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Intertwined Worlds: Karaite-Rabbanite Relations in the Genizah Communities (1000 - 1150) Karaite Deed of Betrothal The medieval documents of the Cairo Genizah reveal that despite the polemics they exchanged, Karaites and Rabbanites remained intertwined in every aspect of their individual and communal lives throughout the eleventh and twelfth centuries and beyond. Part of the reason for Karaite-Rabbanite coexistence, to be sure, was their shared fate as Jews in a world unversed in the fine points of Jewish belief and not inclined to see much difference between them. But regardless of cause, the result was a genuine interdependence that led to frequent collaboration between the two communities. In Egypt, Palestine, and Syria—all communities documented in the Genizah—Karaites and Rabbanites married one another, formed business partnerships, ransomed captives jointly, and called upon each other's leaders for help raising funds for the often exorbitant taxes imposed by the Fatimid caliphs (969-1171). |
