Their apocalyptic theology resulted in a worldview polarized between good and evil. Introduction The Essenes were a...
Judaism
The origins of Judaism lie in the Bronze Age, specifically evolving out of Ancient Canaanite polytheism. Introduction...
A religious scholar explains the history of the High Holy Days and why they might offer consolation...
In medieval Europe, Passover was a touchpoint for conspiracy theories, violence, and libel against Jews. Introduction The...
The destruction of the first temple in Jerusalem in 586 BCE challenged traditional notions about the inviolability...
Later, during the Iron Age, the Israelite religion became distinct from the Canaanite polytheism out of which...
In 63 B.C.E. Pompey was invited to settle a dispute between two Maccabeans. Thus came the Romans....
An exhibit touring many sites where Jewish culture and medicine intersect. By Paula Wasley Introduction Your bubbe was not...
A historian of the Bible explains how ancient Israelites changed the ways of their worship. As the...
The foundational Jewish texts assert that a fetus does not attain the status of personhood until birth....
Sacrifices of various types were central to the Temple’s function. Introduction Also known as Solomon’s Temple, the...
Most Jews today are the descendants of the Israelites, as are the Samaritans, only a few of...
Jewish Christians predominated in the movement of early Christianity. They bore the brunt of persecution from their...
A tombstone commissioned by a man in memory of his deceased mother, “Siporah daughter of Dan”. Everything...
By Harry OatesHistorian Introduction The Roman Empire in the early 1st century CE was often regarded as...
Considering the spread of Judaism from the viewpoint of other cultures in the Ancient Near East. Introduction...
Examining the transitions from “selective polytheism” to henotheism and subsequently, from henotheism to global monotheism. Introduction In...
Language about Jews in the medieval Good Friday liturgy often carried over into physical violence toward local...
A shrine to a “wise woman” fulfilling an oraculor role. By Philippe BohstromArchaeologist The town of Abel Beth...
After freeing the Zealots from the Temple, the Edomites and Zealots massacred the common people. Introduction The...
A literary alternative to the murderous, supersessionist versions of the story that animates the site. Given the...
Jewish life did not solely consist of worrying about one’s day-to-day survival. Summary Jewish culture reflects the...
Jewish would-be artists began arriving in Paris in the decade before the First World War. Jews were...
The ancient synagogue represents an inclusive, localized form of worship that did not crystallize until the destruction...
The Torah deals with the origins of not only the Israelites, but also – at least according...
During the Holocaust, the remaining Hasidic centres in Eastern Europe were destroyed and the Hasidim who lived there...
These networks formed as a result of the dispersal of Jewish society over great distances starting in...
Hanukkah demands fewer religious rituals than most other Jewish observances. Golden Pixels LLC Despite the primacy of Christmas in American culture,...
In the United States, Hanukkah has gained much significance. Tercer Ojo Photography/Shutterstock.com Hanukkah is ranked one of Judaism’s minor...
A 19th century CE oil painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme depicting Moses receiving the Ten Commandments from God on Mt....