Nadene Goldfoot
- Rabbi Hillel (b: 1st century BCE) (Hebrew: הִלֵּל Hīllēl; variously called Hillel the Elder or Hillel the Babylonian; died c. 10 CE) was a Jewish religious leader, sage and scholar associated with the development of the Mishnah and the Talmud and the founder of the House of Hillel school of tannaim. He was active during the end of the first century BCE and the beginning of the first century CE. He lived through; The First Crusade in Palestine, though his wife and daughter were killed. He has been credited for writing the GOLDEN RULE in the negative
- form of "Do not do unto others that which you would not have them
- do unto you"
- He came from Babylon to Israel, although he was descended from David. His descendent, Judah haNasi, traced his lineage through both the female lineage of the Tribe of Benjamin and the family of David.
By August 70 ce the Romans had breached the final defenses and massacred much of the remaining population. They also destroyed the Second Temple. The Western Wall, the only extant trace of the Second Temple, remains a site of prayer and pilgrimage. The loss of the Temple for a second time is still mourned by Jews during the fast of Tisha be-Av.
Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai (1st century CE) 1st-century sage in Judea, key to the development of the Mishnah, the first Jewish sage attributed the title of rabbi in the Mishnah.
Rome celebrated the fall of Jerusalem by erecting the triumphal Arch of Titus.
During the Byzantine era from 330-637 CE, Jews in Palestine were a significant minority population in small, agricultural villages and urban centers, existing in a complex and sometimes precarious legal and social position between a dominant Christian state and a larger, non-Christian demographic.
They were the ones we never hear about. They hadn't left. They were able to live through the Roman occupation and attack and the wiping out so many Jews in their attack on Jerusalem.
Their status was dependent on the fluctuating theological aims of the state, the effectiveness of its central rule, and the prevailing economic and political conditions, leading to periods of both relative prosperity and persecution. Jews were numerous and had significant roles throughout the history of the Byzantine Empire.
GOOD TIMES: HAD PROTECTION; In the Constitutio Antoniniana of 212, Caracalla bestowed citizenship on all residents including Jews of the Roman Empire, of which the Byzantine Empire is a continuation. This granted Jews legal equality to other citizens, and formed the foundation of their legal status in Byzantium following the founding of Constantinople in 330. Indeed, Jews enjoyed the right to practice their faith under the rule of the Byzantines, as long as they paid the Fiscus Judaicus. For example, circumcision, which was considered mutilation and therefore punishable by death if performed on a non-Jewish child, and by exile if performed on a non-Jewish adult, was legally permitted within Jewish religious practices. Byzantine law recognized synagogues as places of worship, which could not be arbitrarily molested. Jewish courts had the force of law in civil cases, and Jews could not be forced to violate Shabbat and their festivals.
HELLENIZATION-THE BIG CHANGE-ALTERING RELIGION: After the decline of the Greek-speaking Hellenistic Judaism in ancient times, the use of the Greek language and the integration of Greek culture into Judaism continued to be an integral part of life in Jewish communities in the Byzantine Empire.
- Rabbi Abdullah ibn Salam, (550–630) rabbi, converted to Islam and was a companion of Islam's founder, Muhammad
The most famous rabbi from Palestine during 330-637 CE was Shimon bar Yochai, who was a central figure in the development of Jewish mysticism, or Kabbalah. Other figures like him may have existed, but their stories or names are not as widely documented in readily available sources for that specific era. He is the legendary author of the Zohar, a foundational text of Kabbalah, and his teachings and influence were significant during this time and beyond.
- The Mishnah is the first major written compilation of Jewish oral law, a compendium of legal discussions and interpretations of Torah traditions compiled by Rabbi Judah Ha-Nasi in the early 3rd century CE. Organized into six "orders" (sedarim) and 63 tractates (masechtot), the Mishnah's goal was to preserve and unify Jewish practice and belief after the destruction of the Second Temple, serving as a crucial foundation for the Talmud and subsequent rabbinic Judaism.
- The Mishnah was redacted by Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi in the 2nd century, and the Babylonian Talmud was completed by rabbis around the 6th century. The Jewish people were led by Zugot, or rabbinic pairs, who taught the binding natures of both the Written Law and the Oral Law, during the first and second centuries BCE. Jewish practice dramatically changed after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE as the community focus shifted from Temple rituals to Torah learning. Threats of Roman persecution also grew, and Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi feared that the Jewish community would become fragmented and any oral traditions would be lost. At that point, he made a bold decision: he wrote down the Oral Law in a book called the Mishnah.
The Talmud is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism, serving as a compilation of ancient teachings and the primary source of Jewish religious law and theology, consisting of the Mishnah (the codified oral law) and the Gemara (commentaries and discussions on the Mishnah). It also includes various auxiliary materials and is written in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic, with the Babylonian Talmud becoming the most authoritative version over time. The Talmud is revered by traditional religious Jews and has profoundly influenced Jewish thought and practice for centuries.
- Gamaliel VI (until 425 CE): The last nasi (patriarch) of the Jewish community in Palestine.
- Termination of the Jewish Patriarchate (429 CE): The Byzantine Empire did not allow a successor to Gamaliel VI to be appointed, ending the official Jewish patriarchate in the Land of Israel.
- Jews lived through this period. They had not left. They may have lost their king, butthey prayed for the return of their own government.
Resource:
Edit: 9/24/25
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