| Early
History of Judaism
Circa 2000 BCE, the G-d
of the ancient Israelites established a divine covenant with Abraham,
making him the patriarch of many nations. The term Abramic Religions is
derived from his name. These are the four religions which trace their
roots back to Abraham: Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Baha'i World
Faith. The book of Genesis describes the events surrounding the lives of
the three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Joseph, who is
recognized as a fourth patriarch by Christians is not considered one by
Jews). Moses was the next leader of the ancient Israelites. He led his
people out of captivity in Egypt, and received the Law from G-d. After
decades of wandering through wilderness, Joshua led the tribes into the
promised land, driving out the Canaanites through a series of military
battles.
The original tribal
organization was converted into a kingdom by Samuel; its first king was
Saul. The second king, David, established Jerusalem as the religious and
political center. The third king, Solomon built the first temple there.
Division into the
Northern kingdom of Israel and the Southern kingdom of Judah occurred
shortly after the death of Solomon in 922 BCE. Israel fell to Assyria in
722 BCE; Judah fell to the Babylonians in 587 BCE. The temple was
destroyed. Some Jews returned from captivity under the Babylonians and
started to restore the temple in 536 BCE. (Orthodox Jews date the
Babylonian exile from 422 to 352 BCE). Alexander the Great invaded the
area in 332 BCE. From circa 300 to 63 BCE, Greek became the language of
commerce, and Greek culture had a major influence on Judaism. In 63 BCE,
the Roman Empire took control of Judea and Israel.
Four major (and some
minor) religious sects had formed by the 1st century CE: the Basusim,
Essenes, Pharisees and Sadducees. Many anticipated the arrival of the
Messiah who would drive the Roman invaders out and restore independence.
Christianity was established initially as a Jewish sect, centered in
Jerusalem. Paul broke with this tradition and spread the religion to the
Gentiles (non-Jews). Many mini-revolts led to the destruction of
Jerusalem and its temple in 70 CE. The Jewish Christians were wiped out
or scattered at this time. The movement started by Paul flourished and
quickly evolved into the religion of Christianity. Jews were scattered
throughout the known world. Their religion was no longer centered in
Jerusalem; Jews were prohibited from setting foot there. Judaism became
decentralized and stopped seeking converts. The local synagogue became
the new center of Jewish life, and authority shifted from the
centralized priesthood to local scholars and teachers, giving rise to
Rabbinic Judaism.
The period from the
destruction of the temple onward give rise to heavy persecution by
Christians throughout Europe and Russia. Many groundless stories were
spread, accusing Jews of ritual murder, the desecration of the Catholic
host and continuing responsibility for the execution of Jesus .
Unsubstantiated rumors continue to be circulated today. In the 1930s and
1940s, Adolph Hitler and the German Nazi party drew on centuries of
anti-Semitism, and upon their own psychotic beliefs in racial purity.
They organized the Holocaust, the attempted extermination of all Jews in
Europe. About 6 million were killed in one of the world's greatest
examples of religious and racial intolerance.
The Zionist movement
was a response within all Jewish traditions to centuries of Christian
persecution. Their initial goal was create a Jewish homeland in
Palestine. The state of Israel was formed on 1948-MAY-18.
There are currently
about 18 million Jews throughout the world. They are mainly concentrated
in North America (about 7 million) and Israel (about 4.5 million).
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