Jewish Self-Identity in the Second Century: the Role of ‘The Land’

The Bar Kokhba uprising (132–136 CE) represents a major ideological watershed in Jewish History and religious thought. Only in the aftermath of the uprising do we encounter a concerted effort, primarily in rabbinic literature, to project a central role for The Land in Jewish thought and behavior. Statements requiring Jews to reside in The Land, and prohibiting emigration, are only one aspect of this Land-centered theology, and will ultimately be accompanied by references to the metaphysical attributes of the Land, such as granting atonement of sins to those buried therein while hastening death to those who abandon The Land. The present study seeks to identify the conditions that served as underpinnings for this new ideological banner. Demographic conditions resulting from the uprising, alongside new expressions of Jewish ‘nationality’, are cited as partial factors in this redefined model of Jewish self-identity.