[wardaddy]

Jewish Karaites are Biblical only, they reject the Talmud and Kabbalah)

I never knew that....I bet they tend to be more conservative.....am I wrong?

I had an Iraeli pal who delved into the Kabala and Zorah...then he went uber Orthodox. The Seeker.

[ChicagoHebrew]

Karaites (there aren't many of them, perhaps 50,000 worldwide) actually do have stricter interpretations of Jewish law than most Orthodox Jews on *most* issues -- such as laws of marital purity, observance of New Moons, etc. Most famously, Karaites don't believe in ANY use of fire on the Sabbath, which is why so many have frozen to death over the centuries.

On other issues, Karaites are more liberal. They mix chicken and dairy, don't wear tefillin, don't worry about how their tzitzit are knotted, etc.

[sasportas]

I bet they tend to be more conservative.....am I wrong?

According to the Karaite I talked to, the Karaites are the more conservative...of course they would say that.

The difference is Karaite conservatism is based strictly on the Bible only, while the conservativism of the Talmudists is based on the Talmud. Which on many points differs from the Bible.