Rabbinic Judaism

Rabbinic Judaism is the form of Judaism shaped by rabbinic interpretation of the Torah, especially after the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE. It centers Jewish religious life on Torah study, law, prayer, and communal practice.

Torah: The foundational Jewish teaching, especially the Five Books of Moses, understood as divine instruction. Rabbinic interpretation takes the Torah as its central source of teaching and law.
Second Temple: The Jewish Temple in Jerusalem that stood from the late sixth century BCE until its destruction by Rome in 70 CE. Its destruction forced Jewish communities to sustain religious life without the central sanctuary and its sacrifices.
Mishnah: A foundational compilation of Jewish oral law, edited around the beginning of the third century CE. Its concise legal traditions became a shared textual basis for later rabbinic debate.
Sadducees: A Jewish group of the Second Temple period associated with the Jerusalem priesthood and a distinctive interpretation of Jewish law. Their authority and legal outlook differed from the traditions that became dominant in rabbinic Judaism.
Oral Torah: Jewish teachings and interpretations transmitted alongside the written Torah, later recorded in rabbinic literature. It supplies the interpretive tradition through which rabbis explain and apply the written Torah.
Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE): The Roman siege that culminated in Jerusalem's capture and the destruction of the Second Temple. This event precipitated the loss of the Temple-centered system to which rabbinic Judaism adapted.
Talmud: A collection of Jewish legal discussion, interpretation, and narrative centered on the Mishnah. Its records of disagreement and reasoning model how rabbis interpret law across generations.
Karaite Judaism: A Jewish movement that rejects the binding authority of the rabbinic Oral Torah and relies primarily on the Hebrew Bible. Its challenge to rabbinic authority makes explicit the disagreement over oral tradition.
Halakha: The body of Jewish law and practice derived from scripture, rabbinic interpretation, and communal precedent. It translates rabbinic interpretation into obligations and practices governing daily life.
Yavneh: A town in Roman Judea associated with rabbinic activity after the destruction of Jerusalem's Second Temple. Later Jewish tradition connects Yavneh with the reorganization of religious learning after 70 CE.

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