''Dor Daim'' emerged as a recognizable force in the early part of the 19th century. The Dor Daim movement was formed by individuals who were displeased by the influence of Kabbalah which had been introduced to Yemen in the 1600s. They believed that the core beliefs of [[Judaism]] were rapidly diminishing in favor of the mysticism of the Kabbalah. Displeased by the direction that education and the social development of Yemen was taking, they opened their own educational system in Yemen. They were also unhappy with the influence that Kabbalists (mystics) were having on various customs and rituals (e.g. the text of the prayer-book), in addition to a strong superstitious influence, which they saw as working against social and scientific improvement in Jewish Yemen.
The Dor Daim consider(ed) the Kabbalists to be irrational, anti-scientific, and anti-progressive in attitude and felt that they were thereby contributing to a decline in the social and economic status of the Yemenite Jews. The above-mentioned issues led Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh to spearhead the Dor Daim movement. Among its goals was the revival and protection of what it saw as the original form of Judaism tradition as codified transmitted by the [[Sanhedrin]] during through the chain of ordination which started with Moses at Sinai, one generation after the 1st century through 3rd century centuriesnext.
The movement was not well received by some scholars in Yemen and Israel. Especially controversial were the views of the Dor Daim on the important book of Kabbalah known as the Zohar. These views are put forth in a book called ''Milhamoth Hashem'' (Wars of the Lord) [http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm] which was written by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. A group of Jerusalem rabbis published an attack on Rabbi Qafahh under the title of ''Emunat Hashem'' (Faith of the Lord), and measures were taken to ostracize members of the movement.
Unlike many of the later ''talmide ha-Rambam'', the original Dor Daim were not committed to the view that all local Minhag, whether Sephardic Judaism or Ashkenazi Jews or from any other source, is totally illegitimate to the extent that it differs from the exact views of Maimonides, so they preserved certain non-Maimonidean Yemenite peculiarities in minor matters. However they did believe, in reliance on old authorities such as Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, that the views of Maimonides ought to be authoritative not only in Yemen but also in Eretz Yisrael, Egypt and the Near East generally.
There is a link between the Dor Daim's stance on Jewish law and on the other issues, as one argument for accepting the Mishneh Torah as the best restatement of Jewish law is that most of the later codifiers, including Joseph Caro, were believers in Kabbalah and should therefore not be accepted as authorities. As against this, many would argue that Caro and the others were operating within the rigorous rules of [[Halakha|halachic]] reasoning and that their conclusions were in no way affected or invalidated by their personal theological views (just as, from the opposite perspective, Maimonides' status as a halachic authority is not affected by what they think is his acceptance of Greek philosophy).
==Practices==
* that one should strive to wear a Tallit Gadol and or Tefillin as much as permitted by Talmudic law whenever possible. In various areas of Israel, including Jerusalem, one may see individuals wearing the Tallit Gadol during 'Erev Shabbat' (Friday night) hanging over or wrapped over their shoulders in a manner distinct from the majority custom, when almost no other Jews would be wearing a Tallit Gadol. Even children under 13 can be seen wearing a Tallit Gadol among them.
Dor Daim usually use Yosef Qafih's edition of the Baladi Siddur#Yemenite Jews (Teimanim). This is on the lines of the prayer book of the Maharitz, and therefore contains some it does not contain any Kabbalistic insertionsor additions. The song welcoming the Shabat "Lecha Dodi" does not have its orgin in the Zohar, enabling but in the book Talmud, BK 32a. What stems from Kabala is the way of saying it with one's back turned to be used by mainstream Baladi Jews. Howeverthe Holy Arch as one faces the entrance of the synagogue, these insertions are clearly marked by footnotes as being later additions. Dor Daim can therefore use this prayer book and simply omit these additionsthe Dardaim do not turn their backs to the Ark containing the Torah scroll.
==Similarities and differences with other groups==
As stated, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from Dor Daim in that they are not confined to the Yemenite community and need not be committed to specifically Yemenite customs. Nonetheless Yemenite scholarship and practice are still a major resource for them. Two good examples of this are seen in the works of the Rabbi Mori Yosef Qafih (Kapach) and of Mechon-Mamre.org.
*Rabbi Yosef Qafahh has made various contributions to Dor Daim, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' and the Jewish world as a whole. Examples of his contributions include his encyclopedic commentary to the entire Mishneh Torah set to the renowned Yemenite text of the Mishneh Torah, his translation of all of [[Maimonides]]' Commentary on the Mishnah from Arabic into modern Hebrew, as well as translations of the Guide for the Perplexed, Duties of the Heart, Sefer [[Kuzari]], and a number of other works.
*Mechon-Mamre.org has produced Torah databases for learning the Humash, Tanakh, Mishna, the Talmudic texts, as well as the Mishneh Torah according to Rabbi Qafahh and its own accurate and based on "most" manuscripts, using Frankel's scholarly text, intended to be beneficial to allversion rather than the "Dardai" Qafah's version. The Mechon-mamre.org website's "About" section states that most participants in the work of Mechon-Mamre are Baladi Yemenite Jews, although some of the more impacting individuals of Mechon-Mamre.org are not Yemenite or Dor Daim at all, but merely promote observance of Talmudic law as codified in the Mishneh Torah.
Dor Daim and "Rambamists" are most easily recognized by the manner in which their Tzitzit are tied (according to the Rambam, despite slight variations in understanding). Temani/Rambam Tzitzit can be distinguished from those of the many 'knitted kippa' youths who have adopted the same style, but have added Tzitzit#Tekhelet. Rambamists and Baladim are also noticeable by the fact that they wear their Tallit in a different manner from other Orthodox Jews, and even wear it on Friday nights/Erev Shabbath, which is unheard of in the Orthodox world (apart from a handful of Hasidic Judaism in Jerusalem, referred to as ''Yerushalmis'', who wear it very discreetly so as to not look arrogant).
===Gaonists===
Dor Daim as well as non-Yemenite or non-Dor Dai students of the [[Rambam]] all find a certain level of commonality with individuals who sometimes call themselves ''Gaonists''. ''Gaonists'' aim at applying Jewish law in every day life according to the writings of the Geonim as a whole without singling out any one particular Gaon or codification of Jewish law over another. The commonality between all of these groups is sourced in their shared pursuit of living according to the original their understanding of Talmudic law as much as possible with as little influence from the effects of almost 2,000 years of exile as possible. These groups together are sometimes referred to as ''Meqoriim'' (originalists/followers of the originals).
===Mitnaggedim and followers of the Vilna Gaon===
==Criticisms==
1. There are those who would claim that Dor Daim and even all students of the [[Rambam]] are heretics by reason of their non-acceptance of Zohar and Lurianic Kabbalah.<ref>See for example Chaim Kanievsky, ''Derech Emunah'' p.30.</ref> This claim depends is based on the assumption that the [[Isaac Luria|Luria]]nic [[Kabbalah]] is a dogma of Judaism , binding upon all Jews. Not only the Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'', but many other Orthodox groups, such as the followers of the Vilna Gaon and many Modern Orthodox, would disagree with this assumption, (whether or not they personally accept the Lurianic Kabbalah) because it is not sustained by any testimony in the Talmud or other sources that Shimon ben Yochai authored the Zohar.
The Dor Dai response is that whether a person or school is heretical is a question of law, to be decided according to authoritative works of halakha: one is not a heretic simply for disagreeing with a widely held Aggadah interpretation, unless the ''halakha'' specifically says so. The Mishneh Torah is comprehensive in scope and is, at the very least, ''one'' of the authoritative sources of ''halakha'', so to follow it must be an acceptable way of doing is authentic Judaism. Accordingly, since the Dor Daim assert nothing that is not found within the four corners of the Mishneh Torah, and the Mishneh Torah cannot be interpreted as actually requiring belief in anything approaching teaches laws that contradict Zoharic or Lurianic Kabbalah, they cannot be heretics - unless the Mishneh Torah itself is heretical, which is not held by any mainstream Jewish group.
2. Others believe that the main problem is not that Dor Daim do not follow Kabbalah for themselves, but that they delegitimize those who do follow it. Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, for instance, held that one must not use parchments written by, or eat meat slaughtered by, believers in Kabbalah because these are dedicated they do so in a way contrary to the service of a concept distinct from the Unfathomable Almighty Creator and therefore are not dedicated for serving way dictated by the Almighty Creator. This distinct concept to which Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, based on certain popular Kabbalistic works, warned that such parchments etc. are dedicated is called ''Zeir Anpin'' (one of the ''partzufim'' of the 10 sephirot). Few Dor Daim take such an extreme view today, as most consider that the above reasoning makes Jewish law too uncertain in practice.
3. A third criticism is that Dor Daim take works of Kabbalah too literally: it is intended to be myth and metaphor, and to subject it to rigorous analysis as the Dor Daim do is like trying to construe a Keats sonnet as if it were an Act of Parliament. Works of Kabbalah themselves contain warnings that the teachings should not be exposed to common view or read too realistically, and that to do so is indeed to incur the danger of falling into heresy or idolatry.
4. A fourth criticism is that it is a stultification of Jewish law to regard any authority, even one as eminent as Maimonides, as final. The essence of Oral Law is that it is case law rather than code law, and needs to be interpreted in each generation: otherwise the Mishneh Torah could simply have been handed down as part of the written Torah. For this reason, it is a principle of Jewish law that "Jephthah in his generation is as Samson in his generation": one is bound by the current authorities, rather than by previous authorities however objectively superior.
The Dor Dai response to this is that the acceptance of Maimonides in the Yemenite community has always been regarded as a legitimate version of Jewish law, and that they are no more stultified by the authority of Maimonides than other Jewish communities are by the authority of the Shulchan Arukh. From the practical point of view Jewish law as codified by Maimonides is as compatible with modern conditions as any later code: if anything more so, as later Jewish law has become enmeshed in many unnecessary intellectual and halachic tangles.
5. A final criticism is that the Dor Dai version of Judaism is disquietingly reminiscent of militant Islamic trends such as Salafism. Both started out as modernising movements designed to remove some of the cobwebs and allow the religion to compete in the modern world, and both have ended up as fundamentalist groups lending themselves to alliances with political extremism. Both disapprove of mysticism (Kabbalah or Sufism) and praying at tombs; both tend to dismiss more moderate coreligionists as unbelievers (see Takfir); both cut out centuries of sophisticated legal scholarship in favour of an every-man-for-himself "back to the sources" approach.
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