Are Jews innately unique
This write up attempts to explain why Haman planned for genocide whereas the Greeks opted for religious suppression
As reflected in the differing formulations of al hanissim for Purim and Chanuka respectively, Haman was out for Jewish blood whereas Antiochus was for eradicating Jewish rites and rituals.
Practically speaking, Judaism would have been a relic of the past had either of them had their way.
That different approaches were employed may have been a function of most Jews having been religiously observant during the Purim story as opposed to during the Chanukah story when most were already hellenized—easier to annihilate a people than to get them all to change their ways as opposed to by the Chanukah where only a minority were still practicing it made more sense to just stamp out what remaining observance there was than to exterminate an already mostly hellenized nation.
Perhaps a more philosophical approach can be suggested:
There's a well known divide amongst Jewish thinkers as to if Jews are intrinsically different than non Jews.
R Yehuda Halevi and the more mystically inclined school are of the opinion that the Inyan Eloki—which allows for nevuah—is limited to Jews descending from a specific ancestral line only.
Rambam and his camp do not differentiate between Jews and non-Jews in any inherent way rather it is ones beliefs and actions that determine ones jewishness.
As the Purim story is set in 5th century bce Persia and is so named after the lottery (pur) that Haman cast to determine the most opportune time to annihilate the Jews they were perhaps of a more mystical pursuasion and may have adopted a position of inherent jewish differentness.
The Greeks in the 2nd century bce had a more rational perspective and therefore did not differentiate between Jews and non Jews on any fundamental level.
Their solutions to the Jewish problem corresponded with their beliefs.
Haman needed to wipe out this metaphysically different human, anything less would allow for its essential character to eventually reassert itself.
Whereas the Greeks were fine with only stamping out Jewish observance. They were not concerned with some latent pintele yid coming to the fore as for them all humans are merely rational animals.
Are you implying that the Rambam is wrong, or that the Greeks were right?
ReplyDeleteNeither, I'm suggesting that their universalism may help explain their selection of religious persecution as the preferred method for dealing with the Jews.
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