<div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><<our assumption is that the Chachamim were against resistance to Rome,</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">so the Chashmonaim's resistance should be compared to that of the</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Biryonim, etc.  But that premise is not true; on the contrary, the</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">revolt against Rome was originally organised *by* Chazal.  The difference</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">between them and the Biryonim was merely that when the war was obviously</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">lost, Chazal decided it was time to surrender and negotiate terms while</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">something could still be saved, while the Biryonim wanted to fight to an</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">"honourable" death.>></span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">I always understood with the Biryonim was that attacke3d Jews and burned</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">down food supplies.</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">They wanted to fight even when it was hopeless</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">BTW at one stage of the fight against the Greeks, the Syrians agreed to a</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">compromize in which the Jews would have the right to worship as they please</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">and the Bet HaMikdash would be run according to Jewish law.</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">At the time the chassidim of the time agreed to the compromize and said</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">that was all they were fighting for. OTOH the Maccabbes argued that relying</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">on the intentions of the Syrian-Greeks was not a good idea.</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">The end was that the chassidim left the war effort and Jdah was left with a</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">tiny force. The Greeks then didnt keep their commitment and in the end the</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">full scale war resumed. Thus in the end Judah was vindicated that</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">compromises with the Greeks could not be relied upon</span><br clear="all">
<div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr"><font color="#000099" face="'comic sans ms', sans-serif">Eli Turkel</font></div><br>
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