Rabbinical Judaism

March 17, 2004 · updated February 15, 2022

Rabbinical Judaism developed out of the Pharasiac movement and in response to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. The rabbis sought to reinterpret Jewish concepts and practices in the absence of the Temple and for a people in exile. Aside from some small side movements (such as the Karaites), Rabbinical Judaism has been the dominant form of the Jewish religion ever since. It produced the Talmud, the Midrash, and the great figures of medieval Jewish philosophy.