Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit
The Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibition in part with California's Azusa Pacific University has ended, however you can see media, images and other information via the exhibit's website: http://www.deadseascrollsexhibit.com
Monday, May 17, 2010
The Son of the Star
Essay by Henry Noeh
Simon bar Kokhba was the most successful would be Messiah in the Jewish history. With the name meaning “Son of the Star” and the Messianic hopes that the Jews had during those times, Simon bar Kokhba unified all the Jews and led a revolt that would succeed and establish the independent Jewish State. For many years, historians did not write very much about this legendary hero but then, with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the help of archeologists excavating the Dead Sea caves where this hero hid during his final days, we learned that his story is on of glory and martyrdom. If Simon bar Kokhba had succeeded, there is no doubt in my mind that he would have been revered as a great Jewish Messiah and the name Kozeba or “Son of Disappointment” would have never existed.
A person with such status and a story that can rival any legendary heroes, not much is known about the origins of Simon bar Kokhba. It wasn’t until after the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls that we found out bar Kokhba’s real name. Fortunately, because of the Dead Sea Scrolls we can construct an origin or at the very least a hypothesis of what Simon bar Kokhba’s childhood was like and what was it like growing up as a Jew during the times of Roman Rule in Jerusalem and Israel. We know that Simon Bar Kokhba died in 135 C.E. and thanks to the War Scrolls found in the Dead Sea Cave it states that “And the men of the army shall be from forty to fifty years old. The commissioners of the camps shall be from fifty to sixty years old. The officers shall also be from forty to fifty years old” (War Scrolls 1QM, 4Q 491-496). Based on the information given, we can hypothesize that Simon bar Kokhba was between forty to sixty years old when he died and we can that means he was born between 75 – 95 C.E. that puts him in the time of major events in the Jewish history.
Jerusalem had been conquered, the “Great Revolt of the Jews” had failed and now the Romans ruled all. The temple was destroyed and the Jews revolted several more times, each time thousands of Jewish blood stained the ground. Every Roman considered the Jews as an enemy and the level of hostility and mistreatment of the Jews escalated throughout the Roman Empire. At last, the Jews did not have the strength to fight and life was becoming unbearable. It was during this time with the blood and tears of the Jews, Simon bar Kokhba was born. Simon bar Kokhba as a child would have grown up in a environment where he was treated harshly by the Romans and experienced the cruelty the Romans inflicted on the Jews. He would grow up without a doubt, either fearing or hating the Romans.
In 114 C.E. the Romans was at war with the Parthian (Persian Empire) in the east but after initial successes, the Romans suffered series of defeats and was forced to retreat. The Jews from the Parthian Empire fought the Romans using guerrilla tactics and the Jewish communities within the Roman Empire also revolted, during this time Simon bar Kokhba at age around nineteen to thirty-nine could have fought in the war and learned all the skills that was used to defeat the Romans. Now all Simon bar Kokhba needed was a cause big enough to rally all the Jews and prove his skills. Unfortunately, The Romans decimated the Jewish communities of Alexandria, Mesopotamia, Libya, and Cyprus; leaving the Jews without any men to raise an army. Simon bar Kokhba must now wait as the “Kitos War” becomes another tragedy in the Jewish History.
Image Source
In 117 C.E. Rome had a new emperor, his name was Hadrian and he appointed Tinneius Rufus as governor of Jerusalem that lead to a widespread despair and disillusionment. Together, they wanted to transform Jerusalem to a Pagan Hellenistic Polis with a shrine dedicated to Jupiter on top of the Jewish Temple and they outlawed the fundamental commandments of Judaism such as the teaching of Torah, circumcision, and the observance of Sabbath. Nothing could be worse in the eyes of Simon bar Kokhba than to take the holiest spot in the Jewish world and to put a temple of a Roman god in it. Now was the perfect time, the promise of the Messiah was on the minds of the Jews and Simon bar Kokhba a man of tremendous charisma and leadership took up that mantle. It would be during this time period, Simon Bar Kokhba would begin to unite the entire Jewish people around him to organize guerilla forces and gather arms. The Rebels used the underground caverns that can be seen in Beit Guvrin to meet and strategize.
The Roman continued to desecrate Jerusalem and finally in 132 C.E. the tomb of Solomon collapsed because the building of Pagan Temple Jupiter. Simon bar Kokhba can no longer stand idly no more as Jerusalem and the Jewish way of life begins to crumble before his eyes as Solomon’s tomb did. Simon bar Kokhba’s rebellion started small as he seized small towns from the Romans and fortified it with walls and as the clashes with the Romans increased, the rebels inflicted heavy losses to the Romans which spread across the country, cutting off the Roman garrison in Jerusalem. The Messianic hopes that the Jews possessed during those times was fueled by the wisest and holiest of Israel’s Rabbi Akiva, who proclaimed Simon bar Kokhba as the Messiah. Simon bar Kokhba defeated the Romans and established an independent Jewish state that lasted for about two and a half years. During this time Simon bar Kokhba took the title Nasi Israel (Ruler or Prince of Israel) and restored the Jewish way of life. Coins minted during the Simon bar Kokhba’s rule still survive and many artifacts, letters were found in the Dead Sea Caves. Because of his success, Simon bar Kokhba was called the son of the star, Prince of Israel and the Messiah.
Bar Kochba Revolt Coins, 134 - 135 A.D. - Image Source
The Roman Empire now totally humiliated, could not let this be and responded this new threat by sending half of the empires legions and their greatest generals. Among them was Julius Severus, Rome’s greatest general leading the massive force to crush the rebellion but they feared the Jews led by Simon bar Kokhba because they saw them as being willing to die for their faith. Unfortunately Simon bar Kokhba became too arrogant as he saw himself winning and also became corrupted by his power. He even beat his uncle the great Rabbi Elazr Hamodai to death because of the accusations that his uncle was a Roman spy. Due to these faults Simon bar Kokhba began to lose battles and was forced to retreat. Finally Severus did not wage open war, he surrounded the rebels and prevent food supplies from entering. Simon bar Kokhba made his final stand in the city of Betar but surrounded by Romans and their supplies cut off, Simon bar Kokhba and most of the remaining defenders died of starvation on 136 C.E. on the day that coincides with the destruction of the first and second temple.
Simon bar Kokhba’s revolt caused them the most casualties and financial losses than any other people in the history of the Roman Empire. Hadrian and the exhausted Romans fearing another Jewish revolt decided to cut off the Jews connection to their beloved holy land. The Romans in their fury razed 50 fortified towns and 985 villages, killed 580,000 Jews and did not allow the bodies to be buried which was left out in the open to rot. Hadrian renamed Israel to Palestine and exiled all Jews from Jerusalem that was also renamed to Aelia Capitolina, which was named after him. The city was rebuilt as a Pagan Hellenistic Polis with a temple dedicated to Jupiter on top of the old temple as he originally planned. In the end the Jews were crushed and the Romans did everything in their power to make sure they would stay crushed. The Romans wanted to make sure that no Jews were ever in a position to stage another revolt and they succeeded. The Jews were scattered for close to two millennia and the name Simon bar Kokhba was changed to Simon bar Kozeba or “Son of Disappointment”.
In conclusion, I find it strange that a man could be thought of as the Messiah or son of the star and then be named the son of disappointment. Simon bar Kokhba was after all a hero who lead the Jews bravely and set up a Jewish State that lasted two and a half years. Even the great Rabbi Akiva believed and bestowed upon him the title Messiah. I believe that the Jews should honor this hero that was called upon by the fates to do impossibly brave deeds. Thanks to the Dead Sea Scrolls we are learning more and more about this mysterious Simon bar Kokhba and the lifestyles of the Jews and the dead sea sect during their last moments in Israel.
Wise, Michael, Martin Abegg Jr., and Edward Cook. A New Translation: The Dead Sea Scrolls. New York: Harper San Francisco, 2005.
Lawrence H., Schiffman. Reclaiming The Dead Sea Scrolls: Their True Meaning for Judaism and Christianity. New York: Doubleday, 1995.
"Simon bar Kokhba" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. May 16, 2010
“Great Jewish Revolt" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. May 16, 2010
"Kitos War" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. May 16, 2010
"Bar Kokhba Revolt" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. May 16, 2010
"Time-line of Jewish History" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. May 16, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
What Are the Dead Sea Scrolls?
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of about 900 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves in and around the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea in the West Bank.
image via flickr
The texts are of great religious and historical significance, as they include the oldest known surviving copies of Biblical and extra-biblical documents and preserve evidence of great diversity in late Second Temple Judaism. They are written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, mostly on parchment, but with some written on papyrus.[1] These manuscripts generally date between 150 BCE and 70 CE.[2] The scrolls are traditionally identified with the ancient Jewish sect called the Essenes, though some recent interpretations have challenged this association and argue that the scrolls were penned by priests in Jerusalem, Zadokites, or other unknown Jewish groups. (source: wikipedia.com)
The Dead Sea Scrolls are traditionally divided into three groups: "Biblical" manuscripts (copies of texts from the Hebrew Bible), which comprise roughly 40% of the identified scrolls; "Apocryphal" or "Pseudepigraphical" manuscripts (known documents from the Second Temple Period like Enoch, Jubilees, Tobit, Sirach, non-canonical psalms, etc., that were not ultimately canonized in the Hebrew Bible), which comprise roughly 30% of the identified scrolls; and "Sectarian" manuscripts (previously unknown documents that speak to the rules and beliefs of a particular group or groups within greater Judaism) like the Community Rule, War Scroll, Pesher (Hebrew pesher פשר = "Commentary") on Habakkuk, and the Rule of the Blessing, which comprise roughly 30% of the identified scrolls. (source: wikipedia.com)
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