

inore‘GreeI‘:

themselves that it was: possible {whey grobabiy argued

constitute

5’

sure, did; not pffér anynresisfakhéqi

proﬁde any recruits

did» not

After several generations, reach a before,~,

:‘be

tha'iz.

real threat,

{:6

:gitt‘le

7'

fat" {the

Madcab'eanwarmy.

more assimilated than

t’he‘on‘e

thaﬁIJewish, or else they peréuaﬂed“

in Greek oﬁtwgr'dif and Jewish inwardly;

even the éeéi‘ee commanding idolavorship‘ did It,

‘

n61:

was, after all, only an outwardi‘gestﬁre

‘

required of'the“ lead‘epé of the cormnunity as a symbol ‘of' their logal‘by to the Empire, Once-they had gﬁeii "this, tokeh of their patriotism they would, probably be least alqne.‘

‘

There was, howevei', another section

angling

the JeWS,;‘h10\m

:33

the

:Chasidim' Or Faithful Ones, who had“ never welgomed 'Heﬂenisjm. so ‘eageriy;

They had maintained towards it an attitude of albofqess or even hostility and reqed to make any compromises with it, It was. from these Chasidim that Mattathias and Judah drew "their rgcruit 5., t‘o‘ ‘

A‘ndI

tvherefbre¢ if we wish

umierstand- the fuli 'signifiéance‘.of ihe Maccabean Rebellion, We must

seek?

to understand the motives of this anti-Heilenistic attitude, Some-

how, the 'Chasidi-m must‘ have sensed' that ,, even quite apart ﬁomrthe‘

oppressive edicts of Antiochus; Hellenism represented a mortal

threa’ft

-

to Judaigm. More particularly, though fthéy probably did not see it so clearly, it rep-re‘serited a different; and ‘pd‘bentially dangerous; system of values,

What were the values of Hellenism especially as it manifested itself in Palestipe'f What Were the 'thjtngs which Hellenistic soéiety

; ‘

Va 1

v

>13.

.-

fci-avedvgrrﬁrized' ‘pleasui‘éé,

and féspected‘? Fundanienﬁa‘ilj

fibers were thzie'é;

First,

and therefor? wealth; for a.1th6ugn (wealth (zonaa'uin the

he‘ﬁresiredg for? itself, its chi’glg rungsti‘On

‘end:

to

the pﬁrchase of pleasuré§

5.15

jlpe‘Héilenistic world Was very affluent.“ Aiezande‘r'syoonques’ts had"

opened up'undrféamtg-of‘tradé routes streﬁching '

India“,

7

and from‘Egyptr to the Baltic

to capacity wiizh silks

Sea»

ﬂom‘mﬁm'egeecg

to

”

Shipsgarnd caraVans were iade‘n“

furs, Spicesé‘na' gems, and these and’gothei" luxury goods: were readily available in the maéhts.’ The people spent,

~their wealth freely

stadiums and VT‘ﬁe

and:

on,

rljheal'bres

every form of

sprang up like;

ex‘rez;

and'gntertainmehta

rrﬂ‘iushroom‘sHih eiei'y

hot because l-Jiidégis‘m

Chasidim- lacked on askéhée;

ascgticism, amignot

spcirst

hmaamentauy

'36a 7‘

~

‘

jéhly because many of the'se’entertainﬁieﬁ'ﬁsj were, was}

sbm'tﬁiﬁg

ui‘heal'ﬁhya'bout tzpis vinmleg'attitude 6f "le'brus‘

and bé mer‘i‘yyfor:t‘dmorrow‘wé dim", >

sizéﬁlé‘

"éehands afiﬂife; of

sexually immora1,fput'ﬁécau_se they‘realisédiihat‘ “there

77

@ymnaéiurhsx‘,”

excifement became more and

5113811111?

‘

eat; driﬁk‘

of pleaéuﬁé and

mqife sophi'sticaiied-Qf f/i'e'nzied‘aﬁdnall-Aabéoizﬁing;

"crowding out higher aims; maxim ﬁhé

rpeﬂgpi’e"

maifrereht to {11¢ suffering

of animals, to the plight of the slams-,gqtczusocia; ih~juéticeyxahdrto morai

"

distinctions generally, The s_econd overarigi'ng Value

of‘Hél-leni-sfm‘,

Palestine than algewherez, washeaut'y,

though

gmhitecture

1eés' ewidenl‘t

afgdrscuip‘hur‘ej,

im

“

poetry

and drama, £10urished.ét Athens ‘andiAlexandria, at Rhodes and} Antidcﬁ: and

other centres of the Hellenistic world; From. tﬁe point

and literature it was one of the mast creative doubt the Jews,- in so far as they Vin apppegiation

unduly

621.6.

01‘?

inerip'ds of

viéw bf

art.

history.

No

‘

not'become“'He'11§nised:, were? ladlgiug

for thﬁasﬁculifupal creativity, just asnthey were perhaps‘ about physical exercise and populaiI entertainment.

ewzgmaﬁ

q

‘

A

1

-

{nevertheless

“was. a

‘i‘aisi‘ng artist‘mé

#1

sound; ingti‘nctjwmc’h aiertéqvthe‘m to ﬁpéf dangér:

for art‘s sake,.‘name1y the ééngér qf

“inhereh? in, the pursuit;- of ‘

9,

Véiues to

1:138

status of

‘sﬁprem'e

belongs to nibraiva-iugs aligns, Even if they

'wiugngw

'wcmi-d

‘zhave “aggrmfi-ced the; wAci'opo'lisV’of

ﬂsing‘i'e‘ ‘x'rénse

of Scripturé qr for

"towards the ‘poor and. gpprerssqq,

a-

Statizs

Athens- and

comedirlea‘ar

sing?

lria‘c‘l:

of

‘

which

admiredliéz‘eék'.cuitui'ez,

sof'Rhodes, the‘ tragedies Of‘Euripides andl'the $05: a

values,

‘

r

I

they

Coldée‘tjs

7tzhé

‘

‘

of Ariﬁéphan'es; jﬁs‘hice and}:megrizyZ

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r

'

mirajly,;-the H‘e'l‘l‘ehisticrVibrldi‘valugd.knowiédgei ané' pqnsuea :withv

avidity. AESnohqmyQ- gegmétpy, botany, zggﬁalgy, history-ﬁnd

‘flourished

in“

me

other centres bf Chagidi‘c d‘eWS

antist,

naming;

,hgd:

‘Sc’ientific‘

‘

.geoigrélimsf~

:bétween‘

‘ag'aizji:

berg, toe,7‘bhe 7

it-ﬁasfsbme’hdw bi‘aéphemcﬁs .toﬁpeer

k‘n’bw'le dgé wa'nq

amt theyunderétooq Wi’sdémg, Kﬁo‘vﬂéédg'e. '

It can‘be"i1:séd fgr- good: or

is .mbr‘allyineu’tral.

‘Bli‘l;

[not

7‘

Perhaps they were a littig“ robséqrér

the-if reserﬁratioﬁé,

Pérhéiheyrelt 1:t

'a ‘vdis‘b 11155121 on:

Study peached'a lévé‘;

of islam and the Renais‘sahtjey‘

‘days-

closely into the mysteries oftngtqré, i‘ 's

‘

universities} iibraries and mugeﬁms of Alexandria and

‘attaineduuntﬂ, the

‘

11:,

'eiril:

gt}

than in, “gel:

>

that

To beééxﬁé for humn

pﬁrpos'es.

can lead to a diKSreg’afdi x'leifare. W—i'sd‘om', ‘on the other hand, 13 _the ﬁndersltanding; {1912. so much mﬁsﬁ live in, ordeii to achieve» éi? how nédzure works, but 91‘ how toqpre—pcgﬁpied with

self-mlﬂ'lment and .

’60

‘

it,-

m

zthferefore,

social

'

V ‘hai‘mony5mwmm .

>

,

And this seemed ‘

the Jews incomparably more impoptant;

The Jews possessed

two‘

first place they possessed a

things which“ thé Greeks lacked. iiﬁng'ugi‘ei'igi‘onaa

'

In the

‘

~

Thé ancient Greek religion,

-

,

5 -

with its worship of'the Olympian gods, was largely dead.

It had been

idolaitrous, degﬁéding“and childish, “and was no longer taken seriously.-

'Its passing had left

void which nothing was able to fill. There were, course, ,the yhixools of philosophy, but they differed from one anotmer

‘63?

'

a‘

base.

and their interest was largely academic, smthat they did not provide v ~ _ indivdual his life an ideology on which the 9:061 nary could And '

~

‘

in the absénce of such an ideology thé .cormnom people turned to all sorts 6r ‘supengt‘itions and cranky cults. Magician‘s, atrologers and writers of :amulets:

were in great‘demand'.

In“

thig field, therefore, the Greeks,

IwhoGJerefso ‘stmphiisticated in sport and "Viinéfel,.:fcsbyrnpai-ed

‘with

tieJewa,‘ pueailé.

Veriter-tainmentll,‘

"time

1m art and science,

eagernéss with which this

"world ulﬁimaﬁéiy éhbnaceq Christianity shows how desperatelir

.

ﬁsh

needed

Isoxﬁéthing whsigh itfdid not possess, namely‘a mature, respect—worthy '

religion. ,

)Aﬁdﬂ

_

‘

‘ ‘

fgr‘thi‘ree‘grson the Greeks'were also..deficient

épﬁﬁlc‘i‘va‘b‘ear

the ﬁnliiiess of beauty,

:but

:L‘n

morality.

not the beauty of holiness;

structurewwgs nugget, and‘bgiﬂ on thg institution bf slavery “jgwhich‘évehn {fps Egrearhfts‘ﬁ. of:ﬁhe‘VGreekbhilosophers did not condemn. And :mﬁerr

F

q’cr‘i‘al;

“7".3’117‘ét'LVas‘t'i'1é3r '1

‘

had‘yno‘sc‘gruples

‘4‘»a‘60i1t‘_“o"pi‘>‘résjtsing“foréigners‘;

(1a ’

“tbrd‘rea‘t‘ziin

s‘ﬁeﬁtat’ofsf serii‘ryedr

‘

'

about slavery, torturing

so"

ﬁiiisohe'rs or

they had no scrupleé

watéhing humant‘beihgs‘

the amphit heatzfe‘sﬁo proﬁde entertainment for the

life, to‘o, was of low quality. The wife onlyvto breed children, the husband sought his social and M'téii‘c"

ﬁamiigir

cu'ifura; life ou'gside ther‘home', homosexuality and promiscui‘by were camon; l’hg Jews, on the other hand, were rendwyéhedi above all for

quagities: mercy, chastity and charity. They had a” tremendous respéct‘ for human life, they had a strong sense of justice, "they were It'rhree

‘

'

‘

—

¢

-

" 6

'5 n

,

‘

humane and compassipna-te to the poor

arid

the needy, the stranger and the“

orphan, the widow and the aged and‘ infirm,- and they had

affectionate family life.

z

Héwever inferior the

a;

pure and“

J‘éws \veré to the

in sport and art, in science and philosophy, religiously

arid

Greeks

§

morally they

were immeasurably gupeyior. Here, then,rwere two‘conf'licting ideologies.

pleasure, beauty and knowiedge are the chief goais

Ac‘cording‘ to Helienisin ’of

_

According to Hebraism-the only supreme Values are moral values. According to Hebraism,‘ if a society ﬁossesses wealth and lumpy, sport and entertainment, art life.

literature; science and philosdphy, but does not possess mercy an'd justice, it phasesses nothing. If it has these, it has everything. It was fundamentally because the ghasidim perceived this distinction: {éhaﬁ and.

‘

when the hour of decision came, they rebelled.

me

important impliééti‘oms for ‘usr TEe‘acie‘ty in whicﬁwe live ié réma‘rkably fike that ‘of “the Hellenistic WOi‘lda“ 120:0 All: ‘this, let

add,“ has

Via an (affluent ’sociéty,

71-11,

‘toq', 1‘s

I

obsessedlwi‘t‘h “the pupsuiﬁ of ‘pleagprem

Gavernméﬁt White ‘Pap'eI-“whiéh has 51191; been pﬁblished eﬁémineg thé‘sis‘ociai ‘chgn‘ges that have taken place in Bnitaiﬁ‘ the last decade, It shows w; ‘thatlmore people areﬁe‘arnin‘g‘, and ‘spendiﬁg; more money than eyer before, ;

bf thié expendit‘ure is of: gambl‘ingzningohnd other forms of not particularly elevating entertainment, and the national debt incurred in. the hire purchase of '1uXuI-y goodé hag reached astronomid‘al Proportions. Ours, too; is a so‘cie‘ty which appreéiates a-rt and‘iliterrature. L‘Ac‘corﬁing to the White Paper-liners books are beingpubli‘shed and read than eirer before, and ﬂare ié increased interest ‘in the theatre, concerts, ballétv, opera and painting. Again, the pursuit of'knowlédge ié taken very seriously. More‘and more people are taking uhiversi-ty degrees; vé-ry large part

L

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r

I

/a\

V

F

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'17e

“

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‘

eéientific‘ énd' technologiCal research are making rapid strides.

the other hand? there is mbral decline.

But on

Grimes‘of violence, especially

among juvenilesmave increased alarmingly,

1’remari~'l;a1

5nd extramarital

Family Life is becoming rattenuat ed as more married' women take up employment,.EUnoffic-i‘al strikes and

promiscuity-are \vidé‘spmad. and more

raciai riots have been frequent,] In these circumstances our duty isgleﬁr. a~ ‘

brilliant essay on Judaism

wealth,

‘Sg'i‘ence,

maid

Heliniam, ~wzfote:

art and. literature;

adequate faith“ and

would

ahdi

11;

Milton Steinberg,

'Exhey

"Ting

in:

ages}: world

were not enough;

‘

1’:

hadzv

had

mm

had too little heart, 'It was inevitable that this ‘

fall into decay; that it would: collapse into barbarism...

In the very moment of its rfléwering, HelléniSm was doomed‘, fbecauée the iﬁt’ellect and the sense of the raesthetic are not suffiicie‘nt‘ for man."

our duty:

as‘

Jews: and as inheritqrs

of the ﬂaccabean spirit is

to- reg;

assért, by precept and example,- the values of Hebrais‘m; to save our

civilisation from diéinﬁegration by reminding it that pleasure; beauty I

and knowledge are; not enough; that. to make these"our supreme aﬁﬁitiom éhd'rﬂpregccupationl is

1:9

relgpSe

i‘n'to

paganismgt'tuat only that

‘soci‘ej'ly.

‘

'pOSSgSSes- stability ansd permanence whigp ‘hungers and "thirsts after 7

ri‘ghﬁeoums’néé‘a, a

‘

7