Jewish schisms

Karaite Judaism

Karaite Judaism holds the Tanakh as the sole binding source of Jewish law, rejecting the concept of an Oral Torah given at Sinai. Consequently, Karaites do not accept the Midrash or Talmud as authoritative, though they may consult various interpretations without considering them binding. They favor the peshat method of study, seeking the plain meaning understood by ancient Hebrews.

The movement had a wide following between the 9th and 12th centuries, at times claiming perhaps 10 percent of Jewry, but its numbers have since dwindled drastically. Today, most Karaites live in Israel, with estimates ranging from 10,000 to 50,000. Scholars debate the movement's origins; many hold that Anan ben David was at least a founder, while other Karaites deny this and note that later sages like Ya'acov Al-Kirkisani argued that most of Anan's teachings derived from Rabbanite lore.

Sabbateans and Frankists

In 1648, Sabbatai Zevi declared himself the long-awaited Jewish Messiah while living in the Ottoman Empire, attracting vast numbers of followers known as Sabbateans. However, when faced with a death sentence before the Ottoman sultan Mehmed IV, he apostatized by converting to Islam, causing his movement to crumble. Small groups continued to believe in him for centuries, and rabbis remained vigilant against hidden Shebselekh.

Decades later, Jacob Frank claimed to be Zevi's successor, preaching against the Talmud and advocating licentious worship. Condemned by rabbis, Frank converted to Catholicism in 1759 before King Augustus III of Poland, along with groups of his Jewish followers called Frankists. He was received by European monarchs eager to see Jews apostatize, and the Frankists eventually joined the Polish nobility.

Hasidim and Misnagdim

Israel ben Eliezer, known as the Baal Shem Tov, drew on the Kabbalistic teachings of Rabbi Isaac Luria and the Zohar to revitalize Jewish life in Eastern Europe after the false messiahs Shabtai Tzvi and Jacob Frank. His disciples spread his mystical teachings across Eastern Europe, giving rise to Hasidic Judaism.

Major movements included Chabad-Lubavitch in Russia, Gerrer Hasidim in Poland, Bobov in Galicia, Satmar in Hungary, and Breslovers in Ukraine, attracting millions of adherents. The movement faced its first stiff resistance in Lithuania from Rabbi Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman, the Vilna Gaon, and his followers, who were called Mitnagdim, meaning those opposed to the Hasidim. They championed classic stringent Talmudic and Halakhic scholasticism.

Orthodox versus Reform

Following the French Revolution and the freedoms granted by Napoleon, many Jews left the ghettos and entered general society, sparking internal conflicts over religion, culture, and politics. In Western Europe and America, some joined the Reform Judaism movement, inspired by modernist thinkers like Moses Mendelson. Orthodox rabbis such as Samson Raphael Hirsch in Germany criticized Reform, and Haredi Judaism in Eastern Europe condemned it. In the 1880s, Conservative Judaism split from Reform in America.

A cultural schism emerged between Western European Jews and their Yiddish-speaking Eastern European brethren, whom they called Ostjuden. These divisions persist today, with Reform and Orthodox movements continuing to debate religious, social, political, and ethnic issues. In Israel and the United States, the largest Jewish communities, identities often align with hiloni and haredi in Israel versus Reform and Orthodox in America.

Did You Know?

• The Samaritans claim descent from the Tribe of Ephraim and Tribe of Manasseh as well as from the Levites, and do not call themselves Yehudim.
• The biblical narrative describes the split of the Kingdom of Israel from the Kingdom of Judah after Rehoboam refused tax reform, with the prophet Shemaiah telling him not to fight because God had caused the schism.
• Conflicts between Pharisees and Sadducees during the Second Temple period were worsened by Roman occupation and cultural tensions over Hellenization.