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History of Judaism
The History of Judaism is the history of the Jewish people, their religion and culture, tracing back to the Biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob of the 18th c. BCE. The earliest mention of Israel as a people was discovered in an inscription on the Merneptah Stele from the 1200s BCE.
1,396 Questions
Jews teach about war that you must not be cruel and no deaths however there are different wars called milchemet hashem where everything must be destroyed including all spoils not one spoil can be taken as was the case with the amaleikits
They worshiped only One God.
Answer:
The Hebrews were different in that their religion rejected idolatry. Abraham worshiped "the Lord God of Heaven and Earth" (Genesis 14:22 and 24:3) and complained about the Philistines' lack of fear of God (Genesis 20:11).
What is the Jewish connection to the land of Israel?
Zionism at that point in history was a primarily secular movement and it still is today (although less so). Religious Zionism was in its infancy in 1948 and did not really pick up until the mid-1950s and 1960s. (The Religious Zionist movement grew much more after the Six-Day War.)
There were a number of Zionists at the time of the Establishment of the State of Israel who would have been happy with a Jewish country anywhere, like Herzl (who died before this point). However, most Zionists (even though they were Secular Jews) felt that there was a Jewish Spiritual Connection with the Land of Israel and were able to increase immigration to the British Mandate of Palestine based on this connection and history. Most Secular Jews would not have considered this to be a religious connection (such as Catholics would say about the Vatican) but as a historical connection (such as German-Americans would say about Germany). Ahad Ha'am (a prominent Zionist) represented the view that Jewish expression made the most sense and the most inspiration from the place that the Jews came from.
Sonderkommando literally means special squad/detachment. The sonderkommando were detachments sent out to execute Jews in the occupied Soviet Union.
Jewish Sonderkommando is the term that we give special squads that are know by many other names. Their official title in documents in Auschwitz is 'stokers', apt as their main duty was to burn corpses, mainly in the krematoria, but also (in two separate incidents) in mass cremation pits.
The role of the Jewish Sonderkommand was arguably the worst fate that could befall a Jewish inmate, so bad that many chose death rather than join, many others chose death in the first few days of their work. It is a myth (unfortunately spread because of the movies) that the Jewish Sonderkommando would be executed after a certain amount of time. Fortunately we have the testimony of one man who survived from the begining.
As well as being responsible for cremation, jobs that the SK had to do (though no one did all of the jobs) include:
- disposal of the ashes from the cremation.
- keeping new arrivals calm whilst escorting them to the gas chambers.
- cleaning out the train carriages (including the dead).
- taking the corpses from the gas chambers to the ovens.
- cutting the hair and taking gold teath from the corpses.
- searching the body cavities of the corpses.
- washing and re-painting the corpses.
- collecting and surrendering gold and valuables discovered and left behind.
- tailoring clothes (mainly for the guards).
They also had standard duties like keeping their barracks clean and fetching standard food (they were not allowed to interact with the general population).
They did have rewards also, these include:
- being able to chose and wear better clothing (claimed from the new arrivals), they only had to sew a yellow stripe on the back.
- though officially they were not supposed to take food, they did take food from the new arrivals.
- they generally had one of their own as their kapo.
When the new krematoria were built in Birkenau conditions improved for them, but at the start they were kept in a prison cell, they had to work at night and they had to undress the gassed victims, as the Germans had not realised yet that it was easier for the victims to undress themselves.
When did the Babylonian Captivity take place?
The Babylonian took the Jews captive, destroyed the temple and plundered the temple of all the gold and silver. Set fire to the city and the Jews were held slaves till king Cyrus released them.
As shown by DNA studies, all Jewish communities come from the Middle East originally. Later, during the Middle Ages the Sephardim were the Jewish communities in the Mediterranean area (Spain, North Africa) and points east of it, while the Ashkenazim were to the north in France, Germany, Russia and Eastern Europe. This variety of locales has led to some differences in customs, but not in the Torah-laws themselves.
See also:
Why_did_the_Diaspora_begin
Why is Ruth significant in Jewish history?
Ruth, the prime example of a righteous convert, is the inspiration for much of Jewish Law concerning conversion. She was also the ancestress of King David and his dynasty (Ruth ch.4).
When did Hitler become fully in power?
Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in Germany in September 1919 [1] when Hitler joined the political party that was[2] known as the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (abbreviated as DAP, and later commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). This political party was formed and developed during the post-World War I era. It was anti-Marxist and was opposed to the democratic post-war government of the Weimar Republic and the Treaty of Versailles; and it advocated extreme nationalism and Pan-Germanism as well as virulent anti-Semitism. Hitler's "rise" can be considered to have ended in March 1933, after the Reichstag adopted the Enabling Act of 1933 in that month; President Paul von Hindenburg had already appointed Hitler as Chancellor on January 30, 1933 after a series of parliamentary elections and associated backstairs intrigues. The Enabling Act - when used ruthlessly and with authority - virtually assured that Hitler could thereafter constitutionally exercise dictatorial power without legal objection.
Why do Jews call non Jews goyim?
The word 'goy' (singular masculine) means 'nation', 'goyim' is the plural meaning 'nations'. Historically, every nation was referred to as a goy, including the Jewish nation. In time, the word 'goy' came to also refer to individuals who aren't Jewish.
Some people are under the mistaken impression that the word goy is a negative word, that is not correct, there is no negative implication in the word.
Why did Haym Salomon feel the need to defend the contribution of Jews to the American Revolution?
He was responding to ambient Anti-Semitism in Post-Revolution America which held that Jews should not have rights in the new country because they did not help to create it. As a result, Haym Salomon defended his own contributions and those of other Jews to the American Revolution in order to justify their rights as free citizens. (Jews were not free citizens in most European countries.)
What was Nebuchadnezzar role in Jewish history?
King of Babylon who expanded his territories over the former dominions of Egypt and
Assyria. The territorial expansion included Judah. He carried believing and non believing Jew into slavery - fanning them out within his empire.
What happened to the Israelites while they were in Egypt?
The Israelites at first enjoyed a prosperous period in Egypt (Genesis 47:27), since the Egyptians were grateful to Joseph (a leading Israelite) for having enabled them to survive a famine (Genesis ch.41). Later, the Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians (Exodus ch.1), with backbreaking labor and cruel decrees (ibid). By the time of the Exodus, many of the Israelites had given up hope (Exodus ch.6).
The Zionist movement originally began in 63 BC when the Israelis (Jews) were forced out of Israel by the Romans. Those who stayed were killed. This scattered the Jews around to Europe, Asia, and Africa. Recently, they have been discriminated against, like in the Holocaust, and returned to Israel. They immediately claimed the land and all the Palestinians in it were forced into areas such as the Golan Heights, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. This is what has now caused the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
How many Jews were there when Hitler became chancellor?
About six to seven million Jews died under the Nazi regime; it was estimated that about forty percent of the Jewish people in the world at that time were lost. Thousands (if not millions) more suffered in the concentration camps, or fled to other countries. (Or both.) Their families and friends suffered by proxy.
Answer 1
Zionists believe that Israel is Jewish land, and they want the Jews to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem that was destroyed by the Romans in 70.
A majority of Jews are Zionist, many Christians are Zionist, and 5% of Muslims are Zionist.
Answer 2
Zionism is the belief that the Jews should have political self-sovereignty and is the patriotic sentiment behind the Establishment of the State of Israel. A Zionist is anyone who supports that belief and therefore the Existence of Israel. There are numerous Zionists who are more than willing to negotiate with Palestinians and give up a portion of Mandatory Palestine for an Arab State.
This member of a, Pentecostal, prayer based, Zionist group believes and has ALWAYS believed, since my earliest memories, that Jews, The Children of Abraham, are the rightful owners of the land that G_D promised and gave them.
We believe that Israel, their G_d given home and Jerusalem, where G_d wrote His name, with His own finger, should be their capital.
We believe that Jerusalem, the footstool of YHWH is the most holy place on Earth.
Why is Exodus a significant event in Jewish history?
The Exodus is something for which we Jews remain eternally grateful to God. It is one of the reasons given for our observance of God's commands. It formed the Israelites into a distinct nation and served as a prologue to the Giving of the Torah.
Who is Deborah in Jewish history?
Deborah was both a a prophetess and a judge. As a prophetess, God used her to deliver His messages to His people. As a judge, God gave her the authority to render civil court decisions. a prophetess and a judge.
The answer depends on how the question is intended.
Biblical Period
The Jews left because God commanded them to leave and to escape their former slavemasters (Exodus ch.3).
Modern Egypt
Anti-Jewish and Anti-Zionist protests abounded in Egypt in the late 1940s. Many of these protests became riots, endangering both Egyptian Jews and their property. The situation became so untenable that as soon as they could flee to Israel in 1950, almost all of them did. However, they were not specifically asked by King Farouk to leave; they were just given very compelling motivation to leave.
Why did Nazis kill pregnant Jews?
They did not as a point of protocol, they were supposed to wait for the mother to come to term before killing both mother and child.
What issue caused conflict between Syrians and Jews?
Historically, the Jews and their Israelite Ancestors have had numerous problems with the Syrians.
Ancient and Biblical Times
Probably the earliest problems between them were regional. In the later period of the Divided Monarchy (Israel and Judea) one of the strongest enemies of the Israelite monarchies was the Kingdom of Aram, which was a Secondary Power just as the Israelite monarchies were. (The Primary Powers were Egypt and the Mesopotamian Kingdoms - Assyria and Babylon.) The Bible records the story of Naaman, an Aramean general, who is healed by the Prophet Elisha. While the Biblical story may not mean that this actually happened, the way that the King of Israel reacts to Naaman's peaceful entry into Israel reflects the enmity between the Israelite monarchies and the Arameans. Most of their disputes were territorial and dealt with the areas in the eastern Galilee and the Quneitra region. These territorial disputes were directly related to the amount of power that each could exert over smaller regional allies such as the Phoenician States in Lebanon or the transjordanian kingdoms.
The next major conflict between the Syrians and the Jews was the Assyrian-Judean Wars in the 700s-600s BCE. In these wars, the Assyrians sent a large army to Judah with the intent to conquer the Judean territory and its people. According to both the Bible and Assyrian King Senacherib's Records, the Judean city of Lachish (the second largest Judean city after Jerusalem) was razed to the ground. Judean soldiers resisted, but they were no match for Assyrian numbers, strength, brutality, and strategy. According to the Bible, Judah was saved from defeat when a plague destroyed much of Assyrian army. According to King Senacherib's Records, there is no mention of what happened after the razing of Lachish or why the war terminated at all.
Syrian Jews as a Minority in Syria
Jews became part of the Syrian population during the Persian and Roman Period as some Jews en route to southern Levant from Mesopotamia ended up staying in Syria and when some Syrians converted to Judaism. The Syrian Jewish community survived and continued under the Byzantine Empire and the various Arab Caliphates with occasional pogroms, but no serious repression. The only major act of Syrian violence towards the Jews came from the Damascus Affair in 1840, when eight Damascus Jews were accused of ritualistic murder of a Syrian Christian Monk without any actual evidence. The Jews were imprisoned, tortured, and in one case, forcibly converted to Islam. While this was occurring, the hysterical Damascene population pillaged the Jewish neighborhood of Jobar, attacked Jews on the streets, and destroyed Torah scrolls in the local synagogue. This violence was motivated by the prevalence and accepted nature of Jewish Blood Libels. Unfortunately, there are still individuals in the Arab World who fault the Jews for the assassination of this Christian Monk.
As Arab Nationalism was becoming more prevalent in Syria, there was a divide in the Syrian Jewish community as to whether Jews could consider themselves "Syrian Arabs" or whether their Judaism made it impossible for them to be Arab. The Muslim Syrians also debated this question, but quickly came to the result that part of being an Arab in the cultural sense meant following Islamic customs. This exclusion of Jews from being a part of Syrian Arab entity only became stronger as Nazism began to exert a strong influence on the development of Arab Nationalism and injected it with a strong Anti-Semitic current. By the time of Syrian Independence in 1943, Anti-Semitic laws were passed. Jews suffered through disorganized pogroms, riots, and other generally Anti-Semitic measures. From 1948-1952 almost the entire population of Syrian Jews fled to France, Israel, or Lebanon, leaving Syria almost devoid of Jews.
Arab-Israeli Conflict
Syria was among the Arab States that went to war with Israel in 1948, 1967, and 1973. In the 1948 War, Syria's mission was to prevent the Zionist State from existing. In that regard, it was an utter failure, with its army being pushed out of nearly every location near to the Syrian border, with the small exception of around five kilometers square on the eastern bank of the Sea of Galilee.
In the 1967 and 1973 Wars, conflicts between Israelis and Syrians have been over the Israeli-Syrian border and control of the Golan Heights.
What was the result of the Dreyfus affair?
The Dreyfus Affair started out as a Dreyfus Case. In 1894, a group of French officers accused Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish captain on the French general staff, of selling military secrets to Germany. Dreyfus was then tried by court-martial, convicted, stripped of his rank, and deported for life to Devil's Island (an appalling prison in the Atlantic Ocean). When Colonel Georges Picquart, the new head of the Intelligence Division, questioned the verdict in 1896, searches revealed that the trial documents were forgeries.
Yet, the War Department denied Dreyfus a new trial, and this "case" became an "affair". This affair polarized France. Republicans, socialists, and liberals backed Dreyfus. These supporters were Dreyfusards and stood for progress and justice against prejudice. Among these Dreyfusards, was the famous writer Emile Zola. Zola blasted the French establishment in a controversial newspaper essay "J'accuse!" that accused the government, the courts, and the military of faking documents, covering up treason, and ignoring issues of justice. The anti-Dreyfusards, on the other hand, included monarchists, militarists, some clergy, and other socialists who thought of the affair as a distraction from more significant economic issues. A Catholic newspaper declared that the question was not whether Dreyfus was guilty or not, but whether Jews and unbelievers were not the "secret masters of France".
After six years of such controversy, Dreyfus was freed on an executive order in 1899. In 1906, the supreme court cleared him of all guilt, restoring his position in the army as a major and inducting him into the Legion of Honor. One of the most significant consequences of this affair was the separation of church and state in France. Republicans thought that the church and the army were hostile to the Republic, so laws were passed between 1901 and 1905 that banned religious orders in France that were not authorized by the state, forbade clerics to teach in schools, and dissolved the union of the Catholic Church and the state.
The Dreyfus Affair accomplished four things:
* Swung public opinion towards the government;
* Discredited anti-Semitism in France;
* Helped the government replace monarchist military officers with loyal republicans; and
* Brought about a law to weaken the clergy.
When did Jews first come to UK?
* The first Jews were brought to England by William the Conqueror. * They were expelled from England by Edward I in 1290. (No reason is recorded for the expulsion). * They were readmitted by Oliver Cromwell from 1657. The numbers remained small till persecution in Tsarist Russia forced many Jews to flee westwards.
What did Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai do?
The great Jewish sage Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai lived at the end of the 2nd temple period and was one of the spiritual leaders of his generation - the generation of "Tanna'im".
See the link for more information about the great Rabbi who codified many laws following the destruction of the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE (AD).
Considered to have been the youngest disciple of the great sage Hillel, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai took an active role in the defense of Jerusalem under Roman siege in 68-70 CE (AD).
He is reputed to have been secreted from the city in a burial shroud on a stretcher, then approaching the camp of (Roman commander & Syrian Governor) Vespasian, greeting him with the words "Hail my lord Emperor". During his discussions with Vespasian a messenger arrived to recall Vespasian to Rome, as the Senate had appointed him Emperor following the death of Nero. In the light of this, Vespasian acceded to some requests by Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai, granting permission to set up a school of Jewish scholars in the town of Yavneh.
Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai founded "Dor Yavneh" (The Yavneh generation), re-establishing the Sanhedrin and beginning to codify laws defining Torah study and prayer as the way forward for the Jews and Jewish religion, in a world without a Temple in Jerusalem, which had always been the centre for ritual Temple sacrifice as instructed in the Books of Moses.
These laws, developed by different rabbinical schools in Judea, were later collected and codified into the Mishna-Torah by Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi.
Why have the Jews been so persecuted?
Answer in the form of another question:
Why is any individual or group persecuted or discriminated against?
Answer
After World War 1, Germany was not allowed to trade freely with other European nations because of their actions during the war. As a result, Germany felt the affects of the great depression even more harshly than did the rest of the world. Hitler believed and convinced those around him that the reason for their financial problems was rooted in the fact that a good number of businesses in Germany were owned and operated by Jews. Hitler alleged that if the nation could target the Jews and get rid of them, the finances of Germany could improve. He also claimed that there was only one way to overcome the sanctions that had been the result of World War 1, and that was to overthrow the nations that were imposing the sanctions.
Hitler succeeded in gaining quite a following among the Germans and part of his plan was to arrest and destroy all Jews and to take their property. Millions of Jewish men, women and children were gassed, shot or starved to death in his unsuccessful attempt to kill off an entire race of people.
Actually it was because Hitler and his Nazis were jealous of the success many Jews have in life because of their disciplined and hard working approach to life.
It would be a big mistake to regard antisemitism as a specifially German 'thing'. In fact, in the early 1930s Zionists were much more worried about the situation in Romania, Hungary and Poland. Germany was mistakenly regarded as a relatively safe country for Jews.
Ignorance
Because the Christians were conditioned to believe that the Jews killed Jesus. If the Jews had killed Jesus, it wouldn't have been by nailing him. That has no basis in the Torah.
Jews were killed by Hitler because he thought that the Aryan race was the best. To the Nazi way of "thinking," the Jews were at the bottom.
because they believed in something different then hitler
Because Adolf Hitler believed that Germans, being inherently superior human beings, ...
Historians have listed six explanations as to why some people hate the Jews:
1) Economic: Some people hate Jews because "they possess too much wealth and power."
2) Chosen People: Some hate the Jews because Jews claim that they are the chosen people (Exodus ch.19 and other passages).
3) Scapegoat: Jews seem to be a convenient group to single out and blame for the troubles of society.
4) Deicide: Some hate the Jews "because they killed Jesus."
5) Outsiders: Some hate the Jews "because they are different than us." (Xenophobia.)
6) Racial Theory: Some hate the Jews "because they are an inferior race."
As we examine the explanations, we must ask: Are they causes for anti-Semitism or excuses for it? The difference being, that if one takes away the cause, then anti-Semitism should no longer exist. If one can show a contradiction to the explanation, it demonstrates that the "cause" is not a reason, it is just an excuse.
Let's look at some of the contradictions:
Economic -- The Jews of 17th- 19th century Poland and Russia were dirt poor and had no influence, and yet they were hated.
Chosen People -- a) In the late 19th century, most Jews of Germany denied "Chosenness;" and they assimilated. Yet the holocaust started there.
b) Christians and Moslems also profess to being the "Chosen people," but the world and the anti-Semites tolerate them.
Scapegoat -- Any group must already be hated to be an effective scapegoat. The Scapegoat theory does not cause anti-Semitism. Rather, anti-Semitism is what makes the Jews a convenient target. Hitler's ranting and ravings would not be taken seriously if he said, "It's the bicycle riders and the midgets who are destroying our society."
Deicide -- a) the Christian Bible says the Romans killed Jesus, with Jews mentioned as accomplices. (The claims that Jews directly killed Jesus came several hundred years later). Why are the alleged accomplices persecuted, but there hasn't been an anti-Roman movement through history?
b) Jesus himself said, "Forgive them [i.e., the Jews], for they know not what they do." And the Second Vatican Council in 1963 officially exonerated the Jews as the killers of Jesus. Neither of these events lessened anti-Semitism.
Outsiders -- With the Enlightenment in the late 18th century, many Jews rushed to assimilate. Anti-Semitism should have stopped. Instead, for example, the Nazis proclaimed in essence: We hate you, not because you're different, but because you're trying to become like us! We cannot allow you to "infect" the Aryan race with your "inferior genes."
Racial Theory -- The overriding problem with this theory is that it is self-contradictory: Jews are not a race. Anyone can become a Jew - and members of every race, creed and color in the world have done so at one time or another.
A Havdallah candle is a long braided candle (usually with white and blue braids but not necessarily those colors) with four wicks that is used in the celebration of Havadallah. Unlike Shabbat Candles, the Havdallah Candle is extinguished after the celebration and reused in the next celebration.
