164 BC
1 Maccabees 4:48
Following their impressive victory at Emmaus, the rebels take control of all roads leading to Jerusalem. Many Jews, including those who had previously been uninterested in joining the rebellion, decide to join Judas’ cause. The insurgents plunder the weapons of the abandoned enemy camps and are now much better equipped. The crushing defeat at Emmaus leads Antiochus IV Epiphanes to send a letter to the Judean council, effectively ending the religious restrictions he had previously imposed. Following the liberation of Jerusalem in 164 BC, Judas decides to purify the Temple and reconsecrate it in a joyous public celebration. The main obstacle that remains is the Acra – a robust, Seleucid-controlled fortress in the heart of Jerusalem. Next, Judas conquers areas in Philistia, Idumea, and Gilead, and sends his brother Simon to claim the Galilee.
When Judas liberates Jerusalem, material is unified with the divine – the Temple is purified and the people are freed. Judas repairs the flaws and errors of the past, replacing the negative energies that once filled Temple Mount with positive energies and light. Restoration is complete. The liberation and purification of the Temple indicate the most supreme form of inner joy – proximity to the true light.
“They also rebuilt the sanctuary and the interior of the temple and consecrated the courts. 49 They made new holy vessels and brought the lampstand, the altar of incense, and the table into the temple. 50 Then they offered incense on the altar and lit the lamps on the lampstand, and these gave light in the temple. 51 They placed the bread on the table and hung up the curtains. Thus they finished all the work they had undertaken. Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, which is the month of Chislev, in the one hundred forty-eighth year, 53 they rose and offered sacrifice, as the law directs, on the new altar of burnt offering that they had built. 54 At the very season and on the very day that the nations had profaned it, it was dedicated with songs and harps and lutes and cymbals. 55 All the people fell on their faces and worshiped and blessed heaven, who had prospered them. 56 So they celebrated the dedication of the altar for eight days and joyfully offered burnt offerings; they offered a sacrifice of well-being and a thanksgiving offering” (1 Maccabees 4:48-56)
Joy is feeling the light of the Creator.
