Explain the nature and relationship between the sadducees and pharisee Who was superiorand how did they conduct themselves in Irael during the time of Jesus?

Answer 1

The Sadducees split off from the Pharisees around 200 BCE. The movement was made up of the priests and aristocrats of Jewish society. The did not accept the validity of the Oral Torah and believed in a strict, narrow, and unchanging interpretation of the written Torah. Examples of some beliefs they rejected are: immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the dead, and the existence of angels. They were Temple centric and would sometimes buy their way into the office of High Priest. Even though they took such a narrow view in regard to Torah interpretation, they were strong assimilationists in terms of society and adopted the ways of Greek culture. The Sadducees died out with the destruction of the Second Temple.

The Pharisees believed that HaShem gave the Jews both a written and an oral Torah, both of which were equally binding and both of which were open to interpretation by rabbis. Pharisees were devoted to the study of Torah and the education of all people, regardless of status in society.

The Pharisees detested hypocrisy and actively sought it out and criticized it whenever they encountered it. Examples of this hatred of hypocrisy can be found in the Gemara in Sotah 22B with several caricatures. They strongly denounce the pious man who cared more for his own purity than for human life; for the young woman who's overly zealous in her devotions; the widow who showed of her religious observance; and to the self-appointed Torah decisors who lacked the knowledge and qualifications to do the job.

The Pharisees were the only movement to survive the destruction of the Second Temple and were the ancestors of modern Judaism.