Description
Finalist for National Jewish Book Award for Scholarship 2022.
Karaite Judaism emerged in the ninth century in the Islamic Middle East as an alternative to the rabbinic Judaism of the Jewish majority. Karaites reject the underlying assumption of rabbinic Judaism, namely, that Jewish practice is to be based on two divinely revealed Torahs, a written one, embodied in the Five Books of Moses, and an oral one, eventually written down in rabbinic literature. Karaites accept as authoritative only the Written Torah, as they understand it, and their form of Judaism therefore differs greatly from that of most Jews. Despite its permanent minority status, Karaism has been an integral part of the Jewish people continuously for twelve centuries. It has contributed greatly to Jewish cultural achievements, while providing a powerful intellectual challenge to the majority form of Judaism. This book is the first to present a comprehensive overview of the entire story of Karaite Judaism: its unclear origins; a Golden Age of Karaism in the Land of Israel; migrations through the centuries; Karaites in the Holocaust; unique Jewish religious practices, beliefs, and philosophy; biblical exegesis and literary accomplishments; polemics and historiography; and the present-day revival of the Karaite community in the State of Israel.
Product Details
| Publisher | Littman Library of Jewish Civilization |
| Publish Date | January 12, 2022 |
| Pages | 269 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Hardback |
| EAN/UPC | 9781800855960 |
| Dimensions | 9.5 X 6.4 X 1.1 inches | 1.3 pounds |
About the Author
Reviews
'Karaism is written for a general audience and does a wonderful job showing the Karaites' development, history and attempts to stay vital in contemporary times. Anyone interested in the history of Judaism will find this work fascinating in its ability to show how contemporary assumptions about our religion do not always accurately reflect our history.'
Rabbi Rachel Esserman, The Reporter
'A lively introduction to general Karaism that spans from its origins to the present and persuasively argues for its vital relevance to Jewish studies as a whole ... Karaism is an academic work, but Lasker's personal affection for the Karaite community community shines through.'
Alan Verskin, Jewish Review of Books
'A useful and informative handbook on a little-known but intriguing strain of Judaism.'
Sara Jo Ben Zvi, Segula
'As it stands, this work is the first, long-awaited, reliable scholarly compendium on Karaism addressed to wider readership, for which important achievement its author is to be praised and congratulated. It will be of value not only to anyone interested in Karaism but also to anyone involved in Jewish studies in general, and will serve brilliantly as an introductory course book in these fields.' Marzena Zawanowska, AJS Review
'Here is what I wanted to know about the Karaites: 1) their origin, 2) a summary of their practices and beliefs, and 3) where they are now. Daniel J. Lasker does this admirably in his book "Karaism: An Introduction to the Oldest Surviving Alternative Judaism"... and much more.' Mitchell First, Jewish Link
'Lasker effectively synthesises and summarises a mass of material. His study is a welcome contribution to our knowledge of an intriguing chapter in Jewish history.' John Moorhead, Journal of Religious History
'Lasker's book offers an extremely well-researched introduction to the relatively unknown and un-researched branch of Jewish history that includes Karaite Jewry and its texts, commentaries and records, in the hope that it inspires readers to continue learning about the "oldest surviving alternative Judaism".'
Hadassah Faur, Jerusalem Post
'The need for [Karaism], the first wide-ranging English-language introduction to the study of Karaite Judaism, is abundantly clear. In twelve concise and readable chapters, made admirably accessible to the nonspecialist, Daniel J. Lasker draws on a lifetime of research into what he calls an "alternative Judaism,"... Even though few can match the breadth of Lasker's interest or productivity, one hopes that this volume stimulates a new generation of interest in Karaism.'
Marc Herman, H-Judaic
'The presentation of Karaite doctrines and practices is based partly on an analysis of the religious literature and partly on the observation of contemporary communities. The chapters on Karaite theology, exegesis, and historiography provide a useful summary of classical Karaite literature and clearly show the evolution of doctrines from one author to another. In a tour de force of exposition the author successfully presents complex theological systems and disentangles an often obscure intellectual history in the form of clear, thorough, and reader-friendly explanations that are up to date on the most recent literature, of which this book is, in a sense, a synthesis.'
Translated from French: 'L'exposé des dogmes et des pratiques karaïtes repose tant sur l'anayse de la littérature religieuse que sur l'observation des communautés actuelles. Les chapitres sur la théologie, l'exégèse et l'historiographie karaïtes résument utilement la littérature classique karaïte et montrent clairement l'évolution des doctrines d'un auteur à l'autre. Ces résumés réussissent le tour de force d'exposer des systèmes théologiques complexes et de démêler une histoire intellectuelle parfois obscure sous la forme de résumés clairs, exhaustifs, agréables à lire et à jour de la bibliographie récente, dont ce livre est, en quelque sorte, une synthèse.'
Peter Nahon, Revue des Études Juives
"Here is what I wanted to know about the Karaites: 1) their origin, 2) a summary of their practices and beliefs, and 3) where they are now. Daniel J. Lasker does this admirably in his book Karaism: An Introduction to the Oldest Surviving Alternative Judaism ... and much more." Mitchell First, Jewish Link
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