Karaimism

(NB NOT Karaite Judaism)

Karaimite Sabbatarianism or Karaimism, (also spelled Karaimism, Qaraimizm, Karaimizm, Caraimizm or Caraimism) is the correct translation of Караимство which literally means Karaim-like was a Russian Noahide movement under Iliya Kalinin in Privol’noe. It refers to the adoption of certain ways of the previoualy Molokan Galycian Karaylar communities of Russian Imperial Lithuania and Ukraine under the guidance of the Firkoviches' Jewish "Karaims" (Караимы) based in Crimea. Karaimites (Караимиты) -a missionary term- were uncircumcised and distinct from the circumcised Judaizers of (more accurately known as Gers and Danila [Danieil or Daniel] Ponomariov's Subbotniki-Yehudistvuiushie) of Petrovka. People who practice Karaimism are not Karaims, and are not Jews. But are called Karaimites or Karaitizers (Караимствующие) or Russian Karaims (Русские Караимы) by the Russian authorities but may more accurately be called Sabbatarian-Karaims (Субботников-Караимов) or Sabbatarian-Karaimites (Субботники-Караимиты).

As Noahides they were not circumcised and they were not Jews. But like all Subbotniks, they were influenced by the Sabbath religion of the Staroiudeyami (староиудеями) -a sect of Jews who distinguished themselves from other Hebrews in that they only observed Orthodox Judaism on Saturdays.

The Karaimites are a Raskol'nik or "Priestess Old Believer" sect of Molokan Subbotniks documented by the Russian Imperial Church which noted they were settled in Vilno, Volinia, Lutsk, Kovno, Kherson, and the Taurida south of Simferopol. There were about 250 in the Polish republic and 800 around Trokai. Seraya Shapshal of the Molokan Karaylar, who had been influenced by Iliya Kalinin's Karaimites an agent for Imperial Russia in Azerbaijan managed to establish a Karaimite Religious Union which was recognized as a Church by the second Polish Republic and traces of Karaimites could also be found in Sejny.

From Shapshal's efforts emerged a Judaized religion inspired by the Romaniote Karaite Minhag of Constantinople while distinct from Karaite Jews.

Molokans Karaylar had always been described as an ancient, local Lithuanian -Moslem ethnic and religious community. The Tsar's army did not consider them Jews and 15 were mentioned serving. Marian Feldman did not consider them to be Jews.

The Crimean Karaite Jews used the Hebrew alphabet. A Kanesa they had in the ancient town of Chufut Kale has preserved a plaque illustrating their use of the Hebrew alphabet to write in the Krymchak language and unlike the Molokan Karaylar are also sometimes referred to as Iudei and thereby would only constitute one Two Thousandths of the world Jewry.

Circucumcision is not practiced among the Karaimites and Molokan Karaylar. But in Shapshal's syncretic religion is reserved only for their Ministers who must be considered Israelites. Shapshal's syncretic religion emerged from the gradual Judaization of Molokans and a type of Alevi known as Karaylar.

The Firkoviches' Jewish Karaims, were formally allowed to establish a community under Isaac Boguslav Zaxarovich Kaplanovsky in 1868 having been inspired by Avraham Firkovich.

Iliya Kalinin's Karaimites used the Порядок караимов by Avraham Firkovich Vilna 1870 (a redacted version by Nehemiah Gordon and Moshe Dabbah is view-able online) which was in turn based on the Siddur tefillot ke-minhag ha-Karaim by Isaak ben Solomon Ickowicz.

The prayerbook was re-published for more Karaimites as the "Порядок молитв для караимов by Avraham Samoilovich Firkovich" in 1882 and again by Feliksas Maleckis as the "Порядок молитв для караимов, составленный вкратце гахамом и главным учителем караимов Авраамом Самойловичем Фирковичем. Перевод И. Б. Н. Фиркович" -Order of Prayers for Karaims translated by Isaac Boguslaw Nisanovich Firkovich, 2 vols Tsaritsyn (Volgograd) E.N. Fedorov 1892, 1896 and 1901.

Although they are uncircumcised Noahides and do not claim to be Jews, Karaimites are often described as a modern sect of Judaizers distinguished by their interest in Karaimism (Караимство the ways of the Qara'im) and the Pentateuch adopting an Old Jewish religion, like Karaite Jews, through a plain reading of the Bible rather than imitating Talmudic Judaism.

The is because Karaimite Noahides as Raskol'niks are a Molokan sect of Spiritual Christians and take the words of Jesus very seriously indeed. Jesus told his disciples to do everything that the Hillelite Jews (who were both Scribes and Pharisees) tell them to do (ie keep the 7 laws of Moses). Jesus only identified the Scibal Pharisees as sitting in the seat of Moses, not the Scibes (Jewish historians) and not the Pharisees (Shammuti Karaite Jews) who refused to write down the oral Torah. Only the Hillelite Jews were Scribes and Pharisees who wrote down the oral Torah. So the Karaimite Noahides referred to Beit Hillel for guidance and ignored all other Jewish sects. They were also highly suspicious of any who might be Hassideans (fake Scibal Pharisees) who claim to be from Beit Hillel but actually served a very stringent agenda.

It is important to note that although Iliya Kalinin's Karaimite Noahides were interested in the methods of the Qara'im they did not actually adopt Karaite Judaism (Караизм) only Karaimim (Караимство). Remember, unlike Karaite Jews, common Karaimites do not claim to be Jews and neither are they circumcised. In most respects they resemble other Subbotniks. Nevertheless, the term Karaimites was applied to them by Jewish missionaries.

Karaimites are therefore distinct from Seraya Shapshal's Karaimizers. They were usually Christians but may be of any religious origin (even lapsed Jewish) and always retain aspects of their original Molokan religion.

Karaimites were also called Besshapochniki (Бесшапочники) being one of the three sects of Molokan-Sabbatarians/Subbotniks (Молокане-Субботники) -they derived from (Молокане-субботники) who recognize the gospel while also striving to fulfill all the rules and precepts of the Old Testament for Gerim (Biblical Noahides)- including Talmudist-Subbotniks (Субботники-Талмудисты also called Gers Геры) and other Sabbatarians which comprised the so-called "Judaizers" (Жидовствующие) among Tambov Oblast's Spiritual Christians (Духовные Христиане). The Subbotniks of Tambov were also called Karaimite-Sabbatarians as well as Besshapochnimi (Бесшапочными) and "Old Judaists" (староиудеи).

Most famous of the Christian Karaimizers were the Volga Tatar language-speaking Russian Karaits (Русские Караиты) a Molokan sect who claimed descent from the Khazars some of whom settled parts of Crimea.

Distribution

Besides Tambov Molokan Raskol'niks also lived in Saratov Oblast, Astrakhan Oblast, Volgograd Oblast, Stavropol Krai, Samara Oblast, Khakassia, Irkutsk Oblast along the Molochna River in New Russia, in Krasnodar Krai, Armenia and Azerbaijan and along the Russian Empire's borders with Persia. While not all statistics for all provinces are readily available, we do know that Iliya Kalinin' s sect was more than 2500 in Privolnoye, Azerbaijan alone.

History

The history of the Karaimite Noahodes is an interesting testimony to how Karaimizm rather than Western Protestantism influenced the development of Raskol'nik Priestless low-Church Spiritual Christianity in Russia.

Sects accused of being "Judaizers" entered Russia from Lithuania in the XV century as a mixture of Judaism and Christianity. They were probably escaping persecution during the Bohemian Reformation.

This gives Karaimites a very distinct origin from other groups such as the Staroiudeyami (староиудеями) and Karaims (Караимы which could include the Firkoviches' Karaites and Shapshal's Karaites).

Under Russian authority these three groups could be treated together with the names Karaims (Караимы). Hence, Russian Karaims (Русские Караимы) and Russian Karaits (Русские Караиты) have sometimes been called Karaims making it difficult to distinguish exactly which group is intended without careful examination of the context.

Characteristics

From 1870 Karaimite Noahides began to use the "Everyday Prayers for Karaims" by Avraham Firkovich (Vilna 1870) for their liturgy, which in 1882 they were allowed to publish in Russian as "Порядок молитв для караимов". It was based on the Siddur tefillot ke-minhag ha-Karaim by Isaak ben Solomon Ickowicz. In 1935, Simon Firkovich finally gave into the influence of Molokans and introduced The Lord's Prayer into the Firkoviches' Karaim Siddur.

Unlike Crimean Karaites the Russian Karaites used the term karaimskii iazyk (Karaim language) to designate Hebrew and not the Turkic Karaim language. which is significant because the Tatar language of Russian Karait language had not the slightest trace of Hebrew loan words. Ironically it was the Firkoviches' and Shapshal's Karaims not the Karaimite-Subbotnik Christians who escaped the Holocaust. At Babi Yar it was reported that they were singing "Let us face death bravely as Christ did" on their way to extermination. This is a clear indication that it was Karaimite Noahides and not Karaims who were persecuted during the Holocaust.

While not dismissing their Russian origins, Karaimites who were based in Privol’noe do regard themselves as Khazars and as the Edom Yidels and descendants of the Lost Ten tribes of Israelites albeit only in a Spiritual sense unlike other Karaim.

The Crimean and Lithuanian Karaites, to a degree, exemplified for them a non Scibal Pharisee model which could be imitated without breaking the words of Jesus. However, it was only Shapshal who tried to unite all of the different groups into one syncretic "Karaim" religion. This was resisted because Karaimites' contacts with the Crimean and Lithuanian Karaites, "were occasional and never formally arranged since, in particular, normative Karaism denied the acceptance of proselytes and regarded the very existence of a community of Karaites of non-Jewish origin senseless."

Organization

The Karaimite Noahides were organized under the Central Spiritual Board Of the Russian Qaraim (Iliya Kalinin) Abroad (for any Russian Karaim abroad) was continued into the modern era by Gershom Tzipris. However, it was impersonated by Libor Nissim Valko's Central Spiritual Board for the Russian Karaim Abroad mentioned in 2010 and again in 2011

Other Prayerbooks used by Karaimite Noahides

"Молитвы перед обедом, и после обеда за целый год по обряду Караимов" 1896

Prayers before meals and after meals for the whole year after the manner of the Karaims.

The Russian Siddur compiled by Eliezer Aaronovich Semyonov 1907 (500 pages, no Hebrew)

Prayer book according to the customs of the Karaites 1, by Feliksas Maleckis, Vilnus, 1891-1892 Edited by Mikolas Firkovich 1998

Prayer book according to the customs of the Karaites 2, by Feliks Malecki, Vilnus, 1892 Edited M Firkovich 1999 Psalter translated by Mikolas Firkovich 1993

Everyday Prayers Simon Firkovich 1935 edited by Mikolas Firkovich 1993 Jacob's Voice by F. Maleckis 1910

Kezlev

Also based on the 1870 Порядок караимов by Avraham Firkovich (Vilna) is the Crimean Prayerbook abridged by Viktor Tiriyaki 2002 translated by Garkavets in 2004 was an attempt to document the extinct Karaimite dialect and rite of Crimea wiped out by the Bolshevik revolution and Holocaust.

Further reading

• А. Львов (2002). Геры и субботники - «талмудисты и караимы», Материалы Девятой ежегодной международной междисциплинарной конференции по иудаике. [Gers and Subbotniks: "Talmudists and Karaites". In: Papers of the Ninth Annual International Interdisciplinary Conference on Jewish Studies.]. Part 1 pp. 301–312. Moscow.
• А. Львов (2003). Субботники и евреи. Предисловие к публикации очерка Моисея Кузьмина «Из быта субботников» [Subbotniks and Jews. Foreword to the reedition of the essay by Moisei Kuzmin Life of Subbotniks] (in Russian). In: literary magazine Параллели ##2 and 3.
• А. Л. Львов, А. А. Панченко, С. А. Штырков. (February 2001). Полевые исследования культуры сектантов-субботников: экспедиция «Петербургской иудаики» в Ставропольский край

Mniejszośći narodowe i etniczne w Polsce po II wojnie światowej: wybrane elementy polityki państwa Bernadetta Nitschke Nomos, 2010

See Also

• Karaimites
• Karaimite Jews

External Links

• Website of the Central Spiritual Board of Karaimites cited in Nitschke, Walfish and Muller
• Nehemiah Gordon's version of Abraham Firkovich's original 1870 prayerbook (which was adapted in 1882 by the Karaimites)