Classical Judaism

• 66 CE: Jewish War to overcome Romans

• 70 CE: temple in Jerusalem was destroyed

• 600 CE: Islam comes to power

  • Diaspora: dispersion; Jewish people having to live away from their ancestral homeland

  • Own land at the crossroads of many major empires and have been conquered by many groups

Medieval Judaism

• 700s-1700s CE

• Lived under Muslim rule in Spain and Africa and Christian rule in Europe

  • Under Muslim regime

    • Relative peace and prosperity

    • Still faced harassment, assault, rape

  • Under Christian regime

    • Great economic success as bankers

    • Accused of starting black plague, killing Jesus, killing Christian children

    • Often harassed/murdered by mobs

    • Forced conversion

      • Viewed as a “dangerous influence” to others

    • Physically tortured

• Jewish movement in Europe

• Idea of genocide predates the Holocaust and Jewish history

• Despite persecution, Judaism is thriving

Philosophy and Mysticism

• Moses Maimonides (1135-1204)

  • Wrote The Guide to the Perplexed

  • Created the 13 Principles of Faith

    • Belief in the existence of God

    • God’s unity

    • God’s spirituality and incorporeality

    • God’s eternity and timelessness

    • God alone should be the subject of worship and prayer

    • Revelation through God’s prophets

    • The preeminence of Moses among the prophets

    • God’s law was given on Mount Sinai

    • The immutability of the Torah as God’s Law

    • God’s foreknowledge of human actions

    • Reward of good and retribution of evil

    • The coming of the Jewish Messiah

    • The resurrection of the dead and human immortality

• Kabbalah: a belief that the best way to know God is through the heart and through love

  • Developed in Spain in the 1200’s

  • The Torah can be interpreted on multiple levels

  • Alternative to traditional Judaism

Modern Judaism

• Hasidism: pious Judaism which emphasizes mysticism, a personal relationship with Yahweh, and a close community (focus on following Zaddik rather than studying Torah)

  • Zaddik: a charismatic holy person

  • Zionist: the belief in re-establishing a Jewish homeland by reclaiming the ancient Jewish ancestral homeland (modern-day Israel and Palestine)

    • Since 1948, the state of Israel was recognized by the international community and the term refers to those who support Israel

      • British Empire technically owned the area which would become Israel and gave it to Jewish people following international pressure after the Holocaust

    • Believed to be needed because of anti-semitism

    • Anti-Semitism: sentiment against Jewish people deriving from attitudes, exclusion, violence, and/or death

• Holocaust: the persecution of Jewish people by Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945

  • Resulted in the deaths of 6 million Jewish people in Europe

  • More than exile, inquisition—anything that’s been faced before

  • Shook the faith of many Jewish people; common questions included

    • Why did God let this happen?

    • Some saw it as a punishment for abandoning tradition

    • Some thought God broke his covenant

  • One great response—Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning

• State of Israel

  • Jews emigrated to Israel before WWI

  • Was part of the Ottoman Empire

  • The League of Nations in 1922 recognized the need for a Jewish homeland

    • Many international treaties before and after reaffirmed this

  • This land was already occupied

  • Palestinians and Jews both claim the land as their homeland

    • Very complicated conflict

    • Many countries declared war on Israel

Modern Divisions of Judaism

• Reform: Jewish people adapt to modern society

  • Relaxed observance; speak English

  • ~1/3 of Jewish people in the US

• Orthodox: follow the Torah

  • Often live in separate communities

  • Very strict

• Conservative: somewhat open to change, but still fairly strict regarding practices of liturgy and law

  • Eg. follow the Sabbath

  • Middle ground between other two branches

Torah

• Because you believe, you follow the law/Torah and act accordingly

• Daily life is governed by the Torah

  • Permitted, forbidden, obligated, free, holy, profane (remember Islamic Sharia Law)

• Prayer

  • Takes place three times a day

  • Yarmulke: a skull cap, sign of respect for God

    • Reminder that God is above you

    • Worn after Bar Mitzvah

  • Tallit: prayer shawl

  • Tefillin: small boxes with scripture in them

• Home and Synagogue

  • Worship takes place primarily in the home

  • Mezuzah: parchment in a decorative case which designates the home as Jewish

  • Food is to be Kosher

    • Don’t eat pork, shellfish, any combination of meat with dairy

  • Synagogue is huge since there is no temple

    • Friday night is the Sabbath (time of rest)

  • Services are led by Rabbis (religious leaders)

    • Rabbi: one who has mastered the Talmud