Biblists

The Biblists, also known as the Bibleitzy and the Spiritual-Bible Brotherhood (Russian: Духовно-библейское братство, romanized: Dukhovnoye-Bibleyskoye Bratstvo) were a sect of Jewish religious reformers in late 19th-century Russia.

The group advocated for radical reform of Jewish economic life, a rejection of the Talmud and other post-Biblical authorities, and the abolition of ritual observances in Judaism.

[1][2] The sect emerged around 1880 among the Jewish working classes of Yelisavetgrad, South Russia, under the leadership of Jacob Gordin, in response to a wave of pogroms in the area.

[4] To this end, the Biblists did way with dogmatic theology and all fast days, holidays, and religious ceremonies, including brit milahs, marriage, and even prayer.

[7]After a long effort, Gordin succeeded in having the sect officially legalized on 12 January 1885; he was permitted to establish a synagogue or a prayer school, and to elect his own rabbi.