THE KARAITIC LITERATURE
Anan, Nahavendi, Abul-Faraj, Salman, Sahal, al-Bazir, Hassan,
Japhet, Kirkisani, Judah Hadassi, Isaac Troki.
In the very heart of the Gaonate, the eighth century witnessed a
religious and literary reaction against Rabbinism. The opposition to the
Rabbinite spirit was far older than this, but it came to a head under
Anan, the son of David, the founder of Karaism. Anan had been an
unsuccessful candidate for the dignity of Exilarch, and thus personal
motives were involved in his attack on the Gaonim. But there were other
reasons for the revolt. In the same century, Islam, like Judaism, was
threatened by a fierce antagonism between the friends and the foes of
tradition. In Islam the struggle lay between the Sunnites, who
interpreted Mohammedanism in accordance with authorized tradition, and
the Shiites, who relied exclusively upon the Koran. Similarly, in
Judaism, the Rabbinites obeyed the traditions of the earlier
authorities, and the Karaites (from _Kera_, or _Mikra_, i.e. "Bible")
claimed the right to reject tradition and revert to the Bible as the
original source of inspiration. Such reactions against tradition are
recurrent in all religions.
Karaism, however, was not a true reaction against tradition. It replaced
an old tradition by a new one; it substituted a rigid, unprogressive
authority for one capable of growth and adaptation to changing
requirements. In the end, Karaism became so hedged in by its supposed
avoidance of tradition that it ceased to be a living force. But we are
here not concerned with the religious defects of Karaism. Regarded from
the literary side, Karaism produced a double effect. Karaism itself gave
birth to an original and splendid literature, and, on the other hand,
coming as it did at the time when Arabic science and poetry were
attaining their golden zenith, Karaism aroused within the Rabbinite
sphere a notable energy, which resulted in some of the best work of
medieval Jews.
Among the most famous of the Karaite authors was Benjamin Nahavendi, who
lived at the beginning of the ninth century, and displayed much
resolution and ability as an advocate of free-thought in religion.
Nahavendi not only wrote commentaries on the Bible, but also attempted
to write a philosophy of Judaism, being allied to Philo in the past and
to the Arabic writers in his own time. At the end of the ninth century,
Abul-Faraj Harun made a great stride forwards as an expounder of the
Bible and as an authority on Hebrew grammar.
During the ninth and tenth centuries, several Karaites revealed much
vigor and ability in their controversies with the Gaonim. In this field
the most distinguished Karaitic writers were Salman, the son of Yerucham
(885-960); Sahal, the son of Mazliach (900-950); Joseph al-Bazir
(flourished 910-930); Hassan, the son of Mashiach (930); and Japhet, the
son of Ali (950-990).
Salman, the son of Yerucham, was an active traveller; born in Egypt, he
went as a young man to Jerusalem, which he made his head-quarters for
several years, though he paid occasional visits to Babylonia and to his
native land. These journeys helped to unify the scattered Karaite
communities. Besides his Biblical works, Salman composed a poetical
treatise against the Rabbinite theories. To this book, which was written
in Hebrew, Salman gave the title, "The Wars of the Lord."
Sahal, the son of Mazliach, on the other hand, was a native of the Holy
Land, and though an eager polemical writer against the Rabbinites, he
bore a smaller part than Salman in the practical development of Karaism.
His "Hebrew Grammar" (_Sefer Dikduk_) and his Lexicon (_Leshon
Limmudim_) were very popular. Unlike the work of other Karaites, Joseph
al-Bazir's writings were philosophical, and had no philological value.
He was an adherent of the Mohammedan theological method known as the
Kalam, and wrote mostly in Arabic. Another Karaite of the same period,
Hassan, the son of Mashiach, was the one who impelled Saadiah to throw
off all reserves and enter the lists as a champion of Rabbinism. Of the
remaining Karaites of the tenth century, the foremost was Japhet, the
son of Ali, whose commentaries on the Bible represent the highest
achievements of Karaism. A large Hebrew dictionary (_Iggaron_), by a
contemporary of Japhet named David, the son of Abraham, is also a work
which was often quoted. Kirkisani, also a tenth century Karaite,
completed in the year 937 a treatise called, "The Book of Lights and the
High Beacons." In this work much valuable information is supplied as to
the history of Karaism. Despite his natural prejudices in favor of his
own sect, Kirkisani is a faithful historian, as frank regarding the
internal dissensions of the Karaites as in depicting the divergence of
views among the Rabbinites. Kirkisani's work is thus of the greatest
importance for the history of Jewish sects.
Finally, the famous Karaite Judah Hadassi (1075-1160) was a young man
when his native Jerusalem was stormed by the Crusaders in 1099. A
wanderer to Constantinople, he devoted himself to science, Hebrew
philology, and Greek literature. He utilized his wide knowledge in his
great work, "A Cluster of Cyprus Flowers" (_Eshkol ha-Kopher_), which
was completed in 1150. It is written in a series of rhymed alphabetical
acrostics. It is encyclopedic in range, and treats critically, not only
of Judaism, but also of Christianity and Islam.
Karaitic literature was produced in later centuries also, but by the end
of the twelfth century, Karaism had exhausted its originality and
fertility. One much later product of Karaism, however, deserves special
mention. Isaac Troki composed, in 1593, a work entitled "The
Strengthening of Faith" (_Chizzuk Emunah_), in which the author defended
Judaism and attacked Christianity. It was a lucid book, and as its
arguments were popularly arranged, it was very much read and used. With
this exception, Karaism produced no important work after the twelfth
century.
On the intellectual side, therefore, Karaism was a powerful though
ephemeral movement. In several branches of science and philology the
Karaites made real additions to contemporary knowledge. But the main
service of Karaism was indirect. The Rabbinite Jews, who represented the
mass of the people, had been on the way to a scientific and
philosophical development of their own before the rise of Karaism. The
necessity of fighting Karaism with its own weapons gave a strong impetus
to the new movement in Rabbinism, and some of the best work of Saadiah
was inspired by Karaitic opposition. Before, however, we turn to the
career of Saadiah, we must consider another literary movement, which
coincided in date with the rise of Karaism, but was entirely independent
of it.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
KARAITES.
Graetz.--III, 5 (on Troki, _ibid._, IV, 18, end. M. Mocatta,
_Faith Strengthened_, London, 1851).
Steinschneider.--_Jewish Literature_, p. 115 _seq._
W. Bacher.--_Qirqisani the Qaraite, and his Work on Jewish Sects_,
_J.Q.R._, VII, p. 687.
---- _Jehuda Hadassi's Eshkol Hakkofer_, _J.Q.R._, VIII,
p. 431.
S. Poznanski.--_Karaite Miscellanies_, _J.Q.R._, VIII,
p. 681.