What happened to Jewish beliefs when they were in exile?

Answer 1

Nothing.

Since Jews and Gentiles lived side by side in the diaspora, there may have been some borrowing in language or other minor matters. But in terms of beliefs, they remained quite different.

• How did Jews keep their faith strong?

1) Reading the Torah in the synagogue and studying it at other times. In those countries where there were zero Torah-scholars, Judaism died out. One example of that is the Kaifeng community.
2) Keeping the laws and beliefs of the Torah. Those who didn't do this, such as the Hellenizers and Sadducees, went lost.
3) Maintaining vibrant Jewish communities, with communal prayer and study, mutual help, maintaining ties between the various communities, etc.
4) Remembering God's covenant and promise that the Jews and Judaism will never cease.

Answer 2

Nothing happened to Jewish beliefs. They don't change. However, while the Torah, its commands and the principles and beliefs of Judaism remain unchanged, Judaism has evolved as circumstances have necessitated.
1) After the end of prophecy (some 2350 years ago), the canon of the Hebrew Bible was sealed by a special Sanhedrin (Rabbinical court). It was the same Sanhedrin which placed our prayers in their permanent form (see Talmud, Berakhot 33a).
2) Purim and Hanukkah were instituted after the relevant events.
3) Certain fasts were instituted in connection with the Destruction of the Temple.
4) After the Destruction of the Temple, the laws of sacrifices were suspended.
5) When circumstances made it impossible, the New Moon was no longer proclaimed by testimony; rather, the fixed calendar was instituted (around 360 CE).
6) The Talmud was put in writing (around 500 CE) when it became too hard to be learned by heart.
7) There are seven formal Rabbinical commands. These are:
Saying the blessings over food (and on various occasions)
Washing one's hands before eating bread
Lighting the Hanukkah-menorah
The Eruv
Saying the Hallel prayer on certain occasions
Lighting the Sabbath candles
Reading the Megillat Esther on Purim.
In addition, there are many Rabbinical decrees, mostly from the Men of the Great Assembly (4th century BCE), as well as later enactments.
The purpose of every one of these is to provide a "fence around the Torah," meaning to shore up something that can benefit from strengthening. An example: not handling electric appliances on the Sabbath, even if they are not connected to any electric socket.

Answer 3

There are numerous interrelated reasons that the Jewish religion survived despite the Jews being deprived of their homeland and being almost consistently persecuted to varying degrees.

1) Identity and Distinctiveness: Both Jews and non-Jews perceived Jews as a unique ethnic group of people with specific religious beliefs. Historically, parts of the Jewish and parts of the non-Jewish communities have strongly resisted integration and legal equality between Jews and non-Jews. This distinctive identity was further reinforced by the various forms of persecution that Jews suffered. They realized that nobody would look out for their interests consistently other than themselves, which made them more resilient and inward-looking as a community with distinct customs and beliefs.

It is worth noting that in countries with more persistent persecution (but not genocide) of Jews, that Jews tend to be more religious than in countries were Jews feel less persecuted. This is not to encourage persecution, but there is a strong correlation between stronger persecution (that does not rise to genocides or massacres) and a more religious Jewish population.

2) High Degree of Literacy and Education: Jews have historically had high literacy rates and a determination to be educated. This resulted in Jews being able to more effectively preserve their traditions than the general Christian or Muslim populations with which they lived. This prevented cultural diffusion, where it did occur, from obfuscating Jewish traditions because the latter could always be reread and discussed.

3) Usefulness: Since Jews were more educated, they were able to branch out into numerous more skilled professions. Additionally, many of the professions in artisanry were forbidden to Jews. This led to many Jews becoming lawyers, doctors, bankers, and bureaucrats. Their abilities to help Gentile leaders effectively rule their states made the Jews worth protecting in a way that other minorities, such as the Romani, did not encourage.

4) Mobility: Unlike most minorities, the Jews were able to migrate from areas with increasing persecution and hardship to areas where these things were lessened. This mobility was enhanced by the above three benefits. Since Jews were distinct, it fostered a strong sense of brotherhood, meaning that a migrant Jew would be welcomed by the extant Jewish community. Additionally, the shared literacy of the Jewish communities meant that even if the migrants did not speak the vernacular, they could at least communicate with Jews using written Hebrew in a pinch. However, more useful were Jewish languages like Yiddish, Ladino, Yevanic, or Judeo-Arabic which had a larger geographic dispersion than most spoken languages of the time. Also, given that Jews were very useful, they posed less of welfare problem than non-Jewish migrants with equal resources.

Answer 4

The question answers itself. They continued to practice Judaism by continuing to practice Judaism. They realized that abandoning their religion meant abandoning their relationship with God, and that their lives would be meaningless if lived for mere materialistic purposes. More specifically, 1) By reading the Torah in the synagogue and studying it at other times. In those countries where there were zero Torah-scholars, Judaism died out. One example of that is the Kaifeng community.

2) Keeping the laws and beliefs of the Torah. Those who didn't do this, such as the Hellenizers and Sadducees, went lost.

3) Maintaining vibrant Jewish communities, with communal prayer and study, mutual help, maintaining ties between the various communities, etc.

4) Remembering God's covenant and promise that the Jews and Judaism will never cease.

See also:

More about the diaspora

Answer 5

They met and worshipped together on the Sabbath.

Answer 6

They met and worshipped together on the Sabbath,They published many religious texts,They worked to convert the Babylonians to Judaism.

Answer 7

Very simple religion with any people is part of who they are so the religion goes where they go.

Answer 8

Is that the Jews attacked