Shlom Zion Ha Malkah (Queen Salome Alexandra) was the last of the great
Hasmonean rulers, who brought peace and prosperity to Israel for nine years;
shortly before the Roman takeover of Judea. She became Queen, at the age of
62, after the death of her second husband Alexander Jannai (known as a
tyrannical ruler with close association to the Sadducees. ) Once she
assumed the throne, Shlom Zion instituted a wide range of reforms, in
conjunction with Rabbi Shimon Ben Shetach, head of the re-constituted
Sanhedrin. Praised in the Talmud for her piety and caring for people, Shlom
Zion’s reign is connected with initiating public education, the marriage
Ketubah and reform of the Sandhedrin. She is also credited with maintaining
peace through negotations with the neighboring countries, and ruling over a
time of great abundance and fairness.
Here is a dramatized rendition of the Queen as she might have spoken to her
religious Parliament; drawn from the performance piece “The Peaceful
Maccabee” - the story of Shlom Zion and eight othe remarkable Jewish women.
(now available on video.)
Sages of the Sanhedrin: “Bruchim ha baim b’shem Adonai” you are welcome at
the palace; and from this day forward please consider yourselves my honored
guests. I have called you here not just to celebrate my accession to the
throne of Judea, but to announce some very important reforms which I will be
instituting.
As you know, our country has been divided for some time between two major
parties; the Saducees and Pharisees. Although my late husband, Alexander
Yannai, was a strong supporter of the Saducee party. before his death, of a
debilitating illness that afflicted him for three years, he saw how harmful
the divisions had become. In his final words, he entrusted me with the
monarchy to make the necessary changes for healing the country.
Therefore, with the power invested in me by the people of Israel
I am now taking the following actions:
1) The Sanhedrin will be immediately re-convened so that the religious
Parliament will once again have the full powers it is entitled to; and I am
today appointing Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach, as head of the Sanhedrin.
Rabbi Shimon, who you all know, is a strict Halachist, a man of great
integrity and profound faith. Many in the country refer to him as my
brother and I have always respected his religious judgement. During my late
husbands reign, Rabbi Shimon- a well known Pharisee leader, was forced into
exile and lived in Egypt until it was safe for him to return. We are
delighted to have him back in good health.)
2) All political prisoners will be released immediately. Effective today, I
am freeing thousands of Pharisees from prison to take their rightful place
in the teaching and governing of our society. I am empowering Rabbi Shimon
and the Sanhedrin to develop a plan for re-instating them to their previous
positions and to make some economic restitution to their families for lost
income and their suffering during these difficult years.
3) It has come to my attention that seasonal agricultural laborers in our
country are still underpaid and sometimes exploited. My friends, the produce
we enjoy on our tables, comes through the hard work of the poor. From here
on those who employ day -workers must compensate them at the end of the day,
and insure that even short term employees are given the same protections as
others.
4) I am deeply concerned about the plight of women who have no voice in
issues of marriage and divorce. I am hereby instructed Rabbi Shimon to
develop a a written “Ketubah” a marriage contract that will stipulate the
conditions of marriage and guarantee that women whose husbands put them
aside will not go away from their homes empy-handed. A ketubah settlement
must become the right of every married woman.
5) I know that many of you questioned our Maccabean predecessors, who took
upon themselves both the religious and the political leadership of the
country. In the hopes of remedying this situation, I am appointing my eldest
son Hyrcanus II , a peaceful young man in sympathy with the Pharisees, to
the high priesthood. My younger son, Aristobolus II who is known for his
high energy, will be the leader of our military forces.
6) Although we will continue to maintain a standing army, our emphasis will
be on negotiation and peaceful methods for dealing with foreign policy
concerns. To that end I am sending emissaries to King Tiranes of Armenia
who is already in Syria with his armies, offering to have our
representatives meet with him to avoid any potential bloodshed. Gentleman, I
have spent most of my adult life surrounded by constant wars and internal
violence. Since the days of first husband, Judah Aristobolus, I have seen
the Hasmonean family drawn into one battle after another.
My friends, Israel is alway in danger from the surrounding empires who seek
to control us. We know that the Roman Empire is expanding and also eyes our
tiny state with hungry eyes. We have always been here at the crossroads to
all the trade routes. We are always vulnerable. The Maccabean ancestors saw
the danger of Greek domination and were able to defeat superior armies.
Unfortunately, they were not able to overcome the continuing Greek influence
on our cultural life. Our family had Greek names we wore Grecian clothes,
learned the Greek games and absorbed the attitudes of our captors. The worst
of these was the addiction to power, territorial expansion, and the
military violence that became part of our political life. Under my rule,
there will be no more acquisitions of neighboring territories, and no more
forced conversions as we did with the Idumean people.
It is my sincere hope that we can return Judea to a more peaceful state in
which there is love of learning and respect for Torah. In that context, I
want the honored Rabbis here to know that the kitchen in the palace has been
totally kashered to ensure total conformity with the laws of Kashrut. Some
of the golden dishes that could not be properly cleansed have been
discarded or sold to nonJews with the
proceeds going to charity.
While I am Queen, our Temple will be a house of prayer for all people and
this palace will be the house of the Shekhinah.
All will be welcomed here. In the many years of suffering we all have
endured , I always had one prayer; the prayer of King David from the Psalms:
Achat shaalti- me eyt adonai, otah avakesh
shivti b’veit ha Shekhinah kol y ‘mai chai-ai
lachazot b’ noam. b’ noam Adonai u l’vakeir b’Hechalo
This thing I asked, I asked of my God, this and nothing more
to live in the house of Shekhinah all the days of my life
to abide within the divine pleasure of God
and to visit the heavenly palaces.
This has been my wish and God willing it will be granted to me in the autumn
of my life and to all of you.
