Join us as we have a conversation about when a wealthy European smallhat, Baron Rothschild, sent a French small Jacques Faitlovitch into East Africa and created a Black Ethiopian Hebrew Israelite Community.
Jacques Faitlovitch devoted his life to bringing the isolated Jews of Ethiopia into the larger Jewish community. Born into a religious family in Lodz, Poland in 1881, Jacques was always interested in Africa and the Far East. He attended the Sorbonne in Paris, where he studied at the School for Oriental Languages, becoming fluent in several Ethiopian dialects. Jacques’ mentor was Prof. Joseph Halevy, the first European Jew to visit the remote community of Ethiopian Jews - known as the Beta Israel or Falasha - in 1869. The origin of the Ethiopian Jews is mysterious. Many experts believe they are descendants of the lost tribe of Dan. When discovered by Prof. Halevy in the 19th century, they were practicing an incomplete form of Judaism. They had the written Torah (the Five Books of Moses) and the Prophets, but did not have the Oral Torah (Talmud), an essential part of Judaism. They were not familiar with any post-Biblical holidays, such as Hanukkah and Purim. Jacques traveled to Ethiopia for the first time in 1904. He said in an interview published in Warsaw’s Jewish newspaper, "They did not want to believe that I, too, am a Jew, and only after a while did I manage to prove to them that there are many more Jews in the world. Since then they have wanted to be closer to these Jews." When the interviewer asked if he thought his mission would succeed, Jacques said: "I am sure of it. So sure that I have decided to devote my life to this cause.” Jacques opened a school and synagogue in Addis Ababa to teach Hebrew, Judaism and Jewish history. He sent several young Ethiopians to study at the best universities in Europe, so they could come back to Ethiopia and share what they’d learned. Jacques spent the rest of his life traveling around the world, speaking to Jewish groups and communal institutions to raise money for Ethiopian Jews. He made eleven extended trips to Ethiopia. In 1947 he began to advocate for Ethiopian Jews to move to the newly created State of Israel. He felt that with so many Jews murdered in the Holocaust, it was vitally important to reach out to every Jew still alive, no matter how remote. During the final years of his life, Jacques lived in Tel Aviv, where he had a large collection of rare Ethiopian books and manuscripts. After his death at 74, his widow donated the house and its contents to Tel Aviv, and the house became a public library. In the 1970’s, Ethiopian Jews began immigrating to Israel in large numbers. Escaping famine and oppression, many died making the perilous journey. In 1984-5, the Israeli government, assisted by the CIA, began Operation Moses, a secret mission to airlift Jews out of Ethiopia. 8000 Jews were rescued and brought to Israel. Several years later, in 1991, Operation Solomon rescued 14,500 over the course of 36 hours, on 41 flights. Today, over 120,000 Ethiopian Jews live in Israel. Only 7,000 remain in Ethiopia. Jacques Faitlovich's dream of bringing Ethiopian Jews to Israel has become a reality. So make sure you tap into this conversation and remember to like, share, and comment! Thanks! RBCF!
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