Who Was Judah Maccabee Anyway?
by Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf Close your eyes and picture Arnold Schwartzenegger: His Uzi has just jammed, he’s got one arm in a sling, he’s about to take on 300 bad guys all at once – and he’s wearing a yarmulka. That’s who Judah Maccabee was! Two thousand years ago, one family led by one man stood between the mighty Greek army and the conquest of the Jewish people. The family was the Hasmoneans, and the man was Judah Maccabee. The Greeks were different from other empires. They didn’t just want your land, your resources and your riches — they wanted your national essence, your culture. They wanted you to think like them, live like them and even be entertained like them. The problem was most Jews weren’t buying, and the Greeks didn’t appreciate that. So the Greeks brought pressure to bear on the Jews. Women who insisted that their sons be circumcised were killed along with their babies. Brides were forced to sleep with Greek officers before they could be with their husbands. Jews were requ
