The Falashas: The Forgotten Jews of Ethiopia, by David Kessler
Today's date is: 5/12/2025
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| 67 observe the prohibition on marriage with non-Jews, for the Torah, the Law, contains no such restriction, though the Book of Jubilees is very severe on the subject. Indeed, the Old Testament contains many examples of national leaders who contracted such unions, including such eminent figures as Abraham, Jacob and Moses or kings like David and Solomon. Among the Falashas the story of Ruth has been one of the best loved in the Bible for, like her Jewish husband Boaz, they were prepared to welcome the stranger who accepted their religion: 'thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.'(1) Ruth was additionally popular because, as the ancestress of Solomon, she occupied an important place in both Jewish and Ethiopian tradition. Intermarriage between Falashas, and their neighbours has, indeed, been one of the main stumbling-blocks obstructing their recognition by the orthodox Jewish community. It was not until 1973 when Ovadia Y osef, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, declared that the Falashas belong to the tribe of Dan that official recognition was given to their status as Jews. Once the religious authorities had relented the government of Israel had no logical reason for withholding recognition since racial distinction plays no part in Israel's constitution. The strictness with which the Falashas have been accustomed to observe the tenets of their faith would surprise the most orthodox western Jew. While they adhere tenaciously to the precepts of the five books of Moses they also recognise the whole of the rest of the Old Testament and acknowledge a number of Apocryphal and pseudepigraphic books such as Tobit, Judith, the Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus), the two books of Maccabees, the Book of Baruch and the books of Enoch and Jubilees. The latter book, dating from the mid-second century BC, of which the most complete version is the Ethiopic text translated from Greek, has exerted a particularly strong influence on the Falashas. Its impact on their religion deserves closer attention than it has hitherto received for much of their ritual and their calendar are based upon it. (2) The influence exerted by the Book of Jubilees bears some resemblance to the position it occupied among the Essenian sect of Qumran. Both communities followed this book in adopting a solar calendar in opposition to the traditional lunar calendar used by the Jewish hierarchy at Jerusalem. Contact with western Jews and the increasing impact of (1) Ruth 1:16. |