Response 3

I wanted to first start off saying that I was glad that I attended the film and now have a new appreciation for how the arts are able to bring people together. I did not realize how serious of a situation the people were facing and were so naive to the others cultures or visa versa. It was astounding to see how the groups despite their differences were able to come together and all share a great appreciation for music and find a common ground of understanding on a personable level.

I am glad that the book gave some type of meaning to the word Sukkoth since I kept forgetting to look up what it was all about. From what I have read so far I am starting to get a better understanding as to why the people held Jerusalem as such a holy place. Since they were exiled it seems that since Jerusalem was destroyed the people still looked and prayed to that direction making it important to them not only geographically but also spiritually. It is interesting to see how the Israelites went about learning to praise or worship within and see how their religion started to take form. I liked how when writing Armstrong also made note to mention other happenings in the world for example mentioning Siddhartha Gautama. I really liked this because it shows how other parts of the world were doing at a time when the exiled were starting to figure out what constituted as holy and how to approach certain areas of their religion. How it was acknowledged that from even extremely early on the walls or fortifying the city was “a bid for political control and preeminence.” Having such harsh exclusionary rules from early on also seems to set how people would try to make claims to the land in present time trying to prove how it was rightfully theirs through archeological studies and finds. I liked also how the book compared the Greek Hellenistic Era to that of people admiring western culture today and think that it is interesting how Armstrong is able to make such clear and relatable comparisons. To make note of the first religious persecution in history seemed like a bold statement but never the less it did change many people’s perspectives of their religion. To read and understand more completely how the Jewish faith was established going over the smallest incidences and how certain holidays came about makes me want to understand and learn more about my own religions history. I was raised catholic but have come to realize that I know much less than I thought about the religion and this class has sort of sparked a new interest on a scholarly level for me to learn about the religion. It is interesting to read how the different religions of the land start to come together and live interspersed. To see the different groups and rulers come through and to see why Jerusalem is so important of a city to the people is starting to become more clear now that part of its history has been explained.