# The story of Judaism From the rabbinic era after the Temple through the diaspora, expulsion, Hasidism, and Zionism. *The Kabbalah and the hidden tradition part of this story* *The Catholic Church as a world power parallel this story* *Babylon and its long shadow parallel this story* *Easter, Lent, and the roots of the spring festival parallel this story* *Zoroastrianism: heaven, hell, and the first cosmic battle led to this story* *1492: expulsion, conversos, and the New World part of this story* *The Roma: persecution and survival parallel this story* *Jews, moneylending, and the story of banking part of this story* *The Sephardic Jews: golden age and exile part of this story* *The Ashkenazi Jews: from the Rhineland to the Pale part of this story* *Talmud and Kabbalah: reason and mysticism in Judaism part of this story* ## c. 1801 BCE — Abraham and the patriarchal tradition The Hebrew Bible traces the Jewish people to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to a covenant in which God promises Abraham descendants and the land of Canaan. These accounts are religious tradition rather than events established by outside evidence, and scholars debate whether the patriarchs were historical figures. The stories remain foundational to Jewish identity. ## c. 1251 BCE — The Exodus and the covenant at Sinai Jewish tradition holds that Moses led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and received the Torah, including the Ten Commandments, at Mount Sinai. The Exodus is central to Jewish faith and ritual, above all the Passover festival. Historians find little outside evidence for the event as described and treat it as tradition rather than documented history. ## c. 958 BCE — Solomon builds the First Temple The Bible describes King Solomon building the First Temple in Jerusalem as the central place of Israelite worship and sacrifice. The account is traditional, and physical evidence from the period is thin. In the biblical narrative the Temple becomes the heart of the religion. ## 587 BCE — Babylonian exile and the fall of the First Temple The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II captures Jerusalem, destroys the First Temple, and deports much of the population to Babylon. The exile is well attested and marks a turning point in Jewish history. Cut off from the Temple, the exiles deepen their focus on scripture and law. ## c. 517 BCE — Return from exile and the Second Temple After Persia conquers Babylon, Cyrus the Great allows exiled Jews to return to Judah, where they rebuild the Temple, completed around 516 BC. The restored community rebuilds Jewish life around the Second Temple. This begins the Second Temple period, which lasts nearly six centuries. ## c. 451 BCE — Ezra and the shaping of the Torah Tradition credits the scribe Ezra with reestablishing the Torah as the law of the restored Jewish community and reading it publicly in Jerusalem. Many scholars see this era as key to the Torah reaching something like its final form. Study and public reading of scripture grow central to Jewish life. ## 168 BCE to 161 BCE — Maccabean revolt and the rededication of the Temple Jews led by the Maccabees revolt against the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV, who had banned Jewish practice and defiled the Temple. Their victory restores Jewish worship and independence under the Hasmonean dynasty. The rededication of the Temple is remembered in the festival of Hanukkah. ## August 70 — Roman destruction of the Second Temple Roman forces under Titus crush the Jewish revolt and burn the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The loss of the Temple ends sacrificial worship and forces a lasting reshaping of the religion around study, prayer, and law. Its destruction is still mourned on the fast of Tisha B'Av. ## c. 70 — Academy at Yavneh and the rise of rabbinic Judaism Tradition holds that Yohanan ben Zakkai establishes an academy at Yavneh after the loss of the Temple. There the rabbis reorganize Judaism around Torah study, prayer, and law rather than sacrifice. ## 132 to 136 — Bar Kokhba Revolt Simon bar Kokhba leads a final Jewish revolt against Rome that is crushed with enormous loss of life. Rome bans Jews from Jerusalem and renames the province Syria Palaestina. ## c. 200 — The Mishnah is compiled Judah ha-Nasi redacts the Mishnah, the first written compilation of Jewish oral law. It becomes the foundation of the Talmud and of all later rabbinic Judaism. ## c. 400 — Jerusalem Talmud compiled Rabbis in the Galilee complete the Jerusalem Talmud, a commentary on the Mishnah. Though later overshadowed by the Babylonian Talmud, it preserves the legal tradition of the Land of Israel. ## c. 500 — The Babylonian Talmud is completed The academies of Babylonia complete the core redaction of the Babylonian Talmud, a vast record of legal debate and lore built on the Mishnah. It becomes the central text of Jewish law and study. ## 1096 — Rhineland Massacres of the First Crusade As the First Crusade set out, crusader bands attacked Jewish communities in the Rhineland and killed thousands. The massacres marked a turning point for Jewish life in medieval Europe. ## c. 1178 — Maimonides completes the Mishneh Torah Moses Maimonides finishes the Mishneh Torah, a systematic code of all Jewish law. Together with his Guide for the Perplexed, it makes him the most influential medieval Jewish thinker. ## c. 1286 — The Zohar appears in Castile Moses de Leon circulates the Zohar, the central text of Kabbalah, which tradition attributes to the second-century sage Shimon bar Yochai. Jewish mysticism gains its foundational book. ## 1290 — Expulsion of the Jews from England The Jews of England were finally expelled in 1290. Their property passed to others, including a lending firm from Cahors. > "who received the property of the English Jews when the latter were finally expelled in 1290." > — Debt: The First 5,000 Years ## 31 March 1492 — Expulsion of the Jews from Spain Ferdinand and Isabella issue the Alhambra Decree ordering Jews to convert or leave Spain within months. The expulsion ends centuries of Iberian Jewish life and scatters Sephardic communities across the Mediterranean world. ## c. 1740 — Baal Shem Tov founds Hasidism Israel ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov, gathers a following around a joyful, mystical form of Jewish piety open to ordinary people. Hasidism spreads across Eastern Europe and remains a major force in Judaism. ## c. 1780 — Moses Mendelssohn and the Haskalah The philosopher Moses Mendelssohn leads the Haskalah, a Jewish enlightenment urging Jews to join wider European culture and learning while keeping their faith. The movement reshapes Jewish education and thought in Europe. It helps set the stage for the modern denominations that follow. ## 18 October 1818 — Hamburg Temple and the birth of Reform Judaism The Hamburg Temple opens with services in German, organ music, and a revised prayer book. It becomes the flagship of the Reform movement, which reshapes Jewish practice in Europe and America. ## c. 1851 — Samson Raphael Hirsch and modern Orthodoxy Responding to Reform, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch builds a form of Orthodoxy that keeps strict observance of Jewish law while engaging with modern society and secular learning. His approach shapes what becomes known as modern Orthodox Judaism. Orthodoxy defines itself in this period against the reformers. ## 1886 — Conservative Judaism and the Jewish Theological Seminary The founding of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York gives an institutional home to what becomes Conservative Judaism. It seeks a middle path between Reform and Orthodoxy, keeping tradition while allowing measured change. Reform, Orthodox, and Conservative become the main streams of modern Judaism, especially in America. ## 29 August 1897 — First Zionist Congress Theodor Herzl convenes the First Zionist Congress, which founds the Zionist Organization and calls for a Jewish home in Palestine. Political Zionism becomes an organized movement.