It seems the fight for the Temple was quite different compared to previous battles. First of all, there was no IDF (Israel Defense Forces); the Maccabees were closer to being like Mossad, the clandestine CIA-like organization in Israel. They were guerrilla fighters, perhaps not rag-tag but surely not organized as would have been far more efficient.

Or would it?

It is said that George Washington read about the tactics of the Maccabees and employed them in the American Revolution. I’m not sure which, but there were some pips of tactics. For example, the Maccabees would pretend they were encamped on mountaintops knowing the Greeks were below. Pretend? Yes, they would build bonfires then leave. The enemy would think the Maccabees were there, attack to find no one, then be surprised themselves when the guerrillas would come from behind and attack the Greeks.

Now the one thing the Jews had NEVER seen in warfare were the huge “tanks” the Greeks brought with them. As a matter of fact, there was probably one Jew named, let’s say, Shmuel, who took a look and said, “Gevalt! Look at those camels!” (Gevalt wasn’t a term used then; it’s Yiddish. On the other hand, it is so emotive, maybe Shmuel did say it). Well, they weren’t camels and they weren’t tanks. The Greeks brought elephants.

The Maccabees knew they were no match for these behaymas. If they were lumbering along the coast, they had plenty of room, but…ahah! The Maccabees taunted their enemy to head east, away from the coast and towards the hilly areas. The elephants couldn’t maneuver in those hills and it is said that the Jews would jump on the riders and take care of them one-two-three.

Now all of this is hearsay; I wasn’t there. Nonetheless there are eyewitness reports of this guerrilla warfare proving once again how clever we are. Clever or not; gorilla or guerrilla; tanks, camels or elephants, we won! That’s the bottom line.