Karaites

ETHNONYMS: Ba'ale Mikra, Binei Mikra, Israelite Karaites, Karaim, Karaite Jews, Qaraites

Orientation

Identification. The name "Karaite" is derived from the Hebrew word, kara, "to read," emphasizing the adherence of the group to the Pentateuch, Prophets, and Writings to the exclusion of the Talmud, or postbiblical rabbinic commentary, which the Karaites reject as a source of divine law. An alternative meaning of "kara" is "to call, to invite," which signifies the missionary efforts in which Karaites once engaged to draw people to their faith. The origins of Karaism are disputed. Some trace the roots of Karaism to one of the non-Pharisaic groups in the Second Temple period such as the Sadduccees, Essenes, or Dead Sea Scroll Covenanters. Others attribute the "founding" of Karaism to Anan ben David, a candidate for the exilarchate, the position of chief representative of Jewry, in Baghdad during the eighth century. In any case, questions of sources, authority, and interpretation of the Law are one of the few issues that have given rise to separate movements within Judaism, and such is the basis of the dispute between Karaites and Rabbinites, or Talmudic Jews. The Karaites are the oldest surviving Jewish group that opposes rabbinic Judaism.

Location. The majority of Karaites are found in Israel. Israeli Karaites are mostly of Egyptian origin, although a very small group of them immigrated from Hitt, Iraq.

Demography. It is difficult to ascertain the numbers of Karaites who resided in Egypt in the twentieth century because population statistics vary. The Egyptian census recorded 4,507 Karaites in 1927; 3,260 in 1937; and 3,486 in 1947. A Karaite source estimates that there were 4,000 to 5,000 Karaites living in Cairo in 1952. The same source indicates that between 1948 and 1956 fewer than 100 Karaites left Egypt, despite a bomb that exploded in the Karaite quarter of Cairo in 1948, killing 17 Karaites. In 1956, however, after Abdul Nasser expelled foreign nationals from Egypt in retaliation for the invasion of his country by France, Britain, and Israel during the Sinai Campaign, many Karaites who were not forcibly deported nevertheless chose to leave. By 1959, less than 2,000 Karaites remained. The second major exodus of Karaites followed the Six Day War (5-10 June 1967). As a result of that conflict, young Karaites and Rabbinites were imprisoned in Egypt for two years. By 1970, no more than 300 Karaites remained. In the late twentieth century only a handful of Karaites, all elderly, are to be found in Cairo.

The population figures on Karaites in Israel are not exact because, for both political and religious reasons, the Karaites do not allow themselves to be counted. Population estimates range from 8,000 to 25,000. Approximately 1,000 Karaites of Egyptian origin live in the United States. Significantly smaller numbers are scattered in other countries, including Canada, France, Switzerland, England, Brazil, and Australia. Karaite communities once established in Eastern Europe have largely disappeared, although 100 families still remain in Istanbul. Linguistic Affiliation. Karaites in Israel speak Hebrew and Arabic. Karaites who came from Poland, Lithuania, and the Crimea spoke their own Turkic language, Karaimic or Karay, which contained some Hebrew words and was written in Hebrew script.

History and Cultural Relations

Several major factors contributed to the crystallization of Karaism as a distinct branch of Judaism, beginning in the eighth century. The spread of Islam and the messianic atmosphere that it created influenced the spirit of the Jews in newly Islamicized countries. The conformity to the Babylonian Talmud enforced on Jews living on the peripheries of the Diaspora opened up the possibility of questioning the right of one Jewish administration to have authoritative control over the entire domain of Jewish Law. Finally, the tolerance of Muslim rulers to religious diversity made it feasible for religious dissenters to declare their independence from the dominant group; however, whereas the Karaites expressed their Opposition to rabbinic authority in the form of messianic asceticism, the content of their beliefs and practices had its foundation in pre-Islamic Judaism.

Karaism eventually spread east to Persia and west to Palestine, Egypt, and Spain. Palestine, in particular, became an important center for Karaites in the tenth century, owing to an emphasis on Avelei Zion (mourners of Zion), who called for a return to Jerusalem. Karaites also settled in Turkey; in the twelfth century Karaites began to move into the Crimea and, later, into Lithuania and Poland.

Karaite settlement in Egypt can be traced back to around the ninth century. Karaites were relatively affluent and influential members of the Jewish community during the first several hundred years of their movement's formai existence. Ketubot (marriage contracts) stipulating the rights of Karaite and Rabbinite partners were found in the Cairo Geniza and provided evidence for the occurrence of "mixed" marriages. During this period, the Rabbinites also adopted certain Karaite practices such as purifying themselves with running water rather than immersion in the mikva, or ritual bath. When Maimonides, a highly regarded Rabbinite religious scholar, came to Cairo in the late twelfth century, he severely admonished the Rabbinites for imitating Karaite customs, and his anti-Karaite polemics prevailed. For the most part, social distance between the two communities continued into the twentieth century, in spite of the fact that Karaites and Rabbinites lived in adjacent quarters in Cairo—Harat al-Yahud and Harat al-Yahud al-Qarain.

The economic position of the Karaites fluctuated with the times, but their political security remained relatively constant until 1956. For example, during Mamluk rule in Egypt (1260-1517), the Karaites were recognized as a distinct group within the Jewish community and fell under the protection of the dhimma, or "People of the Book," as did the Rabbinite Jews. They continued to be granted autonomous status as a religious group under the millet system of the Ottomans and to function, more or less, as an independent religious community until their immigration to Israel in the 1950s. Despite their separate status, however, Egyptian Karaites always regarded themselves and were regarded as Jews by both Rabbinite and Muslim Egyptians.

The majority of the world's Karaites now live in Israel. They came to Israel under the Law of Return (a law that grants automatic citizenship to Jews); they participate in the military and are enrolled in the same educational institutions as Rabbinites. Nevertheless, the Karaites have faced many obstacles to maintaining a distinct identity within Israeli society. These obstacles include discrimination they have encountered as Middle Eastern Jews, the unwillingness of the Chief Rabbinate to recognize or support trends within Judaism that deviate from Orthodoxy, and the influence of secularism. Karaite leaders have taken measures to counter these forces by organizing summer camps, after-school religious instruction, parties for youth, and international conferences to renew and strengthen ties with other Karaite communities, and by publishing a bimonthly bulletin.

Settlements

In Israel, Ramla is the administrative and spiritual center of the Karaite community and houses the office of the Karaite chief rabbi. A community can also be found in Jerusalem, where a Karaite synagogue, allegedly dating to the time of Anan ben David, is located in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. This synagogue is a subterranean structure. The reasons for the underground site cannot be substantiated, but several interpretations are available. A political reason given is that Islamic authorities made it illegal for Jews to erect synagogues at the time of construction; others suggest that the underground site is a metaphorical application of a biblical passage, "From the depths, hear us, oh Lord." In addition to Ramla and Jerusalem, Karaites are concentrated in Ashdod, Bat-Yam, Beersheva, Kiryat Gat, Ofakim, and the agricultural settlements of Moshav Masliach and Moshav Renan.

Economy

The majority of Karaites in Cairo worked as artisans—primarily as gold- and silversmiths—or engaged in trade or peddling. Some attained positions as doctors and lawyers or entered the commercial middle class. In Israel, most Karaites hold working-class occupations such as construction or factory work or middle-class occupations such as teaching or permanent military personnel.

Kinship, Marriage, and Family

Kin Groups and Descent. The Karaites trace descent patrilineally: a child must have a Karaite father to be considered a Karaite. Karaites base this practice on the fact that, in the Bible, tribes are given male names and that biblical characters are always referenced by their fathers' names. Because the Karaites do not presently allow converts, membership in the group is determined by birth only.

Marriage. Historically, Karaite-Rabbinite marriages occurred, but the Karaites are currently an endogamous group, at least ideologically. Karaites have a category of forbidden marriages called gilui ariyot (incest) that differs from that of the Rabbinites and is cited as a central obstacle to intermarriage. In this category, men are prohibited from marrying their father's sisters or mother's sisters, and women are prohibited from marrying their father's brothers or their mother's brothers. The offspring of such unions would be considered mamzerim (bastards) and would be forever forbidden from taking a marriage partner. Among the Rabbinites, the prohibition applies exclusively to men. Moreover, unlike Rabbinites, Karaites do not require levirate marriage.

For a marriage to take place, three conditions must be met. These include a written contract, mhar (bride-price), and sexual consummation. In Egypt, the Karaite community permitted its members to practice polygyny, although actual occurrences were relatively rare. In Israel, polygyny is illegal. If a marriage is unsuccessful, Karaite law grants women the same rights to divorce as men. In the event that a husband refuses to deliver a get (bill of divorcement) to his wife, and the Karaite beit-din (religious court) agrees that a divorce is justified, then it will grant the couple a divorce by judicial decree. In Israel, because the Orthodox Chief Rabbinate has exclusive legal authority in matters of personal status concerning Jews, the Karaite beit-din is currently operating in a de facto rather than a de jure manner.

Domestic Unit. The Karaite family is basically patriarchal. Among the very religious, menstruating women must sleep and sit in separate spaces from men and are prohibited from entering the kitchen and engaging in food preparation for a seven-day period. These practices highlight the centrality of men in ritual roles because the practices are intended to help guard men from impurity so that they may participate in synagogue services. In Egypt, where Karaites often lived in extended families, postmenopausal women would commonly assume all household chores while younger women were menstruating; in Israel, where the nuclear family is more the norm, men and boys sometimes assume these domestic duties.

Despite the fact that the women's movements are restricted in certain areas, unlike the Rabbinites, Karaite men do not recite prayers thanking God that they were not born women. Karaite women are also allowed relative freedom of dress and may dispose of property without their husbands' permission.

Religion and Expressive Culture

Religious Beliefs. The main principle underlying Karaite Judaism can be summed up by a statement attributed to Anan ben David: "Don't rely upon me, but study diligently the Holy Scripture." Hence, according to Karaite belief, every person has the ability to comprehend the word of the Torah, and intermediaries are not required to mediate between humans and God. As a result, rabbis are never elevated to saintly status as they are in some Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jewish traditions. Additionally, although Karaites do have books of commentary, they are not regarded as binding documents that dictate human action.

The Karaite religion has three basic components. The first is the written text of the Bible. The Torah is regarded as perfect and complete on the basis of the following passage: "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of Jehovah, your God, which I command you" (Deuteronomy 4:2). The second is hekesh, or analogy. For example, the Bible forbids marriages between a man and his mother's or father's sister, so by analogy, a woman is forbidden to marry her father's brother or mother's brother. The third is sevel hayerusha (lit., "burden of inheritance"). These are customs that have been transmitted from one generation to another that are viewed as not contradicting or concealing the intent of the biblical text. For example, when a boy is circumcised on the eighth day as commanded by the Torah, the baby is placed on a velvet pillow and introduced to the mother several times by another relative prior to the actual procedure. In Egypt bar mitzvahs were not held for boys coming of age, but in Israel Karaites frequently hold bar mitzvahs, because of pressures to conform, and the practice may become integrated into their sevel hayerusha.

Karaite interpretations of biblical commandments sometimes vary from those of Rabbinite Jews. For example, the passages from Deuteronomy (6:8-9 and 11:18-20), "And thou shall bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes" and "And thou shall write them upon the posts of thy house and on thy gates," are taken allegorically to mean that one must always keep God's commandments in mind. Thus, it was not Karaite custom to use tefellin (phylacteries) or mezuzot (doorpost scrolls; sing. mezuzah ). In Israel, however, Karaites have developed a modified form of mezuzah in the shape of the Ten Commandments.

Karaite interpretations of the Bible may also be more literal than those of Rabbinite Jews. For example, the passage from Exodus that prohibits the seething of a kid in its mother's milk is taken at its word and does not require the separation of all meat and all milk.

The Karaites formally oppose any practices related to astrology, divination, luck, or fate. Nevertheless, some Karaites adopted folk beliefs and practices from their Egyptian surroundings, such as the use of amulets to ward off the evil eye or determining one's future through the reading of coffee grinds.

Religious Practitioners. In Egypt, Karaite religious practitioners were called hakhamim (sages or wise ones). The leader of the community was addressed as hakham akbar and oversaw the activities of the religious court and the religious council. These leaders were not always of Egyptian origin and sometimes came from as far away as Crimea or Turkey.

In Israel, hakhamim are also referred to as rabbis. A chief rabbi is elected by a Karaite religious council comprised of shohetim (ritual slaughterers), mohelim (circumcisers), and rabbis. In 1991 Karaites opened a beit midrash (house of study) in Jerusalem to train future rabbis. Prior to that, Karaite rabbis were trained through apprenticeship to other rabbis.

Ceremonies. The Karaite synagogue is treated, as much as possible, as a microcosm of the Temple on the basis of a passage from Ezekiel (11:16), "Although I have removed them far away among the nations, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them a minor sanctuary in the countries whither they are come." The Karaites make every effort to maintain their synagogue in a state of purity for worshipers at the time of daily prayers, Shabbat (Sabbath), and holidays. Menstruating women and women who have just given birth are not allowed to enter the synagogue. Likewise, people who have recently engaged in sexual relations or come in contact with the dead are forbidden entry to this holy site. Those who do enter, males and females alike, must cover their heads and remove their shoes because it is written, "put off thy shoes from off thy feet; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground" (Exodus 3:5). The synagogue floor is covered with rugs and the worshipers pray facing Jerusalem and prostrate themselves facing the Ark as the priests prostrated themselves toward the Temple altar.

The Karaites attempt to structure their prayer services after Temple activities. Two services are held every day, one at sunrise and one at sunset, to correspond with the times that sacrifices were performed at the Temple. On Shabbat and holidays, additional prayers are recited to replace the extra sacrifice that would have been offered. On these days a Torah scroll referred to as the "Sefer Kourban" (Sacrifice Book) is also removed from a glass case and opened in lieu of the Temple sacrifice.

Shabbat is viewed as a time for spiritual pleasures rather than worldly pleasures. Unlike the Rabbinites, the Karaites strictly forbid sexual intercourse on Shabbat because it generates impurity and is considered a form of labor. Shabbat candles are not lit, and any use of fire is prohibited. Food is eaten cold.

The Karaite calendar is based on the actual observance of the new moon or the possibility of the observance of the new moon based on available scientific data. Holidays can fall on any day of the week, with the exception of Shuvuot (Feast of Weeks) because it is stated in Leviticus that the Omer should be counted from "the morrow of the Sabbath" (23:15). Passover and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) are observed for seven days rather than eight.

Therefore, the dates of holidays do not necessarily coincide with those of the Rabbinites. The shofar (ram's horn) is not blown on Yom HaTeruah (Day of Shouting or Cheer, known to Rabbinites as "Rosh Hashannah") because neither the Temple nor the Temple altar are still standing. Hanukkah is not celebrated because it is a holiday of postbiblical origin.

Passover is a very central holiday for Egyptian Karaites because it serves as an allegory for their own historical exodus from Egypt. During the Passover seder, or meal, which is only held one night, the Karaites read from their own Haggadah that retells the story of the hasty departure of the Jews from Egypt in biblical times. Instead of wine, they drink a homemade grape juice from red, seedless raisins because they say that the juice would not have had an opportunity to ferment, and they eat bitter herbs and lamb. During Passover week, Karaites refrain from eating leavened bread, anything derived from soaked grains, or food prepared outside of the home.

Arts. The Karaites have a body of literature that addressed issues of Karaite law (halakhah ). Two of the authors that continue to be studied and cited frequently by contemporary Karaite scholars are Aaron ben Elijah, known as the "latter," who wrote Gan Eden and Keter Torah and lived in the fourteenth century in Nicomedia and Constantinople, and Elijah ben Moses Basyatchi who wrote Aderet Eliahu and lived in the fifteenth century in Constantinople.

Another aspect of the arts that plays a central role in Karaite life is traditional Karaite music. Music is an integral part of Karaite services and life-cycle ceremonies and consists of two broad categories. The first is that of synagogue liturgy and is derived primarily from the Psalms; the second is a body of poetic texts sung after services or for occasions such as weddings or circumcisions. The musical style creates an atmosphere of community and cohesion, but the unique contributions of talented participants are also highlighted, and women as well as men are allowed to display their knowledge and skills.

Bibliography

Colligan, Sumi (1980). "Religion, Nationalism, and Ethnicity in Israel: The Case of the Karaite Jews." Ph.D. dissertation, Princeton University.

El-Kodsi, Mourad (1987). The Karaite Jews of Egypt from 1882-1985. Lyons, N.Y.: Wilprint Press.

Hirshberg, Jehoash (1989). "The Role of Music in the Renewed Self-Identity of Karaite Jewish Refugee Communities from Cairo." Yearbook for Traditional Music 21:36-56.

Kramer, Gudrun (1989). The Jews in Modern Egypt, 1914-1952. Seattle: University of Washington Press.

Mann, Jacob (1935). Texts and Studies in Jewish History and Literature. Vol. 2. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.

Nemoy, Leon (1952). Karaite Anthology: Excerpts from the Early Literature. New Haven: Yale University Press.

SUMI COLLIGAN