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Antiochus, king of the Seleucid Empire, knew that feeling all too well. Imagine this: you're a powerful ruler, used to getting your way. Then you hear the news: your viceroy, Nican...
This one, from Megillat Antiochus – the Scroll of Antiochus – is definitely one of those. It's a tale of unwavering faith and heartbreaking sacrifice, a testament to the strength o...
It's more than just latkes and dreidels. It's a story of courage, faith, and a miraculous victory against all odds. But where do we really get the details of that story? We all kno...
We know the basics: the wicked Antiochus, the brave Maccabees, the miracle of the oil. But what about the other stories? The ones that didn't quite make the cut for the Book of Mac...
It paints a picture of a community whose very speech and thoughts are a force for good. It begins by telling us where their minds are: "Their meditation is on the Law of the Most H...
Our tale begins in the year 137 of the Greek kingdom. Now, this wasn't just any kingdom; it was the sprawling empire that Alexander the Great had forged, now fractured and ruled by...
1 Maccabees 1 paints a stark picture: "Her sanctuary was laid waste like a wilderness, her feasts were turned into mourning, her sabbaths into reproach, her honour into contempt." ...
That's the world the Maccabees faced. The Book of Maccabees I, a historical text not included in the Hebrew Bible but considered canonical in some Christian traditions, paints a vi...
The Book of Maccabees I gives us a stark glimpse. Imagine this: a decree echoes across the land, reaching every corner of the kingdom. Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Seleucid king, is...