For the rabbis of the Talmud, there is a source in the Torah to attach ourselves to Torah scholars (Talmidei Hachamim). http://halachipedia.com/index.php?title=Loving_Torah_Scholars_%28Talmidei_Chachamim%29
This is derived from the phrase וּלְדָבְקָה-בוֹ in Deut 11:
22 For if ye shall diligently keep all this commandment which I
command you, to do it, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His
ways, and to cleave unto Him
Although this in context refers to God, the rabbis claim it applies to the rabbis as well. This is because it is they who are our guides in Torah practice. The Karaites could object to this a) on the basis of their differing views of the Oral law, and b) because the verse is speaking about God, and unlike Christianity, Judaism does not believe in intermediaries.
If we discount the first objection, since there is still a common area between the Karaites and Rabbanites, whereby the Karaites accept the Neviim and Kohanim as the Torah scholars, so we therefore would rely on the Neviim and Kohanim for our instruction. Does the 2nd problem still pertain?
Whilst it is certainly correct to adhere to the Prophets and the Priesthood, the verse is still taken out of context. There may be justification for adhering to the Prophets as spiritual guides, but it is only one of many ways of serving God. The verse is perhaps more spiritual than personality oriented.
So it is certainly correct to respect Torah scholars, but we do not see this verse as directly pointing to them.
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