The priesthood as you did not know it - Chapter XNUMX: The priesthood deals with clothes

King Agrippa, the grandson of Herod, who ruled Judea between 37 and 46 AD, divided the role of high priest among several people * Dr. Yechiam Shurk was a guest today (Fri. May 8, 2009) on Dov Elboim's show "Mekbal Shabbat" on Channel One and told about The Priesthood and Bar-Kochva in preparation for LJ B'Omer. Rebroadcast tonight

The previous list was signed at the exchange of the priesthood during the time of the commissioner Vitellius, and here immediately after Joseph ben Mattathias tells that the same Vitellius took the high priesthood from Jonathan and gave it to his brother Theophilus. It was after his war with the Nabatim and during a noble course for him, when he prevented his army from passing through Judea because of the iconin (the insignia - the symbols of the legions, the flags of the past) in order not to hurt the feelings of the Jews. And Joseph ben Mattathias relates that Vitellius, Herod Antipas, and his friend went up to Jerusalem to make a sacrifice to God, and that the people received Vitellius with great pomp and show, and while they were there for three days, Vitellius performed the male exchange in the High Priesthood, probably under the pressure of the public and with his consent.

Between the years 37 and 46 CE, a new king was crowned in Judea, with the consent of the Romans and on their behalf, and he is none other than the grandson of Herod and his name is Agrippa ben Aristobulus (grandson of Herod and Miriam the Hasmonean). Agrippa was educated in his youth in Rome and was accepted by the imperial household. The people of Judah loved him very much, both because of his origin and attribution and because of his positive actions. Agrippa, for example, tried with all his might to convey the evil of the decree of Emperor Caligula, who demanded to place his statue in the temple in Jerusalem. Agrippa eased the burden of taxes, made Jerusalem the city of his kingdom and strengthened its position.

From Sheba to Jerusalem from Rome via Alexandria he offered thanksgiving sacrifices in the temple, settled some administrative matters there, including - "Agrippa transferred Theophilus ben Hanan from the high priesthood and distributed the honorable office of that to Shimon ben Baytus, who had a nickname - Kanthera. Shimon had two brothers and a father, Baytus, whose daughter King Herod married... The priesthood therefore belonged to Shimon together with his brother and his father, just as it was before during the reign of the Macedonians... to the three sons of Shimon ben Hishonio" (Yosef ben Mattathias, The Antiquities of the Jews 298, 297- XNUMX). There was a precedent for this move, but in the historical context of those days it was definitely considered an exception. That is, the division of the position of the high priesthood between several officials. This move was accepted with understanding among the Jewish public, although it automatically shrunk the prestige of the High Priesthood. It is likely that the people did not object to this due to the high esteem they attributed to Agrippa. In any case, this step reflects the strengthening of Agrippa's power with the approval of the Roman commissioner.

Moreover, this move generally reflected the weakening of the power of the High Priesthood after the death of Herod, whose fingerprints are not felt at all on the unfolding of the various events in Judea. Only a very short period of time passed and Agrippa again transferred the high priesthood from Shimon Kantheira to Yonatan ben Hanan (who preceded him), "and admitted that he was more worthy of this honorable office. However, Yonatan ben Hanan did not see (in this) anything of joy, to return and take this position of honor, and he refused saying the following: 'I am happy for the honor that I have been honored by you, the king, and I keep in my heart this gift that you have given me, even though that God did not consider me at all worthy of a high priesthood. Harini is satisfied with the fact that I once wore the holy garment, since I wrapped myself in it at that time in a more holy way than I wear it again now. And if you wish that he who is worthy of me should now receive the gift, go forth and learn: my brother is pure from all sin before God and before the king. Harini advises him that he is worthy of this honorable position. The king was happy about these things and treated Jonathan with reverence for his decision, and gave his brother Matthias the priesthood" (Kedmoniot Ha'Yudeim 316, 313-XNUMX).

How can Yonatan ben Hanan's refusal be justified? Are we offended that he was once dismissed (albeit by the Roman commissioner in Syria) and now asked to return to the priestly position? Is it because he feels that the job is becoming empty? Did he feel that Agrippa was embarrassed about the appointment? Did he ask to promote his brother in this field? There is no telling. The rejection in any case does not indicate the proper status of the priesthood. And as if to confirm these assumptions, Joseph ben Matthew tells that Agrippa transferred Matthias from his service and she handed it over to Elioeini ben Kantheira (the nickname of Shimon ben Beitos).

The issue of the high priest's vestment comes up again after the death of Agrippa. At the time when he arrived from Rome the commissioner Cospius Padus to serve in Judea (44 AD). He summoned the high priests and the heads of Jerusalem to him "and advised them" (according to the softened wording of Josephus ben Mattathias, considering the "Don Corleone proposal") to once again deposit the high priest's long coat and vestments in the Citadel of Antonia for Roman custody as it was before. This directive was, so it seems, on the opinion of the Syrian Commissioner Cassius Longinus. This time an anti-Roman Jewish front stood up and asked to send a protest to the emperor and a demand to return the garment to its place. The young Agrippa, the son of the deceased Agrippa, who had friendly relations with the emperor Claudius, also enlisted in this request, and the matter came to a good end, as far as the Jews were concerned. This time, unusually, Claudius sent a letter to the leadership of Jerusalem (although the letter ignored the presence of the High Priesthood, which shows the great erosion of its position) in which he promises to return both the garment and the tiara to Jewish custody. The letter also states that its wording will also be sent to Commissioner Yehuda Fados.

At the same time and in the same context, Herod asked Chalcis, the brother of Agrippa I, from Claudius the emperor, to be responsible for the temple and the funds for the endowments and the election of the high priests. He took advantage of the fact of the death of Agrippa, who was responsible for the temple, the appointment of the priests and the endowment funds, which created a religious-ritual problem of political significance. His request was answered in the affirmative and it was kept for him and his sons after him until the destruction of the house during the great rebellion (70 CE). Herod took advantage of the Roman approval (when the emperor Claudius assumed that the approval might serve the Roman interests) and transferred Kanthera from the priesthood and placed Joseph Ben Kemi under him. This move was intended to soften the relationship between the Jews and the Romans, the one that worsened from time to time and would later fuel the outbreak of the Great Revolt. Herod wanted to maintain the management of the temple and the functionaries within it, otherwise the possibility of an immediate rebellion would become certain. However, it was clear that Herod's management of the temple aroused resentment among the Jewish public in Jerusalem both because of Herod's origin and because of his distance from Jerusalem.
Herod of Chalkis exercised his position and transferred Yosef ben Kami from the high priesthood and appointed Hananiah ben Nadavi in ​​his place.

During the time of the Roman Emperor Claudius there was a turning point in the leadership of Judah in the form of the rise of the young Agrippa, a member of the Hasmonean and Herodian families, after the death of Herod of Chalkis, in 41 CE. Agrippa the Younger, who has since been called Agrippa II, was therefore the king of Judah under the permission of the Romans until the year 44 CE. His period, about which there is almost no information, constitutes an era of a buffer between the period of the first Roman commission and the second commission. At the same time, sharp conflicts were going on between Jews and Samaritans over the murder of Galilean pilgrims who passed through the Samaria area on their way to Jerusalem. Zealot groups decided in response to "close accounts" with the Samaritans. The zealots, led by Elazar ben Dini, raided Samaritan villages in the Aqraba region near Caesarea, slaughtered their inhabitants and set the villages on fire. The Syrian commissioner Quadratus orders the rioters to be eliminated "and the men of Hananiah the high priest and the strategist Hanan he imprisoned and sent to Rome, so that they will be judged before Claudius the emperor for their deeds" (The Jewish Antiquities, 131, XNUMX). This move presents, perhaps for the first time since the Roman conquest, the high priesthood as involved in acts of subversion and rebellion. In his book "Wars of the Jews" Joseph ben Matthieu says that together with Hananiah, Jonathan, who was a high priest and the son of Hananiah - Hanan, was rushed to Rome. This description, which is missing in the "Jewish Antiquities" sheds interesting light on several points: first - two high priests functioned, perhaps unusually, lest in the Roman "separate and rule" examination, or it is a male exchange in the priesthood, which has become clear to us throughout the period in question; Second - Hanan, the "Strategus" (according to the "Ancestors of the Jews"), that is - he holds a senior administrative position with the permission of the Romans, he is the son of the high priest (to teach about strengthening the status of the priesthood), and therefore the commissioner was shocked by the fact that this official supported the harsh moves against the Samaritans .

Here it is appropriate to mention in this context the following archaeological find: a fragment of the lid of a sarcophagus (coffin) was discovered with an inscription in square script, a script characteristic of the days of the Second Temple, probably between 30 and 70 CE, with an inscription: "... son of the high priest ". This is an affluent and prestigious area, where many priests lived. According to tradition, it was customary to pass the staff of the high priesthood from father to son, unless the high priest was childless, or his firstborn son was a minor, or a senior personality, as we saw above, would interfere in the aforementioned succession process. It is not known which personality was buried in the sarcophagus. His belonging to the status of the great priesthood is definitely interesting.

From this period the great priesthood goes and deteriorates while discussing its dimensions, and about that in the following list.

The series of articles "The Priesthood You Didn't Know" by Dr. Yehiam Sorek

• Part I - the end of the First Temple and the exile in Babylon
• Part II - Return to Zion
• Part III - The Hellenistic period
• Part XNUMX - The priesthood in Marumiya
• Part XNUMX - The priesthood makes muscles
• Part XNUMX - Matthew turns over in his grave
• Part XNUMX - The priesthood begins to lose height
• Part VIII - The reign of Hyrcanus
• Part IX - Herod stirs up the priesthood
• Part XNUMX - The Priesthood and the Christian Jesus
• Part XNUMX - There is life after Herod