Esnoga Bet Emunah
227 Millset Chase - San Antonio, Texas 78253
Telephone: (210) 277 8649 - United States of
America © 2006
E-Mail: gkilli@aol.com
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Three and 1/2 year
Lectionary Readings |
Second Year of the Reading Cycle |
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Kislev 25, 5767 –
December 15/16, 2006 |
Fifth Year of the Sh’mita Cycle |
Happy Chanukah 5767
Candle Lighting
and Havdalah Times
San Antonio, Texas, U.S. Brisbane, Australia:
Friday, Dec. 15, 2006 – Candles
at: 5:19 PM Friday, Dec. 15, 2006 – Candles at: 6:20 PM
Saturday, Dec. 16, 2006 – Havdalah 6:16 PM Saturday, Dec. 16, 2006 – Havdalah 7:19 PM
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Singapore, Singapore
Friday Dec. 15, 2006 – Light Candles at 5:12 PM Friday, Dec. 15, 2006 – Candles at: 6:43 PM
Saturday, Dec. 16, 2006 – Havdalah 6:11 PM Saturday, Dec. 16, 2006 – Havdalah 7:35 PM
For other places
see: http://chabad.org/calendar/candlelighting.asp
Festival of Chanukah
(Festival of Dedication) – December 15-23
First Shabbat of
Chanukah
Mevar’chim HaChodesh
(Proclamation of the New Moon) of the month of TEVET
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Shabbat |
Torah Reading: |
Weekday Torah Reading: |
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וַיַּקְרִיבוּ
נְשִׂיאֵי
יִשְׂרָאֵל |
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“VaYaq’rivu N’shie Yisrael” |
Reader
1 – B’midbar 7:1-11 |
See
special readings for each day of |
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“And offered the rulers of Israel” |
Reader
2 – B’midbar 7:12-23 |
Hanukah
below. |
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“Y los jefes
de Israel ofrecieron” |
Reader
3 – B’midbar 7:24-29 |
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B’midbar (Numbers) 7:1-59 |
Reader
4 – B’midbar 7:30-35 |
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Ashlamatah: Zechariah
2:14 - 4:7 |
Reader
5 – B’midbar 7:36-41 |
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Reader
6 – B’midbar 7:42-47 |
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Psalm 74 |
Reader
7 – B’midbar 7:48-59 |
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Maftir – B’midbar 28:9-15 |
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N.C.: Yochanan
(John) 10:22-42 |
Zechariah 2:14 - 4:7 |
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Roll
of Honor:
This Torah commentary comes to you courtesy
of His Honor Paqid Adon Hillel ben David and most beloved family, and that of
Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah and beloved family, as well as that of
His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann and beloved family and that of His
Excellency Adon John Batchelor and beloved wife, and that of His Excellency
Adon Ezra ben Abraham and his beloved wife Giberet Karmela bat Sarah. For their
regular and sacrificial giving, providing the best oil for the lamps, we pray
that G-d’s richest blessings be upon their lives and those of their loved ones,
together with all Yisrael, amen ve amen! Also a great thank you to all who send
comments to the list about the contents and commentary of the weekly Seder.
If you want to subscribe to our list and
ensure that you never lose any of our commentaries, or would like your friends
also to receive this commentary, please do send me an E-Mail to ravybh@optusnet.com.au with your E-Mail or
the E-Mail addresses of your friends. Toda Rabba!
TAKE NOTE !
On
Friday afternoon, the lighting of the Chanukah lights precedes the lighting of
the Shabbat candles. One should be careful to use sufficient oil to ensure that
they remain lit for at least half an hour after the appearance of the stars.
On
motza'e Shabbat (Saturday night), customs differ – among many, the Chanukah
lights are lit after Havdalah; others reverse the order. A person should
therefore follow the custom of his forefathers. Among Sephardic communities,
Chanukah lights are lit in the synagogue before Havdalah and at home, Havdalah
precedes the lighting of the Chanukah lights.
Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: B’midbar (Numbers) 7:1-59
VII.
And it was on the day which begins the month of Nisan, when Mosheh had finished
to erect the tabernacle, he took it not in pieces again, but anointed and
consecrated it and all its vessels, the altar and all the vessels thereof, and
he anointed them and hallowed them; then the leaders of Israel, who were the
chiefs of the house of their fathers, brought their offerings. These were they
who had been appointed in Mizraim chiefs over the numbered, and they brought
their offering before the Lord; six wagons covered and fitted up, and twelve
oxen; one wagon for two princes and one ox for each. [JERUSALEM. Six wagons
yoked.] But Mosheh was not willing to receive them, and they brought them
before the tabernacle. And the Lord spoke with Mosheh, saying: Take them, and
let them be used for the need of the appointed (work), and let the oxen and the
wagons be for the work of the service of the tabernacle of ordinance, and give
them to the Levites, to each according to the measure of his work. And Mosheh
took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them to the Levites. Two wagons and four
oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to the amount of their service,
and four wagons and eight oxen gave be to the sons of Merari, according to the
measure of their service, by the band of Ithamar bar Aharon the priest. But to
the sons of Kehath he gave neither wagons nor oxen, because on them was laid
the service of the sanctuary, to be carried on their shoulders. And the princes
offered at the dedication of the altar by anointing, on the day that he
anointed it did the princes present their oblations before the altar. And the
Lord said unto Mosheh, Let the princes offer each, one prince on one day, their
oblations at the dedication of the altar by anointing.
He
who on the first day presented his oblation was Nachshon bar Amminadab, prince
of the house of the fathers of the tribe Jehudah: and his oblation which he
offered was one silver bow, thickly embossed, (or, crusted,) in weight one
hundred and thirty shekels, in shekels of the sanctuary; one silver vase,
slightly embossed, of seventy shekels, in shekels of the sanctuary; both of
these vessels he brought filled with flour of the separation, sprinkled with
olive oil for a mincha; one pan (censer) weighing ten silver shekels, but it
was itself of good gold; and he brought it full of good sweet incense of the
separation; one young bullock of three years, one ram of two years, and one
lamb of the year. These three did the chief of the tribe Jehudah bring for a
burnt offering; one kid of the goats he brought for a sin offering; and for
consecrated victims, two oxen, five rams, five goats, lambs of the year five:
this is the order of the oblation which Nachshon bar Amminadab offered of his
wealth. [JERUSALEM. And the oblation which he offered was one silver dish,
&c., in the same words as above.]
On
the second day, Nethanel bar Zuar, chief of the house of the fathers of the
tribe Issakar, brought his oblation. He brought his oblation after Jehudah by
commandment of the Holy: one silver dish thickly embossed, one hundred and
thirty shekels, &c., as the first.
On
the third day, Eliab bar Helon, prince of the Beni Zebulon, offered. On the
fourth, Elizur bar Shedeur, prince of the Beni Reuben; on the fifth, Shelumiel
bar Zurishaddai, prince of Shemeon; on the sixth, Eljasaph bar Dehuel, prince
of the Beni Gad; on the seventh, Elishama bar Ammihud, prince of the Beni
Ephraim; on the eighth, Gamaliel bar Pedazur, prince of Menasheh;
Ketubim Targum Psalm 74
1.
A good lesson, composed by Asaph. Why, O God, have You moved far off forever?
[Why] will your anger be fierce against the flock of your pasture?
2.
Remember Your congregation that You acquired of old; You redeemed from Egypt
the tribes of Your inheritance, this same Mount Zion on which You made Your
presence to abide.
3.
Lift up your footsteps to dissolve the nations forever, for the enemy with all
his strength has done harm in the holy place.
4.
Your oppressors cry out in the midst of Your assemblies; they have set up their
standards as signs.
5.
He will strike with a hammer like a man who lifts up his hand against a wood
thicket to cut it with axes.
6.
But now they pull down its carvings together; they pound with the hatchet and
the two-edged chisel as if with mallets.
7.
They have burned the sanctuary to the ground with fire; they have defiled the tabernacle
in which Your name is uttered.
8.
Their children spoke in their hearts together; their fathers burned all the
assemblies of God in the land.
9.
We have not seen our signs that the prophets gave us; there are no longer any
prophets and we have none with us who knows how long.
10.
How long, O God, will the oppressor show disdain? Will the enemy reject Your
name forever?
11.
Why will You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand, from redeeming? Take it
out of Your bosom and do away with oppression.
12.
But God is the king, whose holy presence is from of old, one who carries out
redemption in the midst of the land.
13.
You cut off the waters of the sea by Your power; You broke the heads of the sea
serpents, and drowned the Egyptians at the sea.
14.
You shattered the heads of Pharaoh’s warriors; You handed them over for
destruction to the people of the house of Israel, and their corpses to jackals.
15.
You split the spring from the rock and it became a stream; you dried up the
ford of the streams of the Arnon and the ford of the Jabbok and the Jordan,
which were so powerful.
16.
Yours is the day-time, Yours, too, is the night; You have made firm the moon
and sun.
17.
You set up all the boundaries of the earth; summer and winter, You created
them.
18.
Remember this, the enemy, slanderer of the Lord, and the foolish people who
have rejected Your name.
19.
Do not deliver the souls of those who teach Your Torah to the Gentiles, who are
likened to beasts of the field; do not forget the lives of Your poor forever.
20.
Look at the covenant that You made with our fathers, for their children are
finished off; darkness is spread over the land, and fraud, and violence.
21.
The pauper will not return ashamed; the poor and lowly will praise Your name.
22.
Arise, O God; argue Your case; call to mind the disgrace of Your people because
of foolish counsel all the day.
23.
Do not forget the voice of Your oppressors, the turmoil, always mounting, of
those who stand against You.
Ketubim Midrash Psalm 74
I. Maschil of Asaph. O God, why have You cast us off
for ever? Why does Your anger smoke against the flock of Your pasture? Remember
Your congregation which You did make Your own of old (Ps. 74:1-2).
Elsewhere, this is what Scripture says: Remember me, and think of me, and
avenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in Your long-suffering (Jer.
15:15). You are long-suffering, as is said “You, O Lord, are
long-suffering” (Ps. 86:15), while we that are born of woman are
short of patience, as is said “Man that is born of woman is of few days and
full of anger” (Job 14:1). But if You let us suffer too long, nothing will
be left of us, and we will die.
So,
too, Asaph said, O God, why have You cast us off for ever? And he
continued, “Why does the smoke of Your anger rise up even now about Your
presence?” Why does Your anger smoke against the flock of Your pasture?
That is, “Why do You hide Your face from me like a man that hides his face from
the smoke?” And again Asaph asked: How long will You smoke against the
prayer of Your people (Ps. 80:5), Your people, that is, the sheep of Your
pasture whom You have forgotten?
Remember
Your congregation, which You did make Your own of old (Ps. 74:2). What does the phrase of old prove?
That before the world was created, the Holy One, blessed be He, had made the
children of Israel His own, as is said Lord, You have been our
dwelling-place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, for
ever You have formed the earth and the world (Ps. 90:1—2).
II.
Restore Your times which have long
been desolate, ever since the enemy wrought destruction in the sanctuary (Ps. 74:3). Restore Your times, the times of
those pilgrimages which You did command of us, saying: “Three times in a
year will all your males appear before the Lord your God in the place which He
will choose” (Deut. 16:16). Behold now how Your three times have been made
desolate!
Your
adversaries made a roaring noise in the midst of Your Temple (Ps. 74:4). R. Joshua ben Levi quoted: A voice of
noise from the city, a voice from the Temple (Isa. 66:6) – that is, the
destroyed Temple lifted its voice in menace of Your adversaries. And what was
its menace? Hear the voice of the Lord that renders recompense to His
enemies (ibid.).
They
read the signs of their divinations
(Ps. 74:4) and declared, “On such and such a day, we shall conquer Jerusalem!”
They read signs in the flight of arrows, for when they shot an arrow to the
north, it flew to the south [toward Jerusalem], as is said For the king of
Babylon stood at the parting of the way, to use divination: he shot his arrows,
he consulted with images, he looked in the liver (Ezek. 2I:26). And every
divination they tried augured that they would prosper. Hence it is said They
read the signs of their divinations.
Nevertheless,
the enemies felt no gratitude toward God, for they said, Our high hand, and
not the Lord, has done all this (Deut. 32:27). Indeed, could they have
broken into the heavens and risen against God on high, they would have done so.
As the Psalm says, It seemed as if they were wielding axes at the top of a
thicket of trees (Ps. 74:5)—that is, as though they were breaking a way to
the very top of heaven. Indeed, this was not the end of it. For they acted in
just the way their ancestors had acted, who said, Go to, let us build us a
city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name (Gen.
11:4)—that is, make us an idol. Name has this same sense in “And make
no mention of the name of other gods” (Ex. 23:13), and also in “Then
began men to call themselves by the name of the Lord” (Gen. 4:26). Thus act
the wicked who “imagine a mischievous device which they are not able to
perform” (Ps. 21:12). And so the generation of confusion set a precedent
for them. And mark what they did! As the Psalm says, Now they break down the
carved work thereof with hatchet and hammers (Ps. 74:6). They sought to
break a way to heaven and could not; therefore, they made war against You on
earth.
III. They have cast fire into Your sanctuary, they have
defiled the dwelling place of Your name on earth (Ps. 74:7). Your dwelling
place is in heaven, and Your dwelling place is also on earth. But because the
enemies could not use their power against Your dwelling place in heaven, they
used it against Your dwelling place on earth.
In
Their descendants all together, said—(Ps. 74:8), whose descendants
are meant? The descendants of the generation of confusion, all of whom together
were following the design of their ancestors. And what did they say? They said,
Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation that the name of Israel
may be no more in remembrance (Ps. 83:5). How is their God called? Is He
not called the God of Israel? Therefore, if we root up Israel, the name of the
God of Israel will be no more in remembrance.
They
have burned up all the meeting-places of God on earth (Ps. 74:8), that is, burned up the places where God
met the children of Israel for prayer that they might hallow His name and
proclaim Him Sovereign over them.
In
We see not our signs; there is no more any prophet (Ps. 74:9), the
reference is to that sign which You have promised in the verse, “Behold, I
will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost
parts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child
and her that travails with child together” (Jer. 31:7), and the reference
is also to that sign of which it is written “How beautiful upon the
mountains are the feet of the messenger of good tidings that says unto Zion:
‘Your God reigns!’” (Isa. 52:7). The sense of There is no more any
prophet (Ps. 74:9) is like the sense of “The days are prolonged, and
every vision fails” (Ezek. 12:22). Neither is there among us any that
knows how long (Ps. 74:9); this has the same sense as “For these things
I weep ... the comforter is far from me” (Lam. 1:16): we have no prophet
who knows anything at all that can restore our spirits, for everything is shut
up before us, as is said Shut up the words, and seal the book (Dan.
12:4). Hence, if You will not act for our sake, act for the sake of Your great
name which is reproached and blasphemed in the world, as it is said O God,
how long will the adversary reproach? Will the enemy blaspheme Your name for
ever? (Ps. 74:10).
Ashlamatah:
Zechariah 2:14 - 4:7
2:14
'Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for, behold, I come, and I will dwell in
the midst of you, says the LORD.
15
And many Gentiles will join themselves to the LORD in that day, and will be My
people, and I will dwell in the midst of you'; and you will know that the LORD
of hosts has sent me unto you.
16
And the LORD will inherit Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will
choose Jerusalem again.
17
Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD; for He is aroused out of His holy
habitation. {S}
3:1
And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD,
and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
2
And the LORD said unto Satan: 'The LORD rebuke you, O Satan, yes, the LORD that
has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you; is not this man a brand plucked out of the
fire?'
3
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
4
And he answered and spoke unto those that stood before him, saying: 'Take the
filthy garments from off him.' And unto him he said: 'Behold, I cause your
iniquity/lawlessness to pass from you, and I will clothe you with robes.'
5
And I said: 'Let them set a fair mitre upon his head.' So they set a fair mitre
upon his head, and clothed him with garments; and the angel of the LORD stood
by.
6
And the angel of the LORD forewarned Joshua, saying:
7
'Thus says the LORD of hosts: If you will walk in My ways, and if you will keep
My charge, and will also judge My house, and will also keep My courts, then I
will give you free access among these that stand by.
8
Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your fellows that sit before you;
for they are men that are a sign; for, behold, I will bring forth My
servant the Shoot (Hebrew: TSEMACH).
9
For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone are seven
facets; behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, says the LORD of hosts: And
I will remove the iniquity/lawlessness of that land in one day.
10
In that day, says the LORD of hosts, will you call every man his neighbor under
the vine and under the fig-tree.
4:1
And the angel that spoke with me returned, and waked me, as a man that is
wakened out of his sleep. 2 And he said unto me: 'What do you see?' And I said:
'I have seen, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of
it, and its seven lamps thereon; there are seven pipes, yes, seven, to the
lamps, which are upon the top thereof;
3
and two olive-trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other
upon the left side thereof.'
4
And I answered and spoke to the angel that spoke with me, saying: 'What are
these, my lord?'
5
Then the angel that spoke with me answered and said unto me: 'Know you not what
these are?' And I said: 'No, my lord.'
6
Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying: 'This is the word of the LORD unto
Zerubbabel, saying: Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, says the LORD
of hosts.
7
Who art you, O great mountain before Zerubbabel? You will become a plain; and
he will bring forth the top stone with shoutings of Grace, grace, unto it.' {P}
Zohar
of Yochanan (John) 10:22-42
22
¶ And the [feast of] Dedication (Chanukah) in Jerusalem came, and it was
winter,
23
and Yeshuah was walking in the temple, in the porch of Solomon,
24
[Some of] the Jews, therefore, came round about him, and said to him, `Till
when our souls do you hold in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us
freely.'
25
Yeshuah answered them, `I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do
in the name of my Father, these testify concerning me;
26
but you do not believe, for you are not of my sheep,
27
according as I said to you: My sheep my voice do hear, and I know them, and
they follow me,
28
and life eternal I give to them, and they will not perish--to the age, and no
one will pluck them out of my hand;
29
my Father, who has given to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to
pluck out of the hand of my Father;
30
I and the Father are in perfect unity'
31
Therefore, again, did [some of] the Jews take up stones that they may stone
him;
32
Yeshuah answered them, `Many good works did I show you from my Father; because
of which work of them do you stone me?'
33
[Some of] the Jews answered him, saying, `For a good work we do not stone you,
but for evil speaking, and because you, being a man, does make yourself God.'
34
Yeshua answered them, `Is it not having been written in your Law: I said, you
are gods?
35
if them he did call gods unto whom the word of God came, (and the Writing is
not able to be broken,)
36
of him whom the Father did sanctify, and send to the world, do you say--You
speak evil, because I said, Son of God (title of a Jewish King) I am?
37
if I do not the works of my Father, do not believe me;
38
and if I do, even if you may not believe me, [at least] the works believe, that
you may know and may believe that in me is the Father, and I in Him.'
39
¶ Therefore were they seeking again to seize him, and he went forth out of
their hand,
40
and went away again to the other side of the Jordan, to the place where John
was at first immersing, and remained there,
41
and many came unto him, and said--`John, indeed, did no sign, and all things,
as many as John said about this one were true;'
42
and many did believe in him there.
Yehudit (Judith) 1:1 –
2:28
1:1:
In the twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled over the
Assyrians in the great city of Nineveh, in the days of Arphaxad, who ruled over
the Medes in Ecbatana --
2:
he is the king who built walls about Ecbatana with hewn stones three cubits
thick and six cubits long; he made the walls seventy cubits high and fifty
cubits wide;
3:
at the gates he built towers a hundred cubits high and sixty cubits wide at the
foundations;
4:
and he made its gates, which were seventy cubits high and forty cubits wide, so
that his armies could march out in force and his infantry form their ranks --
5:
it was in those days that King Nebuchadnezzar made war against King Arphaxad in
the great plain which is on the borders of Ragae.
6:
He was joined by all the people of the hill country and all those who lived
along the Euphrates and the Tigris and the Hydaspes and in the plain where
Arioch ruled the Elymaeans. Many nations joined the forces of the Chaldeans.
7:
Then Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians sent to all who lived in Persia and
to all who lived in the west, those who lived in Cilicia and Damascus and
Lebanon and Antilebanon and all who lived along the seacoast,
8:
and those among the nations of Carmel and Gilead, and Upper Galilee and the
great Plain of Esdraelon,
9:
and all who were in Samaria and its surrounding towns, and beyond the Jordan as
far as Jerusalem and Bethany and Chelous and Kadesh and the river of Egypt, and
Tahpanhes and Raamses and the whole land of Goshen,
10:
even beyond Tanis and Memphis, and all who lived in Egypt as far as the borders
of Ethiopia.
11:
But all who lived in the whole region disregarded the orders of Nebuchadnezzar
king of the Assyrians, and refused to join him in the war; for they were not
afraid of him, but looked upon him as only one man, and they sent back his
messengers empty-handed and shamefaced.
12:
Then Nebuchadnezzar was very angry with this whole region, and swore by his
throne and kingdom that he would surely take revenge on the whole territory of
Cilicia and Damascus and Syria, that he would kill them by the sword, and also
all the inhabitants of the land of Moab, and the people of Ammon, and all
Judea, and every one in Egypt, as far as the coasts of the two seas.
13:
In the seventeenth year he led his forces against King Arphaxad, and defeated
him in battle, and overthrew the whole army of Arphaxad, and all his cavalry
and all his chariots.
14:
Thus he took possession of his cities, and came to Ecbatana, captured its
towers, plundered its markets, and turned its beauty into shame.
15:
He captured Arphaxad in the mountains of Ragae and struck him down with hunting
spears; and he utterly destroyed him, to this day.
16:
Then he returned with them to Nineveh, he and all his combined forces, a vast
body of troops; and there he and his forces rested and feasted for one hundred
and twenty days.
2:1:
In the eighteenth year, on the twenty-second day of the first month, there was
talk in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians about carrying out
his revenge on the whole region, just as he said.
2:
He called together all his officers and all his nobles and set forth to them
his secret plan and recounted fully, with his own lips, all the wickedness of
the region;
3:
and it was decided that every one who had not obeyed his command should be
destroyed.
4:
When he had finished setting forth his plan, Nebuchadnezzar king of the
Assyrians called Holofernes, the chief general of his army, second only to
himself, and said to him,
5:
"Thus says the Great King, the lord of the whole earth: When you leave my
presence, take with you men confident in their strength, to the number of one
hundred and twenty thousand foot soldiers and twelve thousand cavalry.
6:
Go and attack the whole west country, because they disobeyed my orders.
7:
Tell them to prepare earth and water, for I am coming against them in my anger,
and will cover the whole face of the earth with the feet of my armies, and will
hand them over to be plundered by my troops,
8:
till their wounded shall fill their valleys, and every brook and river shall be
filled with their dead, and overflow;
9:
and I will lead them away captive to the ends of the whole earth.
10:
You shall go and seize all their territory for me in advance. They will yield
themselves to you, and you shall hold them for me till the day of their
punishment.
11:
But if they refuse, your eye shall not spare and you shall hand them over to
slaughter and plunder throughout your whole region.
12:
For as I live, and by the power of my kingdom, what I have spoken my hand will
execute.
13:
And you -- take care not to transgress any of your sovereign's commands, but be
sure to carry them out just as I have ordered you; and do not delay about
it."
14:
So Holofernes left the presence of his master, and called together all the commanders,
generals, and officers of the Assyrian army,
15:
and mustered the picked troops by divisions as his lord had ordered him to do,
one hundred and twenty thousand of them, together with twelve thousand archers
on horseback,
16:
and he organized them as a great army is marshaled for a campaign.
17:
He collected a vast number of camels and asses and mules for transport, and
innumerable sheep and oxen and goats for provision;
18:
also plenty of food for every man, and a huge amount of gold and silver from
the royal palace.
19:
So he set out with his whole army, to go ahead of King Nebuchadnezzar and to
cover the whole face of the earth to the west with their chariots and horsemen
and picked troops of infantry.
20:
Along with them went a mixed crowd like a swarm of locusts, like the dust of
the earth -- a multitude that could not be counted.
21:
They marched for three days from Nineveh to the plain of Bectileth, and camped
opposite Bectileth near the mountain which is to the north of Upper Cilicia.
22:
From there Holofernes took his whole army, his infantry, cavalry, and chariots,
and went up into the hill country
23:
and ravaged Put and Lud, and plundered all the people of Rassis and the
Ishmaelites who lived along the desert, south of the country of the Chelleans.
24:
Then he followed the Euphrates and passed through Mesopotamia and destroyed all
the hilltop cities along the brook Abron, as far as the sea.
25:
He also seized the territory of Cilicia, and killed every one who resisted him,
and came to the southern borders of Japheth, fronting toward Arabia.
26:
He surrounded all the Midianites, and burned their tents and plundered their
sheepfolds.
27:
Then he went down into the plain of Damascus during the wheat harvest, and
burned all their fields and destroyed their flocks and herds and sacked their
cities and ravaged their lands and put to death all their young men with the
edge of the sword.
28:
So fear and terror of him fell upon all the people who lived along the
seacoast, at Sidon and Tyre, and those who lived in Sur and Ocina and all who
lived in Jamnia. Those who lived in Azotus and Ascalon feared him exceedingly.
1 Maccabees 1:1 – 2:48
1:1:
After Alexander son of Philip, the Macedonian, who came from the land of
Kittim, had defeated Darius, king of the Persians and the Medes, he succeeded
him as king. (He had previously become king of Greece.)
2:
He fought many battles, conquered strongholds, and put to death the kings of
the earth.
3:
He advanced to the ends of the earth, and plundered many nations. When the
earth became quiet before him, he was exalted, and his heart was lifted up.
4:
He gathered a very strong army and ruled over countries, nations, and princes,
and they became tributary to him.
5:
After this he fell sick and perceived that he was dying.
6:
So he summoned his most honored officers, who had been brought up with him from
youth, and divided his kingdom among them while he was still alive.
7:
And after Alexander had reigned twelve years, he died.
8:
Then his officers began to rule, each in his own place.
9:
They all put on crowns after his death, and so did their sons after them for
many years; and they caused many evils on the earth.
10:
From them came forth a sinful root, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of Antiochus the
king; he had been a hostage in Rome. He began to reign in the one hundred and
thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.
11:
In those days lawless men came forth from Israel, and misled many, saying,
"Let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles round about us, for since
we separated from them many evils have come upon us."
12:
This proposal pleased them,
13:
and some of the people eagerly went to the king. He authorized them to observe
the ordinances of the Gentiles.
14:
So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, according to Gentile custom,
15:
and removed the marks of circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant. They
joined with the Gentiles and sold themselves to do evil.
16:
When Antiochus saw that his kingdom was established, he determined to become
king of the land of Egypt, that he might reign over both kingdoms.
17:
So he invaded Egypt with a strong force, with chariots and elephants and
cavalry and with a large fleet.
18:
He engaged Ptolemy king of Egypt in battle, and Ptolemy turned and fled before
him, and many were wounded and fell.
19:
And they captured the fortified cities in the land of Egypt, and he plundered
the land of Egypt.
20:
After subduing Egypt, Antiochus returned in the one hundred and forty-third
year. He went up against Israel and came to Jerusalem with a strong force.
21:
He arrogantly entered the sanctuary and took the golden altar, the lampstand
for the light, and all its utensils.
22:
He took also the table for the bread of the Presence, the cups for drink
offerings, the bowls, the golden censers, the curtain, the crowns, and the gold
decoration on the front of the temple; he stripped it all off.
23:
He took the silver and the gold, and the costly vessels; he took also the
hidden treasures which he found.
24:
Taking them all, he departed to his own land. He committed deeds of murder, and
spoke with great arrogance.
25:
Israel mourned deeply in every community,
26:
rulers and elders groaned, maidens and young men became faint, the beauty of
women faded.
27:
Every bridegroom took up the lament; she who sat in the bridal chamber was
mourning.
28:
Even the land shook for its inhabitants, and all the house of Jacob was clothed
with shame.
29:
Two years later the king sent to the cities of Judah a chief collector of
tribute, and he came to Jerusalem with a large force.
30:
Deceitfully he spoke peaceable words to them, and they believed him; but he
suddenly fell upon the city, dealt it a severe blow, and destroyed many people
of Israel.
31:
He plundered the city, burned it with fire, and tore down its houses and its
surrounding walls.
32:
And they took captive the women and children, and seized the cattle.
33:
Then they fortified the city of David with a great strong wall and strong
towers, and it became their citadel.
34:
And they stationed there a sinful people, lawless men. These strengthened their
position;
35:
they stored up arms and food, and collecting the spoils of Jerusalem they
stored them there, and became a great snare.
36:
It became an ambush against the sanctuary, an evil adversary of Israel
continually.
37:
On every side of the sanctuary they shed innocent blood; they even defiled the
sanctuary.
38:
Because of them the residents of Jerusalem fled; she became a dwelling of
strangers; she became strange to her offspring, and her children forsook her.
39:
Her sanctuary became desolate as a desert; her feasts were turned into
mourning, her sabbaths into a reproach, her honor into contempt.
40:
Her dishonor now grew as great as her glory; her exaltation was turned into
mourning.
41:
Then the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people,
42:
and that each should give up his customs.
43:
All the Gentiles accepted the command of the king. Many even from Israel gladly
adopted his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath.
44:
And the king sent letters by messengers to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah;
he directed them to follow customs strange to the land,
45:
to forbid burnt offerings and sacrifices and drink offerings in the sanctuary,
to profane sabbaths and feasts,
46:
to defile the sanctuary and the priests,
47:
to build altars and sacred precincts and shrines for idols, to sacrifice swine
and unclean animals,
48:
and to leave their sons uncircumcised. They were to make themselves abominable
by everything unclean and profane,
49:
so that they should forget the law and change all the ordinances.
50:
"And whoever does not obey the command of the king shall die."
51:
In such words he wrote to his whole kingdom. And he appointed inspectors over
all the people and commanded the cities of Judah to offer sacrifice, city by
city.
52:
Many of the people, every one who forsook the law, joined them, and they did
evil in the land;
53:
they drove Israel into hiding in every place of refuge they had.
54:
Now on the fifteenth day of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-fifth year,
they erected a desolating sacrilege upon the altar of burnt offering. They also
built altars in the surrounding cities of Judah,
55:
and burned incense at the doors of the houses and in the streets.
56:
The books of the law which they found they tore to pieces and burned with fire.
57:
Where the book of the covenant was found in the possession of any one, or if
any one adhered to the law, the decree of the king condemned him to death.
58:
They kept using violence against Israel, against those found month after month
in the cities.
59:
And on the twenty-fifth day of the month they offered sacrifice on the altar
which was upon the altar of burnt offering.
60:
According to the decree, they put to death the women who had their children
circumcised,
61:
and their families and those who circumcised them; and they hung the infants
from their mothers' necks.
62:
But many in Israel stood firm and were resolved in their hearts not to eat
unclean food.
63:
They chose to die rather than to be defiled by food or to profane the holy
covenant; and they did die.
64:
And very great wrath came upon Israel.
2:1: In those days Mattathias
the son of John, son of Simeon, a priest of the sons of Joarib, moved from
Jerusalem and settled in Modein.
2: He had five sons, John
surnamed Gaddi,
3: Simon called Thassi,
4: Judas called Maccabeus,
5: Eleazar called Avaran, and
Jonathan called Apphus.
6: He saw the blasphemies
being committed in Judah and Jerusalem,
7: and said, "Alas! Why
was I born to see this, the ruin of my people, the ruin of the holy city, and
to dwell there when it was given over to the enemy, the sanctuary given over to
aliens?
8: Her temple has become like
a man without honor;
9: her glorious vessels have
been carried into captivity. Her babes have been killed in her streets, her
youths by the sword of the foe.
10: What nation has not
inherited her palaces and has not seized her spoils?
11: All her adornment has
been taken away; no longer free, she has become a slave.
12: And behold, our holy
place, our beauty, and our glory have been laid waste; the Gentiles have
profaned it.
13: Why should we live any
longer?"
14: And Mattathias and his
sons rent their clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned greatly.
15: Then the king's officers
who were enforcing the apostasy came to the city of Modein to make them offer
sacrifice.
16: Many from Israel came to
them; and Mattathias and his sons were assembled.
17: Then the king's officers
spoke to Mattathias as follows: "You are a leader, honored and great in
this city, and supported by sons and brothers.
18: Now be the first to come
and do what the king commands, as all the Gentiles and the men of Judah and
those that are left in Jerusalem have done. Then you and your sons will be
numbered among the friends of the king, and you and your sons will be honored
with silver and gold and many gifts."
19: But Mattathias answered
and said in a loud voice: "Even if all the nations that live under the
rule of the king obey him, and have chosen to do his commandments, departing
each one from the religion of his fathers,
20: yet I and my sons and my
brothers will live by the covenant of our fathers.
21: Far be it from us to
desert the law and the ordinances.
22: We will not obey the
king's words by turning aside from our religion to the right hand or to the
left."
23: When he had finished
speaking these words, a Jew came forward in the sight of all to offer sacrifice
upon the altar in Modein, according to the king's command.
24: When Mattathias saw it,
be burned with zeal and his heart was stirred. He gave vent to righteous anger;
he ran and killed him upon the altar.
25: At the same time he
killed the king's officer who was forcing them to sacrifice, and he tore down
the altar.
26: Thus he burned with zeal
for the law, as Phinehas did against Zimri the son of Salu.
27: Then Mattathias cried out
in the city with a loud voice, saying: "Let every one who is zealous for
the law and supports the covenant come out with me!"
28: And he and his sons fled
to the hills and left all that they had in the city.
29: Then many who were
seeking righteousness and justice went down to the wilderness to dwell there,
30: they, their sons, their
wives, and their cattle, because evils pressed heavily upon them.
31: And it was reported to
the king's officers, and to the troops in Jerusalem the city of David, that men
who had rejected the king's command had gone down to the hiding places in the
wilderness.
32: Many pursued them, and
overtook them; they encamped opposite them and prepared for battle against them
on the sabbath day.
33: And they said to them,
"Enough of this! Come out and do what the king commands, and you will
live."
34: But they said, "We
will not come out, nor will we do what the king commands and so profane the
sabbath day."
35: Then the enemy hastened
to attack them.
36: But they did not answer
them or hurl a stone at them or block up their hiding places,
37: for they said, "Let
us all die in our innocence; heaven and earth testify for us that you are
killing us unjustly."
38: So they attacked them on
the sabbath, and they died, with their wives and children and cattle, to the
number of a thousand persons.
39: When Mattathias and his
friends learned of it, they mourned for them deeply.
40: And each said to his
neighbor: "If we all do as our brethren have done and refuse to fight with
the Gentiles for our lives and for our ordinances, they will quickly destroy us
from the earth."
41: So they made this
decision that day: "Let us fight against every man who comes to attack us
on the sabbath day; let us not all die as our brethren died in their hiding
places."
42: Then there united with
them a company of Hasideans, mighty warriors of Israel, every one who offered
himself willingly for the law.
43: And all who became
fugitives to escape their troubles joined them and reinforced them.
44: They organized an army,
and struck down sinners in their anger and lawless men in their wrath; the
survivors fled to the Gentiles for safety.
45: And Mattathias and his
friends went about and tore down the altars;
46: they forcibly circumcised
all the uncircumcised boys that they found within the borders of Israel.
47: They hunted down the
arrogant men, and the work prospered in their hands.
48: They rescued the law out
of the hands of the Gentiles and kings, and they never let the sinner gain the
upper hand.
The Rabbi’s Private Prophetic Study
For further study see: http://www.betemunah.org/chanrabn.html;
http://www.betemunah.org/connection.html;
and http://www.betemunah.org/chanukah.html
Messiah King Solomon taught:
“5 Get wisdom, get understanding; do not
forsake and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. 6 Do not forsake her,
and she will preserve you; love her, and she will keep you. 7 Wisdom is the
main thing; get wisdom, and with all your getting, get understanding. 8
Exalt her, and she will lift you up; she shall bring you to honor when you
embrace her. 9 She shall give a wreath of grace to your head; she shall shield
you with a crown of glory.” (Proverbs 4:5-9)
And
in another place he teaches:
“13 Wisdom is found in the lips of him who has
understanding, but a rod is waiting for the back of him who lacks
understanding. 14 The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish
is near ruin.” (Proverbs 10:13-14)
These
verses seem to teach that wisdom starts where there is solid understanding, and
not the other way around. Also, other verses teach that the path to
understanding comes from a combination of reverence for G-d (Psalm 111:10) and
knowledge (Proverbs 1:7). Correct knowledge and the reverence of G-d,
demonstrated by the observance of His commandments (cf. Psalm 119:66), leads a
person to understanding. And so, King Solomon commands: “and with all your
getting, get understanding.”
In
fact, the first three attributes or spheres of light of the Messiah are Wisdom
(Hebrew: Hokhmah), Understanding (Binah), and (Da’at) Knowledge, as it is said:
“And the spirit of Ha-Shem will rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom
and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of
knowledge and of the fear of Ha-Shem” (Isaiah 11:2).
As
you know, I have been blessed to be brought up in another country (Israel), and
in a multi-lingual home that spoke Spanish, Ladino, German and Yiddish, as some
of you also have. This is good because knowing several languages aid in the
attainment of understanding (more on this later). For when one understands and
speaks a foreign language one can start understanding the culture, thought, and
idiosyncrasy of the people that speak that particular language. For example, in
Spanish and Ladino, when speaking about a wise man (“un Sabio”) immediately the
Spanish speaking person understands that we are speaking about a person who has
subjected himself under a master or masters in academia or in the work-place to
a prolonged rigorous program of training, and then has practiced what he has
learned for some years and has distinguished himself among his peers. Not so
necessarily in the English language, for when we speak about a “wise man” we do
not necessarily make the same assumptions that a Spanish speaking person would
do.
In
German and in Yiddish, a science or art is called “Wissenschaft” (i.e.
Wisdom-craft) and it is understood that those who practice such (“Ein Weiser”) have
the same picture in mind as a Spanish speaking person has for “Un Sabio.”
Similarly, the “learned” are called “wissenschaftlich” - all derivatives from
the German word for wisdom – “weisheit.”
In
Hebrew the word for a “wise man” is “Hakham” a derivative from “Hokhmah” –
“wisdom.” And so when we speak in Hebrew about a person being a “wise man” (a
Hakham) we understand that such a person is an authority in matters of Torah
who has undergone a rigorous program of training for many years and his peers
recognize him as an authority in matters of Scripture and Jewish Law, and
therefore a Judge in a Jewish Rabbinical court of law. Since for us Jews, there
is no possible true and genuine wisdom apart from Torah. A person can be a very
learned man say in Physics, but that does mean that he is a Hakham – “wise
man”!
Now
take a simple text like 1 Corinthians 6:5-6 –
“5 For I speak to your shame. So, is there not a
wise man among you, not even one who will be able to give judgment on his
brother in your midst? 6 But brother is judged with brother, and this before
unbelievers!”
Now
if I give this text to be explained to me by any simple Christian in the
American Bible Belt who is the son of a born-again father and he himself is
born-again, will tell you that a “wise man” is a man with good common sense
that has been born-again and a church member for a number of years. And if I go
to a Pentecostal Church, say in middle America, and asked the same, people
would probably say, “it is a brother who has this gifting of discernment given
by the Holy Spirit. However if I ask the same, say in Jerusalem from a simple
Jewish person in the street, the answer would be automatically and without
hesitation: “A Hakham!”
So
you see, language is not devoid from culture and it can’t be separated from it.
How a word is used and means in one language/culture may totally different to
how it is used in another language/culture. So, may I ask, who has a better understanding
of the meaning of 1 Cor. 6:5-6, the American born-again gentleman from the
Bible Belt, or the Pentecostal from Middle America, or us Jews?
This
question, although innocent in appearance, is extremely important, for it
ultimately is asking who has in this instance, more of the attribute or particular
sphere of light of the Messiah called: “Binah” – “Understanding”? Thus, King Solomon commands: “and with all
your getting, get understanding.”
Now
you may well ask by now: “Rabbi, apart from reverential fear of G-d and
observance of the commandments, what else would you recommend that I do to get
more understanding?” This is a great question, particularly at this time of the
year in which we are celebrating Chanukah. For on this season nearly 2000 years
ago, the Master of Nazareth stood up and said: “I am the Light of the world! The
one following me will by no means walk around in the darkness, but will have
the Light of life!” (Yochanan/John 8:12)
Now
the symbol for knowledge and the acquisition of it has been a lighted torch (in
Western secular circles) and the oil lamp of Biblical times (at least in
Western protestant circles). The age of the Enlightment was so called, not
because the light bulb was invented but because all forms of knowledge was set
free, and important social and scientific ground-breaking discoveries were
made. Thus light, has always been an archetype for knowledge and learning.
The
question that now arises from this statement is: In what language did the
Master utter this statement and does this statement has the same meaning in
English as in the language that the Master spoke in? To clarify a bit more this
question, we need to go to the Prophet Zephaniah and read an interesting
prophecy for the end-times (which we are presently living). He estates:
“For then will I turn to the peoples a pure
language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve
Him with one consent.” (Zephaniah 3:9 JPS)
Now
as a student of psycho-linguistics, this text has takes and still takes quite
an amount of time in my life. What was the understanding of the Prophet, and
for that matter the people to whom this text is addressed, of the concept “a
pure language”? Our Sages without variance have always interpreted this phrase
as “the Hebrew language.” And why would G-d do away with Latin, German, Spanish
and English amongst the 70 families of languages to come back to a “Hebrew
only” speaking world? According to this prophecy the answer is: so “that
they may all call upon the name of Ha-Shem, to serve Him with one consent.”
This,
the Greeks, the Romans and the British well understood, for they knew that in
order to govern and bring greater unity and cohesiveness amongst their subjects
they needed to adopt the culture and “lingua franca” of the colonial power.
Equally, part of the interpretation of the text of Yochanan (John) 8:12 is that
this “Light of the world” includes the adoption of “a pure language” as
prophesied by Zephaniah. Otherwise the words of the Master can hardly be
understood or comprehended in a corrupt language, or at best a language where
word meanings have different cultural meanings than in the “pure language.”
Therefore
the answer to the question we asked above: “Rabbi, apart from reverential fear
of G-d and observance of the commandments, what else would you recommend that I
do to get more understanding?” is simply learn the language of the Bible –
“HEBREW!” I can guarantee that you will see things in a different light – i.e.
“The Light of the World!” and in doing so your understanding will be increased
and you will be able to “call upon the name of Ha-Shem, to serve Him with
one consent.”
And
if anything, as we enter and celebrate this feast of “Dedication” as the Master
did when we was alive, and knowing that he is the “Light of the world,” as this
festival is also known as the “Festival of Lights” in honor of that primeval
Light in creation that was withdrawn from Adam after his sin and reserved for
the righteous/generous in the world-to-come, we can see through the reading of
the first three chapters of 1 Maccabees why the Jewish people were and are so
adamant to “call upon the name of Ha-Shem and serve Him with one consent” only
in the Hebrew language, and why the Greeks were so forceful in demanding that
everyone accepts and speaks only in the Greek language. In fact the sacrifice
of pigs and other unclean animals in the Temple by Antiochus Epiphanes is a
symbol of introducing and impure language in the worship of G-d – i.e. when
calling upon the name of Ha-Shem. Otherwise, what is the meaning of the Prophet
Zephaniah’s statement that G-d will in the end-times “turn to the peoples a
pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to
serve Him with one consent”?
Learning
Hebrew is essential to understand the Scriptures and the words of the Master of
Nazareth. And since knowledge of the Holy and holy things leads us to
understanding, and understanding to wisdom, we should heed seriously King
Solomon’s command and admonition: “and with all your getting, get
understanding,” Amen ve Amen!
Shalom
Shabbat and Happy Chanukah!
Hakham
Dr. Yosef ben Haggai
Chanukah Second Day
Kislev 26, 5667 – December
16-17,2006
Torah Readings: Numbers
7:18-29
(1) Num. 7:18-20
(2) Num. 7:21-23
(3) Num. 7:24-29
N.C. Yochnan (John) 8:1-12
Yehudit (Judith) 3:1 –
5:17
3:1:
So they sent messengers to sue for peace, and said,
2:
"Behold, we the servants of Nebuchadnezzar, the Great King, lie prostrate
before you. Do with us whatever you will.
3:
Behold, our buildings, and all our land, and all our wheat fields, and our flocks
and herds, and all our sheepfolds with their tents, lie before you; do with
them whatever you please.
4:
Our cities also and their inhabitants are your slaves; come and deal with them
in any way that seems good to you."
5:
The men came to Holofernes and told him all this.
6:
Then he went down to the seacoast with his army and stationed garrisons in the
hilltop cities and took picked men from them as his allies.
7:
And these people and all in the country round about welcomed him with garlands
and dances and tambourines.
8:
And he demolished all their shrines and cut down their sacred groves; for it
had been given to him to destroy all the gods of the land, so that all nations
should worship Nebuchadnezzar only, and all their tongues and tribes should call
upon him as god.
9:
Then he came to the edge of Esdraelon, near Dothan, fronting the great ridge of
Judea;
10:
here he camped between Geba and Scythopolis, and remained for a whole month in
order to assemble all the supplies for his army.
4:1:
By this time the people of Israel living in Judea heard of everything that
Holofernes, the general of Nebuchadnezzar the king of the Assyrians, had done
to the nations, and how he had plundered and destroyed all their temples;
2:
they were therefore very greatly terrified at his approach, and were alarmed
both for Jerusalem and for the temple of the Lord their God.
3:
For they had only recently returned from the captivity, and all the people of
Judea were newly gathered together, and the sacred vessels and the altar and
the temple had been consecrated after their profanation.
4:
So they sent to every district of Samaria, and to Kona and Beth-horon and
Belmain and Jericho and to Choba and Aesora and the valley of Salem,
5:
and immediately seized all the high hilltops and fortified the villages on them
and stored up food in preparation for war -- since their fields had recently
been harvested.
6:
And Joakim, the high priest, who was in Jerusalem at the time, wrote to the
people of Bethulia and Betomesthaim, which faces Esdraelon opposite the plain
near Dothan,
7:
ordering them to seize the passes up into the hills, since by them Judea could
be invaded, and it was easy to stop any who tried to enter, for the approach
was narrow, only wide enough for two men at the most.
8:
So the Israelites did as Joakim the high priest and the senate of the whole
people of Israel, in session at Jerusalem, had given order.
9:
And every man of Israel cried out to God with great fervor, and they humbled
themselves with much fasting.
10:
They and their wives and their children and their cattle and every resident
alien and hired laborer and purchased slave -- they all girded themselves with
sackcloth.
11:
And all the men and women of Israel, and their children, living at Jerusalem,
prostrated themselves before the temple and put ashes on their heads and spread
out their sackcloth before the Lord.
12:
They even surrounded the altar with sackcloth and cried out in unison, praying
earnestly to the God of Israel not to give up their infants as prey and their
wives as booty, and the cities they had inherited to be destroyed, and the
sanctuary to be profaned and desecrated to the malicious joy of the Gentiles.
13:
So the Lord heard their prayers and looked upon their affliction; for the
people fasted many days throughout Judea and in Jerusalem before the sanctuary
of the Lord Almighty.
14:
And Joakim the high priest and all the priests who stood before the Lord and
ministered to the Lord, with their loins girded with sackcloth, offered the
continual burnt offerings and the vows and freewill offerings of the people.
15:
With ashes upon their turbans, they cried out to the Lord with all their might
to look with favor upon the whole house of Israel.
5:1:
When Holofernes, the general of the Assyrian army, heard that the people of
Israel had prepared for war and had closed the passes in the hills and
fortified all the high hilltops and set up barricades in the plains,
2:
he was very angry. So he called together all the princes of Moab and the
commanders of Ammon and all the governors of the coastland,
3:
and said to them, "Tell me, you Canaanites, what people is this that lives
in the hill country? What cities do they inhabit? How large is their army, and
in what does their power or strength consist? Who rules over them as king,
leading their army?
4:
And why have they alone, of all who live in the west, refused to come out and
meet me?"
5:
Then Achior, the leader of all the Ammonites, said to him, "Let my lord
now hear a word from the mouth of your servant, and I will tell you the truth
about this people that dwells in the nearby mountain district. No falsehood
shall come from your servant's mouth.
6:
This people is descended from the Chaldeans.
7:
At one time they lived in Mesopotamia, because they would not follow the gods
of their fathers who were in Chaldea.
8:
For they had left the ways of their ancestors, and they worshiped the God of
heaven, the God they had come to know; hence they drove them out from the
presence of their gods; and they fled to Mesopotamia, and lived there for a
long time.
9:
Then their God commanded them to leave the place where they were living and go
to the land of Canaan. There they settled, and prospered, with much gold and
silver and very many cattle.
10:
When a famine spread over Canaan they went down to Egypt and lived there as
long as they had food; and there they became a great multitude -- so great that
they could not be counted.
11:
So the king of Egypt became hostile to them; he took advantage of them and set
them to making bricks, and humbled them and made slaves of them.
12:
Then they cried out to their God, and he afflicted the whole land of Egypt with
incurable plagues; and so the Egyptians drove them out of their sight.
13:
Then God dried up the Red Sea before them,
14:
and he led them by the way of Sinai and Kadesh-barnea, and drove out all the
people of the wilderness.
15:
So they lived in the land of the Amorites, and by their might destroyed all the
inhabitants of Heshbon; and crossing over the Jordan they took possession of
all the hill country.
16:
And they drove out before them the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the
Jebusites and the Shechemites and all the Gergesites, and lived there a long
time.
17:
As long as they did not sin against their God they prospered, for the God who
hates iniquity is with them.
1 Maccab. 2:49 – 4:40
2:49:
Now the days drew near for Mattathias to die, and he said to his sons:
"Arrogance and reproach have now become strong; it is a time of ruin and furious
anger.
50:
Now, my children, show zeal for the law, and give your lives for the covenant
of our fathers.
51:
"Remember the deeds of the fathers, which they did in their generations;
and receive great honor and an everlasting name.
52:
Was not Abraham found faithful when tested, and it was reckoned to him as
righteousness?
53:
Joseph in the time of his distress kept the commandment, and became lord of
Egypt.
54:
Phinehas our father, because he was deeply zealous, received the covenant of
everlasting priesthood.
55:
Joshua, because he fulfilled the command, became a judge in Israel.
56:
Caleb, because he testified in the assembly, received an inheritance in the
land.
57:
David, because he was merciful, inherited the throne of the kingdom for ever.
58:
Elijah because of great zeal for the law was taken up into heaven.
59:
Hannaniah, Azariah, and Mishael believed and were saved from the flame.
60:
Daniel because of his innocence was delivered from the mouth of the lions.
61:
"And so observe, from generation to generation, that none who put their
trust in him will lack strength.
62:
Do not fear the words of a sinner, for his splendor will turn into dung and
worms.
63:
Today he will be exalted, but tomorrow he will not be found, because he has returned
to the dust, and his plans will perish.
64:
My children, be courageous and grow strong in the law, for by it you will gain
honor.
65:
"Now behold, I know that Simeon your brother is wise in counsel; always
listen to him; he shall be your father.
66:
Judas Maccabeus has been a mighty warrior from his youth; he shall command the
army for you and fight the battle against the peoples.
67:
You shall rally about you all who observe the law, and avenge the wrong done to
your people.
68:
Pay back the Gentiles in full, and heed what the law commands."
69:
Then he blessed them, and was gathered to his fathers.
70:
He died in the one hundred and forty-sixth year and was buried in the tomb of
his fathers at Modein. And all Israel mourned for him with great lamentation.
3:1:
Then Judas his son, who was called Maccabeus, took command in his place.
2:
All his brothers and all who had joined his father helped him; they gladly
fought for Israel.
3:
He extended the glory of his people. Like a giant he put on his breastplate; he
girded on his armor of war and waged battles, protecting the host by his sword.
4:
He was like a lion in his deeds, like a lion's cub roaring for prey.
5:
He searched out and pursued the lawless; he burned those who troubled his people.
6:
Lawless men shrank back for fear of him; all the evildoers were confounded; and
deliverance prospered by his hand.
7:
He embittered many kings, but he made Jacob glad by his deeds, and his memory
is blessed for ever.
8:
He went through the cities of Judah; he destroyed the ungodly out of the land;
thus he turned away wrath from Israel.
9:
He was renowned to the ends of the earth; he gathered in those who were
perishing.
10:
But Apollonius gathered together Gentiles and a large force from Samaria to
fight against Israel.
11:
When Judas learned of it, he went out to meet him, and he defeated and killed
him. Many were wounded and fell, and the rest fled.
12:
Then they seized their spoils; and Judas took the sword of Apollonius, and used
it in battle the rest of his life.
13:
Now when Seron, the commander of the Syrian army, heard that Judas had gathered
a large company, including a body of faithful men who stayed with him and went
out to battle,
14:
he said, "I will make a name for myself and win honor in the kingdom. I
will make war on Judas and his companions, who scorn the king's command."
15:
And again a strong army of ungodly men went up with him to help him, to take
vengeance on the sons of Israel.
16:
When he approached the ascent of Beth-horon, Judas went out to meet him with a
small company.
17:
But when they saw the army coming to meet them, they said to Judas, "How
can we, few as we are, fight against so great and strong a multitude? And we
are faint, for we have eaten nothing today."
18:
Judas replied, "It is easy for many to be hemmed in by few, for in the
sight of Heaven there is no difference between saving by many or by few.
19:
It is not on the size of the army that victory in battle depends, but strength
comes from Heaven.
20:
They come against us in great pride and lawlessness to destroy us and our wives
and our children, and to despoil us;
21:
but we fight for our lives and our laws.
22:
He himself will crush them before us; as for you, do not be afraid of
them."
23:
When he finished speaking, he rushed suddenly against Seron and his army, and
they were crushed before him.
24:
They pursued them down the descent of Beth-horon to the plain; eight hundred of
them fell, and the rest fled into the land of the Philistines.
25:
Then Judas and his brothers began to be feared, and terror fell upon the
Gentiles round about them.
26:
His fame reached the king, and the Gentiles talked of the battles of Judas.
27:
When king Antiochus heard these reports, he was greatly angered; and he sent
and gathered all the forces of his kingdom, a very strong army.
28:
And he opened his coffers and gave a year's pay to his forces, and ordered them
to be ready for any need.
29:
Then he saw that the money in the treasury was exhausted, and that the revenues
from the country were small because of the dissension and disaster which he had
caused in the land by abolishing the laws that had existed from the earliest
days.
30:
He feared that he might not have such funds as he had before for his expenses
and for the gifts which he used to give more lavishly than preceding kings.
31:
He was greatly perplexed in mind, and determined to go to Persia and collect
the revenues from those regions and raise a large fund.
32:
He left Lysias, a distinguished man of royal lineage, in charge of the king's
affairs from the river Euphrates to the borders of Egypt.
33:
Lysias was also to take care of Antiochus his son until he returned.
34:
And he turned over to Lysias half of his troops and the elephants, and gave him
orders about all that he wanted done. As for the residents of Judea and
Jerusalem,
35:
Lysias was to send a force against them to wipe out and destroy the strength of
Israel and the remnant of Jerusalem; he was to banish the memory of them from
the place,
36:
settle aliens in all their territory, and distribute their land.
37:
Then the king took the remaining half of his troops and departed from Antioch
his capital in the one hundred and forty-seventh year. He crossed the Euphrates
river and went through the upper provinces.
38:
Lysias chose Ptolemy the son of Dorymenes, and Nicanor and Gorgias, mighty men
among the friends of the king,
39:
and sent with them forty thousand infantry and seven thousand cavalry to go
into the land of Judah and destroy it, as the king had commanded.
40:
so they departed with their entire force, and when they arrived they encamped
near Emmaus in the plain.
41:
When the traders of the region heard what was said to them, they took silver
and gold in immense amounts, and fetters, and went to the camp to get the sons
of Israel for slaves. And forces from Syria and the land of the Philistines
joined with them.
42:
Now Judas and his brothers saw that misfortunes had increased and that the
forces were encamped in their territory. They also learned what the king had
commanded to do to the people to cause their final destruction.
43:
But they said to one another, "Let us repair the destruction of our
people, and fight for our people and the sanctuary."
44:
And the congregation assembled to be ready for battle, and to pray and ask for
mercy and compassion.
45:
Jerusalem was uninhabited like a wilderness; not one of her children went in or
out. The sanctuary was trampled down, and the sons of aliens held the citadel;
it was a lodging place for the Gentiles. Joy was taken from Jacob; the flute
and the harp ceased to play.
46:
So they assembled and went to Mizpah, opposite Jerusalem, because Israel
formerly had a place of prayer in Mizpah.
47:
They fasted that day, put on sackcloth and sprinkled ashes on their heads, and
rent their clothes.
48:
And they opened the book of the law to inquire into those matters about which
the Gentiles were consulting the images of their idols.
49:
They also brought the garments of the priesthood and the first fruits and the
tithes, and they stirred up the Nazirites who had completed their days;
50:
and they cried aloud to Heaven, saying, "What shall we do with these?
Where shall we take them?
51:
Thy sanctuary is trampled down and profaned, and thy priests mourn in
humiliation.
52:
And behold, the Gentiles are assembled against us to destroy us; thou knowest
what they plot against us.
53:
How will we be able to withstand them, if thou dost not help us?"
54:
Then they sounded the trumpets and gave a loud shout.
55:
After this Judas appointed leaders of the people, in charge of thousands and
hundreds and fifties and tens.
56:
And he said to those who were building houses, or were betrothed, or were
planting vineyards, or were fainthearted, that each should return to his home,
according to the law.
57:
Then the army marched out and encamped to the south of Emmaus.
58:
And Judas said, "Gird yourselves and be valiant. Be ready early in the
morning to fight with these Gentiles who have assembled against us to destroy
us and our sanctuary.
59:
It is better for us to die in battle than to see the misfortunes of our nation
and of the sanctuary.
60:
But as his will in heaven may be, so he will do."
4:1:
Now Gorgias took five thousand infantry and a thousand picked cavalry, and this
division moved out by night
2:
to fall upon the camp of the Jews and attack them suddenly. Men from the
citadel were his guides.
3:
But Judas heard of it, and he and his mighty men moved out to attack the king's
force in Emmaus
4:
while the division was still absent from the camp.
5:
When Gorgias entered the camp of Judas by night, he found no one there, so he
looked for them in the hills, because he said, "These men are fleeing from
us."
6:
At daybreak Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men, but they did
not have armor and swords such as they desired.
7:
And they saw the camp of the Gentiles, strong and fortified, with cavalry round
about it; and these men were trained in war.
8:
But Judas said to the men who were with him, "Do not fear their numbers or
be afraid when they charge.
9:
Remember how our fathers were saved at the Red Sea, when Pharaoh with his
forces pursued them.
10:
And now let us cry to Heaven, to see whether he will favor us and remember his
covenant with our fathers and crush this army before us today.
11:
Then all the Gentiles will know that there is one who redeems and saves
Israel."
12:
When the foreigners looked up and saw them coming against them,
13:
they went forth from their camp to battle. Then the men with Judas blew their
trumpets
14:
and engaged in battle. The Gentiles were crushed and fled into the plain,
15:
and all those in the rear fell by the sword. They pursued them to Gazara, and
to the plains of Idumea, and to Azotus and Jamnia; and three thousand of them
fell.
16:
Then Judas and his force turned back from pursuing them,
17:
and he said to the people, "Do not be greedy for plunder, for there is a
battle before us;
18:
Gorgias and his force are near us in the hills. But stand now against our
enemies and fight them, and afterward seize the plunder boldly."
19:
Just as Judas was finishing this speech, a detachment appeared, coming out of
the hills.
20:
They saw that their army had been put to flight, and that the Jews were burning
the camp, for the smoke that was seen showed what had happened.
21:
When they perceived this they were greatly frightened, and when they also saw
the army of Judas drawn up in the plain for battle,
22:
they all fled into the land of the Philistines.
23:
Then Judas returned to plunder the camp, and they seized much gold and silver,
and cloth dyed blue and sea purple, and great riches.
24:
On their return they sang hymns and praises to Heaven, for he is good, for his
mercy endures for ever.
25:
Thus Israel had a great deliverance that day.
26:
Those of the foreigners who escaped went and reported to Lysias all that had
happened.
27:
When he heard it, he was perplexed and discouraged, for things had not happened
to Israel as he had intended, nor had they turned out as the king had commanded
him.
28:
But the next year he mustered sixty thousand picked infantrymen and five
thousand cavalry to subdue them.
29:
They came into Idumea and encamped at Beth-zur, and Judas met them with ten thousand
men.
30:
When he saw that the army was strong, he prayed, saying, "Blessed art
thou, O Savior of Israel, who didst crush the attack of the mighty warrior by
the hand of thy servant David, and didst give the camp of the Philistines into
the hands of Jonathan, the son of Saul, and of the man who carried his armor.
31:
So do thou hem in this army by the hand of thy people Israel, and let them be
ashamed of their troops and their cavalry.
32:
Fill them with cowardice; melt the boldness of their strength; let them tremble
in their destruction.
33:
Strike them down with the sword of those who love thee, and let all who know
thy name praise thee with hymns."
34:
Then both sides attacked, and there fell of the army of Lysias five thousand
men; they fell in action.
35:
And when Lysias saw the rout of his troops and observed the boldness which
inspired those of Judas, and how ready they were either to live or to die
nobly, he departed to Antioch and enlisted mercenaries, to invade Judea again
with an even larger army.
36:
Then said Judas and his brothers, "Behold, our enemies are crushed; let us
go up to cleanse the sanctuary and dedicate it."
37:
So all the army assembled and they went up to Mount Zion.
38:
And they saw the sanctuary desolate, the altar profaned, and the gates burned.
In the courts they saw bushes sprung up as in a thicket, or as on one of the
mountains. They saw also the chambers of the priests in ruins.
39:
Then they rent their clothes, and mourned with great lamentation, and sprinkled
themselves with ashes.
40:
They fell face down on the ground, and sounded the signal on the trumpets, and
cried out to Heaven.
Chanukah Third Day
Kislev 27, 5767 – December
17-18, 2006
Torah Readings: Numbers
7:24-35
(1) Num. 7:24-26
(2) Num. 7:27-29
(3) Num. 7:30-35
N.C.: Colossians 1:9-18
Yehudit (Judith) 5:18 –
7:16
5:18:
But when they departed from the way which he had appointed for them, they were
utterly defeated in many battles and were led away captive to a foreign
country; the temple of their God was razed to the ground, and their cities were
captured by their enemies.
19:
But now they have returned to their God, and have come back from the places to
which they were scattered, and have occupied Jerusalem, where their sanctuary
is, and have settled in the hill country, because it was uninhabited.
20:
Now therefore, my master and lord, if there is any unwitting error in this
people and they sin against their God and we find out their offense, then we
will go up and defeat them.
21:
But if there is no transgression in their nation, then let my lord pass them
by; for their Lord will defend them, and their God will protect them, and we
shall be put to shame before the whole world."
22:
When Achior had finished saying this, all the men standing around the tent
began to complain; Holofernes' officers and all the men from the seacoast and
from Moab insisted that he must be put to death.
23:
"For," they said, "we will not be afraid of the Israelites; they
are a people with no strength or power for making war.
24:
Therefore let us go up, Lord Holofernes, and they will be devoured by your vast
army."
6:1:
When the disturbance made by the men outside the council died down, Holofernes,
the commander of the Assyrian army, said to Achior and all the Moabites in the
presence of all the foreign contingents:
2:
"And who are you, Achior, and you hirelings of Ephraim, to prophesy among
us as you have done today and tell us not to make war against the people of
Israel because their God will defend them? Who is God except Nebuchadnezzar?
3:
He will send his forces and will destroy them from the face of the earth, and
their God will not deliver them -- we the king's servants will destroy them as
one man. They cannot resist the might of our cavalry.
4:
We will burn them up, and their mountains will be drunk with their blood, and
their fields will be full of their dead. They cannot withstand us, but will
utterly perish. So says King Nebuchadnezzar, the lord of the whole earth. For
he has spoken; none of his words shall be in vain.
5:
"But you, Achior, you Ammonite hireling, who have said these words on the
day of your iniquity, you shall not see my face again from this day until I
take revenge on this race that came out of Egypt.
6:
Then the sword of my army and the spear of my servants shall pierce your sides,
and you shall fall among their wounded, when I return.
7:
Now my slaves are going to take you back into the hill country and put you in
one of the cities beside the passes,
8:
and you will not die until you perish along with them.
9:
If you really hope in your heart that they will not be taken, do not look
downcast! I have spoken and none of my words shall fail."
10:
Then Holofernes ordered his slaves, who waited on him in his tent, to seize
Achior and take him to Bethulia and hand him over to the men of Israel.
11:
So the slaves took him and led him out of the camp into the plain, and from the
plain they went up into the hill country and came to the springs below
Bethulia.
12:
When the men of the city saw them, they caught up their weapons and ran out of
the city to the top of the hill, and all the slingers kept them from coming up
by casting stones at them.
13:
However, they got under the shelter of the hill and they bound Achior and left
him lying at the foot of the hill, and returned to their master.
14:
Then the men of Israel came down from their city and found him; and they untied
him and brought him into Bethulia and placed him before the magistrates of
their city,
15:
who in those days were Uzziah the son of Micah, of the tribe of Simeon, and
Chabris the son of Gothoniel, and Charmis the son of Melchiel.
16:
They called together all the elders of the city, and all their young men and
their women ran to the assembly; and they set Achior in the midst of all their
people, and Uzziah asked him what had happened.
17:
He answered and told them what had taken place at the council of Holofernes,
and all that he had said in the presence of the Assyrian leaders, and all that
Holofernes had said so boastfully against the house of Israel.
18:
Then the people fell down and worshiped God, and cried out to him, and said,
19:
"O Lord God of heaven, behold their arrogance, and have pity on the
humiliation of our people, and look this day upon the faces of those who are
consecrated to thee."
20:
Then they consoled Achior, and praised him greatly.
21:
And Uzziah took him from the assembly to his own house and gave a banquet for
the elders; and all that night they called on the God of Israel for help.
7:1:
The next day Holofernes ordered his whole army, and all the allies who had
joined him, to break camp and move against Bethulia, and to seize the passes up
into the hill country and make war on the Israelites.
2:
So all their warriors moved their camp that day; their force of men of war was
one hundred and seventy thousand infantry and twelve thousand cavalry, together
with the baggage and the foot soldiers handling it, a very great multitude.
3:
They encamped in the valley near Bethulia, beside the spring, and they spread
out in breadth over Dothan as far as Balbaim and in length from Bethulia to
Cyamon, which faces Esdraelon.
4:
When the Israelites saw their vast numbers they were greatly terrified, and
every one said to his neighbor, "These men will now lick up the face of
the whole land; neither the high mountains nor the valleys nor the hills will
bear their weight."
5:
Then each man took up his weapons, and when they had kindled fires on their
towers they remained on guard all that night.
6:
On the second day Holofernes led out all his cavalry in full view of the
Israelites in Bethulia,
7:
and examined the approaches to the city, and visited the springs that supplied
their water, and seized them and set guards of soldiers over them, and then
returned to his army.
8:
Then all the chieftains of the people of Esau and all the leaders of the
Moabites and the commanders of the coastland came to him and said,
9:
"Let our lord hear a word, lest his army be defeated.
10:
For these people, the Israelites, do not rely on their spears but on the height
of the mountains where they live, for it is not easy to reach the tops of their
mountains.
11:
Therefore, my lord, do not fight against them in battle array, and not a man of
your army will fall.
12:
Remain in your camp, and keep all the men in your forces with you; only let
your servants take possession of the spring of water that flows from the foot
of the mountain --
13:
for this is where all the people of Bethulia get their water. So thirst will
destroy them, and they will give up their city. We and our people will go up to
the tops of the nearby mountains and camp there to keep watch that not a man
gets out of the city.
14:
They and their wives and children will waste away with famine, and before the
sword reaches them they will be strewn about in the streets where they live.
15:
So you will pay them back with evil, because they rebelled and did not receive
you peaceably."
16:
These words pleased Holofernes and all his servants, and he gave orders to do as
they had said.
1
Maccab. 4:41 – 6:27
41:
Then Judas detailed men to fight against those in the citadel until he had
cleansed the sanctuary.
42:
He chose blameless priests devoted to the law,
43:
and they cleansed the sanctuary and removed the defiled stones to an unclean
place.
44:
They deliberated what to do about the altar of burnt offering, which had been
profaned.
45:
And they thought it best to tear it down, lest it bring reproach upon them, for
the Gentiles had defiled it. So they tore down the altar,
46:
and stored the stones in a convenient place on the temple hill until there
should come a prophet to tell what to do with them.
47:
Then they took unhewn stones, as the law directs, and built a new altar like
the former one.
48:
They also rebuilt the sanctuary and the interior of the temple, and consecrated
the courts.
49:
They made new holy vessels, and brought the lampstand, the altar of incense,
and the table into the temple.
50:
Then they burned incense on the altar and lighted the lamps on the lampstand,
and these gave light in the temple.
51:
They placed the bread on the table and hung up the curtains. Thus they finished
all the work they had undertaken.
52:
Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, which is the
month of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-eighth year,
53:
they rose and offered sacrifice, as the law directs, on the new altar of burnt
offering which they had built.
54:
At the very season and on the very day that the Gentiles had profaned it, it
was dedicated with songs and harps and lutes and cymbals.
55:
All the people fell on their faces and worshiped and blessed Heaven, who had
prospered them.
56:
So they celebrated the dedication of the altar for eight days, and offered
burnt offerings with gladness; they offered a sacrifice of deliverance and
praise.
57:
They decorated the front of the temple with golden crowns and small shields;
they restored the gates and the chambers for the priests, and furnished them
with doors.
58:
There was very great gladness among the people, and the reproach of the
Gentiles was removed.
59:
Then Judas and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel determined that
every year at that season the days of dedication of the altar should be
observed with gladness and joy for eight days, beginning with the twenty-fifth
day of the month of Chislev.
60:
At that time they fortified Mount Zion with high walls and strong towers round
about, to keep the Gentiles from coming and trampling them down as they had
done before.
61:
And he stationed a garrison there to hold it. He also fortified Beth-zur, so
that the people might have a stronghold that faced Idumea.
5:1:
When the Gentiles round about heard that the altar had been built and the
sanctuary dedicated as it was before, they became very angry,
2:
and they determined to destroy the descendants of Jacob who lived among them.
So they began to kill and destroy among the people.
3:
But Judas made war on the sons of Esau in Idumea, at Akrabattene, because they
kept lying in wait for Israel. He dealt them a heavy blow and humbled them and
despoiled them.
4:
He also remembered the wickedness of the sons of Baean, who were a trap and a
snare to the people and ambushed them on the highways.
5:
They were shut up by him in their towers; and he encamped against them, vowed
their complete destruction, and burned with fire their towers and all who were
in them.
6:
Then he crossed over to attack the Ammonites, where he found a strong band and
many people with Timothy as their leader.
7:
He engaged in many battles with them and they were crushed before him; he
struck them down.
8:
He also took Jazer and its villages; then he returned to Judea.
9:
Now the Gentiles in Gilead gathered together against the Israelites who lived
in their territory, and planned to destroy them. But they fled to the
stronghold of Dathema,
10:
and sent to Judas and his brothers a letter which said, "The Gentiles
around us have gathered together against us to destroy us.
11:
They are preparing to come and capture the stronghold to which we have fled,
and Timothy is leading their forces.
12:
Now then come and rescue us from their hands, for many of us have fallen,
13:
and all our brethren who were in the land of Tob have been killed; the enemy
have captured their wives and children and goods, and have destroyed about a
thousand men there."
14:
While the letter was still being read, behold, other messengers, with their
garments rent, came from Galilee and made a similar report;
15:
they said that against them had gathered together men of Ptolemais and Tyre and
Sidon, and all Galilee of the Gentiles, "to annihilate us."
16:
When Judas and the people heard these messages, a great assembly was called to
determine what they should do for their brethren who were in distress and were
being attacked by enemies.
17:
Then Judas said to Simon his brother, "Choose your men and go and rescue
your brethren in Galilee; I and Jonathan my brother will go to Gilead."
18:
But he left Joseph, the son of Zechariah, and Azariah, a leader of the people,
with the rest of the forces, in Judea to guard it;
19:
and he gave them this command, "Take charge of this people, but do not
engage in battle with the Gentiles until we return."
20:
Then three thousand men were assigned to Simon to go to Galilee, and eight
thousand to Judas for Gilead.
21:
so Simon went to Galilee and fought many battles against the Gentiles, and the
Gentiles were crushed before him.
22:
He pursued them to the gate of Ptolemais, and as many as three thousand of the
Gentiles fell, and he despoiled them.
23:
Then he took the Jews of Galilee and Arbatta, with their wives and children,
and all they possessed, and led them to Judea with great rejoicing.
24:
Judas Maccabeus and Jonathan his brother crossed the Jordan and went three
days' journey into the wilderness.
25:
They encountered the Nabateans, who met them peaceably and told them all that
had happened to their brethren in Gilead:
26:
"Many of them have been shut up in Bozrah and Bosor, in Alema and Chaspho,
Maked and Carnaim" -- all these cities were strong and large --
27:
"and some have been shut up in the other cities of Gilead; the enemy are
getting ready to attack the strongholds tomorrow and take and destroy all these
men in one day."
28:
Then Judas and his army quickly turned back by the wilderness road to Bozrah;
and he took the city, and killed every male by the edge of the sword; then he
seized all its spoils and burned it with fire.
29:
He departed from there at night, and they went all the way to the stronghold of
Dathema.
30:
At dawn they looked up, and behold, a large company, that could not be counted,
carrying ladders and engines of war to capture the stronghold, and attacking
the Jews within.
31:
So Judas saw that the battle had begun and that the cry of the city went up to
Heaven with trumpets and loud shouts,
32:
and he said to the men of his forces, "Fight today for your
brethren!"
33:
Then he came up behind them in three companies, who sounded their trumpets and
cried aloud in prayer.
34:
And when the army of Timothy realized that it was Maccabeus, they fled before
him, and he dealt them a heavy blow. As many as eight thousand of them fell
that day.
35:
Next he turned aside to Alema, and fought against it and took it; and he killed
every male in it, plundered it, and burned it with fire.
36:
From there he marched on and took Chaspho, Maked, and Bosor, and the other
cities of Gilead.
37:
After these things Timothy gathered another army and encamped opposite Raphon,
on the other side of the stream.
38:
Judas sent men to spy out the camp, and they reported to him, "All the
Gentiles around us have gathered to him; it is a very large force.
39:
They also have hired Arabs to help them, and they are encamped across the
stream, ready to come and fight against you." And Judas went to meet them.
40:
Now as Judas and his army drew near to the stream of water, Timothy said to the
officers of his forces, "If he crosses over to us first, we will not be
able to resist him, for he will surely defeat us.
41:
But if he shows fear and camps on the other side of the river, we will cross
over to him and defeat him."
42:
When Judas approached the stream of water, he stationed the scribes of the
people at the stream and gave them this command, "Permit no man to encamp,
but make them all enter the battle."
43:
Then he crossed over against them first, and the whole army followed him. All
the Gentiles were defeated before him, and they threw away their arms and fled
into the sacred precincts at Carnaim.
44:
But he took the city and burned the sacred precincts with fire, together with
all who were in them. Thus Carnaim was conquered; they could stand before Judas
no longer.
45:
Then Judas gathered together all the Israelites in Gilead, the small and the
great, with their wives and children and goods, a very large company, to go to
the land of Judah.
46:
So they came to Ephron. This was a large and very strong city on the road, and
they could not go round it to the right or to the left; they had to go through
it.
47:
But the men of the city shut them out and blocked up the gates with stones.
48:
And Judas sent them this friendly message, "Let us pass through your land
to get to our land. No one will do you harm; we will simply pass by on
foot." But they refused to open to him.
49:
Then Judas ordered proclamation to be made to the army that each should encamp
where he was.
50:
So the men of the forces encamped, and he fought against the city all that day
and all the night, and the city was delivered into his hands.
51:
He destroyed every male by the edge of the sword, and razed and plundered the
city. Then he passed through the city over the slain.
52:
And they crossed the Jordan into the large plain before Beth-shan.
53:
And Judas kept rallying the laggards and encouraging the people all the way
till he came to the land of Judah.
54:
So they went up to Mount Zion with gladness and joy, and offered burnt
offerings, because not one of them had fallen before they returned in safety.
55:
Now while Judas and Jonathan were in Gilead and Simon his brother was in
Galilee before Ptolemais,
56:
Joseph, the son of Zechariah, and Azariah, the commanders of the forces, heard
of their brave deeds and of the heroic war they had fought.
57:
So they said, "Let us also make a name for ourselves; let us go and make
war on the Gentiles around us."
58:
And they issued orders to the men of the forces that were with them, and they
marched against Jamnia.
59:
And Gorgias and his men came out of the city to meet them in battle.
60:
Then Joseph and Azariah were routed, and were pursued to the borders of Judea;
as many as two thousand of the people of Israel fell that day.
61:
Thus the people suffered a great rout because, thinking to do a brave deed,
they did not listen to Judas and his brothers.
62:
But they did not belong to the family of those men through whom deliverance was
given to Israel.
63:
The man Judas and his brothers were greatly honored in all Israel and among all
the Gentiles, wherever their name was heard.
64:
Men gathered to them and praised them.
65:
Then Judas and his brothers went forth and fought the sons of Esau in the land
to the south. He struck Hebron and its villages and tore down its strongholds
and burned its towers round about.
66:
Then he marched off to go into the land of the Philistines, and passed through
Marisa.
67:
On that day some priests, who wished to do a brave deed, fell in battle, for
they went out to battle unwisely.
68:
But Judas turned aside to Azotus in the land of the Philistines; he tore down
their altars, and the graven images of their gods he burned with fire; he
plundered the cities and returned to the land of Judah.
6:1:
King Antiochus was going through the upper provinces when he heard that Elymais
in Persia was a city famed for its wealth in silver and gold.
2:
Its temple was very rich, containing golden shields, breastplates, and weapons
left there by Alexander, the son of Philip, the Macedonian king who first
reigned over the Greeks.
3:
So he came and tried to take the city and plunder it, but he could not, because
his plan became known to the men of the city
4:
and they withstood him in battle. So he fled and in great grief departed from
there to return to Babylon.
5:
Then some one came to him in Persia and reported that the armies which had gone
into the land of Judah had been routed;
6:
that Lysias had gone first with a strong force, but had turned and fled before
the Jews; that the Jews had grown strong from the arms, supplies, and abundant
spoils which they had taken from the armies they had cut down;
7:
that they had torn down the abomination which he had erected upon the altar in
Jerusalem; and that they had surrounded the sanctuary with high walls as
before, and also Beth-zur, his city.
8:
When the king heard this news, he was astounded and badly shaken. He took to
his bed and became sick from grief, because things had not turned out for him
as he had planned.
9:
He lay there for many days, because deep grief continually gripped him, and he
concluded that he was dying.
10:
So he called all his friends and said to them, "Sleep departs from my eyes
and I am downhearted with worry.
11:
I said to myself, `To what distress I have come! And into what a great flood I
now am plunged! For I was kind and beloved in my power.'
12:
But now I remember the evils I did in Jerusalem. I seized all her vessels of
silver and gold; and I sent to destroy the inhabitants of Judah without good
reason.
13:
I know that it is because of this that these evils have come upon me; and
behold, I am perishing of deep grief in a strange land."
14:
Then he called for Philip, one of his friends, and made him ruler over all his
kingdom.
15:
He gave him the crown and his robe and the signet, that he might guide
Antiochus his son and bring him up to be king.
16:
Thus Antiochus the king died there in the one hundred and forty-ninth year.
17:
And when Lysias learned that the king was dead, he set up Antiochus the king's
son to reign. Lysias had brought him up as a boy, and he named him Eupator.
18:
Now the men in the citadel kept hemming Israel in around the sanctuary. They
were trying in every way to harm them and strengthen the Gentiles.
19:
So Judas decided to destroy them, and assembled all the people to besiege them.
20:
They gathered together and besieged the citadel in the one hundred and fiftieth
year; and he built siege towers and other engines of war.
21:
But some of the garrison escaped from the siege and some of the ungodly
Israelites joined them.
22:
They went to the king and said, "How long will you fail to do justice and
to avenge our brethren?
23:
We were happy to serve your father, to live by what he said and to follow his
commands.
24:
For this reason the sons of our people besieged the citadel and became hostile
to us; moreover, they have put to death as many of us as they have caught, and
they have seized our inheritances.
25:
And not against us alone have they stretched out their hands, but also against
all the lands on their borders.
26:
And behold, today they have encamped against the citadel in Jerusalem to take
it; they have fortified both the sanctuary and Beth-zur;
27:
and unless you quickly prevent them, they will do still greater things, and you
will not be able to stop them."
Chanukah Fourth Day
Kislev 28, 5767 – December
18-19, 2006
Torah Readings: Numbers
7:30-41
(1) Num. 7:30-32
(2) Num. 7:33-35
(3) Num. 7:36-41
N.C.: 2 Corinthians 4:1-7
Yehudit (Judith) 7:17 –
8:27
7:17:
So the army of the Ammonites moved forward, together with five thousand
Assyrians, and they encamped in the valley and seized the water supply and the
springs of the Israelites.
18:
And the sons of Esau and the sons of Ammon went up and encamped in the hill
country opposite Dothan; and they sent some of their men toward the south and
the east, toward Acraba, which is near Chusi beside the brook Mochmur. The rest
of the Assyrian army encamped in the plain, and covered the whole face of the
land, and their tents and supply trains spread out in great number, and they
formed a vast multitude.
19:
The people of Israel cried out to the Lord their God, for their courage failed,
because all their enemies had surrounded them and there was no way of escape
from them.
20:
The whole Assyrian army, their infantry, chariots, and cavalry, surrounded them
for thirty-four days, until all the vessels of water belonging to every
inhabitant of Bethulia were empty;
21:
their cisterns were going dry, and they did not have enough water to drink
their fill for a single day, because it was measured out to them to drink.
22:
Their children lost heart, and the women and young men fainted from thirst and
fell down in the streets of the city and in the passages through the gates;
there was no strength left in them any longer.
23:
Then all the people, the young men, the women, and the children, gathered about
Uzziah and the rulers of the city and cried out with a loud voice, and said
before all the elders,
24:
"God be judge between you and us! For you have done us a great injury in
not making peace with the Assyrians.
25:
For now we have no one to help us; God has sold us into their hands, to strew
us on the ground before them with thirst and utter destruction.
26:
Now call them in and surrender the whole city to the army of Holofernes and to
all his forces, to be plundered.
27:
For it would be better for us to be captured by them; for we will be slaves,
but our lives will be spared, and we shall not witness the death of our babes
before our eyes, or see our wives and children draw their last breath.
28:
We call to witness against you heaven and earth and our God, the Lord of our
fathers, who punishes us according to our sins and the sins of our fathers. Let
him not do this day the things which we have described!"
29:
Then great and general lamentation arose throughout the assembly, and they
cried out to the Lord God with a loud voice.
30:
And Uzziah said to them, "Have courage, my brothers! Let us hold out for
five more days; by that time the Lord our God will restore to us his mercy, for
he will not forsake us utterly.
31:
But if these days pass by, and no help comes for us, I will do what you
say."
32:
Then he dismissed the people to their various posts, and they went up on the
walls and towers of their city. The women and children he sent home. And they
were greatly depressed in the city.
8:1:
At that time Judith heard about these things: she was the daughter of Merari
the son of Ox, son of Joseph, son of Oziel, son of Elkiah, son of Ananias, son
of Gideon, son of Raphaim, son of Ahitub, son of Elijah, son of Hilkiah, son of
Eliab, son of Nathanael, son of Salamiel, son of Sarasadai, son of Israel.
2:
Her husband Manasseh, who belonged to her tribe and family, had died during the
barley harvest.
3:
For as he stood overseeing the men who were binding sheaves in the field, he
was overcome by the burning heat, and took to his bed and died in Bethulia his
city. So they buried him with his fathers in the field between Dothan and
Balamon.
4:
Judith had lived at home as a widow for three years and four months.
5:
She set up a tent for herself on the roof of her house, and girded sackcloth
about her loins and wore the garments of her widowhood.
6:
She fasted all the days of her widowhood, except the day before the sabbath and
the sabbath itself, the day before the new moon and the day of the new moon,
and the feasts and days of rejoicing of the house of Israel.
7:
She was beautiful in appearance, and had a very lovely face; and her husband
Manasseh had left her gold and silver, and men and women slaves, and cattle,
and fields; and she maintained this estate.
8:
No one spoke ill of her, for she feared God with great devotion.
9:
When Judith heard the wicked words spoken by the people against the ruler,
because they were faint for lack of water, and when she heard all that Uzziah
said to them, and how he promised them under oath to surrender the city to the
Assyrians after five days,
10:
she sent her maid, who was in charge of all she possessed, to summon Chabris
and Charmis, the elders of her city.
11:
They came to her, and she said to them, "Listen to me, rulers of the
people of Bethulia! What you have said to the people today is not right; you
have even sworn and pronounced this oath between God and you, promising to
surrender the city to our enemies unless the Lord turns and helps us within so
many days.
12:
Who are you, that have put God to the test this day, and are setting yourselves
up in the place of God among the sons of men?
13:
You are putting the Lord Almighty to the test -- but you will never know
anything!
14:
You cannot plumb the depths of the human heart, nor find out what a man is
thinking; how do you expect to search out God, who made all these things, and
find out his mind or comprehend his thought? No, my brethren, do not provoke
the Lord our God to anger.
15:
For if he does not choose to help us within these five days, he has power to
protect us within any time he pleases, or even to destroy us in the presence of
our enemies.
16:
Do not try to bind the purposes of the Lord our God; for God is not like man,
to be threatened, nor like a human being, to be won over by pleading.
17:
Therefore, while we wait for his deliverance, let us call upon him to help us,
and he will hear our voice, if it pleases him.
18:
"For never in our generation, nor in these present days, has there been
any tribe or family or people or city of ours which worshiped gods made with
hands, as was done in days gone by --
19:
and that was why our fathers were handed over to the sword, and to be
plundered, and so they suffered a great catastrophe before our enemies.
20:
But we know no other god but him, and therefore we hope that he will not
disdain us or any of our nation.
21:
For if we are captured all Judea will be captured and our sanctuary will be
plundered; and he will exact of us the penalty for its desecration.
22:
And the slaughter of our brethren and the captivity of the land and the
desolation of our inheritance -- all this he will bring upon our heads among
the Gentiles, wherever we serve as slaves; and we shall be an offense and a
reproach in the eyes of those who acquire us.
23:
For our slavery will not bring us into favor, but the Lord our God will turn it
to dishonor.
24:
"Now therefore, brethren, let us set an example to our brethren, for their
lives depend upon us, and the sanctuary and the temple and the altar rest upon
us.
25:
In spite of everything let us give thanks to the Lord our God, who is putting
us to the test as he did our forefathers.
26:
Remember what he did with Abraham, and how he tested Isaac, and what happened
to Jacob in Mesopotamia in Syria, while he was keeping the sheep of Laban, his
mother's brother.
27:
For he has not tried us with fire, as he did them, to search their hearts, nor
has he taken revenge upon us; but the Lord scourges those who draw near to him,
in order to admonish them."
1 Maccab. 6:28 – 8:32
6:28:
The king was enraged when he heard this. He assembled all his friends, the
commanders of his forces and those in authority.
29:
And mercenary forces came to him from other kingdoms and from islands of the
seas.
30:
The number of his forces was a hundred thousand foot soldiers, twenty thousand
horsemen, and thirty-two elephants accustomed to war.
31:
They came through Idumea and encamped against Beth-zur, and for many days they
fought and built engines of war; but the Jews sallied out and burned these with
fire, and fought manfully.
32:
Then Judas marched away from the citadel and encamped at Beth-zechariah,
opposite the camp of the king.
33:
Early in the morning the king rose and took his army by a forced march along
the road to Beth-Zechariah, and his troops made ready for battle and sounded
their trumpets.
34:
They showed the elephants the juice of grapes and mulberries, to arouse them
for battle.
35:
And they distributed the beasts among the phalanxes; with each elephant they
stationed a thousand men armed with coats of mail, and with brass helmets on
their heads; and five hundred picked horsemen were assigned to each beast.
36:
These took their position beforehand wherever the beast was; wherever it went
they went with it, and they never left it.
37:
And upon the elephants were wooden towers, strong and covered; they were
fastened upon each beast by special harness, and upon each were four armed men
who fought from there, and also its Indian driver.
38:
The rest of the horsemen were stationed on either side, on the two flanks of
the army, to harass the enemy while being themselves protected by the
phalanxes.
39:
When the sun shone upon the shields of gold and brass, the hills were ablaze
with them and gleamed like flaming torches.
40:
Now a part of the king's army was spread out on the high hills, and some troops
were on the plain, and they advanced steadily and in good order.
41:
All who heard the noise made by their multitude, by the marching of the
multitude and the clanking of their arms, trembled, for the army was very large
and strong.
42:
But Judas and his army advanced to the battle, and six hundred men of the
king's army fell.
43:
And Eleazar, called Avaran, saw that one of the beasts was equipped with royal
armor. It was taller than all the others, and he supposed that the king was
upon it.
44:
So he gave his life to save his people and to win for himself an everlasting
name.
45:
He courageously ran into the midst of the phalanx to reach it; he killed men
right and left, and they parted before him on both sides.
46:
He got under the elephant, stabbed it from beneath, and killed it; but it fell
to the ground upon him and he died.
47:
And when the Jews saw the royal might and the fierce attack of the forces, they
turned away in flight.
48:
The soldiers of the king's army went up to Jerusalem against them, and the king
encamped in Judea and at Mount Zion.
49:
He made peace with the men of Beth-zur, and they evacuated the city, because
they had no provisions there to withstand a siege, since it was a sabbatical
year for the land.
50:
So the king took Beth-zur and stationed a guard there to hold it.
51:
Then he encamped before the sanctuary for many days. He set up siege towers,
engines of war to throw fire and stones, machines to shoot arrows, and
catapults.
52:
The Jews also made engines of war to match theirs, and fought for many days.
53:
But they had no food in storage, because it was the seventh year; those who
found safety in Judea from the Gentiles had consumed the last of the stores.
54:
Few men were left in the sanctuary, because famine had prevailed over the rest
and they had been scattered, each to his own place.
55:
Then Lysias heard that Philip, whom King Antiochus while still living had
appointed to bring up Antiochus his son to be king,
56:
had returned from Persia and Media with the forces that had gone with the king,
and that he was trying to seize control of the government.
57:
So he quickly gave orders to depart, and said to the king, to the commanders of
the forces, and to the men, "We daily grow weaker, our food supply is
scant, the place against which we are fighting is strong, and the affairs of
the kingdom press urgently upon us.
58:
Now then let us come to terms with these men, and make peace with them and with
all their nation,
59:
and agree to let them live by their laws as they did before; for it was on
account of their laws which we abolished that they became angry and did all
these things."
60:
The speech pleased the king and the commanders, and he sent to the Jews an
offer of peace, and they accepted it.
61:
So the king and the commanders gave them their oath. On these conditions the
Jews evacuated the stronghold.
62:
But when the king entered Mount Zion and saw what a strong fortress the place
was, he broke the oath he had sworn and gave orders to tear down the wall all
around.
63:
Then he departed with haste and returned to Antioch. He found Philip in control
of the city, but he fought against him, and took the city by force.
7:1:
In the one hundred and fifty-first year Demetrius the son of Seleucus set forth
from Rome, sailed with a few men to a city by the sea, and there began to
reign.
2:
As he was entering the royal palace of his fathers, the army seized Antiochus
and Lysias to bring them to him.
3:
But when this act became known to him, he said, "Do not let me see their
faces!"
4:
So the army killed them, and Demetrius took his seat upon the throne of his
kingdom.
5:
Then there came to him all the lawless and ungodly men of Israel; they were led
by Alcimus, who wanted to be high priest.
6:
And they brought to the king this accusation against the people: "Judas
and his brothers have destroyed all your friends, and have driven us out of our
land.
7:
Now then send a man whom you trust; let him go and see all the ruin which Judas
has brought upon us and upon the land of the king, and let him punish them and
all who help them."
8:
So the king chose Bacchides, one of the king's friends, governor of the
province Beyond the River; he was a great man in the kingdom and was faithful
to the king.
9:
And he sent him, and with him the ungodly Alcimus, whom he made high priest;
and he commanded him to take vengeance on the sons of Israel.
10:
So they marched away and came with a large force into the land of Judah; and he
sent messengers to Judas and his brothers with peaceable but treacherous words.
11:
But they paid no attention to their words, for they saw that they had come with
a large force.
12:
Then a group of scribes appeared in a body before Alcimus and Bacchides to ask
for just terms.
13:
The Hasideans were first among the sons of Israel to seek peace from them,
14:
for they said, "A priest of the line of Aaron has come with the army, and
he will not harm us."
15:
And he spoke peaceable words to them and swore this oath to them, "We will
not seek to injure you or your friends."
16:
So they trusted him; but he seized sixty of them and killed them in one day, in
accordance with the word which was written,
17:
"The flesh of thy saints and their blood they poured out round about
Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them."
18:
Then the fear and dread of them fell upon all the people, for they said,
"There is no truth or justice in them, for they have violated the
agreement and the oath which they swore."
19:
Then Bacchides departed from Jerusalem and encamped in Beth-zaith. And he sent
and seized many of the men who had deserted to him, and some of the people, and
killed them and threw them into a great pit.
20:
He placed Alcimus in charge of the country and left with him a force to help
him; then Bacchides went back to the king.
21:
Alcimus strove for the high priesthood,
22:
and all who were troubling their people joined him. They gained control of the
land of Judah and did great damage in Israel.
23:
And Judas saw all the evil that Alcimus and those with him had done among the
sons of Israel; it was more than the Gentiles had done.
24:
So Judas went out into all the surrounding parts of Judea, and took vengeance
on the men who had deserted, and he prevented those in the city from going out
into the country.
25:
When Alcimus saw that Judas and those with him had grown strong, and realized
that he could not withstand them, he returned to the king and brought wicked
charges against them.
26:
Then the king sent Nicanor, one of his honored princes, who hated and detested
Israel, and he commanded him to destroy the people.
27:
So Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a large force, and treacherously sent to
Judas and his brothers this peaceable message,
28:
"Let there be no fighting between me and you; I shall come with a few men
to see you face to face in peace."
29:
So he came to Judas, and they greeted one another peaceably. But the enemy were
ready to seize Judas.
30:
It became known to Judas that Nicanor had come to him with treacherous intent,
and he was afraid of him and would not meet him again.
31:
When Nicanor learned that his plan had been disclosed, he went out to meet
Judas in battle near Caphar-salama.
32:
About five hundred men of the army of Nicanor fell, and the rest fled into the
city of David.
33:
After these events Nicanor went up to Mount Zion. Some of the priests came out
of the sanctuary, and some of the elders of the people, to greet him peaceably
and to show him the burnt offering that was being offered for the king.
34:
But he mocked them and derided them and defiled them and spoke arrogantly,
35:
and in anger he swore this oath, "Unless Judas and his army are delivered
into my hands this time, then if I return safely I will burn up this
house." And he went out in great anger.
36:
Then the priests went in and stood before the altar and the temple, and they
wept and said,
37:
"Thou didst choose this house to be called by thy name, and to be for thy
people a house of prayer and supplication.
38:
Take vengeance on this man and on his army, and let them fall by the sword;
remember their blasphemies, and let them live no longer."
39:
Now Nicanor went out from Jerusalem and encamped in Beth-horon, and the Syrian
army joined him.
40:
And Judas encamped in Adasa with three thousand men. Then Judas prayed and
said,
41:
"When the messengers from the king spoke blasphemy, thy angel went forth
and struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand of the Assyrians.
42:
So also crush this army before us today; let the rest learn that Nicanor has
spoken wickedly against the sanctuary, and judge him according to this
wickedness."
43:
So the armies met in battle on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. The
army of Nicanor was crushed, and he himself was the first to fall in the
battle.
44:
When his army saw that Nicanor had fallen, they threw down their arms and fled.
45:
The Jews pursued them a day's journey, from Adasa as far as Gazara, and as they
followed kept sounding the battle call on the trumpets.
46:
And men came out of all the villages of Judea round about, and they out-flanked
the enemy and drove them back to their pursuers, so that they all fell by the
sword; not even one of them was left.
47:
Then the Jews seized the spoils and the plunder, and they cut off Nicanor's
head and the right hand which he so arrogantly stretched out, and brought them
and displayed them just outside Jerusalem.
48:
The people rejoiced greatly and celebrated that day as a day of great gladness.
49:
And they decreed that this day should be celebrated each year on the thirteenth
day of Adar.
50:
So the land of Judah had rest for a few days.
8:1:
Now Judas heard of the fame of the Romans, that they were very strong and were
well-disposed toward all who made an alliance with them, that they pledged
friendship to those who came to them,
2:
and that they were very strong. Men told him of their wars and of the brave
deeds which they were doing among the Gauls, how they had defeated them and
forced them to pay tribute,
3:
and what they had done in the land of Spain to get control of the silver and
gold mines there,
4:
and how they had gained control of the whole region by their planning and
patience, even though the place was far distant from them. They also subdued
the kings who came against them from the ends of the earth, until they crushed
them and inflicted great disaster upon them; the rest paid them tribute every
year.
5:
Philip, and Perseus king of the Macedonians, and the others who rose up against
them, they crushed in battle and conquered.
6:
They also defeated Antiochus the Great, king of Asia, who went to fight against
them with a hundred and twenty elephants and with cavalry and chariots and a
very large army. He was crushed by them;
7:
they took him alive and decreed that he and those who should reign after him
should pay a heavy tribute and give hostages and surrender some of their best
provinces,
8:
the country of India and Media and Lydia. These they took from him and gave to
Eumenes the king.
9:
The Greeks planned to come and destroy them,
10:
but this became known to them, and they sent a general against the Greeks and
attacked them. Many of them were wounded and fell, and the Romans took captive
their wives and children; they plundered them, conquered the land, tore down
their strongholds, and enslaved them to this day.
11:
The remaining kingdoms and islands, as many as ever opposed them, they
destroyed and enslaved;
12:
but with their friends and those who rely on them they have kept friendship.
They have subdued kings far and near, and as many as have heard of their fame
have feared them.
13:
Those whom they wish to help and to make kings, they make kings, and those whom
they wish they depose; and they have been greatly exalted.
14:
Yet for all this not one of them has put on a crown or worn purple as a mark of
pride,
15:
but they have built for themselves a senate chamber, and every day three
hundred and twenty senators constantly deliberate concerning the people, to
govern them well.
16:
They trust one man each year to rule over them and to control all their land;
they all heed the one man, and there is no envy or jealousy among them.
17:
So Judas chose Eupolemus the son of John, son of Accos, and Jason the son of
Eleazar, and sent them to Rome to establish friendship and alliance,
18:
and to free themselves from the yoke; for they saw that the kingdom of the
Greeks was completely enslaving Israel.
19:
They went to Rome, a very long journey; and they entered the senate chamber and
spoke as follows:
20:
"Judas, who is also called Maccabeus, and his brothers and the people of
the Jews have sent us to you to establish alliance and peace with you, that we
may be enrolled as your allies and friends."
21:
The proposal pleased them,
22:
and this is a copy of the letter which they wrote in reply, on bronze tablets,
and sent to Jerusalem to remain with them there as a memorial of peace and
alliance:
23:
"May all go well with the Romans and with the nation of the Jews at sea
and on land for ever, and may sword and enemy be far from them.
24:
If war comes first to Rome or to any of their allies in all their dominion,
25:
the nation of the Jews shall act as their allies wholeheartedly, as the
occasion may indicate to them.
26:
And to the enemy who makes war they shall not give or supply grain, arms,
money, or ships, as Rome has decided; and they shall keep their obligations
without receiving any return.
27:
In the same way, if war comes first to the nation of the Jews, the Romans shall
willingly act as their allies, as the occasion may indicate to them.
28:
And to the enemy allies shall be given no grain, arms, money, or ships, as Rome
has decided; and they shall keep these obligations and do so without deceit.
29:
Thus on these terms the Romans make a treaty with the Jewish people.
30:
If after these terms are in effect both parties shall determine to add or
delete anything, they shall do so at their discretion, and any addition or
deletion that they may make shall be valid.
31:
"And concerning the wrongs which King Demetrius is doing to them we have
written to him as follows, `Why have you made your yoke heavy upon our friends
and allies the Jews?
32:
If now they appeal again for help against you, we will defend their rights and
fight you on sea and on land.'"