A Living Genizah: The Beta Israel’s Journey from Sinai to Ethiopia to Israel

For the month of December, Sephardi Ideas Monthly introduces our readers to Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom, one of the more stimulating and innovative thinkers active today on the Israeli scene.

Born and raised in Ethiopia until the age of nine, Shalom trekked with his family to Sudan before being spirited out to Israel in 1982. Once in the country, Shalom not only learned the language and acclimated to Israeli society, he served as an officer in the Israel Defense Forces, received ordination from the Israeli Rabbinate, and earned a PhD at Bar Ilan University. In 2012, Shalom penned a brave and pioneering book, From Sinai to Ethiopia: The Halakhic and Conceptual World of Ethiopian Jewry, which was recently translated into English by Gefen Publishing House. 

Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom  (Photo courtesy of Youtube/Emunah of America)

Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom 
(Photo courtesy of Youtube/Emunah of America) Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom

From Sinai to Ethiopia consists of two parts, an extended essay on the character of Ethiopian Jewish spiritual life and the first-ever written, legal guide for Ethiopian Jewry. In this month’s feature essay, the ASF’s Director of Publications, Aryeh Tepper, writes about this important and fascinating book. [Full disclosure: Tepper and Shalom are friends]  
Tepper begins by noting that perhaps the richest aspect of “the mind-bending journey of Ethiopian Jewry to the state of Israel” is often overlooked, “the meeting between Ethiopian Jewish tradition and normative Judaism.” Since Ethiopian Jewish practice diverges from traditional rabbinic practice in many ways, “if we take seriously the proposition that Ethiopian Judaism is an authentic form of Judaism, then the implications for conceptualizing normative Judaism are both fundamental and fascinating.” 

Moved by a love both for traditional rabbinic Judaism and Ethiopian Jewish traditions, Rabbi Dr. Shalom is uniquely qualified to investigate and explicate these implications. In From Sinai to Ethiopia, Shalom argues for integrating Ethiopian Jewry into the rabbinic mainstream while simultaneously maintaining a space for Ethiopian Jews to observe their ancient traditions, even when those traditions explicitly contradict the accepted rabbinic practice. That might sound like a sensible and generally conservative procedure, but, as Tepper notes:

Viewed from a broad, historical perspective, Shalom’s solution constitutes nothing less than an earthquake. By recognizing the halakhic legitimacy of the Ethiopian tradition, Shalom undermines any notion that the rabbinic tradition is the exclusive store of legitimate Jewish practice. Instead, the Jewish tradition is a pluralistic tradition, and even if the rabbinic tradition constitutes the mainstream, it still remains one authentic tradition among others.

Shalom’s book was well-received, but it was also attacked in some prominent Haredi circles as heretical. As Tepper writes, “[w]hile such attacks undoubtedly helped increase book sales, they didn’t make it easier for Shalom to advance his vision.” What’s certain, however, is that Shalom has written “[a] fascinating and learned book that enables the reader to better understand the deep roots, intense passion, and unique practices that characterize Ethiopian Jewish tradition. For that service alone, a service that shines a light on the inner life of a vibrant Jewish community that, until relatively recently, many Jews didn’t know even exists, Shalom deserves our congratulations and deepest appreciation.”
 

With December’s feature essay, Sephardi Ideas Monthly is pleased to introduce our readers to Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom’s important and fascinating book, From Sinai to Ethiopia: The Halakhic and Conceptual World of Ethiopian Jewry.

When Baghdadi Jews Baruch and Ellen Bekhor (née Cohen) succumbed to the camera’s gaze for their denaturalization pictures in 1951, they became stateless. Ellen was in her eighth month of pregnancy. Permitted to bring no more than a few kilos of belongings out of Iraq, Ellen carried their wedding picture and ketubah in her pocketbook. Laissez-Passer, Royaume D’Irak by Leslie Starobin (2016) 

The Last Address

Now Through April 2017
in ASF’s Myron Habib Memorial Display 

Center for Jewish History 
15 W 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
 

The American Sephardi Federation proudly presents excerpts from The Last Address, a multi-year, photo-montage series and oral history and book project by award-winning artist Leslie Starobin that explores the enduring texture of memory and culture in the lives of Greater Sephardic families from dispersed Jewish communities in Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Iran, and Lebanon.

Her exhibition in ASF’s Myron Habib Memorial Display is sponsored in part by CELTSS: The Center for Excellence in Learning, Teaching, Scholarship and Service at Framingham State University in Massachusetts, where Starobin is a Professor of Communication Arts.
 

Please click here for additional information and viewing hours

Portugal, The Last Hope: Sousa Mendes’ Visas for Freedom

April 2016 through January 2017
Center for Jewish History 
15 W 16th Street
New York, NY 10011

The American Sephardi Federation, Portuguese Consulate of New York, the Sousa Mendes Foundation, and the Municipality of Almeida, Portugal proudly present a new exhibition in the Leon Levy Gallery honoring Aristides de Sousa Mendes, the courageous and creative Portuguese diplomat who saved Salvador Dali, the authors of Curious George, and thousands of other Holocaust refugees.
 

Please click here for viewing hours

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