parsha bit: Vayikra

[cellio]

When the temple was destroyed it was no longer possible to bring the korbanot (offerings) mandated in the book of Vayikra, and the rabbis instittuted prayer as a substitute. Some of the rabbis said that prayer was not just equivalent but superior to korbanot: prayer could be offered anywhere and at any time, unlike the korbanot, and could take the form of meditation or words spoken from the heart. (Tanchuma, Vayera, 31b)

(Actually, even before the temple was destroyed there were synagogues where people prayed instead of journeying to Yerushalayim.)

Comments

[sanpaku.livejournal.com]

To quote the reference guide volume of the Steinsaltz Talmud (which you should probably get ahold of sooner or later):

"In the Second Temple period there were already synagogues both in Eretz Israel and outside it, wherever there was a Jewish commukity. In large communities there were a number of synagogues. ... The synagogue served not only as a place for communal prayer but also as a meeting-place where community needs were discussed." etc.

Because of the coexistence of Temple and synagogue for the historical periods we know about, I seem to recall that the idea of the prayers being a substitute for the korbanot was a much later development. People did not give up on the idea of a restored Temple for a long time. They are two different services -- the service of korbanot and the service of the heart. The latter was praised as superior, but the idea that we make prayers as equivalents of a sacrifice is a later development. Wish I had a source...