What techniques did the Jews use to keep judaism alive during the Jewish diaspora?

Answer 1

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.

See also:

More about the diaspora

Answer 2

There are numerous interrelated reasons that the Jews survived and preserved their unique cultural and religious traditions despite being deprived of their homeland and being almost consistently persecuted to varying degrees, regardless of whether the miracle-argument is convincing or not.

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 moblity 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 dispersions 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 3

1) Learning, teaching and keeping the Torah.
2) Maintaining Jewish communities, prayers and Jewish customs.
3) Optimism, and maintaining belief in the eventual Redemption.