Mesorah 6

We have seen how the great Karaite schism deeply divided the Jewish people, and continues to do so until this very day. While rejecting, in its entirety or in part, the Oral Torah, Karaism developed their own "Oral Torah", known as "Sevel Hayerushah" (The Burden of Inheritance) using many of the same hermeneutic rules found in the Talmud, but usually with very different conclusions. This led many to say that Karaism urged people to "abandon the Talmud, we"ll give you a new one". This belies claims of Karaism following a "Scripture Only" approach. Although it was very different from Traditional Judaism, there was a surprising tolerance between the followers of the two groups for the first several centuries. Marriage contracts have been found in Egypt for mixed Karaite-Rabbinite marriages. These contained agreed upon stipulations of what aspects of life would be governed by which observances. To be sure, rabbis were writing attacks on Karaite doctrines, and Karaite leaders were writing attacks Talmudic principles, but it appears that it was regarded, for the first three hundred years, as an "in-house" dispute. This changed radically in the twelfth century. When RAMBAM arrived in Egypt he found Rabbinites and Karaites living together. He was dismayed to find that many Rabbinite Jews had accepted Karaite interpretations of some mitzvot, to the extent that laws of Biblical origin were now being neglected in favor of Karaite interpretation and practice. For example, as I pointed out in part 5, Karaites kept a far stricter set of observances for the separation of husband and wife during menstruation. However, they did not include the immersion in a mikveh at the conclusion of the separation period. This is perhaps the most important aspect, as we interpret the Torah. Karaites would merely have a woman who was not menstruating, pour a bucket of water of the one who had finished her separation. RAMBAM was horrified to find that Egyptian Rabbinites were doing the same! He went on the attack, declaring Karaism to be a dangerous heresy, to be totally suppressed, up to and including lethal force. (These sections in his writings have undergone severe censorship, and one needs to look at recent printings based on the oldest manuscripts to know what he really said.). From that point on, the two groups went their separate ways. In some times and places they got along; albeit keeping a safe distance. In other places, there was rivalry for State recognition as the "real" Jews. On the other hand, in the Russian Empire, Karaites often evaded restrictive laws promulgated against the Jews by either claiming that they weren't Jews, or that they were a more intelligent form of Judaism, and far more loyal to the Czar. Crimean Karaites largely avoided becoming victims of the Holocaust by convincing the Nazis that they were not Jews. These actions drew a deeper wedge between the groups. Debates arose in the sixteenth century as to whether or not the Karaites were to be regarded as Jews at all. These debates continue, and have implications for our acceptance or non-acceptance  of groups that have deviated from the Mesorah. More on this vital question next time