ABSTRACT
In post-Biblical Judaism there developed a common body of generally shared beliefs and doctrines, but, within exceedingly broad limits, one was free to interpret them as one chose and to battle for one's view in the market place of ideas. With the rise of the Hebrew monarchy and the breakdown of the tribal structure, the demand for conformity and obedience grew in power. The Babylonian Exile is often regarded, particularly by critical scholars, as marking the transformation of the Hebrew nation into the Jewish church, from an ethnic group to a religious community. The cultivation of Torah, far from being regarded as the province of a special group, was the duty and privilege of every male Jew. By and large, the Jewish people has preferred to build its unity upon a common historical experience in the past and a sense of a common destiny in the future.
