The Falashas: The Forgotten Jews of Ethiopia, by David Kessler
Today's date is: 5/12/2025
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The Falashas: The Forgotten Jews of Ethiopia, by David Kessler
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| Falashas had no written records since, they said, they had all been lost or destroyed in the course of their various wars and especially when they opposed the invasion of the Muslims under Ahmad Gran. He was puzzled by the Falashas' ignorance of Hebrew and was not altogether satisfied with their explanation that, having lost all their books, they had forgotten what they once knew. He found that in general they shared their Christian neighbours' beliefs in their early history as related in the Kebra Nagast with a few embellishments of their own. They had confused the Himyarite Jewish king, Dhu Nuwas, whom they called Phineas, with their own leader at the time of Ethiopia's conversion to Christianity and they claimed that their present 'king' was his lineal descendant and belonged to the royal house of Judah. 'The Abyssinians,' says Bruce,'by way of reproach, have called this family Bet Israel, intimating that they were rebels' who had separated from the Solomonic line. (1) This version contrasts with the opinion that the Falashas themselves prefer to be called Bet (or Beta) Israel because they consider the name 'Falasha' has a pejorative meaning, though their use of the term 'Beta Israel' seems to be of recent origin. Today it is adopted by more educated Ethiopian Jews to signify their dislike for the name 'Falasha' and, at the same time, to express their feeling of unity with the State oflsrael and Jews in the rest of the world. The Falashas' skill as craftsmen had been observed by Bruce, who went so far as to remark that 'they carried the art of pottery ... to a degree of perfection scarcely to be imagined'.(2) He also spoke of the lavish decoration of an audience chamber in one of the palaces in Gondar, undertaken shortly before his visit by Greek craftsmen, whose roof'in gaiety and taste, corresponded perfectly with the magnificent finishing of the room. It was the work of the Falasha, and consisted of painted cane, split and disposed in mosaic figures, which produces a gayer effect than it is possible to conceive. (3) During the two and a quarter years that he spent in Abyssinia Bruce had ample opportunity- besides journeying to the source of the Blue Nile, south of Lake Tana - to observe its people and to assess their virtues and vices. His stay coincided with an extremely disturbed period in the country's history when the power of the monarch was declining and that of therases (or barons) was getting out of control. His many adventures are told in his book, 'with a verve and a sense of farce unsurpassed in the literature of (1)Travels, vol. 1, p. 485. |
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