Literary text: Bodl. MS heb. d 36/13–16bis

Description

This is the famous epistle/sermon generally attributed to Daniel al-Qūmisī, in Jerusalem, to his "brethren" the Qaraites, urging them to come to Jerusalem (along with a great many other matters). One passage: "Since the beginning of the exile, the Rabbanites were princes [sarim] and judges, in the days of the kingdom of Greece, the kingdom of the Romans and the Persian Magians, and those who sought the Torah could not open their mouths with the commandments of the Lord out of fear of the rabbis . . . until the arrival of the kingdom of Ishmael, since they always help the Qaraites to observe the Torah of Moses, and we must bless them [for it]. Now you are amidst the kingdom of Ishmael, and they favor those who observe the month according to the new moon. Why, then, do you fear the rabbis? . . . For by means of the kingdom of Ishmael God broke the rod of the rabbis from upon you." (Translation from Rustow, Heresy, p. 117.) This text was originally edited by Jacob Mann, and later edited and translated by Leon Nemoy in "The Pseudo-Qūmisīan Sermon to the Karaites," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research Vol. 43 (1976), pp. 49-105. Description from PGPID 19356: See Bodl. MS heb. d 36/13–16bis (PGPID 19355). Description from PGPID 19357: See Bodl. MS heb. d 36/13–16bis (PGPID 19355). Description from PGPID 19358: See Bodl. MS heb. d 36/13–16bis (PGPID 19355).