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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
What is Zionism and how did it affect the region?
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.
It resulted in the creation of the State of Israel and is one of the leading causes in the Arab-Israeli Conflict. (Other leading causes include Arab Ethnic Nationalism, Religious Intransigence and Holy Lands, etc.)
What was the first all-Jewish city and when was it founded?
Cities - No.
The Jews have never had a provision a la Saudi where only Jews are permitted entry to a certain city or region. Judaism provides for "Stranger Among Them" or "Ger Bitokham" (גר בתוכם). Therefore, there has never been an exclusively Jewish city.
However, most ghettos and other Jewish neighborhoods in the Medieval Period (especially in Europe) were exclusively Jewish because both non-Jews and Jews wished to live separately. Similarly, in the Arab World, there were a number of Jewish tribes which lived in their own encampments outside of the larger metropolises of that era. These, though, are not considered cities. Finally, there were a number of kibbutzim and moshavim in Israel that have always been selectively Jewish or only attracted Jewish membership. These also are not Jewish cities because a kibbutz or a moshav is never large enough to be an urban center.
I believe this is a mix up of the phrase 'boom times' meaning a period of prosperity and the word 'boon' meaning a blessing or benefit.
Was Herod the Great an Arabian by descendant?
Why do Russian Jews have German names?
The language of the Jews throughout eastern Europe was Yiddish. Yiddish is in large part derived from an old form of German.
When the Jews of eastern Europe were required by their local governments to take surnames during the early and middle 19th century, many of them were able to choose their own names. Often they used patronymics, nicknames, or other terms from their Yiddish language.
The names of Russian Jews are often Yiddish in origin, but because Yiddish has much in common with German, the uninformed think they are German names.
How large was the wilderness area that the Israelites wandered in?
The Sinai peninsula is 60,000 square kilometers (23,000 square miles), but the Israelites did not journey through all of it (they were never in the Western Sinai). On the other hand, they also passed through the wildernesses of Ammon and Moab (Jordanian desert) and east of Edom (Deuteronomy ch.2). See also:
When were the Writings brought together into one Jewish book?
The Writings are the third part of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible).
Jewish tradition (Talmud, Bava Batra 14b) states that the Writings were written by the authors whose names they bear: Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah. Ruth was written by Samuel; Lamentations was written by Jeremiah; Psalms was set in writing by King David; Chronicles was written by Ezra; Proverbs, Song of Songs and Kohellet (Ecclesiastes) were written by King Solomon; and Esther was written by Mordecai and Esther. The Writings were written between 900 BCE (Ruth) to the 300s BCE (Esther, Daniel, Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah).
Concerning Job, the Talmud states more than one opinion as to when it was written.
The Hebrew Bible Canon: Our tradition is that from the time of the First Destruction, God's presence was no longer felt as clearly as before (see Deuteronomy 31:17-18). In addition, exile is not conducive to prophecy (Mechilta, parshat Bo). At that time, the last of the prophets realized that prophecy would soon cease; and that the dispersal of the Jewish people, plus the almost continuous tribulations from the First Destruction onwards, made it imperative to seal the canon of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). The Sages of the time, including the last living prophets, convened a special synod for a couple of decades, which was called the Men of the Great Assembly (Mishna, Avot ch.1). This group, who functioned some 2360 years ago, composed the blessings and the basic prayers of the siddur (prayerbook) and the early portions of the Passover Haggadah, made many of the Rabbinical decrees, and (most importantly) sealed the canon of the Tanakh. It was they, for example, who set the twelve Minor Prophets as (halakhically) a single book, and who set the books of the Tanakh in their traditional order (see Talmud, Bava Batra 14b). It was the Men of the Great Assembly whom Esther had to approach when she felt that the Divinely inspired Scroll of Esther should be included in the canon (see Talmud, Megilla 7a).
Since the sealing of the Tanakh, no Jewish sage has ever claimed prophecy.
Anti-Zionism is a movement which denies the right of Israel to exist, and the right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel. However, Israel has been the Jewish homeland since biblical times.
Although much of Anti-Zionism is devoted particularly to the State of Israel, Anti-Zionists reject the idea of any Jewish State anywhere in the world as an unnatural, undesirable, and wrong situation.
What did the ancient Israel do for entertainment?
We know from the Tanakh (Bible) about musical instruments, dance, wine and song. Beyond that, not much is said, since unlike the ancient Greeks, the Israelites (until mid-Second Temple times) did not build theaters or arenas.
According to the Bible, Abraham was the first of the three Hebrew patriarchs. He is generally credited with being the first since Noah and his sons to recognise that there was only one God, although strictly speaking the Bible does not credit Abraham with being monotheistic - the insight that there is only one God was given to Abraham in a midrash (non-binding opinion) written shortly before the Christian era.
Almost all scholars dismiss Abraham as a historical person, so he really made no contribution to the development of the Jewish religion. Perhaps his real contribution is as a figurehead for Jews to believe in and base their faith on.
Moses
According to the Bible, Moses was the great leader chosen by God to lead the Israelite slaves in the Exodus out of Egypt. He received the Ten Commandments from God and built the Ark of the covenant, both to hold the tablets on which the commandments were written, and to support the mercy seat on which God rode as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Moses is traditionally credited with writing the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch.
Over 90 per cent of scholars are reported to believe that there was no Exodus from Egypt as described in the Bible. Therefore there was no Moses, and he made no real contribution to the development of the Jewish religion. Biblical scholars attribute the Pentateuch to a number of anonymous sources, writing many centuries after the time attributed to Moses.
David
According to the Bible, David was the great king who united all the Israelite tribes and went on to conquer a great empire. David was not a prophet and is not credited with any direct contribution to the development of the Jewish religion, but the Jews needed a glorious past with great leaders that they could be proud of, and David seems to provide that past. The last judge of the Israelites, Samuel, was commanded to anoint David king, evidence both of God's existence and his interest in the development of Israel. David is traditionally credited with writing many of the psalms.
Historians accept that David was probably a real, historical person, but say he was more likely a local warlord or tribal chieftain whose influence never extended far beyond the region that would later become the kingdom of Judah. Many scholars dismiss the idea of a United Monarchy as described in the Bible. the psalms are regarded as a genre unknown at the time attributed to David.
Solomon
According to the Bible, Solomon was David's son and successor who became the wisest of kings and ruled over a prosperous kingdom, living a lavish lifestyle and entertaining the legendary Queen of Sheba. His contribution to Jewish religion would be his request that God give him great wisdom. Because of that wisdom, he is credited with writing some of the psalms and the wisdom books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
Historians accept that Solomon was probably a real, historical person, but say his influence would never have extended far beyond the region that would later become the kingdom of Judah. Most say there was no great United Monarchy at this time. Archaeologists say that Israel of the eleventh century BCE could not have supported the lavish lifestyle attributed to Solomon in the Bible. Lester L. Grabbe (Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?) says the story of the Queen of Sheba was invented by the post-Deuteronomic redactor.
The Books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes were compiled after the Babylonian Exile, centuries after the time attributed to Solomon. Ecclesiastes even contains some Persian loan words, which would only have been possible after 500 BCE.
What are the ancient Hebrews laws of god are called?
They have several names:
- The Torah (תורה)
- Halakha (הלכה) (which means "the way")
- The 613 Commandments (תרי״ג מצוות)
- Jewish Law
What did the Romans do to Jews?
Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, the two sons of the Jewish King Yannai (Johanan Hyrcanus, 1st century BCE), got the Romans involved in Judea when they asked the Romans to settle a dispute. At first the Romans were cordial; and they actually became party to a military treaty with Judea (Talmud, Avodah Zara 9a). A couple of decades later, however, they unilaterally abrogated the treaty, and placed Roman governors over the land who afflicted the Jews with crushing taxation (Talmud, Yoma 9a). In the first two centuries CE, things got worse, with the Romans destroying the Second Temple and temporarily outlawing Torah-observances, and the Jews attempting to revolt. The Romans destroyed large numbers of Jewish communities in the Holy Land, and they killed some of the leading Jewish sages.
(During those times that the Romans didn't interfere with the internal life of the Jews, the reason was because the Romans wanted to receive their taxes. That, and making sure none of their colonies planned rebellions, was usually the only thing that the Romans were really concerned about.)
How did Mesopotamia influence Jewish and Phoenician culture?
I'm not sure about Phoenician culture, but the Jews adopted a similar governmental system to the Mesopotamians.
Mesopotamian culture was the dominant culture in the Middle East for an expansive period of history. Mesopotamian influences included art-forms, economic systems, roads and public trading routes, clothes, and the concept of writing. Phoenicians and Hebrews borrowed these traits and modified them to fit their own indigenous beliefs.
The Essenes were a sect belonging to the Second Temple Judaism. They lived an existence of self-imposed poverty, and dedicated themselves to asceticism.
Answer:
The Essenes were a small sect in Judea who eventually went extinct. They styled themselves "observant; pious ones." The normative, majority religious community viewed them as breakaways from the common stream of Jewish tradition, because of their beliefs and practices. Their beliefs included an excessive amount of dabbling with the names of angels, messianic fervor, gnosticism and eschatological speculation; and their practices were more like Christian monasticism than the generally accepted Jewish way of living. The practices of the Essenes included vegetarianism, dwelling in isolated groups, communal ownership, monastic asceticism and avoidance of money, commerce or private property, and (among some of them) celibacy. Also, they had some forms of non-traditional observances (such as round phylacteries [tefillin]). Some researchers identify the Essenes as a form of early Christianity, taking also into account the fact that early Christianity was far from uniform and was, for a time, thought of as a kind of modified Judaism.
What is the name of the Jewish God that starts with Y?
YHWH. Also known as the ineffable name of God. Traditionally not supposed to be
said out loud; or replaced with a gong, cymbal crash or other drum hit to emphasize
that the name of God is beyond our grasp/understanding.
Today it is pronounced "yahweh" pron. yah'weigh ... and has been copted by some
Christian religions as Jehovah.
Comment (by another contributor)
Pretty good, except for the gong part. If we're talking about the Jewish concept ...
and that's how the question was posed ... then it must be mentioned that you'll never
encounter a gong, cymbal crash, or the like during any Jewish worship. I'm pretty sure
that part must have leaked into the first Answer from some central Asian studies.
Where can I buy beef dripping from like you useto buyin the 1940s?
Up until a year or so ago you could buy lard from a supermarket - however they all seem to have stopped stocking it. Perhaps because they are on a healthy diet drive?
I use it to feed the wild birds!!!
What is the significance of the various elements of the Seder meal to Jewish history and tradition?
Here is the symbolism of the items on the Seder plate:
The bitter herbs (maror) symbolize the harsh slavery which the Israelites suffered in Egypt. Either horseradish or romaine lettuce is traditionally used for maror.
Charoset - A sweet mixture representing the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build the storehouses of Egypt. In Ashkenazi Jewish homes, charoset is traditionally made from chopped nuts, grated apples, cinnamon, and sweet red wine.
Karpas - A vegetable other than bitter herbs, traditionally parsley, which is dipped into salt water at the beginning of the Seder. The dipping of a simple vegetable into salt water (which represents tears) recalls the pain felt by the Jewish slaves in Egypt.
Beitzah - A hard-boiled egg, symbolizing the korban chagigah (festival sacrifice) that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night. Although both the Pesach sacrifice and the chagigah were meat offerings, the chagigah is commemorated by an egg, a symbol of mourning.
Z'roa - A roasted lamb or goat shank-bone, chicken wing, or chicken neck; symbolizing the korban Pesach (Pesach sacrifice), which was a lamb that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem, then roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night.
Pesach (Passover) is important to us since in it we relive the Exodus from Egypt and our birth as a nation, both of which were preparations for receiving the Torah from God.
The highlight of Passover is the Seder meal. This meal is of great importance in Judaism. It is a 3325-year old continuous tradition that began on the night of the Exodus from Egypt (see Exodus chapter 12), and is fully detailed in our ancient Oral Traditions (Talmud, chapter Arvei Pesachim).
The Seder meal is one of those occasions, like Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, that Jews all over the world, Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike, observe in common. During the Seder, we keep the essential mitzva and customs of handing Jewish traditions down to the next generation, with the traditional Seder foods and the ceremony of reading the Passover Haggadah which retells the events of the Exodus.
During the Seder meal, other traditional foods are eaten in addition to the matzah: bitter herbs, parsley, wine and haroset (see below). Salt water, a roasted egg, and a bit of roasted meat are also on the table.
During all the days of Passover, matzah (unleavened bread) is eaten; while leavened foods such as bread, cake, cookies, cereal and pasta are forbidden. Certain prayers are added in the synagogue services, and the Torah is read each day.
What was the middle passage and what was it was about?
The middle passage is part of the triangle trade. it was the middle leg of the Triangular Trade route used by the European merchants. The African slaves were viewed as cargo by the merchants and were packed into the ships with no regard to their basic human rights.
Slave ships could be either 'tight pack' or 'loose pack'. A 'tight pack' could hold many more slaves than the 'loose pack' because the amount of space allocated to each slave was considerably less, but more slaves would die on route to America so there would be less slaves to sell .
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It is when the slaves were taken by Europe and america from the African traders. Crossing the Atlantic on large boats, they were chained to the floor and had very little room to move. There would often be hundreds kept just on the deck of the ship. Slaves on the ships had as little as a 40% chance of actually making the journey alive to be sold as slaves.
Many slaves became seasick or developed diarrhea. Unable to move because they were chained into their positions, the slave's deck became a stinking mass of human waste. Slaves who had developed sores where their chains had rubbed their skin, had festering wounds often with maggots eating away their flesh.
Conditions on the slave ships were so bad that many slaves decided they would prefer to die, and tried to starve themselves by refusing to eat or try to jumping overboard. However, slaves that would not eat were whipped or force fed and the traders and ship owners began fixing nets to the sides of the boat so that the slaves could not jump overboard. Slaves had no choice but to endure the horrific conditions.
