Join us for a 10-week class taught by Zach Smith that will dive into the story of how Judaism moved from a Hebrew tribal cult, to an Israelite religion centered around a building, to the first text-based religion passes through a turbulent time in both Jewish and ancient Mediterranean history. Stretching from the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in 587 BCE to the establishment of the “Four Rulers” of the Roman Empire in 293 CE, these nine hundred years cover the Second Temple and Early Rabbinic eras that lay the foundation for modern Judaism – along with the Hellenization of the Mediterranean, the rise of the Roman Empire, the invention of Christianity, and such inventions as academic education and democracy. In 10 sessions over the winter and spring, we’ll take a 30,000 foot view of the people, events, ideas, historical contexts, and documents that helped form our modern Jewish religion and inform modern American society.  Join us person or by zoom.

Zach Smith is a historian of religion at Creighton University, where he is an associate professor with appointments in theology, Classics, gender and sexuality studies, and medical humanities (in the School of Medicine). He is also a member of Temple Israel with his wife Margaret Gurewitz-Smith and sons Ezekiel and Ezra