The Karaites

The Karaites — They Did Not Turn Away; They Walked Their Path
The Karaites did not turn away — they walked their path.
 Their path was neither rebellion nor escape.
 It was another breath of Judaism.
 Like us, they stood at the foot of Mount Sinai.
 We come from the same hill.
They rejected the Oral Torah, but not God.
 Their intention was not malicious.
 It was a mistake — But a mistake made for the sake of Heaven.
 And perhaps, by the will of Heaven itself.
When the fires and pogroms came, when the jaws of the camps opened over Europe, the rabbis said:
“They are not ours.”
 And by doing so, they saved them.
 For had they been counted among us, they would have shared our fate.
This was not betrayal.
 It was a display of Talmudic wisdom —
 of mercy hidden in paradox.
As the Talmud says:
“Et la’asot laHashem — heferu Toratecha” —
“It is a time to act for the Lord — even if it means setting aside Your Torah” (Psalms 119:126).
 So explained Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi when he chose to write down the Oral Torah to save it from oblivion.
So, it was here:
 The Oral Torah, which was meant to be interpreted, became a shield
 even for those who did not accept it.
 Not against them — but for them.
Later, when the people of Israel were resurrected in their land,
 the State of Israel recognized the Karaites as part of its people.
 With caveats, with conditions, but the state of Israel recognized them.
 Because they, too, stood at that same hill, at Sinai,
 where the light of the Covenant first emerged.
This is not a compromise.
 It is a return.
 Whoever said the path to God must be straight?
They did not turn away — they walked their path of return.
 Their journey did not resemble retreat
 but the winding of a river that bends around obstacles.
 Not turning aside — but circling, so it may still flow into the Covenant.
Like the rays of the six-pointed Star of David,
 reaching out in all directions
 yet always converging in the center.
 And in the center — the Shekhinah.
The Karaites are one of the living threads
 in the colorful mosaic of Jewish destiny.
 Their distinction is not separation.
 They are not Rabbinic — but they are Jewish.
They did not abandon God —
 They carried their candle in a direction opposite to the wind.
And had Hitler known that one day they would be recognized as part of the Jewish people, would he have spared them?
No.
But it was not he who decided.
 It is He who writes the Book —
 not with ink,
 but with light.
 Because this, too, was part of the Plan.
And that is why the Karaites survived.
 To behold the coming of Moshiach.
 To return to the Promised Land.
This was their path of serving the Creator.
 And if the Holy One had not willed their journey, the path would not have existed.
But the path was there.
 Because they, too, stood at Sinai.
 Because they, too, are children of Abraham.
Conclusion
The Karaites are part of the larger Jewish community, which is often referred to as the nation of Israel.
 They walked their path of serving the Creator.
 And if the Holy One had not willed their journey, there would have been no path.
 But He gave them one. They read the Torah. They await the Moshiach. They pray to the same God we do. And that means — they are with us. And perhaps, they never left at all.

Rabbinical Student Moshe Ben Yisrael Salita / Michael Salita / Михаил Салита

With gratitude to the One who writes the Book of the world not with ink, but with light.