Image Credit: David Wilensky, J: the Jewish News of Northern California
Yes. I know it’s Wednesday. But what is time anymore? Today, I Monday-morning-quarterback my performance during my Judaism Unbound podcast interview. This is super meta for a Karaite. It’s like my gemara on the mishna that was the podcast.
Before I get started – HUGE shout out to Judaism Unbound for surpassing a million downloads recently!
Filed under Abib, Calendar, Judaism Unbound, Mezuzot, Milk and Meat, Mishawites, Rabbanite Privilege, Tefillin
A group of Karaites praying at a memorial service for a departed loved one.
Recently someone asked me to start posting about the modern Karaite Jewish experience again. You see, the Karaite Jewish experience was the crux of my blog in its early days. For many reasons, I’ve moved away from this – in favor of commenting on news, historical events, and highlighting where Karaite views are different from our Rabbanite brethren or have evolved over time.
But the modern Karaite Jewish struggle is real; and I am here to give a voice to that struggle. So here is a smattering of the things that people have said to my face in the past few months (and a proposed response, in case anyone says the same to you). I should note that most of the time, these comments are not made out of malice. But nonetheless, they sting.
Filed under Kashrut, Milk and Meat, Prayer, Rabbanite Privilege, What is Karaite Judaism
Professor Hahn-Tapper’s new book is a great intro to Judaism(s)
It’s 2016, and let’s face it: despite my best efforts, Karaites remain on the fringe, a mere after thought in the Jewish landscape. The normative form of Judaism today is Rabbinic Judaism – so much so that when someone contemplates his or her Jewish identity, they first think Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform (or maybe Ashkenazi, Sefardi, or Mizrahi). But he or she never even has to come to terms with the fact that their form of Judaism is operating within the Rabbinic Jewish framework.
Filed under Rabbanite Privilege, Rabbinic Influence
