ROYAL ATTIRE ‫ְלבו ּׁש ַמ ְלכוּת‬ LEVUSH MALKHUTH • AUTHORED BY Ḥakham Mordecai ben Nisan (18th Century CE; Kukizów, Galicia) VOCALIZED, TRANSLATED AND ANNOTATED BY Dr. Gabriel Wasserman Karaite Sources Supplemented by Tomer Mangoubi ISBN: 97809969657-2-9 © The Karaite Jews of America 2016 Published by The Karaite Press All rights reserved. The Karaite Jews of America asserts no copyright over the Hebrew text, its vocalization, and emendations to it. Cover Art: Shimra Starr Indexing: Clive Pyne, Book Indexing Services Design & layout: Raphaël Freeman, Renana Typesetting Contents Introductory Notes from the Karaite Press v Royal Attire/Levush Malkhuth 3 Greetings to the King of Sweden 3 Jewish History 7 Commandments from the First Book of Moses’s Torah [Genesis] 1. The Commandment of Circumcision 33 Commandments from the Second Book of Moses’s Torah [Exodus] 1. The Beginning of Months 35 2. The Month of Aviv 37 3. The Festival of Maẓẓoth 39 4. The Time of the Pesaḥ-sacrifijice 39 5. The Commandment of the Sabbath 41 6. The Prohibition on Stealing 45 7. The Meaning of Eye for Eye, Tooth for Tooth 45 8. The Law Regarding Injuring a Borrowed Animal 47 9. The Prohibition on Usury 47 10. The Prohibition on Following a Multitude to do Evil 47 11. The Meaning of Thou Shalt Not Seethe a Kid in its Mother’s Milk 49 12. The Four Spices of Incense 51 Commandments from the Third Book of Moses’s Torah [Leviticus] 1. The Offfering of Firstfruits 53 2. The Prohibition on Consuming “Fat” [Ḥelev] 53 3. The Unfijitness for Consumption of Sick Animals 55 4. The Two Signs for Kosher Mammals 57 5. The Two Signs for Kosher Fish 57 6. The Permissibility of Certain Birds 57 7. The Permissibility of Four Species of Locusts 59 8. The Prohibition on Certain Animal Carcasses 59 9. The Prohibition on Crawling Creatures 63 10. The Impurities Related to Childbirth 63 11. The Affflictions that Confer Impurity 65 iii Contents • ‫לבוש מלכות‬ 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. The Impurity of Flows and Emissions The Seven Days of Menstrual Impurity The Prohibition on Certain Relationships The Prohibition on False Dealings The Law Concerning the Betrothed Female Slave The Prohibition on Slaughtering an Animal and its Young in One Day 18. The Meaning of On the Morrow of the Sabbath 19. The Meaning of Teru‘a 20. The Festival of Sukkoth 67 67 69 73 75 77 77 81 83 Commandments from the Fourth Book of Moses’s Torah [Numbers] 1. The Commandment of Ẓiẓith (Tassels) 89 2. The Impurity of the Dead 89 3. The Law of Inheritance 91 4. The Law of Vows 91 Commandments from the Fifth Book of Moses’s Torah [Deuteronomy] 1. The Prohibition on Adding or Subtracting from the Commandments 97 2. The Meaning of Bind them For a Sign Upon Thine Hand 97 3. The Requirement to Follow Judgments 101 4. The Prohibition on Divination 103 5. The Law Concerning the Captive Beautiful Woman 105 6. The Commandment to Return Lost Items 107 7. The Permissible Circumstances for Divorce 107 8. The Maximum Lashes for a Guilty Man 107 9. The Duty of the Deceased-Husband’s Brother 109 Philosophical Diffferences between Karaites and Rabbanites 113 Endnotes 161 Notes on the Hebrew Text 193 Index of Biblical Verses 199 General Index 203 Karaite Works Referenced in this Edition 215 iv