“The priests desired to kill Shimi because of the magnitude of his sin. Shimi requested permission to speak, which was granted. He informed his brethren of what had actually occurred. They investigated and found that Chonyo was really the perpetrator of this evil and set out to kill him instead. Chonyo fled to Alexandria, Egypt, where he built an altar and offered sacrifices to God.”
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Chonyo III was the Jewish high priest at the time of Antiochus IV’s ascension to power. Under his leadership, the integrity of the Temple service and the priesthood were successfully maintained. In 174 BCE, however, Antiochus accepted a sizable bribe from Chonyo’s Hellenized brother Jason, and proclaimed Jason the new high priest. The king seized on the prospect of receiving badly needed funds for his military pursuits. More important, he saw in Jason an opportunity to Hellenize the Jewish people. Hence, for the first time in our history, someone outside the Jewish faith determined who would serve in this pivotal position.
As is so often the case in our history, the Jews were their own worst enemy. Jason’s ultimate intention was to convert Jerusalem into a Greek polis, to be named Antioch. This required that Greek political and cultural institutions be introduced into the city. He had a gymnasium erected near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, in direct sight of the Temple itself. This gymnasium would serve as a center of Hellenistic education and athletics, with nudity and immoral behavior the norm. Pagan statues and altars were present as well; sacrifices were offered to Greek gods prior to the commencement of sporting events.
These changes attracted numerous Jews, particularly young ones. Many priests were also influenced by this new culture, neglecting their sacrificial duties in favor of these new centers of diversion.
[Jason] gladly built a gymnasium under the Temple itself, and brought the chief young men under his subjection…. The priests had no more courage to serve at the altar, but scorning the Temple, and neglecting the sacrifices, rushed to partake of the unlawful behavior in the gymnasium. – II Maccabees 4:12–14
Except for the small group of Hellenists, the Jews were shocked. They rejected the king’s determination to take liberties regarding the priesthood. They were further stunned by the introduction of immoral Greek culture into Jerusalem. Throughout their history the Jews had survived as a religious nation by refusing to conform to the whims and ideals of their pagan neighbors. Now they were being forced to tolerate the existence of a gymnasium in the immediate view of their holy Temple.
Jason had no intention of financing his position from his own personal funds. Taxes were collected at an even higher rate to help pay for the high costs of Hellenization, not to mention the king’s military campaigns. Jason and other Hellenists thus became identified not only for their political and cultural changes but for increased taxation as well.
In an almost humorous twist, certain Hellenists accused Jason of not taking his reforms far enough. In 171 BCE, three years after replacing Chonyo III, he would also be removed from office. Menelaus, a wicked non-priest, offered an even larger bribe to Antiochus and had himself appointed as the new high priest. In order to pay the enormous sum, he and his brother Lysimachus robbed the Temple and sold off many of its gold vessels. Chonyo was murdered when he protested this greedy behavior. Scores of Jews were killed in Jerusalem when Lysimachus and his soldiers, fearing a revolt, fell upon the people. Lysimachus died in battle but Menelaus was able to maintain his standing, which he used to further Hellenize the Jewish people.
The position of high priest was now no longer one that represented the Jewish people. It was, in effect, like any other position in the royal administration, with no true allegiances to the Jews or the Torah.
The tragedy here cannot be understated. There is no question that Antiochus was bent on promoting increased Hellenization among his Jewish citizens. But he never would have attempted a sweeping campaign against Judaism – the Jewish people were too loyal to their Torah for it to be successful – had he not observed the strong assimilatory efforts of Jason and his cohorts. Now he shifted his Hellenizing efforts into high gear.
In the years to come, during the lengthy struggle between the Hasmoneans and Seleucids and afterward, the position of high priest changed hands many times. In some cases it was manned by great people, including Yonasan and Shimon, sons of Mattisyahu who ruled the nation while also serving in the Temple. Yochanan Hyrcanus, Shimon’s son, also served faithfully for decades as kohen gadol before succumbing to the Sadducees. His son, Alexander Yannai, would take matters further, and was at the center of one of the greatest acts of outrage in the Temple.
One of the many disagreements in practice between the Pharisees and the Sadducees centered on the ritual known as nisuch hamayim, which involved pouring water on the altar during the festival of Sukkos. The Pharisees performed it while the Sadducees, citing its absence in the written law, did not. Using the Temple in Jerusalem as his stage and the festival of Sukkos as his setting, the high priest Yannai took the water and poured it on his feet.
His actions had their desired effect. The people were outraged. Spontaneously reacting to this sacrilege, they began to pelt Yannai with their esrogim, nearly killing him. The king, in turn, unleashed a prepared mercenary force against them, killing more than six thousand Jews. Later, he ordered a wooden partition built around the altar and the Temple in order to protect himself from future attacks. Only priests were allowed to enter the area.
During this era that spanned more than two hundred years, some priests served their nation as spiritual beacons. Others were wicked and self-serving, using their position of power to sway their brethren away from Torah.
The history of that tumultuous period teaches us a lesson etched in stone concerning the supreme importance of righteous leaders.
