The KaraTms are included among the Sadducees in the writings of the Talmudists; but the Karalms have nothing in common with the Sadducees, although it has been said that the doctrines of the former are a modification of those of the latter. For instance, the Sadducees deny the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the body, in both of which the Karalms believe; there are other points of distinction, such as the law of divorce, which is not tolerated by the Sadducees, but which is enforced by the Karalms in case of the wife's adultery, insanity, ill-health, or barrenness '; and whereas the Sadducees count thirty days in the month, the Karalms reckon according to the changes in the moon.
The fundamental doctrines of the faith of the Karalms are the following: I. The Almighty was, before the b^inning of time. ' Each hopes thai the MeaaUh (hat U to come may be from hb bauc.
bi'Google
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]
2. His unity and might are beyond conception, and cannot be comprehended by the human mind. 3. All, from the angels on high, to the lowest animals, are of His creation. 4. His Pro«dence is over all that has being. 5. The prophecies of Moses are above all other prophecies. 6, The five books given on Mount Sinai are immutable. 7. All the prophets have been inspired by the Divine power. 8. God has ordained punishments and rewards according to every man's deserts. 9. The resurrection of the dead is to be, but the time is not foretold. 10. The coming of the Messiah will be from the house of David, for the rebuilding of the temple.
The precept of the Karalms, as regards the performance of good works, is in these words: ' If thou cans't not do as much as thou would'st, desire that thou may'st do as much as thou art able to perform.'
The KaraTms in the Crimea obtained the r^bts of citizenship in 1802, and in 1830 the population of Tchyfout-Kaleh, according to Koeppen, amounted to 1,109 souls, all Israelites. The 'rock' was inhabited until 1846, when the Karalms left and scattered themselves over the peninsula in the pursuit of commerce; and being an industrious, energetic, and businesslike race, they have become the successful competitors of the Armenians, with whom they dispute the trade in the Crimea, The Karalms were thus distributed in 1874:'
Tchyfout-Kaleh.
Sevastopol.
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]
Eupatoiia...
Symphenipol.
Kherson
Kertcb.
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]
Odessa....
Yalta..
' Five persons iii Ihe proportioi
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]
It is computed that there are 50,000 Karatms in various parts of the globe, 6,000 being in Russia.
By the Karalms themselves, Tchyfout-Kaleh is now more frequently spoken of as Kyrkyer, a name that appears for the first time in Aboulfeda's geography,' where the place is described as a fortress and the refuge of the As (Alains). Kyrkyer was probably the residence of the khans of the Crimea in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, for we read that in 1396, Olgerd, the general of Vitovte, defeated the Tatars of the Crimea, of Kyrkel, and of Manlop (Mangoup) on the banks of the Don; in the following year the Khan of Kiptchak, Timour Koutlough, who put Toktamish to flight, gave Kyrkyer, 'the place of forty,' to Mahomed the son of Hadgy Beiran-Khodja; and Contarini, the Venetian ambassador, who passed through Cafia in 1474, states that the khan was at that time at Kerker. Of the Tatar occupation of Tchyfout-Kaleh, one monument only remains; it is a handsome mausoleum to Nene Kedja, a daughter of Toktamish, who died in the month of the ramazan, in the year S41. (1437-38 A.D.) The sepulchre consisted of two vaults, the one above the other, that have been forced open and gutted; on the front are several inscriptions and rich arabesques in relief, but the whole is fast falling to ruin.
When visiting Tchyfout-Kaleh upon a previous occasion, the venerable Rabbi, Abraham Phyrkovitch, himself came out to meet us. on learning that a party of strangers had arrived. At his house and in the dilapidated synagogue, he showed us a collection of ancient and rare MSS. on paper, vellum, and leather, which he had been engaged many years in forming, and which he stated it was his intention to dispose of to England or to Austria. ' To ■ Aboulfeda, ii. p. 319.
by Google
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]