KARAITE JUDAISMA Guide to its History and Literary Sources

EDITED BY

MEIRAPOLLIACK

' 6 8"i '

BRILLLEIDEN • BOSTON".

2003

CONTENTS

list of Contributors xilist of Abbreviations xiiiTable of Transliteration xvPreface xvii

PART I

THE SCHOLARLY STUDY OF KARAISMAND KARAITE HISTORIOGRAPHY

1. The European Discovery of Karaism in the Sixteenthto Eighteenth Centuries 3Paul Fenton

2. The Scholarly Study of Karaism in the Nineteenth andTwentieth Centuries 9Haggai Ben-Shammai

3. Karaite Historiography and Historical Consciousness 25Fred Astren

PART II

KARAISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST

SECTION ONE: THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD: ORIGINS,INFLUENCES AND HISTORY

4. The Origins of the Karaites 73Moshe Gil

5. The Karaites and the Second Temple Sects 119Yoram Erder

VI CONTENTS

6. Islamic Contexts of Medieval Karaism 145Fred Astren

7. The Karaites as Portrayed in Medieval IslamicSources 179Camilla Adang

8. Karaism and Sufism 199Paul Fenton

9. The Mourners of Zion: The Karaites in Jerusalemof the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries 213Toram Erder

10. Karaite Communities in the Middle East Duringthe Tenth to Fifteenth Centuries , 237Elinoar Bareket

SECTION TWO: THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD: SCHOLARSHIPAND LITERATURE

11. Karaite Legal Documents 255Judith Olszowy-Schlanger

12. Early Karaite Family Law 275Judith Olszowy-Schlanger

13. The Contribution of the Karaites to the Study ofthe Hebrew Language 291Geoffrey Khan

14. The Use of Rabbinic Sources in Karaite Writings 319Ofra Tirosh-Becker

15. Major Trends in Karaite Philosophy and Polemicsin the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries 339Haggai Ben-Shammai

16. Major Trends in Karaite Biblical Exegesis in theTenth and Eleventh Centuries 363Meira Polliack

CONTENTS Vll

SECTION THREE: THE MODERN PERIOD: HISTORYAND CULTURE

17. The Karaites in Modern Egypt 417Joel Beinin

18. From Egypt to Israel: The Birth of a Karaite'Edah in Israel 431Emanuela Trevisan Semi

19. Living Liminality: Karaite Jews Negotiate Identityand Community in Israel and the United States 451Surni Colligan

20. Melodic Patterns in Karaite Music: Past andPresent 471Rachel Kollender

PART III

BYZANTIUM AND TURKEY

21. Karaite Hebrew 485Aharon Maman

22. Byzantine Karaite Thought 505Daniel Lasher

23. Karaite Exegetical and Halakhical Literature inByzantium and Turkey 529Daniel Frank

24. Karaite Prayer and Liturgy 559Daniel Frank

25. T he Karaite Calendar: Sanctification of theY >v Moon by Sighting 591Magdi Shamuel

Vlll CONTENTS

PART IV

EASTERN EUROPE AND THE CRIMEA

26. The Karaites in Eastern Europe and the Crimea:An Overview 633Tapani Harviainen

27. The Turkic Languages and Literatures of the EastEuropean Karaites 657Dan Shapira

28. Beginnings of the Karaite Communities of theCrimea Prior to the Sixteenth Century 709Dan Shapira

29. The History of the Crimean Karaites During theSixteenth to the Eighteenth Centuries 729Golda Akhiezer

30. The Karaite Communities of Chufut—Kale andMangup: History and Topography of theSettlements 759Mikhail Kizihv

31. The Karaites of the Crimea Through Travelers'Eyes 789Mikhail Kizilov

32. The Karaites of Czarist Russia, 1780-1918 819Philip Miller

33. The Karaites in Contemporary Lithuania and theFormer USSR 827Tapani Harviainen

34. The Musical Heritage of Lithuania's Karaims 855Karina Firkaviciute

CONTENTS IX

PART V

KARAITE MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS AND PRINTING

35. Abraham Firkovich 875Tapani Harviainen

36. A Guide to Collections of Karaite Manuscripts 893David Sklare

37. Karaite Press and Printing 925Barry D. Walfish

General Index 963