what did the ancient Hebrews(Jews)believe at the end the Babylonian captivity. or around 500 BCE.

Name:
Professor:
Course:
Date
Jewish Religion in Captivity and After
The Jews were taken into the Babylonian captivity after the capture of the city of Judah. During their captivity, a lot of activities they undertook in Jerusalem were disrupted hence they needed to adopt new ways of worshiping and remaining loyal to their faith during their period of captivity, but also without making many changes or adopting their way of life of their captures. Hence the paper is aimed at understanding the way of life of the Hebrews during captivity, more so their religious practices and their organization and how this affected their lives after the end of captivity and returned to Palestine.
One of the major activities that were prominent with the Hebrews was the frequent visit to the temple, to offer animal sacrifices among others activities they carried out in the temple. However, with the capture of the city, the temple was destroyed, and they were forced into captivity they could hardly go to worship in the temple. Hence they had to find another to remain in touch with their religion. As opposed to the one place they had to worship back in Jerusalem, they organized themselves into communities and formed various synagogues where they could continue worshiping (Kaufmann, 21). Further, since they could not continue practicing some of their religious practices, e.g., the animal sacrifice they substituted the practice with the study of the Torah (Smith, 4), which became quite an activity even with the end of captivity and the rebuilding of the temple of Jerusalem.

The specialization in the study of Torah, gave rise to many religious professionals, natively referred as the rabbi. They played a great role in helping people understand the scriptures better as well as served as priests, helping the common people understand the will of God. This role they played both in captivity and in Palestine in the temple and in the synagogues. Other activities that continued after the captivity that were adopted during their exile were the singing of hymns (the psalms) and the adoption of prayer and instructions in their services in the temple and synagogues. They appreciated that the presence of God was not just limited to the temple but rather they believed He was present wherever they were gathered as a community of believers.
The Jews believe in one God, who is the creator of the universe and who control everything in it. Hence He is all powerful. He also is an independent God and controls most outcomes of nature a, while he remains unaffected by such factors, hence at some point, His nature is beyond comprehension (Millgram, 3). However, Jews strive to have a personal relationship with God, it’s among their life most important goals, and they believe that although God’s manifestation may not be direct to the different people, He cares for each person. Hence they put much effort in enhancing their faith. They also place much trust in action and the conduct of a person as opposed to beliefs. Hence, they strive to create a personal relationship with God, to enhance their behavior and live a morally upright life characterized by love and helping each other, and God helps them in this as well more so through His commands that are found in the Torah.
Judaism is built on the belief in One Supernatural God and the maker of all Universe. The values that are inculcated in the Judaism religion are hence in place to ensure a good relationship with each other, hence ensuring and enhancing the sense of community, which became a major cultural aspect of the Hebrew during their captivity. The core values include caring for others, being humble, and generous (Smolicz, 77). This strengthens the bond in the community, bring out a much united Jewish community not to mention that it becomes hard to hurt others, which also plays a major role in enhancing the relationship with God as by doing good to people, you are right with God. Others values that go hand in hand with these and are essential in not only the interaction in the community but with others are doing justice or ensuring that justice is served, being righteous, which is a walk they have to take every day and trying to walk right with God every time.
Although the Jews believe that the exile into Babylon was a punishment from God, it served as a way of bringing them closer to God, and they even took the time to have an appreciation for others as well. It was hence a blessing in disguise, and it served as a great revolution in their religion, and they discovered the various ways they could be much closer to God especially by serving others, and that God ‘s presence was not just in the temple, but anywhere they congregated for worship. Hence the introduction of the synagogues that served as the major places of worship both in exile and after the exile and they return to Palestine.
Works Cited
Kaufmann, Yeḥezkel. History of the religion of Israel, from the Babylonian captivity to the end of prophecy. Vol. 4. Ktav Pub. House, 1977.
Smith, Daniel L. The religion of the landless: The social context of the Babylonian exile. Harpercollins, 1989.
Millgram, Abraham Ezra. Jewish worship. Jewish Publication Society, 1975.
Smolicz, Jerzy. “Core values and cultural identity.” Ethnic and racial studies 4.1 (1981): 75-90.