Misplaced Pages

#707292

170-571: The Cave of the Patriarchs or Tomb of the Patriarchs , known to Jews by its Biblical name Cave of Machpelah ( Biblical Hebrew : מְעָרַת הַמַּכְפֵּלָה , romanized:  Məʿāraṯ hamMaḵpēlā , lit.   'Cave of the Double';) and to Muslims as the Sanctuary of Abraham ( Arabic : الحرم الإبراهيمي , romanized :  al-Ḥaram al-Ibrāhīmī ),

340-527: A Quran was torn. Muslim and Arab figures went to Hebron the next day to protest what was called a "profanation of the Quran". The Tomb was closed and a curfew was imposed on the whole city. A few days later, about two hundred Arab youths entered the Tomb and destroyed Torah scrolls and prayer books. In May 1980, an attack on Jewish worshippers returning from prayers at the tomb left 6 dead and 17 wounded. In 1994,

510-424: A "cave within a cave". Another hypothesis, supported by Samuel b. Meir , Moses b. Nachman , Obadiah Sforno , Moses Mendelssohn , Ernst Rosenmüller , and Samuel David Luzzatto , holds that makhpela isn't an adjective describing the cave but rather is a proper noun describing the tract of land on which it sits. This hypothesis is supported by the phrasing of some Bible verses, such as Genesis 49:30 , "the cave in

680-469: A brilliant phase of its existence under Samuel's directorate, and, with the academy founded by Rav at Sura , enjoyed a high general reputation. Rav at Sura and Samuel at Nehardea established the intellectual independence of Babylonian Jewry . Young men taking up the study of the Law there were no longer obliged to go to Israel, since they had the foremost teachers at home. Babylon now came to be regarded, in

850-795: A group of Jewish settlers from the Hebron community led by Noam Arnon broke into the caves and took photos of the burial chambers. Tensions would later increase as the Israeli government signed the Oslo Accords in September 1993, which gave limited autonomy to the PLO in the West Bank city of Jericho and the Gaza Strip. The city of Hebron and the rest of the major Palestinian population centers in

1020-462: A literal translation would be "cave of the double". Two hypotheses are discussed by the Talmud in b. Eruvin 53a: The cave of makhpela : Abba Arikha and Samuel of Nehardea [disputed]; one said, "It is two chambers, one behind the other", and one said, "It is two chambers, one above the other." The position that the chambers are stacked is satisfactory—this is makhpela . However, according to

1190-510: A multilingual group to a monolingual one (or nearly so), speaking French in Algeria , Morocco , and the city of Tunis , while most North Africans continue to use Arabic or Berber as their mother tongue. There is no single governing body for the Jewish community, nor a single authority with responsibility for religious doctrine. Instead, a variety of secular and religious institutions at

1360-715: A people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele , which dates to around 1200 BCE. The majority of scholars agree that this text refers to the Israelites , a group that inhabited the central highlands of Canaan , where archaeological evidence shows that hundreds of small settlements were constructed between the 12th and 10th centuries BCE. The Israelites differentiated themselves from neighboring peoples through various distinct characteristics including religious practices , prohibition on intermarriage , and an emphasis on genealogy and family history. In

1530-741: A place of refuge for the Jews of Syria Palaestina . A number of significant Talmudic academies , such as the Nehardea , Pumbedita , and Sura academies, were established in Mesopotamia, and many important Amoraim were active there. The Babylonian Talmud , a centerpiece of Jewish religious law, was compiled in Babylonia in the 3rd to 6th centuries. Jewish diaspora communities are generally described to have coalesced into three major ethnic subdivisions according to where their ancestors settled:

1700-514: A religious component in national memories and culture is common even in the modern era. This view is echoed by political scientist Tom Garvin , who writes that "something strangely like modern nationalism is documented for many peoples in medieval times and in classical times as well," citing the ancient Jews as one of several "obvious examples", alongside the classical Greeks and the Gaulish and British Celts . Samuel of Nehardea As in

1870-539: A religious interpretation of the traditions and early history of the Jews, established the first of the Abrahamic religions , which are now practiced by 54 percent of the world. Judaism guides its adherents in both practice and belief, and has been called not only a religion, but also a "way of life," which has made drawing a clear distinction between Judaism, Jewish culture , and Jewish identity rather difficult. Throughout history, in eras and places as diverse as

SECTION 10

#1732773253708

2040-482: A religious or national approach to identity is used. Generally, in modern secular usage, Jews include three groups: people who were born to a Jewish family regardless of whether or not they follow the religion, those who have some Jewish ancestral background or lineage (sometimes including those who do not have strictly matrilineal descent ), and people without any Jewish ancestral background or lineage who have formally converted to Judaism and therefore are followers of

2210-603: A result, Ashkenazi Jews were gradually pushed eastwards to Poland , Lithuania and Russia . During the same period, Jewish communities in the Middle East thrived under Islamic rule, especially in cities like Baghdad , Cairo , and Damascus . In Babylonia, from the 7th to 11th centuries the Pumbedita and Sura academies led the Arab and to an extant the entire Jewish world. The deans and students of said academies defined

2380-638: A result, around 200,000 Jews were expelled from Spain , seeking refuge in places such as the Ottoman Empire , North Africa , Italy , the Netherlands and India . A similar fate awaited the Jews of Portugal a few years later. Some Jews chose to remain, and pretended to practice Catholicism . These Jews would form the members of Crypto-Judaism . In the 19th century, when Jews in Western Europe were increasingly granted equality before

2550-532: A roof. Archaeologists are not certain where the original entrance to the enclosure was located, or even if there was one. The Herodian building stands on an earlier structure possibly built during the Hasmonean dynasty ( c. 2nd century BCE). Until the era of the Byzantine Empire , the interior of the enclosure remained exposed to the sky. Under Byzantine rule, a simple basilica was constructed at

2720-430: A sense, as a second Holy Land. Samuel taught, "As it is forbidden to migrate from Israel to Babylon, so is it forbidden to migrate from Babylon to other countries". After Rav's death no new director was elected, and Rav's greatest pupil, R. Huna, who became president of the court of Sura, subordinated himself to Samuel in every respect, asking his decision in every difficult religio-legal question. The Academy of Nehardea

2890-402: A servant, and the master has no right to treat her with condescension or to have marital relations in the presence of the slaves. Once, when a female slave had been taken away from Samuel and he had unexpectedly recovered her by paying a ransom, he felt obliged to liberate her because he had given up hope of recovering her. Following the example of his teacher Levi ben Sisi , Samuel collected

3060-692: A significant population growth. This prosperity continued until the Neo-Assyrian king Sennacherib devastated the region of Judah in response to a rebellion in the area, ultimately halting at Jerusalem . Later in the same century, the Assyrians were defeated by the rising Neo-Babylonian Empire , and Judah became its vassal. In 587 BCE, following a revolt in Judah , the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II besieged and destroyed Jerusalem and

3230-478: A small synagogue under the mosque. The first Jewish wedding ceremony to take place in it was on 7 August 1968. The stone stairway leading to the mosque was also destroyed in order to erase the humiliating "seventh step". In 1968, a special arrangement was made to accommodate Jewish services on the Jewish New Year and Day of Atonement. This led to an attack on worshippers, with a hand-grenade being thrown on

3400-479: A son was born to Abba, whom he named Samuel. Even as a boy Samuel displayed rare ability. His first teacher was an otherwise unknown man, and Samuel, who knew more about a certain legal question than did his teacher, would not submit to ill treatment by him. Then Samuel's father, who was himself a prominent teacher of the Law, recognized as such even by Rav, undertook to instruct the boy. As he seems to have been unequal to this task he sent him to Nisibis to attend

3570-636: A teacher in Babylon". Samuel was unfortunate in his family life. He had no sons, and his two daughters were captured by soldiers during the war with the Romans. They were taken to Tzippori , in Israel, where they were ransomed by coreligionists, but both died at an early age after having been married successively to a relative. The esteem in which Samuel was held appears from the fact that no one thought of attributing his misfortune to any sin committed by him; it

SECTION 20

#1732773253708

3740-515: A temporary status agreement for the site restricting access for both Jews and Muslims. As part of this agreement, the waqf (Islamic charitable trust) controls 81% of the building. This includes the whole of the southeastern section, which lies above the only known entrance to the caves and possibly over the entirety of the caves themselves. As a consequence, Jews are not permitted to visit the Cenotaphs of Isaac or Rebecca, which lie entirely within

3910-457: A thorough knowledge of the science of medicine as it was known in his day; this is evident from many of his medical maxims and dietetic rules scattered through the Talmud. He energetically opposed the view then current, even in intelligent circles, that most diseases were due to the evil eye , declaring that the source of all disease must be sought in the noxious influence exercised by the air and

4080-505: A variety of fields, making an impact on their communities' economy and societies. In Francia , for example, figures like Isaac Judaeus and Armentarius occupied prominent social and economic positions. However, Jews were frequently the subjects of discriminatory laws, segregation , blood libels and pogroms , which culminated in events like the Rhineland Massacres (1066) and the expulsion of Jews from England (1290). As

4250-652: A wall...Then the King, after providing new shrouds, caused the place to be closed once more". Similar information is given in Ibn al Athir 's Chronicle under the year 1119; "In this year was opened the tomb of Abraham, and those of his two sons Isaac and Jacob ...Many people saw the Patriarch. Their limbs had nowise been disturbed, and beside them were placed lamps of gold and of silver." The Damascene nobleman and historian Ibn al-Qalanisi in his chronicle also alludes at this time to

4420-405: A warning against intermarriage between Jews and gentiles. Leviticus 24:10 says that the son in a marriage between a Hebrew woman and an Egyptian man is "of the community of Israel." This is complemented by Ezra 10:2–3 , where Israelites returning from Babylon vow to put aside their gentile wives and their children. A popular theory is that the rape of Jewish women in captivity brought about

4590-672: Is a series of caves situated 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Jerusalem in the heart of the Old City of Hebron in the West Bank . According to the Abrahamic religions , the cave and adjoining field were purchased by Abraham as a burial plot, although most historians believe the Abraham-Isaac-Jacob narrative to be primarily mythological. The site is considered a holy place in Judaism , Christianity , and Islam . Over

4760-486: Is chiefly important, however, because of his promulgation of new theories and his independent decisions both in ritual and in civil law. However, in the field of ritual law he was not considered as great an authority as his colleague Rav, and practical questions were always decided according to Rav's views as against those of Samuel. In civil law his authority was the highest in Babylon, and his decisions became law even when contrary to Rav's. Samuel seems to have possessed

4930-593: Is considered the father of political Zionism, offered his vision of a future Jewish state in his 1896 book Der Judenstaat ( The Jewish State ); a year later, he presided over the First Zionist Congress . The antisemitism that inflicted Jewish communities in Europe also triggered a mass exodus of more than two million Jews to the United States between 1881 and 1924. The Jews of Europe and

5100-885: Is far less used today following the Holocaust and the adoption of Modern Hebrew by the Zionist movement and the State of Israel . In some places, the mother language of the Jewish community differs from that of the general population or the dominant group. For example, in Quebec , the Ashkenazic majority has adopted English, while the Sephardic minority uses French as its primary language. Similarly, South African Jews adopted English rather than Afrikaans . Due to both Czarist and Soviet policies, Russian has superseded Yiddish as

5270-648: Is further disagreement about the earliest existence of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah and their extent and power. Historians agree that a Kingdom of Israel existed by c.  900 BCE , there is a consensus that a Kingdom of Judah existed by c. 700 BCE at least, and recent excavations in Khirbet Qeiyafa have provided strong evidence for dating the Kingdom of Judah to the 10th century BCE. In 587 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar II , King of

Cave of the Patriarchs - Misplaced Pages Continue

5440-556: Is given, while Abraham is tending to business elsewhere. Abraham comes to mourn for her. After a while he stands up and speaks to the Biblical Hittites . He tells them that he is a foreigner in their land and requests that they give him a burial site so that he can bury his dead. The Hittites flatter Abraham, call him a Lord and mighty prince, and say that he can bury his dead in any of their tombs. Abraham doesn't take them up on their offer and instead asks them to contact Ephron

5610-721: Is the Judaeo-Spanish language developed by Sephardic Jews who migrated to the Iberian peninsula . Due to many factors, including the impact of the Holocaust on European Jewry, the Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries , and widespread emigration from other Jewish communities around the world, ancient and distinct Jewish languages of several communities, including Judaeo-Georgian , Judaeo-Arabic , Judaeo-Berber , Krymchak , Judaeo-Malayalam and many others, have largely fallen out of use. For over sixteen centuries Hebrew

5780-436: Is widely recognized that the attributive use of the noun Jew , in phrases such as Jew lawyer or Jew ethics , is both vulgar and highly offensive. In such contexts Jewish is the only acceptable possibility. Some people, however, have become so wary of this construction that they have extended the stigma to any use of Jew as a noun, a practice that carries risks of its own. In a sentence such as There are now several Jews on

5950-452: Is worth four hundred shekels of silver and Abraham agrees to the price without any further bargaining. He then proceeded to bury his dead wife Sarah there. The burial of Sarah is the first account of a burial in the Bible, and Abraham's purchase of Machpelah is the first commercial transaction mentioned. The next burial in the cave is that of Abraham himself, who at the age of 175 years

6120-578: The Ashkenazim ( Central and Eastern Europe ), the Sephardim ( Iberian Peninsula ), and the Mizrahim ( Middle East and North Africa ). While these three major divisions account for most of the world's Jews, there are other smaller Jewish groups outside of the three. Prior to World War II , the global Jewish population reached a peak of 16.7 million, representing around 0.7% of

6290-652: The Ashkenazim (initially in the Rhineland and France), the Sephardim (initially in the Iberian Peninsula ), and the Mizrahim ( Middle East and North Africa ). Romaniote Jews , Tunisian Jews , Yemenite Jews , Egyptian Jews , Ethiopian Jews , Bukharan Jews , Mountain Jews , and other groups also predated the arrival of the Sephardic diaspora. Despite experiencing repeated waves of persecution, Ashkenazi Jews in Western Europe worked in

6460-566: The Canaanite peoples and culture through the development of a distinct monolatristic —and later monotheistic —religion of Yahwism centered on Yahweh , one of the gods of the Canaanite pantheon. The growth of Yahweh-centric belief, along with a number of cultic practices, gradually gave rise to a distinct Israelite ethnic group , setting them apart from other Canaanites. According to Dever , modern archaeologists have largely discarded

6630-570: The Canaanite population to establish the Iron Age kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Judaism emerged from the Israelite religion of Yahwism by the late 6th century BCE, with a theology considered by religious Jews to be the expression of a covenant with God established with the Israelites, their ancestors. The Babylonian captivity of Judahites following their kingdom's destruction,

6800-727: The Cave of the Patriarchs massacre occurred at the Ibrahimi Mosque, in which an armed Israeli settler entered the complex during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and opened fire on Palestinian Muslims who had gathered to pray at the site, killing 29 people, including children, and wounding over 125. The etymology of the Biblical name for the site, Me'arat haMakhpela , is uncertain. The word Me'arat means "cave of" and haMakhpela may mean "doubled", "multiplied" or "twofold", so

6970-737: The First Temple , putting an end to the kingdom. The majority of Jerusalem's residents, including the kingdom's elite, were exiled to Babylon . According to the Book of Ezra , the Persian Cyrus the Great ended the Babylonian exile in 538 BCE, the year after he captured Babylon. The exile ended with the return under Zerubbabel the Prince (so called because he was a descendant of

Cave of the Patriarchs - Misplaced Pages Continue

7140-702: The Geonic period in Jewish history. Following this period were the Rishonim who lived from the 11th to 15th centuries. Like their European counterparts, Jews in the Middle East and North Africa also faced periods of persecution and discriminatory policies, with the Almohad Caliphate in North Africa and Iberia issuing forced conversion decrees, causing Jews such as Maimonides to seek safety in other regions. Initially, under Visigoth rule , Jews in

7310-552: The Herodian dynasty as vassal kings . However, Judea eventually came directly under Roman control and was incorporated into the Roman Empire as the province of Judaea . The Jewish–Roman wars , a series of unsuccessful revolts against Roman rule during the first and second centuries CE, had significant and disastrous consequences for the Jewish population of Judaea . The First Jewish-Roman War (66–73 CE) culminated in

7480-478: The Holy Land , probably with his father, and returned to his native city. His reputation as a teacher of the Law having preceded him, many pupils gathered about him. As he was especially well versed in civil law , the exilarch Mar Ukva , who was his pupil, appointed him judge of the bet din at Nehardea, where he was associated with his friend the learned and clever Karna . This court was regarded at that time as

7650-665: The Israeli occupation of the West Bank in the Six-Day War , Hebron came under Jewish control for the first time in 2,000 years, though restrictions on visits by Jews were to continue. According to the autobiography of the Chief Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces , Major general Rabbi Shlomo Goren , during the Six-Day War on 8 June 1967, he made his way from Gush Etzion to Hebron. In Hebron he realized that

7820-403: The Israelites of the historical kingdoms of Israel and Judah , and whose traditional religion is Judaism . Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly interrelated, as Judaism is an ethnic religion , but not all ethnic Jews practice Judaism. Despite this, religious Jews regard individuals who have formally converted to Judaism as Jews. The Israelites emerged from within

7990-564: The Neo-Babylonian Empire , besieged Jerusalem , destroyed the First Temple and deported parts of the Judahite population. Scholars disagree regarding the extent to which the Bible should be accepted as a historical source for early Israelite history. Rendsburg states that there are two approximately equal groups of scholars who debate the historicity of the biblical narrative , the minimalists who largely reject it, and

8160-411: The Shrine of Husayn's Head near Ascalon to the mosque's interior. Samuel ben Samson visited the cave in 1210; he says that the visitor must descend by twenty-four steps in a passageway so narrow that the rock touches him on either hand. Between 1318 and 1320, the Mamluk governor of Gaza , a province that included Hebron, Sanjar al-Jawli ordered the construction of the Amir Jawli Mosque within

8330-406: The Tannaim may have been influenced by Roman law , which dictated that when a parent could not contract a legal marriage, offspring would follow the mother . Rabbi Rivon Krygier follows a similar reasoning, arguing that Jewish descent had formerly passed through the patrilineal descent and the law of matrilineal descent had its roots in the Roman legal system. The prehistory and ethnogenesis of

8500-474: The Torah , is made explicit in the Book of Esther (4th century BCE) of the Tanakh . Some modern scholars disagree with the conflation, based on the works of Josephus , Philo and Apostle Paul . The English word "Jew" is a derivation of Middle English Gyw, Iewe . The latter was loaned from the Old French giu , which itself evolved from the earlier juieu , which in turn derived from judieu/iudieu which through elision had dropped

8670-424: The Ugaritic texts (13th–12th century BCE), three out of the six real estate contracts discovered were for the sum of 400 silver shekels, and the terms of sale in them parallel the Biblical description of the sale of Machpelah. Apparently 400 shekels was a common price for Canaanite real estate transactions in this period. In 2020, Israeli archaeologists led by David Ben-Shlomo ( Ariel University ) dated pottery from

SECTION 50

#1732773253708

8840-519: The United States . Israel, whose population is 73.9% Jewish, is the only country where Jews comprise more than 2.5% of the population. Jews have significantly influenced and contributed to the development and growth of human progress in many fields, both historically and in modern times, including in science and technology , philosophy , ethics , literature , governance , business , art , music , comedy , theatre , cinema , architecture , food , medicine , and religion . Jews wrote

9010-422: The Yiddish ייִד Yid (plural ייִדן Yidn ). Originally, in ancient times, Yehudi (Jew) was used to describe the inhabitants of the Israelite kingdom of Judah . It is also used to distinguish their descendants from the gentiles and the Samaritans . According to the Hebrew Bible , these inhabitants predominately descend from the tribe of Judah from Judah , the fourth son of Jacob . Together

9180-485: The destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple . The severely reduced Jewish population of Judaea was denied any kind of political self-government. A few generations later, the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE) erupted, and its brutal suppression by the Romans led to the depopulation of Judea . Following the revolt, Jews were forbidden from residing in the vicinity of Jerusalem, and the Jewish demographic center in Judaea shifted to Galilee . Similar upheavals impacted

9350-533: The religion of Judaism are strongly interrelated. Converts to Judaism typically have a status within the Jewish ethnos equal to those born into it. However, several converts to Judaism, as well as ex-Jews, have claimed that converts are treated as second-class Jews by many born Jews. Conversion is not encouraged by mainstream Judaism, and it is considered a difficult task. A significant portion of conversions are undertaken by children of mixed marriages, or would-be or current spouses of Jews. The Hebrew Bible ,

9520-436: The 10th century BCE, two neighboring Israelite kingdoms—the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah —emerged. Since their inception, they shared ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious characteristics despite a complicated relationship. Israel, with its capital mostly in Samaria , was larger and wealthier, and soon developed into a regional power. In contrast, Judah, with its capital in Jerusalem ,

9690-437: The 6th century BCE. Between 31 and 4 BCE, Herod the Great built a large, rectangular enclosure over the cave to commemorate the site for his subjects. It is the only fully surviving Herodian structure from the period of Hellenistic Judaism . Herod's building, with 6-foot-thick (1.8 m) stone walls made from stones that were at least 3 feet (0.91 m) tall and sometimes reach a length of 24 feet (7.3 m), did not have

9860-413: The Arabs had surrendered and quickly made his way to the Cave of the Patriarchs. He shot at the doors of the mosque with his Uzi submachine gun. But when that was ineffective in prying the doors open, he attached chains to his Jeep and the doors, proceeding to pull them down. He entered the mosque and began to pray. While praying, a messenger from the Mufti of Hebron delivered a surrender note to him, whereby

10030-612: The Babylonians. Genetic studies on Jews show that most Jews worldwide bear a common genetic heritage which originates in the Middle East , and that they share certain genetic traits with other Gentile peoples of the Fertile Crescent . The genetic composition of different Jewish groups shows that Jews share a common gene pool dating back four millennia, as a marker of their common ancestral origin. Despite their long-term separation, Jewish communities maintained their unique commonalities, propensities, and sensibilities in culture, tradition, and language. The earliest recorded evidence of

10200-435: The Bible , founded Christianity , and had an indirect but profound influence on Islam . In these ways, Jews have also played a significant role in the development of Western culture . The term "Jew" is derived from the Hebrew word יְהוּדִי Yehudi , with the plural יְהוּדִים Yehudim . Endonyms in other Jewish languages include the Ladino ג׳ודיו Djudio (plural ג׳ודיוס , Djudios ) and

10370-410: The Bible and the traditional Law, which were usually the only subjects of study of the Jewish youth of that time, Samuel was instructed, probably in his early youth, in other sciences. It is likely that he accompanied his father on the latter's journey to Israel; for after his teacher Levi ben Sisi had gone to Israel there was no one in Babylon with whom he could have studied. According to an account in

SECTION 60

#1732773253708

10540-478: The Cave. On that day, I stood in the cave and prayed, praise be to God, (in gratitude) for everything." In 1170, Benjamin of Tudela visited the city, which he called by its Frankish name, St. Abram de Bron. He reported: In 1188 Saladin conquered the area, reconverting the enclosure to a mosque but allowing Christians to continue worshipping there. Saladin also added a minaret at each corner—two of which still survive—and added an existing minbar ( pulpit ) from

10710-474: The Exile, the term Yehudi (Jew) was used for all followers of Judaism because the survivors of the Exile (who were the former residents of the Kingdom of Judah) were the only Israelites that had kept their distinct identity as the ten tribes from the northern Kingdom of Israel had been scattered and assimilated into other populations. The gradual ethnonymic shift from " Israelites " to "Jews", regardless of their descent from Judah, although not contained in

10880-441: The Haram enclosure to enlarge the prayer space and accommodate worshipers. In the late 14th century, under the Mamluks , two additional entrances were pierced into the western end of the south western side and the kalah was extended upwards to the level of the rest of the enclosure. A cenotaph in memory of Joseph was created in the upper level of the kalah so that visitors to the enclosure would not need to leave and travel round

11050-402: The Hittite , the son of Zohar , who lives in Mamre and owns the cave of Machpelah which he is offering to buy for "the full price". Ephron slyly replies that he is prepared to give Abraham the field and the cave within it, knowing that it would not result in Abraham having a permanent claim to it. Abraham politely refuses the offer and insists on paying for the field. Ephron replies that the field

11220-403: The Iberian Peninsula faced persecutions, but their circumstances changed dramatically under Islamic rule . During this period, they thrived in a golden age , marked by significant intellectual and cultural contributions in fields such as philosophy, medicine, and literature by figures such as Samuel ibn Naghrillah , Judah Halevi and Solomon ibn Gabirol . However, in the 12th to 15th centuries,

11390-423: The Iberian Peninsula witnessed a rise in antisemitism, leading to persecutions, anti-Jewish laws, massacres and forced conversions ( peaking in 1391 ), and the establishment of the Spanish Inquisition that same year. After the completion of the Reconquista and the issuance of the Alhambra Decree by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492, the Jews of Spain were forced to choose: convert to Christianity or be expelled. As

11560-439: The Jewish New Year and Day of Atonement, leading to a hand-grenade attack on 9 October which injured 47 Israelis; and a second bombing on 4 November, which wounded 6 people. In 1972, the Israeli government increased the Jewish prayer area. New changes to the "status quo" were made by Israeli authorities in 1975, which again led to protests by Muslims. In 1976, a scuffle took place between Jewish and Muslim worshippers, during which

11730-598: The Jewish communities in the empire's eastern provinces during the Diaspora Revolt (115–117 CE), leading to the near-total destruction of Jewish diaspora communities in Libya , Cyprus and Egypt , including the highly influential community in Alexandria . The destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE brought profound changes to Judaism. With the Temple's central place in Jewish worship gone, religious practices shifted towards prayer , Torah study (including Oral Torah ), and communal gatherings in synagogues . Judaism also lost much of its sectarian nature. Two of

11900-401: The Jewish identity of Biblical characters such as Jesus . Daniel R. Schwartz distinguishes "Judean" and "Jew". Here, "Judean" refers to the inhabitants of Judea, which encompassed southern Palestine . Meanwhile, "Jew" refers to the descendants of Israelites that adhere to Judaism . Converts are included in the definition. But Shaye J.D. Cohen argues that "Judean" should include believers of

12070-401: The Jews are closely intertwined with archaeology, biology, historical textual records, mythology, and religious literature. The ethnic stock to which Jews originally trace their ancestry was a confederation of Iron Age Semitic -speaking tribes known as the Israelites that inhabited a part of Canaan during the tribal and monarchic periods . Modern Jews are named after and also descended from

12240-517: The Jews were granted many privileges. On one occasion Samuel even made his love for his own people subsidiary to his loyalty to the Persian king and to his strict view of the duties of a citizen; for when the news came that the Persians, on capturing Mazaca , had killed 12,000 Jews who had obstinately opposed them, Samuel refrained from displaying any sorrow. It is worth noting that Samuel formulated

12410-1084: The Judean God and allies of the Judean state. Troy W. Martin similarly argues that biblical Jewishness is not dependent on ancestry but instead, is based on adherence to 'covenantal circumcision' ( Genesis 17:9–14 ). The etymological equivalent is in use in other languages, e.g., يَهُودِيّ yahūdī (sg.), al-yahūd (pl.), in Arabic , "Jude" in German , "judeu" in Portuguese , "Juif" (m.)/"Juive" (f.) in French , "jøde" in Danish and Norwegian , "judío/a" in Spanish , "jood" in Dutch , "żyd" in Polish etc., but derivations of

12580-544: The Ottoman period, the dilapidated state of the patriarchs' tombs was restored to a semblance of sumptuous dignity. Ali Bey , one of the few foreigners to gain access, reported in 1807 that, all the sepulchres of the patriarchs are covered with rich carpets of green silk, magnificently embroidered with gold; those of the wives are red, embroidered in like manner. The sultans of Constantinople furnish these carpets, which are renewed from time to time. Ali Bey counted nine, one over

12750-433: The Patriarchs are living, and only condescend to receive the petitions addressed to them by mortals. After Jordan occupied the West Bank in 1948, no Jews were allowed in the territory and consequently no Jews could visit the tomb. In the 1960s, Jordan renovated the area surrounding the mosque, destroying several historical buildings in the process, among them, the ruins of the nearby Crusader fortress built in 1168. Following

12920-548: The Talmud, Samuel is said to have cured R. Yehuda Ha-Nasi of an eye disease. Although Samuel was at that time too young to study directly under R. Yehuda, he studied under the pupils of the patriarch, especially with Hanina bar Hama . After having acquired a great store of knowledge in the Land of Israel , his studies there including the Mishnah edited by R. Yehuda haNasi as well as the other collections of tradition, Samuel left

13090-594: The Talmudic dictum that " the law of the state is to be upheld " ( Hebrew : דינא דמלכותא דינא ). R' Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog disagrees with that interpretation. First, Samuel intended to demonstrate a Law not his emotions on the subject. Second, Samuel held that the Messianic Era would arrive through natural means. Samuel may have believed that King Shapur I was destined to usher in the 3rd temple era as Cyrus had been before him. Therefore, those Jews who fought on

13260-597: The United States gained success in the fields of science, culture and the economy. Among those generally considered the most famous were Albert Einstein and Ludwig Wittgenstein . Many Nobel Prize winners at this time were Jewish, as is still the case. When Adolf Hitler and the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, the situation for Jews deteriorated rapidly. Many Jews fled from Europe to Mandatory Palestine ,

13430-616: The United States, and the Soviet Union as a result of racial anti-Semitic laws, economic difficulties, and the fear of an impending war. World War II started in 1939, and by 1941, Hitler occupied almost all of Europe. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the Final Solution —an extensive, organized effort with an unprecedented scope intended to annihilate the Jewish people—began, and resulted in

13600-592: The West Bank were not included in the initial agreement. The Cave of the Patriarchs massacre committed by Baruch Goldstein , an Israeli-American settler in February 1994, left 29 Palestinian Muslims dead and scores injured. The resulting riots resulted in a further 35 deaths. The increased sensitivity of the site meant that in 1996 the Wye River Accords , part of the Arab–Israeli peace process , included

13770-614: The ancient Hellenic world, in Europe before and after The Age of Enlightenment (see Haskalah ), in Islamic Spain and Portugal , in North Africa and the Middle East , India , China , or the contemporary United States and Israel , cultural phenomena have developed that are in some sense characteristically Jewish without being at all specifically religious. Some factors in this come from within Judaism, others from

13940-626: The area was given a new gabled roof, clerestory windows and vaulting . When the Crusaders took control of the site Jews were banned from using the synagogues. In the year 1113 during the reign of Baldwin II of Jerusalem , according to Ali of Herat (writing in 1173), a certain part over the cave of Abraham had given way, and "a number of Franks had made their entrance therein". And they discovered "(the bodies) of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob", "their shrouds having fallen to pieces, lying propped up against

14110-415: The beginning of the month. According to Krochmal "Shoḳed," another name given to Samuel, means "astronomer". But Hoffmann's view that "Shoḳed" means "the watchful, diligent one" is more likely correct. This name is said to have been given to Samuel because, despite his medical and astronomic studies, he devoted himself to the study of the Law. It was due to Mar Samuel's influence with the Persian king that

14280-510: The case of many other great men, a number of legendary stories are connected with his birth. His father, Abba bar Abba , subsequently known also by the Aramaic language designation Abuh di-Shemu'el ("father of Samuel"), was a silk - merchant . R. Yehuda ben Betheira ordered a silken garment from him, but refused to take it after Abba had procured it, and when the latter asked him the reason of his refusal, R. Yehuda answered, "The commission

14450-604: The cave stands a large rectangular enclosure dating from the Herodian era . During Byzantine rule of the region, a Christian basilica was built on the site; the structure was converted into the Ibrahimi Mosque following the Muslim conquest of the Levant . By the 12th century, the mosque and its surrounding regions had fallen under Crusader-state control, but were retaken in 1188 by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin , who again converted

14620-454: The caves (recovered surreptitiously by local residents in 1981) to the 8th century BCE. The different origins of the shards, from various areas around Hebron and Jerusalem, suggest the site may have been a pilgrimage site as early as this date, according to the study authors. The time from which the Israelites regarded the site as sacred is unknown, though some scholars consider that the biblical story of Abraham's burial there probably dates from

14790-516: The children of Israel. Jacob himself died at the age of 147 years. In the final chapter of Genesis, Joseph had his physicians embalm his father Jacob, before they removed him from Egypt to be buried in the cave of the field of Machpelah. When Joseph died in the last verse, he was also embalmed. He was buried much later in Shechem after the children of Israel came into the Promised Land . In

14960-516: The city in the 4th century BCE by Alexander the Great . By 200 BCE, there were well established Jewish communities both in Egypt and Mesopotamia (" Babylonia " in Jewish sources) and in the two centuries that followed, Jewish populations were also present in Asia Minor , Greece , Macedonia , Cyrene , and, beginning in the middle of the first century BCE, in the city of Rome . Later, in

15130-443: The climate upon humans. He traced many diseases to lack of cleanliness, and others to disturbances of the regular mode of living. He claimed to possess cures for most diseases, and was especially skillful in treating the eye; he discovered an eye-salve which was known as the "killurin [κολλύριον] of Mar Samuel," although he himself said that bathing the eyes with cold water in the morning and bathing hands and feet with warm water in

15300-435: The community, but must seek his welfare in that of society". He was known for being very precise with his words. He demanded seemly behavior from every one, saying that any improper conduct was punishable by law. One should help one's fellow man at the first signs of approaching difficulties, so as to prevent them, and not wait until he is in actual distress. In his solicitude for helpless orphans he imposed upon every court

15470-630: The confines of the Roman Empire, became an important center of Jewish study as Judea's Jewish population declined. Estimates often place the Babylonian Jewish community of the 3rd to 7th centuries at around one million, making it the largest Jewish diaspora community of that period. Under the political leadership of the exilarch , who was regarded as a royal heir of the House of David, this community had an autonomous status and served as

15640-578: The consideration of the east wall of the Mosque, and the little information I extracted from the Chief Santon, who jealously guards the sanctuary, I consider that a part of the grotto exists under the Mosque, and that the other part is under the court, but at a lower level than that lying under the Mosque. This latter must be separated from the former by a vertical stratum of rock which contains an opening, as I conclude, for two reasons : first, because

15810-493: The cost price, and he was ready even to temporarily modify the Law in order to prevent them from selling at a high price goods necessary for the fulfillment of a religious duty. In a certain case also he permitted the infraction of a religious prescription in order to keep people from harm. Samuel was very modest in his associations with others, openly honoring any one from whom he had gained any knowledge. He never obstinately insisted on his own opinion, but yielded as soon as he

15980-429: The council , which is unobjectionable, the substitution of a circumlocution like Jewish people or persons of Jewish background may in itself cause offense for seeming to imply that Jew has a negative connotation when used as a noun. Judaism shares some of the characteristics of a nation , an ethnicity , a religion , and a culture , making the definition of who is a Jew vary slightly depending on whether

16150-422: The courses of the stars as with the streets of Nehardea , I cannot explain the nature or the movements of the comets ". Samuel devoted himself especially to that branch of applied astronomy that deals with calendric science, which he taught to his colleagues and pupils. His studies of the moon enabled him to predict the beginning of the month as it was determined in Israel, and he claimed to be able to remove

16320-484: The desert and settled on the central mountain range of the land of Canaan, in simple semi-nomadic settlements in which pig bones are notably absent. This population gradually shifted from a tribal lifestyle to a monarchy. While the archaeological record of the ninth century BCE provides evidence for two monarchies, one in the south under a dynasty founded by a figure named David with its capital in Jerusalem , and one in

16490-466: The destruction of the First Temple , though there is ample evidence for the presence of Jews in Babylonia even from 626 BCE. In Egypt, the documents from Elephantine reveal the trials of a community founded by a Persian Jewish garrison at two fortresses on the frontier during the 5th–4th centuries BCE, and according to Josephus the Jewish community in Alexandria existed since the founding of

16660-401: The discovery of relics purported to be those of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, a discovery that excited eager curiosity among all three communities in the southern Levant, Muslim, Jewish, and Christian. Towards the end of the period of Crusader rule, in 1166 Maimonides visited Hebron and wrote, "On Sunday, 9 Marheshvan (17 October), I left Jerusalem for Hebron to kiss the tombs of my ancestors in

16830-533: The dispersal driven by both forced expulsions and voluntary migrations. In Mesopotamia, a testimony to the beginnings of the Jewish community can be found in Joachin's ration tablets , listing provisions allotted to the exiled Judean king and his family by Nebuchadnezzar II , and further evidence are the Al-Yahudu tablets , dated to the 6th–5th centuries BCE and related to the exiles from Judea arriving after

17000-524: The east wall being entirely solid and massive, requires a good foundation; secondly, because the petitions which the Mussulmans present to the Santon to be transmitted to the Patriarchs are thrown, some through one opening, some through the other, according to the Patriarch to whom they are directed; and the Santon goes down by the way I went, whence I suppose that on that side there is a vestibule, and that

17170-478: The entire world. A number of modern scholars of nationalism support the existence of Jewish national identity in antiquity. One of them is David Goodblatt, who generally believes in the existence of nationalism before the modern period. In his view, the Bible, the parabiblical literature and the Jewish national history provide the base for a Jewish collective identity. Although many of the ancient Jews were illiterate (as were their neighbors), their national narrative

17340-588: The evening were better than all the eye-salves in the world. Samuel discovered also a number of the diseases of animals. He sometimes drew the figure of a palm branch as his signature, although perhaps this was used by physicians generally at that time as a sign of their profession. Samuel had a special affinity for astronomy . From the scattered references in the Talmud it is impossible to determine exactly his proficiency in astronomy; but he knew how to solve many mathematics problems and how to explain many phenomena. He says himself: "Although I am as familiar with

17510-460: The extra-biblical record, the Israelites become visible as a people between 1200 and 1000 BCE. There is well accepted archeological evidence referring to "Israel" in the Merneptah Stele , which dates to about 1200 BCE, and in the Mesha stele from 840 BCE. It is debated whether a period like that of the Biblical judges occurred and if there ever was a United Monarchy . There

17680-791: The faithful to prayer by the muezzin of the Ibrahimi mosque. The order was enforced 61 times in October 2014, and 52 times in December of that year. This was following numerous complaints by the Jewish residents who claim that the calls violate legal decibel limits. In December 2009 Israeli authorities banned Jewish music played at the cave following similar complaints from the Arab residents. Jews The Jews ( Hebrew : יְהוּדִים ‎ , ISO 259-2 : Yehudim , Israeli pronunciation : [jehuˈdim] ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from

17850-556: The fall of their empire in c. 333 BCE to Alexander the Great . After several centuries under foreign imperial rule, the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire resulted in an independent Hasmonean kingdom , under which the Jews once again enjoyed political independence for a period spanning from 110 to 63 BCE. Under Hasmonean rule the boundaries of their kingdom were expanded to include not only

18020-538: The field of the Makhpela . . ." The question over the right interpretation of makhpela has been discussed extensively in various Biblical commentaries. Strong's Concordance derives makhpela from kaphal , a verb meaning “to double”. According to Genesis 23:1–20 , Abraham's wife Sarah dies in Kiryat Arba near Hebron in the land of Canaan at the age of 127, being the only woman in the Bible whose exact age

18190-682: The first centuries CE, as a result of the Jewish-Roman Wars , a large number of Jews were taken as captives, sold into slavery, or compelled to flee from the regions affected by the wars, contributing to the formation and expansion of Jewish communities across the Roman Empire as well as in Arabia and Mesopotamia. After the Bar Kokhba revolt , the Jewish population in Judaea , now significantly reduced in size, made efforts to recover from

18360-468: The foremost institution of its kind. In Israel, as well as in Babylon, Samuel and Karna were called the "judges of the Diaspora" ( dayyanei Golah ). Upon the death of Rav Shela , the director of the academy ("resh sidra") of Nehardea, Samuel was appointed to the office, after it had been refused by Rav, who would not accept any post of honor at Nehardea, Samuel's home. The Academy of Nehardea entered upon

18530-441: The ideal type of the nation [...] than perhaps anywhere else in the ancient world." He adds that this observation "must make us wary of pronouncing too readily against the possibility of the nation, and even a form of religious nationalism , before the onset of modernity." Agreeing with Smith, Goodblatt suggests omitting the qualifier "religious" from Smith's definition of ancient Jewish nationalism, noting that, according to Smith,

18700-498: The influence of a local tradition regarding Joseph's tomb. Some archaeologists believe that the original entrance to Herod's structure was in the location of the qal'ah and that the northeastern entrance was created so that the kalah could be built by the former entrance. In 1100, after the area was captured by the Crusaders , the enclosure once again became a church and Muslims were no longer permitted to enter. During this period,

18870-400: The interaction of Jews or specific communities of Jews with their surroundings, and still others from the inner social and cultural dynamics of the community, as opposed to from the religion itself. This phenomenon has led to considerably different Jewish cultures unique to their own communities. Hebrew is the liturgical language of Judaism (termed lashon ha-kodesh , "the holy tongue"),

19040-518: The land of the historical kingdom of Judah , but also the Galilee and Transjordan . In the beginning of this process the Idumeans , who had infiltrated southern Judea after the destruction of the First Temple , were converted en masse. In 63 BCE, Judea was conquered by the Romans. From 37 BCE to 6 CE, the Romans allowed the Jews to maintain some degree of independence by installing

19210-545: The language in which most of the Hebrew scriptures ( Tanakh ) were composed, and the daily speech of the Jewish people for centuries. By the 5th century BCE, Aramaic , a closely related tongue, joined Hebrew as the spoken language in Judea . By the 3rd century BCE, some Jews of the diaspora were speaking Greek . Others, such as in the Jewish communities of Asoristan , known to Jews as Babylonia, were speaking Hebrew and Aramaic ,

19380-475: The language of Russian Jews , but these policies have also affected neighboring communities. Today, Russian is the first language for many Jewish communities in a number of Post-Soviet states , such as Ukraine and Uzbekistan , as well as for Ashkenazic Jews in Azerbaijan , Georgia, and Tajikistan . Although communities in North Africa today are small and dwindling, Jews there had shifted from

19550-583: The languages of the Babylonian Talmud . Dialects of these same languages were also used by the Jews of Syria Palaestina at that time. For centuries, Jews worldwide have spoken the local or dominant languages of the regions they migrated to, often developing distinctive dialectal forms or branches that became independent languages. Yiddish is the Judaeo-German language developed by Ashkenazi Jews who migrated to Central Europe . Ladino

19720-686: The law , Jews in the Pale of Settlement faced growing persecution, legal restrictions and widespread pogroms . Zionism emerged in the late 19th century in Central and Eastern Europe as a national revival movement, aiming to re-establish a Jewish polity in the Land of Israel, an endeavor to restore the Jewish people back to their ancestral homeland in order to stop the exoduses and persecutions that have plagued their history. This led to waves of Jewish migration to Ottoman-controlled Palestine . Theodor Herzl , who

19890-542: The law of Jewish identity being inherited through the maternal line, although scholars challenge this theory citing the Talmudic establishment of the law from the pre-exile period. Another argument is that the rabbis changed the law of patrilineal descent to matrilineal descent due to the widespread rape of Jewish women by Roman soldiers. Since the anti-religious Haskalah movement of the late 18th and 19th centuries, halakhic interpretations of Jewish identity have been challenged. According to historian Shaye J. D. Cohen ,

20060-530: The law of the kingdom is [binding] law . This principle made it a religious duty for the Jews to obey the laws of the country. Thus, although the Jews had their own civil courts, Samuel thought that the Persian law should be taken into account and that various Jewish regulations should be modified according to it. Due to his loyalty to the government and his friendship with the Sassanid king, Shapur I , Samuel

20230-646: The letter "d" from the Medieval Latin Iudaeus , which, like the New Testament Greek term Ioudaios , meant both "Jew" and " Judean " / "of Judea ". The Greek term was a loan from Aramaic *yahūdāy , corresponding to Hebrew יְהוּדִי Yehudi . Some scholars prefer translating Ioudaios as "Judean" in the Bible since it is more precise, denotes the community's origins and prevents readers from engaging in antisemitic eisegesis . Others disagree, believing that it erases

20400-481: The local, national, and international levels lead various parts of the Jewish community on a variety of issues. Today, many countries have a Chief Rabbi who serves as a representative of that country's Jewry. Although many Hasidic Jews follow a certain hereditary Hasidic dynasty , there is no one commonly accepted leader of all Hasidic Jews. Many Jews believe that the Messiah will act a unifying leader for Jews and

20570-406: The maximalists who largely accept it, with the minimalists being the more vocal of the two. Some of the leading minimalists reframe the biblical account as constituting the Israelites ' inspiring national myth narrative, suggesting that according to the modern archaeological and historical account, the Israelites and their culture did not overtake the region by force, but instead branched out of

20740-494: The mediation of Samuel became subject to a king, Saul , who was succeeded by David and then Solomon , after whom the United Monarchy ended and was split into a separate Kingdom of Israel and a Kingdom of Judah . The Kingdom of Judah is described as comprising the tribes of Judah , Benjamin , partially Levi , and later adding remnants of other tribes who migrated there from the northern Kingdom of Israel. In

20910-701: The movement of Jewish groups around the Mediterranean in the Hellenistic period , and subsequent periods of conflict and violent dispersion, such as the Jewish–Roman wars , gave rise to the Jewish diaspora . The Jewish diaspora is a wide dispersion of Jewish communities across the world that have maintained their sense of Jewish history , identity and culture . In the following millennia, Jewish diaspora communities coalesced into three major ethnic subdivisions according to where their ancestors settled:

21080-754: The national language of the Jewish people, knowledge of the language is not commonly possessed by Jews worldwide and English has emerged as the lingua franca of the Jewish diaspora. Although many Jews once had sufficient knowledge of Hebrew to study the classic literature, and Jewish languages like Yiddish and Ladino were commonly used as recently as the early 20th century, most Jews lack such knowledge today and English has by and large superseded most Jewish vernaculars. The three most commonly spoken languages among Jews today are Hebrew, English, and Russian . Some Romance languages , particularly French and Spanish , are also widely used. Yiddish has been spoken by more Jews in history than any other language, but it

21250-466: The necessity of celebrating double holy days in the Diaspora . He also computed a Hebrew calendar for sixty years, which he subsequently sent to R. Yohanan , the head of the Israeli teachers, as a proof of his knowledge. He was called "Yarkhina'ah" or "Yarkhinai" (Hebrew: שמואל ירחינאה; "yerakh" = "month") because of this familiarity with calendric science and this ability to determine independently

21420-405: The north and from the east were built up to it (one set of steps for entering, the other for leaving). A building known as the qal'ah (قلعة i.e. castle ) was also constructed near the middle of the southwestern side. Its purpose is unknown but one historic account claims that it marked the spot where Joseph was buried (see Joseph's Tomb ), the area having been excavated by a Muslim caliph , under

21590-519: The north under a dynasty founded by a figure named Omri with its capital in Samaria . It also points to an early monarchic period in which these regions shared material culture and religion, suggesting a common origin. Archaeological finds also provide evidence for the later cooperation of these two kingdoms in their coalition against Aram , and for their destructions by the Assyrians and later by

21760-465: The other, upon the sepulchre of Abraham. A contemporary traveller, M. Ermete Pierotti, in 1862 described the great jealousy with which the Muslims guarded the sanctuary and the practice of sending petitions to the patriarchs: The true entrance to the Patriarchs' tomb is to be seen close to the western wall of the enclosure, and near the north-west comer; it is guarded by a very thick iron railing, and I

21930-417: The outside just to pay respects. The Mamluks also built the northwestern staircase and the six cenotaphs (for Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, Leah, Abraham, and Sarah, respectively), distributed evenly throughout the enclosure. The Mamluks forbade Jews from entering the site, allowing them only as close as the fifth step on a staircase at the southeast, but after some time this was increased to the seventh step. During

22100-494: The persecution and murder of Jews in Europe and North Africa . In Poland, three million were murdered in gas chambers in all concentration camps combined, with one million at the Auschwitz camp complex alone. The Holocaust is the name given to this genocide, in which six million Jews were systematically murdered. Before and during the Holocaust, enormous numbers of Jews immigrated to Mandatory Palestine. On 14 May 1948, upon

22270-624: The position that one is behind the other, what is makhpela ? That it is doubled in [that it contains] couples: "And Jacob came to his father Isaac , [to] Mamre , the 'City of the Four' which is Hebron ..." (Gen. 35:27). Isaac the Smith said, "The City of the Four Couples: Adam and Eve , Abraham and Sarah , Isaac and Rebecca , and Jacob and Leah ". According to b. Bava Batra 58a, Abba Arikha and Samuel of Nehardea agreed that

22440-525: The rabbi replied "This place, Ma'arat HaMachpela, is a place of prayer and peace. Surrender elsewhere." The first Jew to enter the burial caves was Michal Arbel , the 13-year-old daughter of Yehuda Arbel, chief of Shin Bet operations in the West Bank, because she was slender enough to be lowered into the narrow, 28 centimetres (11 in) wide hole on 9 October 1968, to gain access to the tomb site, after which she took photographs. Israeli settlers reestablished

22610-782: The religion. Historical definitions of Jewish identity have traditionally been based on halakhic definitions of matrilineal descent, and halakhic conversions. These definitions of who is a Jew date back to the codification of the Oral Torah into the Babylonian Talmud , around 200  CE . Interpretations by Jewish sages of sections of the Tanakh – such as Deuteronomy 7:1–5 , which forbade intermarriage between their Israelite ancestors and seven non-Israelite nations: "for that [i.e. giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons,] would turn away your children from following me, to serve other gods" – are used as

22780-536: The revolt's devastating effects, but never fully regained its previous strength. In the second to fourth centuries CE, the region of Galilee emerged as the new center of Jewish life in Syria Palaestina , experiencing a cultural and demographic flourishing. It was in this period that two central rabbinic texts, the Mishnah and the Jerusalem Talmud , were composed. However, as the Roman Empire

22950-693: The royal line of David ) and Joshua the Priest (a descendant of the line of the former High Priests of the Temple ) and their construction of the Second Temple circa 521–516 BCE. As part of the Persian Empire , the former Kingdom of Judah became the province of Judah ( Yehud Medinata ), with a smaller territory and a reduced population. Judea was under control of the Achaemenids until

23120-490: The school of the rabbi who had predicted the boy's birth, that he might there acquire a knowledge of the Law. Samuel seems to have remained only a short time at Nisibis. On his return to Nehardea he studied under Levi ben Sisi , who was in Babylonia before the death of Yehuda Ha-Nasi , and who exerted a great influence on Samuel's development. Samuel made such rapid progress and became so proficient in his studies that he soon associated as an equal with his teacher. Apart from

23290-408: The search for evidence of the biblical narrative surrounding the patriarchs and the exodus. According to the maximalist position, the modern archaeological record independently points to a narrative which largely agrees with the biblical account. This narrative provides a testimony of the Israelites as a nomadic people known to the Egyptians as belonging to the Shasu . Over time these nomads left

23460-514: The side of the Roman Emperor Julian were prolonging the exile and not worthy of being mourned. But he had a great love for his people, and he loyally cherished the memory of the former kingdom of Judah . Once, when one of his contemporaries adorned himself with a crown of olive, Samuel sent him the following message: "The head of a Jew that now wears a crown while Jerusalem lies desolate, deserves to be separated from its trunk ". Samuel declared that "There will be no difference between this world and

23630-410: The site in a national heritage site protection and rehabilitation plan . The announcement sparked protests from the UN, Arab governments and the United States. A subsequent UNESCO vote in October aimed to affirm that the "al-Haram al-Ibrahimi/Tomb of the Patriarchs in al-Khalil/Hebron" was "an integral part of the occupied Palestinian Territories." Israeli authorities have placed restrictions on calling

23800-440: The site. In 614, the Sasanid Persians conquered the area and destroyed the castle, leaving only ruins; but in 637, the area came under the control of the Arab Muslims and the building was reconstructed as a roofed mosque. The Muslims permitted the building of two small synagogues at the site. During the 10th century, an entrance was pierced through the north-eastern wall, some way above the external ground level, and steps from

23970-418: The site. Security at the site has increased since the Intifada ; the Israel Defense Forces surround the site with soldiers and control access to the shrines. Israeli forces also subject locals to checkpoints and bar all non-Jews from setting foot on some of the main roads to the complex and ban Palestinian vehicles from many of the roads in the area. On 21 February 2010, Israel announced that it would include

24140-445: The southeastern end and the enclosure was roofed everywhere except at the centre. During this period, the site became an important Christian pilgrimage destination. The Pilgrim of Bordeaux , c. 333, reported "a monument of square form built of stone of wondrous beauty, in which lie Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sara, Rebecca, and Leah". The Piacenza Pilgrim (c. 570) noted in his pilgrimage account that Jews and Christians shared possession of

24310-451: The southeastern section, except for 10 days a year that hold special significance in Judaism. One of these days is the Shabbat Chayei Sarah , when the Torah portion concerning the death of Sarah and the purchase by Abraham of the land in which the caves are situated, is read. The Israeli authorities do not allow Jewish religious authorities the right to maintain the site and allow only the waqf to do so. Tourists are permitted to enter

24480-507: The southern Israelite Kingdom of Judah . Gary A. Rendsburg links the early Canaanite nomadic pastoralists confederation to the Shasu known to the Egyptians around the 15th century BCE. According to the Hebrew Bible narrative, Jewish ancestry is traced back to the Biblical patriarchs such as Abraham , his son Isaac , Isaac's son Jacob , and the Biblical matriarchs Sarah , Rebecca , Leah , and Rachel , who lived in Canaan . The Twelve Tribes are described as descending from

24650-433: The stairway leading to the tomb on 9 October; 47 Israelis were injured, 8 seriously. On 4 November, a large explosion went off near the gate to the compound and 6 people, Jews and Arabs, were wounded. On Yom Kippur eve, 3 October 1976, an Arab mob destroyed several Torah scrolls and prayer books at the tomb. In May 1980, an attack on Jewish worshippers returning from prayers at the tomb left 6 dead and 17 wounded. In 1981,

24820-438: The status of the offspring of mixed marriages was determined patrilineally in the Bible. He brings two likely explanations for the change in Mishnaic times: first, the Mishnah may have been applying the same logic to mixed marriages as it had applied to other mixtures ( Kil'ayim ). Thus, a mixed marriage is forbidden as is the union of a horse and a donkey , and in both unions the offspring are judged matrilineally. Second,

24990-423: The structure into a mosque. In 1119 CE, a monk found bones inside the cave, believing them to be the bones of the patriarchs . During the Six-Day War of 1967 , the entire Jordanian-ruled West Bank was seized and occupied by the State of Israel , after which the mosque was divided, with half of it repurposed as a synagogue . In 1968, special Jewish services were authorized outside the usual permitted hours on

25160-417: The task of acting as father to them, and he declared that a loan taken from an orphan was not canceled in the Sabbatical year, even if no prozbul had been made out for it. He stored his grain until prices had risen, in order to sell it to the poor at the low prices of the harvest-time. In order to save the people from being cheated he ordered the merchants never to take a profit of more than one-sixth of

25330-403: The termination of the mandate, David Ben-Gurion declared the creation of the State of Israel , a Jewish and democratic state in the Land of Israel. Immediately afterwards, all neighboring Arab states invaded, yet the newly formed IDF resisted. In 1949, the war ended and Israel started building the state and absorbing massive waves of Aliyah from all over the world. The Jewish people and

25500-446: The three main sects that flourished during the late Second Temple period, namely the Sadducees and Essenes , eventually disappeared, while Pharisaic beliefs became the foundational, liturgical, and ritualistic basis of Rabbinic Judaism , which emerged as the prevailing form of Judaism since late antiquity. The Jewish diaspora existed well before the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE and had been ongoing for centuries, with

25670-399: The tombs may be found below it. I explained my conjectures to the Santon himself after leaving the Mosque, and he showed himself very much surprised at the time, and told the Pacha afterwards that I knew more about it than the Turks themselves. The fact is that even the Pacha who governs the province has no right to penetrate into the sacred enclosure , where (according to the Mussulman legend)

25840-438: The traditions handed down to him. His collection of baraitot, called "Tanna debei Shemu'el" in the Talmud, was noted for its correctness and trustworthiness, although it was not held in such high esteem as were the collections of R. Hiyya and R. Hoshaiah . Samuel did much to elucidate the Mishnah, both by his textual explanations and by his precise paraphrasing of ambiguous expressions and his references to other traditions. He

26010-423: The tribe of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin made up the Kingdom of Judah. Though Genesis 29:35 and 49:8 connect "Judah" with the verb yada , meaning "praise", scholars generally agree that "Judah" most likely derives from the name of a Levantine geographic region dominated by gorges and ravines. In ancient times, Jewish people as a whole were called Hebrews or Israelites until the Babylonian Exile . After

26180-403: The twelve sons of Jacob. Jacob and his family migrated to Ancient Egypt after being invited to live with Jacob's son Joseph by the Pharaoh himself. The patriarchs' descendants were later enslaved until the Exodus led by Moses , after which the Israelites conquered Canaan under Moses' successor Joshua , went through the period of the Biblical judges after the death of Joshua, then through

26350-414: The two chambers, whatever their layout, shared identical dimensions. Genesis Rabbah 58 gives a third hypothesis: "And Epron 's field which was in the makhpela ..." (Gen. 23:17). This teaches that it universally "doubles" the renown of those [within], as whoever is interred within is believed to have earned a very great reward [in Heaven]. Saadia b. Joseph and Abraham ibn Ezra believed it referred to

26520-445: The word "Hebrew" are also in use to describe a Jew, e.g., in Italian ( Ebreo ), in Persian ("Ebri/Ebrani" ( Persian : عبری/عبرانی )) and Russian ( Еврей, Yevrey ). The German word "Jude" is pronounced [ˈjuːdə] , the corresponding adjective "jüdisch" [ˈjyːdɪʃ] (Jewish) is the origin of the word "Yiddish". According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language , fourth edition (2000), It

26690-460: The world's population at that time. During World War II, approximately 6 million Jews throughout Europe were systematically murdered by Nazi Germany in a genocide known as the Holocaust . Since then, the population has slowly risen again, and as of 2021 , was estimated to be at 15.2 million by the demographer Sergio Della Pergola or less than 0.2% of the total world population in 2012. Today, over 85% of Jews live in Israel or

26860-401: Was buried by his sons Isaac and Ishmael. The title deed to the cave was part of the property of Abraham that passed to his son Isaac. The third burial was that of Isaac, by his two sons Esau and Jacob, who died when he was 180 years old. There is no mention of how or when Isaac's wife Rebecca died, but she is included in the list of those that had been buried in Machpelah in Jacob's final words to

27030-455: Was called Shabur Malka. Fürst and Rapoport refer, each differently, the name of Aryok, given to Samuel, to his close relations with the Neo-Persians and their king. Older commentators explain this name without reference to such relations. As a man, Samuel was distinguished for his modesty, gentleness, and unselfishness, being always ready to subordinate his own interests to those of the community. He said: "A man may never exclude himself from

27200-432: Was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire , which came to dominate the ancient Near East. Under the Assyrian resettlement policy , a significant portion of the northern Israelite population was exiled to Mesopotamia and replaced by immigrants from the same region. During the same period, and throughout the 7th century BCE, the Kingdom of Judah, now under Assyrian vassalage , experienced a period of prosperity and witnessed

27370-402: Was convinced of being in error. He was friendly to all men, and declared: "It is forbidden to deceive any man, be he Jew or pagan ". "Before the throne of the Creator there is no difference between Jews and pagans, since there are many noble and virtuous among the latter". He taught that the dignity of womanhood should be respected even in the slave: the slave is given to the master only as

27540-435: Was explained rather as being in consequence of some offense committed in Babylon by R. Hananya , the nephew of R. Yehoshua . After his death, Samuel was glorified in legend. He was the teacher of Rabbi Yehuda ben Yehezkel . Despite his status, Samuel was never ordained as a Tanna. Samuel amplified and expanded earlier legal theories and originated many new legal maxims. He formulated the important halakhic principle that "

27710-399: Was less prosperous and covered a smaller, mostly mountainous territory. However, while in Israel the royal succession was often decided by a military coup d'état, resulting in several dynasty changes, political stability in Judah was much greater, as it was ruled by the House of David for the whole four centuries of its existence. Around 720 BCE, Kingdom of Israel was destroyed when it

27880-431: Was not allowed to go near it. I observed that the Mussulmans themselves did not go very near it. In the court opposite the entrance gate of the Mosque, there is an opening, through which I was allowed to go down for three steps, and I was able to ascertain by sight and touch that the rock exists there, and to conclude it to be about five feet thick. From the short observations I could make during my brief descent, as also from

28050-418: Was now the only one in Babylon, and its director, Samuel, who survived Rav about ten years, was regarded as the highest authority by the Babylonian Jews. Even Rabbi Yochanan , the most prominent teacher in Israel, and who at first looked upon Samuel merely as a colleague, became so convinced of his greatness, after Samuel had sent him a large number of responsa on important ritual laws, that he exclaimed, "I have

28220-405: Was only a spoken word, and was not sufficient to make the transaction binding." Abba thereupon said, "Is the word of a sage not a better guarantee than his money?" "You are right," said R. Yehuda; "and because you lay so much stress upon a given word you shall have the good fortune of having a son who shall be like the prophet Samuel , and whose word all Israel will recognize as true." Soon afterward

28390-425: Was reinforced through public readings. The Hebrew language also constructed and preserved national identity. Although it was not widely spoken after the 5th century BCE, Goodblatt states: the mere presence of the language in spoken or written form could invoke the concept of a Jewish national identity. Even if one knew no Hebrew or was illiterate, one could recognize that a group of signs was in Hebrew script. ... It

28560-429: Was replaced by the Christianized Byzantine Empire under Constantine , Jews came to be persecuted by the church and the authorities, and many immigrated to communities in the diaspora. In the fourth century CE, Jews are believed to have lost their position as the majority in Syria Palaestina . The long-established Jewish community of Mesopotamia, which had been living under Parthian and later Sasanian rule, beyond

28730-455: Was the language of the Israelite ancestors, the national literature, and the national religion. As such it was inseparable from the national identity. Indeed its mere presence in visual or aural medium could invoke that identity. Anthony D. Smith , an historical sociologist considered one of the founders of the interdisciplinary field of nationalism studies , wrote that the Jews of the late Second Temple period provide "a closer approximation to

28900-444: Was used almost exclusively as a liturgical language, and as the language in which most books had been written on Judaism, with a few speaking only Hebrew on the Sabbath . Hebrew was revived as a spoken language by Eliezer ben Yehuda , who arrived in Palestine in 1881. It had not been used as a mother tongue since Tannaic times. Modern Hebrew is designated as the "State language" of Israel. Despite efforts to revive Hebrew as

#707292