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Karaite Korner Newsletter #200

Karaites in the Holocaust?

Our recent Aviv Report seems to have angered many people who follow the
Rabbanite calendar or the Equinox Calendar. Karaites have nothing against
those that follow other calendar systems. We believe that the Tanach
commands us to follow the biblical Aviv-New Moon calendar and share this
information with those who ask to receive it. What other non-Karaite groups
do is really none of our business. But rather than agree to disagree on the
calendar issue, a small number of Messianics and Christians have been
disseminating vicious lies about the Karaites. One of these lies is that
Karaite Jews had a questionable role in the holocaust. This is an old
accusation which has no basis in fact or reality. I think it is significant
that rather than try and prove their position from Scripture, these people
are putting forth smokescreen arguments of this sort. I wrote a study some
time ago on the supposed role of Karaites in the Holocaust which I am now
making generally available at:
http://www.karaite-korner.org/holocaust.htm

In this context I have to say how surprised and impressed I am at the
reaction of Rabbanites to our Aviv Report. These reactions range from
apathy to "Yes, if there was a Sanhedrin we would do as you do". But I have
not detected any hostility from Rabbanites on this issue. The reason is
that the Rabbanites do not disagree with us on the question of Aviv, only on
the question of who has the authority to examine and consider the Aviv. On
this issue Karaites and Rabbanites agree to disagree. Maybe those
Messianics and Christians who are making personal and communal attacks on
Karaites can learn a lesson of decency from the Rabbanites.

Nehemia Gordon
Jerusalem, Israel

Karaite Korner Newsletter #199

More on Aviv 2005

There has been some confusion with this recent Aviv Search.
Three people came over from the US looking for Aviv barley
and have been spreading an incorrect declaration that the
Month of the Aviv will not be for another month. This
other rather inexperienced team is claiming that even though Aviv barley
WAS found, it is not relevant for various reasons. I will
attempt to shed light on some of these reasons.

One reason the other team claims Aviv cannot be for
another month is that it was raining throughout the several
days they were in Israel and therefore it is still the rainy
season, not the harvest season. It is sad that someone who
does not understand the climatic cycles of Israel would rush
to judgment like this. In fact, Israel has a weather cycle
called a Sharav/ Chamsin which consists of several days
to several weeks of dry intense heat which is always broken
by a rainstorm. These cycles continue intermittently well into
April and cannot be used as an indicator for determining
harvest time. It also rains intermittently independent of the
Sharav cycle well into April.

A second reason the other team claims that the Aviv
found is not valid is because we only looked at barley
growing along the side of the road. This is simply untrue.
As mentioned in the previous Aviv report, we learned a
number of years ago that barley growing just off the asphalt
is not admissible because the heat from the asphalt causes it
to ripen artificially early. We did look at barley NEAR the
road, but not just off the asphalt which artificially ripens
early. All the Aviv barley we found was far enough off the
road that it could not have been influenced by the artificial
heat from the road.

A third reason why the other team claims that the
Aviv found is not valid is that the regions it was growing
cannot sustain harvestable barley. This is simply not true. In
fact, the soil east of Jerusalem, at the edge of the Judean
Desert, is the traditional place for growing barley. This is for
a very simple reason. The soil in this area has a high saline
content which makes it bad for growing wheat but perfect for
growing barley. In biblical times this entire region was
covered in agricultural terraces. Every mountainside and
valley bottom was covered with barley. Today the area has
been infiltrated by Bedouin who raise sheep and goats. The
flocks of sheep and goats are like lawnmowers, eating
everything in their paths. One of the reasons this area looks
like it does today is because these sheep and goats are
allowed free reign. In ancient times the sheep and goats
would have been kept out of the fields of grain. Today these
flocks pose a great challenge to look for Aviv barley. We
can only find barley in areas the sheep and goats have not yet
reached. The area of Ein Mabua is ideal because it is a nature
reserve and sheep and goats are forbidden from entering
there. Other areas we found Aviv barley are near Jewish
towns which the Arab shepherds are discouraged from
approaching. Everything else has been desolated by these
living lawnmowers. This does not invalidate the fact that
barley has reached the state of Aviv in this region. Had the
sheep and goats been kept at bay, the entire region would be
blanketed by Aviv barley, just as the areas where the flocks
have not reached are blanketed with it.

A fourth claim of the other team is that the barley
we are looking at is not harvestable. They cite the New
Testament as proof that barley growing on rocky soil will
burn up in the heat and they are claiming that barley in the
Judean Desert and Jordan Valley is the type described in the
New Testament. While I am not a believer in the New
Testament, I do know how to read. The verse in question
appears in Matthew chapter 13, in a parable which describes
a sewer who plants on different types of ground. In verses 5-
6 it talks about how some of the seed falls on stony places:

"Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much
earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no
deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were
scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away."

This is clearly describing grain that has just sprouted after a
rainstorm but then dies early on before the next rain comes
because there is not enough water in the soil to sustain it. In
the early part of the rainy season the rain falls with great
intervals between one rain and the next. This is a parable
comprehensible to anyone who is familiar with the climate of
Israel. On the other hand, the Aviv barley we found this year
has reached FULL MATURITY because it was growing in
areas with deep soil, either on valley bottoms or on ancient
agricultural terraces.

A fifth claim which has been made by the other
team is that the barley in the Judean Desert and Jordan Valley
is not harvestable. They claim it is not harvestable because it
shatters easily. They think it shatters easily because of the
heat in these regions, but in this instance their inexperience
shines through. At this point, I need to clarify the different
varieties of barley growing in Israel. There are three basic
kinds: 6-row domesticated barley, 2-row domesticated
barley, and 2-row wild barley. We looked at all three
varieties to determine the state of the Aviv even though it is
thought that the 2-row wild barley is the closest
representation of what was grown in ancient Israel. In my
experience, the 2-row wild and 2-row domesticated ripen at
about the same time, while the 6-row may ripen slightly later.
This year we found both 2-row wild barley and 2-row
domesticated barley in the state of Aviv. The 2-row wild
barley is far more abundant, while the domesticated barley is
somewhat rare. I should note that the other team
ONLY looks at 2-row WILD barley. The problem with wild
barley is that the heads shatter very easily whereas
domesticated barley requires much more effort to shatter the
heads. Wild barley NEEDS to have heads that shatter easily
for the very reason that it is growing voluntarily (by itself). If
the heads did not shatter easily, wild barley would not be able
to reproduce. No one in Israel plants wild barley because it
produces smaller seeds than domesticated barley and because
the heads shatter more easily. All the wild barley in Israel
grows voluntarily, not in planted fields. The only barley in
planted fields is the two-row domesticated barley which has
been selectively bread to produce larger kernels. Wild barley
can be harvested but it will produce a low yield because
many of the seeds will fall during harvesting. This is the case
with wild barley EVERYWHERE it grows, whether in the
Judean Desert or Tel Aviv. I challenge these
people to come back to Israel and show me one field of
WILD barley anywhere in the country which has reached
harvestable maturity according to their timeframe without
shattering! If they are right, there will be fields of wild
barley on April 24 (Day of Wave-Sheaf according to their
false reckoning) which will be harvest-ripe that will not have
shattered. I challenge them to come to Israel to harvest this
barley with a sickle and show me that this is somehow more
valid than barley growing in the Judean Desert or Jordan
valley.

This year was one of the clearest and most definitive Aviv
barley finds I have ever seen. The Month of the Aviv has
arrived beyond any doubt! Yet people without adequate
experience have come over for a few days, sewed confusion,
and left before they can even check if what they have said
will follow through. I want to make an open invitation to
anyone who wants to join us for next year's Aviv Search.
You can come and see for yourself. The evidence is right
there on the ground all over the place. Next year's Aviv
Search will take place at the end of the 12th Month on Feb
27-28, 2006. A second search will be held on March 28-29,
2006. If you are interested in participating, please contact me