The Failure of the Major Revolts and its Impact on Jewish Identity

Abstract

The main corpus of rabbinical literature evolved following the failure of the Jewish revolts against the Roman Empire in The land of Israel and its vicinity in the first and second centuries AD: The Great Revolt (66-73), The Kitos war (115-117) and The Bar Kochba Revolt (132-135). Following the bloody events, which were a direct result of the Jewish-offensive ethos, the Sages clearly reached a strategic decision to change the Jewish identity and ethos from offensive to defensive. In order to achieve their goal, to transform the Jewish ethos from offensive to defensive, the Sages operated on two spheres: aggadic interpretations, often based on interpretation of verses, personal stories, and legends, and the halakhic discourse. In the article, I shall demonstrate each of these categories, which led to the shape of new Jewish identity.