Introducing the Beta Yisrael

Yesterday morning, I formally introduced the first edah (Jewish Diaspora community) that we'll be studying in our Edot class this year, the Beta Yisrael (House of Israel) of Ethiopia. I say "formally introduced" since in a way we've already become somewhat familiar with the group from "The Storyteller's Beads" novel that I've been reading out loud at the start of each session.

Yesterday, I began the lesson by reminding the students of the list we generated during our first weekday session of the school year as a response to my question, "How can you tell if someone is Jewish?" We re-created the list on the whiteboard again, this time with many more details relating to types of foods that are kosher, Jewish symbols and ritual clothing, holidays and prayers and blessings.

Then I proceeded to cross out items on the list as follows: synagogue, siddur (prayer book), b'rachot (blessings), tallit, tzitzit, keepa, peyot (curled sidelocks), mezuzah, chamsa, Star of David, mixing milk with meat, Hanuka, Simchat Torah, Tu Bish'vat (holiday of the trees), bar/bat mitzvah, Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, Torah, blowing the shofar, hanukiya (Hanuka menora), apples and honey, latkes, challah, and hamantashen. I immediately asked the students, "If someone never even heard about any of the crossed-out items, could you say s/he is Jewish?" Most of the students didn't think so, though a few asked qualifying questions, like "Are their parents Jewish?" and "Where do they live?"

That last question was a perfect segue to the YouTube video I then shared with the group called "Falasha! The Saga of Ethiopian Jewry." I showed the first 7:48 minutes of the film, though it took only a few seconds for the class to realize that I was referring to the Beta Yisrael when I asked if someone could be considered Jewish if they didn't know about many of the laws and customs we immediately associate with being Jewish. This film segment shares the belief the Beta Yisrael teach their children about their origin, and was a perfect summary for what we've learned about them so far from the novel. Most importantly, the segment explains why the Beta  Yisrael did not follow "Rabbinic Judaism" as most other Jewish edot do (though they slowly began to adopt some aspects of Rabbinic Judaism since first being exposed to "white Jews" who visited them in the 17th century). We also learned how they venerate Moses (they even have a book called "The Death of Moses" which they read at funerals), and how they value the Sabbath above all else. What surprised the students most was that the Beta Yisrael believed they were the last Jews on Earth, and were suspicious of the "white people" who claimed to be Jews, not only because they were white, but because they didn't practice Judaism in the same manner as the Beta Yisrael did.

We spent our final 15 minutes of the session before going up to the Sanctuary for tefillah by reviewing our Hebrew Through Movement holiday and foundational vocabulary.

After our usual warm-up commands, we tried some "weight lifting." Will, l'hareem sefer Torah gadol me'al ha'rosh. (Will, lift up the large Torah scroll over the head.)

Myles, l'hareem sefer Torah gadol leefney ha'rosh. (Myles, lift up the large Torah scroll in front of the head.)

Callen, l'hachzeek sefer Torah katan; Myles, leef'to'ach sefer Torah katan. (Callen, hold onto a small Torah scroll; Myles, open a small Torah scroll.)

Continuing with upper body exercises: Callen, leetol lulav v'etrog. (Callen, shake lulav and etrog.)

And even had some time for some throwing and catching: Josh, leezrok et ha'etrog; Brody, leetfos et ha'etrog. (Josh, throw the etrog; Brody, catch the etrog.)

We ended the Hebrew Through Movement session with some deep breathing exercises. (Taking deep breaths to blow on the shofar!)

Tomorrow and Wednesday, we'll have our monthly cooking session with Karen and the other 5th and 6th graders at the very start of each session. This time, we'll be preparing a "fruit harvest" salad commonly served in Israel this time of year called "Salat Seemaneem" (literally: "Symbols Salad").