Ty,

You don't seem to understand who was in power in the first place. Judea was a Roman province at the time. Aside from the Romans in power the closest thing to Jewish "power" were perhaps those who bought and paid the Romans their way into the priesthood (or the descendants of Herod the Idumaean who were raised in the lap of Rome). Any "power" the Pharisees had came from the respect the general populace had for them and their preservation of Torah and Torah observance, and the high regard they held them in for this fact.

They earned their great reputation among the Jewish people, they did not purchase or theft it. This position of high morality and regard - unlike positions of material power - can't be bought and sold, nor can they be stripped by gentile polemicists. This respect and regard was for reasons which have been explained here in numerous instances (regarding Torah, mitzvot, helping of and regard for the poor). The Pharisees did not speak from some ivory tower high perch disconnected from the people, they were right there in the midst of them guiding them in matters of Torah observance. The GT portrayal is a fictional polemic, and has no basis in reality.

Straight out of the manual of Joseph Gobbels. Or perhaps vise versa.

Netanel

Last Edited By: Netanel Thu, 19-Jun-08 08:57:58. Edited 1 times.