Download The Struggle to Preserve Judaism

The Struggle to Preserve
Judaism
HISTORY ALIVE
CHAPTER 12
Introduction
 Discover how Judaism
was preserved even after
the Hebrews lost their
homeland.
Introduction
 It was a struggle to
preserve Judaism
The Central Beliefs and Teachings of Judaism
Monotheism
 “the belief that there is
only one God”
 Judaism is the world’s
oldest monotheistic
religion.
 Personal relationship
with God.
 God is all powerful, all
knowing, and sets the
standards to live by.
The Central Beliefs and Teachings of Judaism
Following God’s Law
 Central to Jewish life
 The Torah has the laws
and commandments
 Ten Commandments
 Rules about what to eat
 Religious practices and
holidays
The Central Beliefs of Judaism
Equality and Social Justice
 Starting with the Ten
Commandments
always concerned with
equality and social
justice.
 Did not view leaders as
Gods.
 Only one God, need to
help others.
Equality and Social Justice
 ‘You shall open wide
your hand to your
brother, to the needy and
to the poor.’
 Caring for the less
fortunate people in
society is a basic value in
Judaism.
The Central Beliefs and Teachings of Judaism
The Importance of Study
 Study of the Torah is
important.
 People also study the
Talmud.
 There is a reverence of
study and learning.
The Talmud
 The Collection of ancient
Jewish writings that
interpret the law of the
Torah.
Foreign Domination and the Jewish Diaspora
 Fall of Judah in 597




B.C.E.
The destruction of
Jerusalem and the
temple in 586 B.C.E.
Threatened Jewish
Beliefs.
Thousands of Hebrews
entered Babylon.
The Jewish Diaspora had
begun.
The scattering of
the Jewish
people to many
lands.
The Jewish Diaspora
Rule by the Babylonians
 Hebrew captives lived in
Babylonia for fifty years.
 Hebrew captives were
called Judaeans.
 The name was shortened
to Jews.
 In 539 B.C.E. the
Babylonians were
conquered by the
Persians.
Rule by the Persians
 In 539 B.C.E. the
Babylonians were
conquered by the
Persian.
 Cyrus the Great released
the Jewish people from
captivity.
 Some went to Judah.
 Some stayed in Babylon.
Rule by the Greeks
 The Greek rulers tried to
force Jewish people to
worship idols of Greek
Gods in temples.
 In 168 B.C.E. the Jewish
people rebelled and
started a war.
 Hanukkah is celebrated
to honor this victory.
Rule by the Romans
 In 63 B.C.E. the Jews
living in Judah were
conquered by the
Romans.
 Romans executed more
than 50,000 Jewish
people.
 Jewish people could
continue to practice their
religion.
Rule by the Romans
 In 22 B.C.E., King Herod
wanted to rebuild the
temple in Jerusalem.
 The Temple took 46
years to complete.
Rule by the Romans
 In 66 C.E. the Jewish
people fought off the
Romans and managed to
keep them out of
Jerusalem for four years.
Rule by the Romans
 Titus who was Roman,
led 60,000 soldiers to
fight the Jewish people.
 The Jewish people were
outnumbered and
Jerusalem was destroyed
again.
Rule by the Romans
 The Jewish people were
forbidden from entering
Jerusalem.
 Thousand of Jewish
people left their
homeland and their holy
city
Preserving and Passing
on the Teachings of Judaism
 After losing their temple
and their homeland, the
Jewish people were
fighting to survive along
with preserving their
religion.
Rabbi Yohanan ben Zaccai
 A rabbi helped to
preserve Judaism named
Yahanan ben Zaccai.
 In 66 C.E. the Jewish
people were fighting
against the Romans.
 He worried the Rabbis
would be killed and the
Temple would be
destroyed and Judaism
would be lost.
Rabbi Yohanan ben Zaccai
 Ben Zaccai begged the
Jewish people to
surrender to the Romans
in order to save Judaism.
 The Jewish people
refused.
Rabbi Yohanan ben Zaccai
 Ben Zaccai faked his own
death and was smuggled
out of Jerusalem in a
coffin.
Rabbi Yohanan ben Zaccai
 He met Vespasian a
Roman General and
pleaded to start a Jewish
school in Yavneh.
 Together with other
rabbis he was allowed to
start a school.
Rabbi Yohanan ben Zaccai
 Jerusalem fell and
Yavneh became the
center of Jewish life.
New Teachers and Practices
 The rabbis at Yavneh
introduced new practices
to ensure that the
teachings of Judaism
would be passed on.
 Initially only rabbis
could read from the
Torah.
 The rabbis decided that
any adult male could
read from the Torah.
New Teachers and Practices
 The synagogue became
more important to
Jewish life.
 A synagogue is a house of
worship.
 It is also a place to study,
hold meetings, and social
gatherings.
 A synagogue could be
built whenever ten men
were present.
New Teachers and Practices
 New practices helped
preserve the religion in
the community.
In 1948, a
new Jewish
state, Israel
was created in
part of the
lands once
ruled by
David and
Solomon.
Israel
The End