Chaya Burstein in Memory of the Grandparents I Never Knew, Eliyahu, Michal, Chaya, and Mosheh Nchaya
The Amazing History of e Jews
Chaya Burstein In memory of the grandparents I never knew, Eliyahu, Michal, Chaya, and Mosheh nChaya
ISBN: 978-1-934527-48-1 Text and illustration © 2012 Chaya Burstein. Published by Torah Aura Productions. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Torah Aura Productions • 4423 Fruitland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90058 (800) BE-Torah • (800) 238-6724 • (323) 585-7312 • fax (323) 585-0327 E-MAIL
Manufactured in China .Table of Contents.
Chapter 1: In the Beginning, A Quick Look at the Bible ...... 5 Chapter 2: Trouble and Triumphs in Second Temple Times ...... 9 Chapter 3: Jews and Greeks Fight It Out ...... 14 Chapter 4: Rome Takes Over ...... 22 Chapter 5: Tempers Boil in Israel...... 28 Chapter 6: The Great Revolt ...... 35 Chapter 7: Living By the Book ...... 40 Chapter 8: Babylonia Takes the Lead ...... 45 Chapter 9: Islam, the Desert Religion, Takes Over ...... 53 Chapter 10: Home Sweet(?) Home in Spain and North Africa ...... 64 Chapter 11: Life and Death in England, France and Germany...... 72 Chapter 12: The Last Act in Spain ...... 87 Chapter 13: Desperate Escapes ...... 88 Chapter 14: Welcome (in Poland) and not so welcome (in Central Europe). 97 Chapter 15: Shadows and Lights in Europe ...... 106 Chapter 16: Giddy with Freedom ...... 116 Chapter 17: In Darkest Russia ...... 126 Chapter 18: In Arab Lands ...... 135 Chapter 19: To the Golden Land ...... 143 Chapter 20: Pogroms, Revolution and War ...... 150 Chapter 21: Between Two Wars ...... 158 Chapter 22: War and Holocaust ...... 164 Chapter 23: Coming Home ...... 171 Chapter 24: War, War and Growing Pains ...... 177 Chapter 25: Jewish Americans/American Jews ...... 184 Chapter 26: What’s Next? ...... 191
iii iv In e Beginning, a Quick Look at e Bible
Why don’t you try something crunchier?
The story of Jewish history starts in the Torah scroll that Jews read aloud in the synagogue. The Torah, also called the five books of Moses, tells about the creation of the world and the beginning of the Jewish people. It ends with the arrival of the Jews at the border of the land God has promised to them, the land of Israel.
1 HOLY MATH
Two more books of the Bible called Nevi’im Torah scroll (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings) continue the (Five Books of Moses) story until the sad time when the Jews were forced to leave their land and go into exile in Babylonia. Ketuvim ends when some of the Jewish people return to their land. + Together, the Five Books of Moses, Nevi’im and Ketuvim make up the tANAKH (also known as Nevi’im the Bible). The Tanakh has been a guide that (Prophets) holds the Jewish people together, comforts them and inspires them on the amazing, centuries-long journey that they travel. +
Ketuvim (Writings) = Bible (Tanakh). Here’s a Timeline of Events Described in the Torah Five B ooks of Mos In the beginning there were es (To six days of creation when rah) God created the heavens, the earth, the sun, moon, stars and all living things… …humans were driven from the Garden of Eden because they disobeyed God.
…and then, on the seventh day, All theGod creatures rested. who lived in the Garden of Almost 6,000 years Eden rested, too. ago by Bible reckoning But later…
2 A Torah scroll dressed up in a velvet mantle, shiny crown, People worshipped silver breast many gods. Abraham of plate and Ur believed that there was tinkling only one God. He became the first Jew. God led Abraham and bells is a his family to the land of Canaan splendid and made a covenant with them. sight.
. •• •• •
about Years passed. Abraham’s family grew and wandered 1500 south to Egypt.
Noah’s descendants built a
towerGod of was Babel concerned. to reach Godheaven. taught each builder a
differentso they language couldn’t understand each otherstop and building. had to
The Egyptians enslaved them. God helped Moses to free the Jewish people anddesert lead them and outtoward of the the landGod of promisedIsrael, the to landthem.
things remained alive.
Only Noah and his family (who were good people) and pairs of all living
The Jews had grown into twelve tribes. Deep in the desert,laws outof the of theTorah. thunder and lightning above Mount Sinai, God gave
the Jews the Ten Commandments and the
.
•
•
• • •
Canaan =
about 1200 1200 Promised Land = Land of Israel. Humans began to • •• •• • means Before the Common Era. The years are counted from higher Finally the Jews numbers to lower numbers. For example: earth with a great flood. robdisgusted and kill each and other.cleaned God out got the reachedof the the Promised border from 586 C.E. Land. Moses died and •means the Common• •• Era. It begins the people mourned with 1 •• ••to 1 their great leader. • •• •• •• • •• • and is counted forward.
3 • •• •• • About 1100 Here’s a The Hebrew tribes settled in the land of Timeline Israel. Many tribes were for Nevi’im led by judges. The tribesAbout united 1000 under King Saul. David, Israel’s• •• •• •second and Ketuvim king, enlarged the kingdom. Solomon, Israel’s third king, built a Temple to God in the city of Jerusalem. At holiday-time Israelites brought gifts to God at the Temple. 922 • •• •• • The kingdom of Israel split into two: Judea and Samaria. The two kingdoms fought to stay indepen dent, but Samaria was conquered• •• •• • by Assyria in 722 800’s to 600’s Prophets arose in• • •both•• • kingdoms and taught people that justice and mercy toward each other are more important to God than gifts and sacrifices at the Temple. 586 • •• •• The Babylonians• conquered Judea, destroyed the Temple and took many Judeans away •• •• into exile. 538 • •• About 450 • •• •• • to about 400 • •• •• • Two Babylonian Jews named King Cyrus of Persia Ezra and Nehemiah helped to conquered Babylonia and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem allowed Jews to return and to renew the Jewish to Judea and rebuild people’s covenant with God. their Temple. Instead of reaching the end of Prophets were leaders who spoke to God and their history, the Jews found a taught the people to new beginning! obey God’s laws and to be justwith and each generous other.
4 TroubleTrouble and andtriumphs triumphs in secondin second temple temple times times
Date: Timelin Events: e 586 586 • B First Temple•• •• was• .C.E destroyed. Jews . People: to were exiled to 538 30 Babylonia. Many Jews returned• 0 Prophets Jeremiah, •• •• • B.C to the Land of .E. Ezekiel and Isaiah Israel and rebuilt about 450–400 Jerusalem. In a great religious Cyrus the Great, • •• •• • about 400 revival the walls • •• •• • king of Persia of Jerusalem were Persian Jews faced rebuilt and Torah death and were study grew. saved. Ezra and Nehemiah Esther, Mordecai, Haman, Ahasueros
On a summer day in 586 b.c.e., the Babylonian army burned the Jewish Temple to the ground and tore apart the city of Jerusalem. Some Jews were forced into exile. The great prophet Jeremiah fled to Egypt. THE HEART OF JEWISH LIFE WAS DESTROYED!
5 To a Strange Landd
Of course we’ll come back home. We’re God’s people. God would never let us die in exile. Mama, will we ever come back home?
The Babylonians blinded King Zedekiah of Judea and dragged him to Babylonia along with priests, merchants and other leaders of Judea.
Ha! Are you kidding? We defeated your God. He’s a loser—a nothing. Your God can’t help you. No way! That’s not true. God can’t be a loser. God left us because we disobeyed the Torah’s laws.
If I forget Play us some music How can we sing Jerusalem let my and sing some of the songs of Zion right hand forget those Temple in a strange land? its skill. songs. Come on— Look alive!
6 Finally the exiles reached But there was one BIG problem. Babylonia, the land of two great rivers. They settled down and to their surprise found that exile How will God hear us if we wasn’t so bad. haven’t got a Temple and priests and sacrifices? Hey, Babylonia is okay. There’s plenty of clay and water to make Stop crying! God will my pots. manage without our sacrifices. The prophets told us that God wants us to pray and study Torah and be honest and fair with each other.
Good soil for my garbanzo beans and grass for my goats.
So the Jews built meeting places (Batei Knesset) where they could study Torah together and pray. Later these meeting places were called synagogues. And they set up schools where their children Plenty of studied. customers to buy all my wares. How come none of the Babylonian kids have to learn We’re lucky. Torah? We’re Jews.
Even in Babylonia there were Hebrew prophets. They reminded the Jews to follow the Torah’s laws and promised that God would bring them back to the Land of Israel. The prophet Ezekiel said. . . The prophet Isaiah You’ll see, if you’re sorry had a glowing vision. for the bad things you’ve done, God will give you a new heart and a new spirit, and you’ll rebuild the holy Temple. Here’s what the Temple will look like. . .
We’ll rebuild God’s Temple and all the people of the world will come to worship with us. Righteousness, peace and happiness will fill the world!
7 Almost fifty years after the Jews had been exiled to Babylonia a king called Cyrus the Great marched down from Persia and conquered Babylonia.
Uh-oh! Now what?
The new king, Cyrus, gave Some Jews were permission to all the captive wildly happy. peoples to go back home.
All you Some were foreigners, not. Jews too, go home! You guys go ahead. I’m a little busy right now.
I baked you cookies for the trip.
So, many Jews headed west across the desert to Israel. And many others stayed in Babylonia…which turned out to be a good thing, as you’ll see in Chapter Eight.
Bye, have May God fun. protect you.
We’ll miss you.
8 Home again…in Jerusalem a few mon s later..
Where’s Jerusalem? Home at last!
Is this it?
You must be kidding…
Listen people, the prophets never promised us a rose garden. We have to work to clean up the ruins and build a new Fired up, everyone got altar . Don’t be scared. God is to work to rebuild with us! the ruins.
9