Vedibarta Bam � And You Shall Speak of Them: Kingdom of the Hasmoneans

"When the royal Hasmonean house overpowered them and vanquished them." (Shabbat 21b)

QUESTION: The Rambam (Chanukah 3:1) writes, "The sons of Chashmonai overpowered and killed them and rescued the Jews from their hands. And they elected a king from among the Kohanim, and the kingdom returned to Israel for more than 200 years, until the second destruction."

King David said (Psalms 132:11-12) "Hashem has sworn to David, a truth from which He will never retreat: 'From the fruit of your issue I will place upon your throne ... forever and ever, shall [they] sit upon your throne.'" If so, did the Hasmoneans who were Kohanim from the tribe of Levi (and not King David's tribe - Yehudah) act correctly when they seized the Kingdom in Israel?

ANSWER: The Ramban in Bereishit (49:10) makes a relevant comment on the pasuk "The rod shall not depart from Yehudah nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh (Mashiach) arrives and his will be an assemblage of nations." He explains:

The kings from other tribes, who ruled over Israel after David, went against the wish of their father Yaakov by diverting the inheritance of Yehudah to another tribe. Now they relied on the word of Achiyah the Shilonite, the prophet who anointed Jeroboam, who said, "And I will afflict the seed of David for this, but not forever." But when [the ten tribes of] Israel continued to crown kings one after another from the rest of the tribes, and they did not revert to the kingdom of Yehudah, they transgressed the testament of their ancestor. Therefore, they were accordingly punished, just as Hosea said, "They have set up kings, but not from Me."

This was also the reason for the punishment of the Hasmoneans, who reigned during the Second Temple. They were Tzaddikim of the Most High, without whom the learning of Torah and the observance of Commandments would have been forgotten in Israel, and despite this, they suffered such great punishment. The four sons of the old Hasmonean Matityahu: Yehudah the Maccabee, Elazar, Yonathan and Shimon, righteous men who ruled one after another, in spite of all their prowess and success, fell by the sword of their enemies. And ultimately the punishment reached the stage as declared in the Gemara (Bava Batra 3b), "He who says, 'I come from the house of the Hasmoneans,' is a slave," as they were all destroyed on account of this sin. All the children of the righteous Matityahu the Hasmonean were deposed for this only: they ruled even though they were not of the seed of Yehudah and of the house of David, and thus they completely removed "the scepter" and "the lawgiver" from Yehudah. And their punishment was measure for measure, as the Holy One, blessed be He, caused their slaves (King Herod) to rule over them, and it is they who destroyed them" (Ramban, Chavel Translation, Shilo, 1971).

A way to justify the action of the Hasmoneans is the following: The Gemara (Sanhedrin 5a) says that in Babylonia the Jewish people had a "Reish Galuta" - "a scepter" - and in Eretz Yisrael the leader of the Jews was the Nasi. The difference between them was that the "scepter" had more sovereignty and authority than the Nasi. Therefore, the authority of the Reish Galuta in Babylon also extended to the Jewish community in Eretz Yisrael while the authority of the Nasi did not extend to the community in Babylon.

Tosafot writes that the Reish Galuta's authority extends to Eretz Yisrael because he descended from the male line of the Davidic House, whereas the Nasi descended from the female line.

Hence, we see from here that even when there is only maternal lineage to the house of King David, appointment to leadership is not in violation of the instruction of the patriarch Yaakov that "The rod shall not depart from Yehudah nor a lawgiver from between his feet."

All Kohanim are descendants of Aaron, the Kohen Gadol, and are members of the tribe of Levi. However, Aaron was married to Elisheva bat Aminadav, who was the sister of Nachshon ben Aminadav (Shemot 6:23) the Nasi of the tribe of Yehudah.

Consequently, all Kohanim have paternal lineage to the tribe of Levi, and they also have lineage to the tribe of Yehudah through their ancestor Elisheva. Therefore, the righteous Hasmoneans permitted themselves to assume a position of royalty.

"When the royal Hasmonean house overpowered them and vanquished them, they searched and found only one flask of oil." (Shabbat 21b)

QUESTION: What indication did the Hasmoneans have that it was proper for them to assume Malchut - royalty?

ANSWER: The Gemara (Megillah 14a) says "David and Shlomo, when installed as king, were anointed with a keren - horn - of oil [the oil was poured on their head from a horn] - their reign was prolonged. However, Saul and Yehu, when installed as king, were anointed with a pach - flask - of oil [the oil was poured on their head from a flask] - their reign was not prolonged." The Maharsha explains that a flask symbolized a shortened reign since it is usually made of earthenware, which breaks easily when dropped. The horn of an animal, however, is much more durable, and therefore represents a prolonged reign.

The word "keren" - horn has the numerical value of 350. This is the same numerical value as the words "yimloch le'olam va'ed" - "to reign forever" - a reference to a long lasting reign. The word "pach" - "flask" merely has the numerical value of 100 as does the word "yimloch" - "to reign" - something temporary and not long lasting.

King David was anointed with a horn because his kingdom will be long lasting, and it will ultimately be continued through his descendant King Mashiach.

When the Hasmoneans entered the Sanctuary and found a pach - flask - of oil they understood this as Heavenly sign that yimloch - they should temporarily assume royalty - but it would not be everlasting, for ultimately the kingdom will be returned to the descendants of David.

Together with the finding of the flask, all witnessed the miracle of the candles of the Menorah. The word "pach" - "flask" - together with the word "neir" - "candle" - adds up to 350, the same numerical value as the word "keren" - horn. This was understood as a hint that while the Jews would then enjoy a period of royalty, the real glory will be when Mashiach the descendant of David, who was anointed with the keren - horn - will appear.

Incidentally, the Hasmoneans, ascent to kingship was prophesied by King David when he said in Psalms (132:9-10) "Kohanecha yilbeshu tzedek" - "Your Kohanim will be clothed in righteousness" - i.e. at the time of the miracle of Chanukah your priests will temporarily be garbed in royalty - vachasidecha yeraneinu - and your devout ones will sing joyously. (Chanukah was established as festival days with respect to recital of Hallel ve'hoda'ah - praise and thanksgiving - Shabbat 21b).

David continues, "Ba'avur David avdecha al tasheiv p'nei meshichecha" - "For the sake of David, Your servant, turn not away the face of Your anointed." David prayed that the Jews shouldn't, G-d forbid, suffice with the glory of the Hasmonean kingdom thinking that it is the ultimate achievement. Rather, they should anticipate and merit speedily the revelation of Mashiach, the descendant of King David.