Reply To: how did early jews keep warm in terribly cold climates during the winter?

Akuperma, until the churban, most Jews outside of major cities did live on isolated homesteads. They were farmers. Shuls and prayers, as we know them today didn’t exist and thus there was almost never a need for a minyan. If one was needed a farmer would travel to a village. The Gemorah talks about reading the Megillah on the closest market day to the actual day of Purim so as not to make the farmers travel twice in one week.