Download The Struggle To Preserve Judaism

The Spread of Judaism
How Judaism survived and spread
throughout the world.
Central Beliefs of Judaism
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Monotheism – One God
Following God’s Law ( 10 Commandments)
Equality and Social Justice: everyone
is equal in God’s eye, help to care for
the less fortunate
Importance of Study: study the Torah
Judges and Kings
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Judges were warriors or prophets who would
inspire an army of volunteers to defend their
homeland. Prophets encouraged the Hebrews
to keep their faith.
2 women became judges: Deborah and Ruth
The time of judges ended when Saul became
king.
After Saul, David became king and captured
Jerusalem.
Solomon, David’s son, built a great temple in
Jerusalem.
Foreign Domination
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Fall of Judah in 597 BCE and the
destruction of the temple built by
Solomon in 587 BCE threatened the
survival of the Jewish beliefs.
Became slaves in Babylon for ½ a
century (597 BCE- 538 BCE).
Jewish Diaspora
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When the Hebrews were captured and
became slaves in Babylon, they called
it the Jewish Diaspora
Diaspora means “scattering” or
spreading out throughout the world.
Never again would most of the
Hebrews be together in one single
homeland, even today.
Diaspora: Exile from homeland
Continued…
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In 539 BCE the Babylonians were conquered by the
Persians, until Cyrus the Great, king of Persia,
allowed them to go home because Cyrus tolerated
other religions. Some went back to Judah where
they re-built some of the temple, others stayed in
Babylon.
Judah was ruled by the Persians and the Greeks for
over 400 years. Some rulers were kind, but most
of the time they were harsh.
And then there were the
Romans
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In 70 CE the Roman military conquered the
Hebrews and destroyed Jerusalem and its temple.
All that was left was the western part of the wall.
They seized Jewish land and forbade the Hebrews
from entering Jerusalem. Thousands were sent to
other parts of the Roman Empire.
The Hebrews lost their homeland and their holy
city.
Preserving and Passing
on the Faith
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They were spread out throughout Africa, Asia, and
Europe but they were able to keep the faith alive.
Rabbi Yohanan ben Zaccai: he begged the
Hebrews to surrender in order to save the faith.
When the Hebrews refused, he went to the
Romans.
He pleaded to start a Jewish school in the Roman
Empire’s Yavneh (right outside of Judah) so when
Jerusalem fell, Yavneh became the center of Jewish
life.
They taught other Rabbi’s and other people the
faith so when they returned home to their people
they were able to spread the faith to them.
Continued….
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New Teachers and Practices
Rabbi’s created synagogues (a place of worship,
meeting, and study). This allowed them to
strengthen their communities and faith, and why
Judaism is still worshipped around the world today!