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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
Archaeologists have identified a gradual increase in the presence of small settlements in the mountainous Canaanite hinterland from around 1250 BCE. The settlements were at first more numerous in the somewhat more fertile northern area, gradually spreading south into the area that would become Judah, around Jerusalem. As far as can be established, these new arrivals were the Hebrew people, although a minority of scholars point to population changes shortly before 1000 BCE and believe that this period marks the arrival of the Hebrews.
Answer 2
Just to make the above a little clearer, the region in reference is the Region of Palestine or the Land of Israel (both are names of the same general region). In antiquity, it was called Canaan.
How did the Maccabean Revolt begin?
The Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks) under Antiochus Epiphanes (2nd century BCE), at the instigation of the Hellenizers, had forbidden various Torah-practices such as Sabbath-observance and circumcision, rededicated the Jewish Temple to a Greek idol, and pressed the Jews to offer up sacrifices to the idol. One of the leading elder Jewish sages called upon the people to keep observing the Torah anyway; and if necessary, to use force in resisting the decrees.When a Hellenized Jew offered a sacrifice to the Greek idols in a nearby village, the sage killed him as well as the Greek overseer. This brought a violent reaction from the Greeks; and the loyal Jews, led by the Hasmonean family, were forced to retreat from their towns and strike out at the Greeks in an attempt to oust them from the Holy Land and to enable the people to once again observe the Torah. The Torah-Jews were heavily outnumbered by the attacking Greek armies, but God gave them miraculous victories again and again.
After three years of struggle, the Greek armies retreated from Jerusalem, and the Hasmoneans (also called Maccabees) entered the Holy Temple which the Greeks had defiled, reconsecrated it to God, and began the Temple service once more.
Among other things, they wanted to relight the olive oil candelabrum (Exodus ch.25), but could only find one day's supply of undefiled oil - and it would take eight days to make and bring some more. Miraculously, the menorah stayed lit for eight days (Talmud, Shabbat 21b), allowing enough time for new oil to be prepared and brought.
The significance of the miracle is that it demonstrated that God's presence was still there. The Torah-community was overjoyed, because God's presence meant everything to them. This is what Hanukkah represents: the closeness to God; and the avoidance of Hellenization (assimilation).
The Torah-Sages instituted the festival of Hanukkah at that time (Talmud, Shabbat 21b), to publicize the miracle (Rashi commentary, ibid). This is why we light our Hanukkah-menorahs. (The Hanukkah-menorah, or hanukkiyah, is a special form of the original seven-branched menorah. Our Hanukkah-menorahs have eight spaces for oil, or candles, to mark each of the eight days for which the oil lasted, and a ninth to hold the shamash, a candle used to light the others.)
The Al-Hanisim prayer which we recite during Hanukkah centers around the Hasmoneans' victory and rededication of the Temple, while the candle-lighting commemorates the miracle of the oil. Though the military victory is prominently mentioned in the prayers, it wouldn't have been celebrated if not for the miracle of the oil.
It should also be noted that the main goal for which the Maccabees fought was not political independence. They fought to enable the people to observe the Torah's commandments; as we say in the Al Hanisim prayer: "The Greeks sought to cause us to forget Your Torah and leave Your statutes."
See also:
Was Richard Dreyfus turned into an alien at the end of close encounters of the third kind?
No. He is welcomed on to the ship by the aliens for the trip into space, as he is the only person who was invited to take the voyage into space that made it to the rendezvous point.
How many times in history were the Jews persecuted and why?
How many times? Infinitely many to none depending on how you designate events.
Why?
The racism inherent in some Judaism gave rise to animosity from other groups who in turn became racist and persecuted us.
This is why it is important to stomp out racism from within our own as well as in general.
Obviously we have a lot of work ahead of us.
Answer:
For a partial list, see the attached Related Link.
And the "reasons"?
Xenophobia: fear or hatred of those who are different.
Hatred of people who didn't revere Jesus.
Hatred of people who stubbornly clung to their traditions.
Hatred of people who were (sometimes) more successful or prosperous.
And so on.
(Note that the possibility of "none" in the first Answer [above] is obscene: you can't excuse the wanton killing of millions of unarmed Jews just because some or even many of them are claimed to be racist.)
What were peasant farmers like?
Medieval English working peasants (to take one example) belonged to a variety of classes, some tied to a feudal lord and some free.
The lowest levels included ploughmen and shepherds, who were at the extremes of poverty, holding very little land of their own and with only a small cottage. Even they had rights, however, and in England benefited from ancient customary dues which dated to long before the arrival of the Normans.
Life expectancy was short, due to poor living conditions, heavy manual labour and very long working hours in the extremes of weather, coupled with an unhealthy diet lacking in meat. Poor harvests could result in starvation, medical care was generally absent and even minor injuries could turn to blood poisoning and death. The average life expectancy for people at this level would be around 40 to 45; compare this with bishops, monks and other clerics of the same period, who might live to be 70, 80 or 90 years old.
It is true to say that the poorest levels in society bore the greatest burden in terms of taxes, rents, fees, fines and tithes.
See links below for images:
Why was Herod the Great considered the greatest builder of ancient times in the Land of Israel?
The so called temple of Herod was a rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem on a more magnificent scale. Herod built four walls to expand the plateau of Temple Mount and create a flat platform on which the temple was built.
The hippodrome/amphitheatre in Jerusalem was in honour of Augustus, not Caesar.
The drainage tunnel or sewer in Jerusalem is called he Jerusalem water channel
In addition to the above Herod the Great also built:
In Jerusalem
- The Western Wall
- The Western Wall Tunnel (an underground tunnel adjacent to the Western Wall and is under buildings of the Old City
- The Western Stone (a monolithic stone block forming part of the lower level of the Western Wall)
- Robinson's Arch (a monumental staircase carried by an extremely wide stone arch, at the south-western corner of the Temple Mount.
- The Antonia Fortress (military barracks)
- The Royal Stoa (a basilica; i.e. public building. It was Herod's most magnificent secular building and a monumental architectural feat.
- The monumental reconstruction of at least part of the Pool of Siloam ) ( a rock-cut pool on the southern slope of the city of David, the original site of Jerusalem, outside the walls of the Old City to the southeast.
Outside Jerusalem
- The city of Caesarea Maritima and its port. This city grew rapidly and became Judea's most important commercial centre and port. In 6 A.. it became seat of the Roman government in Judea. Josephus said that the port was as big as the main port of Athens at Piraeus.
- A hippodrome (chariot racing stadium) and theatre (not amphitheatre) in Jericho
- Three Winter Palaces in Jericho
- Three temples dedicated to Augustus at Sebaste, Caesarea, and Panias.
- The Mamre (a Canaanite cultic shrine dedicated to the supreme, sky god of the Canaanite pantheon, El) half way between Halhul and Hebron;
- A large rectangular enclosure over the Cave of the Patriarchs, also known as the Cave of Machpelah (cave of the double tombs). This cave was a series of subterranean chambers located in the heart of the old city of Hebron which, according to the tradition, together with the adjoining field were bought by Abraham as a burial plot. The Hebrew name of the complex reflects the tradition of the double tombs of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah, who were considered the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of the Jewish people. They are all believed to be buried there. the only fully surviving Herodian structure. The site is located beneath a Saladin-era mosque. Saladin converted it into a mosque, adding a minaret at each corner and the minbar (pulpit).
What are sources of conflict between the PLO and the Zionists?
The sources of conflict between the PLO, the Palestinian Liberation Organization which has now been subsumed into the official State of Palestine government, and the Zionists, which have now been subsumed into the State of Israel and its general supporters, are no different than those between the Israelis and Palestinians as general groups.
As a result, it makes more sense to read the Related Question which discusses the causes of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
When did Jews in Germany gain citizenship?
Germany did not become a nation state till 1871. Before that it consisted of a group of independent states. These still gave their Jewish populations citizenship at different dates between 1812 and 1869.
Not that long, probably a year or two.
The Maccabee Revolt started quite soon after the Great Temple was defiled by the Greeks and Jewish sacrifices ceased. The temple was rededicated and sacrifices began anew, in 165 BCE.
In which region was the new Jewish homeland?
Israel is the Jewish homeland, but it is not new. It was given to the Israelites well over three thousand years ago by God (Genesis ch.28, Deuteronomy ch.1). See also:
Why did Israelites settle in the hills of Canaan rather than the coastal plains?
Some did and some did not. For those Israelites who avoided the coastal plains, the reason in Judges 1:19 and 1:34 would apply. Some of the coastal Canaanites seemed too hard to conquer, and so did the Philistines, down to King David's time.
Why is Josephus important for proving that Jesus actually existed?
Josephus does not actually prove that Jesus existed, but he is the only non-Christian first-century author who clearly accepts the word of Christians that Jesus existed. Philo of Alexandria, supposedly a near-contemporary of Jesus, never mentions him although Philo mentions every other Jewish movement of which he was aware.
The Jews and pagans were disinterested in the works of Josephus, and they were only saved because of the value placed on them by early Christians.
What is the average word count in Hebrew per page?
A typical Hebrew book has about 200 words per page.
No. Jethro was a Midianite. Midian was Abraham's son (see Genesis 25:2), and therefore Israel's cousin. Jethro was the father-in-law of Moses (as his daughter, Zipporah, was married to Moses). Jethro was a Jewish priest. It was only later, when the Midianites and Moabites had a problem, that the Midianites were "cut-off" from the Israelites.
The priesthood was not yet "official", because the law of Moses was not yet written. There is more than one place in the Bible that talk about godly priests (before the law). Think about Melchizedek.
Although, it sounds like Joseph married Asenath the daughter of Potipherah (a pagan) priest of On.
What is the importance of the Book of Esther in Jewish history?
A:
History books record events known to have happened, along with interpretations of those events. When historians look at the Book of Esther, they realise that this is not a book of history, as there are far too many historical errors. Among other things, the chronology of Persian history is wrong and there is no historical record of Esther or of her predecessor, Vashti. Furthermore, Queen Amestris is accepted by historians as Xerxes' only wife for the first several years of his reign. The consensus is that the Book of Esther is a second-century-BCE novel, written centuries after the events portrayed, and therefore not directly relevant to Jewish history.
Even if the events portrayed in Esther really occurred, they ocurred in Babylon and would have had no effect in the Jewish homeland, Judah. However, the Book of Esther has had considerable impact on Jewish tradition and Jewish religious practice. The annual celebration of Purim is based on the book, which actually calls for a celebration of the events portrayed (Esther 9:26-32).
Jewish answer:
The importance of the Book of Esther is that its events show that God is with us even in times of Hester (Divine concealment during exile).
What were Jewish ghettos in Venice like?
The Venetian Ghetto, which is actually where the term comes from, is emblematic of ghettos worked. The areas where Jews were allowed to live were walled off from the rest of Canareggio district in Venice. There were height restrictions on buildings as well, leading to general overcrowding and lack of sanitation. These ghettos were ruled autonomously by two major community pillars: the Rabbis at the Beit Din or Courthouse and the Kahal or Board of Trustees.
The Rabbi and Beit Din (which would have several Rabbis serving as judges) would be the moral leadership of the community and would represent the community to the Gentile authorities as a singular leader. He was also the judge or arbitrator for legal disputes and religious disputes within the community. The Kahal was appointed by some of the wealthier Jewish families and was composed entirely of Jewish laity. Gentile Authorities permitted the Kahal to maintain law and order within the ghetto on a more practical level. Among the Kahal's duties was to collect taxes both on their own behalf (to maintain local police, feed the rabbi, etc.) and on behalf of the Gentile sovereign. The Kahal would then present a representative of the Gentile Sovereign, like a tax collector, the fees for the entire Jewish community.
Why are Zionist Jews proud of the fact that they killed Jesus Christ?
Answer 1
Zionism was a Jewish nationalist movement whose goal was to create and support a Jewish national state in Palestine. They were not a movement at the time Jesus was crucified. If there are any "Zionist" today who are proud, as you say, of the fact they killed Jesus, then they are misguided and need our prayers.
Answer 2
Jews, regardless of whether they are Zionist or not, do not recognize the Christian claim that they killed Jesus. Jesus was executed by a bloodthirsty Roman Tyrant: Pontius Pilate. However, Paul and Peter could not sell Christianity to the Gentiles while claiming that the Roman people were responsible for the Death of the Savior, so the line in Matthew ascribing bloodguilt to the Jews was added to avoid condemning the Romans for their act. Jews, while not major fans of Jesus are not responsible for his death and therefore are not proud or remorseful for it.
What king introduced monotheism?
Abraham introduced monotheism 3800 years ago.
The answer that you are looking for is "Josiah," but it is mistaken. It is the view of secular academe, and flies in the face of tradition. Judaism had already been monotheistic for eight centuries by the time of Josiah. All he did was to eradicate the idolatrous influences of those Jews who had strayed from their own religion. This had happened repeatedly (such as with Jehoshaphat [2 Chronicles 17:6], and Samuel before him [1 Samuel 7:3-4]); and those who strayed into pagan practices never encompassed the entire people.
What explains why Hebrew law provided more humane treatment of the lowest members of society?
The explanation is that Hebrew law is from God (Exodus 24:12). That is why it has influenced the world so strongly. Other codes, such as those of Hammurabi, Eshnunna, Lipit-Ishtar and the Hittites, are long-defunct.
Judaism is egalitarian and values all individuals, both men and women. The wealthy have no privileges; and the poor are valued, treated well and their opinions listened to. (Compare this to those societies in which only mature, land-owning males had any legal status.)
Judaism applied laws, and rules of moral behavior, to all its members equally. The laws of Moses form much of Western legal background.
Quote:
"I will insist that the Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation ... fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilizing the nations" (John Adams, 2nd President of the United States).
"Certainly, the world without the Jews would have been a radically different place. Humanity might have eventually stumbled upon all the Jewish insights, but we cannot be sure. All the great conceptual discoveries of the human intellect seem obvious and inescapable once they had been revealed, but it requires a special genius to formulate them for the first time. The Jews had this gift. To them we owe the idea of equality before the law, both Divine and human; of the sanctity of life and the dignity of human person; of the individual conscience and of collective conscience, and social responsibility" (Paul Johnson, Christian historian, author of A History of the Jews and A History of Christianity).
What does Belshazzar promise to anyone who can read the writing on the palace wall?
He'll be dressed in purple (royal robes), a gold chain will be put on his neck, and he'll be made the third most powerful person in the kingdom (Daniel ch.5).
