An excerpt of the Liturgical Poem for Ki Tetzei
Today we ask two simple questions: Does God’s mercy extend to the bird’s nest? And if so, can we acknowledge this in prayer? Right away, my observant (and studied) Rabbanite readers know exactly where this is going. For everyone else, let me start at the beginning. Continue reading
I was recently having a discussion with a fellow Karaite regarding the various stages of Karaite thought. In brief, he summarized that there were (in his estimation, as well as others) three main periods of Karaite halakhic literature: (i) early; (ii) late; and (iii) very late. Today, I am going to use the example of women and techellet and demonstrate how each of these periods approached this issue.
In my opinion, we can trace the decline of the Karaite movement by looking at the methods these sages employed in explaining our religious conclusions, regardless of whether we agree with the ultimate conclusion itself. At the end, you get to vote who got it right.
The Barden Bellas or Zelophechad’s Daughters?
In case you have not heard the bad news: Pitch Perfect 3’s release date was moved back from Summer 2017 to December 2017 (amid reports of squabbling amongst the movie’s stars). Pitch Perfect is centered around the all girls A Capella group, The Barden Bellas.
And this bad news comes just as Jews throughout the world read the story of the five daughters of Zelophechad who petitioned Moses for their rights to inherit from their deceased father. [1.] This is probably a good time to explain how the Karaite sages generally interpreted the laws of inheritance.
And at the end, you can vote for your favorite Karaite position and can tell me which Pitch Perfect was better: PP1 or PP2.
