The Maccabean Playbook
For hundreds of years, the Jews of antiquity lived under the rule of various empires, including the Babylonians, the Persians, the Hellenistic kingdoms of Egypt and Syria, the Romans, and their Christian successors. Throughout this long period, they seldom rebelled, even when provoked.
In this context of Yehud's subservience to great powers, the Maccabean revolt, the subsequent Hasmonean independent state, and the expansion of the Jewish nation beyond the narrow frontiers of Yehud were unique events in Jewish life.
That is, until the creation of the Third Jewish Commonwealth in the 20th century.
The Hasmonean period lasted a hundred years. From the victory over the Seleucids in 164 B.C.E. to the Romans' entry into Jerusalem in 63 B.C.E.
Two thousand years later, the Jewish people face the same opportunities and challenges as the Hasmoneans did.
The “Maccabees” were the spiritual and ideological heirs of Nehemiah, the Jewish Persian governor who, almost three hundred years earlier, had inserted ritual ethnicity into politics.
The Jewish culture promoted by this priestly-warrior family was founded on a totalitarian structure based on the conviction that every aspect of life should be governed by the mandates of a transcendent law as interpreted by their community.
The Hasmoneans' restoration of complete sovereignty did not unify the nation but rather exacerbated sectarian strife, eventually leading to a civil war.
Comparing these two independent states is, without a doubt, unavoidable. Ultimately, Judaism is the product of the accumulated experiences of the Jewish people. Understanding what has been learned, or should have been learned, and how those lessons are applied elucidates both the strengths and weaknesses of Judaism.
True, the “props” differ, but the scene, plot, and characters appear to be quite similar. It could be argued that this should not surprise anybody since it is widely known that history repeats itself.
Voltaire, however, explained the misconception away.
"History never repeats itself; man always does.”
