Different Jewish sects?

[Redratfish]

Recently I’ve seen a lot of talk about three main sects of Old (or New?) judaism, the Pharisees, Saducees and Essenes. I know Saducees did not believe in the afterlife, but what are other differences between the three?

 

[meltzerboy]

Recently I’ve seen a lot of talk about three main sects of Old (or New?) judaism, the Pharisees, Saducees and Essenes. I know Saducees did not believe in the afterlife, but what are other differences between the three?

The Pharisees, comprised of several social classes, believed in both the Written Law of the Torah and the Oral Law, which would later become codified in the Talmud. The Sadducees, mainly High Priests, believed only in the Written Law, as did the Essenes, who were made up of celibate males leading a “monastic” life apart from the material world. As you noted, only the Sadducees did not believe in an afterlife and only they were socially influenced by Hellenism. The Essenes were the only sect who did not believe in free will. That’s about the extent of my knowledge about these sects. I would also add the Karaites, who believed in the Written Law only; however they interpreted several passages of it in a non-literal, metaphorical manner. Karaite Judaism has some very interesting differences from all other forms of Judaism, such as NOT lighting Sabbath candles, because it believes Scripture states that lights should not be burned on the Sabbath even if they were put on before. Also they do not believe in affixing the Torah scroll (mezuzah) on door posts.