Sanhedrin Relocates to Yavne

After the destruction of the Temple, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai established a rabbinic academy and court at Yavne on the coastal plain, according to tradition after being smuggled out of besieged Jerusalem. Yavne became the institution that replaced the Temple as the center of Jewish authority, ruling on the calendar, the liturgy, and the boundaries of the biblical canon. The move transformed Judaism from a religion centered on sacrifice to one centered on study, prayer, and law. It is arguably the single most consequential institutional decision in Jewish history.