help hold them together (B'nei Shaare Zion Congregation 2). Even today, as the Jewish people have their precious Jerusalem back (through the help of other nations and their politics) there is great conflict and emotion surrounding it. Other nations and people in the area feel that they should be in control of the renowned city, and the Jews deny fiercely any attempt to wrestle it from their occupation. It is true that there is no temple in Jerusalem today, nor are all the Jews in the world rushing to get back there. It is apparent, however, that the city represents more to the religion of Judaism than a mere place to live and work. The city of Jerusalem is a spiritual epicenter, and throughout Judaism's long and varied history this single fact has never changed (Jewish Student Online Research Center 2).Tribal, pre-monarchy Judaism's roots lie far back in the beginnings of recorded history. The religion did not spring into existence exactly as it is known today, rather it was pushed and prodded by various environmental factors along the way. One of the first major influences on the religion was the Canaanite nation (Falgin 1). Various theories exist as to how and when the people that would later be called Jews entered into this civilization. Regardless of how they ultimately got there, these pioneers of the new faith were subject to many of the ideas and prejudices of the time. Any new society that finds itself in an existing social situation can do no more than to try and integrate into that framework (The Jewish Student Online Research Center. 2) This is exactly what the Jews did. Early Jew's worshipped multiple gods. One of these gods was known as Ba'al, a 'statue god' with certain limitations on his power. The other primary deity was called Yahweh, who enjoyed a much more mysterious and elusive reputation. He was very numinous and one was to have great respect, but great fear for him at the same time. Ba'al was never really feared,...
