FREE ESSAY ON HISTORY OF JUDAISM

HISTORY OF JUDAISM

Judaism Early History of Judaism It has been argued that Judaism can be seen not only as a
single religion, but as a group of similar religions. It has also been pointed-out that
through all the trials and tribulations that Judaism has suffered through, that there
have been common themes that have proven omni-pervasive. Any institution with roots as
ancient and varied as the religion of the Jews is bound to have a few variations,
especially when most of its history takes place in the political and theological hot spot
of the Middle East. In this discussion, many facets of Judaism will be examined,
primarily in the three temporal subdivisions labeled the Tribal / Pre-Monarchy Period,
the Divided Monarchy, and the Hasmonean / Maccabean and Roman Era. Among all the time
periods where the religion has been split, these three seem to be the mostrepresentative
of the forces responsible. As for a common thread seen throughout all Judiasms, the area
of focus here is the place associated with the religion : Jerusalem. This topic will be
covered in detail first, and then the multiple Judaism arguments will be presented. In
this way, it is possible to keep a common focus in mind when reading about all the other
situations in which the religion has found itself. A brief conclusion follows the
discussion. A Place to Call Home No other religion has ever been so attached to its
birthplace as Judaism. Perhaps this is because Jews have been exiled and restricted from
this place for most of their history. Jerusalem is not only home to Judaism, but to the
Muslim and Christian religions as well. Historically this has made it quite a busy place
for the various groups. Jerusalem is where the temple of the Jews once stood; the only
place on the whole Earth where one could leave the confines of day to day life and get
closer to God. In 586 BCE when the temple was destroyed, no Jew would have denied
Jerusalem as being the geographic center of the religion. From that point on, the Jewish
people have migrated around the world, but not one of them forgets the fact that
Jerusalem is where it all began. It is truly a sacred place, and helps to define what
Judaism means to many people; a common thread to run through all the various splinters of
the religion and help hold them together. Even today, as the Jewish people have their
precious Jerusalem back (through the help of other nations and their politics) there is
great conflict and emotion surrounding it. Other nations and people in the area feel that
they should be in control of the renowned city, and the Jews deny fervently any attempt
to wrestle it from their occupation. It is true that there is no temple in Jeruslaem
today, nor are all the Jews in the world rushing to get back there. But it is apparent
that the city represents more to the religion of Judaism than a mere place to live and
work. The city of Jerusalem is a spiritual epicenter, and throughout Judaism's long and
varied history, this single fact has never changed. Tribal / Pre-Monarchy Judaism's roots
lie far back in the beginnings of recorded history. The religion did not spring into
existence exactly as it is known today, rather it was pushed and prodded by various
environmental factors along the way. One of the first major influences on the religion
was the Canaanite nation. Various theories exist as to how and when the people that would
later be called Jews entered into this civilization. But regardless of how they
ultimately got there, these pioneers of the new faith were subjected to many of the ideas
and prejudices of the time. Any new society that finds itself in an existing social
situation, can do no more than to try and integrate into that framework. And this is
exactly what the Jews did. Early Judaism worshipped multiple gods. One of these gods was
known as Ba'al, and was generally thought-of as a 'statue god' with certain limitations
on his power. The other primary deity was called YHWH (or Yahweh) and enjoyed a much more
mysterious and illusive reputation. He was very numinous, and one was to have great
respect, but great fear for him at the same time. Ba'al was not ever really feared, as
his cycles (metaphorically seen as the seasons) were fairly well known, and not at all
fear-inducing. The fact that the early Jews and Canaanites had these two radically
different representations of a deity active in their culture, basically assured that
there would be splits in the faith. One group inevitably would focus on one of the gods,
and another would focus on another. In this way, the single religion could support
multiple types of worship, leading to multiple philosophies and patterns of behavior,
which could then focus more and more on their respective niche, widening the gap into a
clear cut distinction between religious groups. This early time period was generally
quite temporary and non-centralized, stemming from the fact that technology was at a very
low level, and people's lifespan was fairly short. These conditions led to a rapid rate
of turnover in religious thought, and left many factions of people to their own devices.
Widespread geographic distribution coupled with poor communication certainly did not help
in holding the many faiths together. The Tribal Period in Jewish history is one of the
more splintered eras in the religion, but since these people were all living in the area
near Jerusalem, the common thread can be seen clearly through the other less-defined
elements of the religion. Divided Monarchy By its very name, it is apparent that this
period of history is host to a great deal of divergence in the Jewish religion. As
Solomon was king, people began to grow more and more restless. Some objected to
worshiping a human king, while others balked at the oppression of the poor that was going
on. Political unrest in this period led to a decisive split in geographic territory, and
thus a split in religious views. A group of people left the area of Judah and traveled
North to found Israel, where they could be free to practice their own political flavors,
and their own religious flavors as well. This sort of behavior has come to be seen as
common of oppressed people, and the result is almost always a great deviation in the ways
of the 'old world'. A perfect example of this comes when examining the point in American
history where independence was declared from England. Now, mere centuries later, America
is as different in its politics, religions, and social forces from England as one could
imagine. This was most likely the result when Israel was founded, far back in Biblical
history. Communication between the two cities was sparse. The priests and prophets were
undoubtedly addressing items pertinent to one group, but not neccesarily the other. The
influence of foreign traders to each of the two places, as well as the political
attitudes of each all would have had enormous impact on a newly-spawned religion. Thus,
it can easily be seen that the religion was split into (at least) two major divisions
during this time period. Toward the end of the Divided Monarchy, it seems that the
prophets began calling for major changes in the basic foundation of the early Jews'
lives. The kings and priests had no major disputes with the status quo, but apparently
the prophets were calling for a reorganization. This sort of 'turmoil within' can do
nothing but further split people's faith. It was is if the question was posed : to follow
the kings and the priests, who have guided us and kept us safe? or follow the far-seeing
prophets, who are more like us and honestly have our best interests at heart? As the next
major historical division occurred this sort of argument would continue, and thus the
Jewish people were left to practice their religion in whatever way they felt best :
multiple groups of people with varying faith in the many forms of Judaism as it existed
toward the end of the Divided Monarchy. Hasmonean / Maccabean and Roman Era This time
period in Jewish history is politically tumultuous, leading to high levels of splits and
variations in the religion itself. One of the most disruptive types of all wars is a
civil war. And this is exactly what occurs at the outset in the Jewish homeland of
Jerusalem. The Jewish civil war was against the extreme Hellenizers (people who tended
toward utter reason in their beliefs) and the moderate Hellenizers (people who can see
things rationally, but believe there are more items to consider than this -- ex. the
Maccabean family, who became the Hasmonean kings). So right away, it is apparent that the
ideas that the Greeks introduced into Jewish culture have acted as time-bombs of social
memes, and have created a major split in the religion. When the violence of the war has
subsided, the moderate Hellenizers have won ("everything in moderation!") and rule for a
short time, until the Roman empire attacks and throws even more kinks into the Jewish
society. When the Romans take over, the Hasmonean kings are left in place as 'puppet
kings,' which ultimately forces the general population to question their governing body.
When the Romans destroy the temple in Jerusalem, it is made painfully clear that some
changes are going to be made. Most obvious, the priests suddenly have no major role in
the religion. Their primary purpose had been to tend to the sacrificing of animals, and
since it is illegal to sacrifice an animal outside the temple, the priests were in an
unsettling position. As can be seen in countless other examples, politics and religion
are invariably tied, and people began practicing their own flavors of Judaism after their
civilization had been so radically altered. At this point in history, there is really no
solid rule to prevent such splits, and for a time a mixed form of Judaism with many
varieties flourishes. No one was sure what to do once the heart of Judaism (the temple)
had been destroyed, but it soon became apparent that an appealing option was arising. Two
major social groups of the time period were vying for power. The first group, the
Saducees were associated with the displaced Hasmonean kings. The second group, the
Pharisees, had an idea that would help work around the tragic destruction of the temple.
People were split, once again. They could stay with the traditional Saducees (who had the
political power, believed in only written Torah, and did not subscribe to resurrection --
basically a conservative view), or they could side with the newcomers, the Pharisees (who
had religious power, believed in both the written and the oral Torah, and believed in
resurrection) and hope to preserve their Jewish heritage by worshiping outside of the
temple, in their everyday life. It was not a hard decision, and the Pharisees eventually
gained power, leading the Jewish religion into its next phase of Rabbinic Judaism. It is
apparent that in each of the three time periods discussed above that many factions of the
same religion were active. Competing philosophies, outside political forces, and
geographic isolation are among the most obvious of the dividing forces. However many
other influences 'pound' each and every day on a given social institution, subtly forming
it and changing it into something it was not. For this reason, the answer to the debate
whether Judaism is a single, or multiple religion(s) is an obvious one, depending upon
how you choose to look at it. Every religion has many pieces, but as long as there are a
few constants (such as the birthplace, the language, literature, etc) it is possible to
view the whole as a single force, and still acknowledge variations that will inevitably
spring-up