Jerusalem and Jewish Affairs 450 BCE

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how little is known about Jewish life under Persian rule. While Babylon had one of the highest populations of Jewish communities in the world during this time, the significance of Jerusalem resulted, as it always would, because of the Temple. It explains that, during the period 450 BCE, however, a glimpse of the state of Jewish life within Jerusalem and the surrounding area and the reformational atmosphere experienced during that time is given by the events surrounding the return of Ezra.

From the Paper:

"Of course this, rather harsh requirement points to two aspects of the Jewish life and collective psyche in the area at the time. For, although such a command may seem harsh, it is nonetheless reflective of the imperiled and challenged state of Jewish society during the time. After all, following such a harsh and long exile, there could be little tolerance for assimilation or laxity in Judaic religious practices or ritual. For those like Ezra, such a situation threatened the very survival of the nation and faith itself. However, in addition to the idea of the "imperiled nation" embedded in the Jewish psyche during the time (and, perhaps during modern time as well), it also pointed to the lax state of Jewish life and ritual in Jerusalem during this period as well as the turmoil that must have existed at the time these reforms were implemented."

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