KISLEV Table of Contents

The First Book of Maccabees was written in Hebrew, incorporating some earlier Hebrew historical records....The book is not wholly narrative but includes portions of passionate poetry and prayer.

We have lost the original Hebrew manuscript. But a Jewish translation into Greek was made very soon after it was written, for use by the large Jewish population now living in Egypt and other Hellenistic cultures, including Judea itself. As these Jewish communities were transformed in character by the Roman rise to power and Jewish Greek died out, the Greek version was kept intact by the early Christian church, which included the first two Books of Maccabees in their version of the Old Testament.

In place of the original Hebrew text, the legend of the Maccabees was kept alive among Jews in the form of parochial Hebrew paraphrases and poems, such as the medieval scroll of Antiochus. However, these later versions do not approach the original book in depth, range, style, or authenticity, and their use has largely died out in modern times. I have gone back to the original book, aided by the remarkable Hebrew version of Abraham Kahana (first published in Jerusalem in 1931)....

The First Book of Maccabees tells the story of Jewish resistance to the Greeks and then chronicles the Maccabean campaigns and the Hasmonean dynasty that comes to power in Judea. The seeds of Hanukkah's ultimate transformation into a major holiday may be found in the scattered psalms and prayers quoted by the author of First Maccabees and attributed to Mattathias or Judah.

Mattathias was a priest from Jerusalem who had moved to the village of Modi'in, escaping Jerusalem's devastation. He is the father of Judah Maccabee and Judah's brothers John, Simon, Eliezer and Jonathan. Mattathias' is the first act of Jewish resistance: he refuses to offer a sacrifice to the Greek-Seleucid king, is driven to kill an apostate collaborator together with the king's officer, pulls down the pagan altar, and takes to the hills and mountains with his sons, making armed revolt a reality. When he is ready to die, he speaks to his son about the need to continue the armed resistance. Within this speech is the short psalm that follows, an echo of earlier biblical psalms.

A Psalm of Mattathias (from Chapter 2)

There is no need for fear
of men dressed in threats of power
all their successes are masks

that will fade like words in a gust of wind
and though one walks as if he wears a crown
in a show of pride — the whole performance collapses

in an instant: one last breath
and his body crowns the dunghill
and his words have turned to worms

today he shines on everyone's tongue
tomorrow no one has heard of him
he's vanished quickly as a winter sunset

gone — turned back into dust
all his schemes turned back
into nothing.

but you, my children, take hold of your lives
by a stronger hand,
by the deep strength in Torah

your hearts unsinkable vessels
bearing its words: sustenance
for a day beyond mere dreams of success

it will bring you into the future
it will bring you courage
worn as surely as a crown.

 

A Psalm of Judah (from Chapter 3)

Jerusalem was a desert
empty of its spirit
none of her children were left

who had been signs of life
and none would go in
even Jerusalem air so pure

seemed choked with dust
the spirit that once breathed deeply
beheaded

the Temple quiet as a graveyard
walked upon by foreigners
as if it were grass

strangers were sleeping in the citadel
another desolate renovation
by pagans

Jacob awoke in a nightmare
and his children had gone
joy had abandoned him

flute and lyre
pipe and zither
had ceased.

A Psalm of Judah (from Chapter 4)

[Barukh Atah Adonai...]
You are deeply felt
Lord beyond lords
Israel's strength is with you

who broke the spirit of warriors
crushing their plans along with their violent hero
by the hand of David, your servant

and the power of the Philistine army was dismantled
falling into the hand
of Jonathan, son of Saul—

in the same way, dismay this army
by the hand of Israel
humble their pride in superior number and horses

let their hearts be crushed by shame
let them be struck by panic
their arrogance melt away

let them quake in their boots
and run away in fear of destruction
by a people who love you

and let all who feel the power
behind your name which is a shield
feel like singing psalms to you.

 

From: A Blazing Fountain: A Book for Hanukkah, by David Rosenberg. NY: Schocken Books.