The Hebrews Judaism Global I Honors Spiconardi Origins

The Hebrews & Judaism Global I Honors: Spiconardi

Origins of the Hebrew People Abraham & The Migration (1850 BCE) Abraham is the patriarch of the Hebrews He had rejected the deities of Mesopotamia He migrates from Ur and moves to what becomes known as Palestine After a drought the nomadic Hebrews migrate to Egypt

The Covenants Covenant an agreement or contract with God In Egypt, God makes several covenants with Abraham Since Abraham recognized God as the true God: Abraham would be blessed with numerous descendants He would be the “father of a host of nations” The Hebrew people would be given the “promise land” (modern day Israel) The covenant was sealed with a circumcision

Moses & The Exodus According to Jewish scripture, Hebrews were enslaved while in Egypt Moses First of the prophets The Moses Story Birth Raised in the house of Pharaoh The Killing of the slave master Meeting God Plagues Exodus Splitting of the Red Sea Covenant No Promised Land

Moses & the Exodus Mosaic Covenant In exchange for obeying the Decalogue (Ten Commandments), the Children of Israel would be God’s chosen people & special possession

The Promised Land After years of wandering in the desert, the Hebrews finally reach the Promised Land in 1130 BCE The Kingdom of Israel Established the Kingdom of Israel under King Saul in 1020 BCE after years of resisting centralized government Ruled by tribe previously fearing that having a king would be disrespectful to God the true king King Saul

The Kingdom of Israel King Solomon Under his reign, the Hebrew people experienced their most prosperous period Solomon’s Judgment Solomon’s Temple

The Split After Solomon’s death, tribal tensions led to the division of the Kingdom of Israel The Kingdom of Judah Resided in the North Resided in the South Invaded by the Assyrians Hebrews in Judah became known as Jews Invaded by the Chaldeans, Babylonians, and Persians Babylonian Captivity (586 BCE) Many Jews were forced to live in Babylon Jews not allowed to resided in the holy city of Jerusalem

Beliefs Monotheism belief one God There is only one God (Yahweh) He is not only the God of the Jews, but all peoples He created the entire world Omniscient and Omnipotent All knowing and all powerful

Beliefs Sacred Texts The Torah First 5 books of the Bible (Pentateuch) Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Numbers Establishes law and morality The Ten Commandments code of behavior, moral guidelines Explains why the world is the way it is Adam & Eve, Tower of Babel, Noah’s Ark

Beliefs Sacred Texts The Talmud Series of rabbinical commentaries developed during the Babylonian Captivity to preserve the Hebrew identity Explains customs such as bar/bat mitzvahs, dietary law, wedding rituals, burial ceremonies, etc. Deemed more important in Orthodox and Conservative Jewish sects than in Reform Judaism

The Prophets Messengers from God Preached God’s word on ethics, standards of behavior, morality Warned the Hebrews that if they failed to keep God’s commandments, they would be punished Called for social justice & condemned rich for oppressing the poor

Diaspora a scattering of people Babylonians displace Jews; many flee to Europe Romans expel Jews from Palestine in 135 CE For next 2000 years Jews were “guests” in other people’s lands Often faced discrimination and made scapegoats (Black Death, Crusades, Dreyfus Affair, Failure of the Weimar Republic’s Economy) 1 n 1948, the U. N. establishes a Jewish homeland creates the nation of Israel.

Judaism Today & Facts Influenced the development of Christianity & Islam First to suggests people could communicate directly with God Didn’t need priests to communicate on your behalf 14 million Jews in the world . 22% of the world’s population More Jews live in USA than in Israel