Relationships Between Jewish Religious Movements - Karaite Views

Karaite Views

Karaite Judaism does not recognize the Oral Law as a divine authority, maintaining that the Written Torah, and the subsequent prophets which God sent to Israel, whose writings are recorded in the Tanakh, are the only suitable sources for deriving halakha, which Karaite Judaism maintains, must not deviate from the plain meaning of the Hebrew Bible. Rabbinic laws which either allow Jews something the Torah forbids, or releases Jews from a commandment the Torah requires, are seen as a break with the Torah, and transgression of Divine Law. An example being the white tzitzit donned by Rabbinic Jews, which has no tekhelet. This is regarded as a violation of the Torah, which requires that tzitzit be made with tekhelet. The tzitzit worn by some in the rabbinic community, which does have tekhelet, is also seen as a violation of the Torah, because according to the Talmud, a tekhelet string must be made of wool, and the white strings from linen, making the tzitzit shatnez. Karaite Jews also maintain that Rabbinic Jews are not observing Jewish holy days on their correct date, because the dates are fixed according to the pre-calculated Hillel II calendar, instead of beginning each month with the sighting of the New Moon from the horizon of Israel, and starting the year during the month when the barley reaches the stage of Aviv in the land of Israel. However, despite Rabbinic Judaism deviating from the plain meaning of the Torah, Karaite Jews recognize Rabbinic Jews who have unbroken patrilineal Jewish descent, as Jewish, and eligible to join Karaite Judaism without a conversion.