Over The Rivers Of Kush

I continue reading "Over the Rivers of Kush" by Menachem Waldman about the Falasha, the Jews of Ethiopia. Are they Jews? The rabbinical correspondence produced during the centuries contains no material of any worth: the rabbis rake through ancient writings to establish if they are from the lost tribe of Dan or descendants of King Salomon's lover. Not one of them had any first or second hand contact with a Falasha and they are debating something theological, unrelated to flesh and bone humans. The first (and only) objective examination if they are Jews was produced by a German Protestant, Karl Ratjens, "Die Jude in Abessinien", and he is the first to say it loudly that the Falashas are indifferenciable from the rest of the Ethiopians, they are from the native Agau tribe. Their traditions are non-Jewish: their kashrut laws are not Jewish but similar to the Muslims, their traditions about ritual purity and impurity (menstruation, parturition, etc.) are identical to most African tribes. The Falashas also practice the castration of the priests, and offer animal sacrifices (forbidden to us since the Temple was destroyed), that are in direct opposition to the Jewish religion. The Falashas dont face in the direction of Jerusalem when praying, they practice female circumcision and they never heard of Jewish holy days like Yom Kippur. Ratjens also says they offer interpreted as sacrificing to idols, to dead gods of stone and wood. They have no documents in Hebrew, their holy books are in Gez. It was needed a honest (pre-Nazi) German to see that the king paraded naked, obvious to all except us; "WE ARE TRULY BLIND CONCERNING OURSELVES". That's why the Falasha tribe was redeemed wholesale for cash, packed into Hercules planes and turned instant Jews at landing. The subject of Falasha is sensitive, but I think it is healthier that their joining the main body of the Jewish people be based on the truth and not falsity. They have earned their entrance ticket by holding to their idea of Judaism for centuries in spite of local hostility. And that deserves our respect. The pic is me (reincarnated).

Origin: masonsofheaven.blogspot.com