The Roman destruction of the second temple in 70CE led to
the scattering of the Hebrew population, especially those living near
Jerusalem. It also led to a significant impact on liturgy. The priest class
(Kohanim, כֹּהֲנִים)
and their supporters, the wealthy Saducees, had held a monopoly on leadership
and religious practice. This authority had gradually waned after the Supreme
Court (Sanhedrin) removed the High Priest as its ex officio leader in 191BCE.
The principal group conflicting with the Saducees was the
Pharisees. According to the writings of the nearly contemporaneous historian,
Josephus, the liturgy of the Pharisees was based on a combination of oral and
written law and its interpretation (Halakhah, הֲלָכָה) first by the Sanhedrin
and later by rabbis. This is what became the ritualistic basis for Rabbinic
Judaism which succeeded the domination of the priests whose main interest was
to get followers to attend the Temple and sacrifice (i.e., pay tribute). The
last Sanhedrin was dissolved in the 4th century. Maimonides, often considered
as the most important rabbinic word, died over eight hundred years ago. To this
day, Rabbinic Judaism is a major form of practice with little deviation across
continents.
As lay (non rabbinic) scholars
began to study these ancient laws and practice, they came to the conclusion
that the changes in life that occurred over the centuries had to be addressed.
The Enlightenment (Haskalah, השכלה) was a movement that started in 18th
century Germany for Jews to engage in the secular world and understand the
conflict between their adherence to an 1800 year old world view and what was
occurring around them. Critical revision in Jewish belief and practice was one
of the outcomes of the Haskalah that erupted toward the end of the19th century
into outright rejection of Jewish practice including the use of Hebrew in
liturgy, the wearing of head covering by men and the segregation and demeaning
of woman in religious services and prayer.
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