{"id":34130,"date":"2025-07-30T11:47:32","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T11:47:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/?post_type=news&p=34130"},"modified":"2025-07-30T11:53:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T11:53:06","slug":"ono-beit-midrash-explores-whether-geez-was-the-original-hebrew-and-ethiopian-jewrys-to-the-three-weeks","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/news\/ono-beit-midrash-explores-whether-geez-was-the-original-hebrew-and-ethiopian-jewrys-to-the-three-weeks\/","title":{"rendered":"Ono Beit Midrash Explores Whether Geez Was the Original Hebrew and Ethiopian Jewry\u2019s Approach to the Three Weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
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Ono Beit Midrash Explores Whether Geez Was the Original Hebrew and Ethiopian Jewry\u2019s Approach to the Three Weeks<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

At the most recent meeting of Ono\u2019s Beit Midrash on Ethiopian Jewish Texts, Chief Researcher, Rabbi Reuven Yaso, presented on \u201cHebrew Linguistic and Written Traditions Among the Communities of Israel,\u201d addressing the controversy over Beta Israel\u2019s use of Ge\u2019ez instead of Hebrew, which critics have used to question their Jewish authenticity.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Yaso highlighted the fluidity of Hebrew scripts in Jewish tradition, citing Talmudic references to Torah translations in 70 languages and the shift from classical Hebrew to Assyrian script, and argued that Ge\u2019ez, with 24 letters (nearly identical to Hebrew\u2019s 22), may reflect an ancient Hebrew form. A lively debate ensued about whether Ge\u2019ez is a script or language akin to Hebrew, with Yaso asserting its close connection despite its distinct vowel system.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Rabbi Sharon spoke on Bete Israel customs around the Tish\u2019a B\u2019Av mourning period. He shared insights from his dialogue with Keis Eli Wanda Mentosanot on Beta Israel practices, noting their unique 30-day mourning in Av for the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. He noted Bete Israel\u2019s dual consciousness of destruction and redemption, urging participants to draw on Beta Israel\u2019s resilience to bridge societal divides.<\/p>\r\n

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\"Ono<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the most recent meeting of Ono\u2019s Beit Midrash on Ethiopian Jewish Texts, Chief Researcher, Rabbi Reuven Yaso, presented on \u201cHebrew Linguistic and Written Traditions Among the Communities of Israel,\u201d addressing the controversy over Beta Israel\u2019s use of Ge\u2019ez instead of Hebrew, which critics have used to question their Jewish authenticity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":34132,"menu_order":31,"template":"","class_list":["post-34130","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categories_news-updates_news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ono.ac.il\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}