1. Ch. 3/3 “The Growth of Judaism”
The Jews called their time in Babylon an exile because they were forced to live in a different land.
During their exile, the Israelite religion became what we call Judaism today.
Small groups of Jews met on the Sabbath, their weekly day of worship and rest.
They prayed and discussed their religion and history in Jewish houses of worship called Synagogues.

4. Why Did Jews Return to Judah
During the 500’s BC, a group of people called Persians swept across southwest Asia.
The Persians defeated the Chaldeans and took over Babylon.
In 538 BC, the Persian king Cyrus allowed the Jews to return home to Judah and he helped to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem.
He appointed officials to collect their taxes and control their government.

5. The Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is really a series of books collected together.
It includes the 5 books of the Torah and 34 other books describing events in Jewish history.

6. Jewish Leadership
The leaders of the Jews became the temple priests and scribes, or religious scholars and writers.
A scribe named Ezra, wrote the 5 books of the Torah on pieces of parchment sewed together to make scrols.
The Torah and writings that were added later made up the Hebrew Bible.

7. Daniel and the Lion’s Den
Parts of the Bible described God’s plan for a peaceful future.
Daniel lived in Babylon and was a trusted adviser of the king.
However, he refused to worship Babylonian gods and was punished.
The Chaldeans threw Daniel into a lion’s den, but God protected Daniel from the lions.
The story is meant to remind Jews that God would rescue them.

8. Greek Influences
In 334 BC, a king named Alexander the Great began taking over kingdoms around the Mediterranean.
In 331 BC, his armies defeated the Persians, so Judah came under his control.
Alexander allowed the Jews to stay in Judah, but he also introduced the Greek language and ways to Judah.

9. Diaspora Spreads Jewish Ideas
At the time, Jews were also living in other parts of Alexander’s empire in places like Egypt and Babylon.
The Jews outside of Judah became known as the Diaspora (Scattered).
They learned the Greek language and ways of life but they remained loyal to Judaism.
A group copied the Hebrew Bible into Greek which helped people who were not Jews read and understand it throughout the Mediterranean.

10. The Maccabees
In 168 BC, a Greek ruler named Antiochus controlled Judah.
He decided to make the Jews of Judah worship Greek gods and goddesses.
A priest named Judas Maccabeus and his followers rebelled.
They fled into the hills and formed an army known as the Maccabees.

11. Hanukkah: The Festival of Lights
They drove the Greeks out of Judah and destroyed all traces of Greek gods and goddesses in their temples.
Each year Jews recall the cleansing of the temple when they celebrate Hanukkah.
Priests from Judas Maccabeus’s family became the new rulers of Judah and took over land that had been part of the kingdom of Israel.

13. Jewish Way of Life
Jewish law set out many rules for Jews to follow that affected their daily life and dealt with their education, diets, and clothing.
The laws emphasized self-control and reminded Jews of their religion which was important when they no longer had their own land and king.

14. Family Life The Jews placed great importance on family.
Sons were especially valued because they carried on the family name and upon the father’s death, the son became the head of the family.
Mothers were Jewish children’s first teachers.
When sons grew older, fathers taught them how to earn a living and worship God.

15. Religious Education for Boys
Later, elders took over the religious education of boys and taught them the Torah.
Because reading the Torah was central to Jewish life, religious teachers became important community leaders.

17. Education for Girls Mothers educated their daughters at home.
The girls learned to be good wives, mothers, and housekeepers.
They learned Jewish laws about food and clothing.
They also learned about the courageous women of ancient Israel like Ruth and Naomi

20. The Jewish Diet
Jews could only eat certain animals like beef and lamb but not pork.
They could eat scaly fish, like salmon, but not smooth-skinned fish like eels, or shell fish.
Today food that is prepared according to Jewish dietary law is called Kosher.
The animals used must be killed in a special way, and the meat must be inspected, salted, and soaked.
They do not cook or eat milk products with their meat.

21. Ancient Jewish Diets
Fish
Fruit
Vegetables
Bread
Milk
Water
Wine
Beer

22. Jewish Clothing
Jewish law forbade mixing some fabrics so they did not combine flax or wool.
Jewish men wore tunics made of linen next to their skin.
Some layered another tunic of wool in cold weather.
On their heads, they wore caps or turbans.
They wore sandals on their feet.

23. Women’s Clothing Women wore long simple dresses.
They covered their heads with shawls.
Only wealthy women could afford leather shoes.
They also wore makeup and jewelry.

24. The Jews and the Romans
In 63 BC, a people known as the Romans conquered Judah.
Led by powerful generals, the Romans were intent on expanding their empire.
The Roman capital was far to the west in what is today the country of Italy.
When they conquered Judah, they renamed it Judaea.
At first, the Romans allowed Jewish rulers to run Judaea.

25. The Rule of King Herod
The most famous ruler of Judaea during this time was King Herod.
He was known for his cruelty and his changes to the Jewish temple in Jerusalem.
He made the temple one of the most awe- inspiring buildings in the Roman world.
Today he is best known as the king who ruled Judaea when Jesus was born.

26. Herod’s Temple
Shortly after Herod died, the Romans replaced the Jewish king with Roman officials.
The Jews were eager to regain control, but because they had splintered into different groups, they did not have much power.
One group of Jews was known as the Pharisees.

28. The Pharisees
They taught the Torah and how to apply its laws to daily life.
In doing so, they helped make Judaism a religion of the home and family.
The Pharisees taught in synagogues and were supported by the common people.

29. The Sadducees
The Sadducees were more concerned with how the Torah applied to the priests in the Temple.
Most were priests or scribes and did not agree with many of the Pharisees’ teachings.

30. The Essenes
The Essenes were priests who broke away from the Temple in Jerusalem.
Many Essenes lived together in the desert.
They spent their lives praying and waiting for God to deliver the Jews from the Romans.

31. Dead Sea Scrolls
In 1947 AD, ancient scrolls were found in the desert near the Dead Sea.
They were probably written by Essenes and are called the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The scrolls have helped historians understand more about Judaism during Roman times.

34. The Zealots
During the 60’s AD, Jewish hatred of Roman rule was at its peak.
Many Jews were waiting for a messiah, or deliverer sent by God.
Other Jews known as Zealots wanted to fight the Romans for their freedom.
In 66 AD, the Zealots revolted against the Romans and drove them out of Jerusalem.

35. Zealot Revolts Four years later, the Romans retook Jerusalem.
They killed thousands of Jews and forced many others to leave.
The Romans also destroyed the temple in Jerusalem.
The Western Wall is all that remains of it today.

36. Palestine The Jews revolted again in 132 AD.
Three years later, the Romans put down the revolt and forbade Jews to live in or even visit Jerusalem.
The Romans renamed Judaea Palestine.
This name refers to the Philistines, whom the Israelites had conquered centuries before.

37. Jewish Teachers
Despite losing their land, the Jews managed to survive.
They no longer had priests.
Their leaders called rabbis became important and they taught the Torah.
One of the most famous rabbis was Johanan ben Zakkai. After the revolt of 70 Ad, he made sure the study of the Torah continued by establishing a school for Torah studies in Northern Palestine.

38. The Talmud
To teach the Torah, rabbis combined the teachings in a book called the Talmud.
It still remains an important record of Jewish law.
For 2,000 years, most Jews lived outside of Palestine.
They often faced hatred and persecution.
In 1948, Palestine was divided and a new Jewish nation called Israel was created.