Jewish Studies 101: Intro to Jewish History

Name: Jewish Studies 101: Intro to Jewish History
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Intro to Jewish History and Judaism

Created byDevin Egber

Last updated 6/2020

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

In Introduction to Jewish Studies, by way of an introduction to Jewish History

Course content

6 sections • 49 lectures • 56m total length

Introduction to the course2:10
Explore Jewish history through an academic, foundational course that presents the traditional narrative behind the origin story and the ancient to modern history of the Jewish people.
This is Jewish Studies 101.0:13
Explore how literature illuminates history through Jewish studies, and learn the fundamental basis of the existence of the Jewish people, Jewish history, and Jewish religion.
Jewish Studies is a skill.1:59
Examine how Jewish studies relies on technical skills to interpret and contextualize rabbinic literature. Trace its reach from ancient Egyptian references to modern topics like Orthodox decrees and technology debates.
There are three periods of human history.0:06
Explore how human history is divided into the ancient, medieval, and modern periods, and understand their core distinctions within Jewish historical study.
This is the history of Jewish Studies.1:11
Trace origins of Jewish studies in 19th-century Germany and examine how the modern age, with individualism and nationalism, gave rise to the modern Jew amid debates over tradition.
This is the running vocabulary list. (Vocab #1)0:49
Maintain a vocabulary list to master course terms. Identify first term, Jewish studies, as a scholarly study of Jewish culture through literature, begun in Germany in the mid 19th century.
Jewish History parallels human history.2:28
Explore how Jewish history parallels human history in a Mesopotamian context, from early writing in Sumer around 3500 BCE to the canonization of the Bible around 200 BCE in Jerusalem.
We are in the Modern period.0:35
Examine the modern period as the current era in Jewish history, and compare it with the medieval (about 700–1500 CE) and ancient (700 BCE–3500 BCE) periods.
Who were the Israelites?0:54
Trace the origins of the Israelites from ancient Egypt, outline the 12 tribes named for Jacob's sons, and explain how Israel also denotes the people themselves.
What does 'Israel' mean?2:31
Israel derives from Jacob’s name after encounter, meaning one who wrestles with God or God who governs; it denotes Jacob’s descendants, Judah and Jews, and state established in 1948.
Judah was a tribe.0:25
Explore how Judah, an ancient tribe, became a kingdom, and locate the region of Judah in present-day Israel.
Was ancient Judah a giant kingdom?2:46
Explore the ancient kingdom of Judah, its tribe origins from Judah, and the tension between biblical tradition and historical evidence, including Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and king David.
Vocab #20:35
Explore the vocab terms Israelites, Israel, and Judah, tracing origins in Egyptian slavery and noting Israel as the Jewish people and nation, with Jerusalem as the capital.
What is historiography?1:07
Explore historiography in Jewish history, distinguishing it from traditional narratives and factual history. Learn how historians use documents and artifacts, while traditionalists rely on stories and religious literature.
Vocab #30:08
Learn historiography, the act of establishing history, now added to the vocab list in this introduction to Jewish history.
Where is Babylon?0:11
Discover where the ancient city of Babylon and the empire of Babylonia are located in present-day Iraq.
What happened in 586/587 BCE?0:38
Describe the Babylonian conquest of Judah around 586/587 BCE and the exile of its people to Babylon, and show how these exiles became known as Jews and formed Jewish tradition.
Did the Babylonian empire actually conquer and exile Ancient Israel?0:20
Explore how the Babylonian empire's conquest and exile of Judah is supported by historical evidence, while traditional Jewish beliefs about ancient Judah lack extensive documentation.

Jerusalem was the capital of Judah.0:15
Explore how Jerusalem served as the political and religious capital of the kingdom of Judah, called Jerusalem in Hebrew and in English.
Jerusalem has been been conquered by many different powers.2:26
Explore how Jerusalem has been inhabited, conquered, and renamed by diverse powers, and its religious significance in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, alongside Zionism and Israel's 1948 birth.
Ancient Israelites built a temple in Jerusalem.0:20
Ancient Jerusalem centered on a single temple that served as the geopolitical heart of the kingdom of Judah, and the Babylonians destroyed it when they conquered Judah.
The first Ancient Israelite temple in Jerusalem was extremely complex.3:42
Examine the temple’s central role in Jewish history, from the first temple’s destruction to its symbolic replacement by organized prayer, and the modern politics of the Temple Mount.
Vocab #40:15
Beit haMikdash, the Hebrew term for the temple in ancient Jerusalem, translates literally to 'house of the holy' and expands vocab in this Jewish history course.
Was the Beit Ha-Mikdash rebuilt?0:50
After the Babylonian exile, Cyrus allows Jews to return to Jerusalem; some stay in Babylon while others rebuild the Second Temple during the Second Temple period.
What was the Second Temple Period?0:15
Explore how the Second Temple period gave birth to rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity, shaping religious life in late antiquity.
How did Ancient Jews interpret the destruction of the Second Temple?2:07
Show how rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity emerged as sibling religions after the Jerusalem temple's destruction, with rabbinic prayers and study as temple replacements and Jesus' sacrifice as Christian replacement.
How significant was the destruction of the temple?3:03
Explore how the destruction of the Jerusalem temples and the Holocaust shape Jewish history, interreligious violence, and cross-cultural exchanges among Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
The Romans banned the Jews from living in Jerusalem.0:33
Explore how the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE by the Romans banished Jews from Jerusalem and prevented temple rebuilding, shaping the basis of Jewish history.
The destruction of the temple is essential to understanding Jewish History.0:24
Understand how the destructions of the two temples in Jerusalem shape Jewish history, culture, and religion, and how exile and violence advanced the development of Judaism.
A small part of the Western Wall of the Second Temple still stands in Jerusalem.0:19
A remaining fragment of the Western Wall from the Second Temple endures in Jerusalem, known today as the Western Wall, the Wailing Wall, or the Kotel.
People pray at the Kotel today.1:13
Explore the Kotel as the holiest Jewish site, where ultra orthodox control shapes observance, gendered spaces, and modest dress amid security forces.
Vocab #50:20
Add Kotel to the vocab, the last remaining piece of the Second Temple, destroyed by the Romans, also known as the Western Wall or the Wailing Wall.

Is Jewish Tradition synonymous with Rabbinic Tradition?0:58
Trace how the rabbinic tradition, born after the temple's destruction and Babylonian exile, became the dominant expression of Jewish culture and religion, rooted in the rabbinic interpretation of the Bible.
Ancient Jews spoke Aramaic.1:53
Explore how Aramaic served as the daily language of ancient Jews, with tana and shana meaning repetition, and how the rabbinic tradition formed in ancient Babylon.
Jewish Studies is very technical.2:35
Explore how language in Jewish studies shapes understanding, from Hebrew basics to Aramaic central literature, and map rabbinic eras and sacred language in rabbinic learning.
Ancient Rabbis were aware of the Babylonian religion.2:16
Explore how rabbis living in Babylon encountered the Babylonian world view and monotheism, influencing rabbinic Judaism and themes in Daniel.

The Rabbinic Tradition is based on the Hebrew Bible.0:08
Explore how the rabbinic tradition builds on the Hebrew Bible to shape Jewish interpretation. Learn the foundational link between the scriptural text and rabbinic study.
The Hebrew Bible has mythical/unknown origins0:49
Explore the lack of consensus on when the Hebrew Bible was completed, and the Torah's direct revelation from God to Moses, its three sections and creation narrative at its core.
A common name for the Hebrew Bible is Tanakh.1:11
Explain how the Hebrew bible is commonly named Tanakh, formed from the Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim as an acronym that becomes a pronounceable word.
Vocab #70:09
Add a vocab entry identifying another name for the Hebrew Bible, connecting students to Jewish history.
Tanakh is an acronym.2:27
Explore the Torah, neveh EEM, and K2 VM—the three sections of the Hebrew bible—featuring five books of Torah, eight prophets, eleven writings, plus the festival scrolls and divine inspiration.

The Torah tells the story of the first humans and the creation of the world.0:38
Explore the Torah’s account of the first humans. The Hebrew Bible’s first page shows the line 'in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth' and its spiritual significance.
What is Biblical History?1:36
Explore how biblical history differs from academic history, noting that biblical history relies on narrative rather than proof. Trace creation, the Torah, and the Israelite story in the Hebrew Bible.
What story does the Torah tell?0:26
The Torah narrates the birth of the twelve Israelite tribes and the Israelites' settlement in the land of Canaan, present-day Israel, as the Hebrew Bible continues beyond the five books.
The Jewish King David united the tribes into one kingdom.1:03
Unify the twelve tribes into one kingdom. Split the kingdom into Israel and Judah; Israel fell to Assyria in 721 BCE, Judah to Babylon, beginning the rabbinic tradition.
How does Rabbinic Literature relate to the story of the Hebrew Bible?1:06
Trace how rabbinic literature emerges after the Babylonian exile, with early rabbis outside Israel documenting traditions in the Mishnah and the Talmud, sacred companions to the Hebrew Bible.
Thanks for completing the course :)2:24
Explore the dispersion of the Jewish people from Babylon to global communities, contrast Jewish tradition with Jewish people, and trace the shift from temple rites to rabbinic, prayer, and festivals.

Requirements

Genuine curiosity
An openness to viewing academia and tradition as two equally valid perspectives
Appreciation for the academic explanation of the Jewish tradition

Description

Hi! Welcome to Jewish Studies 101: Intro to Jewish History. This course serves as both an introduction to Jewish Studies and an introduction to Jewish History. Jewish History is one part of Jewish Studies, and by completing this course, you will not only be able to begin to learn higher levels of Jewish History, but you will also be able to have a foundational understanding of Jewish Studies itself. A foundational understanding of Jewish Studies is essential to having an intelligent conversation about modern Middle-Eastern politics, or in developing an awareness of Jewish people/culture. Even more essentially, having a basic understanding of Jewish History is essential to having a legitimate understanding of Jewish Literature/Text. The Jewish Tradition is characterized as being 100% rooted in and sustained by the study of Jewish Text. Even if you are not interested in Jewish Literature, knowing the basics about Jewish History can still strength your Jewish Identity. It can teach you where you and your family have come from. If you are not Jewish, Jewish History can STILL be valuable, because Jewish History is very much intertwined with the history of Western Civilization. Now, because of Globalization, understanding Jewish History actually reveals that it is also very much intertwined with the history of all of humanity.

Who this course is for:

Anyone interested in truly understanding the basis of the Jewish tradition's explanation of Jewish History

Jewish Studies 101: Intro to Jewish History

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

History18 lectures • 19min

Judah14 lectures • 16min

Rabbis4 lectures • 8min

Tanna-Im2 lectures • 2min

Tanakh5 lectures • 5min

Torah6 lectures • 7min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: