Hasideans

The Hasideans (Hasidæans or Assideans; Hebrew: חסידים הראשונים‎‎, Hasidim ha-Rishonim, "ancient Pietists", Greek Ἀσιδαῖοι) were a Jewish religious party which commenced to play an important role in political life only during the time of the Maccabean wars, although it had existed for quite some time previous. They are mentioned only three times in the books of the Maccabees.

In I Macc. ii. 41 it is related that at the commencement of the war, after a number of Maccabeans in the recesses of the desert had allowed themselves to be slain on the Sabbath without offering any resistance, Mattathias and his followers decided to fight on the Sabbath in case of necessity. Thereupon a company of Hasidæans joined them, "mighty men of Israel,... such as were voluntarily devoted unto the law." In the second passage (I Macc. vii.) it is stated that Alcimus succeeded in persuading Demetrius, the newly elected king of Syria, to appoint him high priest instead of Judas Maccabeus. Whereupon it is said (verses 12-14):

Then did there assemble unto Alcimus and Bacchides a company of scribes, to require justice. Now the Assideans [Ἀσιδαῖοι] were the first among the children of Israel that sought peace of them: For, said they, one that is a priest of the seed of Aaron is come with this army, and he will do us no wrong.

They were mistaken, however, since Alcimus later caused sixty of them to be put to death. In the parallel passage, on the other hand (II Macc. xiv.), Alcimus describes the political situation of the Jews to Demetrius as follows: "Those of the Jews that be called Assideans, whose captain is Judas Maccabeus, nourish war, and are seditious, and will not let the realm be in peace" (II Macc. xiv. 6).

The name "Hasidæans" occurs frequently in the Psalms, in the sense of "the pious," "saints" (xxx. 5 [A. V. 4], xxxi. 24 [23], xxxvii. 28). In Talmudic sources the Hasidæans appear as martyrs to their faith (Sanh. 10b), as unselfish and long-suffering (Abot v. 4, 13), as the "saints of former times" ("Ḥasidim ha-Rishonim"), as those who compose themselves inwardly for an hour before prayer (Ber. v. 1) and enjoy special honor at the Feast of Tabernacles, on the day of the drawing of water (Suk. v. 4). To their party, which died out with Joshua Kaṭnuta, Jose ben Joezer probably belonged (Soṭah ix. 15; Ḥag. ii. 7) In the Eighteen Benedictions God's blessing is called down upon them immediately after the Ẓaddiḳim ("'al ha-Ẓaddiḳim we'al ha-Ḥasidim"), and in later times they appear in general as the ideal representatives of Judaism, so that "Ḥasid" has come to be a title of respect (Num. R. §§ 14, 227a, "Yacob he-Ḥasid"; comp. Tem. 15b; Ta'an. 8a).

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