After the Roman invasion of Israel and the subsequent destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, the Jewish religion underwent a significant transformation. The centrality of the Temple as the primary place of worship for Jews was destroyed and the role of the priests and sacrifices was eliminated. In the absence of the Temple, synagogues and rabbis became more important in Jewish religious life as they provided a new focus for Jewish worship and community. Rabbis, as the teachers and interpreters of Jewish law and tradition, assumed a central role in Jewish religious observance and community organization. Synagogues became the new center for Jewish worship and community gathering, where people could come to hear the reading of the Torah, study and pray. This led to the development of the synagogues as the main center of Jewish religious, educational and social life, which is still the case in modern times.