Essenes were a mystic Jewish sect during the Second Temple period, originating during the Maccabean revolt. They held possessions in common, something also made by Jesus' apostles. [1]
Their requirements were in some respects more exacting than those of the Pharisees. They had adopted many Persian beliefs and practices, lived as a brotherhood in monasteries, refrained from marriage, and had all things in common. They specialized in teachings about angels. [2] Many of the Essenes tolerated the theory of reincarnation, that men may reap in one incarnation what they have sown in a previous existence. [3]