Judaism

Covenant made with G-d

Jewish History

Before and After the destruction of the Second

Temple

The Two Periods

Period One

Part One Biblical Judaism

• Nomadic people established a nation with Jerusalem as capital.

• Great development• First temple destroyed

and people exiled

Part two• Temple rebuilt• Hebrew Bible created• Study of Scriptures

and prayer• Synagogue life

developed

Period Two

Part One Rabbinical Judaism

• Judaism evolved• Traditional Jewish

life established• Occurred 100 C.E.

to 1800 C.E.

Part Two• Questions were raised

in response to the new thinking--Enlightenment

• The REFORM movement developed

• It modernized traditional Judaism

• It helped produce diverse branches within Judaism

Period 1

Part 1

Biblical History(Period 1 - Part 1)

In the Beginning: The Stories of Origins

Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, the Great Flood, Abraham, Canaan, Covenant, Jacob . . .

Adam and Eve Before the Fall – After the Fall

Other Events

Cain and Abel, the Great Flood The Call of Abraham, Passover,

Moses and the Law, Judges and Kings, Prophets, Babylonian exile, first temple destruction, Sabbath, Second Temple built.

Cain and Abel

In a fit of jealous rage Cain murders his brother Abel

“Am I My Brother’s Keeper?”

Noah and the Great Flood

Destruction Promise

Abraham

The Father of Many Nations• Jews• Christians• Muslims

Abram

Judaism starts with the Patriarch Abraham whose name was changed from Abram. It is to him that God made a promise that he would be the father of many nations.

Abraham

Called by God

Abraham’s journey

Abraham moved to Palestine around 4000 BCE. This was part of God’s promise.

The Mighty Nation

The descendents of Abraham settled in Egypt where they had become slaves.

They cried to God for deliverance from bondage of slavery.

God called Moses to lead them.

Moses

Moses is a main figure in Jewish history.

Born to a Jew he was rescued from the Nile by the daughter of the Pharaoh of Egypt .

Moses

He grew up probably as both an Egyptian and a Jew. Although he was in the house of Pharaoh he was "nursed/raised" by his birth mother.

He was raised to be a leader and became second in command of Egypt.

Moses Flees

It was discovered that he was a Jew and had to leave because he murdered an Egyptian.

The Call of Moses

He later returns to Egypt after the burning bush experience to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

Moses Before Pharaoh

Moses comes before Pharaoh and tells Pharaoh to let God’s people go.

Pharaoh’s Response

Pharaoh refuses.

Moses then issues forth the ten plagues.

Final Plague

When the Pharaoh refused Moses’ last request the final plague was issued--the death of every firstborn male.

The Passover

The Jews were instructed to put blood on their doorposts.

When the Angel of Death came it “passed over” the homes with blood on the doorposts.

Haste

Pharaoh relented and let the Israelites leave. They had to make preparations to leave quickly.

Change

Pharaoh changed his mind and decided to chase the Israelites.

According the the Hebrew Bible as the Israelites, lead by Moses, stood at the Red Sea or the Sea of Reeds, God acted on their behalf and parted the waters.

The Deliverance

According to the Jews in the deliverance three things were affirmed.• Yahweh is the creator of the universe• Yahweh chose the Israelites• The Jews are to reveal Yahweh to the

rest of the world.

God’s Deliverance

God, by way of Moses, led the descendents of Abraham out of slavery. A covenant was established by way of the Ten Commandments and the Laws of Moses.

Results of the Covenant

Yahweh is the the God not only of all creation but The Israelites

The Israelites are God’s people. Jewish communal life was established The Pentateuch (the first five books of

the Hebrew Bible) tells the history and regulates the community.

The New Land: Canaan

The Judges

Deborah was a woman judge. She rend judgment for the people.

Kings and Dynasties

King Saul King David King Solomon

Period 1

Part 2

Exile and Captivity(Period 1 - Part 2)

“By the rivers of Babylon--there we sat down and there

we wept when we remembered Zion.”

A People in Exile

Nebuchadnezzar II, in 586 B.C.E., destroyed Solomon’s temple and took the “aristocracy” and a large part of the population out of Jerusalem to Babylonia.

During this exile Jews began to meet, to talk about the scriptures and to pray.

The Sabbath service developed during this time.

The Sabbath

Sabbath service included• worship• study• sermon• psalms

These were performed at a synagogue. The oral Hebrew religious traditions were

written down.

Transition in the Exile

The Jews began to assimilate various influences into their way of life from the Babylonians.

Knowledge of Hebrew declined and Aramaic became the common tongue.

The sense of an active evil spirit called “Satan” and the cosmic battle between good and evil emerged.

Period 2

Part 1

Second Temple Era(Period 2 - Part 1)

Intercultural Conflict

Returning Home and the Second Temple

The Persian overthrew the Babylonians and in 540 B.C.E. Cyrus came to the throne and allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem.

The returned exiles rebuilt their temple.

The Second Temple

This started a new era, called the period of the Second Temple.

The Temple played a prominent role in Jewish life both at home and abroad.

The role of the priest became more prominent.

Greeks attempted to rule the Jews.

The Seleucid Period

Antiochus IV took over the temple in 167 B.C.E.

Jews rebelled lead by a family called the Maccabees (Hasmoneans) and took control of the temple and rededicated it.

The festival of Hanukkah is a celebration of the event.

Conflicts

There was much antagonism between the Jewish culture and Greek (Hellenistic) culture.

Jews were not easily absorbed into the dominant culture. e.g.• males were circumcised, dietary

restrictions, Sabbath prohibitions.

Responses

In response to Hellenistic culture major factions

emerged.

4 Major Responses

The Sadducees • Priestly families in

charge of the temples and its activities. Traditional who accepted the Torah.

The Pharisees• They wanted to

preserve tradition and primarily focussed on keeping the law and emphasized daily religious practice. They accepted more of the books as canonical and they valued the oral tradition of Moses.

4 Major Responses

The Zealots• They opposed foreign

rule and did anything in their power to remove foreign influence. They sometimes used violence to achieve their goals.

Essenes• There were several

thousand, lived a communal, celibate life in the desert n ear the Dead Sea, rejected animal sacrifice, and avoided meat and wine.

                                 

The Development of Rabbinical Judaism

The Rabbis rise to the occasion

Destruction of the Second Temple

In 70 B.C.E. the Romans destroyed the Second Temple; this greatly changed Jewish life.

It did two things• It ended the power of the priesthood.• It forced Judaism to move from the

Temple being the center to a central focus on scripture and ceremony.

Sources

Slide 12 – http://www.bibleuniverse.com/images/grandmas/abraham-pray.jpghttp://religion-cults.com/art/abraham.gif

Slide 19 – http://www.wels.net/wmc/Downloads/clipart2/Sabc076.gif

Slide 32 –http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/kids/bible/bible11-16/OldTest/pix/54.jpghttp://www.execulink.com/~wblank/david.jpghttp://www.occultopedia.com/images/solomon1.jpg

Sources

Slide 35 – http://www.thenewagesite.com/jjdewey/gathering/chapter26.php

Slide 37 –http://sd71.bc.ca/sd71/school/courtenay-jr/School/JUDAISM/history/Tower_of_BabelTN.JPGSlide 40 – http://www.reformation.org/cyrus.jpgSlide 43 – http://www.mystae.com/images/antiochus.gifhttp://www.sundayschoolcourses.com/apocrypha/judas.gif

Sources

Slide 46 – http://www.execulink.com/~wblank/priest.gifhttp://www.hillcrestchapel.com/prayer_training/pharisees.gifSlide 47 – http://www.bikebrats.com/mideast/israel/is19sm.jpghttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/portrait/essenes.html