Western Wall

The Western Wall is the only surviving wall of the five Holy Temples of Jerusalem. They were destroyed by Titus in 68CE. The Western Wall is the center of main connection to God. When the temple stood it was in honor of God and a house for Torah. The Temple Mount is on Mount Moriah. The Mount is a very holy spot where Abraham bound Isaac as told in the Torah. This spot serves to many other religions today. During the holiday of Sukkot many Jews made sacrifices that were made at the steps of the temple. According to the Talmud if the Romans had not destroyed the Temples the Romans would have realized how much benefit they had from keeping the Temple Mount intact. The Western Wall is a symbol to and of the Jewish People. It remains eternal Jews believe as long as it does the people will too. Many Jews go to the wall to pray three times a day, those who can not be physically in Israel at the Western Wall have the synagogue structured so the congregation faces towards the Western Wall. This site is also important to the heroism demonstrated there. After the First and Second temple was destroyed during the Bar Kochba revolt many Jews strove hard to keep the remains of the temple in tact.



Western Wall Video

Posted by: JK

Biblical Period Time Line

1750 BCE Patriarchs Period:
Time of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rivka, Leah and Rachel
1580 BCE Israelites in Egypt Period
1250 BCE Exodus- Mt. Sinai Period:
Time of Moses
1200 BCE Wanderings Period:
Ttime of Joshua
1100 BCE Judges Period:
Time of Deborah, Gideon, Samuel
1050- 928BCE Monarchy Period:
Time of Saul, David and King Soloman: Prophet Nathan
900-722BCE Divided Monarchy:
Israel: Jereboam, Omri, Ahab, Jerhoram, Jehu, Jehoash, Jereboam II
Judah: Reheboam, Asa, Jehosaphat, Joash, Amatziah, Uzziah, Ahaz
Prophets: Elijah, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah
700-586BCE Israel Falls/ Destruction of Judah:
Time of Hoshea, Hezekiah, Menasseh, Josiah, Jehoiakim, Zedekiah
536- 515BCE Exlie Period:
Time of Zerubabbel
Prophets: Ezekiel and Isaiah II
500- 450BCE Return to Zion Period
Time of Joshua (Kohan Gadol), Nehamiah and Ezra
Propehts: Haggai and Zechariah

Posted by: JK

Synagogue

A synagogue to a Jew is as a church is to a Christian or a mosque is to a Muslim. It is the center of the Jewish religions community. A synagogue, at its most superficial level, is a house of prayer. A synagogue may also serve as a town hall of sorts where matters that are important to the community can be discussed. Some also have a separate room for Torah study. Synagogues are often run by a board of directors which may hire a rabbi for the community--though a rabbi is not necessary. This is not to demean their importance, however, as they are a vital part any society serving as a teacher, counselor and religious leader.

Synagogues in the United States are often designed so that the front of the sanctuary, the part of the synagogue where prayer is held, is facing towards Jerusalem. Within the sanctuary is also a cabinet or recession in the wall called an Ark where the Torah scrolls are contained.

In Orthodox synagogues, men and women are kept separate. They are often separated from men in such a way that they may not be seen. Men are not allowed to pray in the presence of women, lest their mind wander from prayer to a young girl's pretty face.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/shul.html

The Great Revolt

63 BCE Pompy a Roman General takes over Judea for Rome. A civil war occurs between the Hasmonean Brothers which results in the loss of Jewish Independence. The reign of King Herod began in 37 BCE. He begins by starting a 46 year building project in Jerusalem. He rebuilds the 2nd Bet Hamikdash, enlarging the temple mount held up by four retaining walls including the Kotel. Herod places a Gold Eagle which is the symbol of Rome over the temple which angered Jews. The practice of worshipping idols is against the Jewish religion and religious Jews tried having the eagle removed but any one who tried this was ordered by Herod to be killed. In 6-66 BCE Roman Procurators governed Judea. In the beginning each ruled for ten years, their function was to keep the peace and collect taxes. The Roman governors overtaxed the Jews in order to get rich. They were corrupt and oppressed the Jews. Some roman governors were;

Procurator Pontius Pilate: was described as very cruel, he slaughtered the peaceful protesters, stole Temple treasury, put pagan symbols on the Jewish coins and crucified thousands of Jew including Freedom Fighters, anti-Roman protesters, and Zealots.

Procurator Cumanus: 30,000 Jews were killed, and Torah scrolls were burnt at large gatherings

Procurator Florus: Killed thousands of Jews, took the treasure of the Bet Mikdash, ordered his soldiers to kill children

A revolt began broke out and during Pesach 66 CE war broke out.

The Great Revolt of Judea against Rome was from 66-70 CE. Some main causes were Roman oppression and tension between Jew and non-Jews in Israel. Jerusalem is put under siege. On the 9th of AV 70 CE Titus destroys the Bet Mikdash. At the end of the Great Revolt resulted in the burning of the Bet Mikdash, 90% of Jerusalem’s population was killed and over half a million Jews were killed.

Posted By: JK

Josephus
(38-100 CE)

Born as Yoseph ben-Mattiyahu to a family related to Hasmoneans. In Josephus joins an ascetic wilderness sect. and three years later joins the Pharisees. Sent by the Sanhedrin Josephus completes the mission to Rome. In 66 he is appointed commander of Galilee by Sanhedrin upon outbreak of the Great Revolt. After losing the 47 day battle at Yodfat, Commander Josephus surrenders to Vespasian, the Roman commander. He serves as personal historian for Titus, Vespasian’s son. Titus releases Josephus from captivity. Josephus on the request of Titus, attempts to persuade Jews in Jerusalem to attempt ceasefire. In 70 CE Josephus settles in Rome and is granted citizenship, Roman pension and land in Judea. Josephus later becomes a major Jewish historian and defender of Jewish rights in Rome. Some literary work Josephus has written is;
The Jewish War - written in Aramaic and translated to Greek. Josephus describes the Great revolt.
The Jewish Antiquities – a history of Jews intended to praise the ancient roots of the Jewish nation.
The Life – this work attempts to argue against the claim made by Justus of Tiberias the Josephus was an enemy of Rome during the Great Revolt
Against Apion- this work is written about the anti-Semitic contentions brought by Apion and looks into Judaism and compares and contrasts it with Hellenism. Josephus wrote this to defend rights and honor.

by J.K.

Hellenist Period

332-323 BCE:
Alexander the Great conquers and establishes Hellenist world
323-200 BCE:
Ptolemaic Period- Egyptian rule in the Eretz (land)
200-167 BCE:
Seleucid Period- Greeks rule Eretz Yisrael (land of Israel): Antiochus III- IV
167-63 BCE Hasmonean Period
167-161: Maccabean Revolt under Judah
161-143: Jonathon
142-135: Simon
135-104: John Hycanus
104-103: Judah Aristobulos
103-76: Alexander Yannai
76-67: Salome Alexandra
67-63: Aristobulus- Hurcanus II: Civil War
63 BCE – 66 CE Roman Period
63: Jerusalm captured by Pompey
47-40: Julius Caesar appoints Antipater governor of Judea
40: Parthians plunder Jerusalem- Civil War
37-4: Herod, King of Judea; Hillel and Shammai lead Sanhedrin
6-66 CE: Procurators (Roman Governors)
Greek Revolt
66: Outbreak of the Revolt
67-68: Vespasian recaptures Galilee, Golan, Idumea, Negev
69: Vespasian become Emporer; Titus appointed General
70: Titus lays siege to Jerusalem
March- Titus surrounds Jerusalem
May- Two northern walls captured
June- First wall surrounded
August- Temple set on fire
Spetember – Jerusalem destroyed Sanhedrin moved to Yavneh by R. Yochanan ben Zakkai
70-336 CE Roman Period – Pax Romana
115-117: Diaspora Revolt
132-135: Bar Kochba Revolt against Hadrian; Capture of Jerusalem and Judea; Death of Rabbi Akiva; Beitar falls and revolt ends
135: Jerusalem rebuilt as pagan Roman city of Aelia Capitolina
140: Sanhedrin moves to Galilee
200: Mishna edited by R. Yehuda HaNasi
225: Arrival of Rav and Sammuel in Bablonia; Pumpeditha

by J.K.

Origins of animosity, and Martin Luther's views

Martin Luther and the Jews

Initially, Jews had high hopes that Martin Luther's challenge to the Catholic Church in 1517 and the beginning of the Reformation could signal a positive change in Christian-Jewish Relations. Luther initially published a book called That Jesus Christ Was born a Jew, written around 1523. Luther appeared sympathetic, hoping that Jews would convert to his own vision of Christianity. When Jews did not convert to the Protestant faith, as Luther had believed they would, he was upset. Specifically, he was irritated with the Jews continued indifference to his vision, and eventually published a revised version of his book, renamed Concerning the Jews and Their Lies. He made several racist remarks that would often be cited by later anti- Semites.

Christian-Jew animosity

From the start, Church fathers faced a choice. They had created a new faith out of Judaism. As such, they could view the two religions as parallel paths to the same goal, or they could say that theirs was the true religion. The later path was chosen, with Paul stating, "The only way to the Father is through the Son." He went on to claim that the Jews were a "withered stump", and that the true Jews, or "Spiritual Israel" were Christians whose hearts were right with God, It should be noted that Paul had no intention of initiating the hatred against Jews, but merely wished to show his own vision of life and thought. Unfortunately, his denying the Jews legitimacy as a religion started said hatred; The Church continued what Paul had begun. They started with theology, and then law. A millennium after Paul wrote, mobs would act on these thoughts and laws. Paul himself thought that the Jews would disappear, but they obviously persisted.

Another Church father, Origen saw that the century separating him from Paul had been miserable for the Jews, and he spoke of Deicide, a theory that built on the Gospel's account of Jesus' death. Origen claimed that not only where the Jews of Jesus' time guilty of his death, but that Jews in all generations bore guilt. Because of this perceived crime, Jews would be forced to endure generations of hatred as "Christ killers" In 1964, after a considerable amount of pressure, the most coming from American Catholics, the Church would finally redefine its thoughts of Deicide, saying "One should not hold Jews of today or all Jews of Judea to blame for Jesus' death."