Lecture 21. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated · Sabato Morais Digital Repository · Legacy Projects from Judaica DH at Penn Libraries

Title

Lecture 21. Morais, Sabato. Philadelphia, PA. Undated

Author

Morais, Sabato

Location(s)

United States -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia

United States -- Pennsylvania

Format

12 pages on 5 sheets

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?

Language(s)

English

Source

Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies

Sabato Morais Collection, Box 12, Folder 4

Has Format

https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/items/ark:/81431/p3416tj1f/manifest.json

Link to Colenda

https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3416tj1f

Provenance

Transfer of Custody from the Hebrew Education Society, 10 March 1913.

Is Format Of

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/judaicadh/morais/main/TEI/SMBx12FF4_1.xml

content

Post-biblical lecture
21

Brethren. As the season is fast approaching, in which I shall suspend my weekly lectures for a time, and will speak from this pulpit only when emergencies arise, I wish to stop at such a period of the post-biblical series, that I have given at intervals, as will en--able me to resume it hereafter with ease.
It will be remembered that I began by tracing the his--tory of our people during the Babylonian captivity, and then proceeded to narrate the return of the exiles to the promised land, and the difficulties they met in the rebuilding of the Temple, through the jealousy of neighboring tribes. I described the final reconstruction of the Sanctuary; the respect paid to it by Persian rulers; the comin of Alexander the great to Palestine and the division after his death of the vast em-pire he founded, leaving Judea to the supervision of Laomedon. I dwelt at some length on the domi- rule -nion domination of the Ptolemies; on that of the Syro-Grecian dynasty, and on the revolutionary war under the Maccabees. I described portrayed the patriotism of the latter, Mattathias and his five gallant sons, and the unfortu--nate conflict between John Hyrcanus I son of Simon the Asmonean, and the Pharisees, and showed also the dire consequences

of that rupture down to the time, in which Hyrcanus II became a more pliant tool in the hand of Antipater, the insidious crafty Idumean.
To day my lecture will cover an important period in the life of Herod I, the cunning usurper of other men's power.
Julius Caesar had fallen under the daggers of conspirators, in the senate chamber at Rome, and Cassius who joined in the conspiracy because, forsooth! "Caesar was ambitious," took advantage of the unnatural death of that, undoubtedly most illustrious, citizen of the republic, to raise an army and vast means in Syria and its vi--cinity. Antipater and Herod, always ready to bow before the rising son, sought the favor of the suc--cessful tribune, and this one demanded as a pledge of regard nothing less than 700 talents, or about 700,000 dollars. The request was not very modest, but to refuse it was would have been to sharpen the all-tearing claws of the Roman eagle. Accordingly, tax gatherers were selected to have the amount raised at a given stated time. Herod brought his quota first of all, and gained thereby the good will of the unambitious Cassius, who, it is said, to promised to make him soon absolute king.

Malichus, one of the appointed collectors, could not, or perhaps would not, grind drain the people's coffers. As he failed to remit the sum promptly, Cassius seized several cities, and sold their inhabitants to slavery. Malichus himself would have paid with his life for his tardiness, if Hyrcanus, who was his friend, had not turned away Roman wealth with Jewish gold. He drew out of his own private coffers treasury one hundred talents, and sent them to Cassius with his compliments. But Ma--lichus looked with well-founded suspicion apprehensions on the pro--ceedings of the Idumean family; on the unscrupulousness with which they fleeced ground down all classes of the community to ingratiate themselves with the tyrannizing stranger. When Cassius left Palestine to push his conquests further and ammass more gold, Malichus plotted to put Antipater out of the way. In reality, no positive evidence of such an intention exists, th but it is generally agreed that Malichus made excited suspicions, which he allayed by strong protestations of good faith, and that he and Antipater having dined together in company with Hyr--canus, Antipater was suddenly taken ill and died.

In the course of these short sketchy lectures, enough has been said to show in its true light the character of the Idumean chief converted to Judaism. Knowing that Antipater was the sole primary cause of the bitter quarrel between the two Asmonean brothers--Hyrcanus and Aristobulus; knowing that he alone principally occasioned bloodshed among con--tending parties, and the virtual surrendering of Judea to the Roman power under Pompey; knowing that he was the main instigator of the heartless and de--fiant conduct of his son Herod, it is painful and humiliating to hear a Jewish historian bestow a eu--logy on Antipater in these terms: "Thus died a man who had distinguished himself for piety and justice and the love of country." Josephus besides contradicting his own self, who had previously called Antipater "a seditious man," insulted his religion and people, when he penned the encomium of the father of Herod. But that is not the only nor the worst offense of which our post-biblical historian became guilty. We shall discover detect more blemishes in the life of the very learned, but the very servile writer, who basked in the sun-shine of rulers and princes.

Herod feigned to believe Malichus in his assurances declarations of innocence, but fox-like he watched for the favorable opportunity, when he could take revenge. The occasion soon presented itself. Hyrcanus, accompanied by Ma--lichus and Herod had gone to Laudicea in Phrygia to do reverence to Cassius, who had seized captured that city. Herod had notified informed Cassius by letter of the death of Antipater, accusing Malichus of treason. The Roman tribune, who had stabbed his benefactor Caesar, had no conscientious scruples about ordering some of his officers to kill Malicus, as he was on his way to attend a ban--quet artfully prepared by Herod. Hyrcanus, who witnessed the murder, fainted with fright. When he came to and was told that Cassius had ordered the deed, the powerless dotard had to approve of and praise that which his soul detested. But no sooner had Cassius left Syria to join Brutus and fight Octavious their common rival, than Judea took up arms against the Romans at Jerusalem. Antigonus, the younger son of Aristobulus II, and nephew of Hyrcanus, who had been living under the protection of the prince of Chaleis, availed himself of the prevailing spirit of discontent discontent

to raise an army among the national party, who hated a foreign yoke. But Herod was equal to the emergency. He fought Antigonus, defeated him, and drove him and his allies out of Judea. He then entered the capital, like a triumphant hero to be wreathed and garlanded by the representative of the race which he was bent to destroy crush. Hyrcanus gave Herod a great royal ovation, and promised him as a wife the beautiful but unhappy Marianne, daughter of his nephew Alexander, whom Pompey had beheaded, and of his only daughter Alexandra. We are not told whether the Idumean divorced the first wife he had married among the women of his people, and who had born him a son. But before the wedding which would was to blend the blood of the Idumean with that of the Maccabean, could take place, stirring events rapidly succeeded each other. Cassius had committed suicide at Phillipi in Macedonia, and Mark Antony assumed authority in the East. Herod could not foresee the consequences of that sudden change of fortune. Might not Antony turn against the former friend

of Cassius and favor the claim s of Antigonus, the only survivor of the Asmoneans, who displayed a valiant spirit? But Herod had been a very apt scholar under paternal tuition. He had learnt from Antipater the influence effect of gold with upon the Romans, and he dexterously employed its influences. No one needed money more than the dissolute Antony, and no one was more ready to uphold profitable tyranny than the unprincipled Antony. Herod's rich gifts possessed an eloquence which made all the remon--strances of his opponents fall listless upon the ear. A deputation of Jews who came to complain before Antony of the depsotism of Herod and Phasael, were not allowed even to speak. Shortly after another deup--tation of leading citizens, who succeeded in bringing charges against the two usurping brothers, would have seen some of the most outspoken put to instant death, if Herod him--self to avoid seditions, had not interposed in their behalf. More lately another and still larger deputation, who insisted upon being heard, were fallen set upon by Roman soldiers and inhumanly slaughtered. Thus the Idumeans mount--ed high on the corpses of the Judeans, who tried in vain

to shake off a foreign hateful yoke. Thus the insidious policy of Antipater, in seeking Rome as a prop to his house, fastened ever tighter the bands of that yoke. But Mark Antony who was to have been to Herod a tower of strength, forgot friends and foes in the arms of the luxurious and wanton Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. Then the Syrians weary of the made oppression of him who styled himself "imperartor" profitted of his depraved lassitude to encourage the invasion of a new power. The Parthians, whose dominions lay in Western Asia, were anxious to thrust back to the Tiber the ever encroaching power of Rome. They could shoot the arrow with a deadly aim and break the inimical lance at a blow. They came in large num--bers and spread terror among the legions of the dread republic. Antigonus the Asmonean, thought he also could now help in weakening Rome and break-ing down the support of Herod. Before the latter and his brother Phasael could assume the offensive prepare for the defensive, Anti--gonus had marched upon Jerusalem. Blood flowed like rivers streams, but neither party gained the victory. Meanwhile the feast of Pentecost arrived, and the vast

concourse of people who came to celebrate it, mingling in the scuffles according to their political proclivities, made the slaughter greater. At length, Antigonus called in the Parthian general, ostensibly as an umpire, but really to entrap Hyrcanus and the two Idumean bothers. Herod whose keen penetration enabled him to see throught that fraud, left Jerusalem stealthily by night. Denied a place of safety temporary refuge in Syria and in Arabia, he set sails for Alexandria, and thence for Rome Italy, where Mark Antony had gone, in spite of his debauch--ed self, leaving quitting Cleopatra, to look after his decaying interests in the metropolis of the world. Phasael and Hyrcanus were treacherously kept as prisoners by the Partheans, and Antigonus was proclaimed king of Judea. Whatever excuse historians may find for the double dealings of that Asmonean--whose reign was but of a very short duration--nothing can be alleged to extenuate his barbarous conduct towards his uncle. He To disqualify Hyrcanus from holding any more the authority of high priest--whom the Mosaic laws required that he to be without any bodily blemish--he cut off the ears of the aged pontiff, and sent him to Parthia as an exile.

Phasael enraged with himself at having fallen a victim to his credulity, beat his head to death against the walls of his prison, rather than be slain by Antigonus. But Herod reached Rome in safety to piteously to tell Mark Antony how fortune had turned her back upon him. Language and looks and bearing favored Herod greatly. He created the deepest impression. Antony who had become reconciled, for a time, with Octavious the powerful triumvir, commended to the latter the cause of his Idumean friend. Herod's hopes revived. Rome would stand by him against the Parthians, and Antigonus, brought to disgrace, would meet the fate of a traitor. But Herod's presence at Rome exceeded his achieved what the most sanguine expectations could not dream of. He had gone thither, without intending to make lay any [?] claim to the crown. He would have felt satisfied, that the young brother of his betrothed Marianne, be clothed by the Roman senate with ro--yalty, for he he believe that he could use him that scion of the Maccabees, as his father had used Hyrcanus, but Antony remembered the good services Herod had rendered him, and he knew moreover how useful an ally the Idumenean would prove to Rome.

Accordingly, having convened the Senate, he had Herod conducted with honors becomingly escorted into its presence. Two accomplished orators extolled his deeds and the exploits of Antipater. A unanimous vote declared Herod worthy of the crown, and he was solemnly raised to the regal dignity. Leaving the Senate chamber with Octavious and Antony on his right and left, all the dignitaries escorted conducted him to the Capitol, where the decree was recorded. Antony made a feast, as a mark of respect to the newly chosen King of the Judeans, and he who had come to Rome as a suppliant, departed from the eternal city covered with honors. We shall learn hereafter, to what account Herod put the sceptre and the diadem; how the people over whom he reigned, by the grace of heathen Rome, fared under his rule. We shall learn whether we ought to reserve to Herod a golden page or a blotched and spotted leaf in in the volumes of our post-biblical history.

Identifier

p3416tj1f

identifier

SMBx12FF4_1