 During the Babylonian captivity (586–537 BCE) the men of the Great Assembly formalized and standardized the language of the Jewish prayers.Prior to that people prayed as they saw fit, with each individual praying in his or her own way, and there were no standard prayers that were recited.Johanan ben Zakai, one of the leaders at the end of the Second Temple era, promulgated the idea of creating individual houses of worship in whatever locale Jews found themselves.