Council of Jamnia and Rabbinic Judaism

With the Temple gone, Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai reportedly escapes Jerusalem in a coffin and receives Roman permission to establish an academy at Jamnia (Yavneh) on the coastal plain. While the idea of a single definitive 'council' is debated by scholars, Jamnia becomes the center where rabbis work out how Judaism functions without a Temple, without a priesthood, and without sacrifices. Prayer replaces sacrifice, the synagogue replaces the Temple, and the rabbi replaces the priest. This transformation runs parallel to Christianity's own emergence as a distinct faith.