Karaite Judaism
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Template:Jew Karaite Judaism is a Jewish denomination characterized by reliance on the Tanakh as the sole scripture, and rejection of the Oral Law (the Mishnah and the Talmud) as halakha (Legally Binding, i.e. required religious practice). The word "Karaite" comes from the Hebrew word קְרָאִים (Standard Hebrew Qəraʾim; Tiberian Hebrew Qərāʾîm), meaning "Readers (of Scripture)." This name was chosen by the adherents of Karaite Judaism to distinguish themselves from the adherents of Rabbinic Judaism.
The adherents of Karaite Judaism rely on the Tanakh as the sole scripture. When interpreting scripture, Karaites strive to adhere only to the p'shat (plain meaning) of the text. This is in contrast to Rabbinical Judiasm, which employs the methods of p'shat, remez (implication or clue), drash ("deep interpretation," based on changing the meaning of the words and the way they are read to another meaning) and sod ("secret," the mystical meaning of the text, drawing on the Kabbalah). There are approximately 50,000 adherents to Karaite Judaism, most of whom reside in Israel. Karaite Judaism is in a period of growth and renewal in the United States. However, exact numbers are not known, as most Karaites have not participated in any religious censuses.
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Karaite Beliefs
Karaites and the Rabbinic Oral Law
Karaites do not accept the Rabbinic Oral Law as halakha because:
- They do not believe that the Oral Law is mentioned in the Tanakh.
- They believe that all the Torah was written down during the lifetime of Moses and Joshua, and that there is only one Torah.
- They believe the Oral Law "adds to" or "takes away from" the plain meaning of the text.
- They believe it to contradict the text at times.
- The Mishnah and Talmud record the opinions of Rabbis who disagree with each other. The Rabbis explain that whenever there are such disagreements, "both opinions are the words of the living God." Karaites maintain that it is unreasonable to believe that God would contradict Himself.
Theoretically, most historical Karaites would not object to the idea of a body of interpretation of the Torah, along with extensions and development of halakha. In fact, several hundred such books have been written by various Karaite sages throughout the sect's history, though most are lost today. The disagreement arises over the perceived exaltation of the Talmud and the writings of the Rabbis above that of the Torah, so that, in the view of Karaites, many traditions and customs are kept which are in contradiction with those expressed in the Torah. This is seen especially by the fact that the Karaites also have their own traditions which have been passed down from their ancestors and religious authorities. This is known as "Sevel HaYerushah", which means "the yoke of inheritance." It is kept primarily by traditional Egyptian Karaites, and any tradition therein is rejected if it is found to be in different to the simple meaning of the Torah.
For those Karaites who do not have such an "inheritance" or "tradition," they tend to rely heavily upon the Tanakh and those practices found within it, as well as adapting Biblical practices into their own cultural context. This lack of tradition could be for many reasons; one is that many modern Karaites are the result of the Karaite revival in large part due to the World Karaite Movement, a revival group started by Nehemia Gordon and Meir Rekhavi in the early 90's. Another may be the fact that Karaite communities are so small and generally isolated that their members generally adopt the customs of their host country. A prime example of this would be the beginnings of cultural assimilation of traditional Israeli Karaites into mainstream society.
Rabbinic Opinions
Maimonides wrote that the Karaites (as well as similar factions who deny the Godly source of the Oral Torah) are to be considered among the heretics, and that one who kills a heretic is afforded a tremendous mitzvah for removing a stumbling block for the pious (Hilchos Mamrim 3:2) However, Maimonides admits (in 3:3) that most of the Karaites and others who deny the "Oral Torah" are not to be held accountable for their sins because they are led into error by their parents and are thus referred to as a tinok she'nishba, or a captive baby. Obviously, says Maimonides, someone raised by sinners cannot be held accountable for their own sins because they were never exposed to the truth. The effective death-penalty outlined above would then no longer apply.
The Calendar
Karaites rely on observations of the Moon to begin their months, and on observations of barley (called the Aviv) to begin their years, as deduced from statements in the Torah (Aviv is both a marker for the first season of the Biblical Hebrew calendar, and the next-to-last stage in the growth of barley, which occurred during the plague of hail shortly before the first Passover). Before quick worldwide communication was available, Karaites in the Diaspora used a variety of methods to determine the calendar, including observation and calculation, along with reports from Jerusalem.
The Shabbat
As with other Jews, during the Jewish Shabbat Karaites attend synagogues to worship and to offer prayers. However, most Karaites refrain from sexual relations on the day. Their prayerbooks are comprised almost completely of biblical passages. Karaites often practice full prostration during prayers, which is practiced by most Jews only on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
Unlike Rabbinic Jews, Karaites do not uphold the traditional lighting of ritual candles before Shabbat (as kindling a fire is a prohibition of Shabbat). Most Karaites take this commandment to heart and extinguish all household lighting, both natural and artificial, until the Sabbath ends. Theoretically this practice is not universal, since different readings of the scriptural Sabbath prohibitions could yield a variety of points of view.
Tzitzit
Image:Karaite Tsitsit.jpg Karaites wear tzitzit with blue threads in them. In contrast to Rabbinic Judaism, they believe that the techelet (the "blue"), does not refer to a specific dye. The traditions of Rabbinic Judaism used in the knotting of the tzitzit are not followed, so the appearance of Karaite tzitzit is quite different from that of Rabbanite tzitzit. Contrary to some myths, Karaites do not hang tzitzit on their walls.
Tefillin
Contrary to the beliefs of some, Karaites do not wear tefillin in any form. According to the World Karaite Movement, 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 frontlets 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.
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, although many Karaites do have a small plaque with the Aseret haDibrot on their doorposts. In Israel, in an effort to make other Jews comfortable, many Karaites there also put up mezuzot.
History of Karaism
The Golden Age of Karaism
The "Golden Age of Karaism" was a period of time in which a large number of Karaitic works were produced.
According to historian Salo Wittmayer Baron, the number of Jews affiliating with Karaism comprised as much as 10 percent of world Jewry, and debates between Rabbinic and Karaitic leaders were not uncommon.
Most notable are the writings of Rabbi Saadia Gaon and his attacks on Karaism, which eventually led to a permanent split between Karaitic and Rabbinic communities.
Russian Karaites
During the 18th century, Russian Karaites spread many myths externally which freed them from various anti-Semitic laws that affected other Jews. Avraham Firkovitch helped establish these ideas by forging tombstones in Crimea which bear inscriptions stating that those buried were descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel. Other deflections included claiming to be among those Jews with a Khazar origin, or claiming that Karaites were otherwise not strictly Jewish descended. These actions were intended to convince the Russian Czar that Karaite ancestors could not have killed Jesus; that thus their descendants were free of familial guilt (which was an underlying reason or pretext given at that time for anti-Semitic laws).
Intermarriages between Karaite and Rabbinic Jews, however, still took place.
Because of the above, and/or a ruling by Orthodox Rabbis intended to save the Karaites, the Nazis of World War II generally left the Karaites alone during the Holocaust.
Crimean and Lithuanian Karaites
- See main article: Crimean Karaites.
The Karaim (Turkish Qaraylar) are a distinctive Karaite community from the Crimea. Their Turkic language is called Karaim. Some Crimean Karaim were invited in the 1400s by Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas [Witold] to settle in Trakai [Troki] to become his personal bodyguard. A small community remains there to this day, which has preserved its language and distinctive customs (such as its traditional dish called "kybynlar", a sort of meat pastry, and its houses with three windows (one for God, one for the family, and one for Grand Duke Vytautas) and has access to two Kenessas.
Spanish Karaites
During the 10th and 11th Centuries, Karaite Jews in Spain had become "a force to be reckoned with." In Castile, high-ranking Rabbinical Jews such as Joseph Ferrizuel persuaded the king to allow persecution of Karaite Jews. It became common during the 11th century for a Karaite to be flogged to death if he or she did not abandon his or her beliefs. With royal assistance, Rabbi Todros Halevi and Joseph ibn Alfakhar successfully drove out the surviving Karaite population. Image:Karaite synagogue cali.jpg
The Karaites Today
See also List of Karaite Jews
In Israel, the Karaite Jewish leadership is directed by a group called "Universal Karaite Judaism". Most of the members of its Board of Hakhams are of Egyptian Jewish descent.
There are about 2,000 Karaites living in the United States. Most live near the only Karaite synagogue in the United States, which is located in Daly City, California.
In the central USA, you will find Karaites-USA Organization and Beth EdatYah Karaite Congregation [1].
Karaite 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 Talmud and Mishna, the culmination of these in the writings of Saadia Gaon and his criticisms of Karaism. Though he opposed Karaism, the Rabbinic commentator Abraham Ibn Ezra regularly quoted Karaite commentators, particularly Yefet ben Ali, 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 חיזוק אמונה (Faith Strengthened) (a translation of which can be found at http://faithstrengthened.org/), a comprehensive Counter-Missionary polemic which was later translated into Latin under the name of 'The Fiery Darts of Satan'. 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.
Further reading
- Karaite Anthology (Leon Nemoy) ISBN 0300039298
- Karaite Jews of Egypt (Mourad el-Kodsi) (1987)
- Karaite Separatism in 19th Century Russia (Philip Miller)
- An Introduction to Karaite Judaism (Yaron, et. al.) ISBN 0970077548
- Karaite Judaism and Historical Understanding (Fred Astren) ISBN 1570035180
- Just for the record in the history of the Karaite Jews of Egypt in modern times (Mourad el-Kodsi) (2002)
- The Dead Sea Scrolls in the Historiography and Self-Image of Contemporary Karaites (Daniel J. Lasker) Dead Sea Discoveries, Nov 2002, Vol. 9 Issue 3, p281, 14p-294; DOI: 10.1163/156851702320917832; (AN 8688101)
- Karaites of Christendom--Karaites of Islam (W.M. Brinner) from "The Islamic World: Essays in Honor of Bernard Lewis" Princeton University Press 1989
- Heir to the Glimmering World (Cynthia Ozick) A fictional story about a historian of the Karaism.
- A History of the Jews in Christian Spain (Yitzhak Baer) Vol 1
- The Jews of Spain, A History of the Sephardic Experience (Jane S. Gerber)
External links
- Beth EdatYah Karaite Congregation
- World Karaite Movement
- KJA - Congregation Bnei Yisrael
- Congregation Orah Saddiqim
- Radio Ezra, Karaite radio station
- Chizzuk Emunah (Faith Strengthened)
- Karaite Judaism
- Qumran Bet Community
- Karaites USA
- Encyclopaedia of the Orient : Karaism
- Museum of Tolerance on the Karaites from the Encyclopedia of the Holocaust
- Karaim website Information about Turkic/Crimean Karaites
Spanish Persecution of Karaites
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