From Power to Ruin: The Hasmonean Downfall

In 67 BCE, 137 years before the destruction of the Second Temple, Queen Salome fell ill for the last time. Her son Aristobulus saw that his brother Hyrcanus, the High Priest, was a spiritual and kind man, fearing he might continue to let Torah scholars rule the kingdom, which didn't sit well with him.

While their mother lay bedridden, Aristobulus went to the Hasmonean fortresses surrounding the land. His first visit was to the fortress of Geva on Mount Gilboa, where he was welcomed by his Gentile friend Galistus. At this fortress, he gathered friends loyal to his father, King Yannai, and took treasures from the Hasmonean vaults hidden in the fortress tunnels. From there, he proceeded to the next fortress. Within two weeks, Aristobulus and his men seized control of 22 key fortresses across the land. With vast wealth and royal treasures in hand, they hired an army from Lebanon and the Trachon region to support them.

Salome, still sharp as ever, immediately detained Aristobulus' wife and son in the Antonia Fortress near the palace as leverage. Yet, before she could act, Queen Salome passed away peacefully at age 73, which was considered quite old at that time. Before her death, she told her son Hyrcanus that she left him with many treasures and the Temple, and trusted he would know how to secure his rule. But sadly, that's not how things unfolded.

Hyrcanus was indeed soft-hearted. Aristobulus knew he wouldn't dare harm his family, so he approached him gently, leading him into Jerusalem and the Temple. There, Aristobulus persuaded him to relinquish the throne and the priesthood. Aristobulus was appointed, and Hyrcanus returned home empty-handed. To ensure safety, Aristobulus proposed that his son marry Hyrcanus' daughter, Princess Alexandra, to which Hyrcanus agreed.

Hyrcanus searched for purpose across the Hasmonean kingdom until he found a confidant named Antipater the Idumean. The previous Hasmonean kings had forcibly converted the Idumeans, making them quasi-Jews or uncertain converts. Antipater, the son of an Idumean governor under King Yannai, found an ally in Hyrcanus, Yannai's son.

Antipater schemed to take over the Kingdom of Judea and convinced the soft-hearted Hyrcanus that his surrender to Aristobulus was a mistake. In Antipater's vision, he saw Hyrcanus, weak of character, seated on the throne with Antipater pulling the strings. Unfortunately, the reality was even worse.

Antipater and Hyrcanus recruited an army of Nabataean Arabs and others. Hyrcanus, although a High Priest, betrayed his people, promising pieces of Eretz Yisrael to Haretat the Nabataean (the ancient Arabs) if he would help him claim the throne. Hyrcanus, along with a massive foreign army, marched into the land and laid siege to Jerusalem. Although Aristobulus leaned towards the Sadducees, he still kept the laws of the Torah, and he and his men offered the daily sacrifice. When the sheep ran out in Jerusalem, Aristobulus called to his brother over the wall, saying, "Brother Hyrcanus, we are all Jews, descendants of Matityahu the righteous High Priest. We have no sheep for the daily offering, upon which the world stands. We cannot stop the daily offering that we are all obligated to. Please, send us sheep, and we will fill your basket with gold in return." Indeed, Hyrcanus did so.

But even here, Hyrcanus was swayed by the prevailing winds, selling out his values and the nation’s holy sacrifices for a pittance. His gentile partners complained: "You are giving sacrifices to your brother, and through this, your God listens to him and does not allow you to win. You must stop." Without waiting for his answer, the next morning, they hoisted a pig in the basket instead of sheep. The sages tell us that when the unclean pig rooted its hooves into the holy Temple wall, the land of Israel quaked from Dan to Beersheba. So quickly did the Hasmoneans reach the depths of disgrace, defiling the Temple with a pig instead of the daily sacrifice! No wonder their fate was sealed for destruction!

Hyrcanus and his gentile allies did not stop there. They brought Choni HaMa'agel and tried to force him to curse Aristobulus' men. Choni replied, "These are your children, and these are your children; do not listen to anyone who asks against their fellow." According to one version, Hyrcanus' men killed him.

Thus, the Hasmonean kingdom deteriorated, about eighty years after it was established. It was governed by heartless and conscience-less people, devoid of a sense of the most basic Jewish values, the Temple, the continual sacrifices, Torah scholars, and bloodshed. At this point, the Romans entered the scene – the destroyers of the Temple, as will be discussed in the next article.