Controversy between the Karaites and the Rabbanites

Controversy between the Karaites and the Rabbanites (Ḥilluk ha-Kara’im ve-ha-Rabbanim) purports to explain internal divisions within the Jewish world, tracing the history of various leaders and schisms. Elijah approves of the Karaite narrative, claiming that this tradition represents the authentic teaching of Moses and that Rabbanite heresy traces to the evil biblical king Jeroboam. Like many other leading Karaites, Elijah had close knowledge of rabbinic teachings. In this excerpt, Elijah reproduces a legend about the renaissance of Karaism and the supposed influence of Islam on ‘Anan ben David. Scholars think that, ironically, this story originated in anti-Karaite propaganda, perhaps written by Se‘adya Ga’on. ‘Anan is now understood to be the founder of only one nonrabbinic movement, not of Karaism in general.