Home

The history and laws of Karaite Jews

I recently read the response of a question to "Ask the Rabbi" which appeared in your issue dated Nov. 6. The question was: "What is a Karaite Jew?" The answer by Rabbi Ron Isaacs was informative but I felt that I should add a little more information.

The Karaite Schism began in approximately the 9th century. The main principal in connection with this schism was Anan ben David. Essentially, its philosophy was that the entire Jewish law came from the Bible, and the oral law, particularly the Talmud and other interpretations of the Bible by the rabbis were not valid.

Ironically, since trying to get the full law from the Bible only would not be clear enough, in time even the Karaites began to make interpretations as to the Jewish law that came from the Bible. However, their interpretations, while sometimes coinciding with the rabbinic oral law, at various other times diverged. For instance, fowl is considered pareve, and can be eaten with dairy products.

The Karaite law dealing with the Sabbath interprets the prohibition against making fire to mean that the benefit of fire, such as heat or electricity cannot be used on the Sabbath, and therefore Karaites spend the Sabbath in darkness and without heat, since even if the making of fire takes place before the Sabbath, its benefits cannot be used on the Sabbath.

Their interpretation of the dates of some of the holidays does not coincide with the dates established by rabbinic law. Hanukkah is not a holiday observed by the Karaites, since no mention is made of it in the Bible. Neither the Karaites nor mainstream Orthodox Jews allows a marriage between members of each faith without conversion.

There is a major center of the Karaites in Lithuania and in the Crimea and when the Nazis overran that area during WWII, they did not know whether to consider the Karaites Jews, and thus kill them. The rabbinic authorities, in order to protect them, emphasized that they were not Jews. The Karaites, believing themselves to be the true Hebrews, wanted to eliminate extermination by the Nazis, and so also disclaim being Jews. In fact, Hitler's administrators finally made the decision that they were not Jews and thus they were spared from extermination by the Nazis.

Irving Tobin
Hillside