December 24, 1943 DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Legal Chronicle 2 e-gia Chanukah Reflections By SIDNEY J. JACOBS It is fortunate that a combina- tion of historical and chronological circumstances served to place the Books of the Maccabees outside the embrace of the Bible and in- stead in that large body of Apo- cryphal literature which, althoug h highly important, was not read by the masses of the Jews as con- scientiously as was the Tanach. If the story of the Hasmoneans would have been as much a part of the folk experience of Jewry in the Piaspora as were the events of the Old Testament, their reac- tion to persecution might have been far different from what it was, and a Bialik would not have had to cry out in bitterness against the pacifism of tormented Israel. Hellenism and the Jews The nationalistic and universal- istic attitudes of mind among the Jews during the Greek period re- sisted or welcomed, respectively, the influence of Hellenic thought and culture; but it could not be wholly resisted even by the na- tionalists. (The historian Tarn, in his "Hellenic Civilization," de- fines Hellenism as "merely a con- venient label for the civilization of the three centuries during which Greek culture radiated far from the homeland.") Greek influences upon the Jews were exercises primarily and more potently upon those living away from Palestine; but in the politi- cal and social spheres many cities in Palestine became wholly Greek in population and government, thus influencing neighboring cities, while even in many cities which were preponderantly Jewish Greek customs prevailed. In the domain of literature we have first and foremost the Sep- tuagint, the Greek translation of the Holy Scriptures. Outside the Greek Canon there were various important Jewish works written in Greek. So far as the Jewish religion was concerned, the funda- mental tenets of Judaism remained uninfluenced; but, especially among the Jews of the Dispersion, Greek thought profoundly affected the religious outlook of the Jews in various directions. Antiochus the Third In the year 240 Before the Com- mon Era, peace was concluded be- tween the empires of Egypt and Syria. With the advent of Antio- chus III to the Syrian throne a new era in the history of the Near East began. Our knowledge of the history of the Jews under the rule of the Ptolemys of Egypt is scanty; some references occur in the historical retrospect given in the book of Daniel, and a few other details are to be gathered elsewhere. Upon the whole, it was a period of quietude for the Jews; this is borne out by the fact that, ac- cording to the, doubtless correct, opinion of most scholars, the pe- riod was one of considerable lit- A JOYOUS CHANUKAH TO ALL! C. P. MILLER AUTO SERVICE CLYDE P. MILLER, Prop. COMPLETE AUTO SERVICE We Pick Up and Deliver Your Car 17420 GRAND RIVER AVE. Phone VErmont 5-9791 A JOYOUS CHANUKAH TO ALL! THE STATE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY in his endeavor to make the Jews of the nation conform to the re- ligion of the rest of his people. The first step in resisting this attempt was taken by a priest named Mattathias, the head of a family living in the village of Mo- dein. He slew the king's emis- sary who had come to o:er sacri- fice on a heathen altar, and then called upon all those who were faithful to the Law to follow him into the mountainous districts and organize resistance. His call was widely responded to. But as Mat- tathias was now an old man, he delegated the leadership of the revolt to his son, Judah. The Lesson from History If the venerable Mattathias had not lent a militant ring to his call, "Whosoever is for the Lord, follow me," the congregation of Israel might have followed him, indeed, but merely into the syna- gogue to sit, fasting and weep- ing, on the bare floor, reading an earlier counterpart of Lamenta- ing Hellenistic customs was clue to this party, but in the first in- stance the religious question did not arise. The conflict between the houses of Onias and Tobias was a contributory, though in- direct, cause of the revolt. The primary direct entry of Antiochus Epiphanes (who suc- ceeded his father, Antiochus III, to the Syrian throne in the sum- mer of 175 B. C. E.) into Jewish affairs was due to the refusal of the Orthodox party among the Jews to recognize the right of their suzerain to appoint the High- priest. This culminated in the at- tempt to drive out Menelaus from the High-priesthood, to which he had been appointed, in place of Jason, by Antiochus. The Hellenistic party among the Jews encouraged Antiochus in his attempt to stamp out Judaism; so that the Maccabean revolt was largely due to what was, in ef- fect, an alliance between Antio- chus and the Hellenistic Jews against the orthodox party. Thus fortified, Antiochus went to work with the utmost energy See REFLECTIONS—Page 6 r1=-' A JOYOUS CHANUKAH TO ALL! • HUBBELL TOOL AND DIE CO. 16150 HUBBELL VERMONT 5-5410 Joseph Losch t-- --s A JOYOUS CHANUKAH TO ALL OUR FRIENDS • CUSTOM MADE QUILTS and REMODELING J. TR AURIG 8823 TWELFTH STREET (Our only store) TYLER 4-6728 OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA C. N. McCLURE, Michigan Manager DETROIT 2402 EATON TOWER erary activity. In the summer of 221 B. C. E., Antiochus III made an attempt to invade Coele-Syria, which included Jewish Palestine. It failed on ac- count of the well-defended fort- resses of the Lebanon, which were under the care of Theodotus, the commander-in-chief of the Egyp- tion army in Syria. Trouble in other parts of his empire com- pelled Antiochus to withdraw his army. In 219 B. C. E. he made another attempt; this began by being successful; but a four months' truce gave an opportun- ity for the Egyptian army to be reorganized. Nevertheless, during the year 218 B. C. E. Antiochus continued a successful career southwards, and it was not until the next year that the results of the careful reorganization of the Egyptian army bore fruit; for in June, 217, the army under Antio- chus was severely defeated at the battle of Raphia by the Egyptians, under the command of Ptolemy IV, Philopator; Antiochus was driven out of Syria and for a number of years he made no further attempt to conquer the land. It is probable that some passages in Zechariah 9.14 contain references to this period of history, as is clearly the case in the book of Daniel. In 203 B. C. E, Ptolemy IV died, and the serious troubles in Egypt which arose during the minority of his son offered Antio- chus another chance of conquering Syria. The task was not an easy one; but at the battle of Panium (198 B. C. E.) he gained an over- whelming victory, and Syria passed finally into the possession of the Seleuci dynasty. Antiochus III (not the Antio- chus of the Chanukah story, but his father) treated the Jews who thus came under his control fa- vorably! but the internal affairs of the Jewish people, owing to the rivalry of the two ruling, houses of Onias and Tobias, were des- tined to be difficult. Antiochus Epiphanes We must remember that one of causes of the Maccabean revolt was the existence of the Helleniz- ing party among the Jews them- selves. 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