== == : See also Oral law; Halacha l'Moshe m'Sinai; Relationship between the Bible and the Mishnah and Talmud. Broadly, the Halakha comprises the practical application of the commandments (each one known as a mitzvah) in the Torah, as developed in subsequent rabbinic literature; see The Mitzvot and Jewish Law. According to the Talmud (Tractate Makot), there are 613 mitzvot ("commandments") in the Torah; in Hebrew these are known as the Taryag mitzvot תרי"ג מצוות. There are 248 positive mitzvot and 365 negative mitzvot given in the Torah, supplemented by seven mitzvot legislated by the rabbis of antiquity; see Rabbinical commandments. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosaic_law#Laws_of_the_Torah
The Pharisees were accountable for the same 613 laws of the Torah as all Jews were,
and are. At that time, the laws may not have been fastidiously counted yet, but they
were there, and they were the same for everyone. There has never been a class system
within Judaism, with different 'castes' governed by different sets of laws.
The Pharisees were the supposed experts of the Law of Moses, which were the laws that the nation of Israel were governed by, so yes, they were the lawyers of their time.
The Pharisees were Old Testament Jews that were supposedly to follow the Law of Moses. But these Pharisees, and Scribes made up a lot of Man made laws to which they would follow instead of what the true law called for. A prime example is Mark 7:9-13.
Jesus defied the system of the day which caused the Pharisees to hate him. The Pharisees had added many laws onto the word of God, and Jesus taught that its only the Word of the Lord that is true.
The pharisees were people who enforced and taught the Jewish law, or the law of God. The problem with the pharisees were that they made up their own law that coincided with God's law, but these laws were their own interpretations of the Law, not the actual law itself.
The Pharisees were strong adherents of Mosaic code. During the Roman period the Jews were given freedom to practice their religion. The Jews had their courts where offences against their religion were tried and the guilty punished. The highest council of the Jews was called Sanhedrin. The Pharisees and the Sadducee occupied it. The Pharisees believed that Moses gave laws in addition to the Commandments to those who were near him and those laws were not codified. They strongly believed that the alien culture of the Greeks should be shunned though the Saducees advocated a compromise. Ironically the Pharisees were not the clergy yet they were strong in their faith whereas the Saducees' faith was a little accommodative.
It was the Pharisees who accused Jesus of healing people on the sabbath, as they were very strict about it.
Pharisees were a Jewish sect known for strict adherence to religious laws and traditions, while Sadducees were another Jewish sect that did not believe in the resurrection of the dead or in angels. Pharisees focused on religious law and oral traditions, while Sadducees were more politically aligned with the ruling class.
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Jesus appears to have felt considerable kinship with the Pharisees. He spent long hours in synagogues that were dominated by Pharisees, ate meals with Pharisees, and visited Pharisees in their homes. His arguments with Pharisees make up a significant part of the Gospels. The record of Jesus' arguments with the Pharisees in the Gospels and the record of arguments among the Pharisees in the Talmud suggest that Jesus's style of argument, vehemence and occasional name calling (hypocrites!) were typical Phariseeic behavior. It is quite likely that many Pharisees during Jesus' lifetime considered him to be a Pharisee. Most of what Jesus taught in the Gospels is in accordance with the teachings of the school of Rabbi Hillel -- the more humanist and less legalist school of Phariseeic thought.
The singular possessive form of "pharisee" is "pharisee's," and the plural form is "pharisees'."
The pharisees believed the messiah had not come.
Most of the laws discussed by the Pharisees are found in the Torah or were extrapolated from the Torah. There are a few, however, described as rabbinic laws: Wash your hands before eating bread. The laws of eruv -- how to arrange things so you can carry something on the Sabbath. The requirement to recite a blessing before eating or other pleasurable activities. Lighting candles (or other lamps) on the eve of the Sabbath and festivals. All the rules for celebrating Purim. All the rules for celebrating Hanukkah. The inclusion of the Hallel psalms in the synagogue liturgy for festivals.