> Also: Assideans (anc. sect); Hasideans (rel. sect. 4/3 cent., Er. Isr.); Hasidim >(rel. sect. 4/3 cent., Er. Isr.)
> HASSIDEANS (Assideans; Greek form of Hebrew Hasidim; "pious ones"), religious group >or sect which originated in about the third or fourth century B.C.E. It centered >around the revival and promotion of Jewish rites, study of the Law, and the uprooting >of paganism from the land. The date of origin cannot be known with certainty. The >Hassideans are first mentioned by name during the persecutions of Antiochus IV >(Ephiphanes), king of Syria (175–164 B.C.E.), when its members joined the Maccabean >opposition led by Mattathias in his revolt against the Syrians. They formed the >nucleus of the Maccabean revolt and refused to compromise in any way with the >Hellenizing policy of the Syrians. The Hassideans were exposed to torture and death >for their refusal to desecrate the Sabbath and other Jewish observances. In I >Maccabees 2:41 it is recorded that they were "mighty men in Israel... such as were >devoted to the Law." In I Maccabees 4 they are described as welcoming peace with the >Syrians when the latter offered them assurances of religious liberty. The Hassideans >ceased to cooperate with the Hasmoneans (the successors of Judah the Maccabee) in >their fight for political independence. > Certain references to the Hasidim are found in the Psalms (12:2, 30:5, 31:24, 38:28, >et al.), but it is doubtful that these accounts refer to the Hassideans. The passages >speak of the efforts of the Hassideans to observe the Law, their persecutions by >their adversaries, and their struggles against their enemies. References to Hasidim >in the Mishnah and the Talmud (Ber. 5:1, Hag. 2:7, Sot. 3:4, Avot 5:10 and Nid. 17a) >may refer to the Hassideans or merely to pious individuals of a later period. The >Talmud refers to the strict observance of the commandments by Hasidim, to their >ardent prayers, which they would not renounce even at the risk of their lives, and to >their rigid observance of the Sabbath. Because of their meticulous observances the >Hassideans have been linked with the Essenes, but scholarly consensus places them as >the spiritual forerunners of the Pharisees. > [Menahem Mansoor] > -- Be-ahavah oo-ve-shalom oo-ve-emet, Ethel Jean Saltz Mac(hiavelli)-Niet(zsche)-Spin(oza)-Gal(ileo), 392 A.G. (after Galileo) mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For private reply, e-mail to ethel jean saltz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from Orion, e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: "unsubscribe Orion." Archives are on the Orion Web site, http://orion.mscc.huji.ac.il. (PLEASE REMOVE THIS TRAILOR BEFORE REPLYING TO THE MESSAGE)
