Karaites

“ Outside of the Gaonate, in Egypt and Kairuan, there was a scientific movement among the Rabbanites, weak at first, but increasing in strength every year. The Rabbanite thinkers must have felt that so long as Talmudic Judaism maintained a hostile position towards science, it could not hold its own against the Karaites. Biblical exegesis and Hebrew philology formed the special studies of the Karaites, and in connection with these was developed a kind of philosophy, though only as an auxiliary science. ”

“ On this quotation we remark: 1. Selden does not speak of any testimony borne to a fact or ancient custom of the Jews, either by the Talmudists or by the Karaites; but only tells us how each sect interpreted the law. 2. Selden does not say, the Talmudists have informed us how the Pharisees interpreted the law; nor has he marked the period when the Talmudists began to teach this doctrine. He only informs us they taught it, when the Karaites taught the opposite. Now, let it be remembered, the Karaites were not formed into a regular sect till the year 759. ”

“ Nothing produced by the Puritan is sufficient to authorize him to class Selden with those who vindicate the lawfulness of the marriage in question; nor have we seen any thing in his writings to justify it. One thing is plain, Selden, and the Talmudists, and the Karaites, and the Hebrews are all in direct opposition to the Puritan's doctrine, "that these statutes in Lev. xviii. do not prohibit marriage at all." ”

“ Mahomedan Causes for Karaism.—In their objection to tradition the Sadducees and the Karaites were alike, and so far it seems probable that the one sect was a survival of the other. But there were other influences at work, which may account for the appearance or the reappearance, as it may be, at this period of the later sect of separatists. The Arabs, by whom the impressionable Jews were surrounded, had enthusiastically accepted a most simple form of faith, a faith which had no priesthood and but one prophet. ”

“ Is it not wonderful that a person in such a position, and so totally deprived of all necessary appliances, should undertake the gigantic task of writing the history of the Karaïtes from the time of Moses to our days? Yet thus our rabbi has been employed for upward of twenty years, undismayed by the difficulties of all kinds that lie in his way. It was not a little moving to see a man of great intellect, vast erudition, and poetic imagination, wearing out on a desolate rock the remains of a life which would have been so fair and so productive if passed in more active scenes. ”

“ He himself was obliged, in order to establish his innovations, to have recourse to forced interpretations, such as would hardly have been proposed by the Talmudists whom he reviled. In rejecting the Talmud, he broke the bridge connecting the Biblical past with the present. The religion of the Karaites is thus no natural growth, but an entirely artificial and labored creation. Anan had no regard for the customs and sentiments of the people. As his system of religion depended on the interpretation of the Scripture, Karaism naturally was unsettled in character. ”

“ Judah Judghan attached more importance to an ascetic mode of living than to the establishing of the philosophical basis of Judaism, and was therefore rather the founder of a sect than a religious philosopher. A contemporary Karaite, Benjamin ben Moses of Nahavend (about 800–820) , spread the Mutazilist philosophy among the Karaites. Benjamin Nahavendi is regarded by his fellow-Karaites as an authority, and is honored by them as greatly as Anan, their founder, although he differed from the latter on many points. Benjamin was entirely permeated with the conceptions of the Mutazilists. ”

“ They would soon be outside the pale of 'one law and one regulation.' Whatever we might allow ourselves in matters of touching even repulsive things, is out of proportion to their (the Karaites) schismatic views, which might cause us to find in one house ten persons with as many different opinions. ”

“ This Jewish prince, in his zeal for Rabbanism, hurried into a persecution which forms a blot on his fair fame. The Karaites who had settled in Christian Spain, and who towards the end of the eleventh century had suffered persecution at the hands of a Rabbanite, Joseph Al-Kabri, had since that time again become a numerous body, and strove to regain their ancient splendor. They brought the large literature of their Eastern and Egyptian leaders into Castile, and were thereby strengthened in their deep antipathy to Rabbinical Judaism. ”

“ The Karaites, after an existence of 400 years, had failed to establish Judaism on a purely Biblical basis, but had of necessity been compelled to adopt many precepts of the Talmud, in spite of all their endeavors to steer clear of Talmudical tradition.
As the Mahometans of Egypt, under the dynasty of the Fatimides, were separated from those of the Abbasid Caliphate in Asia, the Egyptian Jewish community likewise had no connection with the Asiatic community. ”

“ In Islam the struggle lay between the Sunnites, who interpreted Mohammedanism in accordance with authorized tradition, and the Shiites, who relied exclusively upon the Koran. Similarly, in Judaism, the Rabbinites obeyed the traditions of the earlier authorities, and the Karaites (from Kera, or Mikra, i.e. "Bible") claimed the right to reject tradition and revert to the Bible as the original source of inspiration. Such reactions against tradition are recurrent in all religions.
Karaism, however, was not a true reaction against tradition. It replaced an old tradition by a new one ”

“ Nothing meets the eye but ruins, tombs, and a naked soil. And yet, notwithstanding the stern aspect of the place, it does not fill the soul with the same feelings of painful awe as Tchoufout Kaleh. This is because the ancient town of the Karaïtes, all mutilated as it is by time and events, still retains a semblance of existence, and this alliance between life and death necessarily impresses the mind with a superstitious dread. At Mangoup Kaleh all human traces have been too long effaced to awaken painful thoughts. ”

“ The Jews of the East lived in so close a connection with the Mussulmans that they could not fail to be affected by these tendencies. The same phenomena were repeated, therefore, in Jewish circles, and the variance between Karaites and Rabbanites assisted in transferring the Islamic controversies to Judaism. The official supporters of Judaism, however, the colleges of Sora and Pumbeditha, held aloof from them. Entirely absorbed in the Talmud, and its exposition, they either took no notice at first of the violent agitation of mind prevailing, or else refused to yield to it. ”

“ As regards the Sādōcaeans and Boēthosians, they are the sectarians who are anathemised in our prayer. The followers of Jesus are the Baptists who adopted the doctrine of baptism, being baptized in the Jordan. The Karaites turned their attention to the fundamental principles, deducing the special laws from them by means of arguments. The damage often extended to the roots, through their ignorance rather than intention. The next generation was that of Shema‘yāh and Abtaliōn, whose disciples were Hillēl and Shammāi. Hillēl was famous for his learning and gentleness. ”

“ To thy wife add not her sister, to afflict thy wife, &c., whilst she is alive. After the death of the wife he gives liberty to marry her sister. The Lord knew how Rachel tormented Leah; He was therefore unwilling to permit such marriages amongst his people." ↑ It is said by Drusius and Grotius in their Commentaries, as given in the "Critici Sacri," that the Karaites interpreted verse 18 as a prohibition of polygamy; and they refer for proof to the Rabbinic book "Psikta Zutarta," written by Rabbi Tobiah in 1104. ”

“ Mongol enemies of, 3, 649. execution of, 3, 649. Saadiah ben Joseph (892–942) , makes science a principle of Judaism, 3, 187, 188. last important exponent of Eastern Judaism, 3, 188. wide knowledge of, 3, 188. decided character of, 3, 188. attacks the Karaites, 3, 189. translates the Bible into Arabic, 3, 189–90. Hebrew grammar and lexicon by, 3, 190. attacks the Karaite calendar, 3, 190–1. later works of, against Karaism, 3, 192. appointed Gaon of Sora, 3, 193. dissatisfaction of, with Babylonian-Jewish communal life, 3, 193–4. refuses to abet the injustice of the Exilarch, 3, 195–6. ”

“ But just as Teddy was stooping, something flinched a little in the dust, and a tiny voice said: 'Be careful. I am death!' It was Karait, the dusty brown snakeling that lies for choice on the dusty earth; and his bite is as dangerous as the cobra's. But he is so small that nobody thinks of him, and so he does the more harm to people.
Rikki-tikki's eyes grew red again, and he danced up to Karait with the peculiar rocking, swaying motion that he had inherited from his family. ”

“ All thou sayest is convincing, because the Law enjoins that there shall be 'one Tōrāh and one statute.' Should Karaite methods prevail there would be as many different codes as opinions. Not one individual would remain constant to one code. For every day he forms new opinions, increases his knowledge, or meets with someone who refutes him with some argument and converts him to his views. But whenever we find them agreeing, we know that they follow the tradition of one or many of their ancestors. ”

“ But if Anan's sect had sown the seeds of dissension amongst the followers of the more ancient sect, it was itself not by any means free therefrom. The principal dogma of Karaism was unlimited freedom in exegesis, and the regulation of religion according to the result of honest inquiry. The result was that every Karaite constructed his Judaism according to his own interpretation of the text. Religious practice was regulated according to the clever or silly ideas of the expositor. ”

“ We remember the faces, the eyes, the voices, we see again the gleam of silk and metal; the murmuring stir of that crowd, brilliant, festive, and martial; and we seem to feel the touch of friendly brown hands that, after one short grasp, return to rest on a chased hilt. They were Karain's people—a devoted following. ”

“ Karain walked fast, and with firm long strides; he answered greetings right and left by quick piercing glances. Children ran forward between the houses, peeped fearfully round corners; young boys kept up with him, gliding between bushes: their eyes gleamed through the dark leaves. The old sword-bearer, shouldering the silver scabbard, shuffled hastily at his heels with bowed head, and his eyes on the ground. And in the midst of a great stir they passed swift and absorbed, like two men hurrying through a great solitude. ”

“ However far a Karaite's zeal may lead him, his heart will never be satisfied, because he knows that his zeal is but based on speculation and reasoning. He will never be sure whether his practice is God-pleasing. He is also aware that there are among the gentiles some who are even more zealous than he. Now I wish to ask thee concerning the Erūb, which is one of the licences of the law of Sabbath. How can we make lawful a thing which God has forbidden by means so paltry and artificial? ”

“ The Rajputs, without shield or mail, cast themselves upon their foes with nothing but the sword. Death struck them and laid them low in an instant, or the sipahis fell under their feet. The youths and old men of Karadak acted as if reckless of life. Indeed, they had but one thought—to spread swiftly the carpet of the slain before other enemies could come up from the camp.
And they bore themselves with the skill of warriors reared to weapons. By swift sword-play they slashed through the guard of saber and shield, and leaped forward. ”

“ The palmy days of Corean Buddhism were during the era of Korai, 905 to 1392 A.D. In its development, Corean Buddhism has frequently been a potent influenceinfluence in national affairs, and the power of the bonzes has at times been so great as to practically control the court and nullify decrees of the king. As in Japan the frequent wars have developed the formation of a clerical militia, able to garrison and defend their fortified monasteries, and even to change the fortune of war by the valor of their exploits. There are three distinct classes or grades of the bonzes or priests. ”

“ They said, "Even when he eats and sleeps there is always one on the watch near him who has strength and weapons." There was indeed always one near him, though our informants had no conception of that watcher's strength and weapons, which were both shadowy and terrible. We knew, but only later on, when we had heard the story. Meantime we noticed that, even during the most important interviews, Karain would often give a start, and interrupting his discourse, would sweep his arm back with a sudden movement, to feel whether the old fellow was there. ”

“ O God! O heaven! O earth! the oath that we swear against Vang Khan and [Pg 80] Temujin. If any one of us spares them when we have them in our power, or if we fail to keep the promise that we have made to destroy them, may we meet with the same fate that has befallen these beasts that we have now cut to pieces."
They uttered this imprecation in a very solemn manner, standing among the mangled and bloody remains of the beasts which lay strewed all about the ground.
Karakorom. ”

“ Karain was her son by that second marriage, but his unfortunate descent had apparently nothing to do with his exile. He said nothing as to its cause, though once he let slip with a sigh, "Ha! my land will not feel any more the weight of my body." But he related willingly the story of his wanderings, and told us all about the conquest of the bay. Alluding to the people beyond the hills, he would murmur gently, with a careless wave of the hand, "They came over the hills once to fight us, but those who got away never came again." ”