ABSTRACT
Any visitor to Rome up to the present day may gaze on the carved reliefs of the Arch of Titus in the heart of the ancient city, situated on the Via Sacra facing the forum. The relief encapsulates two aspects of Judaism in this period. It attests to the Jewish resistance to Roman rule that was to repeat itself on several occasions, most notably in 115-18 against Trajan in the Diaspora as well as possibly in Palestine, 132-5 led by Bar Kochba in Palestine, and finally in 351 by Patricius in Palestine. The large geographical spread of the Jewish communities meant that Jewish life and religion continued and was sustained without serious upheaval following the destruction of the Temple. The study of the Bible and the law contained therein became a central aspect of rabbinic Judaism, as well as the very importance of study itself, in a way that it had not in Pharisaism.
