Two Karaite books published in Warsaw in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

Warsaw was not a major centre for Karaite religious and cultural life. From the mid-19th century, Karaites had settled there sporadically, mainly as tobacco and cigarette merchants. Despite this, two Karaite books were published in the city. In 1889, Ilia I. Kazas (1832–1912), a well-known social and educational activist from Yevpatoria, published Torat ha-adam at the Alexander Gins’ press. This was his Hebrew translation of selections from Éléments de morale by the French philosopher Paul Janet. In 1904, Davar davur, a collection of folk tales, proverbs, and occasional works compiled by the Karaite clergyman Samuel, son of Shemariah Pigit (1849–1911) from Yekaterinoslav, was printed at the press of the Hebrew-language Jewish newspaper “Ha-Tsfira”. These two publications reflect two different visions for the intellectual development of the Karaite community.