История еврейского народа берёт своё начало около 4000 лет назад

Патриархи

История еврейского народа берет свое
начало около 4000 лет назад (примерно
17-й век до нашей эры) с эпохи патриархов
– Авраама, его сына Исаака и внука Иакова.
В Месопотамии найдены документы,
относящиеся к 2000-1500 годам до нашей
эры, которые подтверждают, что евреи в те времена вели кочевой образ жизни, как и описано в Библии. В Книге Бытия рассказано, как Авраам был послан из шумерского города Ура в землю Ханаанскую, чтобы положить начало
народу, который верит в единого Бога. Когда в Ханаане наступил голод, Иаков
(Исраэль) вместе со своими 12 сыновьями и их семьями обосновался в Египте, где
их потомки превратились в рабов и были вынуждены заниматься непосильным трудом.

"Да благословит тебя Господь и сохранит тебя! Да призрит на тебя Господь светлым лицем Своим и помилует тебя! Да обратит Господь лице свое на тебя и даст тебе мир!" (Числа 6:24-26) "Моисей" работы Микеланджело, церковь Сан Пьетро ин Винколи, Рим

Исход и заселение

После 400 лет рабства Моисей проложил евреям путь к свободе. Как говорится в Библии, Бог избрал Моисея специально для того, чтобы он вывел свой народ из Египта и привел его в Землю Израиля, завещанную праотцами (примерно XIII-XII века до нашей эры). 40 лет
скитались евреи по пустыне Синай. Там они сплотились в единый народ и им была дарована Тора (Пятикнижие), которая включала Десять заповедей и придала их
монотеистической религии форму и содержание.

Исход из Египта (примерно1300 год до
нашей эры) оказал ключевое влияние на национальное сознание еврейского
народа и стал символом независимости и свободы. В память о событиях тех давних дней евреи каждый год празднуют Песах (еврейская Пасха), Шавуот (Пятидесятница) и Суккот (праздник Кущей). 

На протяжении двух следующих веков евреи покорили большинство территорий
Земли Израиля и превратились в фермеров и ремесленников, после чего начался этап экономического и социального развития. Дни относительного спокойствия сменялись войнами и сражениями, когда народ объединялся под знаменами своих лидеров, известных как судьи. Судьи выбирались благодаря своим выдающимся политическим и военным талантам и способности повести за собой народ.

Но слабость организации, разделенной на 12 колен, перед лицом угрозы, сходящей от филистимлян ("морские народы" из Малой Азии, обосновавшиеся
на средиземноморском побережье), обусловила необходимость в сильном
правителе, который был бы способен объединить все эти колена воедино и
передать свою власть по наследству.

King David established Jerusalem as the capital of the monarchy A thumbsized ivory pomegranate bearing a paleo-Hebrew inscription, probably from the First Temple in Jerusalem, 8th century BCE (The Israel Museum, Jerusalem)

The Monarchy

The first king, Saul (c.1020 BCE), bridged the period between loose tribal organization and the setting up of a full monarchy under his successor, David.

King David (c.1004-965 BCE) established his kingdom as a major power in the region by successful military expeditions, including the final defeat of the Philistines, as well as through a network of friendly alliances with nearby kingdoms. Consequently, his authority was recognized from the borders of Egypt and the Red Sea to the banks of the Euphrates. At home, he united the 12 Israelite tribes into one kingdom and placed his capital, Jerusalem, and the monarchy at the center of the country's national life. Biblical tradition depicts David as a poet and musician, with verses ascribed to him appearing in the Book of Psalms.

David was succeeded by his son Solomon (c.965-930 BCE) who further strengthened the kingdom. Through treaties with neighboring kings, reinforced by politically motivated marriages, Solomon ensured peace for his kingdom and made it equal among the great powers of the age. He expanded foreign trade and promoted domestic prosperity by developing major enterprises, such as copper mining and metal smelting, while building new towns and fortifying old ones of strategic and economic importance.

Crowning his achievements was the building of the Temple in Jerusalem, which became the center of the Jewish people’s national and religious life. The Bible attributes to Solomon the Book of Proverbs and the Song of Songs.

Israel Antiquities Authority

The priestly benediction

A tiny, 7th century BCE silver scroll found in Jerusalem, contains the
priestly benediction:

"The Lord bless thee and keep thee;
the Lord make his face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace."
(Numbers 6:24-26)

Guided by the need for justice and morality

The Prophets

Religious sages and charismatic figures, who were perceived as being endowed with a divine gift of revelation, preached during the period of the monarchy until a century after the destruction of Jerusalem (586 BCE).

Whether as advisers to kings on matters of religion, ethics and politics, or as their critics under the primacy of the relationship between the individual and God, the prophets were guided by the need for justice and issued powerful commentaries on the morality of Jewish national life. Their revelatory experiences were recorded in books of inspired prose and poetry, many of which were incorporated into the Bible.

The enduring, universal appeal of the prophets derives from their call for a fundamental consideration of human values. Words such as those of Isaiah (1:17), "Learn to do good, devote yourselves to justice; aid the wronged, uphold the rights of the orphan; defend the cause of the widow continue to nourish humanity's pursuit of social justice."

After Solomon, insurrection led to the breaking away of the 10 northern tribes Seal bearing the inscription to Shema, servant of Jeroboam, from Megiddo (Israel Antiquities Authority)

Divided Monarchy

The end of Solomon's rule was marred by discontent on the part of the populace, which had to pay heavily for his ambitious schemes. At the same time, preferential treatment of his own tribe embittered the others, which resulted in growing antagonism between the monarchy and the tribal separatists.

After Solomon’s death (930 BCE), open insurrection led to the breaking away of the 10 northern tribes and division of the country into a northern kingdom, Israel, and a southern kingdom, Judah, the latter on the territory of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.

The Kingdom of Israel, with its capital Samaria, lasted more than 200 years under 19 kings, while the Kingdom of Judah was ruled from Jerusalem for 400 years by an equal number of kings of the lineage of David. The expansion of the Assyrian and Babylonian empires brought first Israel and later Judah under foreign control.

The Kingdom of Israel was crushed by the Assyrians (722 BCE) and its people carried off into exile and oblivion. Over a hundred years later, Babylonia conquered the Kingdom of Judah, exiling most of its inhabitants as well as destroying Jerusalem and the Temple (586 BCE).

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem... On the rivers of Babylon by E.M. Lilien

The First Exile (586-538 BCE)

The Babylonian conquest brought an end to the First Temple period, but did not sever the Jewish people's connection to the Land of Israel. Sitting by the rivers of Babylon, the Jews pledged to remember their homeland:

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy. (Psalms 137:5-6)

The exile to Babylonia, which followed the destruction of the First Temple (586 BCE), marked the beginning of the Jewish Diaspora. There, Judaism began to develop a religious framework and way of life outside the Land, ultimately ensuring the people’s national survival and spiritual identity and imbuing it with sufficient vitality to safeguard its future as a nation.