01/06/08: Karaites are Jews
Go here for the Karaite Declaration of Faith: The Karaite "Declaration of Faith"
The Karaite Synagogue is the oldest Synagogue in Jerusalem. It was built between 760-920 A.D. by the Karaite Jews.
VIDEO:
Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef statements:
Jews of the Amazon By Ariel Segal Freilich
The long standing dispute between Karaites and Orthodox Jews continued until 1973 when the chief rabbi of the Sephardic community of Israel, Ovadia Yosef, recognized Karaites as full-fledged Jews. This proclamation has not altered the agreement that allows the Karaites to conduct their own civil affairs.
Chief Rabbi David Chayim Chelouche statements:
The Jerusalem Post: Laying down the (Oral) law By JOSHUA FREEMAN
Rabbi David Chayim Chelouche, the chief rabbi of Netanya, agrees. "A Karaite is a Jew," says Chelouche, who has written a great deal about the Karaites. "We accept them as Jews and every one of them who wishes to come back [to mainstream Judaism] we accept back. (There was once a question about whether Karaites needed to undergo a token circumcision in order to switch to rabbinic Judaism, but the rabbinate agrees today that it is not necessary.) He cautions, however, that the acceptance of Karaites as Jews should not be confused with acceptance of their practice of excluding the Oral Law. "A person cannot make his own Torah," he says.
Rabbinic Assembly
http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/halakhah/teshuvot/20012004/49.pdf?phpMyAdmin=G0Is7ZE%2CH7O%2Ct%2CZ1sDHpI8UAVD6
Rabbi David H. Lincoln
This paper was adopted on March 28, 1984 by a vote of 12-1-1. Members voting in favor: Rabbis Kassel Abelson, Isidoro Aizenberg, Salamon Faber, David M Feldman, Morris Feldman, Robert Gordis, David H Lincoln, Mayer E Rabinowitz, Phillip Sigal, Israel N Silverman, Harry Z Sky and Henry A Sosland. Voting in opposition: Rabbi Morris M Shapiro. Abstaining: Rabbi Joel Roth.
The Karaite Synagogue is the oldest Synagogue in Jerusalem. It was built between 760-920 A.D. by the Karaite Jews.
VIDEO:
Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef statements:
Jews of the Amazon By Ariel Segal Freilich
The long standing dispute between Karaites and Orthodox Jews continued until 1973 when the chief rabbi of the Sephardic community of Israel, Ovadia Yosef, recognized Karaites as full-fledged Jews. This proclamation has not altered the agreement that allows the Karaites to conduct their own civil affairs.
JPost.com: Ask the Rabbi: O brother
In the 20th century, the State of Israel recognized the right of Karaites to immigrate under the Law of Return. The rabbinate, however, remains sharply divided over the ability of Karaites and their descendents to marry Jewish Israelis. While prominent Ashkenazi decisors Rabbi Avraham Sherman (Tehumin 19) and Rabbi Eliezer Waldenburg (Tzitz Eliezer 5:16) harshly criticized such marriages, two former Sephardi chief rabbis, Ovadia Yosef (Yabia Omer EH 8:12) and Eliahu Bakshi-Doron (Tehumin 18, 20) adopted more lenient positions, especially in cases when these Karaite descendants had no loyalty toward their ancestor's rituals. While such cases remain rare, they nonetheless represent a fascinating chapter in the ongoing struggles over personal status and marriage in Israel.
Chief Rabbi David Chayim Chelouche statements:
The Jerusalem Post: Laying down the (Oral) law By JOSHUA FREEMAN
Rabbi David Chayim Chelouche, the chief rabbi of Netanya, agrees. "A Karaite is a Jew," says Chelouche, who has written a great deal about the Karaites. "We accept them as Jews and every one of them who wishes to come back [to mainstream Judaism] we accept back. (There was once a question about whether Karaites needed to undergo a token circumcision in order to switch to rabbinic Judaism, but the rabbinate agrees today that it is not necessary.) He cautions, however, that the acceptance of Karaites as Jews should not be confused with acceptance of their practice of excluding the Oral Law. "A person cannot make his own Torah," he says.
| "A person cannot make his own Torah," -- Funny, Karaites say the same thing... | ||
Rabbinic Assembly
http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/halakhah/teshuvot/20012004/49.pdf?phpMyAdmin=G0Is7ZE%2CH7O%2Ct%2CZ1sDHpI8UAVD6
Rabbi David H. Lincoln
This paper was adopted on March 28, 1984 by a vote of 12-1-1. Members voting in favor: Rabbis Kassel Abelson, Isidoro Aizenberg, Salamon Faber, David M Feldman, Morris Feldman, Robert Gordis, David H Lincoln, Mayer E Rabinowitz, Phillip Sigal, Israel N Silverman, Harry Z Sky and Henry A Sosland. Voting in opposition: Rabbi Morris M Shapiro. Abstaining: Rabbi Joel Roth.
CONCLUSION
In answer to Rabbi Skopitz's questions, I would therefore say the following:
(1) Their personal status should not be questioned. I would, with adequate halakhic support, dismiss the question of safek mamzerut.
(2) Yes, they are Jewish in every respect!
(3) I am not certain what is meant by the query regarding the State of Israel. In Israel, they have a separate Beit Din to administer marriage and divorce. Neither the Karaite nor the rabbinic communities have permitted "intermarriages". Rabbi Isaac Klein quotes sources indicating exceptions even in Israel, which he felt may portend a new trend there. Our situation in the Diaspora is very different. It has been the lesson of history that sects (whether Jewish or gentile) who leave their natural surroundings or are separated from the main body of followers, usually assimilate and disappear. This is true of the Druze outside of their Syrian-Lebanese-Israeli villages, or the Donmeh outside of Salonika or Istanbul. Here in the United States, Karaites mostly wish to identify with the rabbanite community -- in Israel they are a more numerous independent group. Should we abandon them, they would probably disappear and more Jews would be lost to us at a period in our history when we can ill afford such a loss.
I therefore recommend that we accept them without reservation.
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