Judaizm diaspory w okresie Drugiej Świątyni

Abstract

The Diaspora (Hebr. gālut), is a common term for Jewish presence outside of Eretz Israel. The Greek term “Diaspora” is equivalent to the Hebrew idea of dispersing or scattering in different directions. The term contains a complexity of historical, geographical, social and cultural factors. The phenomenon of the Jewish Diaspora became a new reality in the history of Israel during the Second Temple period. This reality was expressed in Jewish writings, nowadays qualified according to the convergence and antagonism theory; the main problem was the question of Jewish identity in the Diaspora. This identity focused on the relation between Jewish moral values, derived from the consciousness of the covenant on the one hand, and intellectual and universal values of the Hellenistic culture on the other. The conclusion of that kind of studies is that it is impossible to establish any universal definition of the Jewish Diaspora. It is also impossible to work out some kind of universal model that would account for all the aspects of Jewish life in the Diaspora.