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Chapter 12
The Struggle to Preserve
Judaism
12.1: Introduction
• Hebrew Kingdom
o Split into two after the death of King Solomon
• Hebrews were less likely to fight off invaders
o Israel was conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BCE
• Their leaders were taken to Mesopotamia
o Judah was invaded by the Babylonians in 597
BCE
• King Nebuchadrezzar laid siege to Jerusalem
• Hebrews fought off the siege until their food
ran out
• In 586 BCE, Nebuchadrezzer burned down
Solomon’s great Temple of Jerusalem and all
of the houses in the city
• Most of the people of Judah were taken as
captives to Babylon
o This time was the beginning of the Jewish
Diaspora
• Never again would most of the followers
of Judaism be in the same homeland
• Despite this the Jews were able to keep
Judaism alive
12.2: The Central Beliefs and
Teachings of Judaism
• Monotheism
o Belief that there is only one God
o Judaism is the oldest monotheistic religion
• Teaches that God is all-powerful and allknowing
• God is the source of morality
• Jews believe that it is their solemn duty to
honor and obey God
• Jews believe that they have a personal
relationship with God
• Following God’s Law
o God’s law is central to Jewish life
o Oldest laws are the Ten Commandments
• Tell how to honor God
• Keep one day holy
• Laid down laws of right and wrong
o “You shall not steal”; “You shall not murder”
o Over time Jewish leaders developed a much
larger set of rules
• How to prepare food
• What foods should be avoided
• Development of religious practices
o Celebrating Passover
• Equality and Social Justice
o Equality
• Hebrews did not view their leaders as gods
• Judaism teaches all people who keep the
laws are equal in God’s sight
o Even kings had to obey God’s laws
o Social Justice
• There are many stories and sayings in the
Torah teach about treating everyone fairly
• Caring for the less fortunate people in society
is a basic value of Judaism
• The Importance of Study
o The study of the Torah is very important
• Jews study interpretations of the Torah made
by scholars and rabbis
o At first, interpretations of the Torah were passed
down orally
o In 200s CE, Jewish scholars began writing the
Talmud
• Contains oral tradition along with learned
commentaries
• Became the basic source of Jewish law
• Later rabbis wrote their own commentaries on
both the Torah and the Talmud
12.3: Foreign Domination and
Jewish Diaspora
• Rule by the Babylonians, Persians, and
Greeks
o Babylon
• Hebrews lived there for a half a century
• Prophets encouraged the people
• This is when the Hebrews became known as
the Jews
o Babylonians called them “Judaeans”,
which was shortened to “Jews”
o Persians
• In 539 BCE, Babylonians were conquered by
the Persians
• The Hebrews were released from captivity by
Cyrus
o Some returned to Judah to rebuild the
temple
o Others stayed in Babylon
o Greeks
• Tried to force the Jews to worship idols of the
Greek gods in their temple
• In 164 BCE, the Hebrews started a war that
lasted 27 years
• In 164 BCE, the Jews drove the Greeks from
Jerusalem
o They reclaimed and repurified the temple
• This is the celebration of Hanukkah
• Rule by the Romans
o 88 years after the war with the Greeks, Judah
was an independent kingdom
o In 63 BCE, they were conquered by the Romans
o Romans brutally executed more than 50,000
Jews
o They did allow the Jews to practice their religion
and govern some of their own affairs
o In 22 BCE, King Herod was allowed to rule in
Judah
• He planned to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem
on a grander scale than Solomon’s
o Took 46 years to complete
o In 66 CE, the Jews rebelled against the Romans
• Were able to keep the Romans out of
Jerusalem for 3 years
o In 70 CE, Titus led an army of 60,000 against the
Jews
• The Jews fought back, but were outnumbered
• The Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the
great temple
o All that remains is one western wall – it’s
sacred
o The Roman victory began the final scattering of
the Jewish people
o Romans seized their land and refused to let Jews
from entering Jerusalem
o Some Jews remained in Israel, but thousands
were sent to other parts of the Roman Empire
12.4: Preserving and Passing
on the Teachings of Judaism
• Jews were scattered among many
gentile, or non-Jewish lands.
• Rabbi Yohanan ben Zaccai
o Helped preserve Judaism
o After the revolt against Rome in 66 CE, he urged
Jews to surrender in order to save Judaism.
o Approached the Romans for help
• Faked his death to be smuggled out of
Jerusalem to met with Vespasian, a Roman
general.
• He asked to start a Jewish school in the town
of Yavneh with other rabbis.
o Yavneh became the center of Jewish life after
the fall of Jerusalem.
o Ben Zaccai and 71 other rabbis created a new
religious lawmaking body.
o Yavneh became a training ground for other
rabbis.
• Teachers came from around the world to
study.
o Shared what they learned
• Rabbis made sure that the Jews still had
leaders to guide them.
• New Teachers and Practices
o New practices ensured that teachings of
Judaism would be passed on
o Normally, only religious leaders were allowed to
read from the Torah.
• Yavneh rabbis decided that any adult male
could read from the sacred text.
• Jews no longer needed a trained leader to
learn about Jewish history and law.
o Synagogue was made more important in Jewish
life.
• House of worship
• Place to study, hold meetings, and social
gatherings
• Jews were told to build a synagogue
wherever there were at least 10 adult male
Jews.
• Strengthened the community and their faith
• In 1948, Israel was created in part of
the lands ruled by David and Solomon.
o Jews from other countries began to settle in
Israel.