Okbarites
TheOkbarites(Arabic:Al-‘Ukbariyyah), also known as theMishwaites,[note 1]were aJewishsect founded by the 9th-centuryheresiarchMeshwi al-Ukbari(Hebrew:מישויה אלעכברי).[note 2]The sect derived its name from the city ofUkbara,nearBaghdad,said to have been Meshwi's place of residence.[1]
History
[edit]According toJacob Qirqisani,Meshwi al-Ukbari lived afterIshmael al-Ukbari;his original name was Moses, but it was converted by his adversaries into "Meshwi" ('one whose ideas are confused').[2]Judah Hadassi,on the authority ofDavid ibn Merwan al-Muḳammaṣ,gives the name of the founder of the sect as Moses ofBaalbek,who is probably identical with Meshwi al-Ukbari.[3]
From a passage in theOẓar Neḥmadof the KaraiteTobias ben Moses,Delitzschconcluded that Meshwi embracedChristianityin the later part of his life.Isaac Broydédisputed this, arguing that the sect likely would not have survived the apostasy of its founder, yet Meshwi still had followers at the time of Qirqisani.[4]There is evidence that a Mishwaite community existed inByzantiumas late as the mid-12th century.[5]
Beliefs
[edit]While no written texts attributed to Meshwi have been discovered, the writings of the group's detractors provide insight into his opinions and teachings.[4]
Meshwi differed in many points from both theKaraiteandRabbinic Judaism,especially in the area ofcalendation.[6]He apparently fixed a solar thirty-day solar month, and ruled that days were to be counted from morning to morning as opposed tosunset to sunset.[5]Presumably becauseYom Kippuris termed "Sabbath of Sabbaths" in the Tanakh, he affirmed that that holiday must always occur on aShabbat,which would make thePassoverfall on Thursday.
He also ordered his followers to turn to the West in praying, instead of in the direction of theTemple.According to Meshwi, it was not allowable to offer sacrifices in the Temple on Shabbat. Contrary to normativehalakha,Meshwi is said to have allowed his followers to eattraditionally prohibitedanimal fats.[7]
Notes
[edit]References
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Singer, Isidore; Broydé, Isaac (1904)."Meshwi al-'Ukbari".InSinger, Isidore;et al. (eds.).The Jewish Encyclopedia.Vol. 8. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 504.
- ^Erder, Yoram (2010)."Mīshawayh al-ʿUkbarī".In Stillman, Norman A. (ed.).Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World.
- ^Katznelson, J. L.;Ginzburg, Baron D.,eds. (1911).[Meshwi al-Ukbari].Jewish Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron(in Russian). Vol. 10. St. Petersburg:Brockhaus & Efron.p. 942.
- ^Hadassi, Judah.Eshkol ha-Kofer.§98.
- ^abSinger, Isidore; Broydé, Isaac (1904)."Meshwi al-'Ukbari".InSinger, Isidore;et al. (eds.).The Jewish Encyclopedia.Vol. 8. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 504.
- ^abAnkori, Zvi (1959).Karaites in Byzantium: The Formative Years, 970–1100.Columbia Studies in the Social Sciences. Vol. 597. Columbia University Press. pp. 372–415.doi:10.7312/anko91724.
- ^Erder, Yoram (1995). "מרכזיותה של ארץ ישראל בחוגי הקראות הקדומה לאור הלכותיו של מישויה אלעכברי" [The Centrality of Eretz-Israel in Early Karaite Circles as Reflected in the Halakha of Mishawayah al-'Ukbari].Zion(in Hebrew).60:37–67.JSTOR23562683.
- ^Poznanski, Samuel (1897)."Meswi al-Okbari, chef d'une secte juive au IXe siècle".Revue des études juives(in French).34(68). Paris: A. Durlacher: 161–191.