Pharisee

Like the other Jewish sects of its time, the Pharisee sect of Judaism was based on the observance of the Torah, with its rites, ceremonies, and insistence of the validity of the traditional interpretation of the Law of Moses. In contrast to Saduccees, who insisted that the text of the Torah be followed literally, the Pharisees held that the Torah could only be followed in light of additional material that existed as an oral law. The material in this oral later redacted into an authoritative work called the Mishnah; later exposition of the Mishnah developed into the Talmud. From the Saduccee and Essene point of view, the Pharisees were the liberal party, which allowed for flexibility in the interpretation of the law.

This sect was present in the days of Jesus. Christians have traditionally seen Jesus as an opponent of the Pharisees, accusing them of being only outwardly religious, rather than inwardly observant of the Law. Jesus was opposed to the Pharisees emphasis on observance of religious purity laws. Some modern day scholars argue that this reading is no longer tenable, and that when the New Testament is read in its historical context, Jesus's attitude towards the law was more like a liberal or reform offshoot of Pharisee thought.

While during the first century CE and earlier, the Pharisees were faced with opposition from other Jewish groups such as the Essenes and the Sadducees, they were eventually triumphant; rabbinic Judaism as it is known today is descended from them.