There's No Such Thing as Rabbinic Judaism

Putting to rest the lie that Judaism underwent major changes post-2nd Temple

"If you took a Jew from Temple days and put him in a Jewish community today, they'd be bewildered and wouldn't recognize the Judaism we practice as their own" is an oft-repeated falsity, and one that needs to be sent to pasture once and for all. 

The idea that a so-called "Rabbinic Judaism" arose after the destruction of the Second Temple was a lie that was initially propagated by early Xians, claiming that Jews had to pivot and change their religion as a result of their refusal to accept their messiah. Thus the Rabbis jumped into action and changed Judaism into something unrecognizable. Sadly, this talking point has also been repeated in recent history as a way of trying to undermine so-called 'Orthodox Judaism.'  

Here is what daily life would have been like back in the days of the Second Temple and how it would compare today:

Regular day

The first thing a Jew does when he wakes up is to say Modeh Ani, then wash his hands. It would be easy to say that Modeh Ani is a "recent" addition to Judaism; after all, its first recorded use in a prayer book dates back to the 16th century... and yet its origin is from the Yerushalmi Talmud and was said thrice daily, after each prayer service. Only its recital after waking up would be a modern innovation. As far as the washing of hands, this was decreed by Shlomo HaMelech (Shabbat 14b).

Then, a Jew recites the Morning Blessings. These were instituted by the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah (Berachot 33a) at the beginning of the Second Temple period. They also fixed the blessings part of the Amidah prayer that is recited three times a day, instituted the Kaddish, Kedusha, Barechu, and changed the three daily prayers from free-form to a fixed text. 

Once completed, a Jew goes to the Mikveh before prayer per Ezra's decree (Bava Kamma 82a), then puts on his Biblically-mandated Tallit and Tefillin and comes to Synagogue. This is something that a Second Temple Era Jew would in no way be perplexed by, as Synagogues and Houses of Study were just as familiar then as they are today. There are over a hundred laws and references to Synagogues & Houses of Study in the Mishnah alone, discussing even older traditions that by far predate the destruction of the Second Temple.

The oldest extant Synagogue in the world is said to have been built in 586 BCE (though some dispute this), but we have plenty of old remnants that stand to this day, such as the two synagogues on Elephantine island dated to the 3rd century, the Delos Synagogue (150 BCE). There were also references to a synagogue in a letter from 218 BCE. Of course, scores of archeological sites in Israel and the Middle-East contain the ruins of Synagogues dating prior to or during the Second Temple era as well.

It was the central meeting point of Jewish communities then just as it is now; it was where prayer services recited by a quorum of men were held, and the Torah was read on Mondays and Thursdays. Said readings were, in fact, instituted by Ezra at the beginning of the Second Temple era (Y. Megillah 4:1).

Today is Rosh Chodesh? Time to sing Hallel! Thankfully, there would be no confusion as the recital of Hallel was decreed by the early Prophets, and everyone would have been familiar with it due to how frequently it was repeated (Pesach 117a).

After concluding prayer, time to eat your first meal. Fancy bread? You're going to have to wash hands first, as was decreed by Shlomo HaMelech (Shabbat 14b), followed by Shammai and Hillel, and other authorities who added other occasions on this decree. A Jew concludes his meal by saying Grace after Meals!

The only significant difference someone from the Second Temple era would notice is that a fourth blessing was instituted to commemorate the miracle that happened in Beitar after its fall during the Bar Kochba Rebellion. As far as the first three? They were instituted by Moshe Rabbeinu (First one, Berachot 48b), Yehoshua (Second one, ibid), David and Shlomo HaMelech (Third one, ibid), while the Sages wrote the fourth (ibid).

If that Second Temple Jew is around Bar Mitzvah age or has children of his own, then he would know that off to yeshiva they would go, per the ordinance of Shimon ben Shetach that every Jewish child has to get a proper Jewish education (Shabbat 14a). 

Speaking of Bar Mitzvah and children, let's talk about life events. We know that circumcision is written in the Bible, but what about the shiva period or the sheva berachot? Moshe Rabbeinu also instituted the latter based on the seven days of celebrations after Yaakov's marriage to Leah, and former based on the seven days of mourning observed after Yaakov's passing (Y. Ketuvot 1:1).

As far as work or business goes, it's true that there are a lot of ordinances since then that have been decreed and have changed how we do business. Are we going to claim that regulations such as decreeing that when someone bought stolen goods without knowledge, the owner of the stolen goods must pay him back, or the fact that no one can validate a contract except for its signatories would make the way we live our Judaism unrecognizable to him?

Shabbat and Yom Tov

How would a Second Temple Jew deal with a modern Shabbat? Let's start by taking a look at the order of the day.

At Night: 

• Go to Synagogue (Already dealt with)

• Pray the Shabbat prayers with a minyan (Already dealt with)

• Say Kiddush

The Day of:

• Carry in the public domain thanks to an Eruv

• Pray the special Shabbat prayers (Already dealt with)

• Hear the morning and afternoon Torah readings

• Say Kiddush again

• After Shabbat, recite havdalah. 

As stated in Yerushalmi Megillah 4:1, Moshe Rabbeinu is the one who instituted the Torah readings of Shabbat morning (as well as those of Yom Tov, Rosh Chodesh, and Chol HaMoed). Ezra, on the other hand, is the one that instituted the Shabbat Afternoon reading. 

The text of prayers and the number of blessings for Shabbat & the Festivals were also fixed by the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah, as well as the obligation to recite Kiddush and Havdalah. The Eruv was established in the days of Shlomo HaMelech to allow people to carry (Shabbat 14a). 

Clearly, today's celebration of festivals differs from how we observed them in the Temple, yet this is a misdirection. The real question is, how different were their celebration by those Jews who could not make it to the Temple and had to celebrate at home/where they were located?

If someone hadn't been able to make it to the Temple for Rosh Hashana or Yom Kippur, he would still have to hear the shofar (except on Shabbat) on Rosh Hashana or afflict himself the five ways listed in the Torah on Yom Kippur. The only noteworthy differences would be the extra elements added to the liturgy, such as the different piyutim and prayers added to the text over time, usually to commemorate post-Temple tragedies that struck the Jewish people. 

Sukkot outside of the Temple would have been similar with one substantial difference: the shaking of lulav and etrog for all seven days of the festival. Yet, it is not such a considerable change as it was already shaken for seven days by those celebrating Sukkot in the Temple; it's only those Jews outside who'd only shake the four species on the first day prior to the Temple's destruction.

Passover's most meaningful differences would be the search for chametz, the eating of bitter herbs and haroset mixed together as part of the Seder, the obligatory four cups of wine, and reclining as you drink them. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi might have finalized the full text of the Haggada, but otherwise, the Seder would have been very similar. Shavuot outside of the Temple would also not have differed much from what it is today. 

Regarding Purim & Chanukah, the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah are the ones who established the festive seudah and giving of tzedaka, so the former would be very familiar to a Second Temple Jew. The only notable difference would be the Fast of Esther on the day before Purim. The Hasmoneans initiated the celebration of Chanukah, and its observance then and now is not remarkably different. 

When it comes to Fast Days, Tisha b'Av, Assara b'Tevet, and Tzom Gedaliah were enacted after the destruction of the First Temple, before the building of the Second. While the fast of Shiva Asar b'Tammuz is recorded in the Book of Zecharia, it is now associated with the destruction of the Second Temple.

Post-Temple Differences 

That’s not to say that there would be no distinctions whatsoever. The major ones would revolve around the:

• Various additions to prayer services (e.g., Keter in the Kedusha of Mussaf)

• Various laws of marriage & divorce (e.g., a date must be included in all documents)

• Various laws regarding business (e.g., the way moveable property is acquired)

• Various laws pertaining the social order (e.g., regulating ransoms of prisoners)

• Various laws relating to interpersonal relations (e.g., announcing lost articles in Synagogue)

What I described in this article is only a partial list of the post-Second Temple differences between the Judaism we live today and the one they lived then. That much is true. Some details could confuse them, such as mourners now remaining standing instead of sitting at the funeral as those who comfort them pass by or how a Kohen is always called to the Torah first, even in the presence of the Nassi. However, one thing should be clear to everyone: our Judaism is incredibly similar and did not undergo any significant changes after the destruction of the Temple. Even most of the Temple Remembrances enabled by Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai predate its devastation.

Another ridiculous line of attack which also needs to be forever abandoned includes barbs such as “Moshe did not wear a shtreimel!” Well, neither would he have worn jeans and a t-shirt, or the clothings from either the First or Second Temple era. The idea that a Jew wearing a Kaftan is somehow less valid because it is not the common dress of a Jew who lived in Judea in 200 BCE is ridiculous, as that very same Jew living in Judea at the time would not have recognized the common dress of a contemporary Jew who lived in Morocco or Tunisia either! Cultural differences are not what makes Judaism, Halacha and how we live our rituals is what defines it, and in that regard, we are all the same.

There’s definitely no denying indeed that many details of our Judaism are unlike those of 2nd Temple Jew. However, the same would apply to a Jew who lived 300 years ago hauled into our era or a Jew who lived at the beginning of the Second Temple era transported to its end. This is because Halacha is a dynamic system and, within its eternal parameters that have not changed since Sinai, new rulings affect how we live our lives and its parameters adapts to our new conditions.

Electricity might not have existed in the wilderness of the Sinai, but the rules that determined it was forbidden to be interacted with on Shabbat did.

So, let us all embrace our long tradition, learn our traditional text & history, so we can finally stop looking at ourselves through a non-Jewish lens and start using a Jewish one instead.