Jewish History

Classical Judaism

• 66 CE: Jewish War to overcome Romans
• 70 CE: temple in Jerusalem was destroyed
• 600 CE: Islam comes to power
  • Diaspora: dispersion; Jewish people having to live away from their ancestral homeland
  • Own land at the crossroads of many major empires and have been conquered by many groups

Medieval Judaism

• 700s-1700s CE
• Lived under Muslim rule in Spain and Africa and Christian rule in Europe
  • Under Muslim regime
  • Relative peace and prosperity
  • Still faced harassment, assault, rape
  • Under Christian regime
  • Great economic success as bankers
  • Accused of starting black plague, killing Jesus, killing Christian children
  • Often harassed/murdered by mobs
  • Forced conversion
    • Viewed as a “dangerous influence” to others
  • Physically tortured
• Jewish movement in Europe
• Idea of genocide predates the Holocaust and Jewish history
• Despite persecution, Judaism is thriving

Philosophy and Mysticism

• Moses Maimonides (1135-1204)
  • Wrote The Guide to the Perplexed
  • Created the 13 Principles of Faith
  • Belief in the existence of God
  • God’s unity
  • God’s spirituality and incorporeality
  • God’s eternity and timelessness
  • God alone should be the subject of worship and prayer
  • Revelation through God’s prophets
  • The preeminence of Moses among the prophets
  • God’s law was given on Mount Sinai
  • The immutability of the Torah as God’s Law
  • God’s foreknowledge of human actions
  • Reward of good and retribution of evil
  • The coming of the Jewish Messiah
  • The resurrection of the dead and human immortality
• Kabbalah: a belief that the best way to know God is through the heart and through love
  • Developed in Spain in the 1200’s
  • The Torah can be interpreted on multiple levels
  • Alternative to traditional Judaism

Modern Judaism

• Hasidism: pious Judaism which emphasizes mysticism, a personal relationship with Yahweh, and a close community (focus on following Zaddik rather than studying Torah)
  • Zaddik: a charismatic holy person
  • Zionist: the belief in re-establishing a Jewish homeland by reclaiming the ancient Jewish ancestral homeland (modern-day Israel and Palestine)
  • Since 1948, the state of Israel was recognized by the international community and the term refers to those who support Israel
    • British Empire technically owned the area which would become Israel and gave it to Jewish people following international pressure after the Holocaust
  • Believed to be needed because of anti-semitism
  • Anti-Semitism: sentiment against Jewish people deriving from attitudes, exclusion, violence, and/or death
• Holocaust: the persecution of Jewish people by Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945
  • Resulted in the deaths of 6 million Jewish people in Europe
  • More than exile, inquisition—anything that’s been faced before
  • Shook the faith of many Jewish people; common questions included
  • Why did God let this happen?
  • Some saw it as a punishment for abandoning tradition
  • Some thought God broke his covenant
  • One great response—Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning
• State of Israel
  • Jews emigrated to Israel before WWI
  • Was part of the Ottoman Empire
  • The League of Nations in 1922 recognized the need for a Jewish homeland
  • Many international treaties before and after reaffirmed this
  • This land was already occupied
  • Palestinians and Jews both claim the land as their homeland
  • Very complicated conflict
  • Many countries declared war on Israel

Modern Divisions of Judaism

• Reform: Jewish people adapt to modern society
  • Relaxed observance; speak English
  • ~1/3 of Jewish people in the US
• Orthodox: follow the Torah
  • Often live in separate communities
  • Very strict
• Conservative: somewhat open to change, but still fairly strict regarding practices of liturgy and law
  • Eg. follow the Sabbath
  • Middle ground between other two branches

Torah

• Because you believe, you follow the law/Torah and act accordingly
• Daily life is governed by the Torah
  • Permitted, forbidden, obligated, free, holy, profane (remember Islamic Sharia Law)
• Prayer
  • Takes place three times a day
  • Yarmulke: a skull cap, sign of respect for God
  • Reminder that God is above you
  • Worn after Bar Mitzvah
  • Tallit: prayer shawl
  • Tefillin: small boxes with scripture in them
• Home and Synagogue
  • Worship takes place primarily in the home
  • Mezuzah: parchment in a decorative case which designates the home as Jewish
  • Food is to be Kosher
  • Don’t eat pork, shellfish, any combination of meat with dairy
  • Synagogue is huge since there is no temple
  • Friday night is the Sabbath (time of rest)
  • Services are led by Rabbis (religious leaders)
  • Rabbi: one who has mastered the Talmud

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