After the death of Alexander the Great his kingdom was split among his generals. The territory of Israel was controlled by the Seleucid monarchy. In 167 BC the Seleucid king decided to abolish Judaism. He thought it would be better if the country had only one religion. (There are political figures in the US who are saying the same thing, unfortunately.) Some collaborated with the royal decree, but many of the Jews resisted. They preferred to die rather than to profane the holy covenant; and they did die. Resistance eventually led to what is known as the Maccabean Revolt which restored Jewish practice in the land. Government overreach into people’s religious practice is bad policy and shows the wisdom of separation of Church and State.