The Karaite – Orthodox Nexus
Other than the Torah, its interpretations are not
necessarily written in stone. There is a possibility for a Karaite
understanding to change and become more rabbinic, and vice versa. This is simple logic. However, in rabbinic
halacha, this idea has also been presented by Maimonides. Although he doesn’t
specify Karaism, he does make the following statement:
Halacha 1
When, using one of the principles
of exegesis, the Supreme Sanhedrin
derived a law through their perception of the matter and adjudicated a case
accordingly, and afterwards, another court arose and they perceived another rationale
on which basis, they would revoke the previous ruling, they may revoke it and
rule according to their perception. This is reflected by Deuteronomy 17:9: "To the judge
who will be in that age." This indicates that a person is obligated to
follow only the court in his own generation.
Thus something that may appear irrational to a non
Rabbinical student, may be accepted by
the Rabbis, because it was ruled so by the Sanhedrin. However, with the passing of time, a later
Sanhedrin, or other rabbinic body may disagree with the first one. In
principle, therefore, they might take a position which is what the Sadducees or
Karaites originally held. This is what I
call the Karaite – Orthodox nexus. By
the same token, we should also accept that, in principle, a classical Karaite
position might be deemed irrational at some point, and may be changed to one
which is more in line with the Rabbinical understanding. This specific point is not proof of one concept
or other, only that in the future, there may be a more unified Judaism.
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