Changes

==Authorities==

==Authorities==

The characteristics and doctrines of the Pharisees from the existing written records depends on the nature of the authorities.  The New Testament writers of the Gospels, the ''Acts'', as well as the Apostle Paul - a former Pharisee - have assumed that the character and tenets of the Pharisees were well known to their readers, and only put emphasis on those points in which they were in antagonism to Jesus and His followers. The evidence of Josephus, a contemporary and himself a Pharisee, is lessened in value by the fact that he modified his accounts of his people to suit the taste of his Roman masters. The Pharisees as far as he was concerned are a philosophic sect and not an active political party. Their Messianic hopes are not so much as mentioned. Although the Talmud was written - both ''Mishna'' and ''Gemara'' - by the descendants of the Pharisees, the fact that the ''Gemara''  is so late renders the evidence deduced from Talmudic statements of little value. Even the ''Mishna'', which came into being only a century after the fall of the Jewish state, shows traces of exaggeration and modification of facts. Taking these deficiencies into consideration there is created a fairly consistent picture of the sect. The name means "separatists," from ''parash'', "to separate" - those who carefully kept themselves from any legal contamination and distinguishing themselves by their care in such matters from the common people, the `am ha'arets, who had fewer scruples. Like the Puritans in England during the 17th century, and the Presbyterians in Scotland during the same period, the Pharisees, although primarily a religious party, became energetically political. They were a closely organized society, all the members of which called each other ''chabherim'', "neighbors"; this added to the power they had through their influence with the people.

The characteristics and doctrines of the Pharisees from the existing written records depends on the nature of the authorities.  The New Testament writers of the Gospels, the ''Acts'', as well as the Apostle Paul - a former Pharisee - have assumed that the character and tenets of the Pharisees were well known to their readers, and only put emphasis on those points in which they were in antagonism to Jesus and His followers. The evidence of Josephus, a contemporary and himself a Pharisee, is lessened in value by the fact that he modified his accounts of his people to suit the taste of his Roman masters. The Pharisees as far as he was concerned are a philosophic sect and not an active political party. Their Messianic hopes are not so much as mentioned. Although the Talmud was written - both ''[[Mishnah|Mishna]]'' and ''Gemara'' - by the descendants of the Pharisees, the fact that the ''Gemara''  is so late renders the evidence deduced from Talmudic statements of little value. Even the ''Mishna'', which came into being only a century after the fall of the Jewish state, shows traces of exaggeration and modification of facts. Taking these deficiencies into consideration there is created a fairly consistent picture of the sect. The name means "separatists," from ''parash'', "to separate" - those who carefully kept themselves from any legal contamination and distinguishing themselves by their care in such matters from the common people, the `am ha'arets, who had fewer scruples. Like the Puritans in England during the 17th century, and the Presbyterians in Scotland during the same period, the Pharisees, although primarily a religious party, became energetically political. They were a closely organized society, all the members of which called each other ''chabherim'', "neighbors"; this added to the power they had through their influence with the people.

==History==

==History==