>>212350631Yes, there were political and theological tensions among Jewish groups, no one’s denying that. But that’s not proof of some foreign Pharisee takeover; it's proof that Judaism was a diverse, living tradition with internal debate just like every major religion.
The Sadducees disappeared after the Temple's destruction because their entire identity was tied to it. They were the priestly aristocracy; once the Temple was gone, their role was irrelevant. The Pharisees survived not because they were "treacherous" but because their teachings worked outside the Temple, in homes, in synagogues, in exile. That’s why rabbinic Judaism, built on Pharisaic ideas, became the foundation of Jewish continuity.
As for the Romans - Rome didn't "spare" the Pharisees. Rome crushed Judea, murdered rabbis, banned Jewish practices, and razed Jerusalem. The Pharisees didn't survive because they were traitors, they survived because they adapted, recorded oral law, and led dispersed communities.