Judaism

1
Judaism

• Chapter 11

2
Defining Judaism

• There is a wide range of definitions of Judaism
  from extremely the orthodox Hasidic Jew to
  someone who is born into a Jewish family
• Some define it as a religion and some define it
  as a race
• The unifying feature is a belief in the oneness
  of a God who works in and through historical
  events and has in some manner chosen the Jewish
  people as agents.

3
Biblical Patriarchs

• According to the Bible, God promises Abraham that
  he will have decendants and they will be Gods
  special people with their own land.
• Genesis tells the story of Abraham and his son
  Isaac, then his grandson Jacob. It is from Jacob
  that the twelve sons become the fathers of the
  Hebrew people (12 tribes)

4
Hebrew Patriarchal Religion

• Worshipped one God El (El Shaddai God of the
  mountains, El Elyon God Most High, El Olam- God
  everlasting)
• God was worshipped by burning animal sacrifices
  in the open air. Temple worship comes later.
• Basic animistic tendencies in Patriarch (p234)

5
Hebrew Patriarchal Religion

• Patriarchs circumcise males a a sign of covenant
  with Abraham (although this was also a common
  practice outside of the Hebrews)
• Patriarchs kept a Sabbath Day (God rested on the
  seventh day in the creation story)

6
Exodus

• God promised a great nation would arise from
  Abraham, that his descendants would have a
  homeland (Canaan), and that the whole world would
  be blessed by this nation.
• These descendants were enslaved in Egypt. The
  story of liberation from slavery and journey out
  of Egypt (Exodus) are the heart and soul of
  Judaism

7
Exodus

• Moses story of his endangerment as an infant
  rescue by Pharaoh's daughter killed an Egyptian
  in the defense of a slave exiled to the Sinai
  Desert
• God (YHWH) asks Moses to lead the Hebrews out of
  Egypt by speaking to him through a burning bush

8
Exodus

• Moses returns to Egypt
• Series of 10 miraculous plagues
• Moses leads the Hebrews out of Egypt
• They were pursued by Pharaoh
• Parting of the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds)
• Egyptians were drowned
• This event, along with Passover, became a part of
  Jewish history an act in which God intervened
  to deliver his chosen people.

9
Sinai and the Law

• The Hebrews (Israelites) came to Mt. Sinai
• God gave Moses the 10 absolute laws that are
  basic to Jewish life (p237)
• These are commandments that stress obedience and
  loyalty to YHWH

10
First Five Books of the Bible

• Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
  Deuteronomy
• This is called the Pentateuch the legal
  material in the Bible
• This material later becomes the basis of the
  Mishnah and the Talmud.

11
Post-Sinai Religious Institutions

• The Ark of the Covenant
• Box carrying relics of Exodus and Commandments
• Eventually placed in Solomons Temple
• Likely destroyed with Temple by the Babylonians
  in 586 BC

12
Post-Sinai Religious Institutions

• The Tent of Meeting
• A tent that could be moved place to place with
  the nomadic Israelites
• It provided a place of worship
• After the Hebrews entered Canaan, it is only
  mentioned once

13
Post-Sinai Religious Institutions

• After wandering the Sinai Desert for 40 years,
  the Hebrews invade and conquer land East of the
  Jordan River and under Joshua invade and
  gradually conquer or displace the Canaanite
  people.

14
Religion in the Time of the Hebrew Monarchy

• Religion took a more formal turn when David
  became the first truly effective king of the
  Israelites.
• David capture Jerusalem and because of its
  central location and its easily defended hills,
  and perhaps its history as a sacred site.
• Davids abilities as a military leader and
  administrator helped Israel develop into a fairly
  powerful and wealthy small nation of the Middle
  East.

15
The Temple

• David wished to build a great temple in
  Jerusalem, but according to scriptures, YHWH
  forbade it
• Davids son, Solomon, later built the temple.
  Design for the temple was similar to Canaanite
  Baalim Temples (due to the Tyrian builders who
  designed it)

16
The Temple

• The Ark of the Covenant was placed in it and a
  class of priests was attached to the temple
• Worship of YHWH took on a more formal status

17
The Prophetic Movement

• Development a religious body of leaders called
  prophets
• In the earlier forms, these figures in other
  religions were involved in dance, song, incense,
  and worked themselves into an ecstatic state to
  hear voices of their gods.
• Early Jewish prophets may have done this, too.
• The healed the sick, cured, blessed, and produced
  food for their followers, and worked miracles.

18
The Prophetic Movement

• Eventually they became attached to the royal
  household
• Nathan was a part of the court of David
• Some prophets denounced wickedness among the
  people and the kings (p239)

19
The Prophetic Movement

• Four classical Jewish prophets of the 8th century
  BC denounce social injustice and call for
  fidelity to the covenant
• Amos
• Hosea
• Isaiah
• Jeremiah
• These Classical prophets warn that YHWH will
  reject the chosen people and take away their land
  if they do not repent

20
More on the prophetic movement

• Civil war after Solomons reign divides the
  nation into two countries Israel in the north
  and Judah in the south
• The northern nation of Israel was destroyed by
  the Assyrians in 721 BC and its people
  disappeared from history killed, deported, or
  enslaved
• They were known as the ten lost tribes

21
Exile and Return

• The southern nation (Judah) was made up of the
  remainder of Davids kingdom, but was later
  destroyed by the Neo-Babylonian empire in 586 BC.
• With the Babylonian conquest, Jerusalem was
  destroyed, along with Solomons temple.
• The Judeans of the south held onto their identity
  while in captivity.

22
Exile and Return

• While in captivity in Babylon, they were led by a
  man named Ezekiel.
• When the Persians capture Babylon, many Jews were
  freed and returned to Jerusalem to re-establish
  their lives and their temple
• During this captivity, there were theological
  changes YHWH was not in a temple He was with
  them in Babylon

23
Poet of the period wrote

• By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and
  wept, when we remembered Zion
• (p 241)

24
Prophets

• Ezekiel answered that YHWH was mobile and was
  available to his people in Babylon as easily as
  in Jerusalem.
• Isaiah states the YHWH was no longer the God of
  just the Israelites, but was the one true God for
  all people
• The mission of the Jews as YHWHs chosen people
  is to present his message to all nations of the
  world

25
Ezra and the law of God in books

• Ezra returned from Babylon to Jerusalem as a
  priest. He brought scripture which he read to
  the people of Jerusalem. It had a profound
  effect on the people and it was Ezra who began
  the process of canonizing books as the word of
  God
• It was no longer believed God spoke through
  prophets now through his Book

26
The Second Temple

• The second temple was built in Jerusalem in the
  6th century BC and was rather simple. In the time
  of Herod the Great (34-4 BC) it was restored and
  decorated to a magnificent state
• Destroyed again by the Romans in 70 AD

27
Diaspora

• After the Assyrian destruction of Israel in 721
  BC we see the beginning of the diaspora
• The diaspora is the scattering of the Jewish
  people all over the world
• Sometimes it was forced (like by the Babylonians)
  or by choice
• Large Jewish community in Alexandria, Egypt,
  compels Jews to translate the Hebrew Bible t Greek

28
Synagogue

• Greek word synagogue assembly
• The synagogue offers a place of worship (prayer
  and instruction) outside of Jerusalems temple
• A synagogue can exist anywhere there is a Torah
  and 10 adult males (over age 13)
• 10 adult males is a minyan or quorum

29
The Rabbi

• Means my master
• The Torah (the voice of God first 5 books of
  the Bible) there arose a need for someone to
  study these books
• Rabbis struggled to address problems

30
Rabbis

• How does one apply laws written by nomadic and
  agricultural people to Jews in the Iron Age?
• Rabbis sought interperative principles for
  applying Gods Law in the Torah to the people
• Debated between Rabbinical schools arose
• Rabbis guide Jews in Diaspora seeking to live
  differently than Non-Jew (Gentile) neighbors

31
Diaspora Jews and Hope for a Messiah

• Amongst the scattered Jews, there was a hope for
  the coming of a Messiah to defeat the enemies of
  Jews and re-establish the Davidic Monarchy
• Some Jews see the Messiah as a political figure
• some a military figure
• some a spiritual figure

32
Jewish/Zealot uprising of 66 AD

• There was conflict and misunderstanding between
  the Romans/Greeks and the Jews
• Sabbath vs. Lazy
• Kosher foods
• Circumcision

33
Jewish Uprising

• In 66 AD the bitterness overflowed and the Jews
  revolted against the Romans in Judea. At first
  the Jews were successful, but eventually they
  were defeated.
• Romans besiege Jerusalem and destroy the temple
• Rabbis met in Yabneh to discuss the future of
  Judaism

34
Meeting in Yabneh

• Decided the official list of books in Jewish
  scriptures
• Affirmed the 5 books of the Torah and the books
  of the prophets
• Most debate around the writings Psalms, Job,
  Esther, Ruth, Tobit, Judith, and I and II
  Maccabees

35
The Mishnah

• Jewish Rabbinical Leadership Moves Center of
  Discussion to Galilee Region in Second Century
• Judah ha-Nasi Brings Together All Jewish Legal
  Commentary and Disputes Since Days of Ezra in the
  Mishnah (Repetition)
• The Mishnah Illustrates Dilemma of Being Jewish
  without a Jewish Nation or Temple

36
Mishnah

• The Mishnah Redefines Judaism as Religion of the
  Law
• Secondary Level of Laws Added so that Keeping
  them Will Prevent Violating Primary Law (Torah)
• The Mishnah Adds Detail and Specifics to the
  Torah in order to Guide Religious Practice to the
  True, Deeper Meaning of the Torah

37
The Talmud

• After Compilation of the Mishnah, Center of
  Jewish Life and Learning Moves to Babylon
• Zoroastrians in Babylon Accepted Jews, Who
  Prospered There
• Constantines Granting Official Status to
  Christianity in Roman Empire Made Life Difficult
  for Jews
• Jewish-Christian Tensions Drive Many Jews to
  Zoroastrian Babylon

38
The Talmud

• The Gemara Offers Additional Commentary on Jewish
  Mishnah and Torah, Plus Commentary on all Areas
  of Jewish Life
• When Gemara Added to Mishnah the Result is the
  Talmud
• Palestinian Talmud Completed in 425 C.E.
• Babylonian Talmud Completed in 500 C.E.
• Babylonian Talmud Three Times as Large as
  Palestinian Talmud (2.5 million words)

39
The Talmud

• Talmud Contains Halachah and Haggadah
• Halachah (the proper way) Legal Material,
  Debates, Decisions
• Haggadah (tale, narrative) History, Folklore,
  Sermons
• 30 Percent of Babylonian Talmud is Haggadah

40
The Talmud

• Jewish Scholars Form Academies for Study of
  Talmud
• Talmud Scholars Who Ran Academies Known as Gaon
• Period from 600-1000 C.E. Known as Gaonic Period
• Saadiah ben Joseph (882-942 C.E.) Last Great Gaon
  
• Karaite Rebellion Against Authority of Talmud,
  Appeal for Return to Pure Biblical Law

41
Medieval Judaism

• Medieval Judaism
• Judaism and Islam
• Jews in Babylon, Palestine, Egypt, Turkey, North
  Africa, Spain Come Under Islamic Rule in Seventh
  and Early Eighth Centuries C.E.
• Jews Suffer Sporadic Periods of Persecution Under
  Muslims
• Jews and Muslims Live in Relative Harmony and
  Intellectual Cooperation Under Abbasid Dynasty,
  Baghdad Becomes Center of Jewish Religious
  Authority
• Persecution Begins in 847 B.C.E.
• Internal Strife Afflicts Judaism as Exilarchs and
  Karaites Challenge Academic Heads, Goanim
• Jewish Religious and Intellectual Leadership
  Moves to Spain

42
Judaism in Spain

• Judaism in Spain
• Jewish Presence in Spain Dates to First Century
  C.E.
• Jews in Spain Persecuted By Christianity Forced
  to Convert or Be Expelled Law Unevenly Enforced
• Muslim Conquest of Spain in 711 C.E., Begin
  Golden Age of Freedom and Tolerance for Jews
• Many Leading Jewish Intellectuals Emerge from
  Spain

43
Spain

• Many Leading Jewish Intellectuals Emerge from
  Spain
• Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides) (1135-1204)
  Excelled as Physician, Talmud Scholar, Philosophy
• Maimonides Guide to the Perplexed Endeavors to
  Synthesize Aristotles Philosophy and Judaism

44
Spain

• Muslim Rule of Spain Declines in Thirteenth
  Century, and Resurgent Christians Persecute
  Spanish Jews
• Forced Conversions to Christianity Common, But
  Many Conversos Secretly Practice Judaism
• Thousands of Jews Massacred in 1391 C.E.
• King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella Expel Jews from
  Spain in 1492 C.E.
• Jews Flee to Portugal, Italy, Morocco, Balkans,
  Turkey

45
Judaism in other European Nations

• Judaism in Other European Nations
• After Babylon and Spain, No Clear Center of
  Jewish Life
• Jews Settle in Many Places in Christian Europe
  and Muslim Countries

46
The Crusades

• The Crusades
• Crusades Begun in 1096 by Pope Innocent II
• Crusaders Undertake both Attacks on Muslim
  Countries in Middle East, but also Widespread
  Attacks on Jews in Europe
• By 1286 Many Jews Fled to Poland and/or Muslim
  Lands

47
Kabbalah

• The Kabbalah
• The Kabbalah (literally tradition) Collects
  Esoteric Jewish Writings on Angels, Demons,
  Magical Incantations, Charms, Witches, Ghouls,
  Interpretations of Dreams, Date of the Messiahs
  Coming

48
Kabbalah

• Process of Compiling Kabbalah Began in Babylon
  Between 500 and 900 C.E., Produces the Sefer
  Yetzrich (Book of Creation)
• The Sefer Hazohar (Book of Splendor), or the
  Zohar Likely Composed by Spanish Mystical Jew,
  Moses de Leon
• The Zohar Becomes More Popular with Medieval Jews
  than Talmud
• The Zohar Mixes Theology, Cosmogony, Discussions
  of Angels, Evil, and Far-Fetched Numerological
  Analyses of Scripture

49
Kabbalah

• Kabbalistic Group of Spanish Exiles forms in
  Galilee Under Direction of Isaac Luria
  (1534-1572)
• Worldwide Judaism Under Persecution and Expulsion
  from Many Christian Countries, Find Solace in
  Kabbalahs Mysticism, Found in it Hope for a
  Coming Messiah

50
Judaism in the modern world

• By End of Fifteenth Century Jews Expelled or Made
  Unwelcome in Nearly Every European Country
• Jews Begin to Find New Home in Eastern Europe
• By End of Sixteenth Century a Half Million Jews
  in Poland
• Many Jews in Poland Work as Tax Collectors and
  Landlords
• In 1648 C.E., Peasant Rebellion in Poland Leads
  to Pogroms Against Jews, Who Were Identified with
  Nobility
• 1648-1656 C.E., 300-500 Thousand Polish Jews
  Killed

51

• Protestant Reformation Negatively Impacts Jews
• Luther Made Fierce Anti-Jewish Statements
• Catholic Counter-Reformation Develops an
  Inquisition System that Persecutes Jews
• The Ghetto System Develops to Segregate Jews in
  One Section of European Cities
• Jews Live Under Curfew and Many Restrictions
• Fourth Lateran Council (1215) of Catholic Church
  Decrees that Jews Must Wear Yellow Badges

52
Responses to Modernity

• Shabbatai Zevi
• Seventeenth Century C.E. Charismatic Figure Who
  Claimed to be the Messiah, Raising Hopes of Jews
  Worldwide
• Entered Turkey in 1665 C.E., Arrested and Given
  Choice Convert to Islam or Die
• Zevi Converts to Islam, Disappoints World Jews

53

• Moses Mendelssohn (b. 1729)
• German Eighteenth Century Jew Who Won Respect as
  Poet and Philosopher Among German Intellectuals
• Befriends Lessing, Possibly Subject of Nathan the
  Wise
• Encouraged Jews to Leave Ghettoes, Enter Modern
  World, Speak German Rather than Yiddish

54

• Baal Shem Tov (1699-1760 C.E.)
• Israel ben Eleizer Preaches God Found Not in
  Scholarly Research on Bible or Talmud, but in
  Simple Heartfelt Faith
• Renamed Baal Shem Tov (master of the good name)
• Followers, Known as the Hasidim, Centered in
  Eastern Europe

55

• Hasidim Meet Opposition from Orthodox Rabbis
• Contrary to Mendelssohn, Baal Shem Tov Teaches
  Jews to Shun Modern World, Live Own Tradition
  Faithfully in Own Jewish Enclaves
• Hasidim More Interested in Mystical-Kabbalah
  Tradition Than Orthodox Rabbis

56
Reform Judaism

• Reform Judaism
• Prohibitions Against Jews Ending After French
  Revolution, Jews Entering Mainstream European
  Life
• Many Modern Jews Seek to Reform Judaism to Update
  it and Make it Easier for Jews to Live as
  Mainstream Europeans
• German Jewish Leaders in 1843 Teach Basics of
  Reform Judaism

57
Reform

• German Jewish Leaders in 1843 Teach Basics of
  Reform Judaism
• There Is a Continuation in Development of Judaism
• The Talmud Has No Authority For Modern Jews
• Jews Seek No Messiah, and Know No Homeland But
  the Land of Their Birth

58
Reform

• Vernacular Displaces Hebrew in Reform Jewish
  Worship and Kosher Food Laws Relaxed
• Eastern European and Russian Jews Did not Reform,
  Faced Serious Persecution by their Governments,
  Many Flee

59
Zionism

• Zionism
• Latent European Anti-Judaism Resurfaces in
  Dreyfus Case
• In 1894 French Captain Alfred Dreyfus Accused of
  Betraying French Military Secrets During
  Franco-Prussian War
• Anti-Jewish Hysteria Grips France
• Dreyfus Convicted on Weak Evidence, Later
  Declared to be Erroneous Evidence
• Jewish Reporter Theodore Herzl Covered Dreyfus
  Case
• Herzl and Others Decide that Despite
  Liberal-Tolerant Facade Jews will Never be
  Treated Fairly in Europe, Must Seek Own Homeland

60
Zionist Movement

• Zionist Movement Centered on Herzls Ideas
  Emerges, Settles on Palestine as Best Site
• Early 1900s C.E. Jews Begin Buying and Settling
  Land in Palestine
• In 1909 City of Tel Aviv Founded
• By 1920, 50,000 Jews Living in Palestine
• By 1928, 100,000 Jews Living in Palestine
• By 1931, 175,000 Jews Living in Palestine
• By 1933, 220,000 Jews Living in Palestine

61
British Balfour Declaration of 1917

• British Balfour Declaration of 1917 Sows Seeds
  of Future Middle East Wars
• British Govern Palestine Early Twentieth Century
• Balfour Declares Britian views with favor the
  establishment in Palestine of a national home for
  the Jewish people
• Arab Muslims and Christians in Palestine Object
  to Jewish Occupation of Their Land and Homes
• British Seek to Limit Jewish Emigration to
  Palestine to 15,000 Per Year in 1939, as Many
  European Jews Seeking Escape from Hitler

62
The Holocaust

• The Holocaust
• Background Facts
• Nazi Germanys Nuremberg Laws of 1935 Reduce Jews
  to Second Class Citizens in Europe
• Nazi Military Moves Across Europe, Reestablishes
  Ghettos and Segregates Jews
• Thousands of Jews Arrested and Deported to Poland
  and Eastern Europe to work as Slaves
• In 1941 Nazi Government of Germany Designs Final
  Solution of Jewish Problem Systematic Mass
  Execution of at Least Six Million Jews

63
Holocaust

• Possible Causes
• German Racism
• German Troubles Following WWI
• Nazi Madness
• Modern Efficiency
• The Silence of the Rest of the World

64

• Profound Lasting Impact on Judaism
• World Jewish Population Reduced by One-Third
• Zionism Given a New Moral Imperative among Some
  Jewish and Non-Jewish Thinkers
• Jewish Theology Undergoes Crisis

65
The State of Israel

• The State of Israel
• In 1947 United Nations Partitions Palestine into
  Jewish and Arab States
• British Leave Palestine in May 1948, Israel
  Proclaims Statehood
• Israel Attacked by Five Arab States but Survives
• Palestinian Refugees Flee, Live in Squalid Camps
  for Decades
• In 1967 and 1973 Arab Nations Attack Israel, Lose
  More Land to Israeli Military Advances, Including
  Old City in Jerusalem

66
Variations

• Current Variations in Judaism
• Currently 14,117,000 Jews in World, with 1.8
  Million in New York City AloneLargest
  Concentration in the World

67
Variations

• Look each up and highlight the main
  characteristics
• Orthodox
• Reform
• Conservative
• Reconstructionist Judaism
• Fundamentalist Sectarian Judaism

68
Holidays

• Group work describe each to the class
• Sabbath (Shabbat)
• Passover (Pesach)
• The Feast of Weeks (Shavuot)
• New Year (Rosh Hashanah)
• The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)
• The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)
• The Feast of Dedication (Chanukah)
• The Feast of Lots (Purim)
• The Son of the Commandment (Bar Mitzvah)

69
Judaism Today

• Interpreting the Holocaust Central to Jewish
  Identity Today
• Future of the State of Israel Central to Many
  Jews Today
• Many Contemporary Jews See Israel as Culmination
  of all their Centuries of Diaspora Wandering
• Israel is the Haven for Jews Seeking Peace and
  Security from Persecution and Oppression
• Israels Wars Often Interpreted Theologically by
  Many Jews
• Many Disagreements about the Extent to Which
  Israel Ought to be a Secular or a Religious State
• Preserving Identity in Modern Secular Would be a
  Concern for Jews