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The Spread of Christianity
From a sect of Jews to a world dominating religion that defeated the Roman Empire, the story of Christianity is – for better or worse – intimately intertwined with Jewish history. In the beginning of the second century it looked as if Christianity would die out. Many of them were Essenes, who believed in celibacy. [...] -
The Beginnings of the Talmud
The shift of Jewish life from Israel to Babylon marked a transitional period fraught with danger. Luckily, such leaders emerged and set the foundation for Jewish life until today. Rabbi Judah the Prince marks the end of a period known as the era of the Tannaim, which lasted approximately until 200 CE. A Tanna (pl. [...] -
The Mishnah
The Mishnah Rabbi Judah the Prince was not only wealthy and head of the Sanhedrin. His greatest accomplishment transcended the time in which he lived. That was Mishnah. The Mishnah is the first written record of what was the Oral Law. As the name implies, the Oral Law was never written down as a formalized [...] -
After The Bar Kochba Holocaust
Out of the suffering of the Bar Kochba holocaust Jewish leaders emerged who made it possible for the Jewish people to survive into the long night of exile. After the demise of Bar Kochba the Jews prepared themselves for a long exile. Indeed, had Hadrian lived longer there is no telling what would have happened [...] -
Rabbi Akiva
Rabbi Akiva arguably represents a combination of everything that is heroic about the Jewish people more than anyone else. At the least, he is one of the most beloved figures in Jewish history, a person whose influence and stature is a source of inspiration throughout all of the ages. -
Bar Kochba
After the destruction, the surviving Jewish leaders tried and were able to reestablish relations with Rome rather rapidly. It is remarkable considering that the Romans had never suffered as many casualties in any of their wars. They had never experienced such as bitter war as the ten year war they had with the Jews. Therefore, [...] -
The Destruction of the Second Temple
The destruction of the Temple, and the subsequent destruction of the national entity of the Jewish people, occurred to a great degree because of warfare among the Jews themselves. The warring groups besieged in Jerusalem destroyed all hopes of victory. In the midst of all the carnage, the leadership of the Jewish people passed, on [...] -
The Rise of Christianity
The rise of Christianity occurred during the extremely tumultuous period we have been studying, the Herodian Era. -
The Times of the Roman War
The Times of the Roman War As Roman corruption and culture destroyed the social fabric of Jewish life, Judea revolted. But horrific in-fighting among Jews doomed the spirited rebellion. At the death of Agrippa I (Herod Agrippa) in 44 CE, the Jewish people were divided very sharply into warring factions: the Sicarii were the Jewish [...] -
Hillel and Shammai
It was Hillel, not Herod, who reestablished the true Kingdom of the Jews, which is the Kingdom of Torah, nobility of character, patience, goodness and kindness. -
The Herodian Era
Herod may have been a great murderer, but he was a great builder. And he was not a person given over to modesty or one who did things on a small scale. Whatever he did was larger than life. -
Herod
Herod was a certified madman, but had moments of genuine concern for the country. In the end, though, his legacy was one of paranoia, terror, murder and evil. -
Review of the Hasmonean Era
The Hasmonean Era was one of the most glorious and tragic in Jewish history – as well as for understanding Jewish history and destiny. -
The End of the Hasmoneans, The Rise of Rome
The decline of the Hasmoneans coincided with the rise of Rome, but it wasn't coincidence, for the once great Jewish family had become a shell of its holy roots. -
Sadducees and Pharisees
The seeds of strife planted earlier took root as the Hasmonean era produced sacrilegious heirs and pitted Jew vs. Jew in a bloody civil war. -
The Hasmoneans
The Hasmonean era is among the most glorious in Jewish history, yet contained seeds of self-destruction that almost destroyed everything. -
The Miracle of Chanukah
Chanukah was a miraculous military victory, but a tiny cruse of oil proved more miraculous and enduring in the memory of the Jewish people. -
The Hell in Hellenism
Greek culture slowly infiltrated Jewish culture, threatening to destroy the Jewish people in ways tyrants could not do through brute force. -
Alexander the Great
The story of Alexander the Great and the Jews is intimately intertwined. However, its after-effects shook the Jewish world to its roots. -
The Coming of the Greeks
Greek culture would tempt Jews like no other, threatening to destroy Judaism. It would be as much an exile of mind as of the body. -
The Men of the Great Assembly
The Men of the Great Assembly passed decrees that ensured the Jewish peoples’ survival in the post-Temple era down to our times. -
Ezra and Nehemiah
If not for legendary efforts of Ezra and Nehemiah the fledgling Jewish community in Israel would not have survived as we know it. -
The Beginning of the Second Commonwealth
Was the Persian king Cyrus who permitted the Jews to return to their land and rebuild their Temple Jewish? This is just one of the questions and intrigues surrounding the beginning of Jewish history in the Second Commonwealth. -
Purim and The Persian Period
The Persian exile began positively for the Jewish people, but turned dark with the threat of holocaust at the hands of one of history’s great anti-Semites. -
Babylon and Beyond
The Babylonian exile set into motion patterns of Jewish history that have held true throughout the ages down to our time in uncanny ways. -
By The Rivers of Babylon
The success of the Jews in Babylon is all the more remarkable when seen in the context of the terror that was Babylonian society and its tyrannical leader. -
Chaos After The Destruction
After the destruction there was hope that the survivors would rally around a new leader, Gedaliah, but instead it was another tragic chapter in Jewish history. -
Destruction of The First Temple
The destruction of the First Temple was devastating, but the Jewish people took the lessons to heart and solidified their identity as an Eternal People. -
Review of the Judean Kings
A brief summary of each of the Judean kings who ruled Judea for more than four centuries. -
The Last King of Judea
The last king of Judea was caught in the vice of almost irresistible forces unleashed by earlier generations, but gained a measure of redemption before he died. -
The End Nears
Judea deteriorated badly after Josiah died, but a tiny seed planted in Babylon would take root and serve as a symbol of Jewish rejuvenation for all posterity. -
Jeremiah
The prophet Jeremiah witnessed the destruction of the Temple and suffering of his people, yet penned some of the most beautiful lines of hope ever written. -
Hezekiah: The Messiah Who Was Not
Aided by the prophet Isaiah, Hezekiah led his nation so faithfully through Armageddon-like times that he almost became the Messiah, save for one character flaw. -
The Judean Monarchy
After civil war split the Jewish people, Judea was a small, defenseless country, but it outlived its counterpart because of its adherence to its spiritual calling. -
The Ten Tribes — Lost
After generations of spiritual decline, the dramatic fall of the Ten Tribes was shocking. Known now as the "Lost Tribes" the question is: Will they ever return? -
Life and Times of Elijah
Elijah was one of the most influential prophets even though his words fell on the deaf ears of the wayward northern kingdom and its wicked king Ahab. -
The Prophets
More than mere fortune tellers, the prophets were the moral conscience of the people, and as such, often found themselves in mortal danger from those in power. -
The Divided Kingdom
After King Solomon’s death, the Jewish kingdom was torn apart by civil war that permanently changed the landscape of the Jewish world. -
Solomon
Solomon was an immensely complex and layered personality. The wisest of men was truly pious and noble, yet torn apart by self-destructive tendencies. -
David
King David, forerunner of the Messiah, was misunderstood by many of his contemporaries. In that way his life epitomizes that of his people, the Jews. -
Saul: The First King
There is no more tragic figure than Saul, first king of Israel. He was good, heroic and modest – yet was destroyed by the crown he never wanted to begin with. -
Samuel and The Seeds of Monarchy
Samuel was judge, prophet, warrior and educator. He led the people during a time of great turmoil and gave them hope for the future. -
Era of the Judges
The Era of the Judges was characterized by a steep decline, but included great moments and memorable heroes and heroines. -
Joshua
Joshua conquered the land and then transitioned the nation to a confederacy, but his achievements were beset by self-doubt and conflict. -
The Wilderness Years
The 40 years in the desert was both harsh and necessary for the Jewish people to become who they would be. -
Revelation and Beyond
The grandeur and challenges of living up to the greatest event in human history. -
The Exodus
The redemption and the test after the temptation afterward of returning to Egypt -
Redemption
Human nature and the nature of miracles The watershed of Jewish history is the exodus from Egypt. Over and over again the Torah commands: “Remember the day of your exodus from Egypt.” It is not just an historic event – it is the historic event in Jewish life. It is the event that made the [...] -
The Egyptian Holocaust
Eerie parallels between the situation of the Jews in Egypt and Nazi Germany There are three ways to tell the story of the Jewish people in Egypt. One is to tell it from the perspective of the hieroglyphics of the time, i.e. from the perspective of ancient Egypt. If we were to tell the story [...] -
Ancient Egypt
Understanding ancient Egypt is important to grasping the backdrop of the Bible Egypt was the exception to the rule in the ancient world in the sense that it was fully self-sufficient. All the other countries in the Near East and Mesopotamia were dependent upon war, trade or expansion of the economy to feed themselves. Egypt [...] -
Joseph and His Brothers
Jacob’s twelve sons, like the Jewish people, were a cantankerous group. Jacob sought to harness their individualism and make them one nation. -
Jacob: The Paradigm of Jewish History
What it takes to become the “man of truth” Jacob completes the period of the Patriarchs. He is the bridge between the Jewish family and the Jewish nation, where the small family group expands into a large and great people. He is the true father of the people of Israel to an extent that cannot [...] -
Isaac: Most Mysterious of the Forefathers
Why he embodies the “survivor” personality Isaac lived in a less turbulent time than his father. The Canaanite Empire had solidified itself and the great, raging wars that had existed in Abraham’s time (Genesis 14) had ceased. Egypt was the sleeping giant. It was in the preliminary stages of becoming the dominant Empire we know [...] -
Abraham: Altering the Course of History
The man who really did change the course of history There are singular personalities in the history of the world who change the course of civilization. The primary example of such a person is Abraham. He changed the way the world thought about itself, life and especially the Creator. That is why his name, in [...] -
The Tower of Babel and Paganism
The ten generations between Noah and Abraham saw the birth of technology. It also saw the rise of the tyrant Nimrod, the antithesis of Abraham and morality. -
The Great Flood
The Great Flood The story of the flood, found in many ancient civilizations, is etched into the collective consciousness of humankind, feeding our fears of a world-ending cataclysmic event. That only makes the biblical account more relevant than ever. Almost all ancient civilizations have a story about a great flood that wiped out civilization. For [...] -
The Dawn of Civilization
The Dawn of Civilization There are many theories how the human race began. Relatively recently, Science concluded that all of us share a common female ancestor. In recognition of the biblical account they even called her Eve. The Torah’s account of Adam and Eve is meant as a primer on the human condition. Among the [...]
