Long before the emergence of the modern denominations, the Jewish world was divided between “Rabbinites,” who revered the Talmud and attendant rabbinic traditions as authoritative interpretations of the Hebrew Bible and Jewish law, and Karaites, who rejected those traditions and insisted on a more literal reading of Scripture. A new book by Daniel Lasker seeks to offer a definitive account of Karaite history. Alan Verskin writes in his review:
Lasker shows that, for most of premodern Jewish history, Karaites regarded themselves, and were regarded by others, as part of the Jewish community. He adeptly shows how this played out in works of theology and biblical commentary. He also notes that Karaite-Rabbanite intermarriage often occurred despite frequent concerns.
It is very difficult to provide even a rough estimate of the size of Karaite populations. Lasker cautiously suggests that, in the medieval period, Karaite populations in the Islamic world “must have been significant, although never close to a majority.” By contrast, in Europe, Karaites represented “just a tiny fraction of the Jewish population, probably never more than a few thousand individuals.” The exception was Crimea, where Karaites did significantly outnumber rabbinic Jews. Lasker estimates that, today, the world Karaite population is, at most, 50,000 strong, the majority of whom live in Israel.
The Karaites of the Middle East continued to identify themselves and be identified by rabbinic Jews as members of the Jewish community. Initially this was also the case in Eastern Europe, where Karaites had lived since at least the thirteenth century. Until the end of the 17th century, Karaites were fairly integrated within the Jewish community, despite speaking their own Turkic dialect, “Karaim.” While rabbinic knowledge of Karaism was usually minimal, educated Karaites were at home in the world of Rabbanite texts. Karaites paid their taxes through the Council of the Four Lands (the central institution of Jewish self-government in Poland) and suffered together with Rabbanite Jews during the Khmelnitsky massacres.
In modern Europe, however, pressures from the non-Jewish world eventually led most European Karaites to cease to regard themselves as part of the broader Jewish community.
Read more on Jewish Review of Books: https://jewishreviewofbooks.com/jewish-history/12558/insiders-and-outsiders