Nadene Goldfoot
Abba Eban reminds us that our ancient Hebrew ancestors were the 1st people to abandon idols of Assyria and worship the One G0d of all humankind, something many people today have even discarded in their modern and scientific world. Everything the ancients used, the Temple of Jerusalem, the High Priest, the sacrificial fire, animals to be sacrificed, has disappeared from our religion since the Romans burned down Jerusalem in 70 CE. We have a segment of our population working on reviving the icon of our heritage, the 3rd Temple, of which our cousin, Stanley Goldfoot of Jerusalem was involved. As the centuries have come and go, Judaism continues and updates itself. It's not a stagnant belief, but it goes back 4,000 years; the oldest of the three religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Egypt and Mesopotamia -such a civilization-had its beginnings. They developed writing, math, astronomy, medicine, painting, sculpture, warfare, arts and sciences with architects designing palaces, tombs, temples, huge ones at that. Hundreds and thousands of gods were worshipped as all of nature held a divine being. Sacrifices were made, some of them human. Many kings and queens were said to be gods. Here, Abraham entered the scene, where our Jewish story began, 4,000 years ago. He introduced one G0d to us from Ur of the Chaldees.
When Jacob told the pharaoh that we were a people of shepherds, he wasn't kidding. His ancestors, which are also ours, stretched back into the land of Persia or today's Iran as shepherds. Moses came along with the Exodus, 40 years of getting from Egypt after 400 years of slavery to freedom in Canaan taking place in 1225 BCE. From the Exodus came Moses from the bull-rushes who taught us, one G-d. We learned that as long as we continued to serve the one G-d and obey his law, we had G-d's pledge of special protection. Break that and we were in trouble. We arrived in Canaan with 601,730 in the last tribal census listed in Numbers, chapter 26 after losing 1,820 along the way; by seniors, those defending us, illness.
That evidently did not mean bodily protection, as we lost 6 million in the Holocaust, and we just lost an amazing amount to slaughter and injury with the Hamas infiltration of October 7th, but to our history and continuation of our people as a whole. After all, not many persons as a "people" have lasted through the centuries this long. We have determination to last as a people, for what we stand for is most worthwhile compared to what a few other nations are doing today. Where is their morality as human beings? It's so horrible so many had to die by the hands of immoral people who chose to torture, rape, murder our people, slaughter children in front of other children.
Long ago we had kings Saul and David, selected by a prophet Samuel, sheepherders, different from other nations. David and Saul did not become dictators, did not claim to be divine or have statutes built for themselves, and did not silence the prophet Nathan who criticized David. At this point, all people were equal, even the kings. Solomon became king, and at this time the land's southern end was called Judah and the northern was called Israel. This happened ever since Jacob had wrestled with his angel, and won, the name of which was Yisrael (Israel), which changed his life.
750 BCE was when everyone was as developed as we are today but without our education. They had no idea of all the science we have learned. They believed in gods, and the Hebrews believed in the power of One G-d only, being quite different from all the others. They thought the world was flat; that the sun revolved around the earth.
Assyria's religion was dedicated to conquest. They were the most powerful nation in the world. Our one g-d had to stand up against their many gods. Slums were growing in cities with poor people. Amos, the prophet, taught in the northern kingdom of Israel with revolutionary ideas. At this time royalty were killing each other for power; priests sacrificed before idols and worshipped foreign gods. Amos alone fought against this. This shows how quickly people forget, and go back to old ways of habit.
Only 29 years later in 721 BCE the Assyrians attacked the North and transported to Mesopotamia people where they mixed with the native population and became the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.
Isaiah and Micah were the prophets that took over Amos's position. They said Assyria was the instrument of G-d's anger and foretold a better future for us. World peace was born. It was more than 2,600 years later when nations were still searching for a peaceful solution to their problems.
Prophet Jeremiah felt he was facing ridicule and opposition, hatred and danger though now Assyria had finally collapsed as Isaiah had predicted, but Babylonia took their place as the great power. Jeremiah said they would destroy the kingdom of Judah, so Jews now had the freedom from G-d's special protection. Jeremiah was imprisoned. Jeremiah was convinced the Jews would be saved from total destruction.
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We come to 586 BCE when Babylonian armies led by Nebuchadnezzar captured and demolished Jerusalem. The Temple was in ruin. Judah's people were now in exile. Ezekiel had a vision spoke to them of a glorious future when Israel would be rebuilt and a new Temple would stand in Jerusalem.
What did we have going for us that others didn't have? Prophets ! Prophets shook us up when we strayed away morally and brought us up. It was like our parents reminding us to be good and not break the rules. Someone always had the guts to take on this role. What brave men they were. Israel became the light of the nations---the bearer of ideas which changed the thinking of humankind.
539 BCE Babylon, "Return to Zion!" Rebuild the land of Israel."
586 BCE was a long time ago. Hardly anyone was still alive from that exodus. Jews were comfortable in Babylon after the 50 years being away. Babylon was the greatest city in the world Jews had been able to keep their identity, if they wanted to or not, remembered as "the Jews." They had a great standard of living. In those Persian days, many Jews---perhaps as many as 50,000 of the several hundred thousand living in Mesopotamia---felt this same overwhelming devotion to the homeland of our people, like the swallows of Capistrano's yearning. It was a large and joyous throng who made the dangerous 800-mile journey back to Jerusalem who had never lived there before.
What did they find? Jerusalem in ruins, hostile foreigners in the deserted land settled throughout Judah. those few Hebrews who were lucky enough to remain had intermarried with other peoples now hostile to newbies from Babylonia who now expected to rule over them. They slowly began the task of rebuilding and within a year had the foundation for the new Temple finished. Then they stopped. Why is not known but something happened; climate change, war, something.
It took 18 years to restart, inspired by prophets Haggai and Zechariah. It took them 23 years to finish the 2nd Temple. The original Temple of Solomon was built in 12 years. This finished product wasn't even impressive to look at like the first one.
The children of the returned exiles married with local non-Jews. Jerusalem was a desolate city, defenseless. No one was this bright and shining light leading the way. Temple priests couldn't lead but became corrupt. 60 years after the Temple had been finished and 80 years after the end of the Babylonian exile, Israel's people fell apart as Jews. It took Ezra to revive Israelis. Ezra: (5th century BCE) from priestly family (J1 Cohen) of Zadok, and Nehemiah (5th century BCE who worked under king Artaxerxes) governor in 444 BCE. He had walls repaired in 52 days. Sabbath was observed under him). The men were told to divorce their non-Jewish wives.
Nehemiah left Babylonia and became Israel's governor. He divided his forces into half so one group worked and the other stood guard, necessary as before he got there they were being attacked.
The AGE of PROPHETS had ended with Ezra. Persian kings now ruled our people from 539 BCE to 332 BCE, 207 mystery years. Judaism evolved from Hebrews to Jews whose religion was Judaism; one people for one G-d.
Resource:
My People, Abba Eban's History of the Jews
https://www.britannica.com/event/Siege-of-Jerusalem-70
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/remaining-jewish-population-of-europe-in-1945
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