SHEYIBANEH BEIT HAMIKDASH...
A series of articles on Beit HaMikdash-related topics by Catriel Sugarman 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.

King Herod "the Great" (40-4 BCE)
The distinguished historian Doron Mendles wrote, "On the whole, Herod's Hellenistic side comes much more to the fore than his Jewish one, and the attempts of some scholars to emphasize his Jewish facets have not been very successful. Later Jewish tradition thoroughly denigrated him (except for his initiative in building the Temple), which shows that in the mind of many Jews, he never was really "king of the Jews." His rule was backed by the Greeks settled in Eretz Yisrael by Alexander the Great and his Ptolemaic and the Seleucids successors, his army of mercenaries - which was largely though not completely - non Jewish, his network of military strongholds, superficially Judaized Edomites, his Diaspora connections and the threat of Roman intervention on his behalf. With the exception of a few sycophants, the indigenous Jewish population detested him. The founder of many pagan cities, Herod strengthened the Greco-Roman element in Eretz Yisrael thereby tightening the Roman grip on the land. As much as possible, he relied up on the friendship and support of non-Jews. His confidant was the Spartan adventurer Eurycles, his generals were non-Jews, probably Roman. He appointed numerous Hellenized eunuchs - anathema to Jews - to important administrative positions in his government; other positions were given to members of his own family or fellow Edomites. His Kohanim Gedolim came from priestly families in Bavel or Alexandria and therefore they had no local power base. (The only one of Herod's Kohanim Gedolim - he appointed and dismissed seven of them - who came from Eretz Yisrael held office for one day!) The noted historian F.E. Peters notes, "Seen through Jewish eyes, Herod's measures appear as harsh and oppressive as those of Antiochus Epiphanes, and indeed, the two men operated from similar premises. Like Epiphanes and… the Romans, Herod equated Hellenism with economic prosperity. He attempted to spread Hellenism…by a magnificent building program, and as Augustus prided himself on the restorations of temples belonging to local religious cults, so Herod embarked on the rebuilding on a grandiose scale of the temple of Jerusalem." Even the Sages who hated Herod admitted, "He who has not seen the temple of Herod has never seen a beautiful building.'" (Baba Batra 4a).

Known in history as a master builder, Herod "was… the most barbarous of tyrants who ever sat on a throne. He had slain men innumerable, and the lot of those which survived made them envy those who were slain. He not only tortured his subjects individually but oppressed entire cities …" (Wars II 6:2). Hearing of Herod's butchery of his family members, the Emperor Augustus (no milksop himself) commented, "It would be better to be Herod's pig than his son." For all the external splendor of his regime, he was well aware that the Jewish inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael despised him as the "Edomite slave". Josephus describes patriots who were hidden in the caves. "A certain aged Galilean… had seven sons and when they obeyed Herod's command and left their cave, he (Herod) stood at the entrance and killed them one by one; and when Herod held out his hand to the old man and promised not to punish him, the old man only reviled Herod for his Edomite origin and threw himself over the precipice" (Wars 1:15/6). The horror generated by Herod's reign of terror against his Jewish subjects is all too redolent in the Gemara's narration of how Herod came to refurbish the Beit HaMikdash. Herod wanted to know, "Who are they who teach, 'From the midst of thy brethren thou shalt set up a king over thee" (D’varim 17:15)? The Sages! He therefore arose and killed all the Sages, sparing however Baba ben Buta, that he take might council of him. He placed on his head a garland of hedgehog bristles and blinded him. One day (Herod) came and sat before him and said, 'See what this wicked slave does… I want you to curse him. Baba ben Buta replied, "…Even in your thoughts, you should not curse a king" (Kohelet 10:20). Said Herod, "But this is no king." He replied, "Even he only be a rich man, it is written. 'And in your bed chamber, do not curse the rich'" (ibid.) …Continuing his entrapping efforts, "Herod replied, 'This applies only to one who acts as one of 'thy people'. (The Sage) replied, 'I am afraid of him." But Herod replied, 'We are alone, there is only the two of us.' He replied, 'For a bird of the heaven shall carry the voice and that which has wings shall tell the matter' (ibid.). Herod then said, 'I am Herod. Had I known that the Sages were so circumspect, I would not have killed them. Now tell me what amends I can make." Baba ben Buta told him that since he "extinguished" the light of the world by killing the Sages, he should "attend to the light of the world" - and restore the Beit HaMikdash - of which it is written, "And all the nations will become enlightened by it…." (Yeshiyahu 2:2). For once Herod was as good as his word. In consultation with the Kohanim, he refurbished the Mikdash without disturbing the Divine Avoda.

Fat and repulsive, the once handsome Herod approached his death. "…a fire glowed within him (which) augmented his pains inwardly… for it brought upon him a vehement appetite to eating… His entrails also had ulcers, and the chief violence of his pain lay on his colon; an aqueous and transparent liquor had also settled itself around his feet, and a like matter afflicted him at the bottom of his belly. Further his genitals were rotting and produced worms; and when he sat upright, he had a difficulty of breathing, which was very loathsome, on account of the stench of his breath… he also had convulsions in all parts of his body…" (Antiquities 17:6;4). Reconciled to his coming death, "he contrived the following wicked designs. He commanded the principle men of the entire Jewish nation, wherever they lived, should be called to him. Accordingly, there were a great number who came, because the whole nation was called… and death was the penalty as such who despised the letters that were sent to them… and when they were come, he ordered them to be all shut up in the hippodrome… and thus he spoke 'I shall die in a little time… but what troubles me is this, that I shall die without being lamented, and without such mourning as men usually expect at a king's death." He ordered that "as soon as he gave up the ghost, they shall place soldiers around the hippodrome… (and) have those in custody shot with darts (and that way), he shall have the honor of a memorable morning at his funeral…" Some cynics thought that the old butcher had an additional and equally sinister motive. These people thought that Herod's design was to impress his Roman masters with the popularity of his house and thereby ensure their support when his son Archelaus stepped forward to claim the throne. In a furtive manner, he assumed that the Romans would not investigate the cause of the lamentations too closely, and even if they did, the slaughter of a few thousand more Jews would not upset them unduly. Josephus summarizes Herod's character. "Now anyone may discover the temper of this man's mind, which not only took pleasure in doing what he had done formerly against his relations… but by those commands of his which savored of no humanity; since he took care, when he was departing out of this life, that the whole nation should be put into mourning… when he gave order that one out of every family should be killed, although they had done nothing that was unjust. (Antiquities 17:6;6).

Catriel's book in progress: The Temple of Jerusalem, A Pilgrims Prospective; A Guided Tour through the Temple and the Divine Service