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Karaites
Keep Their Faith and Distance
by YahChannah
In the eighth century we are told Judaism was
split by a fierce schism. The Karaite Jews, so named after Mikra, the
Hebrew designation of the Bible, upheld the exclusive teaching of the
Scriptures as authoritative.
The Rabbanite Jews regarded later
interpretations in the Mishna and the Talmud as sacred sequels of the
Bible as well.
In order to keep their faith most feel they must
distance themselves from mainstream Judaism. They have been branded as
one of the worst enemies of Judaism by far too many people.
They have been accused of attacking Rabbinic
Judaism and rejecting their authority. Karaites do see the Talmud as
full of falsehoods. Another
accusation is that they were allied with the Russian czars and Nazi
leaders who were among some of the cruelest adversaries of the Jews.
The Karaites today seem to be flourishing in
Israel. The community is experiencing a
high point
in its 1,300-year history.
In
Ashdod
and
Ramla,
Israel’s Karaite community is about 30,000 strong. In
the United States
there are said to be about 5,000 Karaites.
The Karaites broke with mainstream Judaism by
declaring that Talmudic oral law was a rabbinic invention with no legal
authority, we are told. Karaites maintain that the TaNaKh (TN’K) is
the sole source of religious law.
It is said they embraced a vision which was
looked upon as extreme, regarding the biblical prohibition of marriages
between relatives and critics say they ended up almost condemning their
own communities to extinction. These same critics say Karaites nearly
disappeared during the Middle Ages.
We are told that by 1932, only 12,000 Karaites
remained worldwide. A 1970’s report said only 7,000 Karaites lived in Israel, most of those lived in Ramla.
Scriptures prescribe as a command of making
pilgrimage to
Jerusalem
on the High holidays of Sukkoth (Tabernacles), Passover, and the Feast
of Weeks (Shavuot). The Karaites in
Israel, as well as those who make the pilgrimage from other countries,
follow this custom on the first two holidays, when an entire week of
holiday allows the Karaites to take a day off, with bus loads coming to
Jerusalem from most communities.
In
Israel
today, Karaites have an imposing synagogue and cultural community center
in
Ashdod.
We are told the synagogue’s interior looks
much like a mosque, and that Karaites remove their shoes before entering
the prayer hall, which is an empty space with no seating.
Many claim that the Karaite community, in Israel, has grown thanks to the relaxation of an ancient Karaite law that
prohibited “mixed” marriages with Jews, whom they call “rabbinic
Jews.” This claim may or
may not hold a modicum of validity.
Quoting from a comment from Rabbi Haim Levi,
“I myself allow marriages with rabbinical Jews, but only after
checking that there are no incestuous cases in their families,” Levi
is the white-bearded man at the head of the Karaite Court of Justice.
Karaites do not wear tefillin seeing the
instruction to bind the Law on the hands and forehead has been
misinterpreted by the Rabbinics. The Karaites also do not post mezuzahs
on their doorposts for the same reason.
Some Karaites do celebrate Chanukah because,
they say, the festival was established after the biblical period.
Again from Haim Levi:
“We say that it is not possible that the
Almighty gave a written law and another oral law, which partially
contradicts the former one,”
Another Rabbinic distortion/addition to Torah
concerning the mikvah leads Karaite women to not immerse themselves in
mikvahs, as said to be required by Jewish law. They instead use showers
as a means of spiritual purification after menstruation.
Karaites also have a different calendar, based
on the sighted new moon sliver and the searching and finding of Aviv/Abib
barley so the Karaite Chags (pilgrimages) do not always match the
days observed by world Rabbinic Jewry.
Some Karaite interpretations of TN’K are more
strict than in rabbinic Judaism, such as those concerning Sabbath
observance.
Quoting again from Haim Levi:
“On the day of rest we don’t leave home, we
don’t practice sexual intercourse and, on the eve of Shabbat, we
disconnect the refrigerator,”
This is not necessarily the practice of all
Karaites as most see the quote from Anan Ben David as applying to them
today, as then, "Search the Scriptures and do not rely on my
opinion."
In 1948, Karaites who
had flourished in the Middle Ages under Muslim rule suffered persecution
in Arab countries as did the
Rabbinic Jews.
From the early days of the state Israeli
rabbinic authorities (Rabbinics) have kept a distance from the Karaites.
The Rabbinics made rules that legislated that
Karaite butchers had to advertise on their storefronts that their meat
was “kosher for Karaites.” They also ruled that Karaite courts of
justice were not recognized by successive Israeli governments.
Prof. Yacov Geler, the Israeli Chief Rabbinate
says, “There are some
cases of Karaites who fall in love with a Jewish partner, but the
rabbinical courts demand that the Karaite abandon their customs,”
“Enlightened people don’t hate us, but the
rest don’t like us very much,” Haim Levi comments.
Despite their status in Israel, the Karaite community in the Jewish state, by the mercy of the
Almighty, is growing.
Even so, many are lax in their observance of
Karaite tradition.
“Most of our community is secular,” says a
supermarket manager who describes himself as somewhat observant. He
said his son, a 16 year old was recently chosen to be the chazzan, or
cantor at the Karaite synagogue in Ashdod
.
Listen to the Chazzan and the Congregation:
Sample
1
Sample
2
Ashdod
Choir
Find more sites at: http://karaites-usa.org/torah_observant_non-messianic_directory.htm
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