Temple Talk Radio: The Humility of Not Knowing
This Just in from the Obama White House: They're Just Jews
Kidnapping Crisis & the Red Heifer Connection: The Hypocrisy of a World Gone Mad
This week we read parashat Chukat, starring the enigmatic red heifer, secret of purity. As the kidnapping crisis of Eyal Yifrach, Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Sha'ar continues, this week's Temple Talk takes a sobering look at the authentic Jewish values of unity, mutual responsibility, prayer, and vengeance. Yitzchak Reuven and Rabbi Richman struggle to find any remnant of sanity in a world gone mad, drunk on self-righteousness. Enter the red heifer, symbol of purity and humility, with perfect timing, to remind us -- and to remind the world's leaders -- how little we know. Fasten your seatbelts for the ultimate Temple Talk unplugged!
Previous Temple Talk shows & MP3s of current shows can be found at
Visit us:
Like us on Facebook:
Follow us on Twitter:
More videos available on
Weekly Newsletter:
27 YEARS of the TEMPLE INSTITUTE
Karaite Judaism | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Karaite Judaism
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written
language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through
audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio
while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using
a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
In case you don't find one that you were looking for, put a comment.
This video uses Google TTS en-US-Standard-D voice.
SUMMARY
=======
Karaite Judaism () or Karaism (; Hebrew: יהדות קראית, Modern: Yahadut Qara'it from, Tiberian: Qārāʾîm, meaning Readers; also spelt Qaraite Judaism or Qaraism) is a Jewish religious movement characterized by the recognition of the Tanakh alone as its supreme authority in Halakha (Jewish religious law) and theology. It is distinct from mainstream Rabbinic Judaism, which considers the Oral Torah, as codified in the Talmud and subsequent works, to be authoritative interpretations of the Torah. Karaites maintain that all of the divine commandments handed down to Moses by God were recorded in the written Torah without additional Oral Law or explanation. As a result, Karaite Jews do not accept as binding the written collections of the oral tradition in the Midrash or Talmud.
When interpreting the Tanakh, Karaites strive to adhere to the plain or most obvious meaning (peshat) of the text; this is not necessarily the literal meaning, but rather the meaning that would have been naturally understood by the ancient Israelites when the books of the Tanakh were first written. By contrast, Rabbinic Judaism relies on the legal rulings of the Sanhedrin as they are codified in the Midrash, Talmud, and other sources to indicate the authentic meaning of the Torah. Karaite Judaism holds every interpretation of the Tanakh to the same scrutiny regardless of its source, and teaches that it is the personal responsibility of every individual Jew to study the Torah, and ultimately decide personally its correct meaning. Karaites may consider arguments made in the Talmud and other works without exalting them above other viewpoints.
According to Rabbi Abraham ibn Daud, in his Sefer HaQabbalah, the Karaite movement crystallized in Baghdad in the Gaonic period (circa 7th–9th centuries) under the Abbasid Caliphate in what is present-day Iraq. This is the view universally accepted among Rabbinic Jews. However, some Arab scholars claim that Karaites were already living in Egypt in the first half of the 7th century, based on a legal document that the Karaite community in Egypt had in its possession until the end of the 19th century, in which the first Islamic governor ordered the leaders of the Rabbinite community against interfering with Karaite practices or the way they celebrate their holidays. It was said to have been stamped by the palm of 'Amr ibn al-'As, the first Islamic governor of Egypt, and was reportedly dated 20 AH (641 CE).Historians have argued over whether Karaism has a direct connection to anti-Rabbinic sects and views, such as those of the Sadducees, dating back to the end of the Second Temple period (70 CE), or whether Karaism represents a novel emergence of similar views. Karaites have always maintained that, while there are some similarities to the Sadducees, due to the rejection of Rabbinical authority and the Oral Law, there are major differences. The ancestors of the Karaites were a group called Benei Ṣedeq during the Second Temple period.Karaites at one time made up a significant proportion of the Jewish population. Estimates of the Karaite population are difficult to make because they believe on the basis of Genesis 32 that counting Jews is forbidden. In the 21st century, some 30,000–50,000 are thought to reside in Israel, with smaller communities in Turkey, Europe and the United States. Another estimate holds that, of the 50,000 worldwide, more than 40,000 descend from those who made aliyah from Egypt and Iraq to Israel. The largest Karaite community today resides in the Israeli city of Ashdod.