The
Pharisees, who tend to be seen as
bad guys by
unsophisticated readers of the
New Testament, are the people who made
rabbinical Judaism possible.
They were the populist, anti-elitist campaigners for a Judaism that could be practiced at home and on the street, not just at the Temple. And when the Temple was destroyed, they compiled a Talmudic approach that made the continuation of Jewish observance and culture possible in exile.
Not bad for a bunch of guys who were afflicted with Elderly Male Rabbi syndrome.