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Humanity

The Pharisees were huge proponents of human equality. But the aristocratic Sadducees were staunch defenders of the status quo, and they had vested interests. The Pharisees seemed to be representatives of a democratic movement. They opposed the aristocratic political leaders often and this constituted a major reason for the popularity of the Pharisees among the masses. Also they took sort of a plebeian position in society, where the Sadducees assumed the patrician position.

The Pharisees looked scornfully upon the am ha-aretz, "the people of the land," who took no heed of the Torah, but this was because the Pharisees were concerned to make piety of life a "democratic" phenomenon by extending it beyond the priestly class.

The Pharisees possessed a great reverence for humanity, and a high regard for tolerance and a great love of peace (see Gamaliel's advice in Acts 5:34ff.).

Hillel's famous saying recorded in the Mishnah, was:

"Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving mankind and bringing them nigh to the Law" (Aboth 1:12).