Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter Two
The existence of the modern state of Israel is the culmination of a long process going
back almost 4,000 years to the formation of a distinct Jewish people. Jews established a
kingdom east of the Mediterranean Sea about 3,000 years ago, regained independence
after the Maccabean revolt against Greek-Syrian control 2,100 years ago, and survived the fi nal
destruction of ancient Israel's autonomy by the Romans 1,900 years ago.
Although most Jews were forced into exile then, the Jewish presence in the Land of Israel,
or Zion, continued after the defeat by the Romans. The production of the Mishnah and the
Jerusalem Talmud — two of the main texts for Jewish law and religious practice — took place
there during the three centuries after the Roman conquest. As late as 1100, fi fty Jewish com-
munities could be found in the Land of Israel, with an especially large one in Jerusalem, whose
Jews were massacred by the Crusaders. In the seventeenth century, Safed, in what is now
northern Israel, became a leading center for Jewish mysticism and learning. And by the mid-
nineteenth century so many Jews lived in Jerusalem that a number of scholars believe they
formed the largest community there.
For centuries, Jews took it for granted that they were a people with a common religion — a
nation rather than merely a religious sect. They maintained the distinctive language of He-
brew. Those outside the Land of Israel considered themselves to be in exile (
galut
) and prayed
daily to return. In the meantime, the exiles maintained a connection to the Land of Israel in
both religion and culture. In far-off Poland, Morocco, and elsewhere, the celebration of the
cycle of the year accorded with the seasons in the Land of Israel. The laws taught to Jewish stu-
dents, studied by adults, and providing the basis for the education of rabbis were those to be
revived once Israel was reestablished — a future about which many Jews had not the slightest
doubt.
The bond between Jews and the Land of Israel in religious terms is a central theme in the
Jewish religion. While the Bible can be interpreted in historical terms, for many centuries all
Jews and today all of them who are religious believe that the land was promised to Jews by the
Supreme Being.
There are many passages in the Torah and the rest of the Bible, canonic topics from after
the exile — especially the Mishnah and the Talmud — and rabbinic works that assert this view.
For instance, Abraham is ordered: “Leave your land, your birthplace and your father's house
