Mama pajama, maybe a fourth question?

Question

Said I'd stop at three on questions about the rabbi Pharisees. Well I lied. MomPJ, I take it your Jewish? I was raised very orthodox Roman Catholic. Agnostic nowadays. Have a couple of drops of Jewish blood on my mother's side. They were Catholic and ate pork however. It's pretty obvious neither I, nor any Christian, has a clue as to what a Pharisee was??? Why do you think this Jesus, "son of man" was so against them??? Would love to hear your thoughts?

Answer 1

I thank Lady Suri very much for the compliment and for starring this question or I would have missed it completely! I think Lady Suri has a point about differences in looking at things..but I'm going to go with a little different perspective on this question. BTW..I think Lady Suri is very knowledgable about Judaism and respect her answers very much..such insight from one so young is heartwarming to see!
Now..back to the question.

Since I do not ascribe to the belief/faith that the New Testament is an inerrant account of Judaism or Jewish history ( I have seen too many contradictions that are too long to list here) I do not assume that Jesus DID have such a problem with the Pharisees, especially since so many of this most popular "quotes" are the precise teachings OF the Pharisees!

I think that it was the writers of the New Testament who had the problems with the Pharisees and the strict adherence to Torah.

The Pharisees were the sect that later produced Rabbinic Judaism, but from their beginnings a couple of hundred years prior to Jesus' day and until the destruction of the Temple, the title RABBI did not exist. The title Rabban began conemporary with the beginnings of Christianity and was applied ONLY to the LEADER of the Sanhedrin..the court comprised of the most learned and respected men who displayed in their lives the most ethical and moral values of Torah and only a few such men bore this title within a generation of Jesus. The Sanhedrin certainly did not confer to either Jeuss or Paul this title as there is no record of either them or any similarly styled "rebel" in their many writings. It is anachronistic to refer to Jesus or anyone before about 90 CE as Rabbi in the sense of the type of religious teacher they refer to when using it. Yohanan ben Zakai's students after the siege of Jerusalem, began first conferring this "title" to other learned sages who upheld Torah. So before 70 CE..there were no rabbis. There was ONE Rabban, who led the Sanhedrin...This explanation I think I may copypaste onto another question I just answered LOL..as it also elaborates on why Jesus wasn't a rabbi! ( the q is.Was Jesus a Rabbi?)
In your question you speak of " Jewish blood"...Judaism is a religion, the covenant nation of Israel bound by that religion is a tribal entity and one may be born into that tribe..but it isn't a race. You may have a genetic link to Jewish heritage, but anyone may become FULLY Jewish..as Jewish as Moses..by conversion.

I don't see how your family ancestry or if you or they ate pork has anything to do with understanding the history and religious beliefs and practices of others. I am not Orthodox and am not strict in my religious observance but I am both deeply spiritual and immensely interested intellectually as well in study of not only my own religion, but the comparative study of all human beliefs. I have chosen my path based on what I feel is right for me. I don't try to proselytize to others and my attempts to answer questions about Judaism here in Y/A have been primarily to help clear up confusion and often dispel willful misinformation spread about Judaism. Some of its spread is malicious..other times, more in self-centered ignorance without malicious intent. It is sometimes hard to distinguish so I do not approach everyone spreading misinformation as doing so through bigotry..but at other times when it is clear from the language or how an answer is chosen...I will most certainly point that out so that others without the prerequisite study and knowledge may be forewarned. I am not a know-it-all expert, but after 40 years of exploration I do know more than the average layman. AND MOST importantly..I continue to learn through helping others learn..and I NEVER expect anyone to take my word alone. I always HOPE that if someone is interested enough to ask that any answer I give will entice them to explore and study any reference I give on their own. I don't assume others are incapable of figuring this out on their own, too.

The reason the Pharisees were demonized is a bit like what Lady Suri said actually..a new religious sect came along and tried to replace the former..and what do groups who do this tend to do to the group they're trying to replace? They blame every ill of the world on the other and assign to them ( projections) sometimes even attributes that they themselves possess or that they know their TARGET AUDIENCE will FEAR and loathe so that the demonized group will be viewed with disdain and their words not taken seriously.

The Pharisees did not have the attitude of being SEPARATE from other Jews or from the common people..but separate from FOREIGN ( Hellenizing ) influences..that was the purpose of their formation. They in fact, promoted education of ALL..not just the wealthy or elite...and embraced converts from the Gentiles as fullly Jewish. This is the most egregriously mistaken notion promoted about the Pharisees and their purpose for SEPARATION.

( Liberals vs Conservatives anyone?)
A couple of old books I have on the Pharisees are out of print now..so I'll try to look up and find a reference that you may explore. BRB with one..Shalom

Answer 2

Mama pajama is a wise lady. She'll give a better answer than I can--however, I think it was because JC was a democrat to the Pharisees republican. There is probably something wrong about that statement, but I am too tired to find out what :-/ Oh well. I starred for you because she's in my contacts. :-)

Peace

Answer 3

Mama Pajama, must be in Bahama. Jesus disliked the Pharisees for they were the hypocrites of His day. They insisted on the letter of the law and then proceeded to violate it themselves. They set themselves apart from the Jews, as the "better" Jews. The word Pharisee means "separate" as they were set apart to be pure. They were like a political party that had a lot of opposition, and Jesus was totally against them. He loved them, don't misunderstand me, but He hated their actions.