Events

“Scriptures and Transmission – A Case Study: Oral and Written Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) Traditions of the Decalogue”

The Beta Israel community of Jews formed in East Africa and immigrated to Israel beginning in the 1980s. Today, approximately 170,000 of this community live in Israel as Israeli citizens. Considered an identity-forming text, central to the community’s liturgical practice, the Decalogue (አሥርቱ ቃላት, ’Aśśərtu Qālāt, in Ge‘ez and Amharic) is chanted daily by Beta Israel Kesoč (priests) and the community. But Beta Israel have a unique oral tradition of the Decalogue, different of its biblical written counterpart.
The presentation will discuss this oral tradition and present the integration of oral formulae within written Beta Israel Orit manuscripts. The analysis calls to discuss textual criticism and reception history issues, as well as translational-interpretive techniques. This study showcases the research project formatted within the Orit Guardians program at Tel Aviv University, which aims to investigate the traditions of reading, translating, and interpreting the Bible among Beta Israel religious leaders.