How did Judaism survive & Develop?

Transcription

1 How did Judaism survive & Develop? Jewish influence Now Showing! [1]

2 Ancient Edition/ Lesson 9 CANAAN CHRONICLES A piece of the second Temple, stating To the Trumpeting Place JUDAISM SURVIVES! After the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D., how did the Jewish religion survive and develop? Approximately 590 s B.C., the Babylonian empire became great again under King Nebuchadnezzar. He once again ruled all of Mesopotamia and by 586 B.C., he had surrounded Jerusalem and laid siege to it. He eventually conquered the city and destroyed the temple. He then enslaved the Jews, the people of Judah, and sent them back to be slaves in Babylon. This time was the beginning of the Jewish Diaspora. The people of Israel would never again all be in one country. It would be hundreds of years before Israel would be allowed to rule itself and for only a brief period. Israel was conquered and reconquered by ambitious rulers in the area. It was very difficult for the Hebrews to keep their religion alive. Under the Babylonian rulers, they were slaves, but allowed to practice their religion. It was during this time that many important writings were recorded and many great prophets, or A drawing of the Second Temple drawn by the 19th C. French architect Charles Chipiez. [2]

3 holy men with messages from God, kept encouraging the Jews to remain faithful to God, even though it would have been an easier life to bow down to the local gods. Cyrus the Great of Persia freed the Jews in 539 B.C. and many returned to Israel, but a small scattering of others stayed. They had adapted to life in Babylon. When the others arrived back in Israel, life was not easy. The land was conquered and reconquered. The Jewish people recorded the Talmud, or a record of rabbi s discussions about Jewish laws, ethics, customs, and history, and other teachings to help the people understand and encourage worshipping of God. The Greeks tried to force the Jewish people to worship their gods, but the Jews rebelled in 168 B.C. They won and celebrated for 8 days, which we now know as Hanukkah. The Romans conquered the Greeks and took over the land of Israel in 63 B.C. They executed and killed the rebellious Jews and, but were more benevolent, showing somewhat more kindness than many others. King Herod took over in 22 B.C. He was the one who called people back to their birthplaces for a census, or count of the number of people. That proclamation, or law, took Joseph and Mary back to Bethlehem for their son, Jesus, birth. King Herod had a huge new temple built that took over 46 years to finish. King Herod died and the Jews dared take on the Roman Empire in 66 A.D. The Romans marched in with a massive army of 60,000 well-trained soldiers and siege equipment to attack and they destroyed the rebellion in Jerusalem, a city of 60,000. The Romans destroyed the temple and crushed the rebellion in 70 A.D. It was the end of the country of Israel for another 1900 years. Jews were sent hundreds of miles away in the empire so that they could not rise up again. More Diaspora. Did it kill of the Jewish faith? No. The Jewish people were scattered, but many remained faithful. The Jewish leaders of many of the communities went to Yavneh, a small town in northern Israel, to be trained by Rabbis at the school founded by Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai. These newly trained Rabbis went back to their communities and trained all of the men to read the sacred texts. Rabbis had been the only ones who were authorized to read the Jewish texts to that point, but in order for the religion to continue to be followed and to ensure that it would not become extinct, the Rabbis decided to relinquish power and teach young men to read. The Jewish teachings were done at the local synagogues, or places of Jewish worship. Because Jews kept their faith in many lands that had never seen their religion, they were ridiculed and even persecuted. Nazis persecution of Jews in World [3] Despite having their temple destroyed and their followers scattered to the ends of the Earth, many Hebrews return to the site of the holy temple, where only the wall of the base remains.

4 War II was not an isolated case. But the Jews and the Jewish religion have survived and even gotten their land back after 1900 years. In 1948, the state of Israel was created and many Jews returned to their ancient homeland. This caused friction with the people in the region, because the land had been colonized by other groups and religions. LESSON # 9 STUDENT NAME: LESSON COMPLETED ON: / / King Nebuchadnezzar: siege: enslaved: prophets: Talmud: Hanukkah: executed: benevolent: proclamation: census: faithful: rabbi: synagogue: persecution: 539 B.C. 168 B.C. 1 A.D A.D. 586 B.C. 70 A.D. 1. Fill in the time line about the many conquerors of the Hebrews since 590 B.C. 2. What was it that kept the Jews faithful to their religion? [4]

5 3. Final Question What do you think are the necessary ingredients to keep one s faith alive during tough times? Why do you think that it was important for the Hebrews to keep their faith alive through the tough times? 4. Draw pictures of four of the vocabulary words. [5]