Session 3: Empires: The Kingdom of David: The End Days

Session 4: Empires: The Kingdom of David: The Gift of the Jews

Overview of the Story of the Jews

The Story of the Jews tells the story of the evolution of modern Judaism after the sack of Jerusalem by the Romans in approximately 70 AD. This story takes the reader through the Roman diaspora through the persecution of the Jews in the middle ages by Christians and to a lesser degree Muslims. During the "Dark Ages" the film describes how Jew did better under Muslim rule than they did in Chrisitan regions and explains how Jews were targeted in Spain during the Spanish Inquisition. It alo follows the plight of the Jews in the "Pale" of Eastern Europe and throughout the establishment of the stage of Isreal following World Wars one and two. Of particular importance to Christians is the degree to which the church contributed to the anti-semitism that led to the holocaust and continues to fuel anti-semitism to this day.

Overview of the The Kingdom of David

The Kingdom of David documentary chronicles the story of the Jewish people and how they were able to preserve their culture from being subsumed by the other worldly kingdoms that surrounded them. It begins with the Babylonian Eixle where Judean scribes sought to preserve the identity of their culture with the creation of the "written word" of God - translating oral traditions into sacred scripture. It describes the struggles of the Judeans with the Seleucid Empire and concludes with the revolt agains the romans and the emergence of powerful rabbinic leaders such as Hillel, Youchanan ben Zakai and Rabbi Akiva - who preserved Jewish tradition for this modern era.