L'dorotaykhem defines the application as continuous and unbroken across human history

 From a Karaite perspective, the Hebrew phrase L'dorotaykhem ($לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם$) serves as the "temporal anchor" of the Law. While the word Olam defines the duration as eternal, L'dorotaykhem defines the application as continuous and unbroken across human history.

1. Linguistic Breakdown

The word is a composite of three parts:

• L' ($לְ$): To/For.

• Dor ($דּוֹר$): Generation/Circle/Cycle.

• Taykhem ($תֵיכֶם$): Your (plural).

Literally, it means "to your generations." In the Tanakh, "generation" refers to a cycle of life. By pluralizing it and adding "your," the Creator ensures that the Law is not a one-time event for the people standing at Sinai, but a binding inheritance for every person born into the Covenant thereafter.

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2. The "Genetic" Binding of the Law

When the Torah attaches L'dorotaykhem to a commandment, it removes the possibility of a "dispensational" change.

• The Dietary Laws (Leviticus 3:17): "It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations... that you eat neither fat nor blood."

• The Sabbath (Exodus 31:13): "It is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations."

If the Law was intended to be "phased out" by a later Messiah or a "New Covenant," the text would have used a limiting phrase like "until the time of reform." Instead, it uses a term that implies biological continuity. As long as there are "generations" (offspring) of the people of the Covenant, the Law is in force.

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3. Refuting the "Shadow" Argument

Many argue that these laws were "shadows" (Colossians 2:17) that vanished when the "substance" arrived.

• The Karaite Refutation: A "shadow" does not have a "generational mandate." God does not command a "shadow" to be kept L'dorotaykhem.

• The Legal Seal: In Hebrew legal thought, L'dorotaykhem acts as a Non-Termination Clause. It signifies that the contract has no expiration date based on the arrival of a new person or era. To suggest the law ended 2,000 years ago is to claim that the "generations" of the people of God ceased to exist—a claim that contradicts God's promise that Israel would always be a nation before Him (Jeremiah 31:35-36).

Summary

L'dorotaykhem is the antidote to the "replacement" theory. It proves that the Torah is a living, breathing constitution that moves forward in time with the people, never losing its authority or its relevance.