Well, if you haven’t seen it yet, here is the rest of that presentation. Some more interesting stuff in here and I hope you enjoy it.
A Taste of Karaite Judaism in 30 Minutes or Less (Part 2)
Filed under Karaite Synagogues, Shavuot, What is Karaite Judaism, Women in Karaism, Zionism
A Taste of Karaite Judaism In 30 Minutes or Less (Part 1)
On October 24, 2013, a group of 5-7th graders from a conservative synagogue visited Congregation B’nai Israel, the home of the Karaite Jews of America. This was my first presentation on Karaite Judaism in over a year. I was a bit rusty but it was good to get back in the saddle – even if my shirt collar was not behaving.
We recorded the presentation and it appears after the jump. Feel free to drop your comments below and let me know if there are things you’d want to see me incorporate into future presentations.
Karaite Quote of the Week: Sahl Ben Matsliah (10th Century)
Post by A Blue Thread.
Filed under Karaite Quote of the Week, Saul ben Mazliah
November Book Review & Give-Away: The Karaite Jews of Egypt
I don’t believe I’d ever met Mourad El-Kodsi (at least not when I was old enough to remember), but everyone says he had a special spirit. Despite his failing health, he worked tirelessly to finish the Second Edition of his magnum opus, The Karaite Jews of Egypt (1882-1986). He passed away just a few months after the book went to print, and today his work is a must have.
The Karaite Jews of America has generously donated 18 copies of the book’s Second Edition for A Blue Thread’s November 2013 give-away.
Save The Karaite Jewish Archive
What will be the fate of the Karaite Jewish Archive?
Pictured: Restoration of the Iraqi Jewish Archive
Still Image Video: http://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2013/nr13-96.html
Saving rare Jewish manuscripts is all the rage these days, with the Jewish community’s attention rightly focused on the fate of the Iraqi Jewish Archive. The United States spent $3 million restoring the thousands of books and documents from the Jewish community in Iraq. Today, no Jewish community to speak of exists in Iraq; but Jews had resided there since Biblical times. (And there was a Karaite community in Iraq from the 10th century until at least 1951. [1.])
The Iraqi Jewish Archive was found in the basement of a flood-damaged Saddam Hussein intelligence building and the United States is planning to send this invaluable archive back to Iraq, much to the chagrin of Jews throughout the world.
But a lesser known Jewish archive also has experienced water and moisture damage and desperately needs your support. It is the Karaite Jewish Archive in Ramle, Israel, the headquarters of Universal Karaite Judaism.
Filed under Karaite Jewish Archives
“Get” with the Program
Were any Karaite Divorce Documents Found in the Cairo Geniza?
I’ll start by expressing the same shock that most of the Jewish community felt last week upon learning of the arrests of three NY Orthodox rabbis. According to sources in the linked article, these rabbis, ran a ring in which “Orthodox wives seeking divorce ma[de] payments to the rabbis—-in some cases up to $100,000.” Apparently, the rabbis “then facilitated the divorce, often through violent means, with the rabbis hiring thugs to beat the Orthodox Jewish husbands into” agreeing to grant their wives a religious divorce document, commonly called a “get.”
The Karaite halakha actually makes an occurrence like this virtually impossible.
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and the Karaite Marriage
Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef.
Source: WikiCommons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ovadya_Yosef.jpg
This week, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the long-time spiritual leader of the Sephardi movement, passed away. The reactions of the Jewish world have been far-ranging and I don’t intend to express any opinions on his legacy or his halacha.
But Rabbi Yosef’s passing reminded me that he has encouraged marriages between Rabbanites and Karaites so that Karaites would eventually accept the Oral Law.
