#hasmonean

[girlactionfigure]

[ljf613]

Song of the Day 12/8/23: "Hasmonean (A Hamilton Hanukkah)" - The Maccabeats

How does a Hasmonean, son of a priest And a Hebrew, raised in a village with his four brothers In a Judean province ruled by pompous king Antiochus Under pressure, grow up to be a hero and commander?

[magicalmonsterhero]

Hasmonean

Happy first night of Hanukkah!

[imperium-romanum]

The 2,000-year-old synagogue at Gamla, the oldest yet found in Israel.

Under a burning sun, I climb a rocky basalt ridge on the Golan Heights, surrounded by deep gorges, high......

“As I approach the top, I understand why the first century BCE settlers were inspired to name this steep hill Gamla, the narrow-pointed hill really resembles the hump-backed desert animal. In Aramaic, the word Gamla means camel (in Hebrew gamal), the language spoken by the inhabitants during this period.”

“The Hasmonean ruler Alexander Yannaeus founded the city in the first century BCE and it continued to be inhabited by Jews. Flavius Josephus was captain of the Galilee regiment at Gamla, he gave us a very detailed topographical description of the city, and describes the siege under the command of Vespasian. The Romans attempted to take the city by means of a ramp but were turned back by the defenders. Sadly, they succeeded on the second attempt by penetrating the fortifications.”

Full article

[zchug]

Part 221: Friday 14th July 1967, approx 7.30 p.m.

Gave my drooshe today on Parshes Bollok (sic – but I pronounced it Bay-lack and Bullock (first syllable as in “but”)). Tony Brown said he’d never had any trouble with Parshes Bollock. The double entendre was new to Meyer; I notice he pronounced it Boòleck yesterday morning. Strange, I spent literally months thinking what form I should give the drooshe, trying to draw topical analogies. In the…

[zchug]

Part 211: Monday, 17th April 1967, 9.30 p.m.

Term ended on Friday with no mishaps. The reports which I twice thought would be lost, turned up, and Stanton signed without comment. Two open evenings. Rather moving, the concern shown by parents in their kids. Some parents’ remarks rather revealing – Mr X never seems to give them homework, Mr Y is regularly drunk (one had heard something to this effect about Mr Y from the kids, but had not…

[zchug]

Part 210: Monday 3rd April 1967 410.30 pm

My drooshe went down well. Perhaps I will copy it out here if I get a chance. On the morning I deviated slightly from script. Stanton [headmaster] said “Excellent”, and there were plenty of Yishor Koach’s [“congratulations!”]. Again, Meno Male. Sam B. [teacher and cousin] was conspicuous by his non-reference to my drooshe, but he told me that he disapproved of lay staff preaching, in principle,…

[zchug]

Part 209: Sunday 26th March 1967 4 pm (continued)

I have committed myself to giving a drooshe [sermon] at next Friday’s assembly – every Friday a volunteer master talks about the next day’s sidra [weekly Torah portion]. My sidra is Shemini which concerns itself with sacrifices or impurities or something and – what I shall talk about – the dietary laws in Lev XI. Can I pick holes in them! I suppose the main objection is that it is disgraceful…