Martyrdom in Jewish Mythology

33 myths · Page 2 of 2

Kiddush HaShem, the sanctification of God's Name through death: Rabbi Akiva, Hannah and her seven sons, and the martyrs of every generation.
Myth 6 min

The Brothers Who Denied a Roman His Furnace Miracle

A Roman general stages a furnace miracle to humiliate two bound brothers, and they refuse to ask for one, calling him no Nebuchadnezzar.

MartyrdomRoman PersecutionFiery FurnaceDefianceDivine JusticeTalmud
Myth 6 min

The Burning Scroll and the Spears That Could Not Kill the Chain

Rome decreed teaching Torah was death, so one rabbi taught in the open and burned in the scroll, and one took three hundred spears to save the chain.

Hananya Ben TeradyonYehuda Ben BavaMartyrdomRomeTorahOrdinationTen Martyrs
Myth 6 min

Antiochus Built His Case in Gold and Ran From One Word

Antiochus builds his case against the Jews in a gold council chamber, sends Bagris to break Zion, and flees the coast wearing one word.

HanukkahMegillat AntiochusMartyrdomPersecutionZionApocrypha