From Temple to Rabbis: The Mishnah and Talmud

In 70 CE, Roman forces crushed a Judean revolt and destroyed the Second Temple, ending the system of priests and sacrifices. A second revolt led by Bar Kokhba (132–135 CE) ended in further devastation. Judaism survived by transforming: leadership shifted to rabbis, teachers learned in the Torah, and the synagogue and study house replaced the Temple as centers of religious life. Rabbis believed God had given Moses an Oral Torah alongside the written one, and they compiled its teachings in the Mishnah, edited by Rabbi Judah the Prince around 200 CE.

Later generations' discussions of the Mishnah formed the Gemara; together they make the Talmud, of which the Babylonian Talmud (c. 500–600 CE) became most authoritative. The Talmud records debates, including minority opinions, showing a culture of argument and interpretation. This rabbinic Judaism is the basis of almost all Jewish practice today.