Out of the age of the destruction of the Second Temple rose numerous schismatic groups, and present-day religious historians regard Karaism as one of these many factions that existed in opposite to Rabbinic Judaism (Zawanowska). Karaism is a sect of Judaism that denies the authority of Rabbinic laws and interpretations, meaning they dismiss the legal weight of the Talmud, the Midrash, the Mishnah, and other non-Torah texts. Benei Miqra' in Hebrew, the name Karaite means "Children/Disciples of the Scripture" (Introduction). Historically, the Karaites and Rabbinic Jews have engaged in scholarly disputes and have faced discrimination and conversion attempts by the other. In combating conversion efforts, dispelling Karaite propaganda, criticizing mixed Karaite-Rabbinic Jew marriages, and having to necessarily examine their own principles, though, the Rabbinic Jews fortified their study of both the Torah and the history of the Talmud. Managing such discord early in their development ultimately bolstered the Rabbinic Jews’ doctrines and lead to a more unwavering form of their dogma.
After of the Second Diaspora, Jews found themselves living in Jewish communities within various Muslim states. Consequently, the Mishn¬¬ah and Talmud underwent reinterpretation to accommodate the new Jewish reality of living outside Jerusalem (Introduction). Oppression from the Muslim states and the shift in rituals and practices drove many Jews to the outskirts of the religion, effectively weakening traditional Judaism. Of the multiple theories of the Karaites’ origin, the most frequently recounted is that of the Karaites as a deviation of the Ananites. According to this theory, "disgruntled office seeker" Anan ben David founded this sect of Judaism in the ...
... middle of paper ...
...COhost. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.
Melton, J. Gordon, and Martin Baumann. Religions of the World a Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2010. Open WorldCat. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.
Nemoy, Leon. “Early Karaism (The Need for a New Approach).” The Jewish Quarterly Review 40.3 (1950): 307–315. JSTOR. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.
Sinai, Yuval. “Maimonides’ Contradictory Positions Regarding the Karaites: A Study in Maimonidean Jurisprudence.” Review of Rabbinic Judaism 11.2 (2008): 277–291. EBSCOhost. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.
Stroumsa, Sarah. Maimonides in His World: Portrait of a Mediterranean Thinker. Princeton University Press, 2011. Print.
Zawanowska, Marzena. The Arabic Translation and Commentary of Yefet Ben Eli the Karaite on the Abraham Narratives (Genesis 11:10–25:18): Edition and Introduction. Karaite Texts and Studies. BRILL, 2012. Print.
Anson Rainey and R. Steven Notley are the authors of The Sacred Land Bridge, which is an Atlas of the biblical world and includes maps, pictures, and historical cementation as to the significance of this region. The biblical world that this atlas focuses on is defined as the eastern Mediterranean littoral, or more commonly called the Levant in modern archeological discussions. In my critique of this book I will be focusing on pages 30-34 which will define the boundaries and explain the importance of the Levant.
Oxtoby, Willard Gurdon. "Jewish Traditions." World religions: western traditions. 1996. Reprint. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2011. 127-157. Print.
Neusner, Jacob. The Talmud of the Land of Israel: An Academic Commentary to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Divisions, Atlanta: Scholar’s Press, 1998.
The Sadducees were one of the many distinct groups making up the Jewish faith during the first century. Their name is derived from the Greek and Hebrew languages and means the “righteous ones.” This may have been in direct relation to their belief that they were the descendants of Zadok, who was once a high priest during the reigns of King David and King Solomon and the revelation of the prophet Ezekiel advising that only those who were the “sons of Zadok” could approach God and the most do so only in the Temple. Typically wealthy aristocrats, they had supreme control over the priesthood, the Temple and how their followers viewed religion. The Torah and its strict literal interpretation were the central focus of this group as they rejected all other written and oral laws that tried to clarify, question or add to this sacred written work. They shared a special bond with the Roman forces controlling the area and benefited from this alliance allowing the Sadducees to exert their influence over political concerns for the region. They believed that Roman control protected the political ...
Hindson, E. E., & Yates, G. E. (2012). The Essence of the Old Testament: A survey. Nashville, Tenn: B & H Academic.
The Israelite cult is set apart from other cults in that the people were bound together to worship one God. “The distinctiveness of the Israelite cult is nothing other than the limitation of cultic activity to one particular patron deity” (Anderson, 1987;3). The cult’s foundation of worship centered on those sacrificial gifts and offerings that were given to Yahweh. In addition, the Israelite cults were village centered. In the beginning of the 12th century BC, settlements on the hill country of Judea and Ephraim began to increase in number and density. The farming that took place on these hills allowed Israelites to gain an independent economy from surrounding cult economies (Anderson, 1987;23).
...f society. The second point of view held that Jews were inherently bad and can never be salvaged despite any and all efforts made by Christians to assimilate them. These Christians felt that there was absolutely no possibility of Jews having and holding productive positions in society. All the aforementioned occurrences lead to the transformation of traditional Jewish communities, and paved the way for Jewish existence, as it is known today. It is apparent, even through the examination of recent history that there are reoccurring themes in Jewish history. The most profound and obvious theme is the question of whether Jews can be productive members of their country and at the same time remain loyal to their religion. This question was an issue that once again emerged in Nazi Germany, undoubtedly, and unfortunately, it is not the last time that question will be asked.
"Orthodox Juadism." Jewish Virtual Library. The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. .
Smith, Huston. World’s Religions: A Guide to our Wisdom Traditions. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1994.
Oxtoby, Willard G., and Alan F. Segal. A Concise Introduction to World Religions. Oxford, Canada: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Oxtopy, W., & Segal, A. (2007). A concise introduction to world religions. (1st ed., p. 258). New York: Oxford University press.
For more than two thousand years anti-Semitism has plagued the Jews, however, the term has only been around for about thirty years (Strack 594). Due to the hateful accusations and of those who did not understand their religion, Jews, as a scorned people, gradually became more exclusive and intolerant of other religions. Because of Judaism’s strict adherence to their own beliefs and unwillingness to consider any alternatives, Muslims and Christians have scorned and persecuted Jews.
Around 1400 B.C. Exodus was written in Hebrew. The Exodus, which is one of the books in the Old Testament, are rules, similar to Hammurabi Code placed by God for the descendants of Abram. This literature gives insight into the structure of the Jewish community, which includes the hierarchy of their community as well as the roles important in this community. Scholars can further understand the Hebrew community by reading Genesis. Genesis consists of religious stories that talks about how farming, slavery, and the world came into being. But overall, scholars can see a society very much center on religion.
Étan Levine’s article “Writing in Hebrew” focused on the resurrection of the Hebrew language from its original archaic version. In its original context, the Hebrew language was not only Israel’s primary tongue, but also its source of religious and cultural history. It was the language chosen by God and the primary source of language for the Bible. Like most ancient dialects, such as Latin, Old Norse, and Middle English, the Hebrew language around the age of CE was a form of speech and writing that needed translation. Despite its outdated speech and textual language, Jewish families continued to study Hebrew in its original format. The retention of the language kept the close nit community alive. Hebrew not only kept the Jewish lifestyle from losing its essence, but also preserved Jewish boys and girls own since of self- awareness and cultural inheritance.
Barnes, Trevor. A. A. The Kingfisher book of religions, festivals, ceremonies, and beliefs from around the world. New York: Kingfisher, 1999. Dirks, Jerald.