Dor Daim

The Dardaim, or Dor Daim (), are adherents of the Dor Deah (, 'generation of knowledge') movement of Orthodox Judaism. ''Dor Deah'' is an allusion to the Israelites during the Exodus as recounted by the Hebrew Bible by Yiḥyah Qafiḥ in 1912 and had its own network of synagogues and schools.
The movement may have existed long before its 1912 formalization. According to ethnographer and historian Shelomo Dov Goitein, author and historiographer Hayyim Habshush had been a member of the movement before it had been given the name ''Dor Deah'', writing, "He .e., Hayyim Habshushand his friends, partly under European influence, but driven mainly by developments among the Yemenite Jews themselves, formed a group who ardently opposed all those forces of mysticism, superstition and fatalism which were then so prevalent in the country and strove for exact knowledge and independent thought, and the application of both to life." Years later, Qafih became the headmaster of a new Jewish school in Sana'a established by the Ottoman Turks, introducing a curriculum that included arithmetic and basics of Arabic and Ottoman Turkish. Yihya Yitzhak Halevi named Qafiḥ's movement ''Darad'ah'', derived from an Arabic broken plural and based on the Hebrew ''Dor De'ah''.

Its objectives were:
# To combat the influence of the '' Zohar'' and subsequent developments in modern Kabbalah, which were then pervasive in Yemenite Jewish life and which the Dor Daim believed to be irrational and idolatrous.
# To restore what they believed to be a rational approach to Judaism rooted in authentic textual sources, including the Talmud, Saadia Gaon, and especially Maimonides (also known as Rambam, ).
# To safeguard Baladi-rite prayer, which they believed to be based on their approach.

In the 21st century, there is no official Dor Dai movement. Still, the term is applied to individuals and synagogues within the Yemenite Jewish community, mostly in Israel, who share the original movement's perspectives. Some groups within and outside the Yemenite community hold a somewhat similar stance, describing themselves as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (, 'students of the Rambam') rather than Dor Daim.

History

Background: ''Baladi'' and ''Shami'' rituals

Since the early Middle Ages, the Yemenite Jewish community followed the teachings of Maimonides on almost all legal issues, and their prayer book was substantially identical to the text set out in his "Sefer Ahavah". This is attested by the writings of several well known Rabbis such as Nahmanides, Obadiah of Bertinoro, and Yiḥyah Salaḥ. The Yemenite tradition is therefore separate from both the Sephardi and the Ashkenazi streams in Judaism.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the teachings of Kabbalah, especially in the form advocated by Isaac Luria and his school, became increasingly popular in Yemen as in other countries. This did not always mean a change in the liturgy; Luria himself held that it was essential to keep to the form of prayers inherited from one's ancestors to reach the gate in Heaven appropriate to one's tribe. However, many individuals and communities around the world (principally Mizrahi Jews but also Ḥasidim) discarded their ancestral rites in favour of the modified Sephardic rite used by Luria and his immediate circle, on the reasoning that this form of prayer reached a "thirteenth gate" for those who did not know their tribe.

This division would be reflected among the Yemenite Jews. The Shami sub-group adopted a Sephardic-influenced rite, in no small part due to its essentially being forced upon them. Others retained the Yemenite ancestral liturgy, whether or not they accepted the Zoharic/Lurianic Kabbalah theologically. In the 18th century, to ensure the continued use of the Yemenites' original text, Yiḥyah Salaḥ promoted compromise and introduced a new edition of the Baladi-rite prayer books he created. It substantially followed the traditional Yemenite itual but made some concessions to the Kabbalists, for example, by incorporating the hymn Lekhah Dodi. This new standard became known as Baladi "of the country" (referring to Yemen), in contrast to the adopted Lurianic Sephardic ritual, which was known as ''Shami''"northern," (meaning Palestinian or Damascene). The distinction also affected questions of Jewish law; the Baladi community continued to follow Maimonides almost exclusively, while the Shami community also accepted the Shulchan Aruch.

In the 18th century, Yemen produced an influential Kabbalist in Shalom Sharabi, who headed the Beit El Synagogue in Jerusalem, the elite seclusion centre for developing and praying in the Lurianic system. Over time, Kabbalistic practices became popular among the Yemenite Jews to the point that the ''Baladi'' community became localized as a significant population only around the area of Yemen's capital city, Sana'a. Today, as the majority of Yemenite Jewry are outside of Yemen and in closer contact with Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, it could be perceived that the proportion with which the Dor Daim perspective is spreading (though in a different form than the original) is not much different from the rate at which Yemenite Jews as a whole are giving up their unique traditions and assimilating into mainstream Judaism.

Formation of movement

''Dor Daim'' emerged as a recognizable force in the 19th century. The Dor Daim movement was formed by individuals displeased by the influence of Kabbalah, which had been introduced to Yemen in the 17th century. They believed that the core beliefs of Judaism were rapidly diminishing in favor of the mysticism of the Kabbalah. Displeased by the direction that education and the social development of Yemen were taking, they opened their educational system in Yemen. They were also unhappy with the influence that Kabbalists had on various customs and rituals (e.g. the text of the prayer book), in addition to a strong superstitious influence, which they saw as contrary to Maimonides. For example, Yosef Qafeh relates one of many Yemenite customs, "", whereby they would bake plain bread without salt and prepare "the table of appeasement." Inviting more than 10 children aged seven or eight who waited outside, they set the table, scattering thin-ash upon it; crumbled the plain bread into bits, placing them upon the table holding the ashes; and exited the kitchen stating, to the shedim, "this is your portion." Shortly thereafter, they would abruptly open their doors, whereupon the children burst in, grabbing the saltless pieces and eating them. Yiḥyah Qafiḥ sharply opposed these minhagim, thinking that, in addition to the stupidity of the matter, they are Biblically forbidden because they are superstitons ("customs of the Amorites").

The Dor Daim considered the Kabbalists irrational and felt that they were thereby contributing to a decline in the social and economic status of the Yemenite Jews. These issues led Yiḥyah Qafiḥ to spearhead the Dor Daim movement. Among its goals was the revival and protection of what it saw as the original form of Judaism as codified by the Sanhedrin during the 1st through 3rd centuries.

Some scholars in Yemen and Israel did not receive the movement well. Especially controversial were the views of the Dor Daim on the most popularized book of Kabbalah known as the ''Zohar''. These views are put forth in a book called '' Milhamoth HaShem'' (Wars of the Lord). A group of Jerusalem rabbis published an attack on Qafiḥ under the title of ''Emunat Hashem'' (Faith of the Lord), taking measures to ostracize members of the movement; notwithstanding, not even the Yemenite rabbis who opposed the dardaim heeded this ostracism. Instead, they intermarried, sat together in '' batei midrash'', and continued to sit with Yiḥyeh Qafeh in '' beth din''.

From this time Yemenite Jews may be classified as Shami, mainstream Baladi and Dor Dai or "Rambamist". A term frequently used by Dor Daim for Yemenites who accept the Zohar is ''Iqq'shim'' (Hebrew: עקשים), i.e., "obscurantists".

An important later Yemenite authority was Yiḥyah Qafiḥ's grandson, Yosef Qafiḥ, who edited many important works by Maimonides and Saadia Gaon (see his published works) as well as issuing two new editions of the Baladi prayer book. Unlike his grandfather, he avoided expressing any opinion on the ''Zohar'' beyond saying that it was preferable to draw one's spiritual sustenance from the works of Maimonides. Therefore, there is some doubt about whether Qafiḥ junior should be regarded as a Dor Dai or a mainstream Baladi. His intention was probably to reconcile the two groups, in the same way as tried to reconcile traditionalists and Kabbalists.

Dor Daim today

There is no official Dor Dai organization; thus, they are hard to identify. Many individuals are reluctant to identify themselves by that name for fear of persecution. Some of the original Dor Dai synagogues in Israel survive but have moved nearer to the mainstream Baladi tradition in the same way as Yosef Qafiḥ. Similarly, there is no universally recognized leader for the movement. The successor of Yosef Qafiḥ as leader of the Yemenite community as a whole is generally considered to be Ratzon Arusi of Qiryat Ono.

Today's adherents have great respect for the Yemenite tradition in general. They are not exclusively Yemenite in origin and may describe themselves as "''talmide ha-Rambam''" (disciples of Maimonides) rather than as "Dor Daim." In 2005, there was a widely publicized gathering of hilltop settlers of Yemenite descent describing themselves as "Dor Daim", but it is unclear how far these represent the historic Dor Dai movement.

Beliefs

Theology

Dor Daim place particular importance on the Jewish doctrine of the absolute unity of God, which they believe has been compromised by the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today. In support of this, they appeal to the philosophical writings of various Geonim and Rishonim such as Saadia Gaon, Bahya ibn Paquda, Judah Halevi and Maimonides. The following points concerning the Almighty's Unity are in particular emphasized both by Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'':

Note: None of these is controversial, as mainstream Judaism has substantially the same beliefs.

* He is Incomparable to any created thing
* He is neither male nor female, but due to the limitations of human speech, we must use certain terms allegorically and metaphorically to some extent to convey the fact that He ''does'' exist
* His existence is qualitatively different from all other existences, and all other existences depend upon Him and are sustained by Him, while He remains infinitely and unfathomably distinct and independent from all creation
* He is ''one'' unity unlike any unity in creation; His Oneness is not a unity which can be divided or which is composed of parts, both of which could only be the case with a unity that is subject to time/space; Nor is His Oneness a one in the sense of a species or type.
* No quality of creation applies to Him: not space, not time, not change, no concept of a body, form, or image, no concept of filling a body, form, or any location, nor any other factor of creation - for He is Perfect and Sufficient in Himself and has no need for any of these. He is not a force or a power which possess or fills something else, nor is there any aspect of multiplicity in Him - as would be the case were the world literally to be within Him. Any Biblical or Talmudic phrases that imply that any quality of creation applies to Him must be understood as having some meaning other than its literal meaning, for He transcends all aspects of creation. None of them apply to Him.
* The Splendor of the Reality of His Being is so great that no mind can grasp even the smallest part of it, for He has no parts, as it says, "..and to His Greatness there is no investigating." (Psalms 145:3) Therefore, one must always be aware that the sublime Truth of His Being transcends anything we can ever express, but that all references to Him are either by speaking of what He is not or by way of literary tools such as metaphor.

Attitude to Kabbalah

In the 1931 ' ''Milhamoth ha-Shem'' of Yiḥyeh Qafeḥ, the most fundamental issue the Dor Daim have with the popularly accepted understanding of Kabbalah concerns the absolute transcendent Singularity/Oneness of the Creator and the laws against avodah zarah. The Dor Daim believe that the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today are contrary to the absolute and incomparable Unity of the Creator and violate various laws against idolatry and polytheism, especially the prohibition against ''ribbuy reshuyoth'' (worshipping or conceiving of a multiplicity of reigns) referred to by Maimonides in his '' Mishneh Torah''.

The issue is not the existence of Kabbalah as such. The word "Kabbalah" is used in older Jewish sources and by Maimonides to mean "tradition" and need not refer to mysticism. Furthermore, Dor Daim accept that in Talmudic times there was a secret mystical tradition in Judaism known as ''Maaseh Bereshith'' (the work of creation) and ''Maaseh Merkavah'' (the work of the chariot); Maimonides interprets these as respectively referring to something similar to Aristotelian physics and metaphysics as interpreted in the light of Torah. They reject that this tradition is represented by the ideas popularly referred to as Kabbalah nowadays.

Neither Dor Daim nor ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are against mysticism per se. Yosef Qafiḥ, for example, published the ancient mystical text ''Sefer Yetzirah'' together with his translation of Saadia Gaon's commentary. Likewise, Bahya ibn Paquda and Abraham Maimonides (sometimes described as "Jewish Sufis") are especially respected among Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam''.

In particular, a Dor Dai is not bound to reject the theory of the ten sefirot as set out in the ''Sefer Yetzirah''. In the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', unlike in later Kabbalah, there is no question of the Sefirot being Divine entities or even attributes: they are simply the numerals, considered as the dimensional parameters used in the creation of the world.

What they view as the problem comes in with the '' Bahir'' and the ''Zohar'', where the sefirot have become hypostatized as Divine attributes or emanations, and it seems that religious devotions can never be addressed directly to the En Sof (the Absolute), but only through one or other of the sefirot; and in modern Nusach Sefard prayer books, each occurrence of the Tetragrammaton is vocalized differently in a kind of code to show which sefira one should have in mind. This problem is compounded in the teachings of Isaac Luria as found in the writings of Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, where it is held that as a result of some catastrophe in Heaven, the Sefirot vessels have fractured. Their channels reformed into a variously stated number of inter-relating personalised aspects within God's Manifestation known as partzufim (), teaching that the purpose of each religious observance is to assist their unification. This is felt as being uncomfortably close to polytheism.

The original Dor Daim, such as Yiḥyah Qafiḥ, condemned the ''Zohar'' as an outright forgery filled with idolatry. Some of today's Dor Daim take a somewhat more moderate stance, allowing that the ''Zohar'' may contain elements of authentic Midrash together with a great deal of later interpolation, while considering the Zohar in its present form to be an unsafe guide, both to theology and to practice. By contrast, however, all Orthodox Denominations within Jusaism today accept the authenticity of the Zohar, and it continues to be studied across the world, in Sephardic and Ashkenzaic communities. Great Jewish leaders such as Yosef Karo, Solomon Luria, Elijah of Vilna, Israel Kagan and many others have made extensive use of the Zohar in their seminal works. Since its rediscovery in the late 13th Century, the Zohar has been accepted by virtually all Orthodox Jewish schools of thought.

Heresy

A figure spoken of frequently in the esoteric works on Kabbalah, particularly in the ''Zohar'', is what has come to be known as the "lesser countenance" (), a term whose usage is believed to have been of Gnostic origin, although in later years was seen by the kabbalists as one of the angels in heaven associated with the emotive faculties of the soul and with the concept of "finite power." Certain kabbalists allege that our prayers and our worship go unto the "lesser countenance" and that he created the world. To Yehiya al-Qafih, such statements amounted to heresy, since there was none other but God who created the universe and unto whom, alone, we are to pray.

In a letter addressed to Abraham Isaac Kook, the Chief Rabbi of Mandatory Palestine, Yihya Qafih argues effectually that such beliefs stand in contradiction to the Law bequeathed to us by Moses. He levels harsh criticism against the Zohar for its endorsement of heretical teachings, such as that of the "lesser countenance", as well as against the new kabbalists who claim that "lesser countenance" is our God. We are his people, such as described by ''Sefer HaBrit'' (Article 20, item # 15) and by ''Yosher Levav'' (page 4), and who allege wrongly that it was he who brought us out of the land of Egypt, and that his wife (who is ''Malkhut'') was she who smote the Egyptians in Egypt and at the sea, while it was he who revealed himself unto Israel at Mount Sinai and gave to us his Divine Law All these things, Qafih alleged, should be expunged from our religion, since the import of the Torah is clear that only God, and God alone, had done all these things for Israel.

Reincarnation and Invocation of Saints

Another matter of dispute between Dor Daim and the Kabbalists concerns the Dor Daim's rejection of gilgul, the idea of reincarnation in Judaism. They support their rejection with writings of Saadia Gaon (892-942) who dismissed reincarnation as an unauthentic Jewish belief. Non-Dor Dai disciples of Maimonides and many mainstream Orthodox Jews share this perspective.

Dor Daim also disapproves of soliciting angels or tzaddiqim (Jewish saints}. They disapprove of such practices regardless of one's location, even if the individual desires that the angel or saint intercede with God. Like all ''Meqoriim'', Dor Daim considers such practices antithetical to the essential principles of Judaism: to serve the God without joining partners or mediators. This is based on their understanding of the books mentioned above, and specifically on the laws concerning mediator (''sarsur'') or an advocate (''melitz'') mentioned in the ''Mishneh Torah'' and the fifth of the Thirteen Principles of Faith. Prayer, in Judaism, is a form of worship: as the ancient sages of Israel are well known to have stated, "What is the service of the heart? This is prayer."

In addition to the issue of invoking forces other than the Almighty, Dor Daim and '' Meqoriim'' in general disapprove of the common practice of visiting the graves, shrines, or monuments of saints, even if an individual does not request from a force other than the Almighty. Basing themselves on Talmudic sources codified in the ''Mishneh Torah'', they believe this to be a prohibition instituted by the Sages of the Great Court established under Moses - the Sanhedrin. They generally consider this prohibition to have been instituted as a means to distance the people of Israel from the possibility of transgressing what ''Meqoriim'' consider to be the Biblical prohibitions of establishing a "monument" (prohibited even without any connection to idolatry) and from invoking any force other than the Almighty. They state that this is the same reason Jewish tradition explains why Moses' burial place is deliberately unknown.This all is in stark contrast to the mainstream custom of visiting Jewish graves (e.g. on the Eve of Rosh Hashana) and praying there, as brought in the Shulchan Aruch and Mishna Beruruah without controversy. Indeed the custom is well rooted in Talmudic sources and the works of the Rishonim. Some examples are that Joseph cried at his mother’s grave before going to Egypt (Sefer ha- Yashar); Before being exiled, the Jewish people wept at Rachel's Tomb (Rashi, Vayechi 48:7); Caleb prayed at The Cave of the Patriarchs before confronting the spies (Sotah 34b). See also Ta’anis 23b.

Jewish law

Dor Daim disapprove of what they believe to be an abandonment of a number of Talmudic practices on the part of a large portion of the Jewish world in favor of newer customs and innovations, some of which, in their opinion, are even contrary to Talmudic law. In particular this disapproval is aimed at customs derived from the Kabbalah, but it is not confined to them. In their view, and still more in the view of the ''talmide ha-Rambam'', there is simply no constitutional authority in Jewish law to institute new rules or practices, whether in the direction of leniency or of severity, since the demise of the Sanhedrin in 425 CE, or at the latest the closure of the Talmud, and the role of later rabbis is confined to teaching and codification of the law as it stood at that date. They do not claim that this position is ideal, and would gladly see a revived Sanhedrin sort out the problems in Jewish law, provided that it was itself established in strict conformity to law.

In their view, the ''Mishneh Torah''of Maimonides is the most accurate and therefore most authoritative statement of Talmudic law, and is in itself a sufficient reference without resort to any other source. Maimonides writes that if the ''Mishneh Torah''was intended to be explained by the Talmud he wouldn't have written the ''Mishneh Torah''. Furthermore, the current text of the Talmud is fairly corrupt with numerous textual variants; from this, coupled with Maimonides' indications that he had far more accurate and complete Talmudic texts available to him, they conclude that the Mishneh Torah provides the best access to what the Talmud must originally have intended.

Unlike many of the later ''talmide ha-Rambam'', the original Dor Daim were not committed to the view that all local custom, whether Sephardi or Ashkenazi or from any other source, is totally illegitimate to the extent that it differs from normative Jewish law (as best stated, in their view, by Maimonides), so they preserved certain non-Maimonidean Yemenite peculiarities in minor matters. However they did believe, in reliance on old authorities such as Joseph Caro and David ibn abi Zimra, that the views of Maimonides ought to be authoritative not only in Yemen but also in Eretz Yisrael, Egypt and the Near East generally.

There is a link between the Dor Daim's stance on Jewish law and on the other issues, as one argument for accepting the Mishneh Torah as the best restatement of Jewish law is that most of the later codifiers, including Joseph Caro, were believers in Kabbalah and should therefore not be accepted as authorities. As against this, many (e.g. Yeshayahu Leibowitz) argue that Caro and the others were operating within the rigorous rules of halachic reasoning and that their conclusions were in no way affected or invalidated by their personal theological views (just as, from the opposite perspective, Maimonides' status as a halachic authority is not affected by his acceptance of Greek philosophy). The Dor Daim reply to this is that Caro specifically allows the Zohar as a (limited and subordinate) source of rulings in Jewish law, so that his code includes practices found in Kabbalistic texts without basis in Talmudic texts. This ignores, however, that Caro was not the first to quote the Zohar as a matter of Jewish Law, as he was preceded by Jacob Ben Judah Landau (d. 1493) author of ''Agur'', who cites the Zohar 3 times in his work.

Practices

Those aspects of Jewish/Talmudic law which Dor Daim may emphasize, be particularly passionate about, and/or consider to have been cast aside by large portions of the Jewish world include:

* laws on 'avodah zarah' (forbidden forms of worship/idolatry) which they hold prohibits any use of intermediaries or mediators between oneself and the One Creator, prohibits praying or making requests to unseen forces such as past Rabbis or Sefirot, or supplicating to any unseen being other than the One Absolute Being - Y/H/W/H, and not doing any specific acts of religious devotion to any thing other than He;
* laws of legislation relating to the function and necessity of the Great Court (the Sanhedrin)
* laws concerning the settlement of the Land of Israel by the People of Israel as elaborated upon in Hilkhoth Melakhim u'Milhamotheham in the ''Mishneh Torah'';
* certain laws concerning kashruth, such as Halita - immersing meat into boiling water before cooking;
* preservation of proper and exact pronunciation of all the Hebrew letters and Hebrew grammar (although there are minute differences even amongst the Dor Daim);
* emphasizing memorization of the Ḥumash (the Torah/Law of Moses); for example, each of the seven individuals called up to read from a Sefer Torah (Torah scroll) reads out loud the particular section of that week's parasha (section) upon which he said a blessing, as opposed to other customs in which there is a single, set reader. (This custom arose from there existing some people who did not know the cantillations by heart, and would be embarrassed to read in public);
* that unmarried females should also wear a head-covering, and not only married women.
* that one should strive to wear a Tallit Gadol and or Tefillin as much as permitted by Talmudic law whenever possible. In various areas of Israel, including Jerusalem, one may see individuals wearing the Tallit Gadol during 'Erev Shabbat' (Friday night) hanging over or wrapped over their shoulders in a manner distinct from the majority custom, when almost no other Jews would be wearing a Tallit Gadol. Even children under 13 can be seen wearing a Tallit Gadol among them.

Dor Daim usually use Yosef Qafiḥ's edition of the Baladi prayer book. This is on the lines of the prayer book of the Maharitz, and therefore contains some Kabbalistic insertions, enabling the book to be used by mainstream Baladi Jews. However, these insertions are clearly marked by footnotes as being later additions. Dor Daim can therefore use this prayer book and simply omit these additions.

Similarities and differences with other groups

Mainstream Baladi Jews

As previously explained, the Baladi/Shami distinction does not always coincide with the Dor Daim/Iqshim distinction. That is, while a Dor Dai is necessarily a Baladi, and a Shami is necessarily an Iqshi (Kabbalist), most Baladim occupy an intermediate point on the spectrum and may or may not accord some validity to Kabbalah.

The distinguishing mark of a Baladi individual or community is the use of the traditional liturgy, regardless of the underlying theological or intellectual orientation. Some Baladim may sympathize to a greater or lesser extent with the Dor Dai distrust of Zoharic and Lurianic Kabbalah. Others may accept the Lurianic version of Kabbalah but retain the ancestral liturgy on the ground that, even according to Luria, this is the Kabbalistically correct thing to do. Others again may have no particular views one way or the other. However, Baladim of all shades uniformly accept the Mishneh Torah rather than the Shulchan Aruch as their authority on Jewish law.

Outwardly the practices of Baladi Jews and Dor Daim are almost identical, apart from some Kabbalistic insertions to be found in the Baladi prayer book. However most Baladim, while holding that the Mishneh Torah is the best interpretation of Jewish law, are content to preserve it as the particular custom of their group and do not seek to delegitimize the customs of other Jewish communities. (How far the Dor Daim seek to do this is a matter of debate.)

Several of the above-listed distinctions between Dor Daim and the majority of world Jewry are shared by all traditional Baladi Yemenite Jews, and not just by Dor Daim. On matters of law and practice as opposed to theology, the only difference between Dor Daim and the rest of Baladi Yemenite Jews appears to be the level of zeal in preserving the above listed practices, although exceptions do exist.

''Talmide ha-Rambam''

Today's ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from the original Dor Daim in two ways.

*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' do not necessarily reject the ''Zohar''. However, their interpretation may differ more or less drastically from the Lurianic school or the currents of thought popularly referred to as "Kabbalah" today.
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' tend to hold that the ''Mishneh Torah''is the best restatement of Talmudic law, and that every custom that diverges from it is logically inferior if not actually illegitimate. On points not explicitly covered by Maimonides, such as the exact mode of prostration during prayers, there is considerable competition to unearth the most authentic mode from among the various Yemenite practices found in recorded history. Dor Daim, by contrast, do retain some current Yemenite practices, even when (according to the ''talmide ha-Rambam'') these diverge from the views of Maimonides (see under Jewish law above). For example, they do not follow Maimonides' recommendation to eliminate all prayers prior to the Kaddish and Shema in order to avoid 'unnecessarily burdening the congregation'.

In short, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are less extreme than Dor Daim about the Zohar and more extreme about "Maimonides-only" jurisprudence. Nevertheless, the similarities between the two groups, as expressed in the list of beliefs and practices above, overwhelmingly outnumber the differences.

Many members of the small and slowly growing Dor Dai community claim a fear of persecution and therefore maintain an almost secret existence. It is very likely that the entire movement of Dor Daim, together with some of their well-known leaders, has helped, and continues to help, fuel the rapidly growing community of ''talmide ha-Rambam''. It is undeniable that, while there are sometimes differences between Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' as a whole—over certain details of practical Jewish law and the issue of the Zohar—the two communities continue to have strong links.

As stated, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from Dor Daim in that they are not confined to the Yemenite community and need not be committed to specifically Yemenite customs. Nonetheless, Yemenite scholarship and practice are still a major resource for them. Two good examples of this are seen in the works of Yosef Qafiḥ and of Mechon-Mamre.org.
*Yosef Qafiḥ has made various contributions to Dor Daim, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' and the Jewish world as a whole. Examples of his contributions include his encyclopedic commentary to the entire ''Mishneh Torah''set to the renowned Yemenite text of the ''Mishneh Torah'', his translation of all of Maimonides' Commentary on the Mishnah from Arabic into modern Hebrew, as well as translations of the Guide for the Perplexed, Duties of the Heart, Sefer Kuzari, and a number of other works.
*Mechon-Mamre.org has produced software for learning the Ḥumash, Tanakh