Judaism Overview

Judaism Overview

Some time between 1800 – 1600 BCE the patriarch Abraham left his native town, which was probably Urfa, in what is today Turkey. He wandered about the Fertile Crescent for a number of years, going down into Egypt, eventually returning to Caanan , the land beside the Jordan River. He believed that this land was promised to him and his descendants by one particular god, known as El Shaddai or El Elyon. Around 1400 BCE, or a little later, his descendants went to Egypt to live.

About 1200 BCE his descendants, called the Hebrews or Israelites, left Egypt under the leadership of the charismatic Moses, who may have been an Egyptian prince. He led the Twelve Tribes of Israelites to Mount Sinai where the name of the El Shaddai was revealed to be YHWH (YAH- weh). YHWH gave them a series of laws to follow, and promised the Hebrews that if they followed His laws, that he would watch over them and protect them.

These laws, among them the Ten Commandments, specified both how YHWH was to be worshipped, and how his worshippers should treat one another. Some of the laws required the circumcision of all male children, the setting aside of one day in seven to be work-free – known as the Sabbath, and the insistence that they were to worship no other god but YHWH.

After a period of 40 years, the Israelite tribes entered the Promised Land, and displaced the Caananite people already living there. At this time, there was not a single ruler of the Israelites; the Tribes were bound together only by their acceptance of YHWH. After about 200 the Israelites felt that they needed a king like other peoples. The first three kings, Saul, David and Solomon,, built up a kingdom, which was centered on the town of Jerusalem. They moved the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and built a temple for it on Mount Zion.

This small kingdom split into two petty kingdoms after the death of Solomon. The Northern ten tribes were known as the Kingdom of Israel, and the southern tribes of Benjamin and Judah were known as the Kingdom of Judah. These two fought many wars both with each other, and with their neighbours. Many prophets arose in the period and attempted to lead Israel and Judah back to a true observance of the Torah (laws of YHWH).

In 722 BCE the Kingdom of Israel was destroyed by Assyria, and the ten tribes, which made it up, disappeared from history. They are known therefore as the Lost Tribes of Israel. Judah endured for another century or so, but it was eventually destroyed by Babylon (586 BCE). The inhabitants of Jerusalem were carried off into captivity. In Babylon they developed new forms of worship, since the temple had been destroyed – the Synagogue led by a rabbi.

Eventually, the Persian Empire permitted the people of Judah and Benjamin to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple. After the Persian Empire fell to the Macedonians, Judah was ruled by the Hellenistic Kingdom, the Selucids. Under King Antiochus IV, this kingdom attempted to stamp out the worship of YHWH and the people of Judah revolted and re-established their own kingdom under the Maccabees.

This kingdom lasted until about 30 BCE when the Romans decided to make Herod the Great king. Following his death, the Kingdom of Judah became one of the provinces of the Roman Empire, and was known as Judea. The people living there were called Judeans, and it is from this word that we get the word Jew. Herod rebuilt the temple in great style, but he was widely hated. He died around 4 BCE.

In 66 CE the people of Judea revolted against Rome. This uprising was crushed and the temple was destroyed for a second time in 70 CE. The Jews revolted again in 132 CE and, after this revolt was also crushed, they were forbidden to live in Judea. This was the beginning of the Diaspora. The Jewish people lived in many different parts of the Roman Empire, and wherever a minyan (10 Jewish adult men) could be found, they were able to establish a Synagogue. Beginning around 70 CE rabbis met together to create commentaries on the Torah. These commentaries are known as the Talmud, and the Midrash. Studying the Torah, Talmud and Midrash became one of the central features of the Jewish religion.