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Judaism

Judaism. A History. c. 1800 – 300 BCE. Biblical Judaism. According to tradition, the Jewish religion began with God’s first Covenant to Abraham – Abraham promised to worship Yahweh alone and Yahweh promised to make Abraham’s descendants as numerous as stars in the land of Palestine.

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Judaism

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  1. Judaism A History

  2. c. 1800 – 300 BCE Biblical Judaism

  3. According to tradition, the Jewish religion began with God’s first Covenant to Abraham – Abraham promised to worship Yahweh alone and Yahweh promised to make Abraham’s descendants as numerous as stars in the land of Palestine

  4. Slavery in Egypt • According to the Book of Genesis, the descendants of Abraham (the Hebrews) fled into Egypt to escape famine, where they were eventually enslaved. • The Exodus – the Hebrews fled from Egypt after God inflicted Ten Plagues on the Egyptians

  5. The Jewish Law , including the Ten Commandments, was given to Moses on Mt. Sinai

  6. The Kingdom of Israel The Hebrew people first established a nation under King David around 1000 BCE. David and his army quickly conquered most of the surrounding nations, bringing about a period of peace and prosperity for the people who are now called “Israelites”.

  7. David was also known for composing many hymns to Yahweh which became the basis of the Biblical book of Psalms

  8. The Kingdom of Israel reached its political and economic height during the reign of David’s son, Solomon

  9. Solomon’s Temple

  10. The Divided Kingdom • After the death of Solomon, the Kingdom of Israel split into North and South • The Northern Kingdom was conquered by the Assyrians in 726 BCE • The Southern Kingdom was conquered by the Babylonians in 586 BCE and most of its population was taken into Exile in Babylon

  11. The Exile lasted until Babylon was conquered by the Persians in 536 BCE. • The Persian king Cyrus the Great allowed the exiles to return home and begin rebuilding Jerusalem and their Temple the next year

  12. The Torah was completed some time during the fifth century BCE and may have been first read to the Jewish people by Ezra after their return from the Babylonian Exile

  13. 322 BCE – 135 CE The Hellenistic Age

  14. Alexander the Great Conquered Israel in 322 BCE

  15. Alexander’s successors imposed a policy known as Hellenization – attempting to bring Greek culture, philosophy and religion to all the people of Alexander’s Empire • This policy reached its height during the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who made the practice of the Jewish religion illegal and punishable by death • This lead to the . . . .

  16. Maccabean Revolt Led by Judah Maccabee, the Jews defeated the Syrians, re-dedicated their Temple to Yahweh and established the Hasmonean Kingdom, ruled by Judah’s brother, Simon.

  17. This rebellion would be the origin of the Jewish festival of Hanukah, which celebrates the miraculous re-dedication of the Temple

  18. The Hasmonean Kingdom will last for nearly 100 years. During this time - • The Sanhedrin – a religious body of priests, scholars, lawyers and political leaders will be established • The Pharisees – a religious group who believe that the Law must be interpreted to meet the needs of contemporary Jews, will be established • The Essenes– a monastic group who are waiting the “Teacher of Righteousness”, establish their monastery at Qumran near the Dead Sea

  19. The Romans • The Roman general Pompey brought troops to Jerusalem to end a dispute between two rival claimants to the Hasmonean throne • Those troops never left • Gradually, between 60 BCE and 4 CE, the Romans increased their authority in Israel, ruling through Roman procurators and client kings

  20. Herod’s Temple Begun by Herod the Great in 19 BCE, it took over 70 years to complete

  21. Roman occupation and oppression led to. . . . • The formation of the Zealots • Numerous small rebellions and assassinations • The Jewish Revolt of 66 – 70 CE • The Bar Kochba Revolt of 135 CE • The Diaspora

  22. The Destruction of Jerusalem

  23. Detail from the Arch of Titus in Rome

  24. 135 – 600 CE The Talmudic Period

  25. “Council of Jamnia” • Shortly before 70 CE, Rabbi YohananbenZakkai established a rabbinical school in Jamnia • Rabbis there are credited with establishing modern rabbinical Judaism • The Jewish canon of the Bible was decided upon there • Christianity and Judaism officially split around 80 CE when the Jamnia rabbis expelled Christians from the synagogues

  26. The decisions of the rabbis at Jamnia and the compilation of the Talmud resulted in the development of what is called “Rabbinical Judaism” • Judaism has changed very little from the religion that developed between 70 and 500 CE and today

  27. The Talmud • Prior to 70 CE, most discussions on the Law (the “Oral Torah”) were not written down • Two major schools of interpreting the Law developed – The School of Hillel and the School of Shammai • After the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and the dispersion of religious leaders, it was important for the preservation of the Jewish religion to collect the decisions of the Oral Torah • This became the Talmud • The Talmud consists of the Mishnah and the Gemara

  28. The Mishnah • Collected sayings and decisions of rabbis between 70 – 200 CE • Edited by Rabbi Judah haNasi and his son, Rabbi Yehuda Nesi'ah

  29. The Gemara • Word means “completion” • Rabbinical commentaries on and analysis of statements found in the Mishnah • Compiled in both Babylon and Palestine between 350 and 500 CE

  30. Babylonian Talmud

  31. 600 – 1200 CE The Judeo-Islamic Age

  32. The Muslim religion was founded by the Prophet Muhammad c. 622 • After Muhammad’s death, Islam spread quickly throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa • In 711, the Muslims conquered the Visigothic Kingdom of Spain • From the beginning, Jews were welcomed in Muslim Spain

  33. Influential Jews • HasdaiibnShaprut– court physician to Caliph Abd al-Rahman, poet and patron of Jewish studies at the University of Cordoba early in the 10th century • Samuel Ha-NaqidibnNagreb– vizier and commander of the army of the King of Granada; poet • Judah HaLevi– poet and philosopher

  34. Moses benMaimon(Maimonides) • Born in Cordoba in 1135 • Studied to be a physician and was the physician to Saladin and his family • Formulated the Thirteen Principles of Faith • Wrote an extensive commentary on the Mishnah • Considered to be one of the greatest Torah scholars of all time

  35. Rashi • Born in Troyes France in 1040 • Wrote an extensive commentary on the Talmud and helped establish an authoritative edition of the books • His commentary on the Tanakh, especially the Torah, is used by Jews today to study the weekly readings

  36. During this period Jews developed into two distinct cultural groups: • Ashkenazim = European • Sephardim = Spanish and Middle Eastern These groups have distinct language and cultural differences that remain among their descendants today

  37. 1200 – 1700 CE The European Age

  38. Medieval Christians blamed all Jews for the crucifixion of Christ • Many Christians believed Jews to be the enemies of all Christians and thought that , given the opportunity, they would crucify Christ again • Some Christians believed that Jews were in league with Satan

  39. A period of sporadic persecution • Although the Catholic Church condemned the persecution of Jews and excommunicated those who did, official Church condemnation had little effect on anti-Jewish feelings or activities throughout Medieval Europe. • Jews were blamed for everything bad that happened – war, famine and plague

  40. Laws against Jews: • Forbidden to own land • Often required to wear special clothing that identified them as Jews • Expelled from: • England (1290) • France (1394) • The Germanies (1350-1450) • Spain (1492)

  41. Many Jews went into medicine or money lending (banking) because those were practically the only careers open to them

  42. Medieval Anti-Semitism

  43. “Blood Libel” Jews were accused of murdering Christian children to use their blood in religious rituals Fresco in a Polish Church

  44. Desecrating the Consecrated Host • Jews were accused of stabbing, burning or otherwise destroying the consecrated host • Many Christians believed Jews were killing Christ again

  45. Jews were accused of poisoning wells and causing the Black Death – even though as many Jews died during the Plague as did Christians

  46. The Crusades • During the First Crusade, crusading armies frequently attacked Jewish communities in Eastern Europe • Crusaders believed that it was only logical to exterminate the enemies of Christ at home before moving on to remove His enemies from His Holy Land • This was especially true of the followers of Peter the Hermit during the so-called “People’s Crusade”

  47. 800 Jews were massacred in Worms • 1,100 were killed in Mainz • Several hundred in Prague • Nearly the entire Jewish population of Jerusalem was killed when the Crusaders took the city in 1099

  48. As a result of six centuries of persecution, forced baptisms, and expulsions, there were very few Jews left in Western Europe by the year 1700

  49. 1700 - today The Modern Era

  50. During the Middle Ages, when the Jews were expelled from most European countries, many had been welcomed in Eastern Europe, especially Poland, and in areas of the Balkans controlled by the Ottomans

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