Chapter 6 Lesson 3

Chapter 6 Lesson 3

Mr. Curia's World History

The Development of Judaism

With the fall of the kingdom of Judah, the Israelites were exiled to Babylon, and the temple was destroyed. If you remember in the previous lessons, the temple was the only place that proper worship could be conducted, including sacrifices. This loss forced several changes to Israelite religion and daily life, bringing about the beginning of the modern form of Judaism.

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These changes were not something that the Israelites had prepared for at all, so they had to improvise.​

​Exile forces changes

While in Babylon, the Judeans first began to be known as Jews, and their religion as Judaism. When they controlled their own land, it was simply their religion, but now there is a contrast between Babylonian religion, leading to Judaism needing a name.

In ​addition to a name, they needed a way to practice without a temple. This led to the beginning of synagogues, smaller Jewish houses of worship. Jews would meet on the Sabbath to study scripture and pray. Sabbath was a day of rest that lasted from nightfall on Friday to nightfall on Saturday.

Some Christians refer to Sunday as the Sabbath, but the Jewish Sabbath is Saturday.

​The Beginning of Judaism

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Some Jews tried to adapt to their new home and settle down, but a large portion always hoped to return to Jerusalem. When Cyrus the Great, leader of the Persian Empire defeated the Chaldeans, he allowed them to return and rebuild the temple.

Cyrus the Great

Causes and Effects of Change

The changes we see here are a direct result of the historical situation that the Jews find themselves in. They must adapt to their situation.

1. They changed developed synagogues.

2. ​Many Jews were allowed to return from exile to Judea.

3. The priests and scribes arise as the primary Jewish authorities.

Effect

1. In exile, the Jews had no temple in which to worship.

2. ​Cyrus and the Persians defeat the Chaldeans.

3. ​Persians did not allowed the Jews to have a government or a king.

Cause

During the captivity, the Jewish scribes began to assemble the Hebrew Bible as it would be recognized today. One way to preserve the Jewish culture was to make sure that there was a definitive central text for their religion.

The Hebrew Bible contains 24 separate books, and it divided up into three sections: the Torah, the Prophets​, and the Writings. The Torah presents the cosmology (origin story of the universe) of the Jewish faith, and the laws that God gave them to follow. The Prophets contain God's messages to the kingdom of Israel, and the Writings are everything else.

While there is mostly overlap with the Christian Old Testament, it is a distinct document.

​The Hebrew Bible

In the book of Genesis, the Hebrew Bible explains how God got angry at most people for being evil and wiped everyone out except for the one good man, Noah, and his family, and how they saved animals on their ark.

Noah

Also in the book of Genesis, there is the story of how different languages came to be. Men wanted to build a tower to reach God. He was angry at their pride and confused their languages to make sure they couldn't work together.

The Tower of Babel

In the book of Daniel, Daniel is thrown into a den of lions for refusing to worship the king. God makes the lions unable to eat him, and he is saved. This story illustrates the belief that faithfulness will be rewarded and goodness will replace evil and suffering.

Daniel

Because of the loss of the temple, daily obedience to the laws in the Hebrew Bible became more important. And like any law, these laws were not always clear, so discussions and arguments over what the right thing to became more common.

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Jewish Daily Life

The Torah laid out a specific set of family roles and responsibilities for Jewish families. Fathers were the heads of the family, and if a father died, his eldest son would take up the role.

Education was a major component of Jewish life​, especially for boys. Torah reading and knowledge were central to religious life, so learning was prized in the Jewish families.

Jewish women were expected to keep house and maintain Jewish dietary laws. In several holidays, the woman of the house takes a primary role as well.​

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Respect for human life is one of the core tenets of Judaism.

Jewish Family Life

One of the most common ways that Jewish people follow the laws of the Torah today is by keeping kosher. This means only eating food that is kosher, or proper, according to the dietary laws in the Torah.

​ To be a kosher animal, the animal has to have cloven, or split hooves, and chew the cud. This means that pork is definitely not kosher. Another major rule is that a calf cannot be cooked by boiling it in it's mother's milk. According to rabbis, this means that kosher food cannot serve a meal with both meat and dairy.

Even further, some holidays have additional requirements, like Passover. During Passover, no leaven or yeast is allowed in the house. That means most breads have to be thrown out.​

Kosher laws can be complex, and rabbis have to oversee parts of the process.

Keeping Kosher

Keep in mind that this is not exhaustive, but only an introduction to kosher food.

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If you look at the animal byproduct section, this means that Jewish people cannot eat gelatin, since it comes from pork. Therefore, they cannot eat most gummy candies.​

A list of kosher foods

Multiple Choice

What is the name of the weekly Jewish day of rest that begins on Friday at sundown until sundown on Saturday?

• Synagogue day

• Saturday plus

• Passover

• Sabbath

Multiple Choice

What name did the Judeans become known by during their stay in Babylon?

• Israelis

• Jews

• Samaritans

• Prophets

Multiple Choice

What book of the Hebrew Bible is the story of Noah's Ark in?

• Genesis

• James

• Torah

• Hezekiah

Multiple Choice

Three sections—the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings—make up the:

• Christian Bible

• Talmud

• Q'uran

• Hebrew Bible

Multiple Choice

Which Jewish holiday celebrates the Israelites leaving slavery in Egypt?

• Exodus

• Passover

• Hannukah

• Seder

Multiple Choice

Who were left as the leaders of Jewish communities after they returned from exile in Babylon?

• priests and scribes

• Cyrus II

• Nebuchadnezzar

• Jewish kings

Multiple Choice

Which of these foods are NOT kosher?

• Bacon and shrimp

• Steak and potatoes

• Turkey and lamb

• Salmon and bagels

Multiple Choice

What is the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) written on?

• Stone tablets

• Clay tablets

• Papyrus

• Scrolls

Multiple Choice

Which Jewish high holiday is celebrated with a seder?

• Yom Kippur

• Passover

• Purim

• Rosh Hashannah

Multiple Choice

What book of the Hebrew Bible shows that Jewish people believe that goodness will eventually replace evil and suffering?

• David

• 2nd Samuel

• Hosea

• Daniel