Karites, Samaritans, and Rabbanites? Different Sects of Judaism?

Question

I know the basic differences between them pertaining to the Torah, Tanach and Talmud, and I know that they all believe in the coming of the Jewish Messiah, but how do the criteria in determining the Messiah differ from the Rabbanites since the Karites and Samaritans do not believe in Maimonides 13 Principles? Which is the oldest branch of Judaism out of the three?

Answer 1

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Karaites.html

http://www.karaite-korner.org/karaite_faq.shtml < this page answers your question completely

Karaites are oldest according to the site above.


EDIT: tickle..I really hate to speak ill about another poster..but ST is giving you INCORRECT information. He has lately been posting some really offensive insulting and false things about Jews in several posts. In one he claimed that Reform Judaism falsely leads to cases of incest and adultry ( mamzers (sic) for mamzerim, the Hebrew term he meant to use ) I would take anything he says about Judaism with a grain of salt. See this previous question and the Jewish reaction to his ill mannered lashon hara (meaning evil tongue) here: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ar1DGGJ7VBcUBBpV2nMpUPHsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071203063617AAy1ALi&show=7#profile-info-AA10020540

He is also incorrect about the oldest sect of Judaism. The largest sect of Jews remaining today comes from the Pharisees from the second century BCE, however the Karaite sect is older, even though it is a very small sect. If you read here..the Sadducees were considered following Karaism as well , read their information ( It is always good to learn about a religion from the source..adherents OF a particular branch or sect ) http://www.karaite-korner.org/history.shtml

Here is also a little fyi for the uninformed.

What is the legal definition of a "mamzer"?
by Rabbi Naftali Silberberg

A Mamzer (a.k.a. bastard) is the product of incestuous relations or adultery. A child born out of wedlock is not a mamzer.

Besides for the fact that a mamzer may only marry a spouse of the same ilk, a mamzer is a full-fledged Jew in all respects. In fact our sages tell us "A mamzer who is a Torah scholar takes precedence (in respect accorded, etc.) over an ignorant high-priest!"

the above was from askmoses site

I am not here to argue with one who answers in a manner to disrupt, insult and confuse. .I believe the libelous efforts directed to me that were undertaken are undone by the evidence at hand here already. We don't do this in a vacuum, others read these answers and I certainly hope that people who are interested WILL go to the jewfaq.org. site. ( There are several pages on this topic there that support what I've instructed thus far) I have often recommended it and http://www.whatjewsbelieve.org/. Both are sites I've used to help teach people about Jewish belief over the past decade.

I had already given the jewishvirtuallibrary link at the beginning of my answer before any edit.

I never claim to be an expert on anything, however, Judaism is something I am quite familiar with and if I see someone misinforming another and I'm certain that it is happening, it is my right to provide the correct information. I will do so without ad hominem. And as always..I ask..do NOT TAKE MY WORD alone for anything I say about any aspect of Judaism or Tanakh. I will provide references for people to learn further on their own. I've a wealth of hundreds of books on Judaism and Jewish history and ancient history passed down over the course of more than a hundred years and I've added a great many of my own books.

There are a great many excellent web refereneces available too, and I've got dozens of them bookmarked and happily share them if you are interested.

I like questions that challenge so I learn, too. But it saddens me more than angers me to see anyone who claims to speak for Judaism enagage in behaviors that bring shame to Jews.

Shalom

Answer 2

Until you asked this question I didn't realize that there was a group in existence that claimed to be "Samaritans". The Samaritans were descendants of the Northern tribes. After the kingdom was divided Jeroboam sat up other places of worship to keep the people from going to Jerusalem to worship. He also changed the times of the Holy days (see 1 kings 12:32) The religion of the northern kingdom became a substitute for Judaism. While it appears that they are practicing a form of Judaism, claiming that they are descendants of the Biblical Samaritans and they have been practicing Judaism all this time doesnt add up.

Answer 3

Samaritans are not considered Jews, nor do they consider themselves to be Jews.

Karites consider themselves to be Jews as do Jews but people who convert to it are not considered Jews just like Reform and Conservative converts are not considered Jews because they do not convert the right way.

Rabbinical Judaism is rooted to the Pharisees, so they are the oldest Jewish sect.

Edit: mama_pajama_1, I am afraid you are incorrect, I will ignore your insults which by the way is against the Torah. There is no mention of karaites existence before the destruction of the Temple, Rabbinical Judaism came right after that happened, Jewish Virtual Library says Kairites came to existence in the 9th century CE. That means Islam is even older than the Kairites.

As for Mamzars or rather mamzarim since you want to be so precise, I did not say reform Judaism leads to incest and adultery, the issue is reform Judaism does not have or teach divorced women to enter a mikvah after they have divorced, so children born from her next marriage are manzarim if she never entered one. I am assuming you are reform since this is pretty basic knowledge to the rest of the Jewish world(as well as Karaites and even Samaritans) which proves my point about the reform movement.

Mamapajama, part of the divorce process is to enter a mikvah, so if a Jewish woman who is divorced never entered a mikvah, then remarried and had children, the children are considered manzar due to in a sense adultery for not completing the divorce process. Stop spending all day visiting websites and read books and go talk to Orthodox Rabbi's, not reform ones that don't even know the basics of Judaism that most learn before they are 7.

I strongly suggest you check out jewfaq.org and start with the basics and work your way up.