Ancient Israel History (up to 1800)
The ancient "capital" of the Jewish people, where the Temples once stood.
What is Jerusalem?
The modern state (country) of Israel was founded in this year.
What is 1948?
Hanukkah celebrates this group of Jewish rebels, who reclaimed the ancient Temple from the Syrian-Greek/Hellenist Empire in the 100s CE.
Who are the Maccabees?
The Hebrew word for the land of Israel.
The belief in the Jewish right to self determination in the ancestral homeland of Israel.
What is "Zionism"?
What is Judea (or, What is Yehudah)?
Jews come from Judea - that's how we get our name. In Hebrew: Yehudim come from Yehuda.The national anthem of Israel, which was original written in 1878 and in English means "The Hope."
What is HaTikvah?
During the service for this holiday, we say, "Next year in Jerusalem."
What is Passover? (Or, What is Pesach?)
The Hebrew word for the modern state (country) of Israel.
What is Medinat Yisrael?
Jews living outside of the land of Israel are said to be part of this.
What is the diaspora?
The First Temple was destroyed in 586 BCE by this Empire, and the Hebrews were send into exile.
What is The Babylonian Empire?
The UN's proposed partition of 1947 would have split the land of Israel into two countries, one for the Jews and one for this other group.
Who are the Palestinians? (Or, Who are the Arabs?)
This holiday is both a celebration of the ancient autumn harvest festival in Israel, and a commemoration of the years spent in the desert after escaping Egypt, according to the Bible.
What is Sukkot?
The Hebrew word used to describe when a Jewish person moves to Israel.
What is Aliyah? (Or, what is "making aliyah?")
The ability of a person or a group (eg the Jews) to make decisions about their own future.
What is self-determination?
The Jewish Revolt in 70 CE was an uprising against this Empire.
What is The Roman Empire? (Or, Who are the Romans?)
This Austrian-Hungarian journalist was one of the founders of the modern Zionist movement in the 1890s.
Who is Theodor Herzl?
Psalm 137, which is referenced in Hen Mazzig's book which we read, begins: "By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion." What event does this poem describe?
What is the Babylonian Exile?
The Hebrew word for "diaspora," which has a more painful, negative connotation and means something like "exile."
What is Galut?
The authority of a state/country to govern itself or another state.
What is sovereignty?
This ancient Egyptian document contains the oldest known reference to Israel.
What is The Merneptah Stele?
Remember, this Stele refers to Israel as a people or a nation, rather than a place!
This famous Jewish poet and farmer wrote about the land of Israel in the 1920s, before the modern country was founded. Her face is on Israeli currency.
Who is Rachel Bluwstein? (Or, Who is Rachel?)
The holiday coming up, Tu B'Shevat, marks this agricultural event.
What is the birthday for the trees?
Because trees are planted at different times, having one birthday is useful to determine when trees will be mature enough to pick their fruit.When a Jew from modern-day Iraq tells you where their family is from, they will often use this word. (Think back to the video with Yirmiyahu, in September!)
What is "Bavli" (Babylonian)?