1. What is Shechem?
• Dinah raped • Gift to Joseph’s kids
• Jacob alienated • Burial place for Joseph
• Joseph Sold • Future City of Refuge
• Joshua Reprimands
Nation
Is purchasing land good or bad?

2. Other Purchased Lands
• Hebron
– Purchased from Ephron the Hittite
• Jerusalem
– Purchased from Aruana the Jebusite
• Both purchased after a bad thing

3. • 16 And when the angel stretched out his hand
toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD
repented Him of the evil, and said to the angel
that destroyed the people: 'It is enough; now stay
thy hand.' And the angel of the LORD was by the
threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 18 And
Gad came that day to David, and said unto him:
'Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the
threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.'

4. • 19 And David said: 'To buy the threshing-floor of
thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the
plague may be stayed from the people.' 24 And
the king said unto Araunah: 'Nay; but I will verily
buy it of thee at a price; neither will I offer burnt-
offerings unto the LORD my God which cost me
nothing.' So David bought the threshing-floor and
the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

5. Today
• Har Gerizim houses the Shomronim, the
settlement of Har Bracha, along with other
smaller settlements, and a small army base
• Har Eival houses a large army base

7. Shechem Today
• A Palestinian commercial and cultural center
• Population approximately 126,000
• Terrorism capital of the world
• Bomb factories and shopping malls

10. What about Hebron and Jerusalem?
• Jerusalem is the most fought-over piece of
land in the world
• Hebron – a place of complete hatred between
both sides

11. Jerusalem
• Destruction of two temples
• Crusades
• Every religion in the world has claimed it at
some point
• Today
– Old city has the top three

14. Chanukah- the real story
• Where is Chanukah mentioned?
• Talmud
– Shabbat 21b
– Other passing mentions
• The Book of the Maccabees

15. • What is 'Hanukah? The rabbis taught: "On the twenty-fifth
day of Kislev 'Hanukah commences and lasts eight days, on
which lamenting (in commemoration of the dead) and fasting
are prohibited. When the Hellenists entered the sanctuary,
they defiled all the oil that was found there. When the
government of the House of Asmoneans prevailed and
conquered them, oil was sought (to feed the holy lamp in the
sanctuary) and only one vial was found with the seal of the
high priest intact. The vial contained sufficient oil for one day
only, but a miracle occurred, and it fed the holy lamp eight
days in succession. These eight days were the following year
established as days of good cheer, on which psalms of praise
and acknowledgment (of God's wonders) were to be recited.
• Mentioned in the middle of a discussion about Shabbat lights

16. Why not mentioned in Talmud?
• 2 theories
– Everyone knew the story anyway (recent memory)
– Didn’t want to annoy the Romans
– Talmud was written during exile and occupation

17. The Book of the Maccabees
• Original Hebrew lost
• Only Greek remains
• Not part of the Jewish Bible
• Religiously insignificant
• Historical Value

18. Where can we find it today?
• Septuagint Story (Megillah 9)
• It happened to Ptolemy the king that he took
seventy-two elders from Jerusalem, and placed them
in seventy-two separate chambers, and did not
inform them to what purpose he had brought them.
And afterward he entered to each of them, and said
to them: Translate me the Torah of Moses from
memory. And the Holy One, blessed be He, sent into
the heart of each of them a counsel, and they all
agreed to have one mind, and changed as follows:
• Around this same time, everything else was
translated

19. Ptolemy,
Book of a Greek
Maccabees King, orders
written Everything
translated
Book Rome
re-translated conquers
back to Greece
Hebrew from Greek and Israel
Book of
Maccabees
Christianity
canonized
Spreads to
by Catholics in
Roman Empire
Latin and then
English

20. • 1: In those days arose Mattathias the son of John, the son of
Simeon, a priest of the sons of Joarib, from Jerusalem, and
dwelt in Modin.
• 60: And so it was, that Joseph and Azaras were put to flight,
and pursued unto the borders of Judea:
• 66: From thence he removed to go into the land of the
Philistines, and passed through Samaria.
• 68: So Judas turned to Azotus in the land of the Philistines,
and when he had pulled down their altars, and burned their
carved images with fire, and spoiled their cities, he returned
into the land of Judea.

21. Maccabees Fought Here!!

25. • 18: Therefore whereas we are now purposed to keep the
purification of the temple upon the five and twentieth day of
the month Casleu, we thought it necessary to certify you
thereof, that ye also might keep it, as the feast of the
tabernacles, and of the fire, which was given us when
Neemias offered sacrifice, after that he had builded the
temple and the altar.
19: For when our fathers were led into Persia, the priests that
were then devout took the fire of the altar privily, and hid it in
an hollow place of a pit without water, where they kept it
sure, so that the place was unknown to all men.
20: Now after many years, when it pleased God, Neemias,
being sent from the king of Persia, did send of the posterity of
those priests that had hid it to the fire: but when they told us
they found no fire, but thick water;

26. • 21: Then commanded he them to draw it up, and to
bring it; and when the sacrifices were laid on,
Neemias commanded the priests to sprinkle the
wood and the things laid thereupon with the water.
22: When this was done, and the time came that the
sun shone, which afore was hid in the cloud, there
was a great fire kindled, so that every man
marvelled.
23: And the priests made a prayer whilst the sacrifice
was consuming, I say, both the priests, and all the
rest, Jonathan beginning, and the rest answering
thereunto, as Neemias did.

27. • 43: So the thirteenth day of the month Adar the hosts joined
battle: but Nicanor's host was discomfited, and he himself was
first slain in the battle.
44: Now when Nicanor's host saw that he was slain, they cast
away their weapons, and fled.
45: Then they pursued after them a day's journey, from Adasa
unto Gazera, sounding an alarm after them with their trumpets.
46: Whereupon they came forth out of all the towns of Judea
round about, and closed them in; so that they, turning back
upon them that pursued them, were all slain with the sword,
and not one of them was left.
47: Afterwards they took the spoils, and the prey, and smote off
Nicanors head, and his right hand, which he stretched out so
proudly, and brought them away, and hanged them up toward
Jerusalem.
48: For this cause the people rejoiced greatly, and they kept
that day a day of great gladness.
49: Moreover they ordained to keep yearly this day, being the
thirteenth of Adar.

28. What else happened in Adar?
• Purim!!!
• 8 And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus: 'There is a certain
people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in
all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse
from those of every people; neither keep they the king's laws;
therefore it profiteth not the king to suffer them.

29. • 13 And letters were sent by posts into all the
king's provinces, to destroy, to slay, and to
cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old,
little children and women, in one day, even
upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month,
which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil
of them for a prey.
• But…

30. • 1 Now in the twelfth month, which is the month
Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the
king's commandment and his decree drew near to be
put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the
Jews hoped to have rule over them; whereas it was
turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over
them that hated them; 2 the Jews gathered
themselves together in their cities throughout all the
provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such
as sought their hurt; and no man could withstand
them; for the fear of them was fallen upon all the
peoples. 3 And all the princes of the provinces, and
the satraps, and the governors, and they that did the
king's business, helped the Jews; because the fear of
Mordecai was fallen upon them.

31. Today…
• Customary not to travel or undergo surgeries
during the first 9 days of Av
• Business transactions
• Especially the few days preceding the 9th