Jewish History - Origins of the Hebrew People (2a of 20 sessions)

In the first session exploring Ancient Jewish History, Rabbi Adam Chalom, Dean - North America of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism, compares the traditional stories of Jewish origins with what can actually be known through archaeology and critical study. It may well be that, while they are important Jewish stories, the narratives of Abraham and Moses are not history.

[cultofape]

Even as a non jew I found this very interesting and informative. Thumbs up.

[brotheramfri]

When European scholars speak of the historic Israel, they dismiss Egypt and Egyptian history. Yet, Egypt is mentioned 200 times in Genesis and Exodus alone. They clearly follow what seems to be an African tradition of unifying tribes through marriage.

Kush and Ethiopia are mentioned separately. They should not be considered the same nation though they are the same people.

[eugenio]

As a "struggling (secular/ humanistic) Christian / Buddhist". I was searching for this information and found it here. Presented with "warmth" and simplicity, from an open Mind AND Heart.. This IS TRUTH.. Thank YOU.

[darkmattersproject]

Wow as a former Christian it's refreshing to hear some truth. I am curious to see what your other videos present. Well done

[glennhood]

Was the story of Abraham written down before the tale of Moses at Sinai ? How long were the Hebrew origins related orally ? Did Abraham really exist or was the foundation couple (Abraham and Sara) an adaptation of Brahma and his daughter/wife, Sarawati, from Hindu myths ? Abraham and Brahma are spelled the same in writing without vowels .

[jayhendricks]

Let's Start from Noah and take if From there

[popeyemoney]

The Quran does not say that there is a favorite son regarding Ismael and Isaac. No distinction is made between them in the Quran. The Quran does not waist time making any groups of people to be chosen. The Quran is more concerned with righteous behavior in humanity, not some small tribe. As far as Quran is concerned, being born to a certain a family doesn't mean anything, being a good person is more important.

[danchris]

Thank you for this information, Rabbi. Ive recently been getting into discussions with my mom (whos a bit of a scholar in biblical studies) who believes wholeheartedly that the Hebrew God, or Adonai, chose the Jews as his people. And this began, among many others, a streak of multiple conversations on the topic of Judaism, monotheism, and the origins of Genesis.. based on your video, im curious of your research on the origins of Genesis, especially considering how Abraham hails from Sumerian culture and took some origin stories with him, consequently leading to Judaic origin stories and the global interpretation of our origins and purpose, which all/most seem to stem from ancient Sumeria? And therefore, who were these people, and how did their lineage last until today?
Im also curious on your thoughts regarding the chronology of the Bible. Firstly being that it was essentially selected over generations; of course, it didnt spontaneously generate by the hands of God, it was created and preserved over millennia. But therefore i raise the question, is there any validity to the chronology depicted opposed to the True chronology? Are these Biblical stories we see today just a product of natural selection at the fallible hands of Man? i also ask this because a lot of the latter parts of the Bible, along with (i believe) many predictions/aspirations of the Judaic view, seems to depend on the chronology of events, bloodlines, prophesies, etc, being accurate. So if there isnt validity in this order of events, then the entire narrative crumbles, and the Bible becomes no more than poetic and metaphoric proverbs and parables. all religion crumbles.
Now im not saying this is my view, but i am saying that im struggling to find Truth in any religion becomes it never seems expansive enough; it seems theres always a plothole that manifests simply to keep the story intact. I feel the Truth goes beyond any story, and well beyond our universe and even our dimension. In which case, is Adonai experienced whilst on the path of religion, or on the path of spirituality without dogma? Could Adonai only exist when stripped away of any preconceived notion, esp those of anthropomorphism?
As you can see, there are many question marks in this ramble lol my spiritual path has been quite the journey of discovery:) Open to anyone's thoughts/feedback/opinions, etc. Bless up Youtube

[janjordal]

The world UR in germanic languages does not go back to the Sumarian city of Ur.

[fintonmainz]

I'm baffled how intelligent people can, today, be adherents to any religion.

[ArshadAnsari]

At the very beginning, there was a mistake. Islam doesn’t suggest that Isaac was not favoured. It only claims that Ishmael was the one that was to be sacrificed as his only son. When Isaac came along Ishmael was moved out of picture because of the role Isaac had to play ... basically, the claim takes nothing away from Isaac’s importance, unless being a candidate for sacrifice is the only major importance ...

[israelt.]

Dear Rabbi Adam! How can I join Your community physically and geographically?

[shainazion]

There were camels in the area. They have found this out and yes there was camels in the Middle East.

[johnrohde]

The synthetic common ancestor legend was common in the ancient world. Cassiodorus gave the Goths an ancestry that gave them common Trojan ancestors.
In WW2 the Australians supposedly told the Papuans that they too were white because they also had hairy armpits.

[noelajones]

You need to investigate “is Genesis History?” and Timothy MaHony’s videos archeology of Avaris

[ow]

well done lecture. congrats. from etienne dipl. theol. uni.

[CrisusAttucks]

The fact that you are a Rabbi and still able to promote this, is true an Imam was talking this way, islam would fatwa him in a NY sec.

[jennieredrose]

@12:37 because duh, history repeats itself?
Anyone living over 25 years on this earth realizes that.

[TheMega]

On the notion that there is no evidence of Abraham, are you also implying their burial sites in Hebron are fake?

[narinderdadral]

Between Genisis 1 and 2 there is a gap. This gap is millions years if not billions. This explains the preadamic man where they found wives. Ethiopia is the cradle of mankind. The science does not lie.