In 70 CE, the Roman army captured Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple—the sacred center of Jewish worship, sacrifice and national identity.

This episode explores the world surrounding that catastrophe. We examine what the Temple represented, how Roman occupation shaped life in Judea, and why first-century Judaism contained competing movements such as the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and revolutionary groups.

We then follow the Great Jewish Revolt, the Roman siege of Jerusalem and the destruction that brought the Temple-centered religious order to an end.

But Judaism did not disappear with the altar. Jewish life gradually reorganized around Torah, prayer, synagogue, family and community—allowing an ancient people and their traditions to survive without the physical center that had once defined their world.

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