HIST 222 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Babylonian Captivity, Jewish Philosophy, Jewish Question

• School: Queen's University
• Department: History
• Course: HIST 222
• Professor: Vassili Schedrin

Document Summary

Week 3 lecture: historical context for the jewish question. Biggest challenge for jews was modernity, which raised the jewish question. Babylonian exile (6th century bce): temple and torah centered judaism, portable religion, basis for life in the exile. Importance: judaism was not set in stone and changed over time. Before the exile, the dominant form of judaism (religion, culture, social norms, state) was biblical judaism (based on foundations laid out in torah). Exile was a challenge because the country was conquered, jews were displaced, and the temple was destroyed. Without these components, their identity was challenged and they needed to rebuild/reevaluate the jewish religion. The torah was the new connection to god after the destruction of the temple. The temple then became central as a space (holidays, services, prayer, sacrifices, meetings) rather than an epicenter. Several families would form communities, which replaced the promised land (small communities vs. a jewish state).