Topic:
Recap:
Lecture Roman occupation of Palestine
66 CE Failed Jewish rebellion
70 CE 2nd temple destroyed
Jews exiled; beginning of diaspora
Rabbis stepped up to aid Jewish community
Established Jewish calendar, holidays, modern traditions
Few hundred years after destruction of temple;
Began laying out a paradigm as to how Jews should live
Movement led by gifted rabbis
Canonization (EXAM MAT) of the bible
o Stories and ideas delineated
Large scale effort to bring together oral traditions and set in writing
Chief Texts:
Mishnah:
o Teachings drawn from the oral traditions
o Large and detailed work composed in Hebrew
o Purports to cover all the various religious and secular dimensions of life
o Contains six segments; mainly a body of law including those pertaining to family,
rituals, purity of food, etc.
o Gemara:
Commentary on the Mishnah
Midrash:
o Commentary on Hebrew bible;
o Clarifies and exemplifies ideals
Talmud:
o Babylonians & Palestinian versions
o Composed Aramaic
o in Basis for Jewish life and piety
Traditions passed from men to young boys
o Contains two different strains of literature
Halakha:
Laws
Hagadah:
Literary strain; articulates law through stories and anecdotes
Middle Ages:
Location of Jewish traditions based on locations of other religions
o Christianity
Believed Jews were responsible for death of Jesus
Resented Jewish non-belief in Jesus as messiah
Got rid of hallmarks of Jewish identity; ie. Kosher, Circumcision
o
Islam
Neutral to Judaism
After 9th century, moved across Europe and parts of Africa???
o Also Spain, Egypt, Iraq, Mediterranean
Crusades (End of 11th C):
Christianity going through almost nationalistic conquest
Persecution of non-Christians
Aggression against and slaughter of Jews
o Began in Germany; also England ---> Jews expelled
o By end of 14 C; expelled from France
o By end of 15 C; expelled from Spain
Jews moved to other areas
o Sephardim:
o Ashkenazim:
Spoke Yiddish, German,