Page "Pharisees" Paragraph 54

Following the destruction of the Temple, Rome governed Judea through a Procurator at Caesarea and a Jewish Patriarch and levied the Fiscus Judaicus.

Yohanan ben Zakkai, a leading Pharisee, was appointed the first Patriarch ( the Hebrew word, Nasi, also means prince, or president ), and he reestablished the Sanhedrin at Yavneh ( see the related Council of Jamnia ) under Pharisee control.

Instead of giving tithes to the priests and sacrificing offerings at the ( now-destroyed ) Temple, the rabbis instructed Jews to give charity.

Moreover, they argued that all Jews should study in local synagogues, because Torah is " the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob " ( Deut.

33: 4 ).