I wish to thank all the wonderful people who supported me over the many years since I made aliyah without my immediate family, and who continue to do so to this day – in elementary school at the Emunah Sarah Herzog Children’s Center in Afula, the Shafir Youth Aliya dormitory in Shapira Center, Har Etzion Yeshiva in Alon Shvut, Herzog College, Michlalah – Jerusalem College, the Department of Talmud and the Ludwig and Erica Jesselson Institute for Advanced Torah Studies at Bar-Ilan University, and Beit Morasha in Jerusalem. To all I offer thanks from the depths of my heart. The tolerance and trust I received from these institutions gave me the feeling that I can, and that I am able. I am certain that a large portion of my achievements is the result of great investment on the part of the teaching staff, counselors, and rabbis. May God be with them in all their efforts. I also wish to extend my special thanks to Rabbi Aryeh and Ahuvah Shalom, who were like a second family to me. They served as the model of a Western family, and as a source of inspiration, support, and advice, and continue to encourage me to this day.
This is the place to thank those who assisted me in the work of writing, particularly in the section Shulhan ha-Orit.1This is a play on the name of the well-known codification of Jewish law the Shulhan Arukh, written in the sixteenth century by Rabbi Yosef Caro. Orit is the Ge’ez word for Torah. First of all, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Rabbi Dr. Daniel Sperber, for his exemplary advising. His comments, recommendations, and emendations assisted me to reach this point. My teachers Rabbi Shabtai Rappaport, shlita, and Rabbi Yehuda Brandes, shlita, in addition to encouragement and support, provided a wealth of illuminating comments that contributed to improving this work, especially the halakhic section. Rabbi Nachum Rabinowitz, shlita, received me warmly and recognized the significance of this work. He took from his valuable time to read over the entire manuscript, and made important comments, many of which are incorporated into the book. I also thank the members of the Basic Jewish Studies Program, and members of the Department of Philosophy at Bar-Ilan University, as well as the members of the Department of History at Orot Israel College-Elkana, Dr. Amnon Hever for his brilliant ideas, and my teacher Professor Binyamin Ish Shalom.
Without the support of my doctoral advisors Rabbi Dr. Noam Zohar and Dr. Nissim Leon, I would not have been able to write this book or to reach the advanced stage in writing my dissertation. David Nigel provided support in the course “Ethiopian Jewry” in the Basic Jewish Studies Program. I am grateful to my friends from the Tzohar Rabbinical Association, and in particular to Rabbi Ronen Neuwirth. I also thank the Tzohar Rabbinical Association for initiating, along with Baruch Keisler and the congregation committee, my service as rabbi of the Kedoshei Yisrael congregation. The association continues to support me in this holy work. This community is a wonderful example of tolerance in accepting the “other.” The members of the Kedoshei Yisrael congregation, and the mayor of Kiryat Gat, who is attentive to the needs of the residents in general and of the congregation in particular, are all deserving of thanks.
I also thank the researchers of SOSTEJE, the Society for the Study of Ethiopian Jewry, in Israel and around the world. I thank my friends and comrades from Har Etzion Yeshiva, as well as Rabbi Reuven-Tal Iasso, shlita, whose enthusiasm over the manuscript and support of the concept assisted me greatly and served as a source of strength throughout the lengthy journey. Dr. Dov Herman’s three books (Ma’agal hayei ha-yom yom ba-bayit ha-yehudi [Daily life in the Jewish home; Prolog, 2006], Ma’agal ha-hagim ve-ha-mo’adim ba-bayit ha-yehudi [The cycle of the holidays and festivals in the Jewish home; Prolog, 2005], and Ma’agal ha-hayim ba-bayit ha-yehudi [The life cycle in the Jewish home; Prolog, 2005]) assisted me in writing this book, and I have quoted from them numerous times. My deepest thanks go to Amihai Berholz, chief editor of Yediot Aharonot Publishing: from the moment the manuscript reached him, Amihai paved the way for publication of the book in a professional, reliable, and responsible manner. Throughout the process, Rabbi Avraham Wengruber served as my study partner, and his comments helped me to elucidate issues that I previously had thought were clear.
I thank the researchers of Ethiopian Jewry and members of the Ethiopian community whom I interviewed for the purpose of writing this book. Some are my family members, and unfortunately some of them are no longer living. My grandfather and grandmother, Abba Gideon (Dejen) Mengesha and Toru (Yafa) Tefery, of blessed memory, from whom I had the merit to learn Torah. To the spiritual leaders of the community – the wise men, the kahanotsh (kesim). In particular, I thank Kohen Werede Nega, of blessed memory; Kohen Trune Salomon, Kohen Kes Tefesahaku Malchi Zedek Fkadu, Kohen Kes Brahan Iheis, Kohen Kes Mentosnot (Eli) Wende, and Kohen Kes Rafael Hadana, may they live long lives. I thank Avraham Yardai, who read the book carefully immediately after publication and offered informative comments on his own initiative, which I have incorporated into the English version. Hezi Ovadia, of blessed memory, granted me much of his time – I learned much from him about his battles with the Israeli-religious establishment regarding the aliyah of Ethiopian Jewry.
To all the individuals who gave me their time and answered my questions, and to the spiritual leaders of the community who serve their flock day and night, in celebrations and mourning, memorial days and holidays, I wish long lives.
Thanks to my friend Joey Low. His significant contribution toward this book allowed us to begin to translate the book.
I’d like to thank Dina Hahn, chairperson of World Emunah, which ordered a sizeable number of copies of the English edition of the book, and thus made a significant contribution to its publication. This is also the place to offer my heartfelt thanks to my friend Shlomo Kassel, director of Emunah Sarah Herzog Children’s Center in Afula; to Leora Minka, chair of Emunah Israel; and to my teacher, Rabbi Dr. Daniel Sperber, for the financial assistance they granted me and for their rapid sponsorship of this project.
I would also like to thank my friends in Montreal – Steve and Saryl Gross, Ilan Gewurz and Julie Shugarman, and Samuel and Brenda Gewurz – who helped make this publication possible.
This is my second year of participation in the Beit Midrash program for the Israeli rabbinate, sponsored by the Shalom Hartman Institute and Oranim College. It has been my great privilege to be included in this special group, which demonstrates a heightened sensitivity to the “other.” This group succeeds in implementing a spiritual vision that integrates the values of individuality and solidarity, that emphasizes unity but disdains uniformity. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to my friends and colleagues in the program.
Many thanks to Ilan Greenfield, publisher of Gefen Publishing House, who saw great importance in promoting the publication of this book. He recognized the significance and value of the book and the unique voice it represents, and he personally handled and shepherded its publication with patience and professionalism. In this vein I’d like to thank my translator, Jessica Setbon, and editor, Kezia Raffel Pride. Beyond just translation and editing, working with them was like a havruta, a scholarly exchange.
May God grant them health and success in all their endeavors, and may their worthy deeds be rewarded.
Last but not least, I thank my family. I offer my thanks and appreciation to my mother and father, who have enveloped me with love and concern, from the journey from Ethiopia to Sudan to the reunion here in Israel. I also thank my parents’ relatives, Bituali and Asresu Tespay, who agreed to take on the heavy responsibility of taking me with them on our aliyah, without my parents, from Sudan to Israel. I thank my wife’s family, and particularly Grandmother Batsheva Adolph – to me her life is an example. Despite everything she underwent as a Holocaust survivor, Grandmother Batsheva continues to demonstrate powerful faith in the Master of the universe, and continues to take personal responsibility in all aspects of her life. May God grant her a long life in full health.
I thank my in-laws, Dr. Aharon and Tzameret Gavlinger, for their unending support throughout the entire process, for their deep concern and warm embrace filled with compassion and respect. They have been and continue to be an anchor and source of security for myself and my family. May God grant them success in all their efforts.
Finally, I thank my wife Avital, who has supported me in her wisdom from the conception of this project until its birth. Throughout, she has constantly offered me her assistance, encouragement, and support, until I was privileged to see it through to completion. Words cannot express my thanks for her help. I pray to the Master of the universe that we and our children – Roi Gideon, Nadav Mordechai, Ziv Yehuda, Gil Haya, and Tohar – will enjoy long lives in full health, and may God be with us in all our paths. May we enjoy mutual respect and Torah learning along with love and tolerance. May it be His will that we merit worshipping God with full intent and pureness of heart. We thank God for the grace He constantly bestows upon us. May it be Your will our God, that no harm will be done by our actions. May we not fail in mitzvot between ourselves and our fellow human beings, whether in halakhah or aggadah. May our fellows be pleased with us, and we be pleased with them.
I thank the Holy One, blessed be He, Who remained by my side throughout the travails of the journey from Ethiopia to Israel, Who saved me from dangers and pitfalls, and Who sheltered me under His wing. Illnesses, plagues, and thousands of enemies surrounded me, but they did not approach me, and only looked into my eyes. To paraphrase the Psalm (91:11), For He commanded His angels on my behalf to guard me in all my ways. Moses did not have the privilege of entering the Land of Israel, and countless generations of Jews dreamed of Jerusalem but did not merit witnessing the return of God to Zion. I thank God for granting me the merit to enter the Land of Israel. Why did I merit this? I cannot know. But I do know that I have a duty – “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord” (Psalms 118:17), and the astounding story of religious Zionism, whose stubborn path led to the rebirth of the State of Israel and the Jewish people. “With long life will I satisfy him, and make him to behold My salvation” (Psalms 91:16).
I pray that this book will open for Ethiopian Jewry a channel through which they may discover the philosophical world of the Beta Israel community, and that it will carve a path for dialogue between communities and a meeting between worlds. I pray that Beta Israel will become an inseparable part of the mosaic of the Jewish people and Israeli society. May the love of Heaven and love of humanity increase, for beloved is humanity who was created in His image.