ons/thumb/9/94/Seleucid_Empire_alternative_map.jpg/1920px-Seleucid_Empire_alternative_map.jpg
And in 188 BCE
https://cdn.britannica.com/38/1038-004-18510162/Egypt-part-world-Hellenistic-c-188-bce.jpg
AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED? (Hanukkah edition) Can your team get
the history right as we trace the story of the Jewish people from the fall of
Jerusalem to the victory of the Maccabees?
Can your team get the history right as we trace the story of the Jewish people from the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BCE to the story of the Maccabees in 167 BCE?
After we read about each point in history, we will offer each team a choice of three options for “And then what happened?”. The team can confer for 30 seconds, then they must submit a vote in writing. Correct answers earn a point. Wrong answers earn nothing. There are eight history points.
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What is the BCE thing? Instead of saying BC, Before Christ, Academics and many non-Christians use the
BCE/CE convention instead of BC/AD.
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What else is going on in 586 BCE? It’s the Zhou dynasty in China, Bantu
speaking migrants are bringing iron-age weapons and cattle into South Africa,
and the Olmecs rule Mexico.
#%#%#%#%##%%##%#%#%%
It’s 586 BCE.
The Jewish people have fallen to the Babylonian Empire, and most have
been dragged off to exile in Babylon.
The temple is destroyed, and the city of Jerusalem lies ruined. After a generation, the Jewish people adjust to
life in Babylonia, but the Babylonian empire is conquered by the Persians led by King Cyrus. And then what happened?
1)
The Jewish people fight to
push Cyrus out of Bavel.
2)
The Jewish people find Cyrus
hates the Jews and wants to wipe them out.
3)
Cyrus says the Jews can go
back to Eretz Yisrael and rebuild the temple.
It’s 515 BCE.
The Jewish people, with the support of King Cyrus and his sons, head back to the land of Israel toe rebuild
Jerusalem. The great teacher of Torah,
Ezra, brings the Torah with him, and leads the people as they try and rebuild,
but local peoples harass them with
violent attacks. And then what
happened?
1)
The Persian emperor calls
off building temple, which is why it was never rebuilt even till today
2)
The Persian emperor sends Nechemiah,
a Jewish former army officer, to help them fight off the locals
3)
The Jews bribe the locals
with thousands of silver coins to leave Jerusalem alone.
It’s 475 BCE. The Persian Emperor Artaxerxes rules over a
massive empire that is economically stable. He picks a new prime minister so he
can devote himself to enjoying his wealth and power. And then what happened?
1)
The prime minister planned
to kill the empress’ entire family in an
act of revenge, and the emperor has him executed.
2)
The prime minister was
trying to poison him and take the throne, and the emperor has him executed.
3)
The prime minister was hoarding
the equivalent of millions in tax dollars, and the emperor has him executed.
It’s
440 BCE. A small, rebuilt temple lies at the heart of a
small, rebuilt Jerusalem.
The High priest rules along with council of 120 known as the
People of the Great Assembly. A famine
strikes Rome, Pericles rules Athens, and
Ezra the scholar dies. And then what
happened?
1)
The Jewish people live
quietly and not much happens for a while.
2)
The Jewish people get into
a bloody war with the Syrians over access to the water of the Jordan river.
3)
The Jewish people enter a
state of war that lasts for 100 years.
It’s
333 BCE. Alexander the Great sweeps
through the middle east, and comes to the small nation of Judah. In order to convince Alexander that
the nearby Kuteans are in fact lying when they tell Alexander that the Jews are
planning to attack , the Kohen
Gadol, Shimon the Righteous, dons his Yom
Kippur white garments and leads a delegation.
They march all night by torchlight to reach Alexander, and as the sun rises, Alexander sees the
delegation led by Shimon. And then
what happens?
1)
Alexander accuses the Jews of rebellion and
holds them prisoner for a year until they are ransomed.
2)
Alexander demands the jews
bow down to him, and when they refuse he has them whipped.
3)
Alexander bows down to the
Kohen Gadol and his generals think he’s
gone mad.
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When Alexander saw Shimon HaTzaddik up close at last, he
descended from his chariot and bowed down low before him. His officers said to
him: “Why is your majesty bowing down to this Jew?”, for they feared he had
lost his mind.
He said to them “Each night before I go into battle, I have
a dream, and the image of this man’s
face is what I see in the dream before I rise up and go to conquer. I saw his face when we were in Macedonia at
Dio, and before our first battle with the Persians, and before we conquered
Gaza. Let no harm come to this man or his people, but rather put his enemies into
his hand.” Alexander came to Jerusalem,
offered sacrifices to God on the Altar, and
was welcomed throughout the land.
It’s
281 BCE. Seluecus has died. When Alexander
dies, his generals divide up his empire. The land of Israel winds up under the rule
of Alexander’s general Seleucus, who like Alexander before him is religiously
tolerant and lets people live and worship as they wish, as long as they pay
their tributes and taxes. Seleucus dies and rule over land of Israel passes
down to his son, Antiochus the first. So
then what happens?
1)
Antiochus builds a statue
of Zeus in the Temple of Jerusalem’s courtyard.
2)
Antiochus continues his father’s
policy of religious tolerance. Boring.
3)
Antiochus considers converting
to Judaism, but is assassinated by his son, Antiochus II before he can.
It’s 222 BCE.
Antiochus III becomes ruler the Seleucid empire. Jews in the Selucid empire have come to know about
many parts of the culture of the empire-
theatre, races, Greek poetry and mythology, all known as the Hellenist culture. Some Jews become very Hellenized, rejecting every part of their religion, while others adopt some Hellenist ideas and
practices, such as Greek names and reading
Greek literature while keeping their Hebrew Names and Jewish holidays. And then what happens?
1)
Antiochus III continues his
great-grandfather’s policy of religious tolerance. Boring.
2)
Antiochus III demands greater
taxes and gold, taking it from the temple when the jews do not pay enough.
3)
Antiochus III is insulted by
a Jew who refuses to bow down whenever Antiochus is in the city gate, and begins
a plan to wipe out the Jews.
It’s 168 BCE.
Antiochus IV had usurped the throne from his nephew Demetrius in 175, and
deciding to take a more active role in the economically vital Temple in
Jerusalem, he starts taking bribes to determine who will be high priest. Come 168 BCE, Between a war in Egypt and a rebellion
that happens when a rumor breaks out that Antiochus is dead, Jerusalem is plunged into chaos. In response,
Antiochus decides that Judaism is the problem. And then what happens?
1)
He takes the side of moderately
Hellenized jews.
2)
He takes the side of Traditional
Jews- but that will change.
3)
He bans all forms of Judaism.
It’s 167 BCE. Antiochus
puts a giant idol of Zeus in the
temple of Jerusalem’s courtyard,
sacrifices a pig to it and eats the ham.
He then orders the same thing to be done throughout the land of Israel. And then what happens?
1)
Hanukkah.
2)
Hanukkah.
3)
Hanukkah.
It can only be called a sufganiah if it is made in the Sufgan region of northern ISrael!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoTAfsRv-Ek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk55HmKv2b4
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1) https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/freedomsummer-murder/
BEWARE PICTURES AT END
American Expreince video, 2:45 total
2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2ssdtB-sAI
Mickey Schwerner believed that ultimately people were
good at heart.
3)
https://www.propublica.org/article/a-brutal-loss-but-an-enduring-conviction
… This notion that Jews had or have some greater sense of enlightenment is another distortion. Neither Mickey nor I grew up in families in which there was a strong Jewish identity, though we both had grandparents who were immigrants to the United States. I don’t think either of us identified ourselves as directed or infused with anything that was particularly Jewish. I am not a religious person.
In fact, I am an atheist and have been most of
my adult life. That was certainly true of Mickey. I have no doubt that there
were and are people who are involved in social movements and their moral
compass is in some ways governed by their religious beliefs. Many people in the
civil rights movement have a very strong belief in a Christian god. I don’t
think there is anything false or inappropriate in those beliefs. The notion
that so many whites (in Freedom Summer) were Jews because Jews have such a
strong moral compass is ludicrous.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hw8N2XF6Hk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hQeGDSB6Ss
at 1:30pm
http://www.joachimprinz.com/images/mow.mp3
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