Surviving Sacrilege: Cultural Persistence in Jewish Antiquity.

• Author: Grossman, Maxine

Surviving Sacrilege: Cultural Persistence in Jewish Antiquity. By STEVEN WEITZMAN. Cambridge, Massachusetts: HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2005. Pp. ix + 193. $39.95.

Wide-ranging in both temporal perspective and textual base, Weitzman's study explores ancient Jewish responses to the loss of religious and cultural autonomy in the face of conquest by outside powers. Taking seriously the idea that the events of ancient history are all but unrecoverable, he chooses to focus instead on Jewish texts and what they can tell readers about "the role of the imagination in the struggle for cultural survival" (p. 9). Weitzman begins with the premise that, under foreign authorities, "the basic options available to Jews were limited--one could ingratiate oneself with foreign rule, operate within its blind spots, or find a way to augment one's power and fight it off" (p. 8). He then turns to an examination of these options, focusing on the many tactics that Jews might have used along the way.

Weitzman begins with chapters on the Persian period ("After Babel") and the Hasmonean period ("Maccabean Maneuvers"). The first chapter explores practices of mythmaking and self-construction in Jewish relationships with Persian authorities. The texts of Ezra, the Elephantine documents, 2 Maccabees, and 1 Esdras provide evidence for tactics of cooperation with authorities as well as deflection of their attention. Chapter two reads 1 and 2 Maccabees for examples of additional tactics, including outright rebellion and explicit willingness to embrace or negotiate with outside forces. Weitzman notes the Hasmonean tendency to pivot between these two poles as necessity warranted, and he offers a particularly interesting reading of Judith that considers the efficacy of false collusion (the ability to "slip into and out of a posture of loyal submission") as a workable tool for engagement with imperial authorities (p. 52).

The remaining chapters of the volume focus on textual evidence from the Roman period. Witty chapter titles introduce a variety of tactics that ancient Jews used--or imagined using--in response to those in power over them. "Friends in High Places" (chapter 3) examines Philo and Josephus's descriptions of Agrippa in light of Roman notions of friendship and flattery. "Optical Elusions" (chapter 4) offers a particularly interesting discussion of the tactic of avoiding elaborate description as a means of protecting the sacred Temple from the hungry gaze of Roman...