5. Recovering Jerusalem and Rededicating the Temple

AN INVINCIBLE ARMY?
When the Seleucid general Lysias learned of the defeat of his generals by the Jewish rebels led by Yehudah Macabi (see here), he assembled a huge army –60,000 soldiers and 5,000 horseback riders– to defeat the Jewish insurgency. Yehudah managed to recruit 10,000 soldiers with a lot of effort, but when they heard that this sizeable Greek army was coming, they were terrified. Yehudah Maccabi encouraged them by reminding them of how HaShem delivered Goliath, a powerful man of immense stature, into the hands of King David. He also told them how the Almighty gave the victory in the battle of Michmash to Yonatan, the son of King Shaul, who, despite being outnumbered and having practically no weapons, defeated the numerous Philistine armies. Inspired by his faith in the Almighty, Yehudah and his soldiers launched a surprise attack that left 5,000 Greek soldiers dead and the enemy army demoralized. At this point, general Lysias understood that the fight against Yehudah’s army would not be easy. Also, at the same time, he received a message requesting that he travel to Antioch, where Emperor Antiochus, who had fallen ill, needed military reinforcements. The next day, the Jewish soldiers watched with surprise, and immense joy as Lysias’s great army retreated.

THE GOAL: JERUSALEM:
Yehudah gathered his men, and they prayed to God in gratitude for the miraculous victory. Yehudah said: “We have seen how God delivered our enemies into our hands. It is time to embark on our main mission: reconquering Jerusalem.” When the corrupt high priest (Cohen Gadol) Menelaus and his accomplices heard that Yehudah was approaching Jerusalem and that his allies, the Greeks, had withdrawn, they fled to a Greek fortress. Yehudah reached the Holy City without meeting any resistance. The Jews entered the Bet haMiqdash and were horrified by the terrible desecrations that had taken place there. Those corrupted Jews, who had become activists for the enemy, built a pantheon of pagan idols in the Bet HaMiqdash and erected a statue of Zeus next to the Holy Altar (mizbeach), which meant that sacrifices were offered to these idols pagans. On that very altar, they discovered the corrupt priests had lit a great fire in which they burned all the Torah Scrolls that were stored in the Temple.

FROM TEARS TO CELEBRATION
Seeing the horrible desecration of the Holy Sanctuary, Yehudah and his men tore their clothes in mourning and began to cry bitterly. Yehudah turned to his warriors and told them: “This is not the time to cry, but to build and celebrate.” And so the Jews began the task of purifying the Temple. They rebuilt the altar and prepared the vessels and artifacts of the Sanctuary for its reopening. However, despite searching every corner of the Temple, they could not find ritually pure oil that could be used to light the Menorah, the golden lamp that was permanently lit in the Temple, indicating that the Temple was functioning and at the service of the God of Israel. This particular olive oil could only be obtained in the north, in the area of the Asher tribe. Producing and transporting the new oil would take more than a week. And if the Menora was not going to be lit, did it make sense to inaugurate the Temple now?

THE OIL THAT LASTED LONGER
Providentially, the Yehudim found a small container with pure oil, but the amount was only enough to keep the Menorah burning for one day. They inaugurated the Temple anyways and lit the Menorah, if only for the first day of the inauguration. The Bet haMiqdash was reopened in the service of God on the 25th day of Kislev in the year 165 B.C.E. Every day that passed, the priests checked the Menorah, sure that they would have to clean it and remove the extinguished wicks and leave the Bet HaMiqdash without light. But to everyone’s surprise, the candles stayed lit for eight days, precisely the time it took for the new oil to arrive. Thus, the Jews continued the celebration of the Bet HaMiqdash’s dedication, just as they did at the Tabernacle (Mishkan) inauguration, which the Jews built in the desert after leaving Egypt.

FOR POSTERITY
What happened to the oil of the Menorah is the best-known miracle of the time of the Hashmonayim and is why we light candles for eight days. The Jews saw the miracle of the oil as a sign of Divine Intervention in their fights against a superior enemy and as a confirmation that the Almighty accompanied them in all their actions. The Sages of Israel established that, from then on, every year, on Kislev 25, Jewish families would remember the miracle of Hanukka. Since those times, we light the Hanukka candles for eight days to remember the great miracles we experienced in the days of the Hashmonayim. The Sages also established the recitation of Hallel, to praise the Creator for our miraculous salvation. They also incorporated the prayer “al hanisim” in the Amida, to thank God for His intervention in the military triumph of the Jews against their enemies.

4. The beginning of the Jewish rebellion

THE BEGINNING OF THE JEWISH REBELLION

In 167 BCE, Matitiyahu and his sons Eleazar, Yehuda, Shimon, Yochanan, and Yehonatan led a rebellion known as the Mered HaHashmonayim against the Seleucid Greek army of Antiochus Epiphanes, who had been executing those who practiced Judaism since 175BCE. The Jewish fighters, though courageous, were vastly outnumbered by the Greeks and lacked proper weapons and military training. Their strategy was to surprise smaller groups of Seleucid soldiers and then retreat to the mountains or desert, as a price had been placed on their heads.

FROM MATITIYAHU TO YEHUDA

After his father’s death, Yehuda, the third son of Matitiyahu, took command of the rebellion and began planning a more organized revolt to liberate Jerusalem and reclaim the Bet haMiqdash, the great Temple of Yerushalayim. Yehuda recruited as many Tora-faithful Jews as possible to join his army and primarily carried out attacks at night. In his first battle, Yehuda ambushed the Greek forces led by Apollonius, who had been sent by Antiochus with orders to suppress the rebellion and leave no survivors. However, Yehuda’s surprise attack proved successful, and the Greeks were easily defeated. It is said that Yehuda took Apollonius’s sword and used it for the rest of his life, much like King David did with the sword of Goliath.

THE BATTLE OF BET HORON

The Battle of Bet Horon began when Antiochus, learning of Apollonius’s defeat, sent General Seron and his significantly larger army to capture Yehudah and defeat the Jewish rebels. The men of Yehudah were initially frightened by the size of the Seleucid army, but Yehudah encouraged them to have faith in God and fight with courage. He reminded them that they were fighting for their people and their Law, while the Seleucids were motivated only by greed and pride. Inspired by Yehudah’s words, the Jewish soldiers fought with great bravery and defeated Seron, killing around 800 of his soldiers.

THE BATTLE OF EMAUS

The Battle of Emmaus took place after Seron’s defeat, when Antiochus Epiphanes sent Lysias and his massive army, consisting of 40,000 soldiers and 7,000 horsemen, to destroy Judea. The Seleucid army included three top generals: Nicanor, Ptolemy, and Gorgias. Nicanor, showing his arrogance, brought along slave traders to capture and sell the women and children of the Jews once the men had been killed. The Seleucids camped at Emmaus while the Jews hid in Mitzpah, fasting, reading the Tora, blowing the Shofar, and praying. Yehudah received important information from his spies that Gorgias had left the camp with 5,000 soldiers and 1,000 horsemen to try to capture Yehudah and his men, leaving the camp with fewer soldiers. Yehudah saw this as the perfect opportunity to attack by surprise and gathered his 3,000 men, dividing them into four battalions. At dawn, they attacked the Seleucids from all four sides, catching them off guard and causing panic. The Jews were able to defeat around 9,000 soldiers, and the survivors fled to the cities. Gorgias returned to find his camp destroyed and on fire, escaping with his soldiers.

BEST SHABBAT EVER

After this victory, the Jews returned to their desert hideouts, where they celebrated the best Shabbat ever, filled with prayers and songs of thanks to God for their miraculous victory. Everyone present expressed their gratitude and begged God to help them achieve their next goal: to liberate Jerusalem and rededicate the Bet haMiqdash to Divine service.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

HASIDIM RISHONIM

It is important to note that the Jewish soldiers were extremely pious. Historical sources call them “Hasidim” because they were willing to sacrifice their lives in order to keep their religious principles. I will quote from the Book of the Maccabees to show how this battle is described, and I want you to see the acts of Tsedaqa the soldiers of Yehuda performed with the war booty, which they distributed among the poor, the orphans, and the widows—something completely unprecedented in the pagan military world.

TEXT FROM HASHMONAYIM

וא–ל ש–די היה להם לעזר, ויכו מן האויבים יותר מתשעת אלפים, וגם פצועים ומושחתים היו ברוב חיל ניקנור, ואת כלם הניסו ואת הבאים לקנותם לקחו מהם את כספם, וירדפו אחריהם דרך רב, וישובו, כי השעה דחקתם. כי ערב שבת היה, ולא יכלו לרדף אחריהם עוד, וכאספם את הנשק, וכפשטם את השלל מעל האויבים, ויקבילו את השבת ויודו וישבחו לה‘ אשר הושיעם ביום ההוא, ויראם ראשית חסדו. ואחר השבת חילקו מן השלל לפצועים ולאלמנות וליתומים, ואת השאר חילקו ביניהם ובין בניהם, ואחרי עשותם הדבר הזה התפללו בציבור, ויתחננו אל א-להי הרחמים להתנחם על עבדיו עד הסוף

English Translation

“And God Almighty helped them, and they struck down more than nine thousand of the enemy… many of Nicanor’s soldiers were wounded and disabled, and they put them all to flight. Those who had come to buy them [as slaves]—they took their money from them. They chased the enemy for a long distance, but they had to return because time was pressing them. It was the eve of Shabbat, and they could not continue the pursuit.

They gathered the weapons and took the spoil from the enemies. They then welcomed the Shabbat, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, who had saved them that day and shown them the beginning of His kindness.

After Shabbat, they distributed part of the booty to the wounded, the widows, and the orphans, and the rest they divided among themselves and their children. After doing this, they prayed together and begged the God of mercy to grant comfort to His servants until the end.”
(Maccabees II, 8:8–25)

3. How do You Provoke a Jewish Rebellion?

כתבו על קרן השור אין לנו חלק באלוקי ישראל

“Write on the ox horn that we have no part in the God of Israel.” (Jerusalem Talmud, Hagiga 2: 2).

HORNS AND BABY BOTTLES

Antiochus, the Greek (Seleucid) Monarch obsessed with Jews practicing Judaism, issued a decree: Jews must “write on the horns of their oxen ‘We have no part in (that is,” we no longer belong to”) the God of Israel.'” I confess that for years I did not understand the logic of this decree: Why was it essential to the Greeks that the Jews wrote that statement specifically on the horns of their animals? A couple of years ago, I found an excellent explanation attributed to Rabbi Yechezkel Abramski (z”l), that clarified the nature of this cruel decree. In ancient times, horns were used as baby bottles! The hollow horn was filled with milk and used to feed the babies who drank through the small hole at the narrow end of the horn, covered with leather to make it more comfortable for the baby to drink. Horns were used for this purpose at least until the end of the Middle Ages. Now we can better appreciate the nature of this edict. The Greeks demanded that the Jews “decorate” their baby’s bottles with the explicit declaration that they rejected the God of Israel and affirmed their “exclusive” loyalty to Antiochus.

BRAINWASHING BABIES?

In this utterly brutal way, the Greeks expected Jews to be re-educated from the cradle to leave the Tora and adopt the Hellenic culture and religion. Why was Antiochus so obsessed with the Jews and God? Because Jewish monotheism was an impediment for the Jews to recognize Antiochus as the supreme authority and a god. Antiochus called himself “Epiphanes”, a deity, a man in whom Divinity is manifested. That helps explain why Antiochus obsessively insisted that Jews renounce their God from their infancy, under threat of death. For a long time, the Jews passively resisted Antiochus. They tried to observe the Tora in secret and discreetly, and many escaped to the desert and other unpopulated areas where they could serve God in hiding. Thousands chose death instead of worshiping idols, like Hanna, a widow tortured and executed with her seven children because she refused to abandon the God of Israel and His Tora. Jews believed that rebelling against the mighty Greeks was useless and that all they could do was to pray and wait for the death of Antiochus because in those times when the Monarch died, all his decrees were canceled.

THE END OF PASSIVE RESISTANCE

But Antiochus remained alive for many years, and the Jewish people’s history might have ended in the middle of the 2nd century BCE. But B”H the unthinkable happened: the Jews rebelled “militarily” against the Greeks.

This is how it all began: In 167 BCE, a delegation of gentile officers and Hellenistic Jews arrived at Modi’in and ordered Matitiyahu, the city’s leader, to show loyalty to Antiochus by offering a sacrifice to a pagan idol. These officers knew that once the Jewish leader obeyed these orders, all the other inhabitants of the city would follow his example. And if the Jewish leader refused to carry out these commands, they would kill him and appoint another leader who was more flexible to their demands. The Greek officers had already done this, city by city and village after village. And the result so far was that numberless Jews chose death (על קידוש השם) before worshiping idols. But in Modi’in, something different happened. Instead of giving up his life, Matitiyahu decided to fight. He took up arms and killed the Seleucid delegation and his five sons. This radical and heroic act, spontaneously led by Matitiyahu and his children, inspired the armed rebellion of the Jews against the mighty Greek Empire.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE

Matitiyahu and his children called on their Jewish brothers to fight. But the Jews were not warriors like other peoples. They were peasants, farmers, or scholars with no experience in battle. And at that time, the army of Antiochus and his allies was the largest and most powerful in the world. From a rational point of view, the Jewish armed resistance against the Greeks was nonsense—a desperate and suicidal effort. No one thought that a small group of Jewish rebels without weapons or experience in battle had any chance of surviving when facing Antiochus’ army. Matitiyahu’s courage to fight and his unbreakable will to face enemies far more numerous and powerful than him eventually culminated in the miraculous Jewish victory we remember and celebrate on Hanukka.

It was the first time in history that people fought not to preserve their lives but to keep their values alive.

2. A War Against God

HELLENIZATION and ANTIOCHUS
After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, the Greek empire set out to impose its Hellenic culture peacefully and persuasively, not by force. They succeeded and caused most religions of antiquity to disappear, and this universal acculturation process became known as Hellenization. The spread of Greek cultural and religious ideas also affected the Jews. For example, those who lived outside Israel, in Alexandria, were the fastest to assimilate. It reached the point that some historians described it as “Hellenic Judaism,” a sort of syncretism between Jewish ideas and Hellenic culture practiced by many Jews of the diaspora. The Jews of Israel, however, still maintained their traditions and religion. However the rule of a new Hellenistic king, Antiochus Epiphanes, in 215 BCE worsened the situation for the Jews living in Israel. Antiochus was much more aggressive than his predecessors in his attempts to Hellenize all his subjects. Submitting to Antiochus’ pressure, some Jews completely assimilated into Hellenism and abandoned their parents’ religion. Others, especially those who lived in the big cities alongside non-Jews, began to practice Hellenized Judaism, one shaped in light of Greek values.
As it happened many times, the desire of these assimilated Jews was to be entirely accepted by the Gentiles, whom they looked up to with admiration. For example, the strict religious dietary rules observed by the Jews (Kashrut), created many obstacles to integrating assimilated Jews with Greek citizens. If a Jew could not share the table with his Gentile neighbors, the Gentiles would never accept Jews as their peers. The practice of Kashrut had to be eliminated because, in this new Hellenic world, barriers to integration with the hegemonic Greek culture were intolerable. Shabbat and circumcision were considered outdated and seen as rites that caused division between Jews and non-Jews. In addition to these rationales, many Hellenistic Jews justified their abandonment of Judaism by claiming that to survive, Judaism had to modernize itself. While all this was happening in the cities, many of the poorest Jews, peasants who lived in small villages isolated from Hellenized influence, remained faithful to the Tora.

THE REFORMS OF HASON AND MENELAO
King Antiochus Epiphanes knew that some Jews were still reluctant to abandon their old practices, and he set out to Hellenize them at any price. Why? Because although they were relatively few, the Jews who still observed the Tora were practically the only citizens of the empire who openly rejected Hellenism. Antiochus sought allies among the Jews to fight Jewish resistance to Hellenization, finding them among those who had Hellenized voluntarily. He was appointed High Priest for the Temple in Jerusalem, an assimilated and easily corruptible Jew, Hason (175 BCE). Hason was later on replaced with another fake High Priest, who turned out even worse for the Jews, Menelao (171 BCE). These “High Priests” in charge of the Jerusalem Temple led the reform to Hellenize Judaism and openly confronted the Jews who resisted it. Hason, for example, headed a delegation of assimilated Jews who, on Shabbat, went to the Olympic stadium to watch and participate in the games. These false priests overturned Jewish practices and religious principles and beliefs, such as Jewish monotheism. The doctrine of believing in one God was adapted to become more open: Hellenistic Jews recognized the Greek gods and accepted that the Greeks worshiped their gods in the Bet haMiqdash. Otherwise, the corrupt priests argued, the monotheistic “fanaticism” of the ancient Jews would offend the sensitivity of the Greeks. The Jews also had to be more “tolerant” and worship the Jewish God in a Greek fashion. This led to Menelaus desecrating the Jewish Altar in 170 BCE by offering a pig as a sacrifice in the Bet haMiqdash.

PROVOKING THE REBELLION
Although many Jews remained loyal to their faith, more and more Jews followed the path of the Greeks. But in 169 BCE, a providential event changed the course of history. Antiochus Epiphanes lost his patience with the few Jews who rejected assimilation and decided to cease attempting to Hellenize them gently. Instead, Antiochus officially forbade Jewish practice and imposed the death penalty for those who disobeyed him. Antiochus’ decrees had an effect contrary to what he wanted to achieve. The cruel rulings awakened the Jewish pride of even those slowly inclined towards assimilation. Jews across the country became shocked and angered. Unwittingly, Antiochus provoked what became known as the armed rebellion of the Hasmoneans, who fought against the Greeks and the Hellenized Jews. If Antiochus Epiphanes had not lost his patience, the assimilation of the Jews would have continued without resistance. Without this impetus, the Jewish people could have disappeared forever, integrating within the other nations of the Greek empire, as happened with most other civilizations of antiquity.
The impatience of Antiochus was providential and should be considered one of the miracles of Hanukka, which produced a wake-up call to the Jewish soul.

SUMMARY OF PARASHAT VAYISHLACH

Jacob returns to the land of Israel after spending 20 years in the house of his uncle Laban, in the city of Haran (in southern Turkey). Arriving in Israel, Jacob sends emissaries to Esav, his brother, to notify him of his return. The messengers inform Jacob that Esav, who had sworn to kill Jacob for taking his birthright, is arriving with 400 (armed?) men. Jacob suspects the worst and strategically prepares. He divides his family in case Esav attacks him; he prays to God for his protection and sends Esav a generous gift, hundreds of animals, to try to appease him.

Jacob spends the night crossing the river and moving his family and property from one side to the other. Before crossing for the last time, he is confronted by an angel (or a man sent by God), who fights with him, and defeats him. Jacob acquires his new name, “Israel,” which means “the one who fights against who is stronger than him and prevails”.

Jacob and Esav finally meet. Jacob kneels 7 times before Esav, in the act of submission and as if asking for forgiveness, and treats him with the greatest possible honor and deference. The brothers eventually reconcile and greet each other warmly. Eisav invites Jacob to live with him, but Jacob very diplomatically declines the invitation.

Jacob travels to Sukkot, reaches Shechem, and purchases land near the city. His daughter Dina is kidnapped and raped by the crown prince of Shechem. Two of Jacob’s sons, Shimon and Levi, convince the inhabitants of Shechem to be circumcised. And then, taking advantage of his convalescence, they destroy the city and all the men in it.

Jacob leaves Shechem and goes to Bet-El. God reveals himself to Jacob and promises that he will inherit the land of his fathers. Jacob builds an altar. Rachel, his beloved wife, dies giving birth to her second son, Binyamin, and she is buried in a tomb near Bet Lechem. Jacob finally arrives in Hebron and meets his father, Isaac (his mother had already passed away), who dies at 180. The Parasha ends by mentioning the wives, children, and descendants of Esav, who founded the nation of Edom.

VAYISHLACH: The ‘NOs’ That Define Our Lives

THE SWORD OF ESAV

Ya’aqob Abinu returns to the land of Israel. He has many doubts. One of those doubts is whether his brother Esav still bears a grudge against him. Let’s remember that 20 years ago, Esav was determined to kill Ya’aqob. Now, Yaaqob’s question was: Does Esav still hate me, 20 years later? Maybe his resentments have changed, and he already forgot what happened so long ago…. Ya’aqob cannot be sure. And then he finds one more complication: he hears that Esav is arriving leading a band of 400 men: too many people for a welcoming committee…. Ya’aqob fears the worst, and feels the danger that lies in wait for him and his family. Ya’aqob prays and pleads for Divine intervention, with the famous phrase: “[HaShem], save me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esav.” When the brothers finally meet again, Esav does not attack Ya’aqob. Some biblical commentators explain that Esav came to meet his brother with the intention of destroying him and stealing his family and his possessions, but that at the last minute, there was an emotional change in Esau’s heart. Why? Because the previous night, Ya’aqob fought against an envoy of HaShem (“angel”, although the Tora describes him as a “man”). This individual hit Ya’aqob on his thigh and left Ya’aqob wounded. When Esav saw Ya’aqob limping, he was moved (or thought that Ya’aqob was no longer a worthy adversary …) and, according to this interpretation, what 20 years were not able to do in terms of forgiveness, “pity” for Ya’aqob’s vulnerability, did it in a matter of minutes. Following this idea, in a direct or indirect way, HaShem saved Ya’aqob from Esav, by making him fight against that individual.

THE INVITATION OF ESAV

In the following act, and now in a family-reunion atmosphere, Esav thanks Ya’aqob for his generous gifts and tells him: “I don’t need anything, my brother, I already have too much.” Esav is materially successful, he is the patriarch, founder and leader of the people of Edom. But Esav, as his mother had anticipated, did not follow the path of his grandfather and his father. The Edomites, led by Esav, abandoned the beliefs of Abraham Abinu and were idolaters, like the rest of the world. At this point, Esav no longer sees Ya’aqob as his enemy, but as his peer and friend. And here, ironically, a huge problem begins for Ya’aqob. Something more delicate and more subtle than Esav’s sword, but just as deadly. As a consequence of the new fraternal reconciliation, Esav does what any normal brother does when his sibling comes from overseas. Esav invites Ya’aqob to join his family. (Gen. 33:12) “nis’a venelekha”. Come on now! Let’s go together to my land Se’ir, and there we will live as one family. Your little children are going to play with my children: their cousins. And I already have in mind some of my daughters and granddaughters who could be very good candidates to marry your sons. Ya’aqob knows that if he accepts Esav’s invitation, his children will end up assimilating to Esav and becoming part of his family. And that would be the end of the legacy of Abraham Abinu (the end of “Judaism” of that time) by the inevitable dissolution of the “religion” practiced by Ya’aqob’s family.

THE “NO” THAT CHANGED HISTORY

And at that defining and crucial moment , Ya’aqob “heroically” said ‘NO’ to Esav. He said it in a very diplomatic way. Esav, you go ahead, and I will arrive, at the pace of my little children. Esav, who perhaps did not understand Ya’aqob’s way of refusing his invitation, insisted. If you wish, I’ll leave you some men to protect you on the way, until you get to my house. Ya’aqob, stoically, endured the tremendous psychological pressure of the moment and with great discomfort, but uncompromising firmness rejected for a second time Esav’s offer. Why should I find so much grace in your eyes?. Esav finally got the message and left. If I were to describe in our own words what Ya’aqob experienced in his intense encounter with Esav, I would say that in one and same event Ya’aqob confronted anti-Semitism and assimilation. God intervened “directly” (following the opinion we mentioned above) to save Ya’aqob from the hands of Esav, “his enemy” by sending the “fighting angel”. But when Ya’aqob confronts Esav “his friend” there is no Divine intervention. There is a human decision. Ya’aqob had to act on hos own and assume the consequences of his choice”. To clarify, in this second instance God does not intervene, but He expects Ya’aqob to make the right decision.

IF YAAQOB HAD NOT SAID “NO”….

We, contemporary descendants of Ya’aqob Abinu, continue to face very similar challenges. The gentile society is open to cultural and social integration without barriers or discrimination. Assimilation has already claimed millions of Jewish “souls”. Instances in which children –or parents or family– did not have the strength or the conviction to say ‘NO’ to Esav ‘the friend’. And the results have been catastrophic. Two numbers say it all: 1) 1927. 2) 4,200,000. In 1927 the Jewish population in the United States was 4.2 million souls. How many Jews should there be in the United States in 2021, almost 100 years later? There was no Shoah in America, no concentration camps, no anti-Semitic mega-massacres. And Jewish emigration to this country continued uninterrupted. I am not a math genius, but my intuition tells me that today there should be no less than 15 or 20 million Jews in the United States…. but there are less than 6 million today…. What happened to the millions of Jews who are no longer counted as such? To resist assimilation, we have to constantly improve and grow in our observance and knowledge of Jewish values. Educate our children in Jewish schools, and preach by example. And having the courage and conviction to say “NO” if ever a relationship with Esav has the potential to go from cordiality and respect, towards a social level in which we risk losing our identity and our Jewish future.

VAYISHLACH: Proportionality in the war against Hamas

Written in December 2023

THE NATIONS, UNITED AGAINST ISRAEL

Most of the world’s nations systematically criticize and demonize Israel when Israel defends itself from terrorist attacks. And when the crime of Israel’s enemies is so great that our political foes can no longer justify calling for Israel’s passivity, they use one of their favorite arguments: “Israel must defend itself proportionally to the crime to which it was subjected.” These nations use this aberrant argument with just one purpose in mind: restraining Israel and preventing her victory. After the fact, it also serves to delegitimize and demonize Israel and as an invitation to the enemy to continue with its aggression. Israel, of course, should not listen (and B”H is not presently listening ) to these claims coming from those who fervently wish for the disappearance of a Jewish State.

I want to present a historical episode—a crime against the newborn family of Israel and their subsequent reaction to that crime, found in this week’s Parasha Vayishlach, chapter 34 of Genesis. We might learn a valuable lesson from this story.

THE INNOCENCE OF DINA

Jacob and his children finally settled in the land of Israel near the city of Shechem. One day, Dina, Yaakob’s only daughter and sister of twelve boys, visits the neighboring town to meet the local girls. She is young and has gone out alone without the protection of her brothers. Dina, mistakenly, is not afraid because she was raised in a safe place for women: Yaakob’s house. She is unaware of the behavior of men in those places and ended up in their vicious hands.

The attacker was Shechem (named after his own town). He was King Hamor’s son. This prince, who probably lacked nothing, saw the young Jewish girl “took her by force, subdued her, and raped her.” After raping her, he became obsessed with Dina and kidnapped her.

Jacob’s family finds out what is happening. They “are sad and outraged” at the abomination committed by these people.

Meanwhile, the entitled young man asks his father to “acquire this girl for him as a wife” (קַח לִי אֶת הַיַּלְדָּה הַזֹּאת לְאִשָּׁה). King Hamor offers Jacob’s family money to keep Dina: “You set the value of the dowry”, he tells them, “and I will pay it to you.” But Jacob’s sons have a different plan. They deceive the king with words he understands: “We are willing to join your people in marriage and trade. But on one condition: first, you must be circumcised.” The inhabitants of Shechem, thinking about future benefits, undergo mass circumcision.

THE POWER OF DETERRENCE

On the third day after the circumcision, which is when the pain is most evident, Shimon and Levi, Dina’s brothers by father and mother, carry out a military rescue operation: they attack the city, which was incapable of defending itself and kill all men, they destroy the city and finally rescue their sister Dina from captivity.

The reaction of Jacob’s sons was not proportional to the crime they suffered. Jacob objected to what his sons did (I follow in this explanation the opinion of Rabbi David Qimchi) and told them: “You are destroying me! You have put me in danger before all the nations of this region since now they are going to unite among themselves, attack us, and eliminate me and my entire family.” Ya’akob, explains Rabbi Quimchi, was afraid of the potential violent reaction of his neighbors, who were much more numerous than his family and could easily attack and destroy him. His sons, who, according to Rabbi Qimchi showed more courage than Jacob, said to his father: “Are we going to allow our sister to be treated like a prostitute?”

WHO WAS RIGHT?

The previous chapter ends without a final verdict from the Tora regarding this argument: did the brothers do the right thing by disproportionately attacking the inhabitants of Shechem?

To find an indirect but unequivocal verdict, we must continue reading the next chapter, 35.

Jacob’s family prepares to leave the place. When they break camp and are about to leave, they know it is a moment of extreme vulnerability. It would be natural for their enemies to attack them then. Jacob knows it. There is tension in the air. Verse 5 says it all in one word, “VAYISAU.” “And they began their journey”. Then, there is almost a full stop (atnach), creating suspense and expectation as to what the enemy will do next. Then, the Tora says with his usual economy of words: “But the nations of the region were possessed by a ‘divine’ (supernatural) fear and did not persecute Jacob’s family.”

The non-proportionate reaction of Shimon and Levi had the desired effect: it persuaded the nations of the region that these Jews were unpredictable and it was not wise to mess with them. The Tora thus issued its verdict: a proportional response could have endangered Jacob. Shimon and Levi’s disproportionate response created a deterrent for the entire hostile neighborhood.

SHIMON LEVI AND THE ISRAEL ARMY

As I mentioned on previous occasions, the present history of the Jewish people, especially since 1948, is like a biblical déjà vu: it feels that we have already lived similar experiences that are recorded in our biblical genetic memory. We see how the pattern of behavior of our enemies—violence, outrage, kidnapping—is repeated exponentially. But perhaps we can also learn from biblical events a thing or two regarding the appropriate response to the Shoatic massacre of last October 7: Israel does not have to react proportionally to the massacre. Israel must respond in a non-proportionate manner that will prevent this crime from being repeated by Hamas or other enemies of Israel. Israel must react in a way that creates a ‘supernatural deterrent among our relentless enemies. There is no other way.

My friend Mordechai Kedar already said it: the Lebanese officials warned Hezbollah not to mess with Israel when they saw the destruction of Gaza City. They don’t want Beirut to look like Gaza! And the words they used were: “Israel went mad. Israelis are dangerously out of their mind.” The non-proportional response deterred the enemy and made them think twice before attacking us. If Israel does not destroy Hamas, if it does not reach a complete humiliating lesson, it risks being attacked by Hamas and our other neighbors.

Israel, like the sons of Jacob, not only has to be the most muscular guy in the Middle East neighborhood but the most unpredictable if attacked as well. The non-proportionality of the response to the enemy’s attack is the existential strategy for the future of the Jewish state.

LOVE OF DEATH

There is an additional reason why Israel cannot proportionally defend itself against an enemy like Hamas. It is a very delicate topic, misunderstood by most of the world and cynically abused by Hamas as propaganda material. It has to do with the total moral asymmetry between Judaism and jihadism regarding the value of life.

This topic, absolutely critical to understanding Israel’s phenomenal vulnerabilities, was masterfully formulated by the American journalist Charles Krauthammer, who died a few years ago. He wrote the following words in January 2009 when Israel was fighting against Hamas in response to a series of suicide attacks and the murder of three young Israelis. After relentless international pressure over the Palestinian victims, Israel had to suspend its attack and back down:

“Some geopolitical conflicts are morally complicated. The Israel-Gaza war is not. It possesses a moral clarity that is not only rare but excruciating. […] For Hamas, the only thing more prized than dead Jews are dead Palestinians.”

Krauthammer explains the inconceivable: that Hamas “celebrates” the martyrdom, the death of its civilians, not just because, according to their religion, they inherit a sexual paradise in the afterlife but also because their deaths is a critical factor in the Jihad, it creates a precious “prized” element that brings Israel to its knees, when the Jewish army is about to defeat Hamas, by tremendous international pressure.

The idea that the deaths of one’s own citizens serve as a tool of pressure in the international arena is very difficult to digest for a person with Western morality. But it explains, for example, why Hamas has no problem hiding behind civilians or storing arsenals in hospitals and schools or why Hamas fighters opened fire on their population when they were leaving northern Gaza while Israel, ironically, protected the civilians with his tanks.

The proportional and still abhorrent response that our political enemies always propose, “I should kill one person from your side for every person you kill on my side”, will never deter a movement that embraces the martyrdom of Jihad. Even if the proportion is higher: 10 x 1 or 100 x 1, this will not make Hamas put down its weapons and surrender, since for Jihdist, the death that Jihad causes to civilians is morally and religiously justified, as long as they can be attributed to the Zionist army, and serves to exacerbate international public opinion with cynical claims of genocide.

The following words by Ismail Haniyeh, one of the actual leaders of Hamas, explain it all: “We [Hamas] love death to the same extent that our enemy [Israel] loves life.”

LAND > LIFE

But if the death of its fighters and civilians—15,000, 20,000, or more—does not mean a defeat for Hamas, what should be Israel’s response to deter the terrorist enemy? According to Israeli journalist Guy Bechor, the only sobering response to terror and the only significant and actually “proportional” punishment that Hamas should suffer, beyond losing its political power, is to lose part of its territories in Gaza. Why? Because for the jihadist Palestinian narrative, land is more precious than life. This would be Hamas’s nightmare. The recovery of Gush Katif and the creation of 5 km of territorial security belts by Israel would represent the most significant defeat for Hamas and a deterrent of Biblical dimensions for them and for all the peoples of the region. I hope and pray that this “proportional” response is part of Netanyahu’s plans for the day after the war.

1. The Greek Emperor and the Jewish Priest

This coming Sunday night, December 18, we will celebrate Hanukka. This holiday reminds us of what happened over 2,000 years ago when the Greek-Seleucid empire was in control of the land of Israel and decided to end Judaism. The Jews rose against the Greeks, fought against them, and miraculously defeated them. It was the first time a people rebelled, not to preserve their lives but their religious values. When the Jews recovered the Bet haMiqdash, (the great Temple of Jerusalem), they saw that it had been converted into a pagan sanctuary to worship the Greek gods. Then, they purified the Temple and proceeded to re-inaugurate it, that is, to rededicate it to Divine service. The word “Hanukka” literally means “inauguration.” (or, in this case, re-inauguration)

THE OIL AND THE SWORD

When they recovered the Temple, the Jews only found a small vessel of pure oil necessary to light the Menorah, the candelabrum, which indicated that the temple was functioning normally. This small amount of oil lasted longer than expected until new oil could be obtained. And for this reason, we celebrate Hanukka by lighting candles, one each night of the holiday, to remember the epic reopening of the Temple –the fruit of human effort– was accompanied by the miracle of the Menora candles, a sign of God’s intervention. All this is well known. But it’s only a tiny part of the whole Hanukka story. The meaning of this holiday is profound and relevant to our times. It reminds us that our ancestors had to fight and sacrifice their lives to preserve their religious freedom and the survival of our Torah at a time when Judaism was about to disappear.

EIGHT NIGHTS

The heroic armed rebellion of Matitiyahu and his sons, their triumphs, their defeats, how they rose from the ashes, and all the miracles our people experienced when faced with a superior enemy is perhaps not taught in our communities and schools in a proper way. Even though our rabbis, as can be seen in the ‘al hanisim’ prayer that we mention in our Chanukah Tefillah, saw Divine intervention in all these military victories in a direct way.

I will tell the story of Chanukah in eight chapters, which I will call “The Eight Miracles of Chanukah.”

I recommend reading one chapter every night after lighting the candles so that our hearts fill with pride and inspire us to thank the Creator ‘al hanisim, for the miracles he did for our ancestors and that he continues to do for us.

THE EMPEROR AND THE PRIEST

In his early 30s, Alexander the Great became one of the greatest conquerors in human history. Around 330 BCE (before the Common Era), the armies of Greece and Macedonia under his command defeated the forces of the mighty Persian Empire, with which they had been at war since the time of Achashverosh (Xerxes, 480 BCE). Alexander’s domains stretched from Greece to India, occupying the entire Middle East. When Alexander the Great visited the land of Israel, he arrived in Jerusalem. He demanded what was then considered a standard gesture of submission from the peoples who were now part of his new empire: the erection of the statue of Zeus, the highest god of the Greeks, in the main sanctuary of the city, the Bet HaMiqdash or Great Temple of Jerusalem. For the polytheistic peoples, honoring the gods who granted the triumph was an act of recognition to the winner. And refusing to acknowledge those gods was a sign of rebellion and insurrection against the victor. All the peoples under Alexander’s reign followed the traditional practice without problem: they adopted the gods of the new emperor without resistance. There was only one exception: the Jews.

YOU WILL NOT TOLERATE ANOTHER GOD…

Our ancestors refused to serve and worship idols. And they rejected the request of the young Greek emperor to place the statue of a pagan idol in the Bet haMiqdash. Monotheism is not just the claim that we believe in “one God.” Jewish monotheism also includes the denial of other gods: the non-tolerance of paganism. As the second commandment says: “You shall not have [believe in] no other god…before Me” (that is, while the Jew will not make international crusades to destroy idols or pagan religions, “within Israel”, which is Divine territory, will not tolerate or accept the worship of other gods). To try to convince the emperor that refusing to worship his idols did not amount to rejecting his kingship, a delegation of Jews, headed by the High Priest Shimon haTsadiq, arranged to meet him. The Jews explained to Alexander that Jewish monotheism requires “cult exclusivity,” something very difficult for ancient people to understand. The Jews also said to Alexander that if he wanted to take action against them, the Jews would not offer any armed resistance: they accepted the new emperor. They were willing to sacrifice their lives peacefully (‘al Qiddush HaShem), not to carry out the demand to worship other gods or introduce an idol into the Temple. Furthermore, according to a famous legend, the Jews offered, as a sign of submission, recognition, and affection to the new emperor, that all Jewish children born that year be named “Alexander” in his honor.

MONOTHEISM AND ANTISEMITISM

Alexander’s generals and advisers interpreted the Jews’ rejection of the Greek gods not religiously but politically. And they demanded that the emperor destroy Jerusalem and annihilate the Jews.

Their arguments were the following:

1. They found it incomprehensible that the Jews did not tolerate the coexistence of their God with other gods. “What is wrong with our god being together with the God of the Jews in His sanctuary?”, they reasoned, knowing that no pagan god ever demanded exclusiveness! Why accept that the Jews behaved in this way? The Jews’ refusal to accept other gods was interpreted as a sign of rebellion or, at best, as a gesture of arrogance. Both attitudes deserved punishment.

2. The generals also found it impossible to conceive that the Jews believed in an invisible God. “What cannot be seen does not exist”, thought the rest of the world at that time. And as powerful as the God of the Jews was, now the Jews should abandon Him or put Him in second place. Why? Because in the pagan mind, when a people are defeated, it means that their gods are less powerful than the gods of the victors. Those defeated in battle had to accept the superiority of the victorious gods. Therefore, Alexander’s advisers reasoned, the Jews rejected the Greek gods not out of religious principles but because they refused to accept their defeat.

3. What bothered Alexander’s advisers the most was that the Jews wanted to continue obeying the laws of their invisible God and refused to obey the laws of the sovereign and conqueror. In pagan cultures, the gods were consulted to divine the future or offered sacrifices to appease them. But the gods did not issue laws or commandments. Making the law was the prerogative of the political sovereign, not a god! The Jews, the advisers insisted, follow the rules of their God as if he were a monarch (and they were right), superior to Alexander! For this reason, they said, the sword had to be used to convince the Jews that they should obey Alexander and abandon his other Law. This was also the reasoning that Antiochus Epiphanes made 140 years later when he decided to end the Jewish practice by decree.

PROTECTOR OF THE JEWS

Alexander the Great miraculously did not listen to his advisers. He accepted the explanation of the Jews and did not punish them for their disobedience. On the contrary, the Greek monarch was interested in Judaism, the Tora, monotheism, and the Bet haMiqdash. And far from seeking to persuade Jews to give up their religion, he gave them additional rights so that they could continue to respect their faith. Alexander the Great practically became the protector of our people.

Some examples.

1. Like all emperors, Alexander required each nation under his empire to send military reinforcements to serve in his armies. But Alexander ensured that the Jewish soldiers had their own battalion in the Greek army ranks. And he ordered that the Jewish soldiers be allowed to practice their religion regarding their food (Kashrut) and the observance of the Shabbat rest

2. A letter was found in which Alexander the Great requested that a special oil, “kosher”, be delivered to the Jewish soldiers in Antioch; since they could not consume standard oil (considered at that time impure or tame).

3. Documentation was also found where Alexander instructed his generals to exempt Jewish soldiers from participating in the construction of a pagan temple in Babylon (E. Bickerman).

Rabbi Yosef Bitton

HANUKA: Sephardic and Ashkenazi traditions

Unlike other Jewish holidays like Pesach, there are no significant differences between the customs of Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews regarding Hanukka. However, there are a few minor variations:

HOW MANY HANUKKIYOT DO WE LIGHT?

In many Ashkenazi communities, it is customary for every family member to light their own Hanukkiyah, even young children over the age of six.

In Sephardic communities, however, the custom is to light one Hanukkiyah per household (Mitsvot Ish Ubeito).

A similar practice applies to Shabbat candles: in Sephardic tradition, only the mother lights the candles, whereas in some Ashkenazi communities, each daughter lights her own Shabbat candles.

LEHADLIQ NER HANUKKA OR NER SHEL HANUKKA?

According to Ashkenazi tradition, the blessing is recited as: “Lehadliq ner SHEL Hanukka” (“…to kindle the light of Hanukka”).

Sephardim, however, follow the wording specified in the Shulhan Arukh: “Lehadliq ner Hanukka”, omitting the word “SHEL.”

Grammatically and semantically, there is no difference between these versions; one is not more correct than the other. Interestingly, the original version of this blessing (as per Maimonides, MT Hanukka 3:4) includes “SHEL”, similar to the blessing for Shabbat candles: “Lehadliq ner SHEL Shabbat.”

However, the Sephardic tradition—and the Shulhan Arukh, which generally follows Maimonides—bases this exception on the opinions of Mekubalim (Kabbalistic scholars like the Ari HaQadosh z”l). This might also explain why Chabad Hasidim, despite being Ashkenazi, use the Sephardic version. Some Sephardic communities, such as the Spanish-Portuguese Jews of England, who distanced themselves from Kabbalistic practices after the Sabbatean crisis, still retain Maimonides’ version, as seen in early Sephardic siddurim like Tefilat HaHodesh and Bene Tsion.

THE ROLE OF THE SHAMASH

According to Ashkenazi custom, the auxiliary candle (shamash) is lit first after reciting the blessing, and it is used to light the rest of the candles before being placed in its holder.

In Sephardic tradition, all the candles are lit using a match or auxiliary candle, and the shamash is lit last. For Ashkenazim, the shamash serves to kindle the other candles, while Sephardim does not use it this way.

The primary purpose of the shamash in Sephardic custom is to ensure that the light of the Hanukkiyah is not used inadvertently to benefit from it, which is prohibited.

Practically, this difference may also stem from the materials used: while most Ashkenazim use wax candles for Hanukka, Sephardim traditionally use oil lamps for the Hanukkiyah, making it imposible to light oil lamps with an oil candle.

TRADITIONS

Playing with the sevivon (dreidel, a gambling-related spinning device that originated in 16th-century Europe) is an Ashkenazi custom that Sephardim never adopted. Similarly, the practice of giving Hanukka gelt (coins or gifts for children) is uniquely Ashkenazi.

Megilat Taanit and Jewish Victories

Brief Overview of the Festivities Celebrated During the Second Temple Era, Primarily Reflecting the Victories of the Hasmoneans

The following text is drawn from Peninei Halakha by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed.

During the Second Temple era, the Sages established numerous holidays to thank God and rejoice over the salvations He brought to Israel. These festive days—around 35 in total—are mentioned in the Megillat Ta’anit, a document listing the days on which fasting is prohibited due to their semi-festive nature.

Some of these holidays include:

13th of Adar: Known as “Nicanor Day,” commemorating the defeat of a large Greek army by the Hasmoneans and the killing of its commander, Nicanor.
14th of Sivan: Celebrating the conquest of Caesarea.
22nd of Elul: Marking the execution of apostates by the Hasmoneans, as they refused to repent.
23rd of Marheshvan: Commemorating the destruction of a brothel that the Greeks had built near the Holy Temple.
25th of Marheshvan: Signifying the conquest of Samaria and its resettlement by the Hasmoneans.
22nd of Shevat: Remembering a pivotal moment during the Hasmonean revolt when the wicked Antiochus journeyed to Jerusalem intending to destroy the city and annihilate its Jewish population. However, upon receiving alarming reports of uprisings in the eastern regions of his kingdom, he abandoned the siege of Jerusalem on that date (167 BCE) and ultimately perished during these revolts.
3rd of Kislev: Commemorating the removal of idols placed by Greek troops in the Holy Temple.
24th of Av: Celebrating the reinstatement of Torah law as the official legal system, replacing Greek law.
23rd of Iyar: Honoring the conquest of the Akra fortress by Shimon ben Matityahu, where a Greek garrison had remained even after the city’s liberation.
27th of Iyar: Reflecting the prohibition, seemingly under the reign of Yonatan ben Matityahu, of idolatrous images hanging at the entrances of homes and shops.
15th and 16th of Sivan: Marking the conquest of Beit She’an by the Hasmoneans and the expulsion of the gentiles who had oppressed the Jews.

These days serve as a testament to the enduring victories and faith of the Hasmoneans, safeguarding Jewish identity and sanctity during a time of adversity.