Setting the stage• Who was King Herod?

• How did he get into power?• Revealing his true colors….• Hellenistic Jews: is that kosher?

Who was Herod?Went from governor of Galilee to the King of Israel (Judea)

Rose to power in the Roman Civil War

Reigned from 37 BCE to 4 BCE

Known as a great and ambitious builder

Herod’s Building Projects

• Fortresses at Masada and Antonia • Caesarea • Building on top of Ma’arat Hamachpela • Fortifications around Jerusalem• Three towers at the entrance to the city • Herodium- artificial mountain with palace

on top

His most famous project

• Expansion, and refurbishment the second temple.

Herod’s Intentions

His true intention for rebuilding the

temple was an effort to lobby for support from the

Jews.

Dilemma: He had treated the Rabbinical

figures cruelly, and wasn’t

popular among JewsHe figured if he

beautified something that the Rabbinical

figures and every day folk indentified with as

fundamental to Judaism, it would

increase his approval ratings.

Temple’s Appearance:"He who has not seen Herod's building, has never in his life seen a truly grand

building." (Talmud-Bava Basra 4a)

Herod's Temple.lnk

Appearance cont.

Retaining wall around the temple added.

Huge platform the size of 24 football fields fit within it.

Kodesh Kodashim was covered in gold

Marble used liberally

Blue tinged marble and tapestries of white, blue, white, scarlet and purple made it look like “The whole vista of the heavens” according to Josephus

The reaction of the rabbinic leaders and the Jews to Herod’s plan.

• The Rabbis and the Jews opposed the construction because– Herod Wanted to integrate Hellenistic ideals into Judaism– Jews weren’t happy about extra taxes levied to pay for the

building– The Jewish people and their Rabbis considered Herod as a

destroyer of their traditional institutions– They viewed him as a murderer of their kings and leaders

and the representative of the foreign government.– He angered those loyal to the Torah.– The Rabbis feared that he would tear it down and not

rebuild it

The rabbinic and Jewish reaction to the completed temple and to Herod.

• Jews thought it was objectively beautiful (as seen by quote above in Bava Basra)

– "One who did not see Herod's Temple missed seeing the most beautiful building in the world. It was constructed entirely of polished granite interspersed with dark-colored marble, with beveled edges, set in plaster. Herod even proposed to fill up the edges with gold; but the Rabbis advised him to abstain from doing so, as the white plaster combined with the granite and marble gave the Temple the appearance of waves of the sea" (Suk. 57b).

• Despite the positive reaction to the beauty of the Temple the Jews were not satisfied because:

– Herod put a pagan eagle from perched on the building– He murdered many prominent Rabbis

• After Herod’s death the Jews were so angry that an open rebellion was started against his heir until the latter lost his throne.

Bibliography Jacobs, Joseph, and Judah David Eisenstein . "TEMPLE IN RABBINICAL LITERATURE."

JewishEncyclopedia.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2010. <www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=127&letter=T#470#ixzz0dxmSAObU>.

Schorr, Yisroel Simcha Schorr. Tractate Succah: The Gemara: The Classic Vilna Edition, . 2 ed. Brooklyn New

York: Mesorah Publications, 2001. Print.

Shimon, Shimon, and Fred Skolnik. "Herod." Encyclopedia Judaica 22 Volume Set. 2 ed. New York: Macmillan, 2006. 31-38. Print.

Spiro , Rabbi Ken. "Crash Course in Jewish History Part 31 - Herod, the Great." Judaism - The Jewish Website . N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2010. <http://www.aish.com/jl/h/48942446.html>.

Weiss, Yosaif Asher. Talmud Bavli: Tractate Bava Basra : The Gemara/the Schottenstein Edition (The Artscroll). 1st ed. New York: Artscroll, 1992. Print.

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