The Beginnings of Judaism

1. The Beginnings of Judaism pp. 120-125

2. Vocabulary/People/Places • Judaism • Torah • Monotheism • Ten Commandments • Sabbath • Diaspora • Abraham • Moses • Jerusalem

3. Read Aloud • “’Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.’ This short passage from the Bible expresses the basis of Jewish religious belief. In this lesson you will read about the great meaning it would have for the ancestors of the Jewish people in the changing world of the Fertile Crescent” ( Banks 120).

4. The Big Picture • Because of expansion of trade and the Babylonian empire at the leadership of Hammurabi in the late 1700 BC, people from Egypt and Mesopotamia crossed paths ( Banks 120). • Source of information – The Bible • Original language is Hebrew • Translated into every Modern language • Today 17 million Jews • Christians and Muslims hone the Hebrew Bible • Records the history and religion of Judaism

5. Abraham of Ur • Abraham was married to Sarah. • Both lived in Mesopotamia in the city-state of Ur where the people worshipped the Sumerian moon goddess. • God spoke directly to Abraham: “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make for you a great nation, and I will bless you…” [so] Abraham took his wife, Sarah…and they set out for the land of Canaan (Banks 121).

6. The CovenantSpecial agreement between God and Abraham and his descendents • I am God Almighty. Walk in My ways and be blameless. I will establish My covenant with you, an I will make you exceedingly numerous…I assign the land you sojourn [rest] in to you and your offspring to come…I will be their God (Banks 121). • The beginning of the history of Judaism • Abraham traveled the distance from Ur to the land of Canaan. See page 121. • He was a stranger in a strange land • Later they would be called the people of Israel or Israelites after Abraham’s grandson Israel or as Jews.

7. Draw the map on page 121 • Color code it • Draw the globe • Distinguish between the route and Abraham and the Route of Moses • Identify the Fertile Crescent • You can trace it if you need to do so.

8. Going to Egypt • Abraham’s children and grandchildren prospered in Canaan • They migrated to Egypt in harsh times of famine • At first they were welcomed • The people became slaves to the new Pharaoh

9. Moses in Egypt • Born to Israelite parents • Adopted by pharaoh's daughter • Raised in royal household with wealth and power • Be comes leader and teacher of the Israelite slaves

10. Becoming a prophet • According to the Bible, Moses killed and then hid the dead body of an Egyptian beating an Israelite slave. • Moses ran away to Midian, possibly in modern day Saudi Arabia, where he stayed for many years. • God spoke to him saying, “Come…I will send you to Pharaoh and you shall free My people, the Israelites, from Egypt” ( Banks 122). • Moses at first refuses, but then yields to the will of God to become a prophet, "a person who speaks for God” (Banks 122). • Moses pleads with the Pharaoh and eventually leads the them back to Canaan. • Passover is still celebrated “to remember their freedom from slavery” (Banks 123). Let’s look at this.

11. The Torah • Moses goes to Eastern Egypt’s wilderness for 40 years of wandering. • Early on they traveled to Mount Sinai where God gives Moses five books of laws and teachings or the first books of the bible. • Hebrew = The Torah= “to teach.” • On Mt. Sinai, god also gave Moses The Ten Commandments, the core of Jewish religion and teachings.

12. Make a Venn Diagram comparing/contrasting the Torah/Ten Commandments with the Code of Hammurabi • Turn to page 123, col 1 and p. 113. • How were these two documents alike? • How were they different? What is monotheism? • What is polytheism? • In what language was each written?

13. The Kingdom of Israel • After 40 years and before he died, Moses arrived with the Israelites in Canaan. • He gave them instructions and they crossed the river Jordan in Canaan. • They defeated several kings and set up the nation called Israel. • They had a nation, land and religion.

14. A Nation of Israel • The Torah was the basis of the life of the people of Israel. • They honored the Sabbath, “the weekly day of rest, prayer and study,” which is a Saturday. (Banks, 124). • The leader of Israel was King David who made Jerusalem his capital about 1000 B.C. • David’s son Solomon built a great temple there which became the center of religious and political decisions.

15. Exile to Babylonia • 928 B.C. – King Solomon dies. • Israel splits into two kingdoms • Assyrians in 721 BC conquer the North • The southern portion becomes known as Judah, from which the word Jews was derived and which survived until 586 BC. • Babylon’s armies destroyed Jerusalem and the temple of Solomon. • Jews were exiled to Babylon from their homeland. • Scattering of Jews to many parts of the world is call he Diaspora

16. Why It Matters • The Torah, though the people are scattered, remains the object of faith that unifies the Jews. • They believe in the covenant that promises then Canaan. • In 1948, then Palestine was changed to Israel and has been so until today.

17. MAIN IDEAS • “Trade and movements of people in the 1700s B.C. helped link major cities of the Fertile Crescent and Egypt. • The Bible says Moses led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and passed on laws from God regarding how they should live. • Monotheism – the belief in one God-set the Hebrews apart from other groups around them. • Sacred writings, called the Torah, form the heart of Judaism” (Banks 125).

18. Think About It • “What role did Abraham play in the history of Judaism? • Why do Jews still celebrate Passover? • How were Moses and the teachings of the Torah important to the beginnings of Judaism? • According to the Bible, what was the cause of the Israelites’ move to Egypt? • Be able to compare/contrast polytheism to monotheism.

19. Jewish Holidays and Terms • Shabbat – Sabbath • Rosh Hashanah – “Rosh Hashanah is the day on which G-d created Man, Adam, G-d’s final and most precious creation. Each Rosh HaShanah, the birthday of Mankind, we proclaim G-d as our one and true King. We then reaffirm our desire to serve him every moment of our lives. At this same time, G-d reviews the status of his creation and determines if he or she merits another year in this world http://www.ou.org/chagim/roshhashannah/default.htm

20. TZOM GEDALIAHTHE FAST OF GEDALIAH • Tzom Gedaliah (Fast of Gedaliah) is an annual fast day instituted by the Jewish Sages to commemorate the assassination of Gedaliah Ben Achikam, the Governor of Israel during the days of Nebuchadnetzar King of Babylonia. As a result of Gedaliah's death the final vestiges of Judean autonomy after the Babylonian conquest were destroyed, many thousands of Jews were slain, and the remaining Jews were driven into final exile.

21. Yom HaShoahhttp://www.ou.org/yerushalayim/yomhashoah/ • The Holocaust was arguably among the most fearsome tragedies that have befallen the Jewish People in its long history, in which six million Jews, fully one third of World Jewry, including one and a half million children, were murdered. And the murderers were not a People who would normally be called "barbaric." On the contrary, the majority of the officers of the so-called Concentration "Camps" were medical doctors (!), or doctors of philosophy, or respected professionals. A degree of evil was exhibited which perhaps has never been exceeded in all of human history. • It is not true that the murderers' evil was unopposed. Tremendous bravery was exhibited by relatively small numbers of Jews and Gentiles, such as at the Warsaw Ghetto, where the Jewish Community acted in concert, and by hundreds of individuals whose efforts resulted in the saving of tens, even hundreds of thousands of lives. • Although the saving of a single life is comparable to the saving of an entire world, the dimensions of the tragedy vastly outweighed all attempts to avert it, and the sweet taste of the good deeds was indistinguishable against the bitterness of the evil.

22. YOM KIPPUR • “Yom Kippur is a day designed to bring Jews closer to G-d and encourages return to him through the process of Teshuvah. Though the Yom Kippur service was, during the times of the Temple, focused around the Kohen Gadol, today each individual focuses on himself and his personal Avodah, service to G-d.” • From http://www.ou.org/chagim/yomkippur/ykoverview.htm

23. Passover • “Passover is an eight day Jewish holiday, of Biblical origin, marking the birth of the Jews as a people and their emergence as a unique nation in history, devoted to G-d's will. It celebrates the liberation of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt over 3000 years ago, under the leadership of Moses.” • Taken from http://www.ou.org/chagim/pesach/pesachguide/maze/basic1.htm

24. What is Chanukah? • Although it contained only enough oil to burn for one day, a miracle occurred, and the oil burned for eight days. A year later they (the Rabbis) designated these days as Yamim Tovim (holidays) on which praise and thanksgiving were to be said." (Tractate Shabbat 21)