Questions tagged [judaism]

Judaism is both a religion and an ethnic identity. Its religious component is predicated on the Hebrew Bible and other literatures, and is a monotheistic faith. As an ethnicity, Judaism embodies the culinary and literary cultures of Jews throughout history. Many Jews today are not religious, but see themselves as part of the Jewish people.

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What era and region’s secular style is the Hasidic form of dress based on? [closed]

Is there some land and time in history in which an entire society’s men and women dressed in what is today the Hasidic style of dress? If so, then when and where was this? And were there still ...
Frank's user avatar
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Did Nazi Germany ever actually make it illegal to practice Judaism?

While I appreciate that the Nazis tried to portray their anti-Semitism as based on racial, and not religious differences per se, and I understand that if one converted to Judaism, one would be ...
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Was Yahweh one of the Moloch Gods?

In the Complete works of Swami Vivekananda, he says In Babylonian or Greek mythologies we find one god struggling upwards, and he assumes a position and remains there, while the other gods die out. ...
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How was the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible produced?

I have recently been reading about verses in the New Testament that have been claimed by Jewish Scholars (ex. Rabbi Tovia Singer) to be corruptions of the real Hebrew old testament. In most cases, ...
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To what extent did the Jewish tradition of debate influence the development of Classical Liberalism in Europe?

Judaism has a long tradition of valuing debate. My sense is that it is somewhat singular in this regard. Certainly there is debate within Islam or Christianity, but if I understand correctly, Judaism ...
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How widespread was the observance of the Jewish Sabbath among Christians during Early Christianity (A.D. 30–324)?

Question How widespread was the observance of the Jewish Sabbath among Christians during Early Christianity (A.D. 30–324)? Further Details As a reminder, the Jewish Sabbath is defined as: [...] the ...
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Were there any Jewish members of the Roman Senate?

A Jewish presence in Ancient Rome has been attested to from even before the Roman conquest of Judea. It was possible for prominent individuals to acquire Roman citizenship and at least under the ...
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What is the historical origin of the Jewish Sabbath?

The Jewish Sabbath is presented in the Old Testament: 8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord ...
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Was any other religion as exact in terms of genealogy as Judaism? [closed]

Old Testament has extensive genealogies dating from Adam (untraceable) to Jesus, (somewhat traceable). My question is, was any other religion (Greek Paganism, Sumerian Religion, Babylonian Religion, ...
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Is there any historical evidence that suggest that Zoroastrianism is older than Judaism or vice versa?

So from what I remember reading around Zoroastrianism is or seems to be older than Judaism not only older, but the former seems to have influenced the latter. However while talking to a friend today ...
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When did Cyrus II release the captives of Babylon?

The text below are bits I want to discuss that are taken from the Cyrus Cylinder — dated 539–530 BCE. "I am Cyrus, king of the universe, the great king, the powerful king, king of Babylon, king ...
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Have historians attempted to reconstruct the polytheistic Semitic pantheon, dividing it into sub pantheons?

Historians reconstruct pantheons to better understand their role in society (see below for examples of reconstruction as a historical method). Has there been any attempt to apply this historical ...
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Was there a biblical prophet whos position was validated by the fall of Egypt? [closed]

I thought that there was a prophet who was particularly opposed to allying with Egypt. Egypt subsequently fell and his position became validated. The Judeans lasted a little longer and then came under ...
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Were Jews cut off from the Babylonian Geonim?

This is the view that I'm familiar with about the decline of the Geonim: The Mesopotamian Gaon reached the height of its prestige in the 10th century- with Saadia Gaon (d. 945), but the ...
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Historical examples and numbers for the value of ‘Jizya’ levied by Muslim states

Context From the early Islamic conquests in the seventh and eighth centuries, down to the nineteenth or early twentieth centuries, under Sharia law, Muslim rulers generally allowed non-Muslim subjects ...
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Is the Western Wall the only remaining portion of the Second Temple?

I saw a travel blog post recently that claimed that the Western Wall is the only remaining portion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. At first, I thought this was just a mistake on the part of the ...
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Why Christianity was "forked" from Judaism? [closed]

I was just interest why it happened that at the foundation of Christianity lies the Old Testament? It was just most authoritative religion 2000 years ago? Or any another reason?
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What was the image of Jhwh before it was almost erased from history?

Clay tablets found in Mesopotamia tell us that Adam was an earth god. In Genesis Adam was demoted to human status probably to make a monotheistic text possible. Did Jhwh have an image (idol) before ...
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What conditions have led to Abrahmism splitting into different religions sometimes, but not always? [closed]

What conditions cause the teachings and claimed revelations of certain religious figures in the Abrahamic tradition—e.g. Jesus, Muhammad—to lead to the formation of entire new religions, whilst others—...
08915bfe02's user avatar
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How was Hadrian's decree banning circumcision enforced? Were there mandatory body check or something similar?

Roman Emperor Hadrian issued a decree outlawing circumcision around 132 CE, under penalty of death. I am curious as to how such a decree may be enforced, given that circumcision/castration practices ...
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Was Freud the first to say that Judaism borrowed from Atenism?

Every source I mention seems to attribute this to Freud. Was there an earlier proponent? I realized the question as originally written was horrifically vague. I'm not looking for scholars before ...
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What is the source for the Baal Shem Tov's signature?

According to Chabadpedia, the following comprises the signature of Rabbi Yisrael ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov: Is this actually the Baal Shem Tov's signature? Where was it copied from? The article ...
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How flexible is kinship taxonomy in Jewish communities?

Recently I read this article, which describes the flexible use of the word cousin in African-American and Latinx communities. It made me wonder: historically, have Jewish communities have had ...
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What is known about the people of Khazaria?

We know that the ruling elite and many other people of the Khazars have converted to Rabbinic Judaism. What happened to these people after the fall of the Khazar state? Why did they disappear?
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What defined a Jew in the context of WW2? [closed]

What made a Jew? It's a complex question, primarily because borders in Central and Eastern Europe were moving back and forth in the 150 years preceding WW2, mostly because Poland was annexed for over ...
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29 votes
4 answers
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How could Jews integrate into Western modern society back when Saturday was a normal working day?

My understanding is that Saturday has only become day off for most people since the 60s-70s, and before World War II it was a working day just like Monday-Friday are today. Also my understanding is ...
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How did early Judaism and Zoroastrianism influence each other, if they were so far apart?

I've been reading, from various sources, fairly vague and hand-wavey claims that Zoroastrianism and early Judaism influenced each other (and that both were influenced by Atenism). Looking at ...
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Are there any secular accounts of the Sadduccees?

1. Question : Are there any accounts by Greek, or other historians, that detail what happened to the Sadducees, who were tied to Temple in Jerusalem? Was there a persecution of the Sadducees? I am ...
elika kohen's user avatar
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1 answer
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The beginning of Judaism [closed]

Did Moses Maimonides (1135-1204), also known as Rambam, write the 5 books of Moses, known in Christianity as the Pentateuch?
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Was Jud Suss a veiled criticism of Hitler?

In 1940, Veit Harlan directed his most controversial movie: Jud Suss. The film takes various historical liberties, but otherwise depicts the life and death of Joseph Suss Oppenheimer, Court Jew to ...
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5 votes
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Was the Jewish population expelled from the Jerusalem after the siege of 70 AD or after the Bar Kokhba revolt?

The Wikipedia article on Bar Kokhba revolt says : and Jews were forbidden from entering it, except on the day of Tisha B'Av. I was under the impression that the Jewish population had already ...
Daud's user avatar
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9 votes
1 answer
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Did the Bar Kokhba revolt happen before or after Jerusalem's name was changed to Aelia?

There are conflicting views with respect to this on the net. Wikipedia's summary of the names of Jerusalem asserts that the name was changed before the Bar Kokhba revolt, and that was one of the ...
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How were the prophecies of Biblical prophets such as Isaiah first published or disseminated?

I read the Old Testament but I don't understand how a prophet such as Isaiah would have first put forth his prophesies. Did he speak to a crowd, and someone took down his words? Or did he write little ...
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Is there any historical evidence to support the existence of the Patriarchs outside of the Old Testament? [duplicate]

What evidence can be provided to support the existence of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) outside of the Old Testament?
nietsnegttiw's user avatar
20 votes
2 answers
867 views

Pre-Christian use of the Greek Septuagint

I'm interested in the pre-Christian use of the Septuagint, as well as the Greek language, within Jewish everyday life in Israel and in the synagogues of Israel. Is there evidence that the LXX or ...
Tonyg's user avatar
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8 votes
3 answers
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Who are the ancestors of the Israelites?

Who were the historical ancestors of the Israelites? Do they have no ancestors? Please try to avoid Biblical references to Genesis if there are there any scientific, archeological or historical ...
Derfder's user avatar
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11 votes
4 answers
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Was prostitution legal in the Kingdom of Israel during the reign of Solomon?

The wikipedia article is not clear: Prostitution was common in ancient Israel, despite being tacitly forbidden by Jewish Law. What was the law forbidding prostitution? Given that prostitutes ...
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