Sotah 41
If Only One of Them Had Had a Nickname. . .
In the discussion on our daf about the king reading from
the Torah at the Hakhel ceremony, we have the fascinating story about King Agrippa.
The Mishnah relates that he stood during the ceremony even though he was a king
(the Gemara explains that that was because he was not from the house of David).
When he reached the verse that forbids appointing a non-Jewish king, he started
to cry, presumably since he was not fully Jewish. The crowd comforted him by
saying אל תתירא
אגריפס, אחינו אתה, אחינו אתה! Do not fear Agrippa, you are our brother, you
are our brother!
The story suggests a number of things: that Agrippa’s Jewish
ancestry is in doubt, that he is a righteous man and that he has public
support. The question is, who was Agrippa?
We know that Agippa was a king from the house of Herod,
and also of Hasmonean lineage. Rashi states these facts and adds that he was
king at the time of the destruction of the Temple. The problem begins with the
fact that Herod and his family loved to re-use the same names over and over and
also loved to marry their cousins. So we have not one but two Agrippas , one whose
mother is named Berenice and one with a daughter Berenice. Which one, if any,
has Jewish ancestry?
To sort out the puzzle, have a look at Herod’s family
tree (a rather complicated one, since he had ten wives):
Herod’s parents were Antipater, a converted Edomite, and
Cypros, a Nabatean princess. Although Herod identified as a Jew, by halakhic standards
he was a problematic one (see Shaye Cohen’s fascinating book, The Beginnings of
Jewishness http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520226937
for more on this question). Herod had a sister named Salome, with the same parents.
Herod and Miriam the Hasmonean had a son Aristobulus – not only Jewish but of
Hasmonean lineage. Aristobulus married Berenice, daughter of Salome (not
Jewish) and Costobar (Edomite). Their son is Agrippa I (ruled from 41-44 CE). Jewish or not Jewish? His mother was not
Jewish, while his father was Miriam’s son, making him a rather complicated
mixture. That would explain why he cried but the people saw him as their
brother, especially since he was good to the Jews in his brief reign as king.
Coin with an image of Agrippa I (Wikipedia)
If you are not confused yet, let’s move on. Agrippa I
marries his cousin Cypros, daughter of Miriam’s daughter Salampsio (I am not
making these names up). Their son is Agrippa #2 (ruled from 50-70 CE). Agrippa II also had a sister Berenice, who hung
out with Titus, but that’s another story. Agrippa II seems to have a stronger
case of halakhic Jewishness. His mother is Jewish and Hasmonean. Perhaps this is why Rashi chooses him as the
Agrippa in our story. However, many scholars prefer Agrippa I as our hero,
because of his connection to the Temple and the Jews. Agrippa II seems to have
had a more complicated relationship with the rabbis and the cohanim.
Agrippa II may have been the builder of a fabulous palace
in the Banias up north. Eventually it was used by the Romans as an opulent
bathhouse. Today only the “basement” layer of tunnels and aqueducts is left.
(Wikipedia)
The heartfelt cry of “you are our brother” was (perhaps)
repeated on a very different historic occasion, close geographically to our
story if not chronologically. When the first British High Commissioner to
Palestine, Sir Herbert Samuel, arrived in Jerusalem in 1920, he was invited to
the Hurva synagogue for Shabbat Nahamu. He was called up to say the blessing on
the haftarah and there was great excitement – not only was the reading all
about redemption, but Sir Herbert was a Jewish Zionist who would be the leader
of Palestine – surely the Messiah was on his way! Some say that after he said
the blessing, the crowd called out אחינו אתה, אחינו אתה!
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