Can modern Israelis read and understand the ancient Hebrew texts? Why?
Well, even if fluent native speakers have an advantage in that Hebrew is their mother tongue, and even if many sentences in the Torah may use the same language that is spoken today, there are many odd things in the text that are not automatically understood, and much that is left out. So modern Israeli Jews need to read the commentaries of past scholars in order to properly understand the text, and to learn why the Torah uses the language in novel or unusual ways in a particular passage. Rashi and Ibn Ezra and many other great scholars have gone over the text word by word and commented when there was something unusual or not obvious on a simple reading of the text.Also today, we have printed copies of the text with full vowels, and those editions explain when the masorah tells us to read a word one way, although it may be written in a way that varies. The Scrolls of the Torah do not include vowels, so these markers are very helpful.Furthermore, there are weekly Torah classes in most religious communities, and even secular Jews study our ancient Hebrew literature in high school courses, what to speak of college and university courses.There is the academic world and the Yeshiva world, and sometimes they work together.
What were the differences between the Pharisees and Sadducees...?
The Pharisees originated during the Grecian period as a vigorous reaction to anti-Jewish Hellenism. By Jesus’ day, however, they were rigid, tradition-bound, legalistic, proud, self-righteous proselytizers and teachers who sought to control the nation through synagogue instruction. They came mainly from the middle class and disdained the common people. Jesus viewed most Pharisees as self-seeking, merciless money lovers who oozed hypocrisy. (Matthew, chapter 23) They accepted the entire Hebrew Scriptures in the light of their own explanations but attached equal or greater weight to their oral traditions. They said that their traditions were “a fence around the Law.” Far from being a fence, however, their traditions invalidated the Word of God and perplexed the public. The politicized Sadducees were chiefly wealthy aristocrats, known for their adroit diplomacy ever since the Hasmonaean uprising in the mid-second century B.C.E. Most of them were priests, though some were businessmen and landowners. By the time Jesus was born, most Sadducees favored Roman rule of Palestine because they thought it was more stable and was likely to maintain the status quo. (John 11:47, 48.) A minority (Herodians) believed that rule by the family of Herod would better suit national sentiment. At any rate, the Sadducees did not want the nation to be in the hands of Jewish fanatics or to have anyone other than priests in control of the temple. Sadducean beliefs were conservative, mainly based on their interpretation of Moses’ writings, and reflected their opposition to the powerful sect of the Pharisees. (Acts 23:6-8) The Sadducees rejected the prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures as speculations. They taught that the Bible’s historical, poetical, and proverbial books were uninspired and nonessential.