The Pharisees, also known as the Perushim, were a prominent group in Judaism during the first century. Their name in Hebrew means "the segregated ones." The Perushim focused primarily on matters related to the observance of ritual purity laws, even outside the temple. In addition to the written Law (Torah or Pentateuch), they compiled a series of traditions and ways to fulfill the prescriptions of the Law, which eventually came to be received as an oral Torah, attributed to God.
