Haymanot (; ) is the branch of Judaism practiced by the Beta Israel, or Ethiopian Jews.
In Geʽez, Tigrinya and Amharic, Haymanot means 'religion' or 'faith'. Thus in modern Amharic and Tigrinya, it is common to speak of the Christian haymanot, the Jewish haymanot or the Muslim haymanot. In Israel, the term is only associated with Judaism.
Religious leaders : 'prophet', related to Hebrew : Hebrew . A wise man skillful in Torah study; sometimes an intermediary in the community for religious disputes Kahen or : the Geʿez equivalent of Hebrew kohen ('priest'). The role of the in Haymanot Judaism is similar to that of a rabbi in Rabbinic Judaism (High Priest); translated into Hebrew as Abba, honorific title for ascetic renunciates Debtera (): "unconsecrated religious scholars, also renowned for their skill as healers and scribes" ('elder');
Texts
(; ) is the term used when referring to the textual corpus. The written language of the texts is Geʽez. The Beta Israel lack a firm distinction between canonical and non-canonical religious texts. The scriptures of the Beta Israel include: The (; , ): known as the Octateuch () in , it consists of the five books of the Pentateuch (i.e., the book of Genesis, the book of Exodus, the book of Leviticus, the book of Numbers, and the book of Deuteronomy) plus the book of Joshua, the book of Judges, and the book of Ruth The Five Books of Solomon (): Chapters 1–24 of the book of Proverbs () Chapters 25–31 of the book of Proverbs () The book of Ecclesiastes () The Song of Solomon () The book of Wisdom (), which is not included in the non- Jewish canon or the Protestant Bible used by Protestant Christians The Testaments of the Patriarchs () () () The books of Samuel The books of Kings The books of the Twelve Minor Prophets The book of Psalms (; ) The book of Isaiah A unique form of the book of Jeremiah The book of Ezekiel The book of Daniel The books of Chronicles Ezra–Nehemiah The book of Job Books that are grouped with the Jewish apocrypha and pseudepigrapha in Rabbinic Judaism but considered canonical in some Christian denominations: The book Sirach The book of Esther The book of Judith The book of Tobit 1 Esdras and 2 Esdras The books of Meqabyan (three books unique to Beta Israel; ; ) The book of Jubilees (; ) The book of Enoch (; ) Another set of apocryphal writings: The Testament of Abraham The Testament of Isaac The Testament of Jacob The Testament of Moses The Testament of Aaron The book of Disciples (; ) The apocalypse of Gorgorios (; ) The apocalypse of Baruch (; ) The book of Hours (; ) The book of Philosophers (; ) the book of Father Elijah (; ) the book of the Angels (; ) The Homily on Abraham and Sarah in Egypt () The Story of Susanna (; ) A text entitled In the Beginning, God Created (; )
Ethiopian Jews lacked access to the Talmud or other post-biblical Rabbinic texts (e.g., the Midrash) and therefore traditionally observed a Judaism based solely on the Tanakhic and apocryphal texts listed above.
Prayer house
The synagogue or prayer house is called a , or . It can also be called a 'temple'. In Ethiopia, a prayer house was either a simple structure with windows facing the cardinal directions or an elaborate structure with separate prayer areas for men, women, and debteras surrounding the priests and the holy books, much like a bima, referred to as the Holy of Holies. The exit was to the east and featured a sacrificial altar for animal sacrifices as in the Temple in Jerusalem. Neither the altar nor animal sacrifice are features of Haymanot Judaism today.
Dietary laws
Kashrut for the Betä Israel is based mainly on Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Jubilees. Permitted and forbidden animals and their signs appear in Leviticus 11:3–11:8 and Deuteronomy 14:4–14:8. Forbidden birds are listed at Leviticus 11:13–11:23 and Deuteronomy 14:12–14:20. Definitions of permitted fish are in Leviticus 11:9–11:12 and Deuteronomy 14:9–14:10. Insects and larvae are forbidden according to Leviticus 11:41–11:42; exceptions are locusts, katydids, crickets, and grasshoppers, as noted in Leviticus 11:22-3. Birds of prey are forbidden according to Leviticus 11:13–11:19. Gid hanasheh is forbidden in Genesis 32:33. Mixtures of milk and meat are not prepared or eaten, but are not banned either: Haymanot interpreted the verses Exodus 23:19, Exodus 34:26, and Deuteronomy 14:21 literally, as in Karaite Judaism. Currently, under Rabbinic authority, mixing dairy products with meat is prohibited.
Believers were forbidden to eat the food of non-Jews. A qes eats only meat he personally ritually slaughtered, which his hosts then prepare for him and themselves.
Those who violated these taboos were ostracized and required purification. Purification included fasting for one or more days, eating only uncooked chickpeas provided by a qes, and ritual purification before entering the village. Unlike other Ethiopians, the Beta Israel do not eat raw meat dishes like kitfo or gored gored.Shelemay, Music, page 42
Calendar and holidays The calendar is a lunar calendar with 12 months, each containing 29 or 30 days. Every four years, there is a leap year, which adds a full month (30 days) to the Jewish year. The calendar combines the ancient calendars of Alexandrian Jewry, the Book of Jubilees, the Book of Enoch, Abu Shaker's Chronology, and the Geʽez calendar.Quirun, 1992, p. 71 The years are counted according to the Counting of Kushta: "1571 to Jesus Christ, 7071 to the Gyptians and 6642 to the Hebrews".Aešcoly, Book of the Falashas, p. 56
Jewish holidays by months:Aešcoly, Book of the Falashas, p. 62-70 (Hebrew); Shelemay, Music, Ritual, and Falasha History, p. 44-57; Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xxviii–xxxvi; Quirun, The Evolution of the Ethiopian Jews, p. 146-150 Nisan: baʿāl lisan ('head of Nisan', or New Year) on 1, ṣomä fāsikā ('Passover fast', the Fast of the Firstborn) on 14, fāsikā (Passover) 15–21, and gadfat ('grow fat') or buho ('fermented dough') on 22. Iyar: another fāsikā (Pesach Sheni) during 15–21. Sivan: ṣomä mäʾrar ('harvest fast') on 11 and mäʾrar ('harvest', or Shavuot) on 12. Tammuz: ṣomä tomos ('Tammuz fast') during 1–10. Av: ṣomä ab ('Av fast') during 1–17. Shavuot: the fourth Shabbat of the fifth month.Devens, M. S. 'The Liturgy of the Seventh Sabbath: A Betä Israel (Falasha) Text', p. xx/4.4 (Introduction), Wiesbaden, 1995. Elul: awd amet ('year rotate') on 1, ṣomä lul ('Elul fast') during 1–9, anākel astar'i ('our atonement') on 10, and asartu wasamantu ('eighteenth') on 28. Tishrei: ba'āl Matqe ('blowing holiday', or Rosh Hashanah) on 1, astasreyo ('day of atonement', or Yom Kippur) on 10, and ba'āla maṣallat ('festival of booths', or Sukkot) during 15–21. Cheshvan: a holiday for the day Moses saw the face of God on 1; a holiday for the reception of Moses by the Israelites on 10; a fast on 12; and mehlella ('supplication', or Sigd) on 29. Kislev: another ṣomä mã'rar and mã'rar on 11 and 12, respectively. Tevet: ṣomä tibt ('Tevet fast') during 1–10. Shevat: wamashi brobu on 1. Adar: ṣomä astēr (Fast of Esther) during 11–13.
Monthly holidays are mainly memorial days to a given annual holiday: Yačaraqā ba'āl ('Rosh Chodesh'), on the first day of every month Asärt ('ten') on the tenth day to commemorate Yom Kippur Asrä hulat ('twelve') on the twelfth day to commemorate Shavuot Asrä ammest ('fifteen') on the fifteenth day to commemorate Passover and Sukkot Somä mälěya: a fast on the last day of every month.see also Yom Kippur Katan
Weekly holidays include the ṣomä säňňo (Monday fast), ṣomä amus (Thursday fast), ṣomä ʿarb (Friday fast), and Sanbat (Shabbat).
Monasticism The Beta Israel are the only extant Jewish group with a monastic tradition, albeit a historic one. The monks, bearing the title (), lived separated from the Jewish villages to live in monasteries. However, only some Ethiopian Jews were monastics, and was also used to refer to community elders. The monastic tradition went extinct in the mid-20th century.Semien Menata – Site of the Last Central Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) MonasteryBeta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) Monastic Sites North of Lake Tana - Preliminary Results of an Exploratory Field Trip to Ethiopia in December 2015
See also Karaite Judaism, a denomination of Judaism that bears similarities to Haymanot Sadducees, Second Temple sect now extinct, also bears similarities to Haymanot
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