The '''Pharisees''' (from the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ''perushim'', from ''parash'', meaning "to separate") were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the [[Second Temple]] Era ([[530s BCE|536 BCE]]–[[70|70 CE]]). After the destruction of the Second Temple, the Pharisaic sect was re-established as [[Rabbinic Judaism]] — which ultimately produced normative, traditional Judaism, the basis for all contemporary forms of Judaism, with the possible exception of the [[KaraitesKaraite Judaism]] which began as a sect of [[Karaism]]. The relationship between the Pharisees and Rabbinic Judaism (exemplified by the [[Talmud]]) is so close that many do not distinguish between the two. Nevertheless, the social standing and beliefs of the Pharisees changed over time, as political and social conditions in Judea changed.
More specifically, the Pharisees were one of the successor groups of the Hasidim (the "pious"), an anti-Hellenic Jewish movement that formed in the time of the [[Seleucid]] king, [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes|Antiochus Epiphanes]] ([[175 BCE|175]]–[[163 BCE]]). (This group is distinct from the [[Hasidism]] established in 18th century [[Europe]].) The first mention of the Pharisees is by the Jewish-Roman historian [[Josephus]], in a description of the four "schools of thought" (that is, social groups or movements) into which the Jews were divided in the [[1st century]] [[Common Era | CE]]. The other schools were the [[Essenes]], revolutionaries, and the [[Sadducees]]. The Essenes were apolitical; the revolutionaries, such as the [[Sicarii]] and the [[Zealots]], emerged specifically to resist the [[Roman Empire]]. Other sects emerged at this time, such as the [[Christianity|Christians]] in [[Judea]] and the [[Therapeutae]] in [[Egypt]]. The Sadducees and Pharisees began earlier, as political factions in the [[Hellenistic]] [[Hasmonean]] period of the Second Temple era. At no time did any of these sects constitute a majority; most Jews were non-sectarian. However, Josephus indicates that the Pharisees received the backing and good-will of the common people. Nevertheless, these sects are emblematic of the different responses of Jews to the political, economic, and cultural forces that characterized the Second Temple era.
