Hebrews and Judaism

8. Hebrews and Judaism.pdf

Chapter 8 Study Guide.pdf

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8.1 The Early Hebrews

ISN pgs. 56-57

Judaism
Abraham
Moses
Exodus
Ten Commandments
David
Solomon
Diaspora

8.2 Jewish Beliefs and Texts

ISN pgs. 58-59

monotheism
Torah
synagogue
prophets
Talmud
Dead Sea Scrolls

8.3 Judaism over the Centuries

ISN pgs. 60-61

Zealots
rabbis
Passover
High Holy Days

8.1 The Early Hebrews

Jews believe that there is a single God who not only created the universe, but with whom every Jew can have an individual and personal relationship. They believe thatGod continues to work in the world, affecting everything that people do. The Jewish relationship with God is a covenant relationship.

History traces the Hebrews back to a man named Abraham. One day, the Bible says, God told Abraham to leave his home in Mesopotamia. He was to take his family on a long journey to the west. God promised to lead Abraham to a new land and make his descendants into a mighty nation.

Abraham left Mesopotamia and settled in Canaan, on the Mediterranean Sea. His descendants--the Hebrews-- lived in Canaan for many years. Later, however, some Hebrews moved to Egypt, perhaps because of famine in Canaan.

The Hebrews lived well in Egypt, and their population grew. This growth worried Egypt's ruler, the pharaoh. He feared that the Hebrews might soon take over Egypt. To stop this from happening, the pharaoh made the Hebrews slaves.

Women did not have as many rights as men; however, they had more rights than some other cultures.

At the top of the hierarchical pyramid of the ancient Hebrews were the men of rank and influence. These men held the maximum respect and influence and were powerful men beneath whom all the other ranks came. This class mostly comprised of:

Kings
Officials of the kings
Military officers
Civil officers
Rabbis or state leaders
Heads of rich families

The next rank was of the common or civilized Hebrews. This class comprised of the free citizens who held the basic citizen rights of the land or society. Their rights included food, water, free land, shelter and some level of authority. These individuals took up normal jobs and worked to save for their future and for their future generations. They were not as mighty and powerful as the men of rank but were respected and had a lot of responsibility towards the betterment of the society.

On the social hierarchy chart of the ancient Hebrews, next came the non-Hebrew residents. These men were generally the freemen who didn’t enjoy the same civil rights and responsibilities as the common Hebrews since they were outsiders not born on the same land. They were not regarded as citizens and were sometimes not welcomed as the other people.

At the bottom of the pyramid were the slaves who enjoyed no responsibilities, no rights and no control over their own life. They were bought or kept by common Hebrews or men of rank and were often required to do whatever they were asked without any pay or fee for the same. Sometimes, slaves were set free after they had completed 7 years of slavery. Slaves were given this status mostly by birth but sometimes if a person had committed a crime, he could be made a slave as a punishment. Also, if someone was unable to pay debt, he could be made a slave.

Abraham is given a high position of respect in three major world faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In Judaism he is the founding father of the Covenant, the special relationship between the Jewish people and God – a belief which gives the Jews a unique position as the Chosen People of God.

The ultimate test of Abraham's obedience, however, comes in Genesis 22 when he is asked to sacrifice his son by Sarah - Isaac. God had promised that Abraham's descendents would come through Isaac, so the level of faith he displays is quite astonishing. Abraham trusts God and takes his son, as directed, up a mountain. At the very last minute, God intervenes and spares Isaac's life by providing another animal (a ram) for sacrifice. The test is complete and God once more reiterates his promises to Abraham of land, descendents and a personal relationship.

Moses

One of Judaism's great figures is the man called Moshe Rabbenu ('Moses our teacher') in Hebrew. The first five books of the Bible (known as the Pentateuch) are traditionally ascribed to him. Moses is the channel between God and the Hebrews, through whom the Hebrews received a basic charter for living as God's people.

The Books of the Pentateuch

According to the Bible, the descendants of Jacob had lived in Egypt for more than 450 years, during which time they grew into a nation: the nation of Israel. The Egyptians began to see them as a threat and tightened their control on them, forcing them to work as slaves.

Eventually, in an attempt to reduce their numbers, newborn Israelite babies were drowned in the River Nile. The Bible says that the Israelites asked God for help and that he sent them a leader: Moses.

In order to escape death, Moses' mother placed him in a basket when he was still a baby and set him adrift on the River Nile. She left his fate up to God's will. The infant Moses was rescued by the Pharaoh's daughter and brought up in the palace as a royal prince. Some historians believe that Hatshepsut was the Pharaoh's daughter!

As an adult, Moses reacted against the unfair treatment of his own people and killed an Egyptian guard. Moses was then forced to flee from the wrath of the Pharaoh. He was driven into exile in the land of Midian. He married Zipporah, the daughter of the Priest of Midian, and worked as a shepherd for forty years. One day, when he was in the desert, Moses heard the voice of God speaking to him through a bush which flamed but did not burn.

God asked Moses to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land. Moses was at first reluctant, thinking that the Israelites would not believe he had heard the word of God. God then gave Moses special powers and inspired by this, Moses returned to Egypt and demanded freedom for his people.

The Ten Plagues

A Primary Source Document - The Torah

1. Water to Blood

7:19 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.

2. Frogs

8:2 And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:

8:3 And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneading troughs:

8:4 And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.

3. Gnats or Lice

8:16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

4. Flies

8:21 Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.

5. Livestock Diseased

9:3 Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.

6. Boils [large sores like huge blisters]

9:8 And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.

9:9 And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.

7. Thunder and Hail

9:18 Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.

8. Locusts [large grasshoppers]

10:4 Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast:

10:5 And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field.

9. Darkness

10:21 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.

10:22 And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days

10. Death of the Firstborn

11:4 And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt:

11:5 And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.

At first, the Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites leave, then God unleashed 10 plagues on the Egyptians. It was the tenth plague - the plague of the firstborn - which eventually persuaded the Pharaoh to let them go. It was announced that the first-born sons in every household would die, but the sons of the Israelites would be saved if they marked their door posts with the blood of a lamb killed in sacrifice. They had to cook the lamb and eat it that night with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. These are the origins of the Jewish Festival: Passover.

The Pharaoh then changed his mind, and sent his army in pursuit of the Israelites. 600 chariots pursued them, but famously, the waters of the Red Sea parted; the Israelites walked through, then the waters returned and destroyed the Pharaoh's army.

After traveling through the desert for nearly three months, the Israelites camped before Mount Sinai. There, God appeared to Moses and made an agreement or covenant with him. God declared that the Israelites were his own people and that they must listen to God and obey His laws. These laws were the Ten Commandments which were given to Moses on two stone tablets, and they set out the basic principles that would govern the Israelites lives.

What do the Ten Commandments mean?

1. Do not worship any other god than the one true God. All other gods are false gods.

2. Do not make idols or images in the form of God. An idol can be anything (or anyone) you worship by giving it more importance than God. If something (or someone) has your time, attention and affections, it has your worship. It could be an idol in your life.

3. Do not treat God's name lightly or with disrespect. Because of God's importance, his name is always to be spoken of with honor.

4. Dedicate or set aside the Sabbath for rest and worship of the Lord.

5. Give honor to your father and mother by treating them with respect and obedience.

6. Do not deliberately kill a fellow human being.

7. You may only have one husband or wife. Once you are married, you may not have any more girlfriends or boyfriends.

8. Do not steal or take anything that doesn't belong to you, unless you have been given permission to do so.

9. Do not tell a lie about someone or bring a false accusation against another person.

10. Do not desire anything or anyone that does not belong to you. Comparing yourself to others and longing to have what they have leads to jealousy, envy and other sins. Be content by focusing on the blessings God has given you and not what he has not given you.

Canaan

The Israelites then spent 40 years in the desert. When they finally approached the land of Canaan, Moses died and Joshua became their new leader.

The red line indicates the route of Moses. The green line indicates the route of Abraham.

Kings Unites the Israelites

The new threat to the Israelites came from the Philistines, who lived along the Mediterranean co In the mid-1000s BC, the Philistines invaded the Israelites' lands.

The Philistines were a seafaring people. They arrived in Canaan in the 100s BC and settled in the south along the Mediterranean coast. The Philistines had superior weapons to the Israelites and were a serious threat until David defeated them (we'll talk about that later). The name Palestine comes from the Greek and Latin words for Philistines.

Frightened of these powerful invaders, the Israelites banded together under a single ruler who could lead them in battle. That ruler was a man named Saul, who became the first king of Israel. Saul had some success as a military commander, but he wasn't a strong king. He never won the total support of tribal and religious leaders. They often fought against his decisions.

Saul was a weak and ineffective king who didn't do much with his life except try to murder David, his son-in-law, despite David's repeated expression of loyalty, because he knew David was destined to take his place one day on the throne. Saul's hatred and insane jealousy for David made him fail as a king and Samuel regretted anointing him. Saul's reign ended in disaster. He received no answer for his prayers, and even sought the help of a witch.

The battle that took place the next day at Gilboa was a bitter defeat for Israel, Saul himself was wounded, and he committed suicide by throwing himself on his own sword. Three of his sons, including Jonathan also died.

Saul Attacking David GUERCINO (1646)

David

But how did David get from being a shepherd to going knowing King Saul?

So then how did David become a hero?

The Jewish troops were stationed on the one side of the Elah Valley, south of Jerusalem—a place which you can still visit today in Israel—and the Philistines were on the other. Goliath was marching out in front of the Philistine lines, shouting curses at the Jews and challenging someone to come and fight him:

“Choose yourself a man and let him come down to me! If he can fight me and kill me, we will be slaves to you; if I defeat him and kill him, you will be slaves to us and serve us.” (1 Samuel 17:8-9)

The mortified Israelite army had to listen to this, because no one was willing to take on Goliath.

One day, David—who was still a shepherd and not a soldier—showed up on the battlefield bringing food for his brothers and he was shocked by what he saw.

Outraged at Goliath’s blasphemous insulting of the God of Israel, David volunteered to fight Goliath, though he had a hard time convincing everybody to let him go out into the field. Finally, he convinced King Saul with his steadfast faith in God:

And David said, “God who saved me from the claws of the lion and the claws of the bear, He will save me from the hands of the Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:37)

To that Saul answers:

“Go and may God be with you.”

David went out to meet Goliath without sword or armor, only with his slingshot and a few stones, and his deep abiding faith in God.

Seeing him Goliath laughed:

“Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks?”

But David was undisturbed:

“You come towards me with a sword, a spear and a javelin, but I come to you with the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the battalions of Israel whom you have insulted. This day God shall deliver you into my hand ... and this entire gathering shall know that it is not by a sword or with a spear that God saves…” (1 Samuel 17:47)

As Goliath advanced toward him, David used his sling to hurl a rock at the giant’s face. It hit him in the forehead and he fell to the ground, flat on his face. David then removed Goliath’s sword and cut off his head.

The stunned Philistines started running, pursued by the Israelite army. The end result is a tremendous victory for the Jews.

What happened after the battle?

After David defeated Goliath, he served Saul in his army. He also married Saul's younger daughter. However, Saul grew increasingly convinced that David was out to get him, so he kept hoping David would die in battle. When that didn't work, he continued to try and kill him, so David had to flee for the hills. For some 20 years David hid in the wilderness from Saul where he gathered an army from the outcasts of Israel. David wrote most of the Psalms at this time and God called him, "a man after My own heart."

Finally, seven years after Saul died, the tribes crowned David king at Hebron. (about 1000 BC). He brought the Ark of the covenant (gold box containing the 10 commandments and symbolizing the throne of God) to Jerusalem, which he established as the capital (2 Sam 1-5).

David was Israel's greatest and truly ideal king. He was a great warrior and a man who loved God. He brought great peace and prosperity to the land. But David also had his weaknesses. He took many wives, like other kings, and this was forbidden by God. He even arranged the murder of one of his soldiers so that he could marry the man's wife (Bathsheba--she'll be important later) who he had already seduced. David was a great sinner, but he was also very remorseful and repentant. David also took a census (headcount) of his army, showing a lack of trust in God. God punished David and Israel for his sins. Jesus Christ (whom we will talk about later in the beginnings of Christianity) was a descendent of David.

After David made Jerusalem his capital, he bought the upper part of the hill above the northern boundary of the city from its owner Aravnah, the Jebusite.

From the earliest period of Jewish history, the Patriarchs of the Jewish people recognized the tremendous spiritual power of Mount Moriah. This was where Abraham, sensing God’s presence, went up to offer Isaac as a sacrifice and later remarked as the Bible records:

“The Lord will see,” as it is said to this day, “On the Lord’s mountain, He will be seen.” (Genesis 22:14)

This is where Jacob dreamt of a ladder going to heaven, and said:

“How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” (Genesis 28:17)

Today on this spot stands an Islamic structure known as the Dome of the Rock. Under this golden dome is an exposed piece of the bedrock of Mount Moriah (the area is also known as Mount Zion or Temple Mount)-metaphysically known as the even ishtiah, literally, “drinking stone.” Water and spirituality are synonymous, and the Torah is known as mayim chayim, “water of life.” According to Judaism, the world is spiritually nourished from this spot, this stone-which is the metaphysical center of the universe.

Jews believe that this is the place where God’s presence can be felt more intensively than in any other place on the planet earth. Therefore, this was the logical place to build a permanent resting spot for the most holy object that the Jewish people have—the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant.

Although David brought up the Ark of the Covenant to Mount Moriah, he was not allowed by God to build the Temple. A number of reasons were given. One is that the Temple is a house of God and a house of peace and David has a lot of blood on his hands from subduing the enemies of Israel. However, he was promised that his son will build it. Remember Bathsheba? The wife of the soldier David had killed? David and Bathsheba had a son: Solomon. Solomon became Israel's most magnificent king.

Once Solomon’s empire was tranquil, he began to build the Holy Temple (the one God promised David). He received wood from King Hiram of Tyre and imposed a compulsory labor service on both the Israelites and the foreign nations that were under his control. His workers built the structure of the Temple, its decorations and its vessels. The Temple took seven years to complete. It was built of stone and cedar, carved within and overlaid with pure gold. When it was done, Solomon dedicated the Temple in a public ceremony of prayers and sacrifices.

According to the Tanakh, Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple, was the Holy Temple (Hebrew: בֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ‎: Bet HaMikdash) in ancient Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount (also known as Mount Zion), before its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar II after (Remember him? Hanging Gardens of Babylon?)the Siege of Jerusalem of 587 BC.

The Hebrew Bible states that the temple was constructed under Solomon, King of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah and that during the kingdom of Judah, the temple was dedicated to Yahweh, and is said to have housed the Ark of the Covenant (which held the 10 Commandment tablets).

As glorious and elaborate as the Temple was, its most important room contained almost no furniture at all. Known as the Holy of Holies (Kodesh Kodashim), it housed the two tablets of the Ten Commandments inside the Ark of Covenant. Unfortunately, the tablets disappeared when the Babylonians destroyed the Temple and, therefore, during the Second Temple era the Holy of Holies was reduced to small, entirely bare room. Only once a year, on Yom Kippur (we'll discuss this in a later lesson, but next is the gist of it), the High Priest would enter this room and pray to God on behalf of the Israelite nation.

The Western Wall is a holy place of prayer and pilgrimage sacred to the Jewish people. The wall was part of the Second Temple of Jerusalem, the center of worship in ancient Israel. The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in ad 70. The Western Wall is all that remains.

Click here to learn more about the Jewish diaspora.

8.2 Jewish Beliefs and Texts

Click on the photo for more information about the Torah.

Click on the photo for more information.

Judaism in Later Cultures

1. Monotheism: Judaism introduced the powerful notion that one God created and rules the universe. This was a profound break with the idolatrous models that came before, in which an angry or capricious god was seen to govern events at random, and had to be appeased – often in horrible ways, like child sacrifice.

2. The Weekend: “Six days shall you work and accomplish all your work, but the seventh day is Shabbat to the Lord Your God; you shall not do any work“ (Exodus 20:8). There is nothing inherently logical about breaking up the long monotony of human days: the seven-day week is found nowhere in the natural world. Yet, today, four thousand years after Judaism introduced the concept of Shabbat, the concept of a seven-day week is universal.

3. Equality Under the Law: Alone in the ancient world, the Jewish people proclaimed the dignity of every person: men and women, rich and poor. Ancient codes of justice routinely contained different laws for people of varying social statuses. Even in the present day, when human rights abuses around the world make a mockery of impartial justice, the Torah remains a beacon of light, insisting that all people – regardless of station – are to be judged the same: “You shall not commit a perversion of justice; you shall not favor the poor and you shall not honor the great; with righteousness shall you judge your fellow” (Leviticus 19:15).

4. Court System: The Torah contains one of the earliest systems of upper and lower courts. As the Jewish nation grew after the Exodus from Egypt, their leader Moses found it increasingly difficult to adjudicate all their disputes. Moses’ father-in-law Yitro presented him with a unique solution: establish the world’s first comprehensive legal system. Under his guidance, Moses established four levels of courts, from local precincts where people could go to petty disputes, all the way up to high courts that oversaw the lower courts and decided the most difficult cases (Deuteronomy 1:11-15).

5. Animal Rights: The movement for animal rights might seem very modern – current animal welfare laws began to be proposed in Western nations in the mid-19th Century – but they have their antecedents in Jewish thought. The Torah and Talmud are full of detailed instructions on treating animals with kindness: we are forbidden from muzzling an ox during harvests (this ancient practice was meant to prevent beasts from eating the crops) or yoking a strong animal together with a weak one (because it might cause undue strain on the smaller animal) (Deuteronomy 25:4). When we collect eggs, the Torah instructs that we first shoo away the mother bird (Deuteronomy 22:7). The Talmud even commands us to feed our animals before we ourselves eat.

6. Crop Rotation: Nowadays, farmers know that to maintain nutrients in soil, it’s effective to rotate crops and to leave fields fallow periodically. In Israel, this practice has a powerful spiritual dimension, as well. “Six years shall you sow your land and gather in its produce. And in the seventh, you shall leave it untended and unharvested, and the destitute of your people shall eat, and the wildlife of the field shall eat what is left of them; so shall you do to your vineyard and your olive grove” (Exodus 23:10-11). This practice – which is still followed by many Israeli farmers today – reminds us that it is God who ultimately controls the land and our lives.

7. Monetary Damages: When the Torah introduced the idea of paying for damages with money instead of one’s life, it was a revolutionary thought. The Code of the Babylonian ruler Hammurabi (1795-1750 BCE) mandated the death penalty for most serious crimes; the 7th Century BCE Draconian Code of Athens made the death penalty the punishment for every crime. Even in the present day, some countries impose harsh physical punishments; in Saudi Arabia, people have been sentenced to have their eyes gouged out; Iran has also used blinding as punishment, sentencing a man accused of stalking a woman to have acid dripped in each eye. Both nations, as well as some other Muslim countries, have used amputation of hands and feet as punishment for crimes.

Jewish law, in contrast, codified various categories of monetary damages for a range of crimes, allowing those convicted of theft or negligence to pay off their debt and resume ordinary life.

8. Public Schools: In 64 CE, Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Gamla ruled that every Jewish child aged six and up should attend school, whether their parents could afford to send them or not. He even mandated a maximum class size – no more than 25 children per teacher. Jewish communities raced to put Rabbi Yehoshua’s ideas into action, establishing subsidized or free schools in Jewish communities the world over. As Chicago educational philanthropist George Hanus has noted: “it is the first instance in recorded history of a people instituting compulsory universal education funded by the larger community…. Many scholars believe Gamla’s model was the inspiration for free public education systems in the contemporary West, including the United States.”

8.3 Judaism Over the Centuries

A tour of Masada in Israel

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