Karaites > Firkowitsch and history
FIRKOWITSCH, ABRAHAM (1786-1874).
Igeret el Simḥah ben Shelomoh babovits.
Manuscript in Hebrew and Judeo-Tatar.
Karasu [Turkey], 1846.
MS X893 F51
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
The Karaite scholar Abraham Firkowitsch had a very close relationship with the political leader of the Karaite Spiritual Council, Simḥah Babovits. He served as a tutor for Babovits’ children and accompanied the family on a pilgrimage to the Land of Israel in 1830. When the governor of Crimea asked Babovits to present a history of the Karaites in 1839, Babovits recommended Firkowitsch to chronicle the history. In this letter, Firkowitsch presents to Babovits some of the findings of his pseudo-historical research. He focuses on Karaite superiority and Karaite ties to the Jewish past in the times of the Prophets and the Temples.
Gift of Oskar Straus, 1890.
Igeret: First page text