est : multiple groups of people with varying faith in the many forms of Judaism as it existed toward the end of the Divided Monarchy. Hasmonean / Maccabean and Roman Era This time period in Jewish history is politically tumultuous, leading to high levels of splits and variations in the religion itself. One of the most disruptive types of all wars is a civil war. And this is exactly what occurs at the outset in the Jewish homeland of Jerusalem. The Jewish civil war was against the extreme Hellenizers (people who tended toward utter reason in their beliefs) and the moderate Hellenizers (people who can see things rationally, but believe there are more items to consider than this -- ex. the Maccabean family, who became the Hasmonean kings). So right away, it is apparent that the ideas that the Greeks introduced into Jewish culture have acted as time-bombs of social memes, and have created a major split in the religion. When the violence of the war has subsided, the moderate Hellenizers have won (“everything in moderation!”) and rule for a short time, until the Roman empire attacks and throws even more kinks into the Jewish society. When the Romans take over, the Hasmonean kings are left in place as ‘puppet kings,’ which ultimately forces the general population to question their governing body. When the Romans destroy the temple in Jerusalem, it is made painfully clear that some changes are going to be made. Most obvious, the priests suddenly have no major role in the religion. Their primary purpose had been to tend to the sacrificing of animals, and since it is illegal to sacrifice an animal outside the temple, the priests were in an unsettling position. As can be seen in countless other examples, politics and religion are invariably tied, and people began practicing their own flavors of Judaism after their civilization had been so radically altered. At this point in history, there is really no solid rule to prevent ...
