by hadassah | Oct 11, 2016 | Jews of Egypt
First Century B.C.E. Synagogues Rylands Papyrus IV 590; CPJud. I 138 The word synagoge, “congregation,” was reserved for a meeting or for the community itself. Thus, in a papyrus from the end of the first century B.C.E., we are told of a meeting (synagoge) of a...
by hadassah | Oct 11, 2016 | Jews of Egypt
100 B.C.E. Synagogue Rituals Torah Reading in Synagogues in Egypt; Blessing of Priests (Birkat Kohanim); Triennial Reading of Torah Papyrus Fouad 266 We do not know when the custom of the regular reading of the Torah in the synagogue was institutionalized. The...
by hadassah | Oct 11, 2016 | Jews of Egypt
102 B.C.E. Jewish Mercenaries in Egypt Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 13:354 Cleopatra III (e.g. 142 – 101) appointed two Jews, Helkias and Ananias, as commanders-in-chief of her army. They served their queen well, although in one remarkable episode they...
by hadassah | Oct 11, 2016 | Jews of Egypt
December 124 B.C.E. Hannukah The Hasmoneans, for their part, were aware of the goodwill borne to them by most, but not all, Egyptian Jews. They sought to strengthen the ties between the two communities in many ways; for example, by inviting the Egyptian Jews to join...
by hadassah | Oct 11, 2016 | Jews of Egypt
125 B.C.E. Synagogue Dedications In the latter part of the reign of Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II (145-116 B.C.E.), thus two synagogues were founded In Xenephyris, near Damanhur, and in Nitriai (modern Wadi Natrun or, more probably, el-Barnugi) in the Western Delta...
by hadassah | Oct 11, 2016 | Jews of Egypt
150 B.C.E. Aristobulos While Judaea, under the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175 – 163 B.C.E.), was being racked by the struggles between “traditionalists” and “Hellenists,” by the persecutions, and by the revolt of the Maccabees, the Jewish diaspora...
