There is much history that is not told because of the secret agendas of the religious powers that be. In the time period covering roughly 300BCE to 300CE a big cover-up has clouded knowledge of the truth. This is why this age is called The Dark Ages. Over many centuries, long before the Hyalinization and the burning of all Hebrew manuscripts, attempts were made to alter the truth of history. One such record is carried to us through the Bible in the book of Esther. It was not the first nor has it been the last attempt at distorting history for hidden agendas.
In every age there are changes made to history that attempt to distort our views of the world and the nations around us. Each country writes their own history of events in attempt to glorify themselves and avoid looking like the evil ones. All, that is, except biblical Israel. The Bible contains all the good and bad on Israel and her leaders. We see the honest report that King David sinned with Bathsheba and the recorded history of numerous wicked kings that led Israel. Any country that fails to share their evil with their good in the reports of their history is suspect, in my opinion, of defrauding the people of the world, in effort to hide the truth. Israel's tendency toward honesty and truth at all costs remained her primary characteristic through the Mishna era -- and therefore I consider it to be of immense value for gaining historical insights into the truth of that period.
This course is ongoing and students may enter the study at any point. I am expecting the course to last through the end of August, 2005.
Rabbi David Hall