Karaite Judaism / Karaite Israelites / יהדות קראית

In this section, we strive to collect the Karaite practices in observing the Torah as well as the Tanakh as a whole.

What is Karaism or Karaite Judaism?

Karaite Judaism or Karaism can also be spelt as Qaraite Judaism or Qaraism.

Karaism is the original form of Judaism as prescribed by God in the Torah.

Tanakh as the Supreme Authority

Karaism recognizes the Tanakh alone as its supreme authority in Halakha (Jewish religious law) and theology.  Karaites maintain that all of the divine commandments handed down to Moses by God were recorded in the written Torah — without additional Oral Law or explanation.

Oral Tradition

Karaism does not outrightly reject Biblical interpretations such as the Rabbinic Oral Law or the written collections of the oral tradition in the Midrash or Talmud; rather it holds every interpretation of the Tanakh to the same scrutiny regardless of its source.  Though karaites may also consider arguments made in the Talmud and other works, they don’t exalt them above the Tanakh.

Tanakh’s Meaning and Interpretation

Karaism places that it is the personal responsibility of every jew to study the Torah and ultimately decide and interpret its meaning.  When interpreting the Tanakh, karaites strive to adhere to the plain or most obvious meaning (peshat) of the text.  This does not necessarily entail the literal meaning, but rather the meaning that would have been naturally understood by the ancient Israelites when the books of the Tanakh were first written.  In other words, the context when the Tanakh was written.

See also the 10 commandments.

References:

https://www.karaite-korner.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karaite_Judaism