Greeks and Jews In the Ancient World (it’s not just the story of Chanukah.)

The Greek general Alexander’s conquest of the Near East in the 4th century B.C.E. introduced Jews to Greeks, and Greeks to Jews. It was sometimes an uneasy and violent political confrontation (think of Judah Maccabeus and the story of Hanukah), but it just as often gave rise to a cultural interaction that forever changed the subsequent history of Jewish engagement with the intellectual traditions of the Greek world. The Jews living in Greek-ruled Palestine may have been waiting for the Messiah, but there were others, in Egypt and Babylon, who eagerly bought into the ideals of Hellenism, attempting to create a synthesis of Jewish and Greek ideologies.

Join Ansche Chesed member Tamara Green to explore this history, which is surely more than just the Chanukah story.

Meeting ID: 854 0765 6430

Passcode: greeks