Karaite Judaism and Historical Understanding

Karaite Judaism and Historical Understanding

Author: Fred Astren

Publisher: Univ of South Carolina Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 9781570035180

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Notions of history and the past contained in literature of the Karaite Jewish sect offer in­sight into the relationship of Karaism to mainstream rabbinic Judaism and to Islam and Christianity. Karaite Juda­ism and Histori­cal Understanding describes how a minority sectarian religious community constructs and uses historical ideology. It investigates the proportioning of historical ideology to law and doctrine and the influence of historical setting on religious writings about the past. Fred Astren discusses modes of repre­senting the past, especially in Jewish culture, and then poses questions about the past in sectarian--particularly Judaic sectarian--contexts. He contrasts early Karaite scriptur­alism with the litera­ture of rabbinic Judaism, which, embodying histori­cal views that carry a moralistic burden, draws upon the chain of tradition to suppose a generation-to-genera­tion trans­mission of divine knowl­edge and authority. The center of Karaism shifted to the Byzantine-Turkish world during the twelfth through sixteenth centuries, when a new historical outlook unoblivious of the past accommodated legal developments in­fluenced by rabbinic thought. Reconstructing Karaite historical expression from both published works and previously unexamined manuscripts, Astren shows that Karaites relied on rabbinic litera­ture to extract and compile his­torical data for their own readings of Jewish history. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Karaite scholars in Poland and Lithuania collated and harmonized historical materials inherited from their Middle Eastern predecessors. Astren portrays the way that Karaites, with some influence from Jewish Re­naissance historiography and impelled by features of Protestant-Catholic discourse, prepared complete literary historical works that maintained their Jewishness while offering a Karaite reading of Jewish history.


Book Synopsis Karaite Judaism and Historical Understanding by : Fred Astren

Download or read book Karaite Judaism and Historical Understanding written by Fred Astren and published by Univ of South Carolina Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Notions of history and the past contained in literature of the Karaite Jewish sect offer in­sight into the relationship of Karaism to mainstream rabbinic Judaism and to Islam and Christianity. Karaite Juda­ism and Histori­cal Understanding describes how a minority sectarian religious community constructs and uses historical ideology. It investigates the proportioning of historical ideology to law and doctrine and the influence of historical setting on religious writings about the past. Fred Astren discusses modes of repre­senting the past, especially in Jewish culture, and then poses questions about the past in sectarian--particularly Judaic sectarian--contexts. He contrasts early Karaite scriptur­alism with the litera­ture of rabbinic Judaism, which, embodying histori­cal views that carry a moralistic burden, draws upon the chain of tradition to suppose a generation-to-genera­tion trans­mission of divine knowl­edge and authority. The center of Karaism shifted to the Byzantine-Turkish world during the twelfth through sixteenth centuries, when a new historical outlook unoblivious of the past accommodated legal developments in­fluenced by rabbinic thought. Reconstructing Karaite historical expression from both published works and previously unexamined manuscripts, Astren shows that Karaites relied on rabbinic litera­ture to extract and compile his­torical data for their own readings of Jewish history. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Karaite scholars in Poland and Lithuania collated and harmonized historical materials inherited from their Middle Eastern predecessors. Astren portrays the way that Karaites, with some influence from Jewish Re­naissance historiography and impelled by features of Protestant-Catholic discourse, prepared complete literary historical works that maintained their Jewishness while offering a Karaite reading of Jewish history.

Karaism

Karaism

Author: Daniel J. Lasker

Publisher: Liverpool University Press

Published: 2021-12-14

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 1800854986

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Finalist for National Jewish Book Award for Scholarship 2022. Karaite Judaism emerged in the ninth century in the Islamic Middle East as an alternative to the rabbinic Judaism of the Jewish majority. Karaites reject the underlying assumption of rabbinic Judaism, namely, that Jewish practice is to be based on two divinely revealed Torahs, a written one, embodied in the Five Books of Moses, and an oral one, eventually written down in rabbinic literature. Karaites accept as authoritative only the Written Torah, as they understand it, and their form of Judaism therefore differs greatly from that of most Jews. Despite its permanent minority status, Karaism has been an integral part of the Jewish people continuously for twelve centuries. It has contributed greatly to Jewish cultural achievements, while providing a powerful intellectual challenge to the majority form of Judaism. This book is the first to present a comprehensive overview of the entire story of Karaite Judaism: its unclear origins; a Golden Age of Karaism in the Land of Israel; migrations through the centuries; Karaites in the Holocaust; unique Jewish religious practices, beliefs, and philosophy; biblical exegesis and literary accomplishments; polemics and historiography; and the present-day revival of the Karaite community in the State of Israel.


Book Synopsis Karaism by : Daniel J. Lasker

Download or read book Karaism written by Daniel J. Lasker and published by Liverpool University Press. This book was released on 2021-12-14 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Finalist for National Jewish Book Award for Scholarship 2022. Karaite Judaism emerged in the ninth century in the Islamic Middle East as an alternative to the rabbinic Judaism of the Jewish majority. Karaites reject the underlying assumption of rabbinic Judaism, namely, that Jewish practice is to be based on two divinely revealed Torahs, a written one, embodied in the Five Books of Moses, and an oral one, eventually written down in rabbinic literature. Karaites accept as authoritative only the Written Torah, as they understand it, and their form of Judaism therefore differs greatly from that of most Jews. Despite its permanent minority status, Karaism has been an integral part of the Jewish people continuously for twelve centuries. It has contributed greatly to Jewish cultural achievements, while providing a powerful intellectual challenge to the majority form of Judaism. This book is the first to present a comprehensive overview of the entire story of Karaite Judaism: its unclear origins; a Golden Age of Karaism in the Land of Israel; migrations through the centuries; Karaites in the Holocaust; unique Jewish religious practices, beliefs, and philosophy; biblical exegesis and literary accomplishments; polemics and historiography; and the present-day revival of the Karaite community in the State of Israel.

Karaite Judaism

Karaite Judaism

Author: Meira Polliack

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2016-07-18

Total Pages: 1013

ISBN-13: 9004294260

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Karaism is a Jewish religious movement of a scripturalist and messianic nature, which emerged in the Middle Ages in the areas of Persia-Iraq and Palestine and has maintained its unique and varied forms of identity and existence until the present day, undergoing resurgent cycles of creativity, within its major geographical centres of the Middle-East, Byzantium-Turkey, the Crimea and Eastern Europe. This Guide to Karaite Studies contains thirty-seven chapters which cover all the main areas of medieval and modern Karaite history and literature, including geographical and chronological subdivisions, and special sections devoted to the history of research, manuscripts and printing, as well as detailed bibliographies, index and illustrations. The substantial volume reflects the current state of scholarship in this rapidly growing sub-field of Jewish Studies, as analysed by an international team of experts and taught in various universities throughout Europe, Israel and the United States.


Book Synopsis Karaite Judaism by : Meira Polliack

Download or read book Karaite Judaism written by Meira Polliack and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2016-07-18 with total page 1013 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Karaism is a Jewish religious movement of a scripturalist and messianic nature, which emerged in the Middle Ages in the areas of Persia-Iraq and Palestine and has maintained its unique and varied forms of identity and existence until the present day, undergoing resurgent cycles of creativity, within its major geographical centres of the Middle-East, Byzantium-Turkey, the Crimea and Eastern Europe. This Guide to Karaite Studies contains thirty-seven chapters which cover all the main areas of medieval and modern Karaite history and literature, including geographical and chronological subdivisions, and special sections devoted to the history of research, manuscripts and printing, as well as detailed bibliographies, index and illustrations. The substantial volume reflects the current state of scholarship in this rapidly growing sub-field of Jewish Studies, as analysed by an international team of experts and taught in various universities throughout Europe, Israel and the United States.

Karaism

Karaism

Author: Daniel J. Lasker

Publisher: Liverpool University Press

Published: 2021-12-14

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 1802070702

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Finalist for National Jewish Book Award for Scholarship 2022. Karaite Judaism emerged in the ninth century in the Islamic Middle East as an alternative to the rabbinic Judaism of the Jewish majority. Karaites reject the underlying assumption of rabbinic Judaism, namely, that Jewish practice is to be based on two divinely revealed Torahs, a written one, embodied in the Five Books of Moses, and an oral one, eventually written down in rabbinic literature. Karaites accept as authoritative only the Written Torah, as they understand it, and their form of Judaism therefore differs greatly from that of most Jews. Despite its permanent minority status, Karaism has been an integral part of the Jewish people continuously for twelve centuries. It has contributed greatly to Jewish cultural achievements, while providing a powerful intellectual challenge to the majority form of Judaism. This book is the first to present a comprehensive overview of the entire story of Karaite Judaism: its unclear origins; a Golden Age of Karaism in the Land of Israel; migrations through the centuries; Karaites in the Holocaust; unique Jewish religious practices, beliefs, and philosophy; biblical exegesis and literary accomplishments; polemics and historiography; and the present-day revival of the Karaite community in the State of Israel.


Book Synopsis Karaism by : Daniel J. Lasker

Download or read book Karaism written by Daniel J. Lasker and published by Liverpool University Press. This book was released on 2021-12-14 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Finalist for National Jewish Book Award for Scholarship 2022. Karaite Judaism emerged in the ninth century in the Islamic Middle East as an alternative to the rabbinic Judaism of the Jewish majority. Karaites reject the underlying assumption of rabbinic Judaism, namely, that Jewish practice is to be based on two divinely revealed Torahs, a written one, embodied in the Five Books of Moses, and an oral one, eventually written down in rabbinic literature. Karaites accept as authoritative only the Written Torah, as they understand it, and their form of Judaism therefore differs greatly from that of most Jews. Despite its permanent minority status, Karaism has been an integral part of the Jewish people continuously for twelve centuries. It has contributed greatly to Jewish cultural achievements, while providing a powerful intellectual challenge to the majority form of Judaism. This book is the first to present a comprehensive overview of the entire story of Karaite Judaism: its unclear origins; a Golden Age of Karaism in the Land of Israel; migrations through the centuries; Karaites in the Holocaust; unique Jewish religious practices, beliefs, and philosophy; biblical exegesis and literary accomplishments; polemics and historiography; and the present-day revival of the Karaite community in the State of Israel.

An Introduction to Karaite Judaism

An Introduction to Karaite Judaism

Author: Yoseif Yaron

Publisher: Qirqisani Center

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13:

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The first introduction to Karaite history, practice, thought, and custom in the English language. An ideal book for anyone interested in Karaite Judaism as a living religion, from the perspective of an insider.


Book Synopsis An Introduction to Karaite Judaism by : Yoseif Yaron

Download or read book An Introduction to Karaite Judaism written by Yoseif Yaron and published by Qirqisani Center. This book was released on 2003 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first introduction to Karaite history, practice, thought, and custom in the English language. An ideal book for anyone interested in Karaite Judaism as a living religion, from the perspective of an insider.

Historical Consciousness, Haskalah, and Nationalism among the Karaites of Eastern Europe

Historical Consciousness, Haskalah, and Nationalism among the Karaites of Eastern Europe

Author: Golda Akhiezer

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2017-12-18

Total Pages: 387

ISBN-13: 9004360581

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In Historical Consciousness, Haskalah, and Nationalism among the Karaites of Eastern Europe Golda Akhiezer presents the spiritual life and historical thought of Eastern European Karaites, shedding new light on several conventional notions prevalent in Karaite studies from the nineteenth century.


Book Synopsis Historical Consciousness, Haskalah, and Nationalism among the Karaites of Eastern Europe by : Golda Akhiezer

Download or read book Historical Consciousness, Haskalah, and Nationalism among the Karaites of Eastern Europe written by Golda Akhiezer and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2017-12-18 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Historical Consciousness, Haskalah, and Nationalism among the Karaites of Eastern Europe Golda Akhiezer presents the spiritual life and historical thought of Eastern European Karaites, shedding new light on several conventional notions prevalent in Karaite studies from the nineteenth century.

Karaite Anthology

Karaite Anthology

Author: Leon Nemoy

Publisher:

Published: 1952

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13:

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The Karaites, a small Jewish sect that arose twelve centuries ago and still exists today, was at one time the most outspoken and productive schismatic division in Judaism. The Karaites contributed much to the Jewish literature of the Middle Ages, for they developed their own corpus of theological dogmas, liturgy, juristic exegesis, metaphysical concepts, secular poetry, apologetics, and sermons. This anthology-the first of its kind in any language of the West-provides excerpts from the early Karaite literature (down to about the year 1500) representing the full range of their thought and belief. All extracts have been translated directly from Arabic, Aramaic, and Hebrew original sources. "This book marks the first attempt in any language to present a chronological exposition of seven centuries of evolution of this interesting Jewish sect through a selection of excerpts from the writings of its spokesmen. . . . [A] pioneering achievement."-Zvi Ankori, Jewish Social Studies "Will be of real interest. . . to historians of religion, sociologists of religion, students of Judaism, Talmudic scholars, students of comparative religious law, and scholars interested in the relation between Islam and Judaism in the Middle Ages."-Maurice S. Friedman, The Journal of Religion "The book is an important addition to Qaraite literature in English."-Isis "The texts are wisely chosen, carefully edited, and supplied with copious notes. An excellent introduction to each writer is given. The book is successful from every point of view."-Edward Robertson, The Royal Asiatic Society "The commentaries of [the] scholars. . . are important additions to Jewish scholarly research."-Jewish News


Book Synopsis Karaite Anthology by : Leon Nemoy

Download or read book Karaite Anthology written by Leon Nemoy and published by . This book was released on 1952 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Karaites, a small Jewish sect that arose twelve centuries ago and still exists today, was at one time the most outspoken and productive schismatic division in Judaism. The Karaites contributed much to the Jewish literature of the Middle Ages, for they developed their own corpus of theological dogmas, liturgy, juristic exegesis, metaphysical concepts, secular poetry, apologetics, and sermons. This anthology-the first of its kind in any language of the West-provides excerpts from the early Karaite literature (down to about the year 1500) representing the full range of their thought and belief. All extracts have been translated directly from Arabic, Aramaic, and Hebrew original sources. "This book marks the first attempt in any language to present a chronological exposition of seven centuries of evolution of this interesting Jewish sect through a selection of excerpts from the writings of its spokesmen. . . . [A] pioneering achievement."-Zvi Ankori, Jewish Social Studies "Will be of real interest. . . to historians of religion, sociologists of religion, students of Judaism, Talmudic scholars, students of comparative religious law, and scholars interested in the relation between Islam and Judaism in the Middle Ages."-Maurice S. Friedman, The Journal of Religion "The book is an important addition to Qaraite literature in English."-Isis "The texts are wisely chosen, carefully edited, and supplied with copious notes. An excellent introduction to each writer is given. The book is successful from every point of view."-Edward Robertson, The Royal Asiatic Society "The commentaries of [the] scholars. . . are important additions to Jewish scholarly research."-Jewish News

The Stains of Culture

The Stains of Culture

Author: Ruth Tsoffar

Publisher: Wayne State University Press

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 9780814332238

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A minority within Judaism, the Karaites are known as a 'reading community'-one that looks to the Bible as the authority in all areas of life, including intimate relations and hygiene. Here Ruth Tsoffar considers how Egyptian Kariates of the San Francisco Bay Area define themselves, within both California culture and Judaism, in terms of the Bible and its bearing on their bodies. Women's perspectives play a large role in this ethnography; it is their bodies that are especially regulated by rules of cleanliness and purity to the point where their biological cycles-menstruation, procreation, childbirth, lactation-determine their place in the community. As Tsoffar notes, the female body itself becomes a richly encoded text that reveals much about the Karaites' attitudes toward the interrelated issues of gender, sex, food, procreation, sacred traditions, time and space, as well as identity. The author illuminates the cultural strategies used by Karaite women to sustain their religious ideologies yet find personally meaningful ways of reading. The Karaites have survived since at least the 8th century by continually contemporizing their culture. Through a study of the rich, animated ritual experience of niddah (menstruation and purity codes in Leviticus), we see how the Karaite women seek to imagine and narrate a new history of purity through their bodies. The Stains of Culture presents issues of meaning and interpretation in a way valuable to students of women's studies, anthropology, minority cultural production, scholars of religion and Judaism, especially to those interested in exploring Judaism's diversity.


Book Synopsis The Stains of Culture by : Ruth Tsoffar

Download or read book The Stains of Culture written by Ruth Tsoffar and published by Wayne State University Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A minority within Judaism, the Karaites are known as a 'reading community'-one that looks to the Bible as the authority in all areas of life, including intimate relations and hygiene. Here Ruth Tsoffar considers how Egyptian Kariates of the San Francisco Bay Area define themselves, within both California culture and Judaism, in terms of the Bible and its bearing on their bodies. Women's perspectives play a large role in this ethnography; it is their bodies that are especially regulated by rules of cleanliness and purity to the point where their biological cycles-menstruation, procreation, childbirth, lactation-determine their place in the community. As Tsoffar notes, the female body itself becomes a richly encoded text that reveals much about the Karaites' attitudes toward the interrelated issues of gender, sex, food, procreation, sacred traditions, time and space, as well as identity. The author illuminates the cultural strategies used by Karaite women to sustain their religious ideologies yet find personally meaningful ways of reading. The Karaites have survived since at least the 8th century by continually contemporizing their culture. Through a study of the rich, animated ritual experience of niddah (menstruation and purity codes in Leviticus), we see how the Karaite women seek to imagine and narrate a new history of purity through their bodies. The Stains of Culture presents issues of meaning and interpretation in a way valuable to students of women's studies, anthropology, minority cultural production, scholars of religion and Judaism, especially to those interested in exploring Judaism's diversity.

Karaite Separatism in Nineteenth-Century Russia

Karaite Separatism in Nineteenth-Century Russia

Author: Philip E Miller

Publisher: Hebrew Union College Press

Published: 1993-05-01

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 0878201378

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When the Karaites successfully dissociated themselves from the Rabbanite Russian Jews with the creation of the Karaite Religious Consistory in 1837, the result was a schism within Judaism unprecedented since the rise of Christianity. Philip E. Miller sets this event in the context of the history of the Russian Karaites from their origins to the present, focusing on economic and political concerns that led to the schism. The Karaites' separatism shielded them from the horrific fates suffered by the Rabbanites under the tsars, under Hitler, and under Stalin, but it ultimately led to their nearly complete assimilation and disappearance as a people. The central character in Miller's study is Simchah Babovich, a Crimean Karaite whose wealth and prominence enabled him to curry favor with the imperial Russian government. In 1827, Babovich traveled to St. Petersburg on behalf of the Karaite community and petitioned the tsar for exemption from military conscription legislation that applied to all Jews in the realm. Accompanying him on the journey was Joseph Solomon ben Moses Lutski, the leading Karaite religious scholar of Evpatoriia. Lutski's chronicle of the mission, the Iggeret teshu'at Yisrael (Epistle of Israel's Deliverance), is reprinted here as an annotated Hebrew text with English translation. In colorful detail, the Iggeret records the delegation's travel adventures, their activities as guests and tourists in the imperial capital, the swift granting of Babovich's request, and the Karaites' euphoric reaction when the successful petitioners arrived back home in Evpatoriia.


Book Synopsis Karaite Separatism in Nineteenth-Century Russia by : Philip E Miller

Download or read book Karaite Separatism in Nineteenth-Century Russia written by Philip E Miller and published by Hebrew Union College Press. This book was released on 1993-05-01 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the Karaites successfully dissociated themselves from the Rabbanite Russian Jews with the creation of the Karaite Religious Consistory in 1837, the result was a schism within Judaism unprecedented since the rise of Christianity. Philip E. Miller sets this event in the context of the history of the Russian Karaites from their origins to the present, focusing on economic and political concerns that led to the schism. The Karaites' separatism shielded them from the horrific fates suffered by the Rabbanites under the tsars, under Hitler, and under Stalin, but it ultimately led to their nearly complete assimilation and disappearance as a people. The central character in Miller's study is Simchah Babovich, a Crimean Karaite whose wealth and prominence enabled him to curry favor with the imperial Russian government. In 1827, Babovich traveled to St. Petersburg on behalf of the Karaite community and petitioned the tsar for exemption from military conscription legislation that applied to all Jews in the realm. Accompanying him on the journey was Joseph Solomon ben Moses Lutski, the leading Karaite religious scholar of Evpatoriia. Lutski's chronicle of the mission, the Iggeret teshu'at Yisrael (Epistle of Israel's Deliverance), is reprinted here as an annotated Hebrew text with English translation. In colorful detail, the Iggeret records the delegation's travel adventures, their activities as guests and tourists in the imperial capital, the swift granting of Babovich's request, and the Karaites' euphoric reaction when the successful petitioners arrived back home in Evpatoriia.

As it is Written

As it is Written

Author: Shawn Lichaa

Publisher:

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 44

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis As it is Written by : Shawn Lichaa

Download or read book As it is Written written by Shawn Lichaa and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: