Shawn Lichaa: Judaism Unbound Episode 264 - Karaites: Bible Only, Please
Shawn Lichaa is a Karaite. "What's that," you ask? Very valid question! Karaites are a group of Jews whose traditions, and interpretations, are built around the Bible alone -- not the Talmud or any other piece of what Rabbanites (rabbinic Jews) call "the oral Torah." Lichaa, founder of The Karaite Press and A Blue Thread: A Jewish Blog with a Thread of Karaite Throughout, joins Dan and Lex to explore Karaite Jews' relationship to the Bible, and ways in which their approaches differ from rabbinic Jews'. In their conversation, they also ask what light Karaites can shine on broader issues affecting many other groups of marginalized Jews as well.
Image Credit: David Wilensky, J: the Jewish News of Northern California
[1] Hear more from Shawn Lichaa by visiting his blog, A Blue Thread. There you can find posts on virtually every discussion-thread from this podcast, including Yom Teruah, Tefillin, Shavuot, Kosher cheeseburgers, and more.
[2] Head to TheKaraitePress.com to purchase books to learn more about Karaite Judaism, from Karaites themselves! Especially recommended, by Lichaa, is Royal Attire: On Karaite and Rabbanite Beliefs.
[3] Shawn Lichaa has also contributed a few articles about Karaite topics to TheTorah.com. Check them out here.
[4] J: The Jewish News of Northern California, has featured the Karaite community of Daly City (the only active Karaite synagogue in the United States) in a number of articles. We especially recommend “Karaite Jews tell little-known story,” “The expanding future of Karaite Jews in the U.S,” and “At Karaite Convention, everything is the same — but different,” all written by David Wilensky.
[5] Watch some videos to learn more about Karaite Judaism on youtube, by checking out either of these channels: A Blue Thread or Karaite Jews of America.
[6] Lex mentions the holiday of Sigd, not a historically-Karaite observance, but a holiday marked by the Beta Israel Jewish-community of Ethiopia. You can learn more about it here.
[7] The day before this episode was released, Lichaa published a wonderful blog post featuring Ariella, a 13-year-old who was recently Bat Mitzvah-ed (Mazal Tov Ariella!). She learned about Egyptian-Karaite Torah-trope, by googling “tropes that sound cool,” and then she learned how to chant in that style for her Bat Mitzvah! Check out the post here.