ABSTRACT
Through the centuries Jews have been organized as a distinct group. In ancient Israel they were a Hebrew clan; subsequently, as they changed from a nomadic to an agricultural existence, they settled in towns. In consequence their leadership became urbanized: elders were responsible for administering justice, and towns were organized in territorial or tribal units. During the Babylonian exile the emergence of Jewish institutions established the pattern for later communal development throughout the diaspora. As early as the second century BCE Jews in Alexandria formed their own
