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Image: The temple in Rome,
dedicated to all the major gods, was called 'The
Pantheon'. It was named after the word used for the entire
collection of all the Roman gods. |
Jews, unlike other peoples of the pre-Christian era, believed in
one Supreme Being andmaintained their separation from other peoples.
During the Roman Empire before Christianity, Jews were often blamed
for refusing to honor the official pantheon of gods. Thus, their monotheism
set Jews apart, and non-Jews in the empire harbored suspicions and
negative
stereotypes about them. As pointed out in the catalogue entitled Antisemitism:
A History Portrayed:
. . .The following story was often told [by writers of antiquity]:
Jews were originally lepers driven out of Egypt. Many Roman writers
believed that an epidemic had broken out in Egypt that disfigured
people’s bodies. When King Bocchoris consulted the oracle
of Amamon to request a cure, he was ordered to purify his kingdom
and to deport the Jews. Two Greek writers circulated the legend
of ritual murder: Jews were said to capture a Greek every year,
fatten him up in the temple, and finally murder him for a ceremonial
purpose. . . .
The Anne Frank Foundation, Antisemitism: A History Portrayed, p.
12.
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Exodus
Exodus, the second book of the Bible, tells the story of how the Egyptians
oppressed the Israelites, the appearance of Moses and the exodus from
Egypt. Then the book describes how God revealed himself to the children
of Israel at the foot of Mt. Sinai and gave the Ten Commandments.
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Painting: Moses with
the Ten Commandments Philippe
de Champaigne.
Oil on canvas. 91.5x74.5 cm France. 1648 Source of Entry: Choiseul-Praslin
Collection, Paris. 1808
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The Ten
Commandments are the highest laws of Judaism. They are the
source of all Jewish law and ethics. They set forth the fundamental
ways that people should treat one another. These laws later were
embodied
in Christianity and Islam.
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Map: The Exodus.
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The First Temple
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Image: Freize of Arch of
Titus.
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King David planned the First Temple, and the Temple was constructed
during the era of King Solomon (965-925 Before the Common Era [B.C.E.]).
For 380 years the Temple was the center of life for Israelis, and the
people made pilgrimages to the Temple three times a year. The Temple
was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylonia, who deported the
people to a Babylonian colony.
The Second Temple was completed seventy years later when the people returned
from Babylonian captivity. The Temple was sacked in 168 B.C.E. by the Syrian
King when the people revolted. The final destruction of the Temple occurred in
70 Common Era (C.E.) when the Jews revolted against the Roman Empire.
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Image: Destruction of the Second Temple
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The Great Revolt: Destruction of the Second Temple
Between 66 and 70
C.E., Jews of Jerusalem revolted against Roman rule. They were ruthlessly
defeated in 70 C.E. Their temple was destroyed, and
services for Jews came to an end. After the destruction of the temple,
the Jews
dispersed and settled in various provinces of the Roman Empire. This
was the beginning of the diaspora,
a life in exile. Tradition and faith united Jews. As the nineteenth
century poet Heinrich Heine observed:
A book is their fatherland, their property, their ruler, their
fortune and their misfortune. They live within given boundaries
of that book, and here they practise their inalienable rights:
they cannot be expelled nor despised; here they are strong and
admirable. |
See also this study of Second
Temple Synagogues—that is, synagogues which existed prior
to the Jerusalem Temple's destruction in 70 C.E. See also: Virtual
tour of model of second temple.
Also following the destruction of the Temple, the Sanhedrin or Temple
Court, which had always served as an authority for civil and religious
matters in Judea, lost power in the Roman Empire and became an advisory
council. It became a semi-official group of leaders for the Jewish
people.
The Sanhedrin was also known as the Anschei Knesset Hagedolah
or Men
of the Great Assembly. The leaders were known for their Torah
scholarship and knowledge
of Jewish rituals. Scholars in the Jewish community were called “rabbis”
which means “teachers.” As explained in Christian Jewish
Relations in Light of the Holocaust:
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The leadership of the Jewish community had two
main concerns: (1) preserving the religious faith and traditions
of the Jewish
people without the existence of the Temple; and (2) keeping intact
all the knowledge that had been accumulated over the centuries
since the Torah was given to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai.
The leadership also devoted itself to writing down the oral traditions
in the absence of the Temple. This process would take place between
the 2nd and 6th centuries C. E. and the text became known as the
Talmud (the Hebrew word for ”study” or "learning”).
Eventually, there were 63 volumes containing the rituals, writings,
scriptures, customs and interpretations of the Hebrew
scriptures.
Christian Jewish Relations in Light of the Holocaust, Ch. 1, pp. 3-4. |
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Image: The Two Arks of the
Law in the Castilian Synagogue at Rome. |
Image: Menorahs and Ark of
the Covenant, wall painting in a Jewish catacomb, Villa Torlonia,
Rome, 3rd Century. |
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