A Blue Thread - Page 29 of 30 - A Jewish Blog with a Thread of Karaite Throughout

November 30, 2012 · 8:55 am

Karaite Studies: The State of the Field (Part II)

This is the second (and, for now, final) post related to the Karaite Studies: The State of the Field workshop held in Israel in early 2012.

In this post, we’re picking up where we left off by summarizing and annotating the second half of a question-and-answer session between Rabbi Moshe Firrouz, the Chief Rabbi of the Karaite Council of Sages, and various attendees at the workshop. Based on the number of views, the post on the first half of the question-and-answer session was a hit, and YouTube has a video of the entire session.

A little background is necessary before jumping into this post. A lot questions relate to ritual purity. Karaites generally concern themselves with ritual purity more so than Rabbanites because the traditional Karaite view is that one may not enter a holy place (such as, in the Karaite tradition, the sanctuary of a synagogue) while ritually impure. We’ll discuss this issue in more detail in a later post. Other topics in this post relate to Karaite butcher shops, mikvehs, fertility, and even the permissibility of pets.

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Filed under Crimea, Daniel Lasker, Fertility, Free Will, Full Prostration, Head Coverings, Karaite Rabbanite Relations, Marriages, Menstruation, Mikveh, Moetzet Hachamim (Council of Sages), Moshe Firrouz, Mourning, Pets, Prayer, Ritual Purity, Sacrifice, Secular Karaism, What is Karaite Judaism, Women in Karaism

November 28, 2012 · 6:00 am

Karaite Studies: The State of the Field (Part I)

One of my professed goals for starting A Blue Thread is to promote the study of Karaite Judaism at secular and religious institutions. This is the first in a series of posts related to a workshop, entitled Karaite Studies: The State of Field, that was held in Israel from February 27, 2012 – March 1, 2012.*

For today, I’ve created cliff notes and commentary (not to be confused with an oral law) for the first half of a question-and-answer session between Rabbi Moshe Firrouz, the Chief Rabbi of the Karaite Council of Sages (Hebrew: Moetzet HaHachamim), and various researchers and academics in attendance at the workshop. The topics covered in this post range from women in Karaite Judaism; Karaite Torah scrolls; rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem; and efforts of the Karaite community to maintain its halakha (religious interpretations), culture and traditions.

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Filed under Conferences & Workshops, Divorce & Get, Karaite Beit Din, Karaite Jews of America, Karaite Prayers & Melody, Karaite Rabbanite Relations, Karaite Scribes, Karaite Studies: The State of the Field, Moetzet Hachamim (Council of Sages), The Temple, What is Karaite Judaism, Women in Karaism

November 20, 2012 · 6:00 am

General Petraeus Knew Not of Joseph

General Petraeus: Not a Modern Joseph

We’ve read about it for millennia. A man, handsome in form and appearance, ascends to one of the highest ranks within the government. While in a position of power he has the opportunity to sleep with a married woman. Up to this point, we could be speaking about either General Petraeus or Joseph. Both men seemingly had it all and both men made decisions that hindered their careers.

The Torah tells us that Joseph ran Potiphar’s household. Potiphar was the head of Pharaoh’s guard. Joseph, who was not married, rebuffs the advances of Potiphar’s wife. Joseph’s decision not to sleep with Potiphar’s wife costs Joseph his job and lands him in jail after Potiphar’s wife accuses Joseph of trying to rape her. (Genesis 39:1-20.)

Joseph understood that Potiphar had treated Joseph as an equal and had given Joseph everything within Potiphar’s household – everything except Potiphar’s wife. In refusing to sleep with Potiphar’s wife, Joseph asked rhetorically, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9.)

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Filed under Adam & Eve, General Petraeus, Joseph, Pre-Torah Law

November 16, 2012 · 6:00 am

Only On His Mother’s Side

All in the Family: Not Written by Karaites

CNN’s Belief Blog recently described how Archie Bunker, a caricature of a pre-civil-rights-movement bigot and the patriarch on the television series All in the Family, is taken to task by his liberal son-in-law for being an anti-Semite. To convince Archie to abandon his anti-Semitic views, Archie’s son-in-law reminds him that Jesus was Jewish. Archie comically quips back, “Only on his mother’s side.”

Archie’s rejoinder is interesting on many levels. If (as according to Christian theology) Jesus is the son of God, Jesus’ non-maternal lineage actually bolsters (not lessens) the point that Archie should not have ill-feelings towards Jews.

Archie’s response also strikes another religious chord; according to generally accepted Jewish beliefs, a child is Jewish if his mother is Jewish. Under this view, Jesus’ maternal Jewish lineage is the all that matters, which also supports Archie’s son-in-law’s argument.

Apparently, the writers of All in the Family were not Karaites.

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Filed under All in the Family, Matrilineal Descent, Patrilineal Descent

November 15, 2012 · 10:34 am

Karaite Fact Card 6: Sight for Sore Eyes

Rosh Chodesh Sameach!

The new moon was sighted on November 15, 2012 in multiple locations throughout the Land of Israel. In future months, we expect to interview someone with tremendous experience sighting the new moon. In the meantime, check out this fact card.

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Filed under Karaite Fact Cards, New Moon, Rosh Chodesh

November 8, 2012 · 6:00 am

She Speaks With Authority

(Editor’s Note: This is the first of what I expect to be many posts relating to women in Karaite Judaism. It is my hope that one day soon this series will be authored by a woman or – better yet – a group of women. If you are a Jewish woman with sincere interest in contributing in this manner, please contact me at Shawn@abluethread.com.)

* * *

“When [a certain Karaite Jew] passed on to hell, he was survived by his accursed wife, whom [his adherents] used to address as al-Mu’allima and on whom they relied for authoritative tradition. They would ask each other what Mu’allima’s usage was, and they would follow suit.”
– Abraham Ibn Daud, Sefer ha-Qabbalah (English: The Book of Tradition)*
(12^th Century Spain)

Abraham ibn Daud was an ardent Rabbanite Jew living in Spain during the 12th Century and his brief rendition of the history of Karaites in Spain has always intrigued me. According to Ibn Daud, the Karaite Jews of Spain once had a female leader. The Karaite community referred to this leader as “the Teacher” (Arabic: al-Mu’allima) – which, interestingly, is one of the translations of the word “Rabbi” – and the Karaite community relied on her for authoritative tradition. For now, I’ll address just two of the many thoughts that come to mind.

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Filed under Books, Karaite Jews of America, Karaite Rabbanite Relations, Sefer ha-Qabbalah, The Book of Tradition, Women in Karaism

November 7, 2012 · 6:00 am

Talk & Travel: USF, General Assembly, Library of Congress

This is an exciting time. Over the next week, I will be participating in three interesting events:

University of San Francisco: On Thursday, November 8, 2012, I will be at the Karaite Jews of America speaking to a group of students from the University of San Francisco. The students are taking a course on various Jewish organizations and movements. This is the second time that I have had the honor of speaking about Karaite Judaism to students from USF, which incidentally is a Jesuit school.
Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly: For the first time ever, the Karaite Jews of America will be hosting a booth at the JFNA General Assembly. The KJA is sending a delegation of three people (myself included) to provide informational material on Karaite Judaism and to answer general questions from attendees. Several years ago, I staffed a booth on behalf of the Karaite Jewish University at a previous General Assembly. This year’s General Assembly is taking place in Baltimore, MD from November 11-13, 2012.
Library of Congress: On Wednesday, November 14, 2012, I will be speaking at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The talk is entitled Karaite Judaism: Texts, Textualists and Tradition and will be very similar to a presentation I gave this past summer at the 47th Annual Conference of the Association of Jewish Libraries.

We’ll be providing follow-up when the dust settles.