Similarities Between Judaism And Religion

After being allowed to return to Israel by King Cyrus of Persia upon his conquering of the Babylonian empire, Judaism underwent marked changes in nearly every aspect of the religion. Before the destruction of the first temple, both political and religious authorities were clearly defined according to the Torah. During the exile, however, Israel was no longer able to choose their rulers or religious authority and Judaism transformed from a religion centered around sacrificial offerings at the temple to one focused on studying religious texts. With the end of prophecy, Jews began to look for other ways that they could worship and connect with God. These factors led to the creation of multiple ideologies of how the Jewish people should conduct their affairs during the second temple period.

Political authority resided with the tribe of Judah and the line of King David, and religious authority with the kohanim from the tribe of Levi. These authorities were not questioned until the era of the divided monarchy beginning in 930 BCE, whereupon the ten northern tribes split from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (the ruling tribes) and King Jeroboam built a temple in the north. During both the united monarchy and the divided monarchy, the primary method of worship was to make sacrifices in the temple under the guidance of the kohanim, whether they were performed in Solomon’s temple or Jeroboam’s temple. However, in 586 BCE, both the northern and southern kingdoms were conquered, beginning the Babylonian exile and the first