Posted on 11/28/2021 5:50:35 PM PST by golux
Can you imagine the blissful orgy of intellectualism that would have accompanied the meeting – for the first time – of the most philosophical peoples the world had ever known, namely, the Jews and the Greeks? Talmudic study meets the schools of Aristotle and Socrates? Kabbalah meets Pythagoras and Euclid? The synthesis of these two cultures should at least have catalyzed a few millennia of wildly inventive literature, mathematics and science.
That's not how it turned out, though. Instead of welcoming the Greeks, as almost all others under Hellenic occupation were pleased to do, the Jews were violently defiant. Why?
Life was pretty good under the Greeks. First of all, unlike, say, the Egyptians or Babylonians, they had no initial interest whatsoever in killing or enslaving the Jews. They brought with them empowering notions of democracy, great food, a fascinatingly philosophical culture, a highly organized economy, beautiful art and long, lazy days at the gymnasium. What's not to love?
It is generally believed that the Jews refused to assimilate, and caused so many problems for the Greeks (and for other Jews with Hellenist tendencies), for a nebulous host of reasons having to do with Greek polytheism. This loose rationale is certainly correct, but to accept it as the only answer is to ignore the Jews' long history of living peaceably, and minding their own spiritual business, alongside others with vastly different religious beliefs.
The "polytheism" argument has also enabled many generations of students and scholars to conveniently forget about two concrete elements of Greek life that would have been utterly appalling to ancient Jews: institutionalized pederasty and infanticide...
(Excerpt) Read more at wnd.com ...
Hanukkah is a War Festival. Period. It is about the appropriate response to godless tyranny, and that response has always been, and must be contempt, refusal, and if necessary, violence. The Torah is the Constitution of Israel, and fidelity to it is the privilege and obligation of every Jew. That is why the Nazarene set his face like a flint against all enemies of it, both foreign and domestic. The Maccabees were his spiritual predecessors. So it was his custom to be at the Temple during Hanukkah to teach, about their love for Torah, and his sermons drew from their exemplary passion for holiness. At that most critical time, he warned of an even greater destruction than that wrought by Antiochus: Total War at the hands of Imperial Rome, and Judgment at the hands of G-d himself. He said, “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword!” Because of the power of his Torah, he was a threat to the Empire. He still is.
The real miracle is how delicious my friend just made the beef roast, latke’s and chicken taste.
First candle and then it was game on!
I luv Hannukah!
The "polytheism" argument has also enabled many generations of students and scholars to conveniently forget about two concrete elements of Greek life that would have been utterly appalling to ancient Jews: institutionalized pederasty and infanticide...
Thanks golux.
I imagine the same arguments were made at the time by the various sects of hellenized “jews” about other gods and goddesses, triune collectives, Emperor-messiahs, etc., and all by zealous and passionate men, eager to prove their core jewishness in every way but the way, lost to them, which has always survived all of these sad blasphemous kingdoms of the mind. It is no matter, the Jew does not evangelize.
Your post is one of many reasons why we need a “like” button here.
Shalom
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