Difference between revisions of "Pharisees" - New World Encyclopedia

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[[Image:Nicodemus.jpg|thumb|130px|The Pharisee Nicodemus, a member of the Sandhedrin who defended Jesus of Nazareth]]
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The '''Pharisees''' were a religious and political movement of ancient Israel and the precursors of [[Rabbinic Judaism]]. They emerged in opposition to the corruption of the [[Hasmonean]] dynasty and its allies, the [[Sadducees]], in the second century B.C.E. They were characterized by an emphasis on [[popular piety]] rather than priestly elitism, a tradition of [[Oral Law]] in addition to the written [[Torah]], and an affirmation of the doctrine of the [[resurrection]] of the dead in the coming messianic age as taught by the [[prophet]]s—all of which the Sadducees tended to reject.
  
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During the early years of the [[Common Era]], a major internal debate existed between the followers of the two Pharisaic sages, [[Hillel]] and [[Shammai]], representing a flexible versus a strict approach to the Jewish law, respectively. After the [[Jewish Revolt]] against [[Rome]] resulted in the destruction of the [[Temple of Jerusalem]] in 70 C.E., the followers of Hillel prevailed. The Pharisaic movement went on to create the foundations for what is now known as [[Rabbinic Judaism]], through its deliberations at [[Yavneh]] (Jamnia) in the second century C.E., and the later compiling of the [[Mishnah]] and teh [[Talmud]].
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{{Jews and Judaism}}
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The word '''Pharisees''' comes from the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] פרושים ''prushim'' from פרוש ''parush'', meaning  "separated" , that is, one who is separated for a life of purity. (Ernest Klein, ''Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language'') The Pharisees were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the [[Second Temple]] Era ([[530s B.C.E.|536 B.C.E.]]–70 C.E.).  After the destruction of the Second Temple, the Pharisaic sect was re-established as [[Rabbinic Judaism]] — which ultimately produced normative, traditional Judaism, the basis for all contemporary forms of Judaism, with the possible exception of the [[Karaites]].  
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Christian portraits of the Pharisees in the [[New Testament]] tend to portray them as narrow-minded [[hypocrite]]s and the mortal opponents of [[Jesus]]. However, recent scholarship has shown that some Pharisees were supporters of Jesus and the early Christian movement, and some scholars see a direct influence of Pharisees such as [[Hillel]] on the teachings of Jesus. Deeper study of the nature and history of the Pharisees can help foster Jewish-Christian dialog in an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding.
  
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== Relationship to other movements ==
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==Background==
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[[Image:Josephus.jpg|thumb|Josephus]]
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For the background of the Pharisees, historians are largely dependent on the accounts of [[Josephus]], the Jewish historian of the late first century C.E. who was himself a member of the Pharisees but later collaborated with the Romans during the [[Jewish Revolt]] of 66-70 C.E.
  
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The relationship between the Pharisees and Rabbinic Judaism (exemplified by the [[Talmud]]) is so close that many do not distinguish between the two. Nevertheless, the social standing and beliefs of the Pharisees changed over time, as political and social conditions in Judea changed.
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The word '''Pharisees''' comes from the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ( פרושים) ''prushim'' from (פרוש) ''parush,'' meaning  "separated"—referring to one who is separated for a life of purity. According to Josephus' accounts, the Pharisees emerged in opposition to the corruption of the Hasmonean dynasty of the second century B.C.E. The Hamoneans had assumed power in the wake of the successful revolt against the [[Seleucid]] Greeks. Led by [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah Maccabee]], the Jews had liberated [[Jerusalem]] from Greek rule in 165 B.C.E. and restored its Temple, which had been defiled under the [[Antiochus IV]]. Judah's nephew, [[John Hyrcanus]], established the Hasmonean dynasty, in which the priests held direct political power as well as religious authority. Although the Hasmoneans were heroes for resisting the Seleucids, their reign lacked the legitimacy conferred by the descent from the [[David]]ic dynasty of the First Temple Era. The hope of a [[Messiah]], son of David, developed during this period in tension with the reality of Hasmonean rule.
  
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More specifically, the Pharisees were one of the successor groups of the Hasidim (the "pious"), an anti-Hellenic Jewish movement that formed in the time of the [[Seleucid]] king, [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes|Antiochus Epiphanes]] ([[175 B.C.E.|175]]–163 B.C.E.). (This group is distinct from the [[Hasidism]] established in 18th century [[Europe]].) The first mention of the Pharisees is by the Jewish-Roman historian [[Josephus]], in a description of the four "schools of thought" (that is, social groups or movements) into which the Jews were divided in the [[1st century]] [[Common Era|CE]].  The other schools were the [[Essenes]], revolutionaries, and the [[Sadducees]].  The Essenes were apolitical; the revolutionaries, such as the [[Sicarii]] and the [[Zealots]], emerged specifically to resist the [[Roman Empire]].  Other sects emerged at this time, such as the [[Christianity|Christians]] in [[Judea]] and the [[Therapeutae]] in [[Egypt]]. The Sadducees and Pharisees began earlier, as political factions in the [[Hellenistic]] [[Hasmonean]] period of the Second Temple era.  At no time did any of these sects constitute a majority; most Jews were non-sectarian. However, Josephus indicates that the Pharisees received the backing and good-will of the common people. Nevertheless, these sects are emblematic of the different responses of Jews to the political, economic, and cultural forces that characterized the Second Temple era.
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Around this time the [[Sadducees|Sadducee]]s emerged as the party of the priests and allied Hasmonean elites, taking their name, ''Sadducee,'' from King Solomon's loyal priest [[Zadok]]. The Pharisees emerged out of the group of scribes and sages who objected to the Hasmonean monopoly on power, hoped for a Davidic Messiah, and criticized the growing corruption of the Hasmonean court.
  
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For most of their history, Pharisees considered themselves in opposition to the Sadducees. Conflicts between the Sadducees and the Pharisees took place in the context of much broader conflicts among Jews in the [[Second Temple]] era, which followed the [[Babylonian captivity of Judah]]. One conflict was class, between the wealthy and the poor.  Another conflict was cultural, between those who favored [[hellenization]] and those who resisted it.  A third was juridico-religious, between those who emphasized the importance of the Temple, and those who emphasized the importance of other Mosaic laws and prophetic values. A fourth, specifically religious, involved different interpretations of the Bible (or [[Tanakh]]) or , and how to apply the Torah to Jewish life.  These conflicts, practically speaking, define the Second Temple Era, a time when the Temple had tremendous authority but questionable legitimacy, and a time when the sacred literature of the Torah, and Bible or Tanakh were being canonized. Fundamentally, Sadducees and Pharisees took clearly opposing positions concerning the third and fourth conflicts, but at different times were influenced by the other conflicts.  In general, whereas the Sadducees were conservative, aristocratic monarchists, the Pharisees were eclectic, popular and more democratic. (Roth 1970: 84)  The Pharisaic position is exemplified by the assertion that "A learned ''mamzer'' takes precedence over an ignorant High Priest." (A ''mamzer'', according to the Pharasaic definition, is an outcast child born of a forbidden relationship, such as adultery or incest; the word is often, but incorrectly, translated as "illegitimate" or "bastard.")
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During the Hasmonean period, the Sadducees and Pharisees functioned primarily as political parties. According to Josephus, the Pharisees opposed the Hasmonean war against the [[Samaritan]]s and the forced conversion of the [[Idumeans]]. The political rift between the two parties grew wider under the Hasmonean king [[Alexander Jannaeus]], who adopted Sadduceean rites in the Temple. There was a brief civil war that ended with a bloody repression of the Pharisees.
  
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==Background: the religion of ancient Israel==
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Alexander was succeeded by his widow, [[Salome Alexandra]], who was more favorably inclined toward the Pharisees. Alexandra installed as high priest her eldest son, the pro-Pharisee [[Hyrcanus II]], and the [[Sanhedrin]], or ruling council, was reorganized along lines that strengthened Pharisaic influence.  
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Although the Pharisees did not emerge until the Hasmonean period, their origins, like those of the Sadducees, may be traced to institutions that developed during the First Temple era.  The religion of ancient Israel was centered on a Temple and served by a caste of [[Kohen|priests]], who sacrificed [[Korban|offerings]] to the [[God]] of Israel. Among the Children of Israel, Kohanim (priests) claimed descent from [[Aaron]] of the tribe of [[Levite|Levi]], and were believed to have been chosen by God to serve God in the [[Tabernacle (Judaism)|Tabernacle]] during Israel's wanderings in the desert.  After the settlement of the land of Canaan, a number of sites served as centers of worship and the priestly service, including Shiloh.
 
  
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In ancient Israel, as in most ancient Near Eastern societies, the institution of the priesthood was closely tied with the monarchy.  According to the [[Tanakh]], after a period of decentralized and un-institutionalized political authority (described in the book of [[Judges]]), the Children of Israel demanded that God provide them with a king. At first, [[Samuel (Bible)|Samuel]] (who may be considered the last judge) anointed [[Saul]] of the tribe of Benjamin; later he anointed [[David]] of the tribe of Judah, and established the House of David as the definitive royal line.
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[[Image:Pompée dans le Temple de Jérusalem.jpg|thumb|225px|left|Pompey defiles the Temple.]]
  
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The religious authority of the Kohanim was centralized and institutionalized with the construction of [[Temple in Jerusalem]] around [[950s B.C.E.|950 B.C.E.]]. , and when the [[Kohen Gadol]] (high priest) Zadok anointed Solomon king. Priests during the [[Solomon's Temple|First Temple]] Era (from around 950 B.C.E. to [[580s B.C.E.|586 B.C.E.]]) were limited to the Temple service and interpreting and teaching Torah; political power officially rested in the hands of a king who ruled, according to the Tanakh, by divine right.  
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Upon Alexandra's death, [[Hyrcanus II]] gained the Pharisees' support, while her younger son, [[Aristobulus]], found support among the Sadducees. The conflict between Hyrcanus and Aristobulus culminated in another civil war that ended when the [[Roman Republic|Roman]] general [[Pompey]] captured [[Jerusalem]] in 63 B.C.E. and inaugurated the Roman period of Jewish history. Echoing the prophet [[Jeremiah]]'s attitude toward the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E., the Pharisees regarded Pompey’s defilement of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] as a divine punishment for the Sadducean abuse of the priesthood. They asked Pompey to abolish the royalty of the Hasmoneans ("Ant." xiv. 3, § 2). Pompey named Hyrcanus II high priest and "ethnarch," a lesser title than "king." In 57 B.C.E. Hyrcanus was deprived of the remainder of his political authority, and ultimate jurisdiction was given to the Roman Proconsul of [[Syria]].
  
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Although sharing the practice of offering [[Korban|sacrifices]] with other near eastern religions of the time, the Children of Israel also had sacred texts (according to [[Orthodox Judaism|traditional Jews]], the core of which were revealed at Mt. Sinai and during the years of wandering in the desert, following the exodus from Egypt; according to the [[documentary hypothesis]], based on earlier literary and oral sources and later edited into the [[Torah]], or Five Books of Moses) which contained moral stories and teachings, as well as laws, which provided all people with ways to worship their God in the course of their everyday lives. [[Prophet]]s, inspired by God and by the values and teachings embodied in the sacred texts, however, often criticized the king, elites, or the masses and provided another potent political force.
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The Proconsul Cabineus established five regional ''synhedria'' ([[Sanhedrin]]s, or councils) to regulate the internal affairs of the Jews, while the Great Sanhedrin in [[Jerusalem]] interpreted Jewish law and adjudicated appeals. Its legislative powers varied, however, depending on Roman policy.
  
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Both the Temple and the Monarchy were destroyed by the [[Babylon]]ians in [[580s B.C.E.|586 B.C.E.]], and most Jews were sent into exile.
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In matters of state finance, administration, and military affairs, the Proconsul ruled through Hyrcanus's [[Idumaean]] associate [[Antipater the Idumaean|Antipater]].<ref>The Idumeans were the latter day [[Edom]]ites, who had been forcibly converted to Judaism under John Hyrcanus.</ref> Later, Antipater's sons governed the northern and southern districts of the former territory of Israel: [[Phasael]] administering [[Judea]], and [[Herod the Great|Herod]] ruling [[Galilee]]. In 40 B.C.E., however, Aristobulus's son [[Antigonus]] overthrew Hyrcanus II and named himself both king and high priest, placing the Pharisees once again at a disadvantage.
  
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==Pharisees in the Second Temple era==
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[[Image:Prise de Jérusalem par Hérode le Grand.jpg|thumb|250px|Herod enters Jerusalem.]]
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===The Persian period===
 
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In [[530s B.C.E..|539 B.C.E.]] the Persians conquered Babylon and in 537 B.C.E., inaugurating the Persian period of Jewish history, [[Cyrus the Great]] allowed Jews to return to Judea and rebuild the Temple (completed in [[510s B.C.E.|515 B.C.E.]]).  He did not, however, allow the restoration of the monarchy, which left the priests as the dominant authority.  Without the constraining power of the monarchy, the authority of the Temple was amplified. Around this time the Sadducee party emerged as the party of priests and allied elites; the name ''Sadducee'' comes from [[Zadok]].  Nevertheless, the [[Second Temple]] had been constructed under the auspices of a foreign power, and there were lingering questions about its legitimacy.  This provided the condition for the development of various sects (including Josephus's "schools of thought"), each of which claimed exclusive authority to represent "Judaism," and typically shunned social intercourse, especially marriage, with members of other sects. 
 
  
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One of the earliest of these competing sects, the Pharisees, had its origins in a relatively new group of authorities &mdash; scribes and sages.  The end of the Babylonian Exile saw not only the construction of the Second Temple, but canonical selection of the [[Tanakh]], the Hebrew Bible, by the [[Sanhedrin]]. [[Biblical Criticism|Critical biblical scholarship]] puts forth the claim that the [[Torah]] was also redacted during this period according to the [[Documentary hypothesis|documentary hypotheses]].
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Herod fled to Rome, where he sought the support of [[Mark Antony]] and [[Caesar Augustus|Octavian]], and secured recognition by the [[Roman Senate]]. He soon dislodged Antigonus and was installed as king, thus bringing an end to the Hasmonean dynasty. Sadducean opposition to Herod led him to treat the Pharisees favorably at first. His Idumean background and his close association with Rome, however, made him an unpopular ruler. Herod's massive restoration and expansion of the [[Temple of Jerusalem]] may have been designed to gain popular support, but his notorious treatment of his family and his ruthless suppression of the Hasmonaeans further eroded his popularity. His willingness to adorn the new Temple with a gold Roman eagle was a particularly unpopular stance, which alienated the Pharisees, for whom resistance to [[Hellenization]] was a hallmark.
  
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Although the priests controlled the monarchy and the Temple, scribes and sages (who would later come to be addressed as ''[[rabbi]]'', "my teacher") monopolized the study of the Torah, which was read publicly on market-days, a practice which was institutionalized after the return from the [[Babylonian captivity of Judah|Babylonian exile]] as a replacement for the Biblical requirement of reading by the Monarch.  These sages identified with the prophets (political and religious reformers active in the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, who came from other tribes than Levi), and developed and maintained an oral tradition, which they maintained originated at Mount Sinai alongside the Holy Writ. The rift between the priests and the sages developed during the Hellenistic period, when the Jews faced new political and cultural struggles.
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Herod's paranoia toward any perceived threat to his throne also proved incompatible with the Pharisees' hope in the coming Davidic [[Messiah]]. In 6 B.C.E., Herod executed several Pharisaic leaders who had announced that the birth of the Messiah would mean the end of Herod's rule. Then, in 4 B.C.E., when young Pharisaic [[Torah]]-students smashed the golden Roman eagle over the main entrance of Herod's Temple, he had 40 of them, along with two of their professors, burned alive. ("Ant." xvii. 2, § 4; 6, §§ 2-4). Meanwhile, Herod found willing allies among the Sadducees, who now re-emerged to reclaim the high priesthood and challenge Pharisaic pre-eminence.
  
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===The Hellenistic period===
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From this point onward, Josephus' accounts are joined by other sources, including various [[Talmud]]ic references and early Christian writings such as the letters of [[Saint Paul]] (himself a former Pharisee), the [[Gospels]], and the [[Book of Acts]].
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The Hellenistic period of Jewish history began in 332 B.C.E. when [[Alexander the Great]] conquered Persia. Upon his death in 323 B.C.E., his empire was divided among his generals.  At first, Judea was ruled by the Egyptian-Hellenic [[Ptolemies]], but in 198 B.C.E., the Syrian-Hellenic [[Seleucid Empire]], under Antiochus III, seized control of Judea.
 
  
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The Near East had long been cosmopolitan, and was especially so during the Hellenistic period.  Several languages were used, and the matter of the ''lingua franca'' is still subject of some debate. The Jews almost certainly spoke [[Aramaic]] among themselves. [[Greek language|Greek]] was at least to some extent a trade language in the region, and indeed throughout the entire eastern portion of the Mediterranean.  Thus, historian Shaye Cohen has observed that
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==Theological characteristics==
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:All the Judaisms of the Hellenistic period, of both the diaspora and the land of Israel, were Hellenized, that is, were integral parts of the culture of the ancient world. Some varieties of Judaism were more hellenized than others, but none was an island unto itself. It is a mistake to imagine that the land of Palestine preserved a "pure" form of Judaism and that the diaspora was the home of adulterated or diluted forms of Judaism. The term "Hellenistic Judaism" makes sense, then, only as a chronological indicator for the period from Alexander the Great to the Macabees or perhaps to the Roman conquests of the first century B.C.E. As a descriptive term for a certain type of Judaism, however, it is meaningless because all the Judaisms of the Hellenistic period were "Hellenistic." (Cohen 1987: 37)
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The Pharisaic approach to Judaism was characterized by several distinctive attitudes:
  
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There are significant distinctions in the manner in which Hellenism influenced factions within the Jewish world of that time. Some assimilated Greek language, dress and sciences. Others wholeheartedly incorporated Greek philosophy and culture, to the point where they assimilated their understanding of Judaism into a Hellenic idiom.  
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First, Pharisees were a movement of [[popular piety]], rather than priestly elitism. They interpreted [[Exodus]] 19:4-5 literally: "If you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my own possession among all peoples; for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Moreover, in the Pharisees' view, the [[Torah]] already provided the way for every Jew to lead a priestly life. The Pharisees believed that all Jews in their ordinary lives should observe the rules and rituals concerning purification and all 613 of the commandments which the Pharisees discerned in the [[Law of Moses]].
  
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====Cultural struggles with Hellenism====
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[[Image:Tora JMW.jpg|thumb|250px|Open Torah scroll. The Pharisees believed in an Oral Torah as well as the written one.]]
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Jews had to grapple with the values of [[Hellenistic civilization|Hellenism]] and Hellenistic philosophy, which were often directly at odds with their own values and traditions. Bath houses were built in [[Jerusalem]], for instance, and the ''[[Gymnasium (ancient Greece)|gymnasium]]'' became a center of social, athletic, and intellectual life. Many Jews embraced these institutions, although Jews who did so were often looked down upon due to their circumcision, which Gentiles viewed as an aesthetic defacement of the body. Many Jews lived in the [[Diaspora]], and the Judean provinces of Judea, Samaria, and the Galilee were populated by many Gentiles (who often showed an interest in Judaism).  Under such conditions, Jews had to confront a paradox in their own tradition: their God was the God of all, but their covenant with God &mdash; the [[Mitzvot|commandments]] and [[Halakha|laws]] through which this covenant took material and practical form &mdash; applied only to them. This tension between the universal and the particular in Judaism led to new interpretations, some of which were influenced by Hellenic thought and in response to Gentile interest in Judaism.
 
  
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====Political struggles with Hellenism====
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Second, the Pharisees believed in an [[Oral Law]] as well as a [[Written Law]]. In addition to the [[Torah]] recognized by the [[Sadducee]]s, the Pharisees held that God had also revealed to [[Moses]] an Oral Torah that functioned to elaborate and explicate what was written. Therefore, the Law did not end with what was written in the Torah scrolls, but was also revealed orally by Moses ''and his successors'' into the present age. It was the function of the [[prophet]]s and [[sage]]s to explicate the Oral Torah and clarify its application in contemporary cirumstances.
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Generally, the Jews accepted foreign rule when they were only required to pay tribute, and otherwise allowed to govern themselves internally. Nevertheless, Jews were divided between those favoring hellenization and those opposing it, and were divided over allegiance to the Ptolemies or Seleucids.  When the High Priest Simon II died in 175 B.C.E., conflict broke out between supporters of his son Onias III (who opposed hellenization, and favored the Ptolemies) and his son Jason (who favored hellenization, and favored the Seleucids).  A period of political intrigue followed, with priests such as Menelaus bribing the king to win the High Priesthood, and accusations of murder of competing contenders for the title. The result was a brief civil war.  Huge numbers of Jews flocked to Jason's side, and in 167 B.C.E. the Seleucid king [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes|Antiochus IV]] invaded Judea, entered the Temple, and stripped it of money and ceremonial objects.  Jason fled to Egypt, and Antiochus imposed a program of forced hellenization, requiring Jews to abandon their own laws and customs.  At this point Mattathias and his five sons, John, Eleazar, Simon, Jonathan, and [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah Maccabee]], priests of the Hasmon family living in the area of ancient [[Modi'in]], assumed leadership of a bloody revolt against the Seleucids.
 
  
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Judah liberated Jerusalem in 165 B.C.E. and restored the Temple.  Fighting continued, and Judah and his brother Jonathan were killed. In 141 B.C.E. an
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Third, the Pharisees believed in the [[resurrection]] of the dead in a future age, which would be ushered in by the [[Messiah]], in whom they earnestly hoped.
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assembly of priests and others affirmed Simon as high priest and leader, in effect establishing the [[Hasmonean]] dynasty.  When Simon was killed in 135 B.C.E., his son [[John Hyrcanus]] took his place as high priest and king.
 
  
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===The Hasmonean period===
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Fourth, the Pharisees placed a greater emphasis on the scriptural authority of the prophets and other biblical writings than did the Sadducees. (During this period, no authorized list of scriptures outside of the Torah yet existed.)
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After defeating the Seleucid forces, Judah's nephew [[John Hyrcanus]] established a new monarchy in the form of the priestly Hasmonean dynasty in 152 B.C.E. &mdash; thus establishing priests as political as well as religious authorities.  Although the Hasmoneans were heroes for resisting the Seleucids, their reign lacked the legitimacy conferred by descent from the Davidic dynasty of the First Temple Era.
 
  
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====The emergence of the Sadducees, Essenes, and Pharisees====
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Finally, the Pharisees resisted [[Hellenization]], viewing the Sadducees as generally corrupted by their association with Hasmonean and Roman rulers.
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The rift between the priests and the sages grew during the Hellenistic period, when the Jews faced new political and cultural struggles.  Around this time the [[Sadducees|Sadducee]] party emerged as the party of the priests and allied elites (the name ''Sadducee'' comes from [[Zadok]]).
 
  
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The [[Essenes]] may have emerged as a sect of dissident priests.  They are believed to have rejected either the Seleucid appointed high priests, or the Hasmonean high priests, as illegitimate.  Ultimately, they rejected the Second Temple, arguing that the Essene community was itself the new Temple, and that obedience to the law represented a new form of sacrifice.
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==Hillel vs. Shammai==
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Two great Pharisaic teachers emerged during early Common Era: [[Hillel]] and [[Shammai]]. Their two schools of Pharisaism would shape an internal debate within the movement that had a crucial impact on Jewish history.
  
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The Pharisee ("separatist") party emerged largely out of the group of scribes and sages who harked back to Ezra and the Great Assembly. The meaning of the name is unclear; it may refer to their rejection of Hellenic culture or to their objection to the Hasmonean monopoly on power.  It is difficult to state at what time the Pharisees, as a party, arose. [[Josephus]] first mentions them in connection with Jonathan, the successor of [[Judas Maccabeus]] ("Ant." xiii. 5, § 9).  One of the factors that distinguished the Pharisees from other groups prior to the destruction of the Temple was their belief that all Jews had to observe the purity laws (which applied to the Temple service) ''outside'' the Temple. The  major difference, however, was the continued adherence of the Pharisees to the laws and traditions of the Jewish people in the face of assimilation. As Josephus noted, the Pharisees were considered the most expert and accurate expositors of Jewish law.
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[[Image:Jesus- and -rabbis.jpg|thumb|220px|Jesus and the "teachers." Both Hillel and Shammai were active in Jerusalem during the early life of Jesus.]]
  
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During the Hasmonean period, the Sadducees and Pharisees functioned primarily as political parties. Although the Pharisees did not support the wars of expansion of the Hasmoneans and the forced conversions of the Idumeans, the political rift between them became wider when a Pharisee suggested that the Hasmonean king [[Alexander Jannaeus]] choose between being king and being High Priest.  In response, Alexander Jannai openly sided with the Sadducees by adopting their rites in the Temple. His actions caused a riot in the Temple and led to a brief civil war that ended with a bloody repression of the Pharisees, although at his deathbed the king called for a reconciliation between the two parties.  Alexander was succeeded by his widow, [[Salome Alexandra]], whose brother was Shimon ben Shetach, a leading Pharisee. Upon her death her elder son, [[Hyrcanus]], sought Pharisee support, and her younger son, Aristobulus, sought the support of the Sadducees. The conflict between Hyrcanus and Aristobulus culminated in a civil war that ended when the [[Roman Republic|Roman]] general [[Pompey]] captured [[Jerusalem]] in 63 B.C.E. and inaugurated the Roman period of Jewish history.
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Shammai was the stricter of the two sages, insisting on a narrow interpretation of the [[Torah]] on most issues, while Hillel was the more liberal. A famous story characterizing them tells of a time when a [[Gentile]] man came first to Shammai and asked to be converted to [[Judaism]], upon the condition that Shammai summarize the entire Torah while standing on one leg. Shammai took offense at the request, and he drove the applicant away with a measuring stick. Hillel, on the other hand, did as the seeker requested, standing on one leg and declaring: "What is hateful to you, do not unto your neighbor. This is the Law on the Prophets; the rest is commentary. Now, go and study." (Shabbat, 31a).  
  
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Josephus attests that [[Salome Alexandra]] was very favorably inclined toward the Pharisees and that their political influence grew tremendously under her reign, especially in the institution known as the [[Sanhedrin]]. Later texts like the [[Mishnah]] and the [[Talmud]] record a host of rulings ascribed to the Pharisees concerning sacrifices and other ritual practices in the Temple, torts, criminal law, and governance. The influence of the Pharisees over the lives of the common people remained strong and their rulings on Jewish law were deemed authoritative by many. Although these texts were written long after these periods, many scholars have said that they are a fairly reliable account of history during the Second Temple era.
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Each of the two teachers—Hillel being the elder—served in turn as the leading figure of the [[Sanhedrin]], and debates raged far and wide among their disciples. In the years following their death, these disputations increased to such an extent as to give rise to the saying: "The one Law has become two laws" (Tosef., Hag. 2:9; Sanh. 88b; Sotah 47b).
  
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===The Roman period===
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The Shammaites were said to have inherited the stern and unbending character of their founder. They were also intensely [[patriot]]ic, refusing to submit to foreign rule, and they opposed all friendly relations with the Romans. The House of Shammai particularly abhorred the Roman tax system, as well as the Jewish collaborators who served as tax collectors. Under the leadership of [[Zealot]] [[Judas the Galilean]] and a Shammaite named Zadok (Tosef., Eduy. ii. 2; Yeb. 15b), a popular political movement arose to oppose, even violently, Roman laws.
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According to Josephus, the Pharisees appeared before Pompey asking him to interfere and restore the old priesthood while abolishing the royalty of the Hasmoneans altogether ("Ant." xiv. 3, § 2). They regarded Pompey’s  defilement of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] as a divine punishment of Sadducean misrule.  Pompey ended the monarchy and named Hyrcanus high priest and ethnarch (a lesser title than "king"). Six years later Hyrcanus was deprived of the remainder of political authority and ultimate jurisdiction was given to the Proconsul of [[Syria]], who ruled through Hyrcanus's Idumaean associate [[Antipater the Idumaean|Antipater]], and later Antipater's two sons [[Phasael]] (military governor of Judea) and [[Herod the Great|Herod]] (military governor of Galilee). In 40 B.C.E. Aristobulus's son Antigonus overthrew Hyrcanus and named himself king and high priest, and Herod fled to Rome.
 
  
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====The Herodian dynasty, the procuratorship, and the Sanhedrin====
+
The Hillelites, animated by a more tolerant and peaceful spirit, consequently lost influence. Feelings between the two schools grew so hostile that they even refused to worship together. As the struggle intensified, the Shammaites attempted to prevent all communication between Jews and Gentiles, prohibiting Jews even from buying food from their Gentile neighbors. The Hillelites opposed such extreme exclusiveness. However, in the Sanhedrin, the Shammaites, together with the Zealots, carried the day.
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In Rome, Herod sought the support of [[Mark Antony]] and [[Caesar Augustus|Octavian]], and secured recognition by the [[Roman Senate]] as king, confirming the termination of the Hasmonean dynasty.  According to Josephus, Sadducean opposition to Herod led him to treat the Pharisees favorably ("Ant." xiv. 9, § 4; xv. 1, § 1; 10, § 4; 11, §§ 5-6).  Herod was an unpopular ruler, perceived as a Roman puppet. Despite his restoration and expansion of the Second Temple, Herod’s notorious treatment of his family and of the last Hasmonaeans further eroded his popularity.  According to Josephus, the Pharisees ultimately opposed him and thus fell victims (4 B.C.E.) to his bloodthirstiness ("Ant." xvii. 2, § 4; 6, §§ 2-4). The family of Boethus, whom Herod had raised to the high-priesthood, revived the spirit of the Sadducees, and thenceforth the Pharisees again had them as antagonists ("Ant." xviii. 1, § 4).
 
  
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After Herod's death in 4 B.C.E., various radical Jewish elements rose in revolt: Judas in the Galilee, whose followers tore down the Roman Eagle that had adorned the Temple; Simon in Perea, a former slave of Herod, who burned down the royal palace at Jericho, and Athronges in Judea, a shepherd who led a two-year rebellion. The Syrian legate [[Publius Quinctilius Varus]] took command of Judea, Samaria, and the Galilee, and immediately put down the uprisings, killing thousands of Jews by [[crucifixion]] and selling many into slavery. Rome quickly re-established governance and divided Herod's kingdom among his sons: [[Herod Archelaus|Archelaus]] received the southern part of the territory ([[Judea]] and [[Samaria]]), [[Herod Antipas]] became tetrarch of the [[Galilee]] and the southern Transjordan ([[Perea (Holy Land)|Peraea]]), and Philip received the northern Transjordan ([[Batanaea]]).
+
==The destruction of the Temple==
 +
[[Image:Sack of jerusalem.JPG|thumb|320px|Image from the Triumphal Arch of Titus shows Roman soldiers carrying off the Temple's sacred artifacts.]]
 +
By 66 C.E. Jewish discontent with Rome had escalated beyond the point of no return, and the [[Jewish Revolt]] broke out in full force. The Romans did not succeed in controlling Jerusalem until 70 C.E. when they destroyed the [[Temple of Jerusalem]] and broke the back of the revolt, although pockets of resistance remained. The event was a profoundly traumatic experience for the Jews that marked the end of an era. Ironically, however, it would place the Pharisees in a position of unrivaled leadership, since the priesthood and its affiliated [[Sadducee|Sadducean]] party was left without a base, and the [[Zealot]]s had been discredited by the catastrophic outcome of the revolt.
  
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[[Herod Archelaus|Archelaus]] antagonized the Jews as his father had, and in 6 C.E. the emperor [[Augustus]] acceded to a delegation by placing Judea and Samaria under the indirect rule of a Roman procurator (or prefect), and the direct rule of a Roman-appointed high priest instead.  During this period Judea and Galilee were effectively semi-autonomous client-states under Roman tribute.  For the most part, Jews were willing to pay tribute, although they complained when it was excessive, and absolutely refused to allow a graven image in their Temple although some emperors considered imposing one.  The primary tasks of the tetrarch and high priest were to collect tribute, convince the Romans not to interfere with the Temple, and ensure that the Jews not rebel. 
+
The House of [[Shammai]] and the House of [[Hillel]] continued their disputes even after the demise of the Temple, probably until the reorganization of the Sanhedrin under the presidency of [[Gamaliel II]] around 80 C.E. By that time, all hope for victory over Rome had been lost for the time being, and the House of Shammai was obliged to take a subservient role. Formerly disputed legal points were brought up for review, and in nearly every case the opinion of the Hillelites prevailed (Tosef., Yeb. i. 13; Yer. Ber. i. 3b). Henceforth, the House of Hillel would be the leading voice of Pharisaism, and Pharisaism would be the leading voice of [[Judaism]].
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In 57 B.C.E. the Proconsul Cabineus established five regional ''synhedria'' ([[Sanhedrin]]s, or councils) to regulate the internal affairs of the Jews.  The Sanhedrinae was a legislative council of 71 elders chaired by the high priest, that interpreted Jewish law and adjudicated appeals, especially in ritual matters.  Their specific composure and powers actually varied depending on Roman policy.
 
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====Religious and cultural life during the Roman period====
 
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In the first decades of Roman rule, the Temple remained the center of Jewish ritual life. According to the Torah, Jews were required to travel to Jerusalem and offer sacrifices at the Temple three times a year: [[Passover]], [[Sukkot]], and [[Shavuot]]. Yet, the Temple was not the only institution for Jewish religious life. During the 70 year exile in Babylon, Jewish houses of assembly (known in Hebrew as a "beit knesset" or in Greek as a "synagogue") were the primary meeting place for prayer. The house of study (in Hebrew: "beit midrash") was the counterpart for the synagogue. After the building of the Second Temple in the time of Ezra, the beit knesset and the beit midrash remained important institutions in Jewish life, although secondary in importance to the Temple. Outside of Roman Palestine, the synagogue was often called a house of prayer (in Greek: ''proseuchai''; in Hebrew ''Beit Tefilah'').  One such synagogue in Alexandria, the Diopeloston, was a basilica with a double roofed colonnade, was said to be large enough to house one million worshippers (see Succah 51b). While that number is likely exaggerated, it demonstrates the importance and centrality of the synagogue at that time. While most Jews could not regularly attend the Temple service, they could meet at the synagogue for morning, afternoon and evening prayers. On Mondays, Thursdays and the Sabbath, a weekly Torah portion was read publicly in the synagogues, following the tradition of public Torah readings instituted by Ezra (see, Nehemiah 8:1-18).
 
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====From political party to sect: Sadducees, Essenes, and Pharisees in the Roman period====
 
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There is a definite record of only one high priest (Ananus, in 62) being a Sadducee, although some scholars assume, based purely on speculation, that the Sanhedrin was dominated by Sadducees.  Nevertheless, their power severely curtailed, during the Roman period Sadducees are better understood as a sect rather than a political party. Similarly, the Pharisees were politically quiescent, and studied, taught, and worshiped in their own way.  Although popular and respected, they had no political power. Rather, they only had the power of persuasion. 
 
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During this period serious theological differences emerged between the Sadducees and Pharisees. Although the Essene lack of concern for the Second Temple alienated them from the great mass of Jews, their notion that the sacred could exist outside of the Temple was shared and elevated by the Pharisees. 
 
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Many, including some scholars have distinguished the Sadducees as a sect that interpreted the Torah literally, whereas the Pharisees interpreted the Torah liberally.  R' Yitchak Isaac Halevi (who takes the above view) suggests that this was not, in fact, a matter of religion. He claims that as complete rejection of Judaism would not have been tolerated under the Hasmonean rule, Hellenists maintained that they were rejecting not Judaism but Rabbinic law.  Thus, the Saducees were in fact a political party not a religious sect (Dorot Ha'Rishonim). 
 
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According to Jacob Neusner (1998:40), this view is a distortion.  He suggests that two things fundamentally distinguished the Pharisaic from the Sadducean approach to the Torah.  First, Pharisees interpreted Exodus 19:3-6 literally:
 
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:And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.  Now therefore, if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my own possession among all peoples; for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel."
 
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Or, in the words of [[2 Maccabees]] 2:17, Pharisees believed that "God gave all the people the heritage, the kingdom, the priesthood, and the holiness."
 
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The Pharisees believed that the idea that all of the children of Israel were to be like priests was expressed elsewhere in the [[Torah]], for example, when the Law itself was transferred from the sphere of the priesthood to every man in Israel ([[Exodus]] 19: 29-24; [[Deuteronomy]] 6: 7, 11: 19; comp. 31: 9; [[Jeremiah]] 2: 8, 18:18).  Moreover,  the Torah already provided some ways for all Jews to lead a priestly life: the [[Kosher|precepts concerning unclean meat]] were perhaps intended originally for the priests, but were extended to the whole people ([[Leviticus]] 11; Deuteronomy 14:3-21); the prohibition of cutting the flesh in mourning for the dead (Deuteronomy 14: 1-2, Leviticus 19: 28; comp. Lev. 21: 5).  The Pharisees believed that all Jews in their ordinary life, and not just the Temple priesthood or Jews visiting the Temple, should observe rules and rituals concerning purification.
 
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Second, the Pharisees believed that there were two Torahs. In addition to the Torah recognized by both the Sadducees and Pharisees and believed to have been written by Moses, the Pharisees believed that there was another Torah. They referred to the five books of Moses as the “Written Torah,” and the corpus of oral laws and traditions as the “Oral Torah,” because it was not written down but was rather transmittted by God to Moses orally, and was then memorized and then passed down orally by Moses and his successors over the generations.  In other words, they did not interpret the Written Torah liberally; rather, they asserted that the sacred scriptures were not complete and could therefore not be understood on their own terms.  The Oral Torah functioned to elaborate and explicate what was written; it is unclear whether or not the Pharisees and later rabbis believed they were interpreting the Torah.  The sages of the Talmud believed that the Oral law was simultaneously revealed to Moses at Sinai, ''and'' the product of debates among rabbis. Thus, one may conceive of the "Oral Torah" not as a fixed text but as an ongoing process of analysis and argument; this is an ongoing process in which God is actively involved; it was this ongoing process that was revealed at Sinai, and by participating in this ongoing process rabbis and their students are actively participating in God's ongoing revelation. That is, "revelation" is not a single act, and "Torah" is not a single or fixed text. It is this ongoing process of analysis and argument that is itself the substance of God's revelation. As Jacob Neusner has explained, the schools of the Pharisees and rabbis were and are holy
 
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:because there men achieve sainthood through study of Torah and imitation of the conduct of the masters. In doing so, they conform to the heavenly paradigm, the Torah believed to have been created by God "in his image," revealed at Sinai, and handed down to their own teachers ... If the masters and disciples obey the divine teaching of Moses, "our rabbi," then their society, the school, replicates on earth the heavenly academy, just as the disciple incarnates the heavenly model of Moses, "our rabbi."  The rabbis believe that Moses was (and the Messiah will be) a rabbi, God dons phylacteries, and the heavenly court studies Torah precisely as does the earthly one, even arguing about the same questions.  These beliefs today may seem as projections of rabbinical values onto heaven, but the rabbis believe that they themselves are projections of heavenly values onto earth.  The rabbis thus conceive that on earth they study Torah just as God, the angels, and Moses, "our rabbi," do in heaven.  The heavenly schoolmen are even aware of Babylonian scholastic discussions, so they require a rabbi's information about an aspect of purity taboos. (1998: 8).
 
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−
Finally, unlike the Sadducees, the Pharisees also believed in the resurrection of the dead in a future, messianic age.
 
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====The destruction of the Temple and the end of the Second Temple era====
 
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By 66 C.E. Jewish discontent with Rome had escalated.  At first, the priests tried to suppress rebellion, even calling upon the Pharisees for help.  After the Roman garrison failed to stop Hellenists from desecrating a synagogue in [[Caesarea Maritima|Caesarea]], however, the high priest suspended payment of tribute, inaugurating the [[Great Jewish Revolt]].  The destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 C.E. not only put an end to the revolt, it was a profoundly traumatic experience for the Jews that marked the end of an era.
 
  
 
==From Pharisees to rabbis==
 
==From Pharisees to rabbis==
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Revolutionaries like the Zealots had been crushed by the Romans, and had little credibility (the last Zealots died at [[Masada]] in 73 C.E.). Similarly, the Sadducees, whose teachings were so closely connected to the Temple cult, disappeared. The Essenes too disappeared, perhaps because their teachings so diverged from the concerns of the times.
+
[[Image:Akiba ben joseph.jpg|thumb|Rabbi Akiva, a leading Pharisee of the second century C.E. and primary spiritual supporter of the Bar Kochba revolt]]
 +
Following the destruction of the Temple, Rome governed Judea through a Roman [[Procurator]] at Caesarea and a Jewish [[Patriarch]]. [[Yohanan ben Zakkai]], a leading Pharisee, was appointed the first Patriarch (his Hebrew tile was ''Nasi,'' which means both "prince" and "president). He reestablished the [[Sanhedrin]] at [[Yavneh]] (Jamnia) under Pharisaic control. With the Temple no longer operating, the [[rabbi]]s instructed Jews to support their synagogues and give money to charities in lieu of offering tithes to the priests and making costly sacrifices at the Temple. Study and prayer in local [[synagogue]]s replaced tithing and Temple pilgrimages as important religious duties.  
  
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Of all the major Second Temple sects, only the Pharisees remained, poised with teachings directed to all Jews that could replace Temple worship. Such teachings extended beyond ritual practices.  According to the classic [[midrash]] in ''Avot D'Rabbi Nathan'' (4:5):
+
The Pharisees' hope in the coming of a Messianic king, however, had not been extinguished. When the Emperor [[Hadrian]] threatened to rebuild [[Jerusalem]] as a pagan city dedicated to [[Jupiter (god)|Jupiter]], in 132 C.E.., some of the leading sages of the [[Sanhedrin]] supported a major rebellion led by [[Simon bar Kokhba|Simon Bar Kochba]]. Rabbi [[Akiva]], one of the greatest sages of his day, went so far as to declare Bar Kochba to be the long-awaited Messiah. [[Image:Talmud-page.jpg|thumb|200px|left|A page from the [[Talumud]], with a Mishnah section printed in the center, surrounded by commentaries.]] Bar Kochba succeeded in establishing a short-lived independent Jewish state that was conquered by the Romans in 135 C.E. The Romans executed ten leading members of the Sanhedrin, including Akiva, and the slaughter of the Jewish population reached more than 100,000 souls.
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:The Temple is destroyed. We never witnessed its glory. But Rabbi Joshua did.  And when he looked at the Temple ruins one day, he burst into tears. "Alas for us! The place which atoned for the sins of all the people Israel lies in ruins!"  Then Rabbi Yohannan ben Zakkai spoke to him these words of comfort:  "Be not grieved, my son. There is another way of gaining ritual atonement, even though the Temple is destroyed.  We must now gain ritual atonement through deeds of loving-kindness." 
 
  
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Following the destruction of the Temple, Rome governed Judea through a [[Procurator]] at Caesarea and a Jewish [[Patriarch]].  [[Yohanan ben Zakkai]], a leading Pharisee, was appointed the first Patriarch (the Hebrew word, Nasi, also means [[prince]], or [[president]]), and he reestablished the Sanhedrin at Yavneh under Pharisee control.  Instead of giving tithes to the priests and sacrificing offerings at the Temple, the rabbis instructed Jews to give money to charities.  Moreover, they argued that all Jews should study in local [[synagogue]]s, because [[Torah]] is "the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob" (Deut. 33: 4).
+
In the aftermath of the revolt, the Romans forbade Jews to even enter Jerusalem, let alone promote the rebuilding of the Temple. The Romans eventually reconstituted the Sanhedrin under the leadership of [[Judah ha-Nasi]] and declared the position of "Nasi" to be hereditary.  
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After the destruction of the First Temple, Jews believed that God would forgive them and enable them to rebuild the Temple &ndash; an event that actually occurred within three generations. Would this happen again?  When the Emperor [[Hadrian]] threatened to rebuild Jerusalem as a pagan city dedicated to [[Jupiter (god)|Jupiter]], in 132 C.E., some of the leading sages of the Sanhedrin supported a rebellion led by [[Simon bar Kokhba|Simon Bar Koziba]], who established a short-lived independent state that was conquered by the Romans in 135 C.E.  According to a [[midrash]], in addition to Bar Kochba the Romans executed ten leading members of the Sanhedrin: the high priest, R. Ishmael; the president of the Sanhedrin, R. Shimon ben Gamaliel; R. Akiba; R. [[Hanania ben Teradion]]; the interpreter of the Sanhedrin, R. Huspith; R. [[Eliezer ben Shamua]]; R. [[Hanina ben Hakinai]]; the secretary of the Sanhedrin, R. Yeshevav; R. Yehuda ben Dama; and R. [[Yehuda ben Baba]].  The Rabbinic account describes agonizing tortures: R. Akiba was flayed, and R. Hanania was burned at a stake, with wet wool held by a Torah scroll wrapped around his body to prolong his death.
 
  
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Romans forbade Jews to enter Jerusalem and forbade any plan to rebuild the Temple. Instead, it took over the Province of Judea directly, and renamed Jerusalem [[Aelia Capitolina]]. Romans did eventually reconstitute the Sanhedrin under the leadership of Judah haNasi (who claimed to be a descendant of King David).  They conferred the title of "Nasi" as hereditary, and Judah's sons served both as Patriarch and as heads of the Sanhedrin.
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Around 200 C.E. Judah ha-Nasi is traditionally thought to have edited the collection of rabbinical opinions and rulings known as the [[Mishnah]]. These often divergent religious views, championed by Pharisaic sages known as the ''[[Tannaim]]'' between 70-200 C.E.., are considered the first work of [[Rabbinic Judaism]]. The Mishnah also serves as the foundation for the vast later compendium of Jewish thought known as the [[Talmud]]. The inclusion by Judah ha-Nasi of often opposing rabbinical opinions in the Misnah led to a Jewish attitude of theological inclusiveness, accepting a wide range of opinion on nearly every issue of Jewish [[theology]].
  
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According to historian Shaye Cohen, by the time three generations had passed after the destruction of the Second Temple, most Jews concluded that the Temple would not be rebuilt during their lives, nor in the foreseeable future .  Jews were now confronted with difficult and far-reaching questions:
+
The Pharisaic attitude of emphasizing learning and personal piety over Temple ritual had thus come to dominate Judaism nearly completely. One exception were the Karaites, Jews who rejected the concept of the [[Oral Torah]] and thus refused to accept the authority of rabbinical interpretations or additions to the Law of Moses. Some [[Karaite]] communities still exist in parts of Asia Minor and Eastern Europe.
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* How to achieve atonement without the Temple?
 
−
* How to explain the disastrous outcome of the rebellion?
 
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* How to live in the post-Temple, Romanized world?
 
−
* How to connect present and past traditions?
 
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Regardless of the importance they gave to the Temple, and despite their support of Bar Koseba’s revolt, the Pharisees’ vision of Jewish law as a means by which ordinary people could engage with the sacred in their daily lives provided them with a position from which to respond to all four challenges in a way meaningful to the vast majority of Jews.  Their responses would constitute Rabbinic Judaism.
 
  
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During the Second Temple era, when Jews were divided into sects, the Pharisees were one sect among many, and partisan. Each sect claimed a monopoly on the truth, and discouraged marriage between members of different sects. Members of different sects did, however, argue with one another over the correctness of their respective interpretations, although there is no significant, reliable record of such debates between sects. After the destruction of the Second Temple, these sectarian divisions ended.  The Rabbis avoided the term "Pharisee," perhaps because it was a term more often used by non-Pharisees, but also because the term was explicitly sectarian.  The Rabbis claimed leadership over all Jews, and added to the [[Amidah]] the ''birkat haMinim'', a prayer which in part exclaims, "Praised are You O Lord, who breaks enemies and defeats the arrogant," and which is understood as a rejection of sectarians and sectarianism.  This shift by no means resolved conflicts over the interpretation of the Torah; rather, it relocated debates between sects to debates within Rabbinic Judaism.  The Pharisaic commitment to scholarly debate as a value in and of itself, rather than merely a byproduct of sectarianism, emerged as a defining feature of Rabbinic Judaism.
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=="Pharisees" and Christianity==
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The [[New Testament]] often portrays the Pharisees in the role of [[Jesus]]' opponents. They emerge as self-righteous rule-followers, hypocrites, and religious conservatives who conspire to do away with Jesus. Indeed, the word "pharisee" has come into semi-common usage in English to describe a hypocritical and arrogant person who places the letter of the law above its spirit.
  
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Thus, as the Pharisees argued that all Israel should act as priests, the Rabbis argued that all Israel should act as rabbis: "The rabbis furthermore want to transform the entire Jewish community into an academy where the whole Torah is studied and kept .... redemption depends on the "rabbinization" of all Israel, that is, upon the attainment of all Jewry of a full and complete embodiment of revelation or Torah, thus achieving a perfect replica of heaven" (Neusner 1998: 9).
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[[Image:Jesus-pharisees.jpg|thumb|200px|These particular Pharisees were apparently satisfied by Jesus' answer to their question regarding paying taxes to Caesar (Mt. 22).]]  
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However, a close examination of the [[Gospels]] reveals that it was actually the Sadducean high priest and his family who had Jesus arrested and turned him over to the Romans on a charge of treason against Rome (John 18). No Pharisee is named as a persecutor of Jesus, while several Sadducees are named as such; and one Pharisee, [[Nicodemus]], is depicted as courageously defending Jesus before the [[Sanhedrin]] (John 7:50-51). Later, in the [[Book of Acts]], another Pharisee, [[Gamaliel I]], known to Jewish history as the grandson of [[Hillel]], successfully defended the disciples before the Sanhedrin against Sadducean persecution (Acts 5:33-40). Acts also mentions that some of the members of the [[Jerusalem church]] were Pharisees themselves (Acts 15:5) and that thousands of early Christians were "zealous for the Law." (Acts 21:21) Later, when [[Saint Paul]] found himself on trial before the Sanhedrin, (Acts 23) he identified himself as a Pharisee who believed in the [[resurrection]], which Sadducees denied, and thus won a temporary reprieve from the accusations of the Sadducean high priest.
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The Rabbinic Era itself is divided into two periods.  The first period was that of the ''Tannaim'' (from the Aramaic word for "repeat;" the Aramaic root TNY is equivalent to the Hebrew root SNY, which is the basis for "Mishnah."  Thus, Tannaim are "Mishnah teachers"), the sages who repeated and thus passed down the Oral Torah.  During this period rabbis finalized the [[Biblical canon|canonization]] of the [[Tanakh]], and in  200 C.E.  [[Judah haNasi]] edited together Tannaitic judgements and traditions into the [[Mishna]], considered by the rabbis to be the definitive expression of the Oral Torah (although some of the sages mentioned in the Mishnah are Pharisees who lived prior to the destruction of the Second Temple, or prior to the Bar Kozeba Revolt, most of the sages mentioned lived after the revolt). 
 
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The second period is that of the ''Amoraim'' (from the Aramaic word for "speaker") rabbis and their students who continued to debate legal matters and discuss the meaning of the books of the [[Tanakh|Bible]]. In Palestine, these discussions occurred at important academies at Tiberias, Caesarea, and Sepphoris.  In Babylonia, these discussions largely occurred at important academies that had been established at Nehardea, Pumpeditha and Sura. This tradition of study and debate reached its fullest expression in the development of the [[Talmud]]im, elaborations of the Mishnah and records of Rabbinic debates, stories, and judgements, compiled around 400 C.E. in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] and around 500 C.E. in [[Babylon]].
 
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Rabbinic Judaism eventually emerged as normative Judaism and in fact many today refer to Rabbinic Judaism simply as "Judaism." Nevertheless, as Jacob Neusner has pointed out, the Amoraim had no ultimate power in their communities. They lived at a time when Jews were subjects of either the Roman or Iranian (Parthian and Persian) empires. These empires left the day-to-day governance in the hands of the Jewish authorities: in Roman Palestine, through the hereditary office of Patriarch (simultaneously the head of the Sanhedrin); in Babylonia, through the hereditary office of the ''Reish Galuta'', the "Head of the Exile" or "Exilarch" (who ratified the appointment of the heads of Rabbinical academies.)  Consequently,
 
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:The "Judaism" of the rabbis at this time is in no degree either normal or normative, and speaking descriptively, the schools cannot be called "elite." Whatever their aspirations for the future and pretensions in the present, the rabbis, though powerful and influential, constitute a minority group seeking to exercise authority without much governmental support, to dominate without substantial means of coercion. (Neusner 1998: 4-5)
 
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The rabbinic project, as acted out in the Talmud, reflected not the world as it was but the world as rabbis dreamed it should be.
 
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According to S. Baron however, there existed "a general willingness of the people to follow it's self imposed Rabbinic rulership." Although the Rabbis lacked authority to impose capital punishment "Flagellation and heavy fines, combined with an extensive system of excommunication were more than enough to uphold the authority of the courts." In fact, the Rabbis took over more and more power from the Reish Galuta until eventually R' Ashi assumed the title Rabbana, heretofore assumed by the exilarch, and appeared together with two other Rabbis as an official delegation "at the gate of King Yazdegard's court." The Amorah (and Tanna) Rav was a personal friend of the last Parthian king Artabenus and Shmuel was close to [[Shapur I]] King of Persia. Thus, the Rabbis had significant means of "coercion" and the people seem to have  followed the Rabbinic rulership.
 
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== Innovators or Preservers ==
 
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The Mishna in the beginning of Avot and (in more detail) Maimonides in his Introduction to Mishna Torah records a chain of tradition (mesorah) from Moses at Mt. Sinai down to R' Ashi redactor of the Talmud and last of the Amoraim.
 
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This chain of tradition includes: 1. the interpetation of unclear statements in the Bible (e.g. that the "fruit of a beautiful tree" refers to a citron as opposed to any other fruit). 2. the methods of [[exegesis]] (see wikipedia article on [[midrash]]). The disagreements recorded in the Mishna and Talmud generally focus on methods of exegesis. 3. Laws
 
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with Mosaic authority which however cannot be derived from the Biblical
 
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text. These include the measurements (e.g. what amount of an unkosher food must one eat to be liable), the amount and order of the scrolls to be placed in the phylacteries, etc.
 
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The Pharisees were also innovators in that they enacted specific laws as they saw necessary according to the needs of the time. These include: 1. prohibitons to prevent an infringement of a biblical prohibition (e.g. one does not take a Lulav on the Shabbos "Lest one carry it in the public domain") called gezeiros.  
 
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The commandment to read the megilllah (Book of Esther) on [[Purim]] and to light the [[Menorah]] on [[Hannukah]] are Rabbinic innovations. Much of the legal system is based on Rabbinic thought. Also, the blessings before meals and the wording of the Amidah. These are known as Takanot. The Pharisees based their authority to innovate on the verses: ....accordinging to the word they tell you... according to all they instruct you. According to the law they instruct you and according to the judgment they say to you, you shall do; you shall not divert from the word they tell you, either right or left(Deuteronomy 17:10-11) (see Encyclopedia Talmudit entry Divrei Soferim)
 
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See also the [[Hebrew Calendar]] for a discussion on the Rabbinic enactment of the rule based calendar.
 
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In an interesting twist, [[Abraham Geiger]] posits that the Sadducees were the more hidebound adherents to an ancient Halacha whereas the Pharisees were more willing to develop Halacha as the times required. See however, [[Bernard Revel]]'s "Karaite Halacha" which rejects many of Geiger's proofs. 
 
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==Pharisaic principles and values==
 
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At first the values of the Pharisees developed through their sectarian debates with the Sadducees; then they developed through internal, non-sectarian debates over the law as an adaptation to life without the Temple, and life in exile, and to a more limited degree, life in conflict with Christianity.  These shifts mark the transformation of Pharasaic to Rabbinic Judaism.
 
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One belief central to the Pharisees was shared by all Jews of the time: [[monotheism]].  This is evident in the practice of reciting the ''[[Shema]]'', select verses from the [[Torah]], at the Temple and in synagogues.  The Shema begins with the verses, "Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God; the Lord is one.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might."  According to the Mishna, these passages were recited in the Temple along with the twice-daily ''Tamid'' offering; Jews in the [[diaspora]], who did not have access to the Temple, recited these passages in their houses of assembly (in Hebrew: "batei knesset"). According to the Mishnah and Talmud, the Men of the Great Assembly instituted that Jews both in Judea and in the diaspora were required to pray three times a day (morning, afternoon and evening), and include in their prayers a recitation of these passages in the morning ("[[Shacharit]]") and evening ("[[Ma'ariv]]") prayers.
 
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The book [[2 Maccabees]] was written by a Pharisee or someone sympathetic toward Pharisees. It includes several theological innovations: propitiatory prayer for the dead, judgment day, intercession of saints, and merits of the martyrs.
 
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According to Josephus, whereas the Sadducees believed that people have total [[free will]] and the Essenes believed that all of a person's life is [[Predestination|predestined]], the Pharisees believed that people have free will but that God also has foreknowledge of human [[destiny]].  According to Josephus, Pharisees were further distinguished from the Sadducees in that Pharisees believed in the [[resurrection of the dead]]. 
 
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It is likely that Josephus highlighted these differences because he was writing for a [[Gentile]] audience, and questions concerning fate and a life after death were important in Hellenic [[philosophy]].  In fact, it is difficult, or impossible, to reconstruct a Second Temple Pharisaic theology, because Judaism itself is non-creedal; that is, there is no [[dogma]] or set of [[orthodox]] beliefs that Jews believed were required of Jews.  [[Josephus]] himself emphasized laws rather than beliefs when he described the characteristics of an [[apostate]] (a Jew who does not follow traditional customs) and the requirements for conversion to Judaism (circumcision, and adherence to traditional customs).  In fact, the most important divisions among different Jewish sects had to do with debates over three areas of law: [[marriage]], the [[Sabbath]] and [[religious festival]]s, and the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple]] and purity.  Debates over these and other matters of law continue to define Judaism more than any particular dogma or creed. 
 
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Not one tractate of the key Rabbinic texts, the Mishnah and the Talmud, is devoted to theological issues; these texts are concerned primarily with interpretations of Jewish law.  Only one chapter of the Mishnah deals with theological issues; it asserts that three kinds of people will have no share in "the world to come:" those who deny the resurrection of the dead, those who deny the divinity of the Torah, and [[Epicurean]]s (who deny divine supervision of human affairs).  Another passage suggests a different set of core principles: normally, a Jew may violate any law to save a life, but in Sanhedrin 74a, a ruling orders Jews to accept [[martyr]]dom rather than violate the laws against [[idolatry]], [[murder]], or [[adultery]].  ([[Judah haNasi]], however, said that Jews must "be meticulous in small religious duties as well as large ones, because you do not know what sort of reward is coming for any of the religious duties," suggesting that all laws are of equal importance). In comparison with [[Christianity]], the Rabbis were not especially concerned with the [[messiah]] or claims about the messiah.
 
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Fundamentally, the Pharisees continued a form of Judaism that extended beyond the Temple, applying Jewish law to mundane activities in order to sanctify the every-day world.  This was a more participatory (or "democratic") form of Judaism, in which rituals were not monopolized by an inherited priesthood but rather could be performed by all adult Jews individually or collectively; whose leaders were not determined by birth but by scholarly achievement.  In general, the Pharisees emphasized a commitment to social justice, belief in the brotherhood of mankind, and a faith in the redemption of the Jewish nation and, ultimately, [[humanity]].  Moreover, they believed that these ends would be achieved through [[halakha]] ("the way," or "the way things are done"), a corpus of laws derived from a close reading of sacred texts.  This belief entailed both a commitment to relate religion to ordinary concerns and daily life, and a commitment to study and scholarly debate.
 
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The commitment to relate religion to daily life through the law has led some to infer that the Pharisees were more legalistic than other sects in the Second Temple Era.  This is not true &mdash; the Sadducees were committed to obeying the commandments of the Torah, and the Essenes governed themselves through elaborate rules and regulations (Josephus does claim that the Pharisees were the "strictest" observers of the law, but he likely meant "most accurate").  It is more accurate to say they were legalistic in a different way.  In some cases Pharisaic values led to an extension of the law &mdash; for example, the Torah requires priests to bathe themselves before entering the Temple.  The Pharisees washed themselves before Sabbath and festival meals (in effect, making these holidays "temples in time"), and, eventually, before all meals.  Although this seems burdensome compared to the practices of other sects, in other cases, Pharisaic law was less strict.  For example, Biblical law prohibits Jews from carrying objects from a private domain ("reshut ha-yachid") to a public domain ("reshut ha-rabim") on the Sabbath.  This law could have prevented Jews from carrying cooked dishes to the homes of friends for Sabbath meals.  The Pharisees ruled that adjacent houses connected by lintels or fences could become connected by a legal procedure creating a partnership among homeowners; thereby, clarifying the status of those common areas as a private domain relative to the members of the partnership. In that manner people could carry objects from building to building.  
 
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Just as important as (if not more important than) any particular law was the value the rabbis placed on legal study and debate.  The sages of the Talmud believed that when they taught the Oral Torah to their students, they were imitating Moses, who taught the law to the children of Israel.  Moreover, the rabbis believed that "the heavenly court studies Torah precisely as does the earthly one, even arguing about the same questions" (Neusner 1998: 8).  Thus, in debating and disagreeing over the meaning of the Torah or how best to put it into practice, no rabbi felt that he (or his opponent) were in some way rejecting God or threatening Judaism; on the contrary, it was precisely through such arguments that the rabbis imitated and honored God.
 
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One sign of the Pharisaic emphasis on debate and differences of opinion is that the [[Mishnah]] and [[Talmud]] mark different generations of scholars in terms of different pairs of contending schools.  Around the time the Romans conquered Judea, for example, the two major Pharisaic schools were those of Hillel and Shammai.  After Hillel died in 20 C.E., Shammai assumed the office of president of the Sanhedrin until he died in 30 C.E.  Followers of these two sages dominated scholarly debate over the following decades (although the Talmud records the arguments and positions of the school of Shammai, the teachings of the school of Hillel were ultimately taken as authoritative). 
 
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Pharisaic wisdom was compiled in one book of the Mishna, ''Pirke Avot''.  The Pharisaic attitude is perhaps best exemplified by a story about [[Hillel the Elder]], who lived at the end of the [[1st century B.C.E.]].  A man once challenged the sage to explain the law while standing on one foot.  Hillel replied, "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary. Go and study it."
 
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=="Pharisees" and Christianity==
 
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In the [[4th century|4th century CE]], Christians canonized a "[[New Testament]]" consisting of texts written between 60 C.E. and about 95 C.E., which spell out a [[New Covenant (theology)|New Covenant]] and provides the case for its basis in the Bible. In the "New Testament" the ruling Pharisees of his time (the house of Shammai) are often represented as being the ideological foes of [[Jesus]].
 
  
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An important binary in the New Testament is the opposition between law and love.  Accordingly, the New Testament presents the Pharisees as obsessed with man-made rules (especially concerning purity) whereas Jesus is more concerned with God’s love; the Pharisees scorn [[sin]]ners whereas Jesus seeks them out. Because of the [[New Testament]]'s frequent depictions of Pharisees as self-righteous rule-followers, the word "pharisee" (and its derivatives: "pharisaical," etc.) has come into semi-common usage in English to describe a hypocritical and arrogant person who places the letter of the law above its spirit.  Jews today (who subscribe to Pharisaic Judaism) typically find this insulting if not [[anti-Semitic]].
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Some scholars have argued that Jesus was himself a Pharisee, and that his arguments with Pharisees is a sign of inclusion, since disputation is the dominant narrative mode in the [[Talmud]]. According to this theory, the portrait of the Pharisees in the New Testament is an anachronistic caricature, arising from the attitude of the church at the time the Gospels were written, when Christians no longer considered themselves to be part of the Jewish community.
  
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Many non-Christians object that the four Gospels, which were canonized after Christianity had separated from [[Judaism]] (and after Pharisaism emerged as the dominant form of Judaism), are likely a very biased source concerning the conduct of the Pharisees.  Some have argued that Jesus was himself a Pharisee, and that his arguments with Pharisees is a sign of inclusion rather than fundamental conflict (disputation is the dominant narrative mode in the Talmud).{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Jesus' emphasis on loving one's neighbor, for example, echoes the teaching of the school of Hillel (Jesus' views of divorce, however, are closer to those of the school of Shammai, another Pharisee).  Others have argued that the portrait of the Pharisees in the New Testament is an anachronistic caricature. For example, when Jesus declares the sins of a paralytic man forgiven, the New Testament has the Pharisees criticizing Jesus' [[blasphemy]].  But Jewish sources from the time commonly associate illness with sin and healing with forgiveness, and there is no actual Rabbinic source that questions or criticizes this practice.  Although the New Testament presents the Pharisees as obsessed with avoiding impurity, Rabbinic texts reveal that the Pharisees were concerned merely with offering means for removing impurities, so that a person could again participate in the community. According to the New Testament, Pharisees wanted to punish Jesus for healing a man's withered hand on the [[Sabbath]], but there is no Rabbinic rule according to which Jesus had violated the Sabbath. According to the New Testament the Pharisees objected to Jesus's mission to outcast groups such as [[beggar]]s and tax-collectors, but Rabbinic texts actually emphasize the availability of forgiveness to all.  Indeed, much of Jesus' teaching, for example the [[Sermon on the Mount]], is consistent with that of the Pharisees.
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Another way of looking at the portrayal of the Pharisees in the New Testament is that it represents the strict attitude of the House of [[Shammai]] rather than that of [[Hillel]]. For example, Jesus' willingness to associate with tax collectors might have been offensive to the followers of Shammai, but probably not to the disciples of Hillel. Similarly, when Jesus indicated that one should "render unto Caesar" the taxes due to him (Mt. 22), he adopted an attitude acceptable to the followers of Hillel, but opposed by the House of Shammai in the period leading up to the [[Jewish Revolt]].
  
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Some scholars believe that those passages of the New Testament that present a caricature of the Pharisees were written sometime after the destruction of [[Herod's Temple]] in 70 C.E. {{Fact|date=February 2007}}, at a time when it had become clear that most Jews did not consider Jesus to be the messiah.  At this time Christians sought most new converts from among the gentiles. They thus would have presented a story of Jesus that was more sympathetic to Romans than to Jews. It was only after 70 C.E. that Phariseeism emerged as the dominant form of Judaism.
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Like Hillel, Jesus took a flexible stand on many issues in the [[Torah]]—such as healing on the [[Sabbath]] and association with Gentiles and sinners—while holding firm to basics such as "love the Lord God with all thy heart" (Deuteronomy 6:5) and "Love thy neighbor as thyself." (Leviticus 19:18) Some suggest that Jesus may even have been a hearer of [[Hillel]] when he spoke with the teachers in the Temple as a 12-year-old.
  
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The Apostle [[Paul of Tarsus]], who authored much of the [[New Testament]], spoke positively of being a Pharisee. [[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] 23:6 records Paul on trial in the Temple Courts. He apologized for speaking against a priest without knowing who he insulted, and then claimed his belief in the resurrection was based on his doctrinal beliefs as a Pharisee. Paul emphasized the disagreements between Pharisees and Sadducees for his own benefit, resulting in his release.  As [[F.F. Bruce]] notes in a commentary on Acts, "A Sadducee could not become a Christian without abandoning a distinctive theological tenet of his party; a Pharisee could become a Christian and remain a Pharisee—in the apostolic age, at least." (F.F. Bruce, The Book of Acts, p. 428).  
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Nevertheless, the portrait of the Pharisees as Jesus' mortal opponents is etched deeply into Christian culture and remains a divisive factor in Jewish-Christian dialog even today.
  
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In the event known as the [[Council of Jerusalem]], Paul argued strenuously that the ritual requirements of Judaism do not apply to Gentile Christians ([[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] 15:1-29). In his writings to the church in Philippi, Paul referred to his strict Jewish credentials as a cause for boasting ([[Philippians]] 3:4-6), but then stated his belief in Christ Jesus was more glorious.
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==Notes==
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<references/>
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
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* Boccaccini, Gabriele. ''Roots of Rabbinic Judaism.'' William B. Eerdmans Pub., 2001. ISBN 0802843611
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* Bowker, John. ''Jesus and the Pharisees.'' Cambridge University Press, 1973. ISBN 9780521200554
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* Cohen, Shaye J. D. ''From the Maccabees to the Mishnah.'' Westminster John Knox Press, 1988. ISBN 0664250173
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* Fredriksen, Paula. ''From Jesus to Christ.'' Yale University Press, 1990. ISBN 0300048645
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* Neusner, Jacob, and Bruce Chilton. ''In Quest of the Historical Pharisees.'' Baylor University Press, 2007. ISBN 1932792724
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* Neusner, Jacob. ''Torah From our Sages: Pirke Avot.'' Rossel Books; 1st edition, 1983. ISBN 0940646056
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*___________. ''Judaism in the Beginning of Christianity.'' Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2000. ISBN 9780800617509 
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* Schwarz, Leo, ed. ''Great Ages and Ideas of the Jewish People.'' (original 1956) Modern Library, (Random House) 1977. ISBN 039460413X
  
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*Boccaccini, Gabriele 2002 ''Roots of Rabbinic Judaism'' ISBN 0-8028-4361-1
 
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*[[F.F. Bruce|Bruce, F.F.]], The Book of Acts, Revised Edition (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988)
 
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*Cohen, Shaye J.D. 1988 ''From the Maccabees to the Mishnah'' ISBN 0-664-25017-3
 
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*Fredriksen, Paula 1988 ''From Jesus to Christ'' ISBN 0-300-04864-5
 
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*Neusner, Jacob ''Torah From our Sages: Pirke Avot'' ISBN 0-940646-05-6
 
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*Neusner, Jacob ''Invitation to the Talmud: a Teaching Book'' (1998) ISBN 1-59244-155-6
 
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*Roth, Cecil ''A History of the Jews: From Earliest Times Through the Six Day War'' 1970 ISBN 0-8052-0009-6
 
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*Schwartz, Leo, ed. ''Great Ages and Ideas of the Jewish People'' ISBN 0-394-60413-X
 
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*Halevi, Yitzchak Isaac "Dorot Ha'Rishonim" (Heb.)
 
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*Baron, Salo W. "A Social and Religious History of the Jews" Vol 2.
 
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
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*[http://www.dinur.org/resources/resourceCategoryDisplay.aspx?categoryid=429&rsid=478 Resources > Second Temple and Talmudic Era > Jewish Sects ] The Jewish History Resource Center - Project of the Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
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All links retrieved November 23, 2022.
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*[http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=252&letter=P&search=Pharisees Jewish Encyclopedia: Pharisees]
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*[http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=252&letter=P&search=Pharisees Jewish Encyclopedia: Pharisees]. ''jewishencyclopedia.com''.
  
 
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Latest revision as of 02:55, 24 November 2022

The Pharisee Nicodemus, a member of the Sandhedrin who defended Jesus of Nazareth

The Pharisees were a religious and political movement of ancient Israel and the precursors of Rabbinic Judaism. They emerged in opposition to the corruption of the Hasmonean dynasty and its allies, the Sadducees, in the second century B.C.E. They were characterized by an emphasis on popular piety rather than priestly elitism, a tradition of Oral Law in addition to the written Torah, and an affirmation of the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead in the coming messianic age as taught by the prophets—all of which the Sadducees tended to reject.

During the early years of the Common Era, a major internal debate existed between the followers of the two Pharisaic sages, Hillel and Shammai, representing a flexible versus a strict approach to the Jewish law, respectively. After the Jewish Revolt against Rome resulted in the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., the followers of Hillel prevailed. The Pharisaic movement went on to create the foundations for what is now known as Rabbinic Judaism, through its deliberations at Yavneh (Jamnia) in the second century C.E., and the later compiling of the Mishnah and teh Talmud.

Christian portraits of the Pharisees in the New Testament tend to portray them as narrow-minded hypocrites and the mortal opponents of Jesus. However, recent scholarship has shown that some Pharisees were supporters of Jesus and the early Christian movement, and some scholars see a direct influence of Pharisees such as Hillel on the teachings of Jesus. Deeper study of the nature and history of the Pharisees can help foster Jewish-Christian dialog in an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding.

Background

Josephus

For the background of the Pharisees, historians are largely dependent on the accounts of Josephus, the Jewish historian of the late first century C.E. who was himself a member of the Pharisees but later collaborated with the Romans during the Jewish Revolt of 66-70 C.E.

The word Pharisees comes from the Hebrew ( פרושים) prushim from (פרוש) parush, meaning "separated"—referring to one who is separated for a life of purity. According to Josephus' accounts, the Pharisees emerged in opposition to the corruption of the Hasmonean dynasty of the second century B.C.E. The Hamoneans had assumed power in the wake of the successful revolt against the Seleucid Greeks. Led by Judah Maccabee, the Jews had liberated Jerusalem from Greek rule in 165 B.C.E. and restored its Temple, which had been defiled under the Antiochus IV. Judah's nephew, John Hyrcanus, established the Hasmonean dynasty, in which the priests held direct political power as well as religious authority. Although the Hasmoneans were heroes for resisting the Seleucids, their reign lacked the legitimacy conferred by the descent from the Davidic dynasty of the First Temple Era. The hope of a Messiah, son of David, developed during this period in tension with the reality of Hasmonean rule.

Around this time the Sadducees emerged as the party of the priests and allied Hasmonean elites, taking their name, Sadducee, from King Solomon's loyal priest Zadok. The Pharisees emerged out of the group of scribes and sages who objected to the Hasmonean monopoly on power, hoped for a Davidic Messiah, and criticized the growing corruption of the Hasmonean court.

During the Hasmonean period, the Sadducees and Pharisees functioned primarily as political parties. According to Josephus, the Pharisees opposed the Hasmonean war against the Samaritans and the forced conversion of the Idumeans. The political rift between the two parties grew wider under the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus, who adopted Sadduceean rites in the Temple. There was a brief civil war that ended with a bloody repression of the Pharisees.

Alexander was succeeded by his widow, Salome Alexandra, who was more favorably inclined toward the Pharisees. Alexandra installed as high priest her eldest son, the pro-Pharisee Hyrcanus II, and the Sanhedrin, or ruling council, was reorganized along lines that strengthened Pharisaic influence.

Pompey defiles the Temple.

Upon Alexandra's death, Hyrcanus II gained the Pharisees' support, while her younger son, Aristobulus, found support among the Sadducees. The conflict between Hyrcanus and Aristobulus culminated in another civil war that ended when the Roman general Pompey captured Jerusalem in 63 B.C.E. and inaugurated the Roman period of Jewish history. Echoing the prophet Jeremiah's attitude toward the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E., the Pharisees regarded Pompey’s defilement of the Temple in Jerusalem as a divine punishment for the Sadducean abuse of the priesthood. They asked Pompey to abolish the royalty of the Hasmoneans ("Ant." xiv. 3, § 2). Pompey named Hyrcanus II high priest and "ethnarch," a lesser title than "king." In 57 B.C.E. Hyrcanus was deprived of the remainder of his political authority, and ultimate jurisdiction was given to the Roman Proconsul of Syria.

The Proconsul Cabineus established five regional synhedria (Sanhedrins, or councils) to regulate the internal affairs of the Jews, while the Great Sanhedrin in Jerusalem interpreted Jewish law and adjudicated appeals. Its legislative powers varied, however, depending on Roman policy.

In matters of state finance, administration, and military affairs, the Proconsul ruled through Hyrcanus's Idumaean associate Antipater.[1] Later, Antipater's sons governed the northern and southern districts of the former territory of Israel: Phasael administering Judea, and Herod ruling Galilee. In 40 B.C.E., however, Aristobulus's son Antigonus overthrew Hyrcanus II and named himself both king and high priest, placing the Pharisees once again at a disadvantage.

Herod enters Jerusalem.

Herod fled to Rome, where he sought the support of Mark Antony and Octavian, and secured recognition by the Roman Senate. He soon dislodged Antigonus and was installed as king, thus bringing an end to the Hasmonean dynasty. Sadducean opposition to Herod led him to treat the Pharisees favorably at first. His Idumean background and his close association with Rome, however, made him an unpopular ruler. Herod's massive restoration and expansion of the Temple of Jerusalem may have been designed to gain popular support, but his notorious treatment of his family and his ruthless suppression of the Hasmonaeans further eroded his popularity. His willingness to adorn the new Temple with a gold Roman eagle was a particularly unpopular stance, which alienated the Pharisees, for whom resistance to Hellenization was a hallmark.

Herod's paranoia toward any perceived threat to his throne also proved incompatible with the Pharisees' hope in the coming Davidic Messiah. In 6 B.C.E., Herod executed several Pharisaic leaders who had announced that the birth of the Messiah would mean the end of Herod's rule. Then, in 4 B.C.E., when young Pharisaic Torah-students smashed the golden Roman eagle over the main entrance of Herod's Temple, he had 40 of them, along with two of their professors, burned alive. ("Ant." xvii. 2, § 4; 6, §§ 2-4). Meanwhile, Herod found willing allies among the Sadducees, who now re-emerged to reclaim the high priesthood and challenge Pharisaic pre-eminence.

From this point onward, Josephus' accounts are joined by other sources, including various Talmudic references and early Christian writings such as the letters of Saint Paul (himself a former Pharisee), the Gospels, and the Book of Acts.

Theological characteristics

The Pharisaic approach to Judaism was characterized by several distinctive attitudes:

First, Pharisees were a movement of popular piety, rather than priestly elitism. They interpreted Exodus 19:4-5 literally: "If you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my own possession among all peoples; for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Moreover, in the Pharisees' view, the Torah already provided the way for every Jew to lead a priestly life. The Pharisees believed that all Jews in their ordinary lives should observe the rules and rituals concerning purification and all 613 of the commandments which the Pharisees discerned in the Law of Moses.

Open Torah scroll. The Pharisees believed in an Oral Torah as well as the written one.

Second, the Pharisees believed in an Oral Law as well as a Written Law. In addition to the Torah recognized by the Sadducees, the Pharisees held that God had also revealed to Moses an Oral Torah that functioned to elaborate and explicate what was written. Therefore, the Law did not end with what was written in the Torah scrolls, but was also revealed orally by Moses and his successors into the present age. It was the function of the prophets and sages to explicate the Oral Torah and clarify its application in contemporary cirumstances.

Third, the Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead in a future age, which would be ushered in by the Messiah, in whom they earnestly hoped.

Fourth, the Pharisees placed a greater emphasis on the scriptural authority of the prophets and other biblical writings than did the Sadducees. (During this period, no authorized list of scriptures outside of the Torah yet existed.)

Finally, the Pharisees resisted Hellenization, viewing the Sadducees as generally corrupted by their association with Hasmonean and Roman rulers.

Hillel vs. Shammai

Two great Pharisaic teachers emerged during early Common Era: Hillel and Shammai. Their two schools of Pharisaism would shape an internal debate within the movement that had a crucial impact on Jewish history.

Jesus and the "teachers." Both Hillel and Shammai were active in Jerusalem during the early life of Jesus.

Shammai was the stricter of the two sages, insisting on a narrow interpretation of the Torah on most issues, while Hillel was the more liberal. A famous story characterizing them tells of a time when a Gentile man came first to Shammai and asked to be converted to Judaism, upon the condition that Shammai summarize the entire Torah while standing on one leg. Shammai took offense at the request, and he drove the applicant away with a measuring stick. Hillel, on the other hand, did as the seeker requested, standing on one leg and declaring: "What is hateful to you, do not unto your neighbor. This is the Law on the Prophets; the rest is commentary. Now, go and study." (Shabbat, 31a).

Each of the two teachers—Hillel being the elder—served in turn as the leading figure of the Sanhedrin, and debates raged far and wide among their disciples. In the years following their death, these disputations increased to such an extent as to give rise to the saying: "The one Law has become two laws" (Tosef., Hag. 2:9; Sanh. 88b; Sotah 47b).

The Shammaites were said to have inherited the stern and unbending character of their founder. They were also intensely patriotic, refusing to submit to foreign rule, and they opposed all friendly relations with the Romans. The House of Shammai particularly abhorred the Roman tax system, as well as the Jewish collaborators who served as tax collectors. Under the leadership of Zealot Judas the Galilean and a Shammaite named Zadok (Tosef., Eduy. ii. 2; Yeb. 15b), a popular political movement arose to oppose, even violently, Roman laws.

The Hillelites, animated by a more tolerant and peaceful spirit, consequently lost influence. Feelings between the two schools grew so hostile that they even refused to worship together. As the struggle intensified, the Shammaites attempted to prevent all communication between Jews and Gentiles, prohibiting Jews even from buying food from their Gentile neighbors. The Hillelites opposed such extreme exclusiveness. However, in the Sanhedrin, the Shammaites, together with the Zealots, carried the day.

The destruction of the Temple

Image from the Triumphal Arch of Titus shows Roman soldiers carrying off the Temple's sacred artifacts.

By 66 C.E. Jewish discontent with Rome had escalated beyond the point of no return, and the Jewish Revolt broke out in full force. The Romans did not succeed in controlling Jerusalem until 70 C.E. when they destroyed the Temple of Jerusalem and broke the back of the revolt, although pockets of resistance remained. The event was a profoundly traumatic experience for the Jews that marked the end of an era. Ironically, however, it would place the Pharisees in a position of unrivaled leadership, since the priesthood and its affiliated Sadducean party was left without a base, and the Zealots had been discredited by the catastrophic outcome of the revolt.

The House of Shammai and the House of Hillel continued their disputes even after the demise of the Temple, probably until the reorganization of the Sanhedrin under the presidency of Gamaliel II around 80 C.E. By that time, all hope for victory over Rome had been lost for the time being, and the House of Shammai was obliged to take a subservient role. Formerly disputed legal points were brought up for review, and in nearly every case the opinion of the Hillelites prevailed (Tosef., Yeb. i. 13; Yer. Ber. i. 3b). Henceforth, the House of Hillel would be the leading voice of Pharisaism, and Pharisaism would be the leading voice of Judaism.

From Pharisees to rabbis

Rabbi Akiva, a leading Pharisee of the second century C.E. and primary spiritual supporter of the Bar Kochba revolt

Following the destruction of the Temple, Rome governed Judea through a Roman Procurator at Caesarea and a Jewish Patriarch. Yohanan ben Zakkai, a leading Pharisee, was appointed the first Patriarch (his Hebrew tile was Nasi, which means both "prince" and "president). He reestablished the Sanhedrin at Yavneh (Jamnia) under Pharisaic control. With the Temple no longer operating, the rabbis instructed Jews to support their synagogues and give money to charities in lieu of offering tithes to the priests and making costly sacrifices at the Temple. Study and prayer in local synagogues replaced tithing and Temple pilgrimages as important religious duties.

The Pharisees' hope in the coming of a Messianic king, however, had not been extinguished. When the Emperor Hadrian threatened to rebuild Jerusalem as a pagan city dedicated to Jupiter, in 132 C.E., some of the leading sages of the Sanhedrin supported a major rebellion led by Simon Bar Kochba. Rabbi Akiva, one of the greatest sages of his day, went so far as to declare Bar Kochba to be the long-awaited Messiah.

A page from the Talumud, with a Mishnah section printed in the center, surrounded by commentaries.

Bar Kochba succeeded in establishing a short-lived independent Jewish state that was conquered by the Romans in 135 C.E. The Romans executed ten leading members of the Sanhedrin, including Akiva, and the slaughter of the Jewish population reached more than 100,000 souls.

In the aftermath of the revolt, the Romans forbade Jews to even enter Jerusalem, let alone promote the rebuilding of the Temple. The Romans eventually reconstituted the Sanhedrin under the leadership of Judah ha-Nasi and declared the position of "Nasi" to be hereditary.

Around 200 C.E. Judah ha-Nasi is traditionally thought to have edited the collection of rabbinical opinions and rulings known as the Mishnah. These often divergent religious views, championed by Pharisaic sages known as the Tannaim between 70-200 C.E., are considered the first work of Rabbinic Judaism. The Mishnah also serves as the foundation for the vast later compendium of Jewish thought known as the Talmud. The inclusion by Judah ha-Nasi of often opposing rabbinical opinions in the Misnah led to a Jewish attitude of theological inclusiveness, accepting a wide range of opinion on nearly every issue of Jewish theology.

The Pharisaic attitude of emphasizing learning and personal piety over Temple ritual had thus come to dominate Judaism nearly completely. One exception were the Karaites, Jews who rejected the concept of the Oral Torah and thus refused to accept the authority of rabbinical interpretations or additions to the Law of Moses. Some Karaite communities still exist in parts of Asia Minor and Eastern Europe.

"Pharisees" and Christianity

The New Testament often portrays the Pharisees in the role of Jesus' opponents. They emerge as self-righteous rule-followers, hypocrites, and religious conservatives who conspire to do away with Jesus. Indeed, the word "pharisee" has come into semi-common usage in English to describe a hypocritical and arrogant person who places the letter of the law above its spirit.

These particular Pharisees were apparently satisfied by Jesus' answer to their question regarding paying taxes to Caesar (Mt. 22).

However, a close examination of the Gospels reveals that it was actually the Sadducean high priest and his family who had Jesus arrested and turned him over to the Romans on a charge of treason against Rome (John 18). No Pharisee is named as a persecutor of Jesus, while several Sadducees are named as such; and one Pharisee, Nicodemus, is depicted as courageously defending Jesus before the Sanhedrin (John 7:50-51). Later, in the Book of Acts, another Pharisee, Gamaliel I, known to Jewish history as the grandson of Hillel, successfully defended the disciples before the Sanhedrin against Sadducean persecution (Acts 5:33-40). Acts also mentions that some of the members of the Jerusalem church were Pharisees themselves (Acts 15:5) and that thousands of early Christians were "zealous for the Law." (Acts 21:21) Later, when Saint Paul found himself on trial before the Sanhedrin, (Acts 23) he identified himself as a Pharisee who believed in the resurrection, which Sadducees denied, and thus won a temporary reprieve from the accusations of the Sadducean high priest.

Some scholars have argued that Jesus was himself a Pharisee, and that his arguments with Pharisees is a sign of inclusion, since disputation is the dominant narrative mode in the Talmud. According to this theory, the portrait of the Pharisees in the New Testament is an anachronistic caricature, arising from the attitude of the church at the time the Gospels were written, when Christians no longer considered themselves to be part of the Jewish community.

Another way of looking at the portrayal of the Pharisees in the New Testament is that it represents the strict attitude of the House of Shammai rather than that of Hillel. For example, Jesus' willingness to associate with tax collectors might have been offensive to the followers of Shammai, but probably not to the disciples of Hillel. Similarly, when Jesus indicated that one should "render unto Caesar" the taxes due to him (Mt. 22), he adopted an attitude acceptable to the followers of Hillel, but opposed by the House of Shammai in the period leading up to the Jewish Revolt.

Like Hillel, Jesus took a flexible stand on many issues in the Torah—such as healing on the Sabbath and association with Gentiles and sinners—while holding firm to basics such as "love the Lord God with all thy heart" (Deuteronomy 6:5) and "Love thy neighbor as thyself." (Leviticus 19:18) Some suggest that Jesus may even have been a hearer of Hillel when he spoke with the teachers in the Temple as a 12-year-old.

Nevertheless, the portrait of the Pharisees as Jesus' mortal opponents is etched deeply into Christian culture and remains a divisive factor in Jewish-Christian dialog even today.

Notes

  1. ↑ The Idumeans were the latter day Edomites, who had been forcibly converted to Judaism under John Hyrcanus.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Boccaccini, Gabriele. Roots of Rabbinic Judaism. William B. Eerdmans Pub., 2001. ISBN 0802843611
  • Bowker, John. Jesus and the Pharisees. Cambridge University Press, 1973. ISBN 9780521200554
  • Cohen, Shaye J. D. From the Maccabees to the Mishnah. Westminster John Knox Press, 1988. ISBN 0664250173
  • Fredriksen, Paula. From Jesus to Christ. Yale University Press, 1990. ISBN 0300048645
  • Neusner, Jacob, and Bruce Chilton. In Quest of the Historical Pharisees. Baylor University Press, 2007. ISBN 1932792724
  • Neusner, Jacob. Torah From our Sages: Pirke Avot. Rossel Books; 1st edition, 1983. ISBN 0940646056
  • ___________. Judaism in the Beginning of Christianity. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2000. ISBN 9780800617509
  • Schwarz, Leo, ed. Great Ages and Ideas of the Jewish People. (original 1956) Modern Library, (Random House) 1977. ISBN 039460413X

External links

All links retrieved November 23, 2022.

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