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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
How big was the army of the Israelites at the time of Joshua?
The Bible says that the Israelites numbered 600,000 fighting men which, if true, would have been easily the most powerful fighting force in the late Bronze Age. Archaeologists say that the Hebrew nations never reached this combined size until Iron Age II.
Another View:
The biblical stories are no more than that. The 600,000 of military age, with families and slaves would have meant 3 million people and 10 million animals to find food and water for in the Sinai Desert for forty years. It is an absurdity. The skeletons of both people and animals which would litter the countryside are also absent. And how the families of the original flight to Egypt greww from about 70 people to those numbers in another fabrication.
Modern historical opinion rests on it being just a few thousand who returned to Palestine. For that matter, there were several thousand Hebrews employed by the Egyptians as border guards on the border with Nubia, and this move could have been returnees after their contract was over, which was dressed up into the exaggerated story. Difficult to come to any conclusion other than the biblical story is impossible.
Why is the division of Israel so important in Jewish history?
Had the Kingdom of Israel not split after the death of King Solomon, the Ten Tribes would be with us today.
How to use Zionism in a sentence?
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.
What Jewish thinker advocated that modern Jews enter the European mainstream?
The whole Reform Judaism movement in Europe advocated that.
Ezra was not a conqueror; he was a priest. He moved freely between the various satraps under the control of Cyrus the Great of Persia and established an autonomous Jewish community in the Land of Israel under the auspices of the Persians.
Jew have been tortured by numerous people throughout history. Probably the most prolific torturers were Josef Mengele (a doctor who performed inhumane medical experiments on Jews during the Holocaust) and Tomás de Torquemada (a Catholic Cardinal who led the Spanish Inquisition and tortured Jews with horrible physical contraptions meant to cause immeasurable pain).
Did Jewish people face genocide and antisemitism throughout their history?
Yes. Unfortunately, both Anti-Semitism and genocide were quite common in Jewish history.
Maimonides, also known as the Rambam, was born in Cordoba, Spain in 1135 AD.
What is the history of the Jewish flag?
There is no such thing as a Jewish flag.
The State of Israel has Israeli national symbols such as a flag that draw from Jewish inspirations. It is very similar to how there is no such thing as a Lutheran flag, but the cross on the Swedish flag is representative of how Lutheranism is the dominant religion in that country.
How long did the Jews spend in Babylon?
The Babylonian Captivity was from 586 B.C.E. to 532 B.C.E. or 54 years.
How many Non-Jewish people survived the Holocaust?
The question does not really make sense. The only non-Jews in the Holocaust were those doing the persecuting. It is like asking how many Popes survived the Inquisition.
When did they start calling the israelites Jews?
The first written record of the term Jew being used to refer to all Israelites, regardless of tribal affiliation, is in the book of Esther - approximately 135-140 BCE.
What are Jewish consintration camps?
Jewish consintration camps were camps that the Nazis put Jews. They put them there to work and hardly ever gave them food. When the Jews there were no longer needed they would be sent to the gas chambers or huge fireplaces, and be killed. Hitler was the one in charge, he wanted power and that was a way to get it.
Is Mr Dussle in the attic with the frank and van daan family?
Mr. Dussle did hide in the Secret Annex with the Franks. However he did not go into hiding at the same time the Franks did. The Franks went first, then the Van Daans, then Mr. Dussle became the 8th member several months later.
What is Zionism and who was their leader?
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.
The Zionist leadership was ardently secularist with one or two critical exceptions. These leaders included Theodor Herzl (who developed the concept of Modern Jewish Nationalism or Zionism), Eliezer ben Yehuda (who developed the Modern Hebrew Language), Ze'ev Jabotinsky (Jewish Advocate to the British and Leader of the Palmach), Menachem Begin (Leader of the Irgun and future Israeli Prime Minister), and the Halutzim in general (the Jewish pioneers who arrived in the British Mandate of Palestine in the 1920s and 1930s). On the religious side, there was primarily Rabbi Avraham Kook (First Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel and .founder of Religious Zionism) who was treading a new theological doctrine to back up Zionism with Jewish religious values.
Which Jewish sect denied any kind of resurrection of the body?
The Sadducee's were the Jewish sect that denied any kind of resurrection of the body. They also denied any kind of spirit realm.
Was there a ten-tribe revolt against Jeroboam?
Not exactly. The Ten Tribes, led by Yeravam (Jeroboam) revolted against Rehavam (Rehoboam), leaving him as king of Judah (and Benjamin). 1 Kings ch.12.
What was the ancient Israelites' intellectual life?
Torah-study and practice. No more, no less. From Abraham down to today, Jews have always been a scholarly people, treasuring their Torah which God himself commanded them to study (Deuteronomy 6).
There are Jews in just about every country.
When the Jews were compelled to leave Judea in ancient times, they migrated to North Africa, southern Europe, the Crimea, throughout the Near East, and (later) throughout Europe.
What does the Star of David have to do with the Zionist movement?
The Star of David was used as a Jewish symbol throughout the centuries, and was even used by the Nazis to identify Jews, when they were forced to wear it at all times.
It was in 1897 that the World Zionist Congress decided to adapt the symbol as a Zionist emblem, and, in the end, it was also introduced into the Israeli flag and many other Zionist propaganda.
Just as the Cross is associated with Christianity, the Star of David represents either Judaism or Zionism (although they are not the same at all).
