Sima Babovich
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Sima ben Salomon Babovich (Crimean Karaim: Сима Бабович - Sima Babovich, Russian: Сима Соломонович Бабович) (1790-1855) was a Hakham of the Crimean Karaites, one of the early figures in the Karaim nationalist movement.
He used his influence with Czarist authorities to obtain an exemption for the Karaites of Russia from military service, which continued to be compulsory for Rabbinic Jews in Russia and Soviet Union Jews. The Karaims of Eupatoria commemorated this event every year by an annual special prayer in his honor.
He and his descendants were prominent leaders in Crimean Karaite affairs. His agitation gained recognition from the Russian government of the Karaites as a separate religious community in 1837. He was a close associate of Avraham Firkovich, who accompanied him on his visit to the Holy Land in 1830. It was Babovich who asked Firkovich to assemble material detailing the history, origin and customs of the Karaims, in response to a request from the Russian government. In 1840 the Karaims were granted the status of an independent Church, putting them on par legally with Muslims and giving them rights far in advance of other Jews. The Russian government made Babovich the hakham of the Crimean Karaite "diocese", based in Theodosia. In that capacity, he officially adopted the 19-year calendar cycle used by the rabbis.
