Topics Covered
- Persian Period
- Prophet Ezekiel's vision
- What happened to the ark/
- King Cyrus, the Persian
- Judaism and Zoroastrianism
- Edict of Cyris
- first Return
- Do you need a temple to be Jewish?
- Other temples
- Poverty of Persian Jerusalem
We find in 2 different places in the Bible, a reference to the rebuilding of the Temple by King Cyrus of Persia. We have in Chronicles "Thus says King Cyrus of Persia the LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah" and in Ezra "thus says King Cyrus of Persia: the LORD, the God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah" King Cyrus is seen as a deliverer by the Jewish people, and we even find another quote that says " Thus says the LORD to his anointed one (משיח), to Cyrus, whose right had I have grasped to subjugate nations before him...'I am the LORD there is no other. Except for me there is no other god. I equip you, though you do now know me" (45: 1-5). The issue with this is that he is not from the Davidic line, yet the biblical author must rationalize the fact that the Jews being sent back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple is a sign from G-d, even if it involves a foreign king.
There is also this question as to whether or not a Temple is necessary in order to be Jewish. There were plenty of people who were living in the land of Israel at the time who didn't want the Temple to be rebuilt because they had gotten used to the fact that there was no Temple, and they adapted to that lifestyle. There were also some people who were exiled in Babylonia who either didn't want to return to Israel or who didn't want to live under the rule of the Temple. Judaism had changed to adapt to life without the Temple, and people had discovered new ways to be Jewish without the Temple. Even now, today, there are many prayers that ask for the rebuilding of the Temple in our days, yet the Jewish people have found a way to make Judaism without the Temple - sacrifice is replaced with prayer, the central Temple is replaced with synagogues, priests are replaced with Rabbis, and Temple law is replaced with Torah law and community law. There are some people even today who don't want the return to the Temple lifestyle because society has moved forward, and we have adapted so well to living without one.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
2/1/2011
Topics Covered
- Mezad Hashavyahu Ostracon
- Torah Amulets
- Books
- Events leading to exile
- Last days of Judah
- Royal Families in Exile
- Destruction of Jerusalem
- Extent of Babylonian Destruction
- Catastrophe and Belief
- Promise needing Redifining
- After the Fall
This idea of catastrophe and belief is common and happens all the time throughout history. The fact that the Temple was destroyed as was Jerusalem "the city of G-d" and axis mundi was very devastating to the Jewish people, and I would venture to say maybe many other people of the world who still considered Jerusalem to be an axis mundi. The Jewish people resorted to writing Lamentations and Psalms while in Babylonia, weeping to Jerusalem and wishing for their immediate return. Something that the Jewish people did learn, however, while they were in exile, was their ability to live outside of the land. While Jerusalem was considered to be their one and only home (which it is still considered to be the home of the Jews), people started getting comfortable in Babylonia, and this is where the idea of the Diaspora comes about - yes, all the Jews of the world could go back to Jerusalem at a certain point in time after the destruction of the First Temple, but some of them chose to stay in the Diaspora because they had businesses and they were thriving where they were. They didn't want to pick up and leave, leaving behind everything that they had accomplished and earned. they were comfortable and they didn't want to change that.
- Mezad Hashavyahu Ostracon
- Torah Amulets
- Books
- Events leading to exile
- Last days of Judah
- Royal Families in Exile
- Destruction of Jerusalem
- Extent of Babylonian Destruction
- Catastrophe and Belief
- Promise needing Redifining
- After the Fall
This idea of catastrophe and belief is common and happens all the time throughout history. The fact that the Temple was destroyed as was Jerusalem "the city of G-d" and axis mundi was very devastating to the Jewish people, and I would venture to say maybe many other people of the world who still considered Jerusalem to be an axis mundi. The Jewish people resorted to writing Lamentations and Psalms while in Babylonia, weeping to Jerusalem and wishing for their immediate return. Something that the Jewish people did learn, however, while they were in exile, was their ability to live outside of the land. While Jerusalem was considered to be their one and only home (which it is still considered to be the home of the Jews), people started getting comfortable in Babylonia, and this is where the idea of the Diaspora comes about - yes, all the Jews of the world could go back to Jerusalem at a certain point in time after the destruction of the First Temple, but some of them chose to stay in the Diaspora because they had businesses and they were thriving where they were. They didn't want to pick up and leave, leaving behind everything that they had accomplished and earned. they were comfortable and they didn't want to change that.
1/27/2011
Topics Covered
- government and writing
- Assyrian and Egyptian Libraries
- Literatyre from the Royal Court
- What is the Messiah?
- Prophecy of Deliverance from Assyria
- How the Assyrian failure to conquer Jerusalem is interpreted
- Zion Theology
- Religious centralization - King Hezekiah's Religious Reform
- Josiah
- Growth of Jerusalem
It was interesting to learn that according to the Jewish account, the defeat of Assyria and the fact that Jerusalem didn't fall was because an angel comes down from the Heaven , and attacks many troops, and they all retreat. This is accounted to G-d's mighty power to do anything the He pleases. Whereas the Assyrians say that there was a coup back at home and it would be more beneficial for them to return home and deal with the upheaval there.
people now thought that since Jerusalem had been saved from such a large empire, that nothing could happen to Jerusalem because it was G-d's will that Jerusalem should survive. People start acting immorally and not necessarily listening to what G-d tells them to do in the Bible, and as a result, the people are rebuked by Jeremiah in Jeremiah 7:3-4.
There is a certain idea that the Second Temple was destroyed because of sin'at chinam - which means senseless hatred. The fact that people were acting immorally and treating their peers with anything but respect made G-d very angry, and as a result, He destroyed the Second Temple...this is just a belief common amongst Jews of the world.
- government and writing
- Assyrian and Egyptian Libraries
- Literatyre from the Royal Court
- What is the Messiah?
- Prophecy of Deliverance from Assyria
- How the Assyrian failure to conquer Jerusalem is interpreted
- Zion Theology
- Religious centralization - King Hezekiah's Religious Reform
- Josiah
- Growth of Jerusalem
It was interesting to learn that according to the Jewish account, the defeat of Assyria and the fact that Jerusalem didn't fall was because an angel comes down from the Heaven , and attacks many troops, and they all retreat. This is accounted to G-d's mighty power to do anything the He pleases. Whereas the Assyrians say that there was a coup back at home and it would be more beneficial for them to return home and deal with the upheaval there.
people now thought that since Jerusalem had been saved from such a large empire, that nothing could happen to Jerusalem because it was G-d's will that Jerusalem should survive. People start acting immorally and not necessarily listening to what G-d tells them to do in the Bible, and as a result, the people are rebuked by Jeremiah in Jeremiah 7:3-4.
There is a certain idea that the Second Temple was destroyed because of sin'at chinam - which means senseless hatred. The fact that people were acting immorally and treating their peers with anything but respect made G-d very angry, and as a result, He destroyed the Second Temple...this is just a belief common amongst Jews of the world.
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