The Diaspora and Jewish History

Some historians date the Diaspora from the time of the destruction of the first kingdom of Judah and the captivity in Babylon, but this would make Diaspora synonymous with exile. It is more proper to see the Diaspora as beginning with the Persian conquest of Babylonia. The Persians permitted the Jews to return to their homeland, but most of them chose to remain where they were instead of returning to Palestine. These Jews were now living in Diaspora, something that had become a voluntary absence from their homeland. The preservation of Jewish ideas became of paramount importance in the Diaspora, the scattering of the Jewish people to other parts of the world, but always with a sense of belonging to Palestine and of maintaining certain traditions as a consequence. This is the problem that faced Jewish intellectuals:

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ather died. Their success was considerable, and they managed to defeat the professional troops of Antiochus and to retake Jerusalem in a relatively short time (Dimont 87-88). The Feast of Lights of Hanukkah (rededication) celebrates the rededication of the Temple. The Book of Daniel was written at about this time as a way of assuring the faithful that they would be rewarded and that their efforts would not be wasted. The book consists of six stories and four dream-visions set in earlier times, stories that illustrated the act that Jews who remained faithful and preserved their beliefs and culture defeated their enemies in time. This was, of course, a major tenet of the Diaspora, and keeping the beliefs alive was an important act on the part of the scattered peoples of Israel. The stories show that the writer has a serious purpose and is trying to teach the faithful the value of their beliefs and of resistance to foreign persecution. He is also trying to show the people that they might be far from their homeland, but they can still achieve much and be victorious in spite of the seemingly great odds facing them. The dream-visions in the book are designed to teach lessons about faith and belief--Nebuchadnezzar's dream,
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Approximate Word count = 1647
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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