1. Response to “The Tribe”
Pogrom
What are Jewish values?
Hard to put a finger on “what it means to be a Jew”
Is Judaism a “race”
Is there one source of authority?

2. Intro to Judaism
Lecture 2
January 9, 2007

3. Geographical Coordinates

4. According to Hebrew Bible… 19th-11th Century BCE
Abraham’s Migration to Canaan
Jacob and his sons flee to Egypt
Enslavement of Israelites in Egypt
Moses-“Let My People Go”
Exodus from Egypt (c 13th century BCE)
Wandering in the Sinai Desert
Israelite Conquest of Canaan
Federation of tribes and rule by Judges (13-11th century BCE)

5. Abraham’s Journey

6. The Route of the Exodus

7. The Twelve Tribes

8. Bible Emerges from Ancient Near Eastern Setting
Bible reflects interactions with surrounding cultures
Bible culls from local traditions, narratives, rituals
Imagines community of Israelites as distinct and separate

9. Establishing Boundaries
Genealogy
Shared Narratives
Ritual Boundaries (Circumcision)
Food
Time/Sabbath

10. According to the Hebrew Bible 11th-6th Century BCE
United Monarchy (King Saul, David, Solomon) (c BCE)
Kingdom Divided into North (Israel) and South (Judah) ( BCE)
Fall of Israel (Northern Kingdom) (721 BCE)
Fall of Judah (Southern Kingdom) 587 BCE)

11. The United Monarchy (c. 922)

12. The Biblical Account of Solomon’s Temple
Highest Point: 207 Feet
Holy of Holies with Tablets
The Biblical Account of Solomon’s Temple

13. Divided Kingdom ( )

14. The Fall of the Israelite Kingdom (c 721 BCE)

15. The Fall of Judah (587 BCE) and the Beginning of Diaspora
“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion…How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.” (Psalm 137)

16. Jews In Judea under Great World Empires
(538 BCE-4th Century CE)
Persian Period (515 BCE-332 BCE)
Early Palestinian Hellenism ( )
Hasmonean Dynasty (164 BCE -63 CE)
Roman Rule (63 BCE - )

17. Key Questions…
What strategies does Jewish culture employ to survive rule by foreign powers?
How do Jews both adopt and adapt aspects of the external cultural milieu?
How diverse are expressions of Jewish culture?

18. The Persian Period
The Return (for minority) and Restoration of Temple (515 BCE)
Independent?
Theocracy based on Bible
What do Ezra and Nehemiah do?

19. Why organize, edit, and promulgate the Torah?

20. Part 2: Early Palestinian Hellenism (332 BCE-164 BCE)

21. Alexander the Great and the Rise of Hellenism (333 BCE)

22. How does Hellenism influence Biblical Religion and Jewish Culture?
Flexible Pantheon of Gods
Cosmopolitan Culture
Greek language, literature, and art
Critical and Empirical Thinking
Economic Globalization

23. Jewish Response Not a binary, either..or choice Adopt and Adapt
Integrate into Hellenistic Society
Tell Jewish stories in Greek (literally and figuratively)

24. The Exagoge Live at Broadway Amphitheater : The Exile in Five Acts
By Ezekial (2nd Century BCE)
Moses as Greek God not Biblical Prophet

25. Demetrius and the Hebrew Bible in 3rd Century BCE
How did Jacob have 12 sons in 7 years?
The challenge of Greek history

26. Septuagint
Why would Jews translate Torah into Greek in the 3rd century BCE?
What does the fact that this was done in Egypt tell us?

27. Architecture-The Synagogue

28. Strategies for Differentiation
Aristobulus (2nd Century BCE)
Hellenic ideas come from Hebrew roots
Number 7
Wow. That Torah
Has some great ideas!

29. Adopting and Adapting
How can differentiating also justify entrance into Greek culture?
Is there a “Jewish” culture?
Is acculturation a good thing-creative synthesis or suicide?