Category Archives: Yefet ben ‘Ali

September 26, 2017 · 10:25 am

Learning 3: A Karaite Perspective on the High Holidays

How many of these rituals are what the Torah intended?

May you reach the end of the holidays and rejoice for completing them. In case you were not able to join us for the live webinar, my latest learning has been posted to YouTube. And is also embedded below.

In this talk you’ll learn: 1) Whether we are commanded by the Torah’s text to blow a shofar; 2) What the Jewish sages said about the connection between Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur; 3) What are we supposed to do with those “four species”, and 4) what Biblical holiday has Simhath Torah overshadowed.

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Filed under Daniel al-Kumisi, Holidays, Jacob ben Reuben, James Walker, Lithuania, My Talks, Shofar, Solomon ben Aaron, The Karaite Press, The Palanquin, videos, Yefet ben 'Ali, Yom Kippur, Yom Teruah

September 19, 2017 · 6:00 am

The Shofar and the New Moon: Solving a Karaite Quandary (Reader Poll)

Yemenite Jew blowing the Shofar

I finally did it. For almost 20 years I have been thinking about how to reconcile Psalms 81 which specifically says to blow the Shofar on new moon with the traditional Karaite view that there is no commandment to blow the shofar on the Yom Teruah (i.e., what the Rabbanites call Rosh Ha-shanna), which is a new moon. And this weekend, as I was preparing for a class I taught at a Conservative Synagogue, I did it.

It was actually pretty easy once I read the entirety of Psalms 81 (and not just the part that was perplexing me).

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Filed under New Moon, Rosh Chodesh, Rosh Hashanah, Shofar, Yefet ben 'Ali, Yom Teruah

August 2, 2016 · 6:00 am

Who Rules the World? Girls and their Karaite Inheritance

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.

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Filed under Benjamin Nahawendi, Elijah Baschyatchi, Eshkol Hakofer, Inheritance, Judah Hadassi, Levi ben Yefet, Mikdash Me'at, Pitch Perfect, Yefet ben 'Ali, Yosef Ha-roeh, Zelophechad

June 8, 2015 · 6:00 am

The Fall of the Karaite Movement (w/ Manuscript Photos)

Some of the rare Karaite literature that has actually seen the light of day.

B’ezrat Hashem, this November I’ll be speaking at a synagogue in Maryland. The topic for this talk is Karaite Judaism: The Rise and Fall of a Movement. Although most of what I speak about is uplifting, Karaite Jews need to come face to face with why the movement fell – and to some extent failed.

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Filed under Jacob ben Reuben, Lithuania, Salmon ben Yeruham, Yefet ben 'Ali

October 1, 2014 · 6:00 am

What I Learned on the Second Day of Rosh Hashanah

Where to begin? I’ve spent the better part of two weeks explaining that the holiday Jews just celebrated is not “Rosh Hashanah” – and I’ve also tirelessly explained that Karaites do not observe an additional day for our holidays.

So, I never thought I’d be writing a post about profound life lessons I learned on the Second Day of Rosh Hashanah.

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Filed under Chabad, Daniel al-Kumisi, Rosh Hashanah, Yaqub al-Qirqisani, Yefet ben 'Ali, Yom Teruah