The Sadducees were the guys in charge. So their beliefs pretty much DEFINED official Judaism at the time. The Pharisees, for their part, WERE a sect. They had heterodox views that were rejected by the Jewish establishment (the Sadducees) and they were clearly not in a majority.
Judea was a theocratic state and The Sadducees were in charge ("Sadducees" means "descendants of Zadok", the High priest of Solomon, i.e. the LEGITIMATE line). They were the ones who told others what Judaism was and they had the power to enforce it because they had civil authority.
How do you know?
How do you know?
No. A few short inscriptions, but no manuscripts.
The earliest Jewish MANUSCRIPTS (physical texts on a piece of parchment or papyrus) are the Dead Sea Scroll
That is NOT a manuscript. It is a scrap of papyrus with no more than a couple dozen Hebrew letters on it. There is no way to know what it is actually talking about. Besides, I never said that Passover did not exist before the Talmud. Of course it did. It is referenced abundantly in the Torah (the OT). And it is even today celebrated by Christians under the name of Easter in English. Of course RTP re-used many Jewish elements, but so did Christianity and also Islam (circumcision, aniconic worship, legalism, the Messiah, etc).
I am NOT saying that RTP appeared out of nowhere. I am saying that it is no more "Jewish" than the other Abrahamic-influenced faiths.
Yes but not necessarily the tradition that passes as "Judaism" today. Christianity is also based on the pre-Christian (i.e. Jewish)) "interpretative tradition of the Bible", and so is Islam.
What I am saying is this:
Before the Destruction of the Temple (70 AD):
Judaism
After the Destruction of the Temple (70 AD):
Not Judaism, because Judaism is centered on Worship at the Temple. No Temple, No Judaism.
After 70AD, the only thing you have are
Post Judaic Sects:
- Christians (many varieties)
- RTP: Rabbinic Talmudic Pharisaism (THIS IS NOT JUDAISM)
- Muslims (a Christian knock-off + with a lot of RTP influences)
Which is completely un-Jewish. Judaism was a religion of priests (the Levites). Extending priestly purity rules to non-priests completely changes the spirit of the religion. This is as different form original Temple Judaism as Christianity or Islam.
It was not. Pharisees were a minority (although they were politically influential)
This is exactly what I am saying. RTP is a DIFFERENT religion. Judaism was about "rituals in a temple" and only that. Yes, may Jews grew tired of this and that is why they turned to other religions, like Christianity, RTP and Islam eventually.
You have never done "rituals in a temple", so you do not know what it is. Here in India, I see people whose religion is only "rituals in a temple" (Hindus). Believe me, if you tell them that they can still follow THE SAME RELIGION while completely stopping "rituals in a temple", they will think you are mad.
Yes, I know that Jews had no choice, because the Temple was destroyed and they were not allowed to rebuild it. Tough luck. If you are forced to no longer practice your religion, you have to invent a new one. It is fine to do so, but it is NOT FINE to pretend that your NEW religion is THE SAME as the old one. THAT is deceptive.
Pharisaism is not Judaism.
No. It is a PARTICULAR interpretation, just like Christianity is a particular Interpretation of the OT.
Nowhere in the Tankh is it said that the ordinary folks must follow priestly purity rules and that this would replace sacrifice at the Temple. The Tanakh describes a religion based on sacrifice. No sacrifice, no Judaism.
Absolutely not. RTP is attested no early than the late 2nd century AD (early Mishnah).
Yes, it is a different religion.
Christianity is not a bigger innovation than RTP
At least in Christianity, the sacrifice is retained (although in a symbolic manner), in the form of the bread and the wine (the sacrificial lamb). This sacrifice is performed
by a priest and then fed to the assembled faithful. This is more Jewish that what Rabbis do.
I never denied this. What I am saying is that Pharisee interpretations prior to the destruction of the Temple was a DISSENTING OPINION which was at variance with what was then orthodox Judaism (sacrifice at the Temple, no Halakah for the rank and file).
The first meaning is very clear. They were a SEPARATE sect from mainstream Judaism. In other words, they were HERETICS. The word "hairesis" in Greek, which is the origin of the English word "heretic" also means "those who separate"
That does not mean that these scholars were fairly quoted or that they supported what later became RTP. After someone is dead, you can make him say whatever you want. It does not mean anything.
What kind of "Scholar" is this from?
Absolutely not. What you have said so far is that the Pharisees were a HERETICAL sect that was at variance with the normative practices of Judaism in their time (Sacrifice at the Temple, prior to its destruction). Eventually, this HERETICAL sect gave rise to a different religion (RTP) exactly like another heretical Jewish sect (the Essenes) gave rise to Christianity.
The claim that modern RTPers are "more Jewish" than Christians or Muslims is a scam. It is IMPOSSIBLE to be Jewish today (no Temple). The only thing you can do today is to be
Post-Jewish, along with the Christians and the Muslims. This is the only HONEST way to describe the current situation.
