69 ERETZ ISRAEL
Johanan ben Zaccai received permission from Vespasian to retire with the rabbinical leaders of his generation to Yabneh. There the foundation was laid, for the survival of the Jewish people in dispersed communities without a central Temple. Their proclamations included the replacement of sacrifices by charity, repentance, and the fixation of initially set prayers (the Amidah, Shemah and Alenu). In addition they began the establishment of an educational system for children, the fixing of the Biblical cannon and the separation between Judaism and Christianity.
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