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Karaites
Karaite Judaism or Karaism is a Jewish movement characterized by the sole reliance on the Tanakh as Scripture, and the rejection of the Oral Law (the Mishnah and the Talmud) as Religious Law (Halakha). The word "Karaite" comes from the Hebrew word Qara'im, meaning "Readers [of Scripture]". This name was chosen by the adherents of Karaite Judaism to distinguish themselves from the adherents of Rabbinic Judaism. When interpreting scripture, Karaites strive to adhere only to the plain meaning (p'shat) of the text. This is in contrast to Rabbinical Judaism, which employs the methods of p'shat, remez (implication or clue), drash ("deep interpretation", based on breaking down individual words) and sod ("secret", the deeper meaning of the text, drawing on the Kabbalah). In modern times Karaite Judaism has formed its own independent Jewish organization, and is not a member of any Rabbinic organization. At one time Karaites were a significant portion of the Jewish population. However today there are left an estimated 2,000 Karaites in the USA, about 100 families in Istanbul, and about 12,000 in Israel, most of them living in Ramleh, Ashdod and Beer-Sheva. |