Haymanot () is the branch of

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

which is practiced by the Beta Israel, also known as

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. In

Geʽez Geez ( or ; , and sometimes referred to in scholarly literature as Classical Ethiopic) is an ancient South Semitic language. The language originates from what is now Ethiopia and Eritrea. Today, Geez is used as the main liturgical langu ...

, Tigrinya and

Amharic Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...

, ''Haymanot'' means '

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

' or '

faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

'. Thus in modern Amharic and Tigrinya, it is common to speak of the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

''haymanot'', the Jewish ''haymanot'' or the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

''haymanot''. In

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, the term is only associated with Judaism.

Religious leaders

*''Nabiyy'' "

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

", related to the Hebrew word , used in Jewish writings to refer to prophets. * ''Hakhem - A wise man, who is skilful in''

Torah study Torah study is the study of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature, and similar works, all of which are Judaism's Sifrei kodesh, religious texts. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the study is done for the purpose of the ''mi ...

'', and can be an intermediary in the community for religious dispute, similar to a Chacham.'' *'' Kahen'' or K''es'' "priest", spiritual leader, similar to a

Kohen Kohen (, ; , ، Arabic كاهن , Kahen) is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic Priest#Judaism, priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. They are traditionally believed, and halakha, halakhically required, to ...

and analogous to a

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

*''Abba'', honorific title, used to describe holy men who often stay in solitude. *'' 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

. The Beta Israel lack a firm distinction between "canonical" and "non-canonical" religious texts. The religious texts of the Beta Israel include: *The Orit (from ), which consists of the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

( Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,

Numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

Deuteronomy Deuteronomy (; ) is the fifth book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called () which makes it the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to ...

) as well as the books of

Joshua Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...

, Judges and Ruth. *The Five Books of Solomon: ''Mesályata Salomon'' ( Proverbs 1–24), ''Tagsásá Salomon'' ( Proverbs 25–31),

Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes ( ) is one of the Ketuvim ('Writings') of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly used in English is a Latin transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew word ...

, Wisdom of Solomon, and

Song of Songs The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a Biblical poetry, biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, i ...

. *Other

biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

and apocryphal books include: the

Books of Samuel The Book of Samuel () is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Book of Joshua, Joshua, Book of Judges, Judges, Samuel, and Books of ...

, the

Books of Kings The Book of Kings (, ''Sefer (Hebrew), Sēfer Malik, Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of ancient Is ...

, The Minor Prophets,

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Job, Sirach, Esther, Judith, Tobit, the

Books of Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( , "words of the days") is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third section of the Jewish Ta ...

, Ezra-Nehemiah,

1 Esdras 1 Esdras (), also Esdras A, Greek Esdras, Greek Ezra, or 3 Esdras, is the ancient Greek Septuagint version of the biblical Book of Ezra in use within the early church and among many modern Christians with varying degrees of canonicity. 1 Esdra ...

, 2 Esdras, the Books of Meqabyan,

Jubilees The Book of Jubilees is an ancient Jewish apocryphal text of 50 chapters (1,341 verses), considered Biblical canon, canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, as well as by Haymanot, Haymanot Judaism, a denomination observed by membe ...

, and

Enoch Enoch ( ; ''Henṓkh'') is a biblical figure and Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch prior to Noah's flood, and the son of Jared (biblical figure), Jared and father of Methuselah. He was of the Antediluvian period in the Hebrew Bible. The text of t ...

. *Unique apocryphal writings include: The Testaments of

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

Isaac Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

, Moses, and Aaron, ''Nagara Muse'' (The Conversation of Moses), ''Təʾəzazä Sänbät'' (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). Ethiopian Jews did not have access to the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

or other post-biblical Jewish texts, and traditionally practiced a purely Torah-based Judaism.

Prayer house

The synagogue is called , ''masgid'', or ''ṣalot bet''. File:PikiWiki Israel 10703 Architecture of Israel.jpg, Modern Synagogue in the city of Netivot in

File:The sigd holiday14-benny voodoo.jpg, Kahen reading from the Orit

Dietary laws

Dietary laws are based mainly on Leviticus,

and

. Permitted and forbidden animals and their signs appear on and . Forbidden birds are listed on and . Signs of permitted fish are written on and . Insects and larvae are forbidden according to .

Birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

are forbidden according to . Gid hanasheh is forbidden per . Mixtures of milk and meat are not prepared or eaten but are not banned either: Haymanot interpreted the verses , and 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.

Calendar and holidays

The Beta Israel calendar is a

lunar calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases ( synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based on the solar year, and lunisolar calendars, whose lunar months are br ...

of 12 months, each 29 or 30 days alternately. Every four years there has been a

leap year A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or bissextile year) is a calendar year that contains an additional day (or, in the case of a lunisolar calendar, a month) compared to a common year. The 366th day (or 13th month) is added to keep t ...

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. The years are counted according to the Counting of Kushta "1571 to Jesus Christ, 7071 to the Gyptians and 6642 to the Hebrews", according to this counting the current year 5785 () in the Rabbinical Hebrew calendar is the year 7085 in this calendar.

Holidays A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

in the Haymanot divided into daily, monthly and annually. The annual holiday by month are: *

Nisan Nisan (or Nissan; from ) in the Babylonian and Hebrew calendars is the month of the barley ripening and first month of spring. The name of the month is an Akkadian language borrowing, although it ultimately originates in Sumerian ''nisag' ...

: ''ba'āl lisan'' (Nisan holiday – New Year) on 1, ''ṣomä fāsikā'' (Passover fast) on 14, ''fāsikā'' (

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...

) between 15 – 21 and ''gadfat'' (grow fat) or ''buho'' (fermented dough) on 22. *

Iyar Iyar (Hebrew language, Hebrew: or , Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard ''ʾĪyyar'' Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''ʾĪyyār''; from "Rosette (design), rosette; blossom") is the eighth month of the civil year (which starts on 1 Tishrei ...

: another ''fāsikā'' (Second Passover – Pesach Sheni) between 15 – 21. * Sivan: ''ṣomä mã'rar'' (Harvest fast) on 11 and ''mã'rar'' (Harvest –

Shavuot (, from ), or (, in some Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi usage), is a Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday, one of the biblically ordained Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan; in the 21st century, it may ...

) 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. *

Elul Elul (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard , Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ) is the twelfth month of the civil year and the sixth month of the Jewish religious year, religious year in the Hebrew calendar. It is a m ...

: ''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 Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths, is a Torah-commanded Jewish holiday celebrated for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which Israelite ...

) between 15 – 21. *

Cheshvan Marcheshvan (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard , Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ; from Akkadian language, Akkadian , literally, 'eighth month'), generally shortened to Cheshvan (, Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, S ...

: holiday for the day

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

saw the face of God on 1, holiday for the reception of

by the Israelites on 10, fast on 12 and ''měhlělla'' (Supplication – Sigd) on 29. *

Kislev Kislev or Chislev (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard ''Kīslev'' Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Kīslēw''), is the third month of the civil year and the ninth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew c ...

: 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") 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. Daily holidays include the ''ṣomä säňňo'' (Monday fast), ''ṣomä amus'' (Thursday fast), ''ṣomä 'arb'' (Friday fast) and the very holy ''Sanbat'' (

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...

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.Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) Monastic Sites North of Lake Tana - Preliminary Results of an Exploratory Field Trip to Ethiopia in December 2015
/ref>

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 The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...

sects, suggesting that Ethiopian Jews may possess a tradition from ancient Jewish groups whose beliefs have become extinct elsewhere.

Notes

References

{{Jews and Judaism Beta Israel * Jewish religious movements