Haymanot

Haymanot
	Kahen holding the Torah scrolls in the synagogue of Gondar
Regions with significant populations
Ethiopia
Israel
Scriptures
	Mäṣḥafä Kedus
Languages
	Geʽez, Amharic, Hebrew

Haymanot (Ge'ez: ሃይማኖት) is the branch of Judaism which is practiced by the Beta Israel, also known as Ethiopian Jews.

In Geʽez, Tigrinya and Amharic, Haymanot means 'religion' or 'faith'. Thus in modern Amharic and Tigrinya, it is common to speak of the Christian haymanot, the Jewish haymanot or the Muslim haymanot. In Israel, the term is only associated with Judaism.

Religious leaders

Nabiyy "prophet", related to the Arabic and Hebrew words nabī and naví respectively, used in Jewish and Islamic writing to refer to prophets.
Hakhem - A wise man, who is skilful in Torah study, and can be an intermediary in the community for religious dispute, similar to a Chacham.
Kahen or Kes "priest", spiritual leader, similar to a Kohen and analogous to a rabbi
Monkosa "monk", related to the Greek word monakhós, which means "alone, solitary".
Liqa Kahnet, "High Priest", literal translation- at the top of the Kahanim
Debtera, itinerant holy man
Shemagle, elder

Texts

Mäṣḥafä Kedus (Holy Scriptures) is the name for the religious literature. The language of the writings is Geʽez. The Beta Israel lack a firm distinction between "canonical" and "non-canonical" religious texts.^[1] The religious texts of the Beta Israel include:

The Orit (from Imperial Aramaic: אורייה, romanized: ˀorāytā, lit. 'written law, Torah'), which consists of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) as well as the books of Joshua, Judges and Ruth.
The Five Books of Solomon: Mesályata Salomon (Proverbs 1–24), Tagsásá Salomon (Proverbs 25–31), Ecclesiastes, Wisdom of Solomon, and Song of Songs.
Other biblical and apocryphal books include: the Books of Samuel, the Books of Kings, The Minor Prophets, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah^{[nb 1]}, Ezekiel, Daniel, Job, Sirach, Esther, Judith, Tobit, the Books of Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras, the Books of Meqabyan, Jubilees, and Enoch.
Unique apocryphal writings include: The Testaments of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Aaron^{[nb 2]}, Nagara Muse (The Conversation of Moses), Te'ezaza Sanbat (Commandments of the Sabbath), Arde'et (Disciples), Gorgoryos (Apocalypse of Gorgorios), Barok (Apocalypse of Baruch) Mäṣḥafä Sa'atat (Book of Hours), fālasfā (Philosophers), Abba Eliyas (Father Elijah), Mäṣḥafä Mäla'əkt (Book of the Angels), Dərsanä Abrəham Wäsara Bägabs (Homily on Abraham and Sarah in Egypt), Gadla Sosna (The Story of Susanna) and Baqadāmi Gabra Egzi'abḥēr (In the Beginning God Created).^[1]

In contrast to mainstream Rabbinite Jews, adherents of Haymanot Judaism do not believe in Oral Law, nor in the codified Talmud.^[3]^[4]

Prayer house

The synagogue is called bet maqds (Holy house) or masgid or ṣalot bet (Prayer house).

Modern Synagogue in the city of Netivot in Israel
Kahen reading from the Orit
Kahen delivering a lecture in Gondar, 1921
Kahen leading a prayer.

Dietary laws

Dietary laws are based mainly on Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Jubilees. Permitted and forbidden animals and their signs appear on Leviticus 11:3–11:8 and Deuteronomy 14:4–14:8. Forbidden birds are listed on Leviticus 11:13–11:23 and Deuteronomy 14:12–14:20. Signs of permitted fish are written on Leviticus 11:9–11:12 and Deuteronomy 14:9–14:10. Insects and larvae are forbidden according to Leviticus 11:41–11:42. Birds of prey are forbidden according to Leviticus 11:13–11:19. Gid hanasheh is forbidden per Genesis 32:33. Mixtures of milk and meat are not prepared or eaten but are not banned either: Haymanot interpreted the verses Exodus 23:19, Exodus 34:26 and Deuteronomy 14:21 literally "shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk" (like the Karaites). Nowadays, under Rabbinic influence, mixing dairy products with meat is banned.

Ethiopian Jews were forbidden to eat the food of non-Jews. A Kes (priest) eats only meat he has slaughtered himself, which his hosts then prepare both for him and themselves. Beta Israel who broke these taboos were ostracized and had to undergo a purification process. Purification included fasting for one or more days, eating only uncooked chickpeas provided by the Kes, and ritual purification before entering the village. Unlike other Ethiopians, the Beta Israel do not eat raw meat dishes like kitfo or gored gored.^[5]

Calendar and holidays

The Beta Israel calendar is a lunar calendar of 12 months, each 29 or 30 days alternately. Every four years there has been a leap year which added a full month (30 days). The calendar is a combination of the ancient calendar of Alexandria Jewry, Book of Jubilees, Book of Enoch, Abu Shaker and the Geʽez calendar.^[6] The years are counted according to the Counting of Kushta "1571 to Jesus Christ, 7071 to the Gyptians and 6642 to the Hebrews",^[7] according to this counting the year 5782 (Hebrew: ה'תשע"א) in the Rabbinical Hebrew calendar is the year 7082 in this calendar.

Holidays in the Haymanot ^[8] divided into daily, monthly and annually. The annual holiday by month are:

Nisan: ba'āl lisan (Nisan holiday – New Year) on 1, ṣomä fāsikā (Passover fast) on 14, fāsikā (Passover) between 15 – 21 and gadfat (grow fat) or buho (fermented dough) on 22.
Iyar: another fāsikā (Second Passover – Pesach Sheni) between 15 – 21.
Sivan: ṣomä mã'rar (Harvest fast) on 11 and mã'rar (Harvest – Shavuot) on 12.
Tammuz: ṣomä tomos (Tammuz fast) between 1 – 10.
Av: ṣomä ab (Av fast) between 1 – 17.
Seventh Sabbath: fixed as the fourth Sabbath of the fifth month.^[9]
Elul: awd amet (Year rotate) on 1, ṣomä lul (Elul fast) between 1 – 9, anākel astar'i (our atonement) on 10 and asartu wasamantu (eighteenth) on 28.
Tishrei: ba'āl Matqe (blowing holiday – Zikhron Trua) on 1, astasreyo (Day of Atonement – Yom Kippur) on 10 and ba'āla maṣallat (Tabernacles holiday – Sukkot) between 15 – 21.
Cheshvan: holiday for the day Moses saw the face of God on 1, holiday for the reception of Moses by the Israelites on 10, fast on 12 and měhlělla (Supplication – Sigd) on 29.
Kislev: another ṣomä mã'rar and mã'rar on 11 and 12 respectively.
Tevet: ṣomä tibt (Tevet fast) between 1 – 10.
Shevat: wamashi brobu on 1.
Adar: ṣomä astēr (Fast of Esther – Ta'anit Ester) between 11 – 13.

Monthly holidays are mainly memorial days to the annual holiday, these are yačaraqā ba'āl ("new moon festival") ^[10] on the first day of every month, asärt ("ten") on the tenth day to commemorate Yom Kippur, 'asrã hulat ("twelve") on the twelfth day to commemorate Shavuot, asrã ammest ("fifteen") on the fifteenth day to commemorate Passover and Sukkot, and ṣomä mälěya a fast on the last day of every month.^[11] Daily holidays include the ṣomä säňňo (Monday fast), ṣomä amus (Thursday fast), ṣomä 'arb (Friday fast) and the very holy Sanbat (Sabbath).

Monasticism

The Beta Israel of Ethiopia were the only modern Jewish group with a monastic tradition where the monks, titled as Abba, lived separated from the Jewish villages in monasteries, however, only partial groups lived as Beta Israel and wasn't practiced by the entire community, moreover it was a respected title used to honour elders. This collective monastic tradition existed until the middle of the 20th century.^[12]^[13]^[14]

Scholarly views

By 1994, modern scholars of Ethiopian history and Ethiopian Jews generally supported one of two conflicting hypotheses for the origin of the Beta Israel, as outlined by Kaplan:

An ancient Jewish origin, together with conservation of some ancient Jewish traditions. Kaplan identifies Simon D. Messing, David Shlush, Michael Corinaldi, Menachem Waldman, Menachem Elon and David Kessler as supporters of this hypothesis.

Some Ethiopian Jewish practices disagree with rabbinic practice but do match the practices of late Second Temple sects, suggesting that Ethiopian Jews may possess a tradition from ancient Jewish groups whose beliefs have become extinct elsewhere.^{[according to whom?]}

Notes

^ The Ethiopian Book of Jeremiah, which is shared with the Beta Israel,^[2] also includes the Book of Baruch and the Rest of the Words of Baruch (which itself contains the Book of Lamentations, the Letter of Jeremiah, and the Paralipomena of Baruch).
^ The "Testament of Moses" (Gadla Musé) and the "Testament of Aaron" (Gadla Aron) are also known as the "Death of Moses" (Motá Musé) and the "Death of Aaron" (Motá Aron).

References

^ ^a ^b Kaplan, Steven (1999). "The Literature of the Beta Israel (Falasha): A Survey of a Biblical-Hebraic Tradition". Xristianskij Vostok. 1 (7): 99–123.
^ Leslau, Wolf (1951). Falasha Anthology. Yale Judaica Series. Vol. 6. New Haven & London: Yale University Press. p. xxviii. ISBN 0-300-03927-1. The Torah (orit) is written in Geez... The name applies not only to the Pentateuch but to the entire Old Testament, and the text is identical with that of the Christian Ethiopians. [V]arious apocrypha and pseudepigrapha such as... the Paralipomena of Baruch... are included.
^ Ehrlich, Mark Avrum (2009). Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture, Volume 2. ABC-CLIO. p. 473. Traditionally, the Beta Israel were monotheistic and practiced a Torah-based Judaism, without observing Oral Law, or knowing the Talmud, known to other communities of Jews.
^ Appiah, Anthony; Gates, Henry Louis Jr. (2005). Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. Oxford University Press. p. 565. In terms of their religious beliefs, the Beta Israel have always identified themselves as exiles from the land of Israel and believers of the faith of Moses. For almost 2,000 years, however, they were completely isolated from the rest of the Jewish world. They never learned of the Talmud, the codification of Jewish oral law, or any of the traditions that arose after biblical times, such as the holiday of Hanukkah.
^ Shelemay, Music, page 42
^ Quirun, 1992, p. 71
^ Aešcoly, Book of the Falashas, p. 56
^ Aešcoly, Book of the Falashas, p. 62-70 (Hebrew); Shelemay, Music, Ritual, and Falasha History, p. 44-57; Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xxviii–xxxvi; Quirun, The Evolution of the Ethiopian Jews, p. 146-150
^ Devens, M. S. 'The Liturgy of the Seventh Sabbath: A Betä Israel (Falasha) Text', p. xx/4.4 (Introduction), Wiesbaden, 1995.
^ see Rosh Chodesh
^ see also Yom Kippur Katan
^ Semien Menata – Site of the Last Central Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) Monastery
^ "The Monasteries of the Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews)". Archived from the original on 2019-12-27. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
^ Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) Monastic Sites North of Lake Tana - Preliminary Results of an Exploratory Field Trip to Ethiopia in December 2015

[3] The Ethiopian Book of Jeremiah, which is shared with the Beta Israel,^[2] also includes the Book of Baruch and the Rest of the Words of Baruch (which itself contains the Book of Lamentations, the Letter of Jeremiah, and the Paralipomena of Baruch).

[4] The "Testament of Moses" (Gadla Musé) and the "Testament of Aaron" (Gadla Aron) are also known as the "Death of Moses" (Motá Musé) and the "Death of Aaron" (Motá Aron).

[Kaplan-1] Kaplan, Steven (1999). "The Literature of the Beta Israel (Falasha): A Survey of a Biblical-Hebraic Tradition". Xristianskij Vostok. 1 (7): 99–123.

[2] Leslau, Wolf (1951). Falasha Anthology. Yale Judaica Series. Vol. 6. New Haven & London: Yale University Press. p. xxviii. ISBN 0-300-03927-1. The Torah (orit) is written in Geez... The name applies not only to the Pentateuch but to the entire Old Testament, and the text is identical with that of the Christian Ethiopians. [V]arious apocrypha and pseudepigrapha such as... the Paralipomena of Baruch... are included.

[5] Ehrlich, Mark Avrum (2009). Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture, Volume 2. ABC-CLIO. p. 473. Traditionally, the Beta Israel were monotheistic and practiced a Torah-based Judaism, without observing Oral Law, or knowing the Talmud, known to other communities of Jews.

[6] Appiah, Anthony; Gates, Henry Louis Jr. (2005). Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. Oxford University Press. p. 565. In terms of their religious beliefs, the Beta Israel have always identified themselves as exiles from the land of Israel and believers of the faith of Moses. For almost 2,000 years, however, they were completely isolated from the rest of the Jewish world. They never learned of the Talmud, the codification of Jewish oral law, or any of the traditions that arose after biblical times, such as the holiday of Hanukkah.

[7] Shelemay, Music, page 42

[8] Quirun, 1992, p. 71

[9] Aešcoly, Book of the Falashas, p. 56

[10] Aešcoly, Book of the Falashas, p. 62-70 (Hebrew); Shelemay, Music, Ritual, and Falasha History, p. 44-57; Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xxviii–xxxvi; Quirun, The Evolution of the Ethiopian Jews, p. 146-150

[11] Devens, M. S. 'The Liturgy of the Seventh Sabbath: A Betä Israel (Falasha) Text', p. xx/4.4 (Introduction), Wiesbaden, 1995.

[12] see Rosh Chodesh

[13] see also Yom Kippur Katan

[14] Semien Menata – Site of the Last Central Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) Monastery

[15] "The Monasteries of the Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews)". Archived from the original on 2019-12-27. Retrieved 2019-07-23.

[16] Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) Monastic Sites North of Lake Tana - Preliminary Results of an Exploratory Field Trip to Ethiopia in December 2015

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