Transcript Eras of Judaism and the Hebrew bible

The History of the Chosen People
• Descendants of Israelites (aka Hebrews)
• Around the time of the exile and following it, they
became known as Jews, and their religion became
known as Judaism, because their country was Judah
• Founders: Abraham and Sarah
Classical Judaism
• End of first century – seventh century
• The destruction of the second temple
• The Jews of the classical lived under the
threat of Roman political oppression,
which sometimes had violent
consequences.
• The Romans issued a decree forbidding
Jews to inhabit the region of Palestine.
• In the fourth century, Christianity arose
to become the official religion of the
roman empire
• A few centuries later, many Jews found
themselves living under Muslim rule.
• During this period, a majority of Jews
lived in the Diaspora.
– Diaspora is aka Dispersion- it refers to
the Jews living outside their
homeland
Medieval Judaism
 This period spans from the 8th century
to the middle of the 18th century
 Primarily under Muslim control and
free to worship
 In some areas Jews were forced to
pay taxes
 Jews established a large middle
class
 Christian control
 European Areas
 Jews became successful money
lenders
Brought about resentment and
persecution
Sons of crucifiers
Intentionally rejected
Christ
Medieval Judaism: Mysticism
 Jewish mysticism or
Kabbalah teaches that
God can best be known
with the heart, through
love.
 God can be found by
looking inward
 The Zohar is the most
famous text of Jewish
mysticism
 Kabbalists observe the
commandments of the
Torah
Modern Judaism
 18th Century- the period of the Enlightenment (or age of
reason)
 Filled with great change
 Out with the Monarchies/ In with rule by the people
 Hasidism arose during this period.
 Hasidism means pious
 It draws from some of the mystical teachings of the
kabbalist tradition
 It emphasizes personal relationships with God and the
community, rather than study of the Torah and strict
observance of its commandments.
 The center of each Hasidic community is the leadership
of the zaddik, a holy man who is believed to have an
especially close relationship with God
Modern Judaism cont.
• Zionism
– Arose in late 19th century
– Committed to the reestablishment of a Jewish
homeland (Zion biblical for
Jerusalem)
– Zionism refers generally to
the support of Israel
– Feel that the only way to
ensure the safety of the
Jewish people is to have its
own state.
Modern Judaism cont.
 Throughout the centuries Jews faced
persecution- known as anti-Semitism
 The Holocaust is an event/example of antiSemitism
 Holocaust
 Hebrew for “mass destruction”
 Persecution of the Jews by German Nazis from
1933-1945
 Lives lost:
 An estimated 6 million Jews
 Many Jews looked at the holocaust as
punishment for wrong doings.
 Another response, such as the Zionist- was to
support the State of Israel.
 Israel was granted statehood in 1948
 An area that is always in turmoil because the
Palestinians also claim the area to be sacred
TaNakh
•
•
•
•
•
•
God’s revelation of the divine
will to the Chosen People is
recorded in the Hebrew Bible.
The Hebrew bible is Judaism
sacred scripture
Hebrew Bible contains 3 parts:
1. Torah
2. Prophets
3. Writings
In Hebrew, these words begin
with the letters T, N, and k
referred as Tanakh
Hebrew Bible same as Tanakh
The contents of the Hebrew
Bible are also found in the
Christian OT
– But the books are named
and ordered differently
Torah
• Means instruction
• Translated as “the law” as well
• Refers to the will of God as
revealed to humankind
• Refers to the first five books of
the Bible
Torah cont.
• Aka the Pentateuch
– Meaning 5 books
• The Torah contains the law
– 10 Commandments
– Other 613 laws
– What Jews are expected to do
• Every synagogue contains a scroll of the
entire Torah
– Kept in a vessel called an ark
– All stand when the doors of the ark
are open
– It is buried after it becomes old
• The Eternal light
– A lamp – hangs above the ark
– The light is always burning, as a
symbol of God’s presence
Oral Torah
• The bible or written Torah is
complemented by religious
teachings of the “oral Torah”
– Oral Torah refers to the
material taught and
transmitted by Judaism’s
great rabbis of antiquity.
– These teachings were
eventually written down
– Oral Torah is the
interpretation/explanation of
the written Torah
Mishnah
• The Mishnah is one
form of Oral Torah
• It means repetition
• It contains teachings
that were formulated
and transmitted
orally by rabbis
– Rabbis are teachers of
Torah or leader of
Jewish worship
• Most important text
of the Oral Torah
Talmud
• It means study
• It is based on the Mishnah
• Small portions of the Mishnah are
cited usually page after page
• It presents a grand scheme of
interpretation of God’s will, blending
together the oral and written forms
of Torah (Torah and Mishnah)
TALMUD IN THE MAKING EXERCISE