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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 the meaning of wearing a yarmulke?
Traditionally it is seen as symbol of respect towards the Divine.
Israelite society was based upon the covenant with God, as set forth in the Torah. The Torah establishes a separation of the various forms of power, so that all of them are not concentrated in one individual.
In the earliest era, the Hebrews consisted of family-groups (clans; tribes) led by patriarchs. Later, during the three centuries of the Judges, the Israelite nation had sages (led by Sanhedrin-courts) who were consulted in questions of Jewish law and conduct; while individual Judges occasionally unified the people in war against some common enemy.
During the four centuries of the monarchy, the Israelites were led by three distinct people or groups: the king, the Sanhedrin and the Kohen Gadol. (See also Deuteronomy ch.17-18.)
- The king conducted the nation and made decisions in most national matters but was not necessarily one of the leading sages. It is noteworthy that although the prophets had no temporal power, they were sent by God not only to exhort the people in general, but also to rebuke the king when needed.
- The Sanhedrin (court of Sages) was the final authority on Torah-matters. One of its functions was to ensure that the Torah-traditions were handed down intact from generation to generation.
- The Kohen Gadol conducted the observances in the Holy Temple, together with the assistance of the rest of the Kohanim and Levites (Leviticus ch.21, Numbers ch.8 and 18). Though the Kohen Gadol had no formal power outside the Temple, he did have great influence due to the prestige of his position. In times of need, he occasionally dealt directly with foreign monarchs (see Talmud, Yoma 47a and 69b).
Specifically, the monarchy and its hangers-on, and the public functionaries, included a minority that took advantage of those who had no such power.
What kind of education did the ancient Hebrews have?
They began learning Scripture, reading and writing, at 5. At 10 they were able to listen to oral interpretations of scripture. At 13 they were given the responsibility of fulfilling the commandments (Pirkei Avoth ch.4). Children would then begin to learn the family trade (Talmud, Kidushin 82a) while continuing their Torah studies. Male Jewish literacy was close to 100% in every generation. At age 15 the brightest would become a Talmid (disciple of a Rabbi) and devote their lives to the study of the Torah.
Their education involved a great deal of memorization and by the age of 13 most would have memorized the entire Tanakh. Their education was based on relationship. The intent was to shape the children's hearts as opposed to shaping only the children's minds. Good behavior, attitudes and self-control was taught together with the regular studies.
Where was the Great Synagogue that the Romans destroyed?
The Romans destroyed the Second Temple. It was on Temple Mount in Jerusalem .
Jewish scripture says that God's laws were delivered to the ancient Hebrews by?
God to Moses to the Hebrews at Mt. Sinai. Twice, as the first set were destroyed by Moses after he saw the people doing bad things at the base of Mt. Sinai.
How did Zionism lead to the creation of the nation of Israel in 1948?
it developed a movement of return to the homeland among the Jews in the diaspora. groups were formed that later turned into parties. a vacuum as created by the departure of the british, it was the right moment to seize and the state of israel was created.
Why do some historians have different ideas about what happened to the Jews?
It is about valuing one source, or type of source over another.
They more have different ideas over why things happened, there is almost complete agreement over what happened.
If the question refers specifically to the Holocaust, there is a need to separate out those historians who disagree over the interpretation of the actual evidence and those who ignore large parts of evidence because of their political agendas. Failure to recognize the magnitude or scope of the Holocaust is commonly called Holocaust Denial. Typically any number less than 4.5 million Jews as the death toll in the Holocaust (usually less than 1 million) is indicative of Holocaust Denial. The most common reason for Holocaust Denial is in order to delegitimize the State of Israel. In their view, the only reason why Israel is a legitimate country is because of the Holocaust and therefore if the Holocaust is shown to be false, Israel's raison d'etre melts away. (The argument is flawed since Zionism existed before the Holocaust and also helped numerous Jews in the Arab World who were not part of the Holocaust.) The other group that routinely engages in Holocaust Denial are Anti-Semites who see the Holocaust as a means for Jews to gain sympathy.
Who is the antagonist in The Diary of Anne Frank?
The Nazis. They were busy killing Jews by the millions, and the Frank family was hiding from them.
There was no particular stricture concerning children. Parents were responsible for their decorum and cleanliness; that's all. They could enter as far as the parents were allowed to enter. During the yearly festivals, young children (not babies) were expected to come with the parents (Talmud, Hagigah 2a).
Everyone who entered the premises had to ritually immerse beforehand (Talmud, Yoma 30) to ensure ritual purity.
Which year was Anti-Semitic law introduced and what did this law do?
Thousands of Anti-Semitic Laws have been introduced in hundreds of different countries. They did things as varied as give housing restrictions for Jews alone, to expulsion of Jews, to professional restrictions for Jews alone, to marriage restrictions, to forcible conversions, etc.
How did the Philistine invasions affect the Hebrews' political history?
The nature of the Israelite defense needed to change dramatically in light of the Philistine Invasion of the Gazan Coast. Prior to this, the Israelites held together as a confederation with each tribe managing its own defense against local Canaanite Tribes. Each group was semi-autonomous and would be able to match a single Canaanite tribe in combat (which was all that was required).
The Philistines were much better organized and much more populous, meaning that the confederal system of the Israelites did little damage against the Philistines. Similar to the situation of the Articles of Confederation USA, when you have a confederacy, each group wishes to shift the burdens of tax and military responsibility to other members of the confederacy. In the wake of this event, the Israelites needed a powerful federal monarchy to direct all of the tribes into unified battle against the Philistines. This ended the period of the tribal chieftains and replaced it with the monarchy period.
Did the ancient Hebrews live in houses and huts?
The ancient Israelites lived in small huts made of fabrics, later leading to the building of houses.
Which 2 foods were considered unclean?
meat and fish because when you touched them yuor hands got messy
Is Hercules the son of God Yahweh?
no, Hercules is of greek origin and yahweh is Hebrew. they are unrelated
What was Joshua's feelings on the situation between the Protestants and Catholics?
Nothing: Joshua died in the 14th century BC, and the Reformation was in the 16th century AD, so Jesus Christ hadn't even been born yet, (let alone crucified), and there was no such thing as Christianity split into different factions such as Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.
Any of the four books of Jewish history?
Jewish History is contained in thousands of books. A short list is:
The Torah
The Prophets
The Writings
The Mishna
The Gemara
What were three main reasons Jews emigrated to America?
1) Jews sought Economic Freedom: Jews could join nearly any profession that they wanted in the United States (relative to Europe where there were numerous professions from which Jews were banned).
2) Jews sought Religious Freedom: Jews in Europe were far less able to practice Judaism without fear.
3) Europe went through many famine periods: Jews, like many other European peasantry, often-times went without food when there were famines and cold spells. They immigrated to America so that they could own their own land and provide for themselves.
How did Jewish history affect laws and culture in the US?
You have asked a wide-ranging question with many hundreds of details in its answer. I'll provide a few examples.
The long, rich history of Judaism gives the Western world much of its shape today. Many of the laws, traditions, culture and values are directly attributable to Judaism.
1) The Jews' monotheistic religious tradition shaped the Western beliefs about God.
2) The 7-day week, including a day of rest for everyone.
3) The concept of morality was also the work of the Hebrews, including the dignity and value of a person (whereas idolatry had tended to go hand in hand with cruel, licentious and excessive behavior, since the caprices which were narrated concerning the idols were adopted as an excuse to imitate those types of behavior).
Women's rights also were carefully maintained in Judaism. Israelite women could own property, could initiate court cases, could have their own servants, and could own fields and businesses; and the Torah specifies marital rights for women (Exodus 21:10). Today's laws giving women equal rights under the law are a by-product of Judaism.
4) Under Israelite law, everyone had recourse to the courts. A child, widow, wife, etc., could initiate legal action against any citizen to redress perpetrated harm. Compare this to those societies in which only mature, land-owning males had any legal status.
5) What is customary to be eaten in Western society is a reflection of much of the Judaic dietary law. With the exception of the pig, Western society does not eat species not contained in kosher law. Owls, mice, insects, rats, snakes, cats and dogs are not eaten by most Westerners and it is a direct result of Jewish culture.
6) Parents are responsible for teaching children. Illiteracy among Israelites, in every generation, was rare. Universal education in the Western world is taken for granted today, yet this is a recent development. In Judaism, however, it goes back 3300 years. Judaism has always maintained that education is the highest goal of man in his pursuit of Godliness. This tradition has now been passed on to Western culture.
7) Infants are to be protected and cared for, whether or not they turned out to be the gender you were hoping for. Compare this to societies in which unhealthy babies, or females, were killed.
8) Cruelty to animals is not acceptable.
9) Government is accountable to a higher authority. In other ancient societies, the monarch was all-powerful. Among the Israelites, however, the king was under the constant scrutiny of the Divinely-informed prophets, who didn't hesitate to castigate him publicly for any misstep in the sight of God. And, other than for the crime of rebellion, the king couldn't punish any citizen by his own decision. He was obligated by the Torah-procedures like everyone else (Talmud, Sanhedrin 19a).
10) A robber repays double to his victim, or works it off. Cutting off the hands of a robber is a punishable crime. Debtors are not imprisoned or harmed. They are made to sell property and/or work to repay what they owe. Compare this to the Roman practice by which anyone could accuse a man of owing them money and the debtor could be killed.
Western jurisprudence in general is based in part upon Judaic Torah observance. A quick look at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) and the laws that follow (Exodus ch.21-23) gives a very good summary of most modern law.
11) It is the responsibility of the community to support the widow, the orphan, the poor, and the stranger passing through.
It is important to note that every one of the above was instituted among the Hebrews (a.k.a. the Israelites) thousands of years earlier than in other nations. Here's just one example: Aristotle, who was among the greatest of the Greeks, and Seneca, the famous Roman, both write that killing one's young babies is perfectly acceptable.
What are Jews living outside of Judah called?
In ancient times, Jews living away from Judah were termed the Diaspora. Jews populated, as one example, Alexandria.A more extensive answer would include the following information. Many historians mark the Diaspora to the Babylonian occupation and captivity of the Jewish people and relocating many of them to Babylonia.
Additionally, under the Roman empire, the First Jewish War in 66 AD CE brought many Jews to Rome as slaves. Others were displaced as this war continued until 73 AD CE when the war ended with the suicide of remaining fighting Jews at Masada. Jewish people had settlements in several parts of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Later there were still problems for the Jewish people and the Roman empire. In 115 AD CE Jewish communities in Cyrenaica, Egypt, Cyprus and Judea again rebelled against the Romans. At the very least, the exasperated Jews of the diaspora, exploited and scorned for years by gentile neighbors, took advantage of Rome's preoccupation with the Parthian War. Within a year Jewish unrest had spread to Mesopotamia. disturbing the new province. Rome's repression in 117, especially in Egypt, was especially brutal. Areas around Alexandria were affected. Jewish rebellions attacked garrisons and Gentile towns. The Emperor Trajan dispatched forces to end the conflicts. The third major conflict took place under the Emperor Hadrian in 132 to 135 AD CE. The end result was Judea being renamed Syria Palestina. Jews were forbidden to enter Jerusalem.
All of the above scattered Jews throughout the Mediterranean Sea area.
In some cases, the rebellions were not against Roman rule, but involved disputes with non Jewish peoples. In any case, the diaspora that started so long ago in Babylonia carried forth within the Roman empire.
Why did king Cyrus allow some Jews to return to Israel?
He allowed the Judeans return to Judea to let them attempt to claim the ancestral land they lost when Babylon deported them to Babylon to stop them leading rebellions against its rule.
How was the weapons of the Holocaust used?
the greatest weapon of the Holocaust was indifference, this was used to great effect: over the previous eight years the Nazis had done many morally dubious things to the Jews, combined with an actual physical attack during Kristalnacht. They noticed that niether domestically nor internationally was anything done in response; there were no popular protests, no issue raised within the League of Nations, no type of sanctions. With the safety of this knowledge the Nazis could employ any other weapons that they wanted.
It would be easy to say that hate was one of them, but it was closer to fear. The Nazis would make the people afraid that the Jews were a danger to them, their families and their 'way of life'. With this people were happy to see the Jews dissapear from sight. Once out of sight the Nazis could do whatever they wanted.
