Karaite Judaism () or Karaism (, sometimes spelt Karaitism (; ''Yahadut Qara'it''); also spelt Qaraite Judaism, Qaraism or Qaraitism) is a
Jewish religious movement
Jewish religious movements, sometimes called " denominations", include different groups within Judaism which have developed among Jews from ancient times. Today, the most prominent divisions are between traditionalist Orthodox movements (includin ...
characterized by the recognition of the written
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
alone as its supreme
authority
In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''The N ...
in ''
halakha
''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...
'' (Jewish
religious law
Religious law includes ethical and moral codes taught by religious traditions. Different religious systems hold sacred law in a greater or lesser degree of importance to their belief systems, with some being explicitly antinomian whereas others ...
) and
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
. Karaites believe that all of the divine commandments which were handed down to
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
by God were recorded in the written Torah without any additional Oral Law or explanation. Unlike mainstream
Rabbinic Judaism
Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian ...
, which considers the
Oral Torah
According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law ( he, , Tōrā šebbəʿal-pe}) are those purported laws, statutes, and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah ( he, , Tōrā šebbīḵ ...
, codified in the
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
and subsequent works, to be authoritative interpretations of the
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
, Karaite Jews do not believe that the written collections of the oral tradition in the
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
are binding.
When they read the Torah, Karaites strive to adhere to the plain or most obvious meaning (''
peshat
''Peshat'' (also ''P'shat'', ) is one of the two classic methods of Jewish biblical exegesis, the other being Derash. While ''Peshat'' is commonly defined as referring to the surface or literal (direct) meaning of a text,Goldin, S. (2007). Unlocki ...
'') of the text; this is not necessarily the literal meaning of the text, instead, it is the meaning of the text that would have been naturally understood by the ancient
Hebrews
The terms ''Hebrews'' (Hebrew: / , Modern: ' / ', Tiberian: ' / '; ISO 259-3: ' / ') and ''Hebrew people'' are mostly considered synonymous with the Semitic-speaking Israelites, especially in the pre-monarchic period when they were still no ...
when the books of the Torah were first written - without the use of the Oral Torah. By contrast, Rabbinic Judaism relies on the legal rulings of the
Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , ''synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence 'assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as "rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temple), ap ...
as they are codified in the Midrash, Talmud, and other sources to indicate the authentic meaning of the Torah. Karaite Judaism holds every interpretation of the Torah to the same scrutiny regardless of its source, and teaches that it is the personal responsibility of every individual Jew to study the
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
, and ultimately decide personally its correct meaning. Karaites may consider arguments made in the Talmud and other works without exalting them above other viewpoints.
According to
Mordecai ben Nissan
Mordecai ben Nissan the Elder ( Heb. מרדכי בן ניסן הזקן, ''Mordechai ben Nissan ha-Zaken'') was a Karaite Jewish scholar who lived at Krasny Ostrów, Poland (now Kukeziv, Ukraine) in the second half of the 18th century.
Education ...
, the ancestors of the Karaites were a group called '' Benei Ṣedeq'' during the
Second Temple period
The Second Temple period in Jewish history lasted approximately 600 years (516 BCE - 70 CE), during which the Second Temple existed. It started with the return to Zion and the construction of the Second Temple, while it ended with the First Jewis ...
. Historians have argued over whether Karaism has a direct connection to the
Sadducees
The Sadducees (; he, צְדוּקִים, Ṣədūqīm) were a socio-religious sect of Jewish people who were active in Judea during the Second Temple period, from the second century BCE through the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Th ...
dating back to the end of the Second Temple period (70 CE) or whether Karaism represents a novel emergence of similar views. Karaites have always maintained that while there are some similarities to the Sadducees due to the rejection of rabbinical authority and the Oral Law, there are major differences.
According to Rabbi Abraham ibn Daud, in his ''
Sefer ha-Qabbalah
''Sefer ha-Qabbalah'' (Hebrew: ספר הקבלה, "Book of Tradition") was a book written by Abraham ibn Daud around 1160–1161. The book is a response to Karaitic attacks against the historical legitimacy of Rabbinic Judaism, and contains, amon ...
'', the Karaite movement crystallized in
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
in the Gaonic period (''circa'' 7th–9th centuries) under the
Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
in what is now
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. This is the view universally accepted among Rabbinic Jews. However, some Arab scholars claim that Karaites were already living in Egypt in the first half of the seventh century, based on a legal document that the Karaite community in Egypt had in its possession until the end of the 19th century, in which the first Islamic governor ordered the leaders of the Rabbinite community against interfering with Karaite practices or the way they celebrate their holidays. It was said to have been stamped by the palm of Amr ibn al-ʿĀṣ as-Sahmī, the first Islamic governor of Egypt (d. 664), and was reportedly dated 20 AH (641 CE).
At one time, Karaites made up a significant proportion of the Jewish population. In the 21st century, some 30,000–50,000 are thought to reside in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, with smaller communities in Turkey, Europe and the United States. Another estimate holds that, of the 50,000 worldwide, more than 40,000 descend from those who made
aliyah
Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...
from
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and Iraq to
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. The largest Karaite community today resides in the Israeli city of
Ashdod
Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterran ...
.Community of Ashdod /ref>
History
Origins
Arguments among Jewish sects regarding the validity of the Oral Law date back to
Hellenistic period
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 3 ...
, the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE. Accordingly, some scholars trace the origin of Karaism to those who rejected the Talmudic tradition as an innovation.
Judah Halevi
Judah Halevi (also Yehuda Halevi or ha-Levi; he, יהודה הלוי and Judah ben Shmuel Halevi ; ar, يهوذا اللاوي ''Yahuḏa al-Lāwī''; 1075 – 1141) was a Spanish Jewish physician, poet and philosopher. He was born in Spain, ...
, an 11th-century Jewish philosopher and
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
, wrote a defense for Rabbinic Judaism entitled ''
Kuzari
The ''Kuzari'', full title ''Book of Refutation and Proof on Behalf of the Despised Religion'' ( ar, كتاب الحجة والدليل في نصرة الدين الذليل: ''Kitâb al-ḥujja wa'l-dalîl fi naṣr al-dîn al-dhalîl''), also k ...
'', placing the origins of Karaism in the first and second centuries BCE, during the reign of Alexander Jannaeus ("King Jannai"), king of Judaea from 103 to 76 BCE:
Abraham Geiger
Abraham Geiger (Hebrew: ''ʼAvrāhām Gayger''; 24 May 181023 October 1874) was a German rabbi and scholar, considered the founding father of Reform Judaism. Emphasizing Judaism's constant development along history and universalist traits, Geige ...
, a 19th-century German scholar who founded
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous searc ...
, posited a connection between the Karaites and a remnant of the
Sadducees
The Sadducees (; he, צְדוּקִים, Ṣədūqīm) were a socio-religious sect of Jewish people who were active in Judea during the Second Temple period, from the second century BCE through the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Th ...
, the 1st-century Jewish sect that followed the Hebrew Bible literally and rejected the
Pharisees
The Pharisees (; he, פְּרוּשִׁים, Pərūšīm) were a Jewish social movement and a school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Pharisaic beliefs bec ...
' notion of an Oral Torah even before it was written. Geiger's view is based on comparison between Karaite and Sadducee ''
halakha
''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...
'': for example, a minority in Karaite Judaism do not believe in a
resurrection of the dead
General resurrection or universal resurrection is the belief in a resurrection of the dead, or resurrection from the dead ( Koine: , ''anastasis onnekron''; literally: "standing up again of the dead") by which most or all people who have died ...
or
afterlife
The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...
, a position also held by the Sadducees. The British theologian
John Gill John Gill may refer to:
Sports
*John Gill (cricketer) (1854–1888), New Zealand cricketer
*John Gill (coach) (1898–1997), American football coach
*John Gill (footballer, born 1903), English professional footballer
*John Gill (American football) ...
(1767) noted,
Gill also traces the Karaite sect to the split between the schools of
Hillel the Elder
Hillel ( he, הִלֵּל ''Hīllēl''; variously called ''Hillel HaGadol'', ''Hillel HaZaken'', ''Hillel HaBavli'' or ''HaBavli'', was born according to tradition in Babylon c. 110 BCE, died 10 CE in Jerusalem) was a Jewish religious leader, sag ...
and
Shammai
Shammai (50 BCE – 30 CE, he, שַׁמַּאי, ''Šammaʾy'') was a Jewish scholar of the 1st century, and an important figure in Judaism's core work of rabbinic literature, the Mishnah.
Shammai was the most eminent contemporary of Hille ...
in 30 BCE.
American scholar Bernard Revel rejects many of Geiger's proofs in his 1913 published dissertation, ''The Karaite Halakah''. Revel also points to the many correlations between Karaite halakha and theology and the interpretations of
Philo
Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt.
Philo's deplo ...
of
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
, the 1st-century philosopher and Jewish scholar. He also notes the writings of a 10th-century Karaite who refers to Philo's works, showing that the Karaites made use of Philo's writings in the development of their movement. Later Medieval Karaite commentators did not view Philo in a favorable light. These attitudes show a friction between later Karaite theology and possible connections to Philo's philosophy, which could serve as either a rejection of their origins, rejection of theological positions no longer accepted, or that Philo's philosophy was not entirely used in the founding of the Karaites (although some influences remain possible).
Early 20th-century scholars Oesterley and Box suggested that Karaism formed in a reaction to the rise of
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
. The new religion recognized Judaism as a fellow monotheistic faith, but claimed that it detracted from its belief by deferring to rabbinical authority.
9th century
Anan ben David
Anan Ben David (c. 715 - c. 795) ( he, ענן בן דוד) is widely considered to be a major founder of the Karaite movement of Judaism. His followers were called Ananites and, like modern Karaites, did not believe the Rabbinic Jewish oral law ...
( he, ענן בן דוד, c. 715 – 795 or 811?) is widely considered to be a major founder of the Karaite movement. His followers were called Ananites; they did not believe the rabbinical oral law was divinely inspired.
According to a 12th-century Rabbinic account, in approximately 760, Shelomoh ben Ḥisdai II, the Exilarch in
died, and two brothers among his nearest kin, ʻAnan ben David (whose name according to the Rabbinical account was ʻAnan ben Shafaṭ, but was called "ben David" due to his Davidic lineage) and Ḥananyah were next in order of succession. Eventually, Ḥananyah was elected by the rabbis of the Babylonian Jewish colleges (the Geonim) and by the notables of the chief Jewish congregations, and the choice was confirmed by the Caliph of Baghdad.
A schism may have occurred, with ʻAnan ben David being proclaimed exilarch by his followers.. However, not all scholars agree that this event occurred. Leon Nemoy notes, "Natronai, scarcely ninety years after ‘Anan's secession, tells us nothing about his aristocratic (Davidic) descent or about the contest for the office of exilarch which allegedly served as the immediate cause of his apostasy."See ''Karaite Anthology''; Yale Judaica Series 7 Nemoy later notes that Natronai — a devout Rabbanite — lived where ʻAnan's activities took place, and that the Karaite sage
Jacob Qirqisani
Jacob Qirqisani (c. 890 – c. 960) ( ar, ابو یوسف یعقوب القرقسانی ''ʾAbū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb al-Qirqisānī'', he, יעקב בן יצחק הקרקסאני ''Yaʿqov ben Yiṣḥaq haṢerqesi'') was a Karaite dogmatist and exe ...
never mentioned ʻAnan's purported lineage or candidacy for Exilarch.
ʻAnan's allowing his followers to proclaim him as Exilarch was considered treason by the Muslim government. He was sentenced to death, but his life was saved by his fellow prisoner,
Abu Hanifa
Nuʿmān ibn Thābit ibn Zūṭā ibn Marzubān ( ar, نعمان بن ثابت بن زوطا بن مرزبان; –767), commonly known by his '' kunya'' Abū Ḥanīfa ( ar, أبو حنيفة), or reverently as Imam Abū Ḥanīfa by Sunni Mus ...
, the founder of the
madhhab
A ( ar, مذهب ', , "way to act". pl. مَذَاهِب , ) is a school of thought within ''fiqh'' (Islamic jurisprudence).
The major Sunni Mathhab are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali.
They emerged in the ninth and tenth centuries CE an ...
or school of
fiqh
''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh.
The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ...
(Muslim jurisprudence) known as the
Hanafi
The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named aft ...
. Ultimately he and his followers were permitted to migrate to
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
. They erected a synagogue in Jerusalem that continued to be maintained until the time of the
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
. From this center, the sect diffused thinly over
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, spread into Egypt, and ultimately reached
Southeast Europe
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (al ...
.
Ben David challenged the Rabbinical establishment. Some scholars believe that his followers may have absorbed Jewish Babylonian sects such as the Isunians (followers of Abū ʻĪsā al-Iṣfahānī),
Yudghanites
The Yudghanites ("Al-Yudghaniyyah") were a Jewish sect named after its founder, Yudghan or Judah of Hamadan, a disciple of Abu Isa al-Isfahani.
History
Shortly after the defeat of Abu Isa and his followers (the Isawites) at Rayy early in the eigh ...
, and the remnants of the pre-Talmudic
Sadducees
The Sadducees (; he, צְדוּקִים, Ṣədūqīm) were a socio-religious sect of Jewish people who were active in Judea during the Second Temple period, from the second century BCE through the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Th ...
and
Boethusians
The Boethusians () were a Jewish sect closely related to, if not a development of, the Sadducees.
Origins according to the Talmud
The post-Talmudic work ''Avot of Rabbi Natan'' gives the following origin of the schism between the Pharisees and Sa ...
. Later, sects such as the Ukbarites emerged separately from the Ananites.
However, the Isunians, Yudghanites, Ukabarites, and Mishawites all held views that did not accord with those of either the Ananites or the Karaites. Abū ʻĪsā al-Iṣfahānī, who was an illiterate tailor, claimed to be a prophet, prohibited divorce, claimed that all months should have thirty days, believed in Jesus and Muhammad as prophets, and told his followers that they must study the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
and the
Qur’an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ...
. Yudghan was a follower of Abū ʻĪsā al-Iṣfahānī and claimed to be a prophet and the Messiah, saying that the observance of Shabbat and Holy Days was no longer obligatory. Isma‘il al-‘Ukbari believed he was the prophet Elijah, and hated ʻAnan. Mishawayh al-‘Ukbari, who was a disciple of Isma‘il al-‘Ukbari and the founder of the Mishawites, taught his followers to use a purely solar calendar of 364 days and 30-day months, insisting that all the Holy Days and fast days should always occur on fixed days in the week, rather than on fixed days of the months. He further said that
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
should be kept from sunrise on Saturday to sunrise on Sunday. Most Ananites and Karaites rejected such beliefs.
ʻAnan developed his movement's core tenets. His ''Sefer HaMiṣwot'' ("The Book of the Commandments") was published about 770. He adopted many principles and opinions of other anti-rabbinic forms of Judaism that had previously existed. He took much from the old Sadducees and Essenes, whose remnants still survived, and whose writings—or at least writings ascribed to them—were still in circulation. Thus, for example, these older sects prohibited the burning of any lights and the leaving of one's dwelling on the Sabbath. Unlike the Sadducees, ʻAnan and the
Qumran
Qumran ( he, קומראן; ar, خربة قمران ') is an archaeological site in the West Bank managed by Israel's Qumran National Park. It is located on a dry marl plateau about from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli ...
sectaries allowed persons to leave their house, but prohibited leaving one's town or camp. ʻAnan said that one should not leave one's house for frivolous things, but only to go to prayer or to study scripture. The Sadducees required the observation of the new moon to establish the dates of festivals and always held the
Shavuot
(''Ḥag HaShavuot'' or ''Shavuos'')
, nickname = English: "Feast of Weeks"
, observedby = Jews and Samaritans
, type = Jewish and Samaritan
, begins = 6th day of Sivan (or the Sunday following the 6th day of Sivan i ...
festival on a Sunday.
The Golden Age
In the "Golden Age of Karaism" (900–1100) a large number of Karaite works were produced in all parts of the Muslim world, the most notable being a work penned by
Jacob Qirqisani
Jacob Qirqisani (c. 890 – c. 960) ( ar, ابو یوسف یعقوب القرقسانی ''ʾAbū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb al-Qirqisānī'', he, יעקב בן יצחק הקרקסאני ''Yaʿqov ben Yiṣḥaq haṢerqesi'') was a Karaite dogmatist and exe ...
, entitled ''Kitāb al-Anwār wal-Marāqib'' ("Code of Karaite Law"), which provides valuable information concerning the development of Karaism and throws light also on many questions in Rabbinic Judaism. Karaite Jews were able to obtain autonomy from
Rabbinic Judaism
Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian ...
in the Muslim world and establish their own institutions. Karaites in the Muslim world also obtained high social positions such as tax collectors, doctors, and clerks, and even received special positions in the Egyptian courts. Karaite scholars were among the most conspicuous practitioners in the philosophical school known as
Jewish Kalam
Jewish Kalam was an early medieval style of Jewish philosophy that evolved in response to Kalam in Islam, which in turn was a reaction against Aristotelianism.
The term "Jewish Kalam" is used by modern historians, but is not a term by which Jewis ...
.
According to historian
Salo Wittmayer Baron
Salo Wittmayer Baron (May 26, 1895 – November 25, 1989) was a Polish-born American historian, described as "the greatest Jewish historian of the 20th century". Baron taught at Columbia University from 1930 until his retirement in 1963.
Life
...
, at one time the number of Jews affiliating with Karaism was as much as 10 percent of world Jewry, and debates between Rabbinist and Karaite leaders were not uncommon.
Among the staunchest critics of Karaite thought and practice at this time was
Saadia Gaon
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon ( ar, سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي ''Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi''; he, סַעֲדְיָה בֶּן יוֹסֵף אַלְפַיּוּמִי גָּאוֹן ''Saʿăḏyāh ben Yōsēf al-Fayyūmī Gāʾōn''; ...
, whose writings brought about a permanent split between some Karaite and Rabbinic communities.
Anecdote about Karaites in Egypt during the 13th-century
Egypt had long been a bastion for Karaites and their teachings. According to
David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra
David ben Solomon ibn (Abi) Zimra ( he, ר׳ דָּוִד בֶּן שְׁלֹמֹה אִבְּן אָבִי זִמְרָא) (1479–1573) also called Radbaz (רַדְבָּ"ז) after the initials of his name, Rabbi David iBn Zimra, was an early A ...
, in one day in Egypt, a great congregation of Karaites became Rabbinical Jews during the time of the
Nagid
Nagid ( he, נגיד ) is a Hebrew term meaning a prince or leader. This title was often applied to the religious leader in Sephardic communities of the Middle Ages. In Egypt, the Jewish ''Nagid'' was appointed over all the Jews living under the do ...
Rabbi
Abraham Maimonides Abraham Maimonides (אברהם בן רמב"ם; also known as Rabbeinu Avraham ben ha-Rambam, and Avraham Maimuni) (1186 – December 7, 1237) was the son of Maimonides who succeeded his father as Nagid of the Egyptian Jewish community.
Biograph ...
, who, in his words, "was not reluctant to receive them."
Karaites in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union
During the 19th century, Russian authorities began to differentiate Karaite Jews from Rabbanite Jews, freeing them from various oppressive laws that affected Rabbinic Jews. In the 1830s the Tsarist governor of the
Taurida Governorate
The Taurida Governorate (russian: Тавріическая губернія, modern spelling , ; crh, script=Latn, Tavrida guberniyası, ) or the Government of Taurida, was a historical governorate of the Russian Empire. It included the Crime ...
,
Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov
Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov (russian: Князь Михаи́л Семёнович Воронцо́в, tr. ; ) was a Russian nobleman and field-marshal, renowned for his success in the Napoleonic wars and most famous for his participati ...
, told the Karaite leaders that, even though the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
liked the idea that the Karaites did not accept the
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
, they were still Jews and responsible for the
crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and consid ...
and thus subject to the laws. The leaders, hearing that, devised a ruse by which they could be freed of the oppressive laws and told him that the Karaites had already settled in the Crimea before the death of Jesus. The Tsarist government then said that, if they could prove it, they would be free of the oppressive laws.
The community leaders charged Abraham Firkovich (1786-1874) with gathering anything that could help show that Karaites were not in Jerusalem at the time of
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
, and thus not responsible for the crucifixion. Through his work, Firkovich helped establish the idea among the Russian authorities that the Karaites, as descendants of the exiled northern kingdom of Israel, had already gone into exile centuries before the death of Jesus and thus had no responsibility for it. Firkovich referenced tombstones in Crimea (altering the dates) and gathered thousands of Karaite, Rabbinic, and Samaritan manuscripts, including one rabbinic document from
Transcaucasia
The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...
that claims that the Jews there were descendants of the exiles from the northern Kingdom of Israel.
These actions convinced the
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
that Karaite ancestors could not have killed Jesus and that thus their descendants were free of familial guilt.
Despite this, within the community '' Ḥakhamim'' still taught that the Karaites were and had always been a part of the Jewish people; prayer was in Hebrew, the lineage of
Kohen
Kohen ( he, , ''kōhēn'', , "priest", pl. , ''kōhănīm'', , "priests") is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. Levitical priests or ''kohanim'' are traditionally b ...
s,
Levite
Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew defi ...
s, and families of Davidic descent were meticulously preserved, and books printed in Hebrew adamantly identified the Karaites as Jews.
In 1897 the Russian census counted 12,894 Karaites in the Russian Empire.
By the early 20th century, most European Karaites were no longer very knowledgeable about the religion and
Seraya Shapshal
Seraya Shapshal or ''His Excellency Hajji Seraya Khan Shapshal '' ( Karaim: Серая Бен Мордехай Шапшал; lt, Seraja Šapšalas; pl, Seraj Szapszał; russian: Серге́й Маркович Шапшал) (1873–1961) was a ...
, a Karaite soldier of fortune who had been the tutor of the last
Qajar
Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...
Shah of Persia,
Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar
Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar ( fa, محمدعلی شاه قاجار; 21 June 1872 – 5 April 1925, San Remo, Italy), Shah of Iran from 8 January 1907 to 16 July 1909. He was the sixth shah of the Qajar dynasty.
Biography
Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar ...
and a Russian spy, managed about 1911 to get himself elected Chief ''Ḥakham'' of the Karaites in the Russian Empire (by that time, due to Russian regulations, the position had become more of a political one than a spiritual one). Influenced by the Pan-Turkic movement in Turkey, Shapshal made his position into something of a Priest-king. He changed the title ''Hakham'' to "''Ḥakhan''" (a portmanteau between ''Hakham'' and the Mongol-Turkic title
khan
Khan may refer to:
*Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan
*Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name
*Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...
), forbade the use of Hebrew, and in the 1930s reintroduced
Yahwist
The Jahwist, or Yahwist, often abbreviated J, is one of the most widely recognized sources of the Pentateuch (Torah), together with the Deuteronomist, the Priestly source and the Elohist. The existence of the Jahwist is somewhat controversial, ...
elements (such as the veneration of sacred oak trees in the cemetery). He also recognized both Jesus and Muhammad as prophets (in order to appease both the Tsarist
Russian Orthodox
Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...
government and the Muslim Turkic peoples).
After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917,
atheism
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
became official state policy in Soviet territories and Karaite religious schools and places of worship were the very first religious institutions closed by the Soviet government. The authorities allowed only the teaching of Shapshalian doctrines about the Karaites, and the official stance according to Soviet law (carried over from Russian Imperial law) erroneously regarded the Karaites as Turkic descendants of the
Khazars
The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
and not as Jews.
Not all European Karaites accepted the Shapshalian doctrines. Some Hachamim and a small part of the general Karaite population still preserved their Jewish heritage, but most dared not oppose Shapshal openly due to his official standing with regard to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
.
Karaites in Egypt
The Karaite community in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
was considered one of the oldest and had existed in that country for about 1,300 years. Many interactions, including financial support, religious leadership positions and marriages, have taken place between the various Karaite communities, including those in Egypt, Turkey, Jerusalem and Crimea.
A split emerged within the Karaite community of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
around the turn of the 20th century, between those now termed "progressives" and those termed "traditionalists". The progressives, of which noted writer and
intellectual
An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...
Murat Faraj Lisha‘ was at the forefront, called for a more liberal interpretation of ''Halakha'', along with societal reforms and greater solidarity with Rabbanites. The traditionalists were led by Chief ''Hakham'' Tubiah ben Simhah Levi Babovich, and called not only for a more obdurate interpretation, but for greater separatism from both Rabbanites and
Zionism
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...
. Although Babovich was respected for his dedication towards the community, his conservatism and opposition towards local customs were met by little success.
In the 1950s, the entire
Jewish population
As of 2020, the world's "core" Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewis ...
in Egypt was estimated at 80,000 including 5,000 Karaite Jews. Following the
United Arab Republic
The United Arab Republic (UAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية المتحدة, al-Jumhūrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 until 1971. It was initially a political union between Eg ...
's participation in the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
, all Jewish men in Egypt were placed in camps, and were kept there for up to two years before being expeled from the country resulting in the complete disappearance of the Jewish and Karaite communities by the 1970s. Karaites were among the last to leave and most of Egypt's Karaite Jews settled in Israel.
The latest Chief Karaite sages of the Karaite community in Egypt (החכמים הראשיים הקראים) were:
# Hakham Moshe El-Kodsi (1856-1872)
# Hakham
Shlomo Ben Afeda Ha-Kohen
Shlomo ben Afeda Ha-Kohen or Solomon Afeda Cohen (in he, שלמה בן אפידה הכהן) (1826–1893) was a Karaite Jewish hakham of the nineteenth century considered the last of the Karaite sages of Constantinople.
He is famous for his ...
(1873-1875)
# Hakham Shabbatai Mangoubi (1876-1906)
# Hakham Aharon Kefeli (1907)
# Hakham Brakhah Ben Itshaq Kohen (1908-1915)
# Hakham Abraham Kohen (1922-1933)
# Hakham Tubiah ben Simhah Levi Babovich (1934-1956)
From 1916 to 1921, due to World War I, there was no Chief sage in Egypt.
Beliefs
Karaite interpretations of the Torah
Karaite Jews do not object to the idea of a body of interpretation of the Torah, along with extensions and development of non-rabbinic ''halakha'' (Jewish law) that strives to adhere to the Tanakh's straightforward meaning. Several hundred such books have been written by various Karaite '' Ḥakhamim'' (sages) throughout the movement's history, although most are lost today. The disagreement arises over the rabbinic tradition's raising of the Talmud and the other writings of the rabbis above the Torah. The Karaites believe this has led to traditions and customs being kept under rabbinic law that contradict what is written in the Torah. The Karaites also have their own traditions and customs passed down from their ancestors and religious authorities. These are known as ''Sevel HaYerushah'', which means "the Yoke r burdenof Inheritance." Most of these practices are kept primarily by traditional Karaites; theoretically, any tradition thereof is said to be rejected if it contradicts the simple meaning of the Tanakh's text. The vast majority of these traditions are not forced upon any Karaite Jew or convert to Judaism through the Karaite movement, except very few such as donning a head covering in the Karaite
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
.
Those Karaites who are new to the Karaite lifestyle do not have such an inheritance or tradition and tend to rely solely upon the Tanakh and those practices mentioned in it, and to adapt Biblical practices to their cultural context. Karaite communities are so small and generally isolated, that their members commonly adopt the customs of their host country. In Israel, too, traditional Karaites tend to be culturally assimilated into mainstream society (both secular and
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
).
Many modern Karaite Jews have emerged from the Karaite revival of the late 20th century; the World Karaite Movement was founded by Nehemia Gordon and ''Ḥakham''
Meir Rekhavi
Meir Yosef Rekhavi (born 1962) is a British born Karaite Judaism, Karaite Hakham and author.
Biography
Born as Martin Furman in Leeds, England, Rekhavi came from an Orthodox Jewish family which had migrated to northern England from Tukums, Latvia ...
in the early 1990s.
Karaite Jewish University
The Karaite Jewish University is a non-profit corporation incorporated in California, U.S.A., in November 2005 for the purposes of disseminating the study of Karaite Judaism.
History
The university's first “Introduction to Judaism” class b ...
(KJU), approved by the ''Mo‘eṣet HaḤakhamim'' (the Council of Sages) in Israel, was founded to teach an introductory course on Karaite Judaism. It could lead to a student's conversion by a ''Beit Din'' (religious Jewish court) authorized by the ''Mo‘eṣet HaḤakhamim''. KJU teaches various forms of Karaite Judaism and includes ''Sevel HaYerushah'' in its course materials. Thus, newly admitted converts to Karaite Judaism can choose to accept or reject Sevel HaYerushah.
Shabbat
As with other Jews, during
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
, Karaites attend synagogue to worship and to offer
prayers
Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified an ...
. Most Karaites refrain from sexual relations on that day since they maintain that engaging in them can cause fatigue and copulation, in particular, results in ritual impurity on this holy day, concerns that Rabbinic Judaism ceased to have long ago; additionally, impregnating one's wife is considered ''
melakha
The 39 Melakhot ( he, ל״ט אבות מלאכה, '' lamed-tet avot melakhah'', "39 categories of work") are thirty-nine categories of activity which Jewish law identifies as prohibited by biblical law on Shabbat. Many of these activities are also ...
'' (forbidden work). Their prayer books are composed almost completely of biblical passages. Karaite Jews often practice full prostration during prayers, while most other Jews no longer pray in this fashion.
Unlike Rabbinic Jews, Karaites do not practice the ritual of lighting
Shabbat candles
Shabbat candles ( he, נרות שבת) are candles lit on Friday evening before sunset to usher in the Jewish Sabbath. Lighting Shabbat candles is a rabbinically mandated law. Candle-lighting is traditionally done by the woman of the household ...
. They have a differing interpretation of the Torah verse, "You shall not
urn
An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...
(
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: ''bi‘er'' the ''pi‘el'' form of ''ba‘ar'') a fire in any of your dwellings on the day of Shabbat." In Rabbinic Judaism, the ''qal'' verb form ''ba‘ar'' is understood to mean "burn", whereas the ''pi‘el'' form (present here) is understood to be, not intensive as usual but causative, the rule being that the pi‘el of a stative verb will be causative, instead of the usual hif‘il. Hence ''bi‘er'' means "kindle", which is why Rabbinic Judaism prohibits ''starting'' a fire on Shabbat. The vast majority of Karaite Jews hold that, throughout the Tanakh, ''ba‘ar'' explicitly means "to burn", while the Hebrew word meaning "to ignite" or "to kindle" is ''hidliq''. Accordingly, the mainstream in Karaite Judaism takes the passage to mean that fire should not be left burning in a Jewish home on Shabbat, regardless of whether it was lit prior to, or during the Sabbath. However, the minority of Karaites who view the prohibition to be on kindling a fire often permit a fire to continue burning into the Sabbath.
Historically, Karaites refrained from using or deriving benefit from fire until the Sabbath ends, and accordingly their homes were not lit during the night of the Sabbath. Many modern Karaites today use a
fluorescent
Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore a lower photon energy, tha ...
or
LED lamp
An LED lamp or LED light bulb is an electric light that produces light using light-emitting diodes (LEDs). LED lamps are significantly more energy-efficient than equivalent incandescent lamps
and can be significantly more efficient than mos ...
powered by batteries, which is turned on prior to Shabbat. Many observant Karaites either unplug their refrigerators on Shabbat or turn off the circuit breakers. Karaites consider producing electricity to be a violation of Shabbat, no matter who produces it. Additionally, some Karaites view the purchasing of electricity that is charged on an incremental basis during the Shabbat as a commercial transaction that the Tanakh prohibits, no matter when the payment is made; the recording of the electric meter is considered by them to be a commercial transaction.
Laws of ritual purity
Karaites maintain that in the absence of a
Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
, ordinary washing with flowing waters (described in the Torah as "living"—flowing—water) should be substituted for purification with water that includes ashes obtained through the red heifer burning ritual. Karaites believe that this was the practice before the
Tabernacle
According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...
was built in the
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a l ...
following
the Exodus
The Exodus (Hebrew language, Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yeẓi’at Miẓrayim'': ) is the founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four books of the Torah (or Pentateuch, corresponding to the first five books of the ...
. They follow certain Torah laws for avoiding '' Ṭum’at Met'' (ritual impurity caused by contact with a dead body, human bones, graves, or being present in a space under any ceiling where a human died) which are no longer considered relevant in Rabbinic Judaism, except for Kohanim (members of the Jewish priestly class).
Sephirath Ha‘Omer and Shavu‘oth
The Karaite method of counting the days from the offering of the ‘Omer is different from the rabbinic method. The Karaites understand the term "morrow after the Sabbath" in Leviticus 23:15–16 to refer to the weekly Sabbath, whereas Rabbinic Judaism interprets it as referring to the day of rest on the first day of Ḥagh HaMaṣṣot. So while Rabbinic Judaism begins the count on the 16th of
Nisan
Nisan (or Nissan; he, נִיסָן, Standard ''Nīsan'', Tiberian ''Nīsān''; from akk, 𒊬𒊒𒄀 ''Nisanu'') in the Babylonian and Hebrew calendars is the month of the barley ripening and first month of spring. The name of the month is ...
and celebrates Shavu‘ot on the 6th of
Sivan
''Sivan'' (Hebrew: סִיוָן, Standard ''Sīvan'', Tiberian ''Sīwān''; from Akkadian ''simānu'', meaning "Season; time") is the ninth month of the civil year and the third month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a mo ...
, Karaite Jews count from the day after the weekly Sabbath (i.e., the Sunday) that occurs during the seven days of Ḥagh HaMaṣṣot to the day after the seventh weekly Sabbath. They celebrate Shavu‘ot on that Sunday, no matter what the calendar date of that Sunday on which it happens to fall.
Tzitzit (Ṣiṣiyot)
A
Tzitzit
''Tzitzit'' ( he, ''ṣīṣīṯ'', ; plural ''ṣīṣiyyōṯ'', Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazi: '; and Samaritan Hebrew, Samaritan: ') are specially knotted ritual Fringe (trim), fringes, or tassels, worn in antiquity by Israelites and toda ...
(alternatively spelled Ṣiṣit, plural: Tzitziyot or Ṣiṣiyot) is a knotted or braided tassel worn by observant Jews (both Karaite and Rabbinic) on each of the four corners of what is often an outer garment or their
Tallit
A tallit ''talit'' in Modern Hebrew; ''tālēt'' in Sephardic Hebrew and Ladino language, Ladino; ''tallis'' in Ashkenazic Hebrew and Yiddish language, Yiddish. Mishnaic Hebrew, Mish. pl. טליות ''telayot''; Heb. pl. טליתות ''tallitot' ...
. The
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
commands Israel to make tassels on the corners of their four-cornered garment containing a thread of ''
Tekhelet
''Tekhelet'' ( he, תְּכֵלֶת ''təḵēleṯ''; alternate spellings include ''tekheleth'', ''t'chelet'', ''techelet'' and ''techeiles'') is a "blue-violet", "blue", or "turquoise" dye highly prized by ancient Mediterranean civilizations. I ...
'' () and repeats this commandment using the word for "twisted cords" ("Gedilim") instead of "tassels" at . The purpose of the tassels is stated in the Book of Numbers as a visual reminder to the Israelites to remember the commandments given by God.
The thread of Tekhelet is a blue-violet or blue thread, which, according to the traditions of Rabbinic Judaism, is to be dyed with a specific kind of dye derived from a
mollusc
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...
(notably the '' Hexaplex trunculus'' sea snail). Due to a number of factors, including Rome outlawing the use of Tekhelet by commoners, the source and practice of using a Tekhelet thread in Tzitzit was lost for most Rabbinic Jews. Their Tzitziyot are usually all white. Karaite Jews believe that the importance of Tekhelet is that the color of thread is blue-violet and it may be produced from any source, including synthetic industrial dyes, except impure (a state mostly overlapping unkosher) marine creatures, rather than insist on a specific dye. Therefore, they believe that the rabbinic tradition of relying on a dye from a mollusc is incorrect. They suggest that the source of the dye was
indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
or ''
Isatis tinctoria
''Isatis tinctoria'', also called woad (), dyer's woad, or glastum, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family) with a documented history of use as a blue dye and medicinal plant. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from ...
''.
Rabbinic Jews have specific traditions on how the tassels are to be knotted. Karaite Jews, for their part, have certain traditions on the manner of braiding the tassels, although they are not binding. Consequently, the way the ''Tzitziyot'' are made usually distinguishes Karaite ''Tzitziyot'' from rabbinic ''Tzitziyot''.
Tefillin
Karaite Jews do not wear
tefillin
Tefillin (; Modern Hebrew language, Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazim, Ashkenazic pronunciation: ), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Te ...
in any form. According to Karaites, the Biblical passages cited for this practice are metaphorical, and mean to "remember the Torah always and treasure it". This is because the commandment in scripture is "And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart"... "And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for forehead ornaments between thine eyes". (Deuteronomy 6:5,9) Since words cannot be on one's heart, or bound on one's hand, the entire passage is understood metaphorically. Furthermore, the same expressions ("And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand" as well as "and they shall be as frontal ornaments between thine eyes") are used in Exodus 13:9 in reference to the commandments of Ḥagh HaMaṣṣot, in Exodus 13:16 in reference to the ritual of redeeming the first born, in Deuteronomy 6:8 in reference to the ‘Aseret HaDevarim (the Ten Utterances, usually mistranslated as "the Ten Commandments"), and in Deuteronomy 11:18 in reference to all the words of the Torah, indicating that, from a Karaite perspective, they must be metaphorical in nature (because one could never ritually "write" and "bind" upon their hearts themselves).
Mezuzot
Like Tefillin, Karaites interpret the scripture that mandates inscribing the Law on doorposts and city gates as a metaphorical admonition, specifically, to keep the Law at home and away. This is because the previous commandment in the same passage is the source for Tefillin for Rabbinic Judaism, and is understood metaphorically due to the language. As a result, the entire passage is understood as a metaphor. Therefore, they do not put up
mezuzot
A ''mezuzah'' ( he, מְזוּזָה "doorpost"; plural: ''mezuzot'') is a piece of parchment, known as a ''klaf'', contained in a decorative case and inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah ( and ). These verses consist of the J ...
, although many Karaite Jews do have a small plaque with the
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
on their doorposts.
However, a Christian account in the 19th century tells of a Karaite synagogue in Constantinople that reportedly had a
mezuzah
A ''mezuzah'' ( he, מְזוּזָה "doorpost"; plural: ''mezuzot'') is a piece of parchment, known as a ''klaf'', contained in a decorative case and inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah ( and ). These verses consist of the J ...
. In Israel, in an effort to make Rabbinic Jews comfortable, many Karaite Jews do put up mezuzot, but not out of belief that it is commanded.
Mamzerim
In both Deuteronomy 23:3, and Zechariah 9:6, the Hebrew word ''mamzer'' is referenced alongside the nations of Ammon and Moab (in Deut 23:3), and the Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron and Ashdod (in Zech 9:5–6). From such, Karaites have come to consider the most logical understanding of the Hebrew word ''mamzer'', which modern Rabbinical Jews understand to refer to either children born from adultery or from incest (Talmud Bavli, Masekhet Yevamot), to actually speak of a nation or people. Karaites think that such an understanding fits perfectly into the context of both Deuteronomy 23 and Zechariah 9, (and this was also the understanding of the Rabbinist commentator Yehudah ben Shemu’el ibn Bil‘am). Several Medieval Rabbinite Jewish sages felt it necessary to debate this topic with Medieval Karaite Jewish sages.
Four species
Karaite Judaism defines the Four species (''Arba`at haMinim'') somewhat differently than Rabbinic Jews, i.e. (1) fruit of splendorous tree (''Peri `Eṣ Hadar''), which need not be the
Etrog
Etrog ( he, אֶתְרוֹג, plural: '; Ashkenazi Hebrew: ', plural: ') is the yellow citron or ''Citrus medica'' used by Jews during the week-long holiday of Sukkot as one of the four species. Together with the ''lulav'', ''hadass'', and '' ...
(yellow citrus fruit) demanded by rabbinic law, yet may be either any seasonal fruit tree considered splendorous by an individual Jew, or branches of olive trees featuring the olives, that were considered splendorous by the Judean Israelites in the generation of
Nehemiah
Nehemiah is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. He was governor of Persian Judea under Artaxerxes I of Persia (465–424 BC). The name is pronounced ...
, as seen in Neḥemyah 8; (2) date palm fronds (''Kappoth Temarim'') instead of the closed palm frond used by Rabbinic Jews; (3) branches of thickly leaved trees (''‘Eṣ ‘Avoth'') which may be from fig, laurel and eucalyptus rather than myrtle branches only; and (4)
willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
branches (''‘Aravoth Naḥal'') e.g. maple, oak, yew and butternut, as opposed to the rabbinically dictated willow tree's boughs. Karaite Jews have always understood the ''Arba`at haMinim'' to be used for the purpose of constructing the roof of the
Sukkah
A or succah (; he, סוכה ; plural, ' or ''sukkos'' or ''sukkoth'', often translated as "booth") is a temporary hut constructed for use during the week-long Jewish festival of Sukkot. It is topped with branches and often well decorated w ...
(pl. ''Sukkot''); they are not made into a ''
lulav
''Lulav'' (; he, לולב) is a closed frond of the date palm tree. It is one of the Four Species used during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The other Species are the ''hadass'' (Myrtus, myrtle), '' aravah'' (willow), and ''etrog'' (citron). Wh ...
'' and shaken in six directions, as is the rabbinic practice. In the Book of Nehemiah (8:15), the Israelites are instructed to construct their Sukkot out of the four species: olive branches and oil tree branches (fruit of splendorous tree), as well as date palm fronds, myrtle branches and branches of thickly leaved trees are mentioned in the same passage as materials for the Sukkah's construction.
Who is a Jew?
Karaite Judaism follows
patrilineal
Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...
descent, meaning a Jew is either someone whose father is Jewish (since almost all Jewish descent in the
Ezekiel
Ezekiel (; he, יְחֶזְקֵאל ''Yəḥezqēʾl'' ; in the Septuagint written in grc-koi, Ἰεζεκιήλ ) is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible.
In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ezekiel is acknow ...
the prophet states that ''
gerim
Conversion to Judaism ( he, גיור, ''giyur'') is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. "Th ...
'' ("sojourners") who have joined themselves to the Children of Israel will be given land inheritance among the tribes of Israel among whom they live during the final Redemption.
Pronouncing the Tetragrammaton
In the Middle Ages, some, such as the Karaites Jews in
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plate ...
, viewed pronouncing the
Tetragrammaton
The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew language, Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', ''he (l ...
as a
mitzvah
In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; he, מִצְוָה, ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment commanded by God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discus ...
because the name appears some 6800 times throughout the
Adonai
Judaism considers some names of God so holy that, once written, they should not be erased: YHWH, Adonai, El ("God"), Elohim ("God," a plural noun), Shaddai ("Almighty"), and Tzevaot (" fHosts"); some also include Ehyeh ("I Will Be").This is th ...
when coming across YHWH while reading. Other Karaites and some of those coming from a rabbinic background like Nehemia Gordon and ''Ḥakham''
Meir Rekhavi
Meir Yosef Rekhavi (born 1962) is a British born Karaite Judaism, Karaite Hakham and author.
Biography
Born as Martin Furman in Leeds, England, Rekhavi came from an Orthodox Jewish family which had migrated to northern England from Tukums, Latvia ...
, as well as some joiners to the people of Israel through Karaite Judaism such as James Walker and Daniel ben Immanuel, do not consider the pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton to be forbidden. There is, however, disagreement among scholars as to the correct pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton.
Writings
Karaism has produced a vast library of commentaries and polemics, especially during its "Golden Age". These writings prompted new and complete defenses of the
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...
and the
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
, the culmination of these in the writings of
Saadia Gaon
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon ( ar, سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي ''Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi''; he, סַעֲדְיָה בֶּן יוֹסֵף אַלְפַיּוּמִי גָּאוֹן ''Saʿăḏyāh ben Yōsēf al-Fayyūmī Gāʾōn''; ...
and his criticisms of Karaism. Though he opposed Karaism, the rabbinic commentator Abraham ibn Ezra regularly quoted Karaite commentators, particularly
Yefet ben Ali
Yefet ben Ali ( he, יפת בן עלי הלוי)Japheth ben Ali, Japheth ha-Levi. was perhaps the foremost Karaite commentator on the Bible, during the "Golden Age of Karaism". He lived during the 10th century, a native of Basra ( in present-day ...
, to the degree that a legend exists among some Karaites that Ibn Ezra was ben Ali's student.
The most well-known Karaite polemic is Yiṣḥaq ben Avraham of Troki's "Faith Strengthened" (), a comprehensive counter-Christian missionary polemic, which was later translated into
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
by
Johann Christoph Wagenseil
Johann Christoph Wagenseil (26 November 1633 - 9 October 1705) was a German historian, Orientalist, jurist and Christian Hebraist.
Life and career
Wagenseil was born in Nuremberg on 26 November 1633. As a youth he was educated at Stockholm, Gre ...
as part of a larger collection of Jewish anti-Christian polemics entitled ''Tela Ignea Satanæ, sive Arcani et Horribiles Judæorum Adversus Christum, Deum, et Christianam Religionem Libri'' (Altdorf, 1681: "The Fiery Darts of Satan, or the Arcane and Horrible Books of the Jews Against Christ, God, and the Christian Religion"). Many counter-missionary materials produced today are based upon or cover the same themes as this book.
Scholarly studies of Karaite writings are still in their infancy, and owe greatly to the Firkovich collections of Karaite manuscripts in the
National Library of Russia
The National Library of Russia (NLR, russian: Российская национальная библиотека}), located in Saint Petersburg, is the first, and one of three national public libraries in Russia. The NLR is currently ranked amo ...
that have become accessible after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The cataloguing efforts of scholars at the
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...
and in the United States and England is continuing to yield new insights into Karaite literature and thought.
Karaites, Aharon Ben Mosheh Ben Asher, and the Masoretic Text
Tiberias
Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Fo ...
, famous as the most authoritative of the Tiberian Masoretes, and a member of a family who had been involved in creating and maintaining the
Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...
(authoritative text of the Hebrew scripture), for at least five generations. His
Tiberian vocalization
The Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian pointing, or Tiberian niqqud (Hebrew: ''haNīqqūḏ haṬəḇērīyānī'') is a system of diacritics (''niqqud'') devised by the Masoretes of Tiberias to add to the consonantal text of the Hebrew Bible to p ...
of the Bible is still, for all intents and purposes, the text all
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
continue to use, and he was the first systematic Hebrew grammarian.
His ''Sefer Diqduqei HaTe‘amim'' ("Grammar of the Punctuation/Vocalizations") was an original collection of grammatical rules and Masoretic information. Grammatical principles were not at that time considered worthy of independent study. The value of this work is that the grammatical rules presented by ben Asher reveal the linguistic background of vocalization for the first time. He had a tremendous influence on the world of
Biblical criticism
Biblical criticism is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical criticism,'' it was based on two distinguishing characteristics: (1) the concern to ...
.
In the nineteenth century, certain scholars suggested that Aharon Ben Asher might have been a Karaite and not a Rabbinic Jew. Aharon Dothan has examined this issue from many angles, and his conclusion is that Ben Asher was a Rabbinic Jew, but Raphael Zer has raised this issue again and presented new evidence.
In 989, an unknown scribe of a former ''
Nevi'im
Nevi'im (; he, נְבִיאִים ''Nəvīʾīm'', Tiberian: ''Năḇīʾīm,'' "Prophets", literally "spokespersons") is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the ''Tanakh''), lying between the Torah (instruction) and Ketuvim (wri ...
'' manuscript vouched for the care with which his copy was written by claiming that he had vocalized and added the Masoretic text "from the books that were vocalized by Aaron ben Moses Ben-Asher".
Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
, by accepting the views of ben Asher in regard to open and closed sections, helped establish and spread his authority. "The book on which we have relied for these matters is the book that is well-known in Egypt, which includes twenty-four books, which was in Jerusalem for many years for the purpose of proofreading books from it. Everybody relied on it since Ben-Asher proofread it and scrutinized it for years, and proofread many times as he copied it. I relied on it when I wrote a
Sefer Torah
A ( he, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה; "Book of Torah"; plural: ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Tora ...
Constantinopolitan Karaites
The Constantinopolitan Karaites or Greco-Karaites are a Karaite community with a specific historical development and a distinct cultural, linguistic and literary heritage stemming from their residency in the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. ...
in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, 30,000 in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, the largest communities being in
Ramla
Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations.
The city was f ...
,
Ashdod
Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterran ...
and
Beersheba
Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
, 1,196 in
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
(with
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
), 300 in
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
and 205 in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. At the
Polish census of 2002 Polish census of 2002 ( pl, Narodowy Spis Powszechny 2002) was a census in Poland taken from 21 May to 8 June 2002.
Results
*96% of surveyed declared Polish ethnicity; 1,23% other and 2,03% gave no answer.
Population by voivodeships
Source:
Si ...
, only 45 people declared themselves "Karaims", including 43 Polish citizens.
During the early 1920s a British mandate official in Jerusalem records visiting the Karaite synagogue, which he describes as being "small, mediaeval, semi-underground" serving "Jerusalem's tiny colony of Qaraites".
In the early 1950s, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel originally objected to the immigration of Karaite Jews to Israel, and unsuccessfully tried to obstruct it. In 2007, however, Rabbi David Ḥayim Chelouche, the chief rabbi of Netayana was quoted in ''
The Jerusalem Post
''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...
'' as saying, "A Karaite is a Jew. We accept them as Jews and every one of them who wishes to come back o mainstream Judaismwe accept back. There was once a question about whether Karaites needed to undergo a token circumcision in order to switch to Rabbinic Judaism, but the rabbinate agrees that today that is not necessary."
Moshe Marzouk
Moshe Marzouk ( he, משה מרזוק; or Musa Lieto Marzuk, ar, موسى ليتو مرزوق; born 20 December 1926 – 31 January 1955) was an Egyptian Karaite Jew, hanged in 1955 for his involvement in a series of bombings in Cairo coden ...
, one of the Egyptian Jews executed in 1954 for planting bombs in Cairo in the service of Israeli Military Intelligence (the Lavon Affair) was a Karaite. Marzouk was considered a hero in Israel; however, his Karaite identity was downplayed in newspapers, which usually just described him as an Egyptian Jew. However, in 2001, the Israeli government, through the Israel Postal Authority, issued a special memorial sheet honoring him and many other Karaite Jews that gave their lives for Israel.
In Israel, the Karaite Jewish leadership is directed by a group called Universal Karaite Judaism. Most of the members of its Board of 'Ḥakhamim' are of Egyptian Jewish descent. The largest Karaite community today resides in
Ashdod
Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterran ...
.
There are about 1,500 Karaites living in the United States. The Congregation B'nai Israel is located in
Daly City, California
Daly City () is the second most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with population of 104,901 according to the 2020 census. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and immediately south of San Francisco (sharing its ...
, which is a suburb of San Francisco. It is the only Karaite synagogue in the United States with a permanent dedicated facility. The leaders of the congregation are of Egyptian Karaite extraction. One notable congregant, Mark Kheder, the synagogue's treasurer, has described his internment in an Egyptian prisoner-of-war camp during the 1967 Six-Day war. The congregation's acting ''Rav (Ḥakham''), Joe Pessah, was also among those who were arrested by the Egyptian government. Another, much smaller congregation, Karaite Jewish Congregation Oraḥ Ṣaddiqim, exists in Albany, NY, but they have yet to find a permanent dedicated facility and, in the meantime, continue to use a room in the home of their ''Ḥakham'', Avraham Ben-Raḥamiël Qanaï, as their temporary synagogue.
On 1 August 2007, some members of the first graduating class of Karaite Jewish University were converts, representing the first new officially authorized members into Karaite Judaism in 542 years. At a ceremony in its Northern California synagogue, ten adults and four minors joined the Jewish people by taking the same oath that Ruth took. The group's course of study lasted over one year. This conversion comes 15 years after the Karaite Council of Sages reversed its centuries-old ban on accepting converts. On 17 February 2009, the second graduating class of converts took the oath. This included 11 adults and 8 minors.
There are about 80 Karaites living in
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, where the only
Karaite synagogue
Karaite or Qaraite may refer to:
*Karaite Judaism, a Jewish religious movement that rejects the Talmud
**Crimean Karaites, an ethnic group derived from Turkic-speaking adherents of Karaite Judaism in Eastern Europe
***Karaim language, Turkic lan ...
in Turkey, the ''Kahal haKadosh Bene Mikra'', is still functional (on Shabbat and holy days) in the Hasköy neighborhood in the European part of the city.
In Poland, Karaites are a recognized minority, represented by the Association of Polish Karaites ( pl, Związek Karaimów Polskich) and the Karaite Religious Association in the Polish Republic ( pl, Karaimski Związek Religijny w Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej). Karaites live primarily in and around
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
,
Wrocław
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
and Tricity; they are linguistically assimilated.
In Switzerland there is also a Karaite Jewish community: the Karaite Jews of Europe (KJE). This community is accepted by the Universal Karaite Judaism (UKJ) in Israel and the Karaite Jews of America (KJA), its members are also recognized as Jews by the Israeli State. Aliyah to Israel is also possible for converts. The community follows the traditional Egyptian-style rite. In Eglisau, a small community center with a prayer- room is run and is supported by Hakham Meir Yosef Rekhavi. The Karaite Jewish University is maintained together with the KJA and UKJ.
In 2016, the Religious Council of Karaite Jews unanimously reelected their chief rabbi, Rabbi Moshe Piroz, for another four-year term. Piroz has been serving as chief rabbi since 2011.
Karaism in Rabbinic Jewish opinion
Rabbinic Judaism's scholars, such as Maimonides, write that people who deny the divine authority of the
Oral Torah
According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law ( he, , Tōrā šebbəʿal-pe}) are those purported laws, statutes, and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah ( he, , Tōrā šebbīḵ ...
are to be considered among the heretics. However, at the same time, Maimonides holds ''Hilkhot Mamrim'' 3:3 that most of the Karaites and others who claim to deny the "oral teachings" are not to be held accountable for their errors in the law because they are led into error by their parents and are similar to a
tinok shenishba
''Tinok shenishba'' (Hebrew: תינוק שנשבה, literally, "captured infant") is a talmudical term that refers to a Jew who sins inadvertently as a result of having been raised without an appreciation for the thought and practices of Judaism. ...
(a captive baby), or to one who was forced.
Rabbinic scholars have traditionally held that, because the Karaites do not observe the rabbinic law on divorce, there is a strong presumption that they are
mamzer
In the Hebrew Bible and Jewish religious law, a ''mamzer'' ( he, ממזר, , "estranged person"; plural ''mamzerim'') is a person who is born as the result of certain forbidden relationships or incest (as it is defined by the Bible), or the de ...
im (adulterine bastards), so that marriage with them is forbidden even if they return to Rabbinic Judaism. Some recent Ashkenazi Ḥaredi scholars have held that Karaites should be regarded as
Gentile
Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym for ...
s in all respects, though this is not universally accepted. They hasten to add that this opinion is not intended to insult the Karaites, but only to give individual Karaites the option of integrating into mainstream Judaism by way of
conversion
Conversion or convert may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman''
* "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series
* "The Conversion" ...
. In contrast, in 1971,
Ovadia Yosef
Ovadia Yosef ( he, , Ovadya Yosef, ; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) was an Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, a posek, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983, and a founder and long-time spiritual leader of Israel's ultra-Orthodo ...
, who was then the Chief Rabbi of the Sefaradim and ‘Edot HaMizraḥ of Israel, proclaimed that Egyptian Karaites are Jews and that it is permissible for Rabbinic Jews to marry with them.
In response to the position taken by the Karaites in regards to the authority of the
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
,
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...
counters first that the majority of the Oral Law codified in the Mishnah and Talmud are the legal rulings of the last
Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , ''synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence 'assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as "rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temple), ap ...
, a body of 71 elders that made up the highest court of jurisprudence in ancient Israel, and that not all of the Oral Law are literally "Laws given to Moses on Mount Sinai". The decisions made by this High Court must be upheld, per se the Law of Moses (
Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...
17), this gives their legal rulings divine authority. Karaites reject the authority of this Sanhedrin that developed during the second Temple period partly because it was an admixture of different people and not just priests and levites as mandated by the Torah. The Sanhedrin also took legal authority away from the descendants of
Zadok
Zadok (or Zadok HaKohen, also spelled Ṣadok, Ṣadoc, Zadoq, Tzadok, or Tsadoq; he, צָדוֹק הַכֹּהֵן, meaning "Righteous, Justified") was a Kohen (priest), biblically recorded to be a descendant from Eleazar the son of Aaron (). H ...
who served as priests in the
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusa ...
. This is essentially the same view held by the
Sadducees
The Sadducees (; he, צְדוּקִים, Ṣədūqīm) were a socio-religious sect of Jewish people who were active in Judea during the Second Temple period, from the second century BCE through the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Th ...
and
Boethusians
The Boethusians () were a Jewish sect closely related to, if not a development of, the Sadducees.
Origins according to the Talmud
The post-Talmudic work ''Avot of Rabbi Natan'' gives the following origin of the schism between the Pharisees and Sa ...
during the second Temple period. Secondly, Rabbinic Judaism points to the innumerable examples of biblical commandments that are either too ambiguous or documented in such a concise fashion that proper adherence could not be enforced on a national scale without the further legislation provided by the Talmud. Karaites respond that the Torah itself states "this law I am commanding you is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in the heavens, to say, who shall ascend into the heavens and bring it to us, and cause us to understand it, that we do it?" indicating the Torah could easily be understood by the average Israelite. Examples cited in Rabbinic Judaism as laws requiring rabbinic explanation include:
*
Tefillin
Tefillin (; Modern Hebrew language, Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazim, Ashkenazic pronunciation: ), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Te ...
: As indicated in Deuteronomy 6:8 among other places, tefillin are to be placed on the arm and on the head between the eyes. However, there are no details provided regarding what tefillin are or how they are to be constructed. Karaites, however, argue that since other passages in the Tanakh with similar language are read metaphorically, the verses from which the Rabbis derive the law of tefillin should also be read metaphorically.
*
Kashrut
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
laws: As indicated in Exodus 23:19 among other places, a kid may not be boiled in its mother's milk. In addition to numerous other problems with understanding the ambiguous nature of this law, there are no vowelization characters in the Torah; they are provided by the
Masoretic
The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...
tradition. This is particularly relevant to this commandment, as the Hebrew word for ''milk'' is identical to the word for ''fat'' when vowels are absent. Without the oral tradition, it is not known whether the violation is in mixing meat with milk or with fat. Karaites maintain the vowels of the text have been preserved by the
Masoretes
The Masoretes ( he, בַּעֲלֵי הַמָּסוֹרָה, Baʿălēy Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Masters of the Tradition') were groups of Jewish scribe-scholars who worked from around the end of the 5th through 10th centuries CE, based primarily in m ...
who themselves were Karaites.
*
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
laws: With the severity of Sabbath violation, namely the death penalty, one would assume that direction would be provided as to how exactly such a serious and core commandment should be upheld. However, there is little to no information as to what can and cannot be performed on the Sabbath. Karaites, nonetheless, do keep the Shabbat according to their own traditions and interpretations, as described in the section above.
*
Mezuzah
A ''mezuzah'' ( he, מְזוּזָה "doorpost"; plural: ''mezuzot'') is a piece of parchment, known as a ''klaf'', contained in a decorative case and inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah ( and ). These verses consist of the J ...
: Deuteronomy 6:9 is sometimes interpreted to mean that a mezuzah needs to be placed on the doorposts of a house. However, there are no details regarding where on the doorpost, if it is all doorposts or just one, what words go in it, how the words should be written or how the mezuzah should be constructed. As with the passage from which the rabbis derive the tradition of teffilin Karaites state this passage is also intended to be understood metaphorically and not literally.
Orthodox Judaism also notes that the Torah was never meant to be observed as a personal covenant between the individual Jew and God, but a national covenant wherein the Torah functions as the constitution of Israel as a whole. Orthodox Jews point out that the Torah could never be enforced as a national law, as it was during the time of Joshua, King David, and Ezra, if every individual Jew had their own opinion on how to observe its commandments. In order for the Torah to properly govern the Jewish people, and for its laws be legally enforced with the punishments and penalties prescribed in the Torah, those laws must be legislated and clearly defined by a ruling Sanhedrin. Karaites counter that the enforcement of the Torah on a national scale can only be legislated by the descendants of
Zadok
Zadok (or Zadok HaKohen, also spelled Ṣadok, Ṣadoc, Zadoq, Tzadok, or Tsadoq; he, צָדוֹק הַכֹּהֵן, meaning "Righteous, Justified") was a Kohen (priest), biblically recorded to be a descendant from Eleazar the son of Aaron (). H ...
in the Temple in Jerusalem as per the Torah (Deuteronomy 17) and prophets (Ezekiel 44) not by a collection of opinions by various rabbis.
For Karaites, in sum, the rabbinic interpretations above, as codified in oral law, are only one form of interpretation. They are not divinely ordained, and they are neither binding halakhah nor practical religious law.
Rabbinical classification of a Jew
The child of a Karaite mother is regarded as halakhically Jewish by the Orthodox Rabbinate. By contrast, somebody who is patrilineally Jewish (one whose father is Jewish) is regarded as a Jew by the ''Mo′eṣet HaḤakhamim'' (the Karaite Council of Sages) on the condition that they were raised Jewish during childhood. Although it is widely accepted that Karaite Jews are halakhically Jewish (apparently with the exception of those who join the Jewish people through the Karaite movement), there is still a question as to whether or not marriage between the Karaite and Rabbinite communities is permitted. Two Sephardi chief rabbis, Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron and
Ovadia Yosef
Ovadia Yosef ( he, , Ovadya Yosef, ; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) was an Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, a posek, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983, and a founder and long-time spiritual leader of Israel's ultra-Orthodo ...
encouraged such marriages, hoping it would help Karaites to assimilate into mainstream Judaism. Maimonides decreed that Jews raised in a Karaite household are considered to be ''Tinoq she'Nishba'', like babies taken captive by non-Jews; they cannot be punished for their supposedly wayward behavior, because it is the result of their parents' influence.Hilkhot Mamrim 3:2–3 /ref>
In 2013,
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
reported, "rabbis working for Israel’s ministry of religion deemed Karaite marriages invalid, fined their butchers for claiming to be kosher, and demanded that Karaites marrying Orthodox Jewish women should convert, sometimes having to undergo tavila, or baptism." The chief rabbinate's spokesman told The Economist that "Israel is a Jewish state and Jews have superior rights. But the Karaites are not Jewish." R. Moshe Firrouz, head of the Karaites' Council of Sages, protested, saying that "the rabbinate is denying us our religious freedom."
Criticism of the Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the center ...
List of Karaite Jews
This list of Karaite Jews consists of notable individuals who are associated with Karaite Judaism. It includes not only those individuals who were explicitly a part of a Karaite community, but also those Jews who held Karaite or proto-Karaite vie ...
Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...
**
Anan ben David
Anan Ben David (c. 715 - c. 795) ( he, ענן בן דוד) is widely considered to be a major founder of the Karaite movement of Judaism. His followers were called Ananites and, like modern Karaites, did not believe the Rabbinic Jewish oral law ...
– founder of the Ananites, a group that became a part of the Karaite movement
** Benjamin al-Nahawandi – regarded by some as the proper originator of Karaism
**
Elijah Bashyazi
Elijah ben Moses Bashyazi of Adrianople or Elijah Bašyazi (in he, אליהו בן משה בן מנחם) (c. 1420 in Adrianople – 1490 in Adrianople) was a Karaite Jewish hakham of the fifteenth century. After being instructed in the Karai ...
**
Mordecai Sultansky
Mordecai Sultansky ( he, מרדכי סולטנסקי) was a Crimean Karaite ''hakham'' of the nineteenth century.
He was born at Lutsk about 1772. Sultansky was one of the most prominent scholars of the Karaite sect during the nineteenth century. ...
– a prominent nineteenth century scholar
**
Shlomo ben Afeda Ha-Kohen
Shlomo ben Afeda Ha-Kohen or Solomon Afeda Cohen (in he, שלמה בן אפידה הכהן) (1826–1893) was a Karaite Jewish hakham of the nineteenth century considered the last of the Karaite sages of Constantinople.
He is famous for his ...
(1826–1893), considered the last sage of the
Constantinopolitan Karaites
The Constantinopolitan Karaites or Greco-Karaites are a Karaite community with a specific historical development and a distinct cultural, linguistic and literary heritage stemming from their residency in the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. ...
* Haymanot, another form of non-Rabbanite Judaism, practiced by the
Beta Israel
The Beta Israel ( he, בֵּיתֶא יִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Bēteʾ Yīsrāʾēl''; gez, ቤተ እስራኤል, , modern ''Bēte 'Isrā'ēl'', EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "House of Israel" or "Community of Israel"), also known as Ethiopian Jews ...
*
Quranism
Quranism ( ar, القرآنية, translit=al-Qurʾāniyya'';'' also known as Quran-only Islam) Brown, ''Rethinking tradition in modern Islamic thought'', 1996: p.38-42 is a movement within Islam. It holds the belief that traditional religious cl ...
, a similar position in
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
* ''
Sola scriptura
, meaning by scripture alone, is a Christian theological doctrine held by most Protestant Christian denominations, in particular the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Protestantism, that posits the Bible as the sole infallible source of au ...
'', a similar position in
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
Notes
References
Further reading
* Astren, Fred (2004). ''Karaite Judaism and Historical Understanding''
* Baer, Yitzhak (1993). ''A History of the Jews in Christian Spain'': University of North Carolina Press (vol 1)
* El-Kodsi, Mourad (2002). ''Just for the record in the history of the Karaite Jews of Egypt in modern times''
* Frank, Daniel, "Karaite Ritual," in Lawrence Fine, ed., ''Judaism in Practice: From the Middle Ages through the Modern Period,'' Princeton Readings in Religions, Vol. 2, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2001, pp. 248–264.
* Gerber, Jane S. (1994). ''The Jews of Spain, A History of the Sephardic Experience''
* Lasker, Daniel J. (2002), "The Dead Sea Scrolls in the Historiography and Self-Image of Contemporary Karaites", in: ''Dead Sea Discoveries'', vol. 9 Issue 3, pp. 281, 14-294; ; (AN 8688101)
* Lasker, Daniel J. (2008), ''From Judah Hadassi to Elijah Bashyatchi: Studies in Late Medieval Karaite Philosophy'' (Leiden, Brill) (Supplements to The Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy, 4), pp. xvi, 296
* McGinley, John W. (2006). ''ʻThe Written’ as the Vocation of Conceiving Jewishly'' ()
* Miller, Philip. ''Karaite Separatism in 19th Century Russia''
*
* Nemoy, Leon (1969). ''Karaite Anthology'', Yale Univ. Press. (first printing 1963)
* Polliack, Meira (ed.) (2004). ''Karaite Judaism: Introduction to Karaite Studies'' (Leiden, Brill).
* Revel, Bernard (1913). ''The Karaite Halakah''. Philadelphia: Cahan Printing Co. Inc * Rustow, Marina (2008). ''Heresy and the Politics of Community: The Jews of the Fatimid Caliphate'' (Cornell University Press).
* Shapira, Dan (2003). ''Avraham Firkowicz in Istanbul (1830–1832): Paving the Way for Turkic Nationalism'' (Ankara, Karam).
* Shapira, Dan (2006). "Remarks on Avraham Firkowicz and the Hebrew Mejelis 'Document, ''Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae'', 59:2, pp. 131–180.
* Shulvass, Moses A. (1983) ''The History of the Jewish People: Volume II, the Early Middle Ages'' ()
* Yaron, ''et al.'' ''An Introduction to Karaite Judaism''