Posted by MKB on January 10, 2005, at 4:49:33
In reply to Re: The Jewish Faith? » MKB, posted by Angel Girl on January 10, 2005, at 3:58:34
Rabbinic means they were written by rabbis. These writings were like commentaries on how Jews should live.
I'll try to answer in general terms off the top of my head, though I know more detail is required: The Jewish people of Israel/Judah were attacked and carried into captivity several times and their temple was destroyed. Without their temple and/or living in a foreign land, it was impossible to carry out the animal sacrifices required by Moses's Law. Much of the Old Testament is devoted to the prophets warning the Jews that this would happen. The rabbis wrote in an attempt to keep the Jewish faith alive despite not having a Temple. This happened over a period of several hundred years before and after Christ. It was during this time that synagogues developed, where Jewish people would gather to worship and study.
There were several temples beginning with Solomon's Temple and ending with Herod's Temple, all on basically the same spot, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Each temple was destroyed by enemies of the Jewish people, ending with Herod's Temple, which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. The fact that the Muslims later built a mosque on that same spot is one of the the main reasons for the Jewish-Muslim conflict. This is a very general answer, which I hope will serve as a lauching pad for further study.
poster:MKB
thread:436799
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20041120/msgs/440023.html