§ Debates
Who believes what
163 questions on which scholars disagree, according to the source. Take a seat at the table: each position has its holders, its argument and the pages it rests on. None is presented as the correct one.
Ch. 1 · Ancient Israel and Other Ancestors
Can the patriarchs of Genesis be historically confirmed?
- AMemory of real people
- BNot verifiable
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Ch. 1 · Ancient Israel and Other Ancestors
Did the Exodus occur as a historical event?
- AA historical core
- BNot demonstrated
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Ch. 1 · Ancient Israel and Other Ancestors
Did Israel emerge through an external conquest of Canaan?
- AConquest under Joshua
- BLocal emergence
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Ch. 1 · Ancient Israel and Other Ancestors
From what population did early Israel emerge?
- AImmigrants or marginal groups
- BCanaanite majority
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Ch. 1 · Ancient Israel and Other Ancestors
How large was the kingdom of David and Solomon?
- ASubstantial state
- BSmall domain
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Ch. 1 · Ancient Israel and Other Ancestors
Can Solomon's Temple be historically reconstructed?
- AComparable biblical plan
- BInsufficient evidence
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Ch. 1 · Ancient Israel and Other Ancestors
How should archaeology relate to the Bible?
- AConfirm the narrative
- BIndependent discipline
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Ch. 1 · Ancient Israel and Other Ancestors
Why did Jerusalem survive the Assyrian campaign of 701 BCE?
- ADivine deliverance
- BA typical Assyrian victory
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Ch. 1 · Ancient Israel and Other Ancestors
Where did the worship of Yahweh originate?
- ACanaanite setting and El
- BSouthern origin
- CFusion of traditions
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Ch. 1 · Ancient Israel and Other Ancestors
What does the phrase 'Yahweh and his Asherah' mean?
- AA companion goddess
- BCult object
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Ch. 1 · Ancient Israel and Other Ancestors
When and why did Israelite monotheism arise?
- ARemote origin
- BImperial age
- CTheological resistance
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Ch. 2 · Becoming the People of the Book
Was the Elephantine community Jewish?
- AYes, they were Jews
- BAnother branch of Judahite culture
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Ch. 2 · Becoming the People of the Book
When does properly Jewish history begin?
- AIn 587 or 586 BCE
- BA gradual transition with no date
- CPeople and Bible arise together
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Ch. 2 · Becoming the People of the Book
Is the biblical portrait of Cyrus Persian propaganda?
- ACyrus as God's instrument
- BPro-Persian propaganda
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Ch. 2 · Becoming the People of the Book
What role did Ezra play?
- AA second Moses
- BPersian official enforcing God's law
- CPromulgator of the Five Books as law
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Ch. 2 · Becoming the People of the Book
What does the Bible say about marrying foreigners?
- AStrong opposition (Nehemiah)
- BNo blanket ban
- CMixed marriage as blessing
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Ch. 2 · Becoming the People of the Book
Did Persia shape the Torah's authority?
- APersian government encouragement
- BIsraelite legacy, not Persian invention
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Ch. 2 · Becoming the People of the Book
What was the scroll found in Josiah's reign?
- AA forgotten Torah of Moses
- BDeuteronomy and a staged 'rediscovery'
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Ch. 2 · Becoming the People of the Book
Who wrote the Five Books of Moses?
- AMoses, by divine revelation
- BSources combined by an editor (Documentary Hypothesis)
- CA work with no individual author, like the Web
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Ch. 2 · Becoming the People of the Book
Why does 1 Samuel 11 have an extra passage in the Dead Sea Scrolls?
- ALater insertion
- BAccidental omission
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Ch. 2 · Becoming the People of the Book
Why did Jews fix a single version of the biblical text?
- AOther versions were lost with the Temple
- BReduce interpretive conflict
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Ch. 2 · Becoming the People of the Book
How should the two versions of the Sabbath commandment be understood?
- AA doublet from different sources
- BTwo messages spoken at once
- CA separate command: safeguard the Sabbath
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Ch. 2 · Becoming the People of the Book
How did the rabbis understand biblical law and its death penalty?
- ABinding law, elaborated by the Oral Torah
- BDeath penalty emptied in practice
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Ch. 2 · Becoming the People of the Book
How do modern Jews relate to the revelation at Sinai?
- ARevelation without verbal content (Rosenzweig)
- BThe Holocaust as a second revelation (Fackenheim)
- CWomen as full partners in revelation (Plaskow)
- DThe efforts are beside the point
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Ch. 2 · Becoming the People of the Book
What happened to the Ark of the Covenant?
- AHidden under the Temple or in a cave
- BCarried off by the Romans
- CTaken to Ethiopia
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Ch. 3 · Jews and Greeks
Why did Antiochus IV persecute Jewish religious practice?
- AMental instability
- BClaim to divinity
- CAnti-Jewish prejudice
- DPragmatic motives
- EInternal Jewish conflict
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Ch. 3 · Jews and Greeks
Was antisemitism born in Hellenistic Egypt?
- AYes, if defined by its content
- BNo: the term is anachronistic
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Ch. 3 · Jews and Greeks
Was martyrdom invented by Jews?
- AHellenistic Jewish origin
- BGreek catalyst
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Ch. 3 · Jews and Greeks
Who was the Dead Sea Scrolls community?
- AEssenes
- BA branch of the Sadducees
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Ch. 3 · Jews and Greeks
Who took the initiative to translate the Torah into Greek?
- AKing Ptolemy II
- BThe Jewish community itself
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Ch. 3 · Jews and Greeks
Where and how did the synagogue arise?
- AInfluence of Egyptian temples
- BBabylonian exile
- CCity gate in Judea
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Ch. 3 · Jews and Greeks
How deep was the Hellenization of Judea in the second century BCE?
- AStill superficial
- BTransformative
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Ch. 3 · Jews and Greeks
Does Ecclesiastes date from the Persian or the Hellenistic period?
- AEarly Hellenistic age
- BCannot be determined
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Ch. 4 · Between Caesar and God
When did Pontius Pilate govern Judea?
- AFrom 26 to 37 CE
- BFrom 19 to 37 CE
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Ch. 4 · Between Caesar and God
Did the apocalyptic literature of the Roman period counsel waiting or incite revolt?
- APassive resistance
- BIncitement
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Ch. 4 · Between Caesar and God
Did Titus order the burning of the Temple in 70 CE?
- AAgainst Titus's will
- BTitus's order
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Ch. 4 · Between Caesar and God
Who were the Zealots?
- AAll the revolutionaries
- BA specific faction
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Ch. 4 · Between Caesar and God
Did the mass suicide at Masada happen as Josephus describes?
- APartly corroborated by archaeology
- BAn embellished account
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Ch. 4 · Between Caesar and God
What caused the Bar Kochba Revolt?
- AA ban on circumcision
- BThe founding of Aelia Capitolina
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Ch. 4 · Between Caesar and God
What did Bar Kochba and his rebels want?
- ATo inaugurate the messianic age
- BIndependence under a pious leader
- CTo restore the Temple
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Ch. 4 · Between Caesar and God
Was there a religious persecution after the Bar Kochba Revolt?
- AAn age of persecution
- BPersecution questioned
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Ch. 4 · Between Caesar and God
Was the Last Supper a Passover meal?
- AA Passover meal
- BAn eschatological banquet
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Ch. 4 · Between Caesar and God
In which Jewish tradition is Jesus best placed?
- AApocalyptic tradition
- BWisdom tradition
- CRevolutionary groups
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Ch. 4 · Between Caesar and God
Is Josephus's passage about Jesus authentic?
- ACorroboration of Jesus's existence
- BForged or tampered with
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Ch. 5 · From Temple to Talmud
Does the story of Yohanan ben Zakkai's escape to Yavneh preserve real events?
- AOrally transmitted memory
- BLater legend
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Ch. 5 · From Temple to Talmud
Were the rabbis heirs of the Pharisees?
- AAn offshoot of Pharisaism
- BA movement against sectarianism
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Ch. 5 · From Temple to Talmud
How does the Tosefta relate to the Mishnah?
- AParts are earlier
- BLater than the Mishnah
- CConcurrent development
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Ch. 5 · From Temple to Talmud
Who composed the Mishnah, and for what purpose?
- ATo conserve an endangered tradition
- BTo define the tradition with the patriarchate's backing
- CNo identifiable agenda
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Ch. 5 · From Temple to Talmud
Did the Jewish population fall drastically in late antiquity?
- AA dramatic demographic fall
- BSkepticism about the figures
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Ch. 5 · From Temple to Talmud
Was there an empire-wide crisis in the third century?
- AHalf a century of crises
- BRecent revision
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Ch. 5 · From Temple to Talmud
Who gouged out the eyes of the figures painted in the Dura-Europos synagogue?
- APious Jews
- BRoman soldiers
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Ch. 5 · From Temple to Talmud
Did Yohanan ben Zakkai move the Sanhedrin to Yavneh?
- AYes, according to rabbinic tradition
- BExistence questioned
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Ch. 6 · Under the Crescent
Is 'Middle Ages' an adequate category for Jewish history?
- AA derogatory, Eurocentric label
- BA convention without value judgment
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Ch. 6 · Under the Crescent
How should the conflict between Muhammad and the Jews of Medina be understood?
- AIslam's first anti-Jewish persecution
- BA clash of political and economic interests
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Ch. 6 · Under the Crescent
Was the Pact of Umar a rule applied to the letter?
- AA code going back to Caliph Umar
- BA late text, applied conditionally
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Ch. 6 · Under the Crescent
Do the Karaites descend from Anan ben David's movement?
- AAnan as founder of Karaism
- BTwo originally separate groups
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Ch. 6 · Under the Crescent
Why did the Babylonian Talmudic tradition become dominant?
- AProximity to the empire's center
- BAlso the decline of Abbasid power and of the academies
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Ch. 6 · Under the Crescent
Was Muslim Spain a 'golden age' for the Jews?
- AThe popular memory of a golden age
- BA golden age with limits and an abrupt end
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Ch. 6 · Under the Crescent
Can reason and revelation contradict each other?
- AHarmony always possible (Saadya)
- BTwo domains of knowledge, comparable only afterward
- CAn insurmountable difference (Judah ha-Levi)
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Ch. 7 · Under the Cross
Should medieval Jewish history be told as a chain of persecutions?
- AThe lachrymose view
- BA more balanced reading
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Ch. 7 · Under the Cross
Do Ashkenaz and Sefarad descend from two distinct centers of antiquity?
- ATwo centers: Palestine and Babylonia
- BA shared Babylonian Talmudic heritage
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Ch. 7 · Under the Cross
Was the First Crusade a turning point in medieval Jewish history?
- ATurning point
- BNo permanent break
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Ch. 7 · Under the Cross
How reliable are the Hebrew chronicles of the First Crusade?
- ATestimony of widespread martyrdom
- BLater texts with ideological aims
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Ch. 7 · Under the Cross
Do Christian charges of Jewish mockery of Christian symbols have any basis?
- AFabricated charges
- BA possible kernel of truth
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Ch. 7 · Under the Cross
How large was the Jewish share of tax farming in Christian Spain?
- AA dominant role
- BDisproportionate but not dominant
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Ch. 7 · Under the Cross
Who wrote the Zohar, and when?
- AAncient tradition of Simeon bar Yohai
- BA late thirteenth-century Castilian work
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Ch. 7 · Under the Cross
Is there a contrast between Ashkenazi martyrdom in 1096 and the conversions in Spain in 1391?
- AA contrast between martyrdom and conversion
- BA problematic comparison
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Ch. 7 · Under the Cross
How many Jews died or converted in 1391?
- AHundreds of victims
- BThousands, perhaps a third
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Ch. 8 · A Jewish Renaissance
How lethal was the Inquisition?
- ALow overall rate
- BDisproportionate impact on crypto-Jews
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Ch. 8 · A Jewish Renaissance
What motivated Spain's 1492 edict?
- AReligion as pretext
- BFinal pressure for conversion
- CReligious and political motives
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Ch. 8 · A Jewish Renaissance
How many Jews left Spain in 1492?
- ADisputed numbers
- BEstimate of about one hundred thousand
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Ch. 8 · A Jewish Renaissance
Did Bayezid II invite the Spanish exiles?
- AThe sultan's invitation
- BRefuge without a documented invitation
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Ch. 8 · A Jewish Renaissance
Did Italian acculturation amount to assimilation?
- AStrong cultural proximity
- BDifference preserved
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Ch. 8 · A Jewish Renaissance
Did the Reformation improve or worsen Jewish conditions?
- APositive effects
- BNegative effects
- CIndirect political change
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Ch. 8 · A Jewish Renaissance
Did Luther fundamentally change his view of Jews?
- AFrom tolerance to hostility
- BConversionist continuity
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Ch. 9 · New Worlds, East and West
How many Jews died in the 1648 massacres?
- AChronicle figures
- BArchival estimate
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Ch. 9 · New Worlds, East and West
Why were Jews attacked in the Cossack revolt?
- AReligious hatred
- BAssociation with the regime
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Ch. 9 · New Worlds, East and West
Did pilpul deepen or distort study?
- AInterpretive virtuosity
- BDistance from meaning
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Ch. 9 · New Worlds, East and West
Did a printed code strengthen or impoverish Halakhah?
- AShared standard
- BIndependent judgment
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Ch. 9 · New Worlds, East and West
Was Yiddish literature women's literature?
- AFemale use
- BPublic lacking Hebrew
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Ch. 9 · New Worlds, East and West
Was the Thirty Years' War only disastrous for Jews?
- AGeneral devastation
- BRelative protection
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Ch. 9 · New Worlds, East and West
Why did rulers begin readmitting Jews?
- AReason of state
- BCapital and trade
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Ch. 9 · New Worlds, East and West
Were Amsterdam's Sephardim the first modern Jews?
- AFirst modernity
- BNo reform ideology
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Ch. 9 · New Worlds, East and West
In what sense can Spinoza be called the first secular Jew?
- ABreak without conversion
- BModern category
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Ch. 9 · New Worlds, East and West
When were Jews readmitted to England?
- A1655 as the milestone
- BInformal process
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Ch. 9 · New Worlds, East and West
Did colonial toleration arise from principle or pragmatism?
- AEconomic utility
- BCompany policy
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Ch. 9 · New Worlds, East and West
How can the Sabbatian movement's reach be explained?
- APublic scene in Izmir
- BHistorical convergence
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Ch. 10 · The State of the Jews, the Jews and the State
What defines Jewish modernity?
- AInstitutional transformation
- BIntegration and backlash
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Ch. 10 · The State of the Jews, the Jews and the State
Was so-called regeneration emancipatory or disciplinary?
- ARepair of historical harm
- BConditional citizenship
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Ch. 10 · The State of the Jews, the Jews and the State
What did French emancipation require from the community?
- AEverything as individuals
- BNothing as a nation
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Ch. 10 · The State of the Jews, the Jews and the State
Did Napoleon's policy liberate or control Jews?
- ASpread of emancipation
- BCentralization and surveillance
- CSelective retreat
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Ch. 10 · The State of the Jews, the Jews and the State
Was there a single emancipation model?
- ARevolutionary decree
- BGradual or automatic change
- CConditional reward
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Ch. 10 · The State of the Jews, the Jews and the State
Did nationalism include or exclude Jews?
- ANational allies
- BObstacle to homogeneity
- CHomogenizing pressure
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Ch. 10 · The State of the Jews, the Jews and the State
Did Ottoman reform produce effective equality?
- AIncreasing legal equality
- BPersistence of inequality
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Ch. 10 · The State of the Jews, the Jews and the State
Did Russian policy seek integration or exclusion?
- ACoercive integration
- BExclusionary reversal
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Ch. 11 · Modern Transformations
Did Frankism remain Jewish?
- AJewish dissent
- BSeparate religion
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Ch. 11 · Modern Transformations
Did Hasidism arise from communal crisis?
- AResponse to decline
- BRevival amid stability
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Ch. 11 · Modern Transformations
What grounded the tzaddik's authority?
- AInstitutional learning
- BSacred charisma
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Ch. 11 · Modern Transformations
Were Hasidim and Mitnaggedim absolute opposites?
- ASectarian rupture
- BShared religious base
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Ch. 11 · Modern Transformations
Did Volozhin defend tradition or create modernity?
- AContinuity of study
- BModern institution
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Ch. 11 · Modern Transformations
Was the Haskalah anti-religious?
- ASecularization
- BReligious reform
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Ch. 11 · Modern Transformations
Did Mendelssohn subordinate Jewish law to emancipation?
- AConditional rights
- BRights without conditions
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Ch. 11 · Modern Transformations
Why did official Russian Jewish schools fail?
- ABlame on custom
- BJustified distrust
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Ch. 11 · Modern Transformations
Which language should sustain modern culture?
- AHebrew
- BYiddish
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Ch. 11 · Modern Transformations
Was Jewish history religious or national?
- AReligious community
- BHistorical nation
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Ch. 11 · Modern Transformations
How far should Reform alter worship?
- ARadical change
- BSelective continuity
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Ch. 11 · Modern Transformations
Did Modern Orthodoxy reject secular culture?
- ADefensive separation
- BGuided integration
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Ch. 11 · Modern Transformations
What did monumental synagogues express?
- AResidential permanence
- BCitizenship and pride
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Ch. 12 · The Politics of Being Jewish
Why did the Jewish population grow so quickly?
- AVital balance
- BSocial and health practices
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Ch. 12 · The Politics of Being Jewish
Was Jewish concentration urbanization or metropolitanization?
- ABroad urban migration
- BMetropolitan concentration
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Ch. 12 · The Politics of Being Jewish
What distinguishes modern antisemitism from traditional anti-Judaism?
- AContinuity of older tropes
- BNew political and racial form
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Ch. 12 · The Politics of Being Jewish
How should German Jewish life before 1914 be interpreted?
- AWidespread public hostility
- BSimultaneous flourishing
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Ch. 12 · The Politics of Being Jewish
Why did antisemitism win elections in Vienna?
- ASocial fractures
- BMass politics
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Ch. 12 · The Politics of Being Jewish
What was at stake in the Dreyfus Affair?
- AAlleged Jewish treason
- BDefense of the Republic
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Ch. 12 · The Politics of Being Jewish
How did international crises change Jewish collective action?
- APersistent vulnerability
- BNew advocacy capacity
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Ch. 12 · The Politics of Being Jewish
Did the Russian government organize the pogroms?
- ABelief in state orchestration
- BPermissive climate
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Ch. 12 · The Politics of Being Jewish
Were Jewish socialism and nationalism incompatible?
- AInternationalism
- BJewish synthesis
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Ch. 12 · The Politics of Being Jewish
Where should the Jewish future be built?
- AHere, in the diaspora
- BIn Palestine
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Ch. 12 · The Politics of Being Jewish
Should Zionism prioritize statehood or culture?
- AGuaranteed sovereignty
- BSpiritual revival
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Ch. 12 · The Politics of Being Jewish
Immediate refuge or exclusive commitment to Palestine?
- ATemporary refuge
- BPalestine as sole destination
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Ch. 12 · The Politics of Being Jewish
Which language should sustain modern Jewish culture?
- APopular Yiddish
- BRevived Hebrew
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Ch. 12 · The Politics of Being Jewish
How did Jewish Americanization unfold?
- AInstitutional integration
- BImmigrant self-help
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Ch. 13 · A World Upended
Was the war only a disaster for Jews?
- AShared catastrophe
- BPatriotic sacrifice
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Ch. 13 · A World Upended
Did the Jew Count end integration?
- ABroken illusion
- BSelective return
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Ch. 13 · A World Upended
Did Weimar emancipate or expose Jews?
- AUnprecedented access
- BFragile republic
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Ch. 13 · A World Upended
Did the revolution liberate Jews?
- AIndividual rights
- BEnd of the collectivity
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Ch. 13 · A World Upended
Was Soviet Yiddish theater only propaganda?
- AState instrument
- BRecognizable identity
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Ch. 13 · A World Upended
Could Birobidzhan be a national home?
- ATerritorial experiment
- BForeseeable failure
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Ch. 13 · A World Upended
Was the revolution a Jewish plot?
- AEnemies' perception
- BUse of openings
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Ch. 13 · A World Upended
Did Polish Jews exploit the economy?
- ANationalist myth
- BMajority poverty
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Ch. 13 · A World Upended
Did the return to Judaism repeat tradition?
- AAuthentic recovery
- BModern invention
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Ch. 13 · A World Upended
Did the Balfour Declaration promise a state?
- APolitical triumph
- BRestrictive formula
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Ch. 13 · A World Upended
Which Zionism should follow Balfour?
- AEconomic work
- BProvisional government
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Ch. 13 · A World Upended
Would Arabs accept settlement?
- ALiberal welcome
- BEarly warning
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Ch. 13 · A World Upended
Should the Peel partition have been accepted?
- AGrudging acceptance
- BRejection on principle
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Ch. 13 · A World Upended
Was eastern secularization degeneration?
- APedagogical alarm
- BGeneral process
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Ch. 14 · The Holocaust
When did the Nazis decide to murder the Jews of Europe?
- AIntentionalism
- BFunctionalism
- CModerate intentionalism
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Ch. 14 · The Holocaust
Did Germans approve the persecution?
- AApproval or indifference
- BShock at visible violence
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Ch. 14 · The Holocaust
Why did so many German Jews not leave in 1933?
- ARootedness
- BHistorical precedent
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Ch. 14 · The Holocaust
Why did emigration not save more people?
- AClosed doors
- BPractical barriers
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Ch. 14 · The Holocaust
What were the ghettos for?
- AExploitation
- BAttrition
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Ch. 14 · The Holocaust
How should the heads of the Jewish councils be judged?
- ARefusal
- BCalculated sacrifice
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Ch. 14 · The Holocaust
Did persecution hit men and women in the same way?
- AWomen saw it sooner
- BFewer options in the east
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Ch. 14 · The Holocaust
What could Jewish armed struggle achieve?
- ANot viable for most
- BRevenge and respect
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Ch. 14 · The Holocaust
Did knowing of the extermination lead the Allies to act?
- AInformed from 1942
- BLate and limited action
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Ch. 14 · The Holocaust
Would bombing the camps have changed the killing?
- AUnfeasible
- BSymbolic value
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Ch. 15 · Into the Present
Were the 1948 expulsions part of a plan of emptying?
- AConquest, not depopulation
- BPalestinian catastrophe
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Ch. 15 · Into the Present
Should Jews who left Arab lands be treated as refugees equivalent to the Palestinians?
- AEquivalent refugees
- BUnfounded analogy
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Ch. 15 · Into the Present
Why did the young state silence so many survivors?
- AContempt for human dust
- BYishuv guilt
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Ch. 15 · Into the Present
What did the 1967 victory mean for Israel?
- AReturn to the sacred
- BCorrupting occupation
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Ch. 15 · Into the Present
Did the peace process produce peace or delay?
- ALand for peace
- BProcess as a tactic
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Ch. 15 · Into the Present
Is American intermarriage decline or acceptance?
- ARavage by assimilation
- BA drop in hostility
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Ch. 15 · Into the Present
Is the end of automatic support for Israel a rupture?
- AEnd of a love affair
- BReturn to the pre-1967 attitude
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Ch. 15 · Into the Present
Which one-state futures does the chapter refuse?
- AFrom the river to the sea
- BA Jewish state from river to sea
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Ch. 15 · Into the Present
When is hostility to Israel antisemitism?
- ACriticism is not hatred
- BStereotypes inside the boycott
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Ch. 15 · Into the Present
Did the Gulf War bring Israelis closer to the Shoah experience?
- AHistorical analogy
- BChild's play
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Was marranism in colonial Brazil mainly crypto-Jewish practice or a worldview?
- AWorldview and feeling
- BNear-total assimilation
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Should Paulista bandeirantes be read as New Christians of Jewish origin?
- AYes: Jewish origin and conflict with Jesuits
- BCaution: regional gap and polemical labels
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Was there an early and definitive 'parting of the ways' between Judaism and Christianity?
- AEarly and decisive break
- BWays that never fully parted
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Does modern Messianic Judaism continue the ancient Jewish-believing sects?
- AClaimed communal continuity
- BRecurrence without institutional lineage
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Did fixed daily prayer in Judaism emerge by gradual development or by radical innovation?
- AGradual development
- BRadical innovation
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Does m. Tamid 5.1 faithfully describe the priests' morning liturgy in the Second Temple?
- APreserved Temple liturgy
- BPartly anachronistic portrait
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Do geographic rite names (Ashkenaz, Sepharad, Rome…) describe stable family trees?
- ASimple genetic tree
- BFluid networks and local variation
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