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For most of their history, Pharisees defined 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 that 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, and how to apply the Torah to Jewish life. These conflicts practically 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 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. The Pharisaic position is exemplified by the assertion that "A learned ''mamzer'' takes precedence over an ignorant High Priest." (A ''mamzer'' 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.")
jusus has went to iraq and got shot the pharisees pointec and laughted at him
==Background: The Religion of Ancient Israel==
Although the Pharisees did not emerge until the Hasmonean period, their origins, like those of the Saducees, may be traced to institutions that developed during the First Temple era. The religion of ancient Israel, like those of most ancient Near Eastern societies, centered on a Temple, served by a caste of priests, who sacrificed offerings to their god. Unlike those societies, however, the Israelites did not believe that God needed the sacrifices. Rather, they believed that sacrifices only enhanced their service to God by providing spiritual purity and aiding in moral growth. Among the Children of Israel, priests claimed descent from [[Aaron]] of the tribe of [[Levi]], and were believed to have been chosen by God to serve the Israelites in the [[Tabernacle]], to maintain the Israelite people's health and ritual purity and to teach and interpret the [[Torah]] along with its commandments, laws and rules.
In ancient Israel, unlike most ancient Near Eastern societies, the institution of the priesthood was separate from the monarchy. The religious authority of the priests began with the investment of Aaron and his children as kohanim (priests). A number of sites served as centers of worship and the priestly service, including Shiloh, until the construction of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] around [[950s BCE|950 BCE]].
The Davidic monarchy, by contrast, was instituted by the anointment of David by a prophet, Samuel. His legitimacy as king depended upon the grant of power by God as spoken through the prophet. The monarchy of the House of David, was, thus, dependent upon the covenant between God and David which stated that kings of Israel would only come from David's biological heirs. In accordance with the Biblical notion of separate powers for priesthood and monarchy, the priests during the First Temple Era (from around [[950s BCE|950 BCE]] to [[580s BCE|586 BCE]]), were limited to the Temple service and interpreting and teaching Torah; political power officially rested in the hands of a king who ruled, ideally, by divine right.
In most ancient societies sacrifice was the only form of worship. Unlike many other religions of the time, however, the Children of Israel had sacred texts (according to traditional Jews, revealed at Mt. Sinai; according to critical scholars, 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. [[Prophets]], 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.
Both the Temple and the Monarchy were destroyed by the [[Babylon|Babylonians]] in [[580s BCE|586 BCE]], and most Jews were sent into exile.
==Pharisees in the Second Temple Era==
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