The Hanukkah Queen Who Saved the Jews

The story of Hanukkah is one of the best-known in Jewish history: how a small group of faithful Jews, led by the Maccabees, revolted against their Hellenist Greek rulers during the years 167-160 BCE, and restored the Temple in Jerusalem to Jewish worship once again.

Their unlikely military victory and the miracle of a single jug of oil burning in the Temple’s golden Menorah for eight days are celebrated during the holiday of Hanukkah. Less known is what came next.

The “Maccabee” brothers (named after one brother, Judas Maccabeus) established the Hasmonean royal dynasty that ruled the Jewish kingdom of Judea for over 200 years. Far from presiding over a peaceful nation, the Hasmonean rulers were mercurial, autocratic, and ruled a land continually on the brink of civil war. It fell to Queen Salome Alexandra - also known as Shlomit Alexandra and as Shlomzion - to stand up to some of the most terrifying dictators imaginable, champion traditional Judaism, and restore peace to Judea.

Queen Salome Alexandra, 141 - 67 BCE

A key fact that’s often ignored in telling the Hanukkah story is that many Jews at the time embraced a Hellenist lifestyle, worshiping Greek deities and embracing Greek values. Within a generation of the Hanukkah miracle, the Jewish community was again riven into factions, most notably the Sadducees, who rejected the Talmud and many Jewish elements of a traditional Jewish lifestyle and who dominated the ruling classes, and the Pharisees who clung to Jewish traditions and lifestyles.

Queen Salome and her Wicked Husband

Queen Salome was born into a prominent scholarly family and married into royalty. She possessed incredible courage and calmness. Salome’s brother was Shimon ben Shetach, one of Judea’s most renowned rabbis and a champion of the Pharisee cause. When it became too dangerous for her brother to remain in Judea because of Sadducee persecution, Queen Salome hid him, as well as other rabbinic allies of traditional Judaism.

At great risk, Queen Salome hid her brother Shimon ben Shetach, as well as other rabbinic allies of traditional Judaism.

Salome’s first husband, Judah Aristobulus I, was a grandson of Simon the Maccabee, and ascended the throne in 103 BCE.  A paranoid leader with delusions of grandeur, Judah Aristobulus imprisoned his brothers and his mother, who starved to death in jail. He declared himself the first King of Israel since the destruction of the First Temple 500 years before (when the Kingdom of Israel was lost), and embarked on wars with Judah’s neighbors.

At a time of intense conflict between the upper-class Sadducees, who controlled the daily worship in the Temple in Jerusalem, and the more pious Pharisees, who had no such power, Judah Aristobulus allied himself with the Sadducees. He must have been a terrifying, mercurial ruler to oppose, yet Queen Salome used her power to alter his will in every way she could. The few historical records we have of her life describe her as standing in staunch opposition to his tyranny.

Executing Rabbis

After Judah Aristobulus’ death, Salome married his brother Alexander Jannai, who crowned himself King Jannai and outdid his brother in mercurial cruelty. Once again, Salome used her position to alter royal decrees that threatened traditional Judaism.

During the holiday of Sukkot, King Jannai insisted on serving as High Priest in the Temple.  When the time came to pour water on the Temple altar, he shocked the populace by pouring the water on his own feet instead, seemingly implying that he ought to be worshiped. The ensuing outcry sparked a riot that led to widespread civil unrest, pitting traditional Jews against their Sadducee Jewish neighbors. King Jannai took advantage of the turmoil by having most of Israel’s rabbinic leaders executed; many of those he failed to kill fled to safety in Egypt. He also disbanded the Sanhedrin, the Jewish supreme court, and replaced it with Sadducee judges loyal to him.

Queen Salome used her royal position to reverse these brutal decrees. The Talmud recounts a watershed meal the royal couple ate together. “King Jannai and the Queen ate bread together. And since Jannai executed the Sages, there was no one to recite the Grace after Meals.” Queen Salome had a suggestion: “Swear to me that if I bring you such a man, you will not harass him.” King Jannai swore, and Queen Salome fetched her own brother, Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach, from hiding (Talmud Berachot 48a).

Restoration

With her brother restored to his rightful position as a Jewish leader, and with King Jannai often away fighting in foreign wars, Queen Salome did all she could to promote the Pharisee cause, eventually restoring the Sanhedrin itself. Under her reign, Rabbi Shimon, along with Rabbi Joshua ben Gamla, instituted a rule that became a model of Jewish life for thousands of years, mandating that each town and city set up Jewish schools to educate all the local children, teaching poor children for free if they could not afford tuition.

Salome Alexandra gained the popular Hebrew moniker Shlomzion, meaning “Peace of Zion,” from her grateful populace.

She was opposed at every turn by her husband, who often reversed her popular decrees from afar, but Queen Salome kept trying, legislating traditional Jewish life back into Judean law. Her very name became a testament to her beloved stature. Known as Salome Alexandra during much of her life, she gained the popular Hebrew moniker Shlomzion, meaning “Peace of Zion,” from her grateful populace.

Queen Salome continued to reign after King Jannai’s death in 76 BCE. The nine years she ruled alone were among the most prosperous in ancient Judea’s history. She strengthened Israel’s military, built fortresses, and oversaw a period of peace and prosperity. The Talmud describes the years of her rule as a time when “rain invariably fell for them on Wednesday eves and on Shabbat eves (times when the Talmud describes people traditionally stayed indoors, so they were not inconvenienced by the showers), until wheat grew as big as kidneys, and barley as big as olive pits, and lentils as golden dinars” (Taanit 23a).

On her deathbed, Salome was torn once again between Judea’s internecine fighting. Her son Aristobulus, an ally of the Sadducees, sought the throne. In her final months, she gave into his increasing demands for power - until her last moments, when Salome gave her final instructions: Pharisee leaders should rule Judea after her death, ensuring that traditional Jewish practices would prevail - and preserving Judaism as we know it today for future generations.

Queen Salome is forever remembered as a staunch and brave defender of Judaism during an intensely chaotic time in our national history.

Excerpted from Yvette Alt Miller's new book Portraits of Valor: Heroic Jewish Women You Should Know