Origins of Judaism

Learning Goals:• I will understand what it means to be a Jew.• I will understand the key historical foundations of Judaism and how that has impacted their religion.

Agenda:• Note: “To be a Jew means…”• Textbook reading, complete “origins chart,” and discussion• Orange Text: Read pages 217-224• Powerpoint and timeline creation (Class effort!)

…to identify with the people whose story is told in the Jewish scriptures (Our Old Testament).… to be united with other Jews in a special relationship with God known as a “covenant” and to value being faithful in keeping that covenant.…that one is confident in God’s faithfulness to the promises made to one’s ancestors as recorded in the “Torah”.…to have a unique calling and responsibility…being the “Chosen Ones” to reveal God’s word to the world.

ABRAHAM Abram called (chosen) by God... renamed Abraham considered the first patriarch of three Western religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam

What do you know about Abraham?

What is a “covenant”?

God’s part of the deal:

Abraham’s part of the deal:

•Abraham will have descendants: he will be “father of all nations”•Abraham & descendents inherit a land forever – the “Promised Land”

•Abraham will abandon polytheism to worship and obey only ONE GOD

A covenant is a sacred contract

This is the birth of MONOTHEISM – before this time, the people were polytheistic

CIRCUMCISION:The removal of the foreskin of the penisAbraham and all his male descendants must be circumcised as a permanent symbol of their covenant with God.

This important rite of passage continues to this day.

Abraham & Sarah leave Ur to the land known as Canaan

They still have no children Sarah hasn’t fulfilled their marriage covenant She tells Abraham to take a concubine/

second wife - Hagar

+ Sarah

= Isaac

ABRAHAM+

Hagar=

Ishmael

Love triangle

Hagar & Ishmael survive in Saudi ArabiaGenerations later, descendents of Ishmael become the first Muslims –the origins of Islam

The history of Judaism (& Christianity) continues with the descendents of Isaac.

After all of this, Abraham is asked by God to sacrifice Isaac. He takes Isaac to the mountain to kill him, but an angel stops him at the last moment. The lesson is obedience to God – a prevalent theme in Judaism.

Interestingly, the same story appears in the Muslim Qur’an; in that version, Abraham is asked to sacrifice his son, Ishmael.

AbrahamAbraham & Sarah |

IsaacIsaac & Rebecca

Esau JacobJacob (renamed IsraelIsrael)marries Leah and thenRachel and has 12 sons= 12 tribes of Israel12 tribes of Israel

The descendents are known as Israelites or Hebrews

Drought in Canaan caused the Israelites to flee to Egypt

At first welcomed, eventually they are enslaved

Moses emerges as a leader

What do you know about Moses?

Two important things about Moses: He led the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt(parting the Red sea along the way)http://movieclips.com/mcQGT-the-ten-commandments-movie-moses-parts-the-sea/

He received the 10 commandments on Mt. Sinai (in Jewish belief, Moses received many more instructions from God over the years)

http://movieclips.com/Y5CF-the-ten-commandments-movie-moses-presents-the-ten-commandments/

This is the most sacred event of Jewish history – it highlights a commanding God who acts on behalf of the Hebrew people

The Hebrews wandered in the Sinai desert for 40 years because Canaan was occupied.

Moses died before they entered Canaan Joshua emerged as the next leader He received instructions from God about

how to defeat the Canaanites http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOKfhCfS6R8

The Israelites returned to the Promised Land.

The first King, Saul, united the 12 tribes of Israel into one unified kingdom

David, the second King, led the Israelites to the height of their power; making Jerusalem the capital city

David’s reign was seen as one of the best times in Jewish history; when the belief about the Messiah emerged, Jews regarded King David as a prototype of what the Messiah would be like

The star of David, one of the most important symbols of Judaism, is based on the crest of King David’s shield.

Solomon, the third King, built the Temple in Jerusalem, which became the centre of Jewish worship, which included animal sacrifice presided over by priests

After the death of Solomon, no leader emerged, and the Kingdom divided...

Prophets are people who speak the word given to them by God

With the end of the Kingdom, prophets became focus of Jewish story

Amos and Micah warned people to follow the commandments – they spoke about the moral responsibility to follow the covenant and began warning of a “Day of Judgment”

10 tribes of the North formed IsraelIsrael

-they did not accept the Kingship of the House

of David

2 tribes of the South formed JudahJudah

-they did accept the Kingship of the House

of DavidBut a Kingdom divided cannot survive...

Israel is conquered by the Assyrians in 722

BCEIsrael disappears from

history...for now

Judah is conquered by the

Babylonians in 586 BCELeadership of Judah is sent

to Babylon...this important period in Jewish history is referred to as the Exilethe Exile

*Temple Destroyed!*Temple Destroyed!

Just as the Exodus was seen as God protecting His people, the Exile was seen as God’s punishment (as the Prophets had warned)

New prophets emerged Jeremiah said God would not abandon them Isaiah comforted them with God’s mercy and

the prediction of the coming of a Messiah (the anointed one) who would lead God’s people to God’s kingdom – the belief in a Messiah became part of Jewish teaching

In Exile, the community carefully observed the law (commandments)

They gathered the sacred writings Since they could not perform sacrifices at

the Temple (destroyed for the first time), they gathered for study and prayer

The Sabbath day became more important Young Hebrews were educated in the

traditions and history by teachers called Rabbis

After approx. 50 years of Exile, the Persians conquered the Babylonians and the Hebrews were allowed to return from Babylon to Judea

Some returned, while others remained in Babylon, forming a tight-knit community there

Immediately those who returned to JudeaJudea began rebuilding the Temple destroyed by the Babylonians

At this point in history, the religion begins to be known as “Judaism” “Judaism” and the people begin to be referred to as “Jews”“Jews”

Collection of sacred writings completed Religious life centred on the study of scripture Most important was the Torah – meaning

“law” or “instruction” The Torah is made up of the first 5 books of

the Bible containing the story of the covenant and the law of Moses

The writings of the Prophets were added, as well as other historical writings, including Proverbs and Psalms

Jews continued to gather for prayer and studying the Torah

These gatherings took place in synagoguessynagogues RabbisRabbis were trained in study of the Law

(Torah) were in charge of the synagogues Outside of Judea, communities of Jews

prospered in Egypt and Babylon, maintaining religious identity by strict observance of the Torah (not the traditions of the Temple)

Alexander the Great conquered Persian Empire

Greek kingdoms were ruled by his successors Judea stuck in the middle of warring kingdoms

(Egypt & Syria) In 165 BCE, the Maccabee family was able to

regain independence for about a century The military victory of the Maccabees is

commemorated each year at Hanukkah And then came the Romansthe Romans...

Sectarian developments in Judaism: Zealots- dedicated to forming Jewish

state separate from Romans Sadducees– wanted separation of

politics and religion Pharisees- included rabbis - resisted

non-Jewish culture Essenes- withdrew to the desert

Existence of the Essenes wasn’t known until 1948 with discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Due to the harshness of Roman rule, expectations of the coming of the Messiah grew during this era (the time of Jesus)

The belief that Jesus was Messiah began as a Jewish movement

Not all Jews accepted Jesus as the Messiah A new religion was born separate from

Judaism... Christianity Christians believe Jesus was the Messiah Jews are still waiting for the Messiah The Romans persecuted Christians and Jews

Roman soldiers stormed Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in 70 CE (Western “Wailing” Wall)

Jews were forced to reinterpret their religious practice without the Temple

Rabbis transformed Temple rituals for practice in synagogues

Rabbinical schools developed, most famously Hillel & Shammai

Roman Emperor Hadrian built pagan temple in Jerusalem

Last desperate Jewish rebellion – 132 CE - fails Jews banned from Jerusalem; Judea renamed

Palestine; surviving Jews are scattered throughout Roman Empire

DIASPORA: “dispersion” of Jews – “strangers in foreign lands”

Keeping the Torah became primary way to maintain religious identity

Throughout the Diaspora, synagogues were set up to study Torah and continue religious traditions

Rabbis become the heart of Judaism (thus, the Rabbinic period)

Rabbis collected commentaries on the Torah, which eventually became the TalmudTalmud

The TalmudThe Talmud is still used for study and discussion, showing how the Law can be continuously interpreted for changing times

Diaspora moved further from Palestine – western, central and eastern Europe, Asia, Arabian Peninsula, North Africa

In each place, Jews formed tight-knit communities around a synagogue

Romans had no concern about Jewish religious identity, but rise of Christianity lead to persecution of Jews

4th Century – Christianity becomes “official religion” of the Roman Empire

Christians become socially & politically privileged in the Roman Empire

Christian Emperors wanted unity in politics and religion

Intolerance toward Jews became normal Anti-Semitism - hatred of Jews – grew Reinforced by Gospel narratives that blamed

Jewish authorities for death of Jesus Seemed to forget that Jesus was Jewish!

Kept to themselves; married among themselves Followed their own religious practice Followed dietary laws (kosher laws) Came under suspicion, which became outright

hostility During the Crusades Jews were considered

enemies of Christianity and were easier to kill Persecutions in Western Europe led more Jews

to flee and settle in Poland and Ukraine

Hatred of Jews commonplace in Christian Europe Jews called “Christ killers”, accused of spreading

plague, poisoning wells, killing Christian children Jews were provided no protection under the law Jews were forbidden from holding public office,

owning land They were required: to live in special areas of cities

known as ghettos, to wear yellow badges to identify them, and to pay special taxes

Not allowed to learn a skill, which forced many into banking/financial occupations, which led to more hatred (and the stereotype of greediness)

In some kingdoms, extortion of Jewish money was easy way for Kings to raise cash

Kings would seize all community’s possessions and order Jews out of the country – ie: England 1290; France 1306

Under Muslim rule, generally more tolerant – ie: in Muslim Spain, large Jewish community thrived and contributed to cultural vitality

Christians took over all of Spain – in 1492, Jews were ordered to convert to Catholicism or leave

Portugal expelled Jews in 1495

Jewish communities settled in Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine

They were segregated in ghettos or separate villages

PogromsPogroms –officially sanctioned massacres of Jews

After 1881, outbreak of pogroms in Russian Empire led many Jews to emigrate to US and Canada

Age of Enlightenment – emancipation of Jews in Western Europe

French Revolution – political & economic rights for European Jews

Equality under the law achievedSectarian developments:Sectarian developments: Reform Judaism Reform Judaism emerged – Jews who wanted to

assimilate more fully into modern world Traditional Judaism became known as OrthodoxOrthodox ConservativeConservative Judaism was the middle ground

Zionism = 19th century movement to return Jews to their “Promised Land” (Palestine)

After the Holocaust, the world became more responsive to the idea of Zionism

In 1948, the United Nations returned Palestine to the Jews, forming the State of Israel

Jerusalem was still divided between Israel and Jordan, until recaptured by Israel in 1967 after the 6-Day War

Now, Zionism =support of the state of Israel

Jerusalem is an important city for Jews, Christians and Muslims

Under Israeli rule, Jerusalem is open to visitors from all religions

The existence of the state of Israel continues to arouse controversy in the Middle East

Although countries of the Middle East are mainly Muslim, the issue is more political than religious

No peaceful resolution has been found ...yet