Apocalypticism It is the dark interpretation that the end of the world is near and thus the people or community

y has to prepare itself for this. It was the biggest concern of the Jewish group of Essenes, who made various libraries (such as the Dead Sea Scrolls), and were a small minority that separated themselves from society. Moreover, it was the concern of the revolutionary, nationalist group of Zealots (whose role led to the destruction of the Second Temple) too. This idea mostly became heated up after the Babylonian invasion of 586 BCE, after which followed a period of tremendous lament for the Jewish community due to the destruction of the temple made by King Solomon and the exile of the community from the Promised Land. And it also followed from the idea of messianism that a political figure with powers (preferably military power) would be sent by God to save the community and bring them back to the Promised Land. Emic/Etic Emic refers to viewing religious practice from the inside, from personal experiences (e.g. attending a ceremony or celebrating a holiday), whereas etic refers to viewing religious practice from the outside (e.g. watching people practice religion or reading about it as an observer. This is one of the three elements of the phenomenology of religion, which is a set of principles for studying religions in a nonbiased manner. To effectively examine a religion, one must balance both etic and emic information to get a well-rounded view. These are extremely significant, as the emerged in response to the host of psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists who had very belittling and reductive views of religion, such as Freud, Marx, and Mueller to name a few. Therefore a balance of etic and emic observations was necessary to ensure a fair, unprejudiced, and scholarly study of religion was possible. Haggadah This is an element or section of the Talmud, which is intensive commentary of many rabbinical opinions regarding the Mishnah (200 BCE), the legal framework of Jewish life. The Haggadah, also called the Agaddah, comments on the literary work, including moral tales, anecdotes, fables, etc., of the Mishnah. It is one of the two sections of the Talmud (the first being the Halakhah). Its importance lies in the various perspectives provided by rabbis over many centuries relating to the proper life of a Jew. The Talmuds compilation essentially began after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 BCE. The Jewish community did not want to lose its identity and customs and thus attempted to finish compiling their scriptures and oral traditions. This was led by the Pharisees who became rabbis (teacher or master) and began Rabbinical Judaism by centering Jewish piety on the study and reflection of the scripture. The Talmud as a whole is held in high regard. In fact, its basis, the Mishnah, is considered to be a compendium received by Moses. Thus, its study allows Jews to follow a proper religious practice regardless of their whereabouts. More specifically, the Hagaddah gives various perspectives on morals and stories relating to proper living. Moses Mendelssohn, often called the father of Modern Judaism, advocated for the Jewish population to adapt to the modern world and include itself in the civic world population. He lived before the French Revolution and experienced the ideas of the Enlightenment and notions of democratization. He urged the Jewish population to learn the vernacular, attend universities, and participate in civic life. Such ideas would later allow them to escape the ghettos, confined spaces particularly assigned to Jews to keep them away from the Catholic population. From such notions of assimilation, a group of Reform Jews emerged. In this group, they followed Mendelssohns notions of being a citizen first and then anything else. The Reform Jews also included quasi-Christian elements into their system, including organs and the choir. They had a liberal perspective and allowed female rabbis and gay marriages. Overall, Mendelssohns ideas can be seen in the adopted culture of many Jews today in the modern world as they participate in the social and political realm of society. Nonetheless, this assimilation brought about fear of losing the Jewish identity.