Reviewing: “Karaism: An Introduction to the Oldest Surviving Alternative Judaism” by Daniel J. Lasker. Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, Liverpool University Press. 2022. English. Hardcover. 268 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1800855960.

Here is what I wanted to know about the Karaites: 1) their origin, 2) a summary of their practices and beliefs, and 3) where they are now. Daniel J. Lasker does this admirably in his book “Karaism: An Introduction to the Oldest Surviving Alternative Judaism” … and much more. He is Norbert Blechner Professor of Jewish Values (Emeritus) at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Regarding my first question, there are of course insufficient sources to answer it accurately. Here is Lasker’s brief summary: “Anan ben David [eighth century, Babylonia] is commonly regarded as the founder of Karaism … [He] was considered either a reviver of long-dormant beliefs and practices or a dishonest and reprehensible rebel against rabbinic authority.” In any event, one can identify a Jewish group called Karaites by the end of the ninth century.

Lasker writes further: “They had a Golden Age in the Land of Israel in the tenth and eleventh centuries … and a centre in the Byzantine empire from the eleventh to sixteenth centuries … They flourished in Eastern Europe from the sixteenth to twentieth centuries … and their base of activity right now is in the State of Israel.” (Most of this last group came from Egypt.)

Now I will mention some of their practices and beliefs. Lasker prefaces this discussion as follows:

• “Golden Age Karaites in the Land of Israel (late ninth to 11th centuries) were responsible for regularizing a legal system that became accepted by most Karaites over the centuries … [Internal] controversies were generally settled one way or another, and by the end of the Golden Age, uniformity had more or less been achieved … The discussion here is based on classical Karaite sources and does not necessarily reflect what every contemporary Karaite observes…
• “The Karaite calendar … is based on the actual sighting of the new moon for every month of the year. The only concession made over the years to the unwieldiness of observation has been to calculate when the new moon of each month would be visible under optimal visibility conditions (no clouds or pollution) … Since San Francisco is 10 hours west of the Land of Israel, it is possible that the new moon will be observable in California in the evening of a day on which it has not yet been seen in Israel. In such a month, the festivals begin one day earlier for the American Karaites.”
• Rosh Hashanah is called “Yom Teruah.” This phrase means “the day of praying loudly.” Since no shofar is mentioned in the verses, Karaites do not blow a shofar.
• While rabbinic minor fast days begin at dawn, all fast days in Karaism begin the night before, e.g., the Tammuz fast, which they observe on the 9th of Tammuz (following the date in Jer. 52:6). The fast of Av is observed on both the 7th and the 10th (based on 2 Kings 25:8 and Jer. 52:12).
• Although they build sukkot, they do not take the four species. (The basis for the four species is Lev. 23:40, a verse understood by the Karaites as referring to the materials used to build the sukkah, as described in Nechemiah. 8.)
• Karaites consistently have only one day of Rosh Chodesh.
• Karaites do not observe Chanukah as an official holiday since it is a post-biblical holiday. (But modern-day Karaites in Israel observe it in some fashion since it is also a national holiday.)
• They do not celebrate the 15th of Shevat.
• When there are two Adars, they celebrate Purim in the first Adar. (They historically had until the end of the first Adar to decide whether to declare a second Adar. They had to celebrate Purim in the first Adar, in case there was not going to be a second Adar.)
• The last day of Passover is called “Shevii Atzeret.”
• Shavuot can only be on Sunday. The omer is counted from the first Saturday night of Passover. The omer is not a period of mourning.
• The Karaites are well known for not using fire on the Sabbath, not heating their homes and not eating hot food. By the 15th century, the lack of illumination in their homes on the Sabbath became unbearable, and the important Karaite Bashyatchi family of Byzantium ruled that lighting lamps before the Sabbath was allowed. Initial objections to this reform eventually died out. But it is still forbidden to heat buildings or food or to have non-Jews perform these tasks. There is also no use of air conditioning on the Sabbath.
• Some early Karaites did not accept the rabbinic suspension of Sabbath laws in case of possible danger to human life, but now the two groups generally agree that life-threatening circumstances suspend Sabbath prohibitions.
• Karaites only prohibit milk and meat of the same species, lest the milk be of a mother animal and the meat of her offspring. Lasker writes, “A cheeseburger made of beef and goat’s cheese would be allowed.” They do not separate dairy and meat dishes or wait between eating meat and milk.
• Some of their meal rules are stricter than ours. For example, someone in a state of purity is prohibited from eating food prepared by someone who is impure, such as a menstruating woman.

In the 12th century, Judah Hadassi wrote a list of 10 principles for Karaites, the first to do so. (This is earlier than Rambam wrote his 13 principles for Rabbinic Jews.) Fascinating is his sixth principle: “To know what its language is; the nature of its structure, interpretation, and path. What are its reading, pronouncements, tune, and vocalization. How to express past, future, the verbal noun, and noun and imperative and light verbs and intensive verbs and what they are. What exactly are the intransitive verbs, separate state, construct state, and the various forms of passive. Then he will understand the language of our Lord as it really is.” Since Karaites emphasized proper understanding of Tanach, this focus on understanding grammar should not be surprising (but it still is!)

An interesting chapter deals with the Karaites of Eastern Europe. They arrived in the 13th to 15th centuries. They, too, suffered in the massacres of 1648-49. But in the 19th century, they emphasized their difference from Rabbinic Jews and were able to avoid the Russian draft. In the 20th century, they began to deny any connection to Jews altogether and changed many of their rituals. They were able to convince the Nazis that they were not Jews, and most were spared in the Holocaust.

Lasker writes that today there is a thriving community in Israel and smaller communities around the world (including in California). There are a maximum of 40,000-50,000 worldwide. Many are active on the internet, and he gives us their websites. He has much to say about their present situation and the issues they face.

The book is well written and easy to read as there are no footnotes. At the end of each chapter there are suggestions for further reading.

To conclude, there is more material here than any of us will ever need. But much of it is very interesting!

P.S. Lasker writes that it was the uninterrupted time at home due to COVID in 2020 that gave him the impetus to finally work on this long-delayed project.

Mitchell First can be reached at [email protected]