מסיני לאתיופיה, הקדמה, יהדות אתיופיה; תיאור היסטוריFrom Sinai to Ethiopia, Introduction, A Short History of Ethiopian Jewry
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1A Short History of Ethiopian Jewry
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2Overview
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3A number of theories have been proposed regarding the origin of the Ethiopian Jews:
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4A legend known among Ethiopian Jewry relates that the marriage of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba produced a son named Menelik. When the Queen of Sheba returned to her country with the boy, the king decided to send the firstborn sons of Israel to accompany her. When they arrived in Sheba, her escorts decided to remain there. According to this legend, the Ethiopian Jews are indeed Jews.122Kebra nagst [Glory of kings], early fourteenth century. See also Rabbi Kashani, Ha-Falashim: Korot, mesorot, minhagim [The Falashas: History, traditions, customs] (Jerusalem, 5736/1976).
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5The Ethiopian Jews are the descendants of the tribe of Dan from the Ten Lost Tribes. They wandered to Ethiopia from the tenth century BCE until the destruction of the Second Temple.123Waldman, Me-ever la-Nahar Cush.
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6The Ethiopian Jews are the descendants of Jews who emigrated from Egypt from the seventh century BCE to the second century CE.124Eshkoli, Ha-halakhah ve-ha-minhag, note 8.
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7The Ethiopian Jews are descended from Jews who emigrated from southern Arabia (Yemen) between the second century CE and the war between Ethiopian Christian king Kaleb and Yemenite king Joseph Dhu-Nuwas, a convert to Judaism, in the sixth century CE.125Ibid.
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8The Ethiopian Jews are descendants of the Agaw tribe, which converted or adopted a unique form of Judaism in the fifteenth century CE.126Here we note that in their external appearance, particularly their facial features, the Ethiopian Jews mostly resemble the local residents. However, sometimes we may identify differences in skin color and in the facial features, which may be similar to those of the Yemenite and Cuchin Jews (Eshkoli, note 4).
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9The Falashas appeared as a separate group between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries.127S. Kaplan, “Al temurot be-heker Yehadut Etiopiah” [Changes in the study of Ethiopian Jewry], Pa’amim 58.
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10“The Jews had several periods of immigration to Habash, and did not arrive there all at once, The Jews there came mainly from Egypt, and they were later joined by their brothers who came from the west. Over time, these Jews intermingled with the Agaws. The Falashas were citizens of a free Jewish state until the seventeenth century.”128Eshkoli, Ha-halakhah ve-ha-minhag.
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11Timeline
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125th–6th centuries – Translation of the Tanakh from the Septuagint into Ge’ez. The Orit has words in Hebrew and in Judeo-Aramaic.
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139th century – Eldad ha-Dani (“the Danite”) appears in Kairouan, Tunisia (about 180 kilometers south of Tunis, the capital city). He claims he is from Ethiopia, and relates that Jewish communities exist there. His stories about the dispersed tribes and the Sambatyon River rely partially on ancient sources, descriptions in the Bible and midrashic material, but he also gives descriptions that have no parallels in rabbinic literature. Rabbi Zemach Gaon accepts ha-Dani’s statements in principle, and considers him a member of the tribes of Israel who preserve the ancient tradition of the Oral Torah. But most people do not believe ha-Dani’s stories, and consider him a fraud.129Waldman, Me-ever la-Nahar Cush. Regardless of the truth of his statements, they ignite the hopes of many Jews, who believe that the tribes of Israel have been found. His story has more significant influence in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when other rumors and evidence of Jews in Ethiopia appear. At that time, Eldad ha-Dani’s assertions serve as an inspiration for the search for the tribes of Israel and their kingdom.
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1410th–16th centuries – Between the responsa of Rabbi Zemach Gaon in the tenth century and that of the Ridbaz in the sixteenth century, the rabbis are silent on the status of Ethiopian Jewry.
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151270–1632 – Period of anti-Semitic persecution in the Seamen and Wegera districts of Ethiopia. Heavy pressure is placed on “those behaving like Jews” for them to convert or be killed. In response, the Jews adopt the ascetic practices of their neighbors. In addition, the rights of Jewish landowners are annulled. The Jews who are expelled from their lands are forced to change their trades, and they become builders, ironworkers, carpenters, and weavers. Following the expulsion, they are given the derogatory name Falasha, meaning “intruders” or “foreigners.”130Kaplan, “Historiyah ketzarah shel Yehudei Etiopiah,” 11–16.
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16Letter of Rabbi Eliyahu of Ferrara – In the fifteenth century, Rabbi Eliyahu, a respected Torah scholar from Italy, makes aliyah to Eretz Yisrael, passing through Egypt along the way. After a tortuous journey, he finally reaches Jerusalem on 26 Iyyar 5196 (May 1, 1437). He makes a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and in parallel tries to verify rumors that had reached Italy about the Ten Tribes overcoming their enemies. Below is his description of the Jews of Habash and the Ten Tribes:
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17I think I have already told you what a young Jewish man told me about the residents of his area, who are their own masters and not subservient to others. They are surrounded by a great nation called Hubash [sic] . . . These Hebrews have their own language, which is not Hebrew or Arabic. They have the Torah and an oral commentary, but they do not have the Talmud or our poskim. I studied several of their mitzvot, and found that some follow our opinion while others follow the opinion of the Karaites. They have the Scroll of Esther but not Hanukkah. They are a distance of three months away from us, and the River Gozen runs through their land.131Waldman, Me-ever la-Nahar Cush.
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181488 – Rabbi Ovadia of Bartenura, commentator on the Mishnah, travels from Italy to Eretz Yisrael. On the way he meets two Ethiopian Jews, whom he describes as follows:
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19I saw two of them, almost black but not like the Cushites, and I could not tell what they were, or whether they observed the Karaite law. . . . They said they were related to the tribe of Dan. They said that most of the pepper and the spices that the Cushites sell come from their land. I saw this with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears. However, the two men did not know the holy language [well], only a tiny bit, and their Arabic was barely comprehensible to the residents of Eretz Yisrael.132Ibid.
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2015th–16th centuries – The Ridbaz (Rabbi David ben Zimra, 1479–1573), chief rabbi of the Egyptian community and considered one of the great poskim, writes a halakhic response about the community’s status:
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21Those Habishish [sic] who live in the land of Cush follow the religion of the Karaites, who are Sadducees and Boethusians, and we are not commanded to redeem them or to save them. In any case, it seems to me that those who live among the rabbis and observe what the sages do but insult and ridicule them, of these and their likes it is said, “We lower them [into a pit in order to cause their death] but do not raise them up” (Babylonian Talmud, Avodah Zarah 26b). They are the accursed group that the Rambam mentions. But those who come from the Land of Cush are undoubtedly from the tribe of Dan, and because there were no sages among them who had received the Oral Law, they followed the simple meaning of the texts. If they had studied [the Oral Law], then they would not have denied the decrees of our rabbis. They are like “captured infants” who lived among the idol worshippers. Know that the Sadducees and the Boethusians lived in Second Temple times, while the tribe of Dan was exiled previously. One might question whether redeeming them is a mitzvah. But regarding their genealogy, I doubt the validity of their marriages, and their divorce contracts do not follow the laws of the sages, as they know nothing about the nature of divorce and marriage contracts.133Ibid.
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22Shlomo Molcho (1500–1532)134Born in Portugal, he was an outstanding personality and kabbalist who wrote about the redemption of Israel. – He believes that the Jews of Cush are the people who will realize redemption for the Jewish people:
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23Regarding the verse, “Woe to the land [shaded by wings, which is on the other side of the rivers of Cush]” (Isaiah 18:1), this means, Woe will come to the land of the foreign nations, as in the verse, “For the day of the Lord over all the nations is near” (Obediah 1:15). When will this take place? When the boats arrive with a great uproar from Ethiopia, beyond the River Cush, they will take revenge against the Christian nation and save the remaining tribes from Christian slavery, and those Jews will bring about redemption. Thank God, this day of our redemption is near, in fulfillment of what is written about the war of God, who will throw arrows at the foreign nations that fought with His children, and bring distress upon them. They will battle among themselves, as the verse says, “One against his brother, and everyone against his neighbor, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of Egypt shall be made empty within it; and I will make void the counsel thereof . . . ” (Isaiah 19:2–3).135Waldman, Me-ever la-Nahar Cush.
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24War and adaptation (1270–1632) – Emperor Amda Seyon (“Pillar of Zion,” 1314–1344) sends soldiers to fight local enemies in the district where Jews lived. The motivation for the war is political and cultural, but not religious. These wars and battles between the Ethiopian kings and the Jews provoke a social change among the Beta Israel. The Christian king Isaac (1413–1430) leads his soldiers in a war against the Beta Israel. After he defeats them, he forces them to convert to Christianity. Whoever does not do so can lose his land. The Jews adapt to Christian culture, found an ascetic institution (fifteenth century), and practice new purification customs such as attenkun (“Do not touch me” – see below). In addition, they are forced to work in low-status professions such as pottery-making, iron-working, weaving, and construction.136Kaplan, “Historiyah ketzarah shel Yehudei Etiopiah.”
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25Gondar Period, 1632–1769 – Zemene Mesafnt (Period of the Judges). During this period, the political center of the kingdom begins to migrate to the Gondar region. The Jews who were expelled from their lands are forced to participate in the construction of fortifications and churches in the new capital of Gondar. In recognition of the women of Beta Israel, who are known for their talents in preparing dyes and decorative items, the Jews are again granted land, and their general status improves.137Ibid.
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26Period of the Princes (1755–1855) – After the murder of Emperor Iyo’as in 1769, an extended period of unstable rule begins, and the power of local military leaders grows. Beta Israel loses all the economic, social, and religious advantages they had achieved during the Gondar period. This period is a difficult one in the religious life of Beta Israel, and according to tradition, they are unable to practice religious rituals for forty years.138Ibid.
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271855 – Daniel ben Hananiah, an Ethiopian Jew, visits Eretz Yisrael for the first time, and meets with leading rabbis in Jerusalem. The leaders of the community give him a letter addressed to the Beta Israel (cited above in “Toward an Ethiopian Jewish Halakhah: Unity or Uniformity?”).
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281862 – The first Ethiopian Zionist, Abba Mahari (discussed above in “The Evolution of Ethiopian Jewish Custom: Zionism Comes to Ethiopia”), an ascetic and leader of the Ethiopian Jewish community, attempts to make aliyah to Jerusalem with many members of the community. The journey fails, and many perish along the way.139Ben-Dor, “Ha-masa le-ever Eretz Yisrael: Ha-sippur al Abba Mahari.”
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291864 – Protestant Christian missionaries are active among the Ethiopian Jews. Leading rabbis of Europe make a public call to use all possible ways to save the Ethiopian Jews. The Jews who converted to Christianity are known today as “Falashmura.” I have heard two explanations for this. First, Falashi + mumar (“converted”) = Falashmura. Second, the converts settled in a place called Falashmura, and are named after this location.140M. Eliav, “Hitorerut shel Yehudei Eiropah le-ezrat ha-Falashim” [The awakening of European Jewry to aid the Falashas], Tarbiz 35 (5727/1967). Yet Avraham Yardai has noted that in fact conversion to Christianity was completely unknown in that area.
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301864 – Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer is one of the first to take practical action, during his tenure as rabbi of the Austro-Hungarian community of Eisenstadt. In his letter to Rabbi Shai Rappaport, rabbi of Prague, dated Shushan Purim 5624/1864, he states that “the desire to do good for my people burns within me. My heart says that I must take this holy burden upon my shoulders, formulate my intentions, implement this plan, reflect, and make a beginning, and that I must lead this great event.” He sends letters to Jewish leaders to encourage them to participate in the rescue efforts, concluding his letters with the words of the Sages: “Whoever saves one Jewish soul, it is as if he saved an entire world.” Six months later, on 11 Tishrei 5625/1865, he makes a “public appeal to all our fellow Jews,” which is published in the major Jewish publications.141Waldman, Me-ever la-Nahar Cush, 138–47.
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311865 – Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalischer addresses a letter to Rabbi Hildesheimer, Rabbi Kalischer expresses his support:
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32“As often as I speak of him, I do earnestly remember” (Jeremiah 31:19) that he has done very well . . . on the issue of the Falashas, to arouse the spirit of our fellow Jews, to teach the wayward knowledge of how they should worship the Lord, our God, according to the holy Written Torah and the Oral Torah, and to preserve them from straying into the ways of the inciters, the missionaries, God forbid. This is certainly a great mitzvah. . . . We must act on behalf of these souls, to grant knowledge to the ignorant among the people in distant lands, to bring them under the shadow of the Divine, and to prevent the hunters from snaring their human prey.
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33Further in his letter, Rabbi Kalischer makes practical proposals for action. In Germany in 1864, Rabbi Marcus (Meyer) Lehmann’s Yiddish publication Der Israelit142Major publication of Orthodox Jewry in Germany in the 1860s. nominated prominent rabbis as candidates for the central committee for rescue operations – the nominees include Rabbi Nathan Adler, chief rabbi of England; Rabbi Solomon Ullman, chief rabbi of France; Rabbi Jacob Ettlinger, chief rabbi of Altona; Rabbi Yitzhak Dov (Seligman Baer) Halevi Bamberger of Wurzburg; and Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch of Frankfurt.143Ibid.
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341867 – Professor Yosef Halevi is sent to verify the rumor of Jews living in Habash. He is deeply moved by the encounter with the Jews of Ethiopia, but they refuse to believe he is a Jew. Below is Halevi’s description of his attempt to convince them:
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35You should know, dear brothers, that I am also a Falashi, I am one of you! I believe in no other God but the one God Himself, and my religion is none other but the heritage of the Jewish people from Mount Sinai. . . . Finally the masses called out together, “You are a Falashi! A Falashi with white skin! You are mocking us! Who has ever heard or seen such a thing? Are there white Falashas under the sun?” I tried to tell them and to pledge on my faith that all the Falashas in Jerusalem and in the other countries of the world were white, and that their skin was no different from that of the other peoples among whom they lived. My mention of the word “Jerusalem,” which I uttered coincidentally, immediately annulled any doubt the Falashas may have had regarding my words. Like lightning in the dark of night, the word “Jerusalem” lit up the eyes and hearts of my lost brothers. With eyes full of tears, they cried, “Ah, have you also visited Jerusalem the holy, blessed city? Have you seen the beautiful Mount Zion with your own eyes, and our magnificently built Temple, the admired and exalted palace in which the God of Israel loves to dwell in honor within? Ah, have you perhaps seen with your own eyes the grave of our foremother Rachel? Have you been in Bethlehem and in the city of Hebron, where our holy forefathers are buried?144Ibid.
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361879 – Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Mikhel Weiser (the Malbim), rabbi and theologian born in the Ukraine. While in Paris, the Malbim writes a letter to the heads of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, recommending that Professor Yosef Halevi, a European Jewish Orientalist, lead the rescue mission, calling it “a mitzvah mission.” In his words to one of the organization’s directors, he says that in his opinion, the Falashas are undoubtedly of Jewish origin, and that the Diaspora Jews should work to rescue them.
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371888–1892 – Kfu Ken (The Terrible Days). Drought, cattle plagues, and invasion of the Darvish people of Sudan. Up to two thirds of the Beta Israel community dies in the plagues. As the great kes Abba Yitzhak reported to a researcher, “In the beginning, people refused to eat the meat of the cattle that had died in the plague. Not long afterward, they were fighting to eat its skin.”145Erlich et al., Etiopiah, Natzrut, Islam, ve-Yehadut.
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381896 – The Karaite community in St. Petersburg, Russia, buzzes with excitement on hearing rumors of Jews who do not follow the Talmud, and sends an expressive letter to the spiritual leaders of Beta Israel (cited above in “In the State of Israel: Rebuilding after the Destruction; From Biblical to Talmudic Template”).146Waldman, Me-ever la-Nahar Cush, 168–71.
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391904 – Dr. Jacques Noah Faitlovitch, a historian and student of Professor Yosef Halevi, visits the Jews in Ethiopia and develops a strong attachment to the community. He confirms the view that Beta Israel is an entirely Jewish community, and through various means, informs world Jewry of their existence.147Waldman, Me-ever la-Nahar Cush.
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401913 – Dr. Faitlovitch establishes a Jewish school in Gondar province.148Ibid.
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411923 – A second Jewish school is founded in the capital of Addis Ababa. Emmanuel Tamrat, a member of the community, is appointed principal of the school.149Ibid.
מ״ב
42Early 20th century – Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Hacohen Kook – As part of his work to aid the Falashas, Rabbi Samuel Hirsch Margulies (1858–1932), rabbi of the Jews of Firenze, Italy, contacted rabbis and leaders in the Jewish world. Beginning in 5672/1912, we find correspondence between him and Rabbi Kook, who was in Jaffa. In his replies, Rabbi Kook writes profusely and warmly about the magnitude of the mitzvah involved: “With all my being, I wish to encourage those performing this mitzvah of supporting them in all their needs and working for the eternal good of our distant brothers. The Rock of Israel in His mercy has awakened the hearts of these remnants, pure souls of this generation. We must work to remedy them and save them from the grave of extinction.”150Iggerot Ha-Re’ayah, part 2:432. In 5682/1922, before Faitlovitch sets out on another publicity campaign in Europe and America, he asks Rabbi Kook for a letter of recommendation. Rabbi Kook, then chief rabbi of Eretz Yisrael, gives him a letter entitled “Public call to our fellow Jews everywhere!” After describing the miserable condition of this distant tribe and Faitlovitch’s activity, Rabbi Kook concludes:
מ״ג
43Fellow Jews, save our brothers the Falashas from extinction and assimilation! Help bring back these exiled brothers! No tribe of Israel shall be wiped out from under God’s heavens. Return our exiles to their fortifications; save fifty thousand holy souls of Israel from annihilation. Grant strength and courage to the building of our people and reinforce our strength. The Rock of Israel will arise with the help of Israel. Gather our exiles from the four corners of the earth, and let them come and rejoice on Zion’s heights, and “worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem” (Isaiah 27:13).
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44Rabbi Kook signs this letter alongside his colleague, the Sephardic chief rabbi of Palestine and Rishon Le-Zion, Rabbi Ya’akov Meir.151Waldman, Me-ever la-Nahar Cush.
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451936–1941 – The Italian army occupies Ethiopia. War and destruction leads to the cessation of Jewish activity for several years.
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461941 – The Italian army retreats and Emperor Haile Selassie returns to Ethiopia. The situation of the Jews improves and Jewish activity is renewed.
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471954 – President Yitzhak Ben Zvi of Israel asks Emperor Haile Selassie to permit several young Jews to visit Israel.
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481956 – The first Jewish boarding school is established by Jacques Faitlovitch. The director is community member Yona Bogale.
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491956 – Two groups of young men and women from the community visit Israel in secret in order to learn Hebrew and serve as Hebrew teachers in villages in Ethiopia.
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501973 – Based on the halakhic decision of Rabbi David ben Zimra, Chief Sephardic Rabbi Ovadia Israel determines that Ethiopian Jews are Jews according to halakhah.
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511975 – The Israeli Knesset decides that the Law of Return applies to Ethiopian Jewry. The significance of this decision is that Ethiopian Jews can make aliyah to Israel as Jews, with no need for immigration permits or visas.
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521977 – Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin instructs the heads of the Israel Security Agency and the Mossad: “Bring me the Ethiopian Jews.” The Mossad strikes a deal with Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam – arms for Jews. The first 120 Jews reach Israel, including kes Brhan Baruch.
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531978 – Following media reports that Israel was supplying weapons to Ethiopia in exchange for Jews, Mengistu decides to cancel the deal due to pressure from Arab states.
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541979 – The Mossad decides to bring the Jews to Israel through Sudan, and many Jews begin to walk in the direction of Sudan. The Mossad makes secret contact with community leader Fereda Aklum, and soon after, aliyah operations begin.
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55By 1984, some 8000 Jews have been brought to Israel – by sea, in Operation Bat Galim of the navy’s commando unit, and by air, with Hercules transport planes landing in improvised airfields.
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56November 1984–January 1985 – Operation Moses. In a secret agreement signed between the Sudanese president and the Israeli government, six thousand Jews are brought to Israel.
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57March 1984 – Operation Queen of Sheba. Five hundred Jews are brought to Israel in Hercules transport planes of the US military.
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581985 – The immigration and absorption of the Jews brought to Israel in Operation Moses leads to a renewed examination of the halakhic status of the Beta Israel. The Chief Rabbinic Council of Israel decides that “the Ethiopian Jews are Jews from the tribe of Dan.” However, due to doubts in the wake of their disconnection from the rest of the Jewish people for hundreds of years, the Chief Rabbinate rules that the Ethiopians must undergo giyyur le-humrah, precautionary conversions, requiring circumcision, immersion in a mikveh, and acceptance of the mitzvot, in order to remove all doubts about the status of the Ethiopian Jews. In any case, the rabbinate declares, “It is a mitzvah to save them from annihilation and danger, as for any Jew . . . and we must help and support them in all their daily needs, both material and spiritual.”
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59By 1990, the Mossad has carried out additional secret operations, bringing the total number of Ethiopian Jews brought to Israel to seventeen thousand.
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60May 1991 – Operation Solomon. Under an agreement signed with Ethiopian dictator Mengistu, a mass exodus is authorized in exchange for 35 million dollars. In forty-eight hours, fifteen thousand Jews are brought to Israel from Addis Ababa in an unprecedented operation.
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61With Operation Solomon, the story of the aliyah of Ethiopian Jewry ends. But with this arises the problem of the Falashmura, which is still ongoing. Initially denied aliyah due to their status as Christian breakaways from the original Beta Israel community, the Falashmura gathered in Addis during Operation Solomon in the hopes of being allowed to go to Israel with their Beta Israel brethren. Since Operation Solomon, groups of Falashmura have periodically been allowed to make aliyah on the basis of family reunification. For years large numbers of Falashmura have been gathered primarily in a transit camp in Gondar, in very difficult conditions, waiting for a decision on their aliyah status. Concluding in 2013, Operation Dove’s Wings brought to Israel nearly eight thousand additional Falashmura, and the government of Israel declared the matter closed, but there are still thousands more who feel connected to the Jewish people, have family in Israel, and long to make aliyah. There is an urgent need for the Israeli government to address the plight of the Falashmura, via private organizations in the first stage, while in the second stage, the government must establish a government committee made up of representatives of various groups (kesim, rabbis, Knesset members, activists, researchers, and representatives of the government of Ethiopia) to finally find a definitive and complete solution.152For more information on the situation of the Falashmura, see Mitchell Bard, “Ethiopian Jewry:The Falash Mura,” Jewish Virtual Library, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/falashmura.html, and Michal Shmulovich, “The Last of the Falash Mura?” The Times of Israel, August 26, 2013, http://www.timesofisrael.com/the-last-of-the-falash-mura. For more information on all the historical events described in this timeline, see the following: Waldman, Me-ever la-Nahar Cush; Erlich et al., Etiopiah, Natzrut, Islam, ve-Yehadut; Wurmbrand, Sefer mitzvot ha-Shabbat shel Beta Israel. See also Michael Corinaldi, Yehadut Etiopiah – zehut u-masoret; S. Kaplan, “Historiyah ketzarah shel Yehudei Etiopiah”; Azrieli and Meizlisch, Ha-mesimah Etiopiah.
