ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the role of the Roman-Jewish wars (66–73, 115–117, 132–135 CE), the Roman destruction of the Jewish state and the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE, in the emergence of a relatively standard, international Jewish school system, the basic character of which survived to modern times. As a form of schooling aimed mainly at the poor, this was the first of its kind in history. Until 70 CE, the Jews had had various forms of statehood for over 1000 years. After 135 CE, the Jews in Eretz Yisrael and the diaspora were forced to accept that war with Rome had been a disaster, all the more insofar as it was driven by messianic hopes. A systematic pacifist school education was essential both for accommodation with Rome and to ensure Jewish survival. As the army, the priesthood, the Zealots, the nobility and the aristocratic elite had all been decimated, the teacher was, by default, a national leader. The rabbinic class was committed totally to Jewish survival, to the preservation of Judaism within the protective confines of the Torah, and to Jewish religious education at all levels. Education in the land of Israel was closely linked to the shift from anti-Roman militarism to pacifism and cooperation, as well as to the growth of the economy in Galilee in the 2nd and early 3rd century, when the Jews, no longer in revolt against Rome, could finally benefit from the Pax Romana.
