A History of the Jews

By Jonathan Bergwerk

A short history of the Jewish people, with the key facts and trends, taking a top-down overview of 4,000 years, looking both at what was happening to Jews and at Jewish practice. From the smallest of beginnings, a way of life for the Jewish people emerged and over time both the beliefs and practices of that people continually evolved. Authentic Judaism is therefore reforming Judaism. The book includes study material for use in groups or individually.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jan 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781716288326

Book preview

A History of the Jews

Copyright © 2021 by Jonathan Bergwerk

All rights reserved.

First Printing: 2015

ISBN 978-1-716-28832-6

https://audaciousjews.com/

Introductory Thoughts

This book is based on the handouts and facilitator notes to the course on Jewish History taught in Spring 2015 at Radlett Reform Synagogue. Radlett is a town just outside London with a significant absence of Jewish history – at least until the founding of the Bushey Heath Reform Community (the forerunner of Radlett Reform) in 1971.

Radlett Reform takes a modern, objective and open-minded approach to Judaism and the course was designed very much in this spirit. So everything was based as far as possible on historical fact (or what are seen to be facts), without needing to rely on faith.

The course takes a top-down overview of 4,000 years of history, looking both at what was happening to Jews and to Jewish practice in different ages. It focusses on some key themes in that history since otherwise it would be easy to drown in a myriad of dates and detail – especially the long litany of depressing persecutions. These theses are summarised in the chapter at the end of the book – ‘Jews and Judaism – Lessons from History’.

Perhaps the biggest message that emerges from the first 4000 years of Jewish history is that Judaism’s survival has depended on constant, often radical, change. From the smallest of beginnings, a way of life for the Jewish people emerged and over time both the beliefs and practices of that people continually evolved. Authentic Judaism is therefore reforming Judaism. I hope that this book will provide a source of pride and encouragement to Jews to continue that process of development and to welcome further change.

The Radlett course took place over seven sessions, each covering a different historical time period. These are reflected in the chapter headings. In each period we discussed both what was happening to the Jews socially and politically, as well as the intellectual and practical developments within Judaism.

The book can be used both for individual study and also as source material for group learning. To stimulate debate the text has often been written provocatively. Academically this definitiveness can easily be challenged, but the style is intentional in order to encourage discussion.

The

boxes

contain suggested questions to think about on your own or to discuss in a group. There will not be enough time to discuss everything, so the facilitator should choose the questions to discuss (and/or create additional questions) based on the interests and knowledge of the group.

The course would not have taken place at all without the original idea and encouragement of Debs Lowenson.

It wouldn’t have been so stimulating without the contribution of the loyal participants especially Alan Byers, David Grossman, David Reissner, Debs Lowenson, Geoff Hoffman, Helen Hyde, Judy Hyman, Maureen Grossman, Michael Schuz, Paula Wood, Peter Freedman, Ruth Hoffman, Susan Field and Suzy Gould.

Thank you also to Walter Bergwerk and Peter Freedman who provided valuable comments on the draft and to David Abelman for the book design.

Of course, all responsibility for the content – especially the prejudices - is mine alone.

Jonathan Bergwerk

September 2015

What is Jewish History?

My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meagre numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation. The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us. We cried to the Eternal, the God of our fathers and the Eternal heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery and our oppression. The Eternal freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents. He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. (Deuteronomy 26:5-9)¹

Jews celebrate the Exodus from Egypt each year at Pesach. Is this history or something else?

Does it matter if something happened exactly as described or if this is poetic license?

Is Jewish history a mirror, a collective memory or something else?

Many peoples claim descent from famous ancestors or gods. Jews claim descent from slaves. What is the significance in this?

The Jews constitute but one per cent of the human race… The Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he … is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also way out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendour, then faded and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone... The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind… What is the secret of his immortality? (Mark Twain - Article in Harper’s September 1899)

Some people like the Jews and some do not, but no thoughtful man can doubt the fact that they are beyond all question the most formidable and the most remarkable race which had ever appeared in the world. (Winston Churchill, 1920)

Why have the Jews survived, when so many other groups have disappeared?

Are the Jews ‘special’ in any way? Have they have made an exceptional contribution to the world?²

Comments on Jews often imply that they are a clearly defined group. Remarks, both good and bad, mostly imply a definition which suits the commentator's agenda. Is this a general phenomenon affecting minorities or are Jews treated differently to others?

The physical appearance of Jews often resembles that of the country they live in, e.g. Western European Jews, Jews from Arab countries, Indian Jews etc. It is therefore likely that there were significant levels of inter-marriage and conversion. How has Judaism managed to retain its group cohesiveness with such fluidity?

Key Dates in Jewish History³

Biblical Time

Historical Events

What other dates are important in Jewish history?

Which periods of Jewish history do you know well and which are hazy?

The First Two Thousand Years

Until about 700 BCE there is no archaeological evidence to back any of this up. What really happened is largely speculative, with our main source being the Torah and folk memories, some of which may not relate to Israelites per se.

The Second Two Thousand Years

What has caused Judaism to survive and thrive?

What determined the overall health of Judaism?

When was the most successful period for the Jews? Why?

Early Biblical History (from Genesis to Judges)

Patriarchs – the Origin Stories of Genesis

The founding myths of the Jewish people are described in Genesis from verse 12 onwards; roughly covering the period from 2000 BCE to 1600 BCE, starting with one man being chosen by God to become a great nation and culminating in a family of 70 people, including brothers who had finally learnt to live together.¹¹ The stories were designed to answer the questions ‘where did we come from?’ and ‘why are we important?’ So getting the covenant from God¹² was the seminal moment of Judaism - ‘Abram threw himself on his face and God spoke to him As for Me, this is My covenant with you: you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.’ (Gen. 17:3-4)

‘Civilisation’ started in both Egypt and Mesopotamia in about 4500 BCE; these two nations were in conflict (with Canaan being the football in between) from about 2000 BCE. Western Semitic tribes invaded the Euphrates area causing economic decline, including in the city state of Ur, which may have prompted Abraham’s semi-nomadic familial clan to migrate from Mesopotamia.¹³ Abraham’s father, Terach became an ‘Ivri’ when he passed over the Euphrates and travelled 600 miles along the Fertile Crescent to Haran. There God chose Abraham and his descendants to be a separate entity.

The covenantal promise was passed on from one generation to the next, through the son favoured by God – never using the ‘normal’ human way of favouring the elder son. Abraham’s younger son, Isaac lived near Beersheba all his life. Isaac’s younger son Jacob went back to Haran, returned to Canaan and then to Egypt. He caused the rupture with the old family in Babylonia.

The story of Jacob’s son Joseph matches authentic details of Egyptian life at the time e.g. foreigners rising to power in the Egyptian court. 70 members of Jacob’s family were sent to Egypt by famine / God.¹⁴ Hammurabi reigned from 1792 to 1750 BCE in Babylonia.¹⁵ The Hyksos people invaded Egypt in 1790 BCE and may have been the source for much of the Joseph story.

Genesis is the story of unfulfilled promise and exile - from land, home and God. This was to become one of the dominant narratives of Judaism over the ages.

What is the significance of the covenant (i.e. being ‘chosen’)? Has it helped Jews survive? When Jews give up the idea of covenant (and specialness) do they assimilate?

Could it simply be that Abraham was hearing voices; and that his fanaticism has lasted for 4,000 years within the Jewish psyche? If today someone claims they are hearing the voice of God we lock them up; why instead do we venerate Abraham?

Why did God (or