intended to increase the knowledge, interest, and anticipation of the reader, thereby hastening the realization of our hopes and prayers for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Beit HaMikdash.

Menelaus and Beit Bilga
The Mishna reads, "To the north of the Miz- bei'ach were rings, six rows of four each, and some say four rows of six each, at which they slaughtered the animal offerings" (Midot 3:5). And what exactly were these rings? Tif'eret Yisrael explains, "Every Mishmeret had its own special ring, (embedded into the stone floor of the Azara north of the Mizbei'ach) fashioned similar to an arch, which opened on one side on a pivot. They would raise the arch on its pivot and place the neck of the animal under it. Then the ring would be closed and the end attached to the floor thus preventing the animal from moving around…" (Tamid 4:1). (The Kehuna was divided into 24 Mishmarot. Every week, another Mishmeret would serve in the Mikdash; during the Chagim - Pesach, Sukkot, Shavu'ot, Kohanim from all the Mishmarot served.) Previously the Kohanim had used other methods to stabilize the animal for slaughter. These methods so incensed Yochanan Kohein Gadol - John Hyrcanus, the son of Simon, the last Maccabean brother and also Kohein Gadol - that he cried out, "How long will you feed the Mizbei'ach with Neveilot?" (animals killed other than by proper ritual slaughter)". He was afraid that the Kohanim might cause a blemish in the sacrificial animals and unknowingly disqualify them. "He then arose and ordained for them rings set in the ground" (Sota 48a). The earlier unacceptable techniques were then discontinued. Every one of the 24 Mishmarot of the Kehuna was assigned its own ring; however that of Mishmeret Beit Bilga (the 15th of the 24 Mishmarot. I Devrei Hayamim 24:14) was sealed, rendering it useless. The closing of their ring forced the Kohanim of Beit Bilga to use the rings of other Mishmarot. This was a constant reproach to them. Why was the Mishmeret of Beit Bilga penalized in this manner? The Gemara preserves an account redolent of the atmosphere immedi- ately prior to the Maccabean uprising. "Our rabbis taught, 'It happened that Miriam, a daughter of Bilga, became an apostate and married a Greek officer. When the Greeks entered the Sanctuary, she entered with them, stamped with her sandal on the Mizbei'ach and cried out, 'Wolf, wolf, how long will you consume the money of Israel but not stand by them in their hour of need?' When the sages heard that, they sealed up Bilga's ring. Others said that the Kohanim of Beit Bilga used to come late (when it was their turn to serve in the Mikdash) and that they were slovenly when it was their turn to do the Avoda, showing their contempt for the Divine service" (Suka 56b).

But at that time many young Kohanim (and no doubt their families) were guilty of "despising the Temple, and neglecting the sacrifices, hastened to be partakers of the unlawful allowance in the place of exercise… not setting by the honors of their fathers, but liking the glory of the Grecians best of all" (II Mac. 4:12). So were the Kohanim of Beit Bilga the only transgressors? And in fact the Gemara asks whether it was proper to punish an entire Mishmeret because of the misdeeds of one woman. "Do we penalize a father because of the sins of his daughter?"

After the death of Alexander the Great, the corrosive influence of the Greek civilization that had come in his train caused the loyalty of the Jewish people to the Torah and Jewish tradition to weaken. The successors of Alexander dotted Eretz Yisrael with glittering new Greek cities. In certain circles, Yerushayim Ir Hakodesh and the Mikdash was starting to look very dingy by comparison. New winds were blowing through Judea. When Antiochus IV came to the throne, he immediately became embroiled in the religious, cultural and political maelstrom which had come to characterize pre-Maccabean Jerusalem. Antiochus IV (175- 163 BCE) was the first alien ruler to actively interfere with the internal administration of the Beit HaMikdash. Antiochus believed that he could unify and strengthen his polyglot kingdom by spreading Hellenism. This policy met with some success - there are always people anxious to ape foreign customs - but he also met unexpected resistance in Jerusalem and in rural Judea. Antiochus, furious with the Jewish resistance to his Hellenizing policies, and always in need of money, banished the legitimate Kohein Gadol, Onias III, a staunch defender of traditional Judaism, and sold the office to his brother Joshua.

Joshua, who took the name of Greek name Jason, was an enthusiast supporter of Hellenistic culture. While Jason was the candidate supported by the Jewish Hellenists, nevertheless, they were still dissatisfied. They proposed a new candidate for the High Priesthood, the even more extreme Menelaus. "They were desirous to leave the laws of their country, and the Jewish way of living … and to follow the King's laws and the Grecian way of living" (Josephus, Antiquities, 12:5:1). Antiochus IV concurred and replaced Jason with Menelaus who also offered him a substantial bribe. Menelaus fulfilled his monetary obligations to Antiochus by selling off Mikdash vessels. The sycophantic Menelaus 'like a beast of prey in his wrath' (II Mac. 4:25), also acquiesced to Antiochus' plundering of the Temple when he returned from his Egyptian campaign. He "presumed to go into the most holy Temple in the world; Menelaus, that traitor to the laws, and to his own country, being his (Antiochus') guide; and taking the holy vessels with polluted hands… (ibid.) Even the gold on the eastern facade of the Temple was stripped off (I Mac. 1:20-24). Antiochus IV also built the Acra, a powerful citadel dominating Jerusalem and Har Habayit. The Acra, the Acropolis, was more than just a fortress. It was a fortified miniature city containing the local garrison, pagan Syrians and Hellened Jews. In the syncretized Greek fashion of the day, the Mikdash was now dedicated to the Olympian deity Zeus, or perhaps 'Ba'al Shamin' the pagan deity worshipped by the migrant foreigners whom Antiochus had brought in to colonize Jerusalem to replace loyal Jews were forced out of the city. II Maccabees 6 narrates dramatically, "...for the Temple was filled with riot and reveling with gentiles who dallied with harlots… The Altar was also filled with profane things that the law forbids..."

But who and what was Menelaus? In II Mac. 4:23 (the Greek version) he is called a Benjaminite, not even of the seed of Aaron. But none of the numerous allegations made in the literature against Menelaus, implied that he was not a Kohein. In the Latin translation of II Maccabees, which scholars believe is more accurate, Menelaus and his equally culpable family are specifically mentioned as being members of Beit Bilga. As a result of their apostasy, Beit Bilga was in disgrace for a long time. However, Beit Bilga was not abolished because the organization of the priesthood into exactly 24 Mishmarot was held to be sacrosanct and immutable. Many years later, when the Romans burnt the Mikdash, Kohanim of Beit Bilga were among those who, in anguish, cast themselves into the flames (And who can dare presume to judge them?) thus restoring the honor of their House.

Catriel Sugarman gives illustrated lectures on the Beit Hamikdash and related topics. He can be reached at (02) 652-7531 –or– acatriel@netvision.net.il

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