Reader 1

This history begins when Alexander the Great, son of Philip of Macedonia, marched from Macedonia and attacked Darius, king of Persia and Media. Alexander enlarged the Greek Empire by defeating Darius and seizing his throne. He fought many battles, captured fortified cities, and put the kings of the region to death. As he advanced to the ends of the earth, he plundered many nations; and when he had conquered the world, he became proud and arrogant. By building up a strong army, he dominated whole nations and their rulers, and forced everyone to pay him taxes.

When Alexander had been emperor for twelve years, he fell ill and realized that he was about to die. He called together his generals, noblemen who had been brought up with him since his early childhood, and divided his empire, giving a part to each of them. After his death, the generals took control, and each had himself crowned king of his own territory. The descendants of these kings ruled for many generations and brought a great deal of misery on the world.

Antiochus Epiphanes and the Renegade Jews  

The wicked ruler Antiochus Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus the Third of Syria, was a descendant of one of Alexander's generals. Antiochus Epiphanes had been a hostage in Rome before he became king of Syria in the year 175 BCE.

At that time there appeared in the land of Israel a group of traitorous Jews who had no regard for the Torah and who had a bad influence on many of our people. They said, “Let's come to terms with the Gentiles, for our refusal to associate with them has brought us nothing but trouble.” This proposal appealed to many people, and some of them became so enthusiastic about it that they went to the king and received from him permission to follow Gentile customs. They built in Yerushalayim a stadium like those in the Greek cities. They had an operation performed to hide their circumcision, abandoned the holy covenant, started associating with and marrying Gentiles, and did all sorts of other evil things.   

Antiochus Persecutes the Jews

In the year 169 BCE after the conquest of Egypt, Antiochus marched with a great army against the land of Israel and the city of Yerushalayim. In his arrogance, he entered the Temple and took away the gold altar, the lampstand with all its equipment, the table for the bread offered to YHVH, the cups and bowls, the gold fire pans, the curtain, and the crowns. He also stripped all the gold from the front of the Temple and carried off the silver and gold and everything else of value, including all the treasures that he could find stored there. Then he took it all to his own country. He also murdered many people and boasted arrogantly about it. There was great mourning everywhere in the land of Israel. Rulers and leaders groaned in sorrow. Young men and young women grew weak. The beauty of our women faded. Every bridegroom sang a funeral song, and every bride sat mourning in her room. All our people were clothed with shame, and our land trembled for them.

Two years later Antiochus sent Mysia a tax collector with a large army against the towns of Judaea. When the soldiers entered Yerushalayim, their commander spoke to the people, offering them terms of peace, and completely deceiving them. Then he suddenly launched a fierce attack on the city, dealing it a major blow and killing many of the people. He plundered the city, set it on fire, and tore down its buildings and walls. He and his army took the women and children as prisoners and seized the cattle.

Then the forces built high walls and strong towers in the area north of the Temple, turning it into a fort. They brought in a group of traitorous Jews and installed them there. They also brought in arms and supplies and stored in the fort all the loot that they had taken in Yerushalayim. This fort became a great threat to the city. The fort was a threat to the Temple, a constant, evil menace for Israel. Innocent people were murdered round the altar; the Holy Place was defiled by murderers. The people of Yerushalayim fled in fear, and the city became a colony of foreigners. Yerushalayim was foreign to its own people, who had been forced to abandon the city. Her Temple was as empty as a wilderness; her festivals were turned into days of mourning, her Shabbat joy into shame. Her honour became an object of ridicule. Her shame was as great as her former glory, and her pride was turned into deepest mourning.

Antiochus now issued a decree that all nations in his empire should abandon their own customs and become one people. All the Gentiles and even many of the Israelites submitted to this decree. They adopted the official pagan religion, offered sacrifices to idols, and no longer observed the Shabbat.

They were commanded to build pagan altars, temples, and shrines, and to sacrifice pigs and other unclean animals there. They were forbidden to circumcise their sons and were required to make themselves ritually unclean in every way they could, so that they would forget the Torah which YHVH had given through Moshe and would disobey all its commands. The penalty for disobeying the king's decree was death.

On the fifteenth day of the month in the year 167 BCE King Antiochus set up “The Awful Horror” on the altar of the Temple, and pagan altars were built in the towns throughout Judaea.

Pagan sacrifices were offered in front of houses and in the streets. Any books of the Torah which were found were torn up and burnt, and anyone who was caught with a copy of the sacred books or who obeyed the Torah was put to death by order of the king. Month after month these wicked men used their power against the Israelites caught in the towns.

On the twenty-fifth of the month, these same evil men offered sacrifices on the pagan altar erected on top of the altar in the Temple. Mothers who had allowed their babies to be circumcised were put to death in accordance with the king's decree.

Reader 2

The Faithfulness of Mattityahu

During that time, a priest named Mattityahu, who was the son of John and the grandson of Shim’on, moved from Yerushalayim and settled in Modi’in about 19 mile west. Mattityahu had five sons: John, Shim’on, Y’hudah (also called Maccabee), Eleazar and Jonathan

When Mattityahu saw all the sins that were being committed in Judaea and Yerushalayim, he said: “Why was I born to see these terrible things, the ruin of my people and of the holy city? Must I sit here helpless while the city is surrendered to enemies and the Temple falls into the hands of foreigners? The Temple is like a man without honour. Its splendid furnishings have been carried away as loot.

Then the king's officials, who were forcing the people to turn from God, came to the town of Modi’in to force the people there to offer pagan sacrifices. Many of the Israelites came to meet them, including Mattityahu and his sons. The king's officials said to Mattityahu, “You are a respected leader in this town, and you have the support of your sons and relatives. Why not be the first one here to do what the king has commanded? All the Gentiles, the people of Judaea, and all the people left in Yerushalayim have already done so. If you do, you and your sons will be honoured with the title of ‘Friends of the King,’ and you will be rewarded with silver and gold and many gifts.”

Mattityahu answered in a loud voice, “I don't care if every Gentile in this empire has obeyed the king and yielded to the command to abandon the religion of his ancestors. My sons, my relatives, and I will continue to keep the covenant that God made with our ancestors. With God's help we will never abandon his Torah or disobey his commands. We will not obey the king's decree, and we will not change our way of worship in the least.“

Just as he finished speaking, one of the men from Modi’in decided to obey the king's decree and stepped out in front of everyone to offer a pagan sacrifice on the altar that stood there. When Mattityahu saw him, he became angry enough to do what had to be done. Shaking with rage, he ran forward and killed the man right there on the altar. He also killed the royal official who was forcing the people to sacrifice, and then he tore down the altar. In this way Mattityahu showed his deep devotion for the Torah, just as Pinchas had done when he killed Zimri son of Salu on the Plains of Mo’av.

The Guerrilla Warfare of Mattityahu

Then Mattityahu went through the town shouting, “Everyone who is faithful to God's covenant and obeys his Torah, follow me!” With this, he and his sons fled to the mountains, leaving behind all they owned.

At that time also many of the Israelites who were seeking to be right with God through obedience to the Torah went out to live in the wilderness, taking their children, their wives, and their livestock with them, because of the terrible oppression they were suffering. The report soon reached the king's officials and the soldiers in the fort at Yerushalayim that some men who had defied the king's command had gone into hiding in the wilderness. A large force of soldiers pursued them, caught up with them, set up camp opposite them, and prepared to attack them on the Shabbat.

“There is still time,” they shouted out to the Jews. “Come out and obey the king's command, and we will spare your lives.”

“We will not come out,” they answered. “We will not obey the king's command, and we will not profane the Shabbat.”

The soldiers attacked them immediately, but the Jews did nothing to resist; they did not even throw stones or block the entrances to the caves where they were hiding. They said, “We will all die with a clear conscience. Let heaven and earth bear witness that you are slaughtering us unjustly.” So, the enemy attacked them on the Shabbat and killed the men, their wives, their children, and their livestock. About a thousand people died.

When Mattityahu and his friends heard about this, they were greatly saddened and said to one another, “If all of us do as these fellow Jews of ours have done and refuse to fight the Gentiles to defend our lives and our religion, we will soon be wiped off the face of the earth.” On that day they decided that if anyone attacked them on the Shabbat, they would defend themselves, so that they would not all die as their fellow Jews had died in the caves.

Then Mattityahu and his friends were joined by a group of devout and patriotic Jews, the strongest and bravest men in Israel, who had all volunteered to defend the Torah. In addition, everyone who was fleeing from the persecution joined them and strengthened their forces. Now that they had an army, they gave vent to their anger by attacking the renegade Jews. Those who escaped were forced to flee to the Gentiles for safety. Mattityahu and his friends went everywhere tearing down pagan altars and circumcising by force every uncircumcised boy they found within the borders of Israel. They were also successful in hunting down the arrogant Gentile officials. They rescued the Torah of Moshe from the Gentiles and their kings and broke the power of the wicked King Antiochus.

The Death of Mattityahu

When the time came for Mattityahu to die, he said to his five sons, “These are times of violence and distress. Arrogant men are in control and have made us an object of ridicule. But you, my sons, must remain devoted to the Torah and ready to die to defend God's covenant with our ancestors. Remember what our ancestors did and how much they accomplished in their day.

Follow their example, and you will be rewarded with great glory and undying fame. Remember how Avraham put his trust in YHVH when he was tested and how YHVH was pleased with him and accepted him.

Joseph, in his time of trouble, obeyed God's commands and became ruler over the land of Egypt.

Pinchas, our ancestor, because of his burning devotion, was given the promise that his descendants would always be Cohanim.

Y’hoshua was made a judge in Israel because he obeyed the command of Moshe.

Kalev brought back a good report to the community and was given a part of the land as a reward.

David was made king and was given the promise that his descendants would always be kings because of his steadfast loyalty to God.

Elijah, because of his great devotion to the Torah, was taken up into heaven.

Hananiah, Azariah, and Mikha’el were saved from the flames because they had faith.

Daniel was a man of integrity, and YHVH rescued him from the mouth of the lions.

Take each of these ancestors of ours as an example, and you will realize that no one who puts his trust in YHVH will ever lack strength. Don't be afraid of the threats of a wicked man. Today he may be highly honoured, but tomorrow he will disappear; his body will return to the earth and his scheming will come to an end. But you, my sons, be strong and courageous in defending the Torah, because it is through the Torah that you will earn great glory.

“Your brother Shim’on is wise, so always listen to him as you would to me. Y’hudah has been strong all his life; he will be your commander and will lead you in battle against the enemy. Call everyone who obeys God's Torah to rally round you; then avenge the wrongs done to your people. Pay the Gentiles back for what they have done, and always obey the Torah and its commands.”

Then Mattityahu gave them his blessing and died. He was buried in the family tomb at Modi’in, and all the people of Israel went into deep mourning for him. This happened in 166 BCE.

Reader 3

New Leadership

Y’hudah, known as Maccabee (“the hammer”) took the place of his father Mattityahu. All his brothers and all the loyal followers of his father gave him their support, and they were happy to carry on Israel's war. Y’hudah brought greater glory to his people.

Y’hudah hunted down those who broke the Torah and set fire to all who oppressed his people. In fear of him, lawless men huddled together in terror, not knowing which way to turn.

When Antiochus heard what had happened, he was furious. He ordered all the armies of his empire to assemble in one huge force. From his treasury he paid a full year's wages to his soldiers and ordered them to be prepared for any emergency. But then he found that the funds in his treasury were exhausted. Income from taxes had decreased because of the disorder and the troubles he had brought on the world by doing away with the laws which had been in force from the earliest times.

Antiochus had always given presents more lavishly than earlier kings, but now he was worried that he might not be able to even to meet expenses—this had happened once or twice before. He was very disturbed; but finally, he decided to go to Persia, collect the taxes from the provinces there, and bring together a large sum of ready cash.

He appointed Lysias, an important man who had been granted the title “Relative of the King,” as governor to take care of the king's affairs in the whole territory between the River Euphrates and the Egyptian border. The king also made Lysias the guardian of his son Antiochus the Fifth until his own return. He put Lysias in charge of all the elephants and of half his army, and then gave him detailed instructions about what he wanted done, and in particular, what he wanted done with the inhabitants of Judaea and Yerushalayim. Lysias was ordered to send an army against the Jews, especially the Jews in Yerushalayim, to break their power and destroy them, so that no trace of them would remain. He was ordered to take their land and give it to foreigners, who would settle the whole area. Taking the other half of his army, the king set out from Antioch, his capital city, in the year 165 BCE. He crossed the Euphrates and marched through Mesopotamia.

Later when Y’hudah Maccabee and his army came back from the pursuit, he said to his men, “Don't be greedy for loot. Gorgias and his army are nearby in the mountains, so there is still heavy fighting ahead of us. We must stand firm and fight. After that, you can safely take all the loot you want.” Y’hudah was just finishing his speech when an enemy patrol on a scouting mission looked down from the mountains and saw that their army had been put to flight; they could tell from the smoke that their camp was burning. When they saw all this, they were terrified, and when they also saw that Y’hudah's army was in the plain ready for battle, they all fled to Philistia. Then Y’hudah returned to loot the enemy camp; he took large amounts of gold and silver, blue and purple cloth, and other rich plunder. When the Jews came back to their own camp, they sang a Song: “YHVH is worthy of praise; his mercy endures for ever.” That day brought a great victory to the people of Israel.

The Purification of the Temple

Y’hudah and his brothers said, “Now that our enemies have been defeated, let's go to Yerushalayim to purify the Temple and rededicate it.” So the whole army was assembled and went up to Mount Zion. There they found the Temple abandoned, the altar profaned, the gates torn down, the courtyards overgrown with a forest of weeds, and the rooms of the Cohanim burnt down. In their sorrow, they tore their clothes, cried loudly, threw ashes on their heads, and fell face downwards on the ground. When the signal was given on the trumpets, everyone cried out to YHVH.

Then Y’hudah ordered some of his men to attack the soldiers in the fort, while he purified the Temple. He chose some Cohanim who were qualified and who were devoted to the Torah. They discussed what should be done with the altar of burnt offerings, which had been desecrated by the Gentiles, and decided to tear it down, so that it would not stand there as a monument to their shame. They took the stones that had been defiled and put them in an unclean place on the Temple hill, where they were to be kept until a prophet should appear and decide what to do with them. Then they took uncut stones, as the Torah of Moshe required, and built a new altar like the old one. They repaired the Temple, inside and out, and dedicated its courtyards.



The 25^th day of the 9^th month, in the year 164 BCE was the anniversary of the day the Gentiles had desecrated the altar. On that day a sacrifice was offered on the new altar in accordance with the Torah of Moshe. The new altar was dedicated and songs were sung to the accompaniment of harps, lutes, and cymbals.

All the people bowed down with their faces to the ground and worshipped and praised YHVH for giving them victory.

For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the altar. With great joy they brought burnt-offerings and offered fellowship-offerings and thank-offerings. They decorated the front of the Temple with gold crowns and shields, rebuilt the gates and the rooms of the Cohanim and put doors on them. Now that the Jews had removed the shame which the Gentiles had brought, they held a great celebration. Then Y’hudah, his brothers, and the entire community of Israel decreed that the rededication of the altar should be celebrated with a festival of joy and gladness at the same time each year, beginning on the 25^th day of the 9^th month and lasting for eight days.

 Amein